Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman – Review

Title: Funny You Should Ask

Author: Elissa Sussman

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Then. Twentysomething writer Chani Horowitz is stuck. While her former MFA classmates are nabbing book deals, she’s in the trenches writing puff pieces. Then she’s hired to write a profile of movie star Gabe Parker. The Gabe Parker–her forever celebrity crush, the object of her fantasies, the background photo on her phone–who’s also just been cast as the new James Bond. It’s terrifying and thrilling all at once… yet if she can keep her cool and nail the piece, it could be a huge win. Gabe will get good press, and her career will skyrocket. But what comes next proves to be life-changing in ways Chani never saw coming, as the interview turns into a whirlwind weekend that has the tabloids buzzing.
Now. Ten years later, after a brutal divorce and a heavy dose of therapy, Chani is back in Los Angeles, laser-focused on one thing: her work. But she’s still spent the better part of the last decade getting asked about her deeply personal Gabe Parker profile at every turn. No matter what new essay collection or viral editorial she’s promoting, it always comes back to Gabe. So when his PR team requests that they reunite for a second interview, she wants to say no. She wants to pretend that she’s forgotten about the time they spent together, years ago. But the truth is that those seventy-two hours are still crystal clear, etched in her memory. And so… he says yes.
Chani knows that facing Gabe again also means facing feelings she’s tried so hard to push away. Alternating between their first meeting and their reunion a decade later, this deliciously irresistible novel will have you hanging on until the last word.

Rating: 3/5 stars

This review is completely spoiler-free!

It was about time I finally read this book. It was starting to collect so much dust on my bookshelf that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get to it, but, luckily, here we are with the review! I have to admit that I was intrigued by the plot because many people suggested it if you loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. If you know me, you are already aware that Evelyn Hugo is one of my all-time favourite books and I get why it is compared to it, the vibes are similar, but, in the end, it didn’t live up to my expectations. Let’s see why.

The plot was really interesting and the premises seemed very good. The timeline is divided in two: the past and the present. Throughout the book we keep switching between them and we get to see how Chani felt during her first interview with famous actor Gabe Parker and how, nowadays, things have changed for both of them during a second interview.
My main problem with these timelines was that I was more interested in the parts that took place in the past than in the present days. I felt like there was not so much chemistry between Chani and Gabe nowadays. Chani was grumpy all the time and I didn’t really tolerate her. And Gabe was so submissive, there is almost no reaction on his side if not in the final part of the novel. On the other hand, I really loved seeing the various interactions among Chani, Gabe and Olly, Gabe’s best friend, when they took place in the past. I was captivated all the time by every single thing they were doing.
Another thing that I liked about this book was how every chapter ended with an article or a review that gave the reader a wider perspective of what was happening, like how a certain action was perceived by the world or other magazines. In my opinion, it gave a more insightful vision of what actors have to go through all the time. This was something that I appreciated in Evelyn Hugo as well.
Going back to the present timeline, I still think that it was more boring and there were few things that caught my attention. Not to mention the ending. I won’t spoil anything, but I’ll just say that I didn’t like it: too rushed, too inconclusive and also a bit anticlimactic.
Anyway, I still think that this book is a good and entertaining reading, so if you do want something that can match the Evelyn Hugo vibes, I think this could be a nice choice.

So, these were my opinions about Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman, hope you enjoyed reading about them! If you would like to let me know your own thoughts or you would like to talk about what I said in this review, leave a comment down below! Thanks for reading.