A review by jenfosty
Funny You Should Ask, by Elissa Sussman
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
I wasn't enjoying the book for the first 25-33% but got sucked in for the rest of it.
I agree with everyone who says this will scratch the "Emily Henry" itch - this is a good balance between contemporary fiction and romance. I think I would've enjoyed the book more if we had begun and spent more time in the present day to begin with - I had a hard time liking either character because their younger selves were incredibly annoying at the start. I also have a hard time believing that after spending a couple days together - they were both in love and kept tabs on each other for the next decade without ever talking. Also Jeremy was awful the entire time and I will never understand why she dated/married/etc. him. I think the book would've also benefited from spending more time with the secondary characters instead of just spending time with Gabe and Chani in isolation, especially since this romance has a contemporary/woman's fiction bend.
That being said, I did like how both characters developed and I liked how they communicated with each other in the present day while understanding each other boundaries and rebuilding trust. I liked Chani's wrestling with how her career was inexplicably tied to Gabe's and dealing with the fallback associated with the interview because she was a woman reporter. I also liked seeing her article compared to the actual events that happened - seeing how she manipulated events for the public was interesting and it made me wonder about the truth of everything else.
Overall, this was a good read but not great. I will probably read the next book the author comes out with (tho I heard it was music related and I don't love books set with musicians).
I agree with everyone who says this will scratch the "Emily Henry" itch - this is a good balance between contemporary fiction and romance. I think I would've enjoyed the book more if we had begun and spent more time in the present day to begin with - I had a hard time liking either character because their younger selves were incredibly annoying at the start. I also have a hard time believing that after spending a couple days together - they were both in love and kept tabs on each other for the next decade without ever talking. Also Jeremy was awful the entire time and I will never understand why she dated/married/etc. him. I think the book would've also benefited from spending more time with the secondary characters instead of just spending time with Gabe and Chani in isolation, especially since this romance has a contemporary/woman's fiction bend.
That being said, I did like how both characters developed and I liked how they communicated with each other in the present day while understanding each other boundaries and rebuilding trust. I liked Chani's wrestling with how her career was inexplicably tied to Gabe's and dealing with the fallback associated with the interview because she was a woman reporter. I also liked seeing her article compared to the actual events that happened - seeing how she manipulated events for the public was interesting and it made me wonder about the truth of everything else.
Overall, this was a good read but not great. I will probably read the next book the author comes out with (tho I heard it was music related and I don't love books set with musicians).