REVIEW: Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

In Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman, They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Writer Chani Horowitz has heard that for years. But they should also say that you shouldn’t meet your celebrity crushes, because it will only complicate your life–at least in Chani’s case, that is. When she took the chance ten years ago to interview rising Hollywood actor Gabe Parker, yes, it pushed her career to all new heights, making her a sought-after non-fiction writer. But it also makes Chani wonder if people are interested in her work itself or just trying to get the supposed “true” details about the three days she spent in Gabe’s orbit. And those details, while precious and life-changing for her, aren’t exactly what people *think* happened between them.

“Is that the biggest challenge with a role like this?” I asked. “The accent?”
“The biggest challenge with a role like this is doing it even when you know you don’t deserve it.”

Ten years is a long time for her unresolved business with Gabe to sit, festering and becoming even bigger in Chani’s mind. There have been a few times since the interview where their paths have crossed for one reason or another. But there’s never been time to talk things out. Chani knows that if she takes the offer to do one more interview with Gabe, this could put the past to rest between them for good. Or it could bring all those emotions rushing back. She’d like to know how he’s handling his new sobriety and what his plans are for his possible comeback in Hollywood after the bottom fell out of his career. But Chani’s pretty sure that once they’re in the same place, and they feel that magnetic pull between them, she and Gabe will have to decide if what they have is worth the media nightmare it will undoubtedly spark.

‘This isn’t just about one weekend. This isn’t about closure or unfinished business.
This isn’t the end of something. It’s the beginning.
And it terrifies me.’

With clever writing that pieced together events that took place over a ten-year period between a writer and a Hollywood movie star, I devoured Funny You Should Ask in pretty much one sitting.

‘Everyone involved is looking to capture the same lightning in a bottle that happened the first time–when my article about Gabe made him a believable Bond and me a marketable name.’

Content Warning: View Spoiler »Alcoholism (detailed), cheating (mentioned), verbal abuse/belittling. « Hide Spoiler

Elissa Sussman’s debut adult romance novel, Funny You Should Ask, was a charmer through and through. From the realistically flawed characters to the time jumps back and forth over a decade, this was one engaging story that I honestly couldn’t stop reading. I love it when we get to see behind the mask of a Hollywood star. In this case it was actor Gabe Parker who was on the cusp of becoming the next James Bond, even though he thought he didn’t deserve the role. As did many of his critics. Sussman detailed Gabe’s battles with his self-worth, his acting abilities, and even his alcoholism in a raw way that truly showed how his struggles affected everything in his life. Particularly his career. And over time, it became clear how important Gabe’s short time with writer Chani was to him.

Told strictly from her POV, Chani was an interesting heroine. She was unapologetically opinionated, getting on her feminist soapbox a few times, making me want to clap out loud for standing up for what she believed in. And she had confidence going into her interview with Gabe ten years ago that, while it might have been slightly unwarranted, made a lasting impression on him in both good and bad ways.

I wasn’t always on board with some of Chani’s decisions. (Or Gabe’s, for that matter) But it really did feel like they both needed to grow up a bit and learn more about themselves before a relationship between them would work. It was too bad that all the naysayers in their lives and in the industry made Gabe and Chani doubt themselves as well as whether they deserved the good things they both worked so hard for. In the end, though, the resolution to all the messes they created over that decade faded away until it was just Chani + Gabe and all of the wonderful closeness they felt together from day one.

QOTD: Do you enjoy stories that take place over an extended period of time–in this case over a span of ten years?

Book Info:

Publication: Published April 12th, 2022 | Random House Publishing |

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.

A restless young journalist with big dreams interviews a Hollywood heartthrob–and, ten years later, it’s clear that their time together meant more than meets the eye in this sexy, engrossing adult debut novel.