מצחיק שאתה שואל

by Elissa Sussman

בזמן שהחברים שלה מהלימודים חותמים על חוזים עם הוצאות ספרים, חני הורוויץ "רק" כותבת עבור מגזינים קטנים.

ואז מגיעה ההזדמנות. חני נשלחת לראיין את גייב פארקר, הכוכב הכי לוהט בהוליווד, ג'יימס בונד הבא. הריאיון מתארך לסוף-שבוע שלם, סוער ובלתי נשכח, הכתבה הופכת לוויראלית, והקריירה של חני ממריאה. היא נעשית סופרת מצליחה ומראיינת מבוקשת. אבל תמיד, בכל מפגש, בכל שיחה, חוזרת אותה השאלה: מה קרה ביניכם בסוף־השבוע ההוא?

עכשיו, עשר שנים אחרי, מציעים לה לראיין אותו שוב. חני רוצה להאמין שהיא התבגרה בשנים שעברו. היא הרי התחתנה והתגרשה, וכבר עברה דבר או שניים. אבל היא עדיין מרגישה משהו – יותר ממשהו – כלפי גייב. היא יודעת שהדבר הנכון הוא לסרב לריאיון, אבל היא לא מסוגלת. היא חייבת לגלות אם גם הוא חשב עליה כל השנים האלה.

מצחיק שאתה שואל הוא ספר ממכר, מצחיק ונוגע ללב, על חיבור אמיתי בין שני אנשים, על עקשנותה של האהבה ועל ההזדמנות השנייה שמגיעה לכולנו, גם לכוכבים הגדולים ביותר.

זהו ספרה הראשון למבוגרים של אליסה סוסמן האמריקאית, סופרת נוער מצליחה. הוא היה רב מכר וזכה לשבחי הקוראים והמבקרים.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, Adult, Second Chance

384 pages, Unknown Binding

First published April 12, 2022

About the author

Writer, reader, pumpkin pie eater.

I'm not very active on Goodreads, but I love hearing from readers. Visit my website to see how you can contact or connect with me!

Elissa Sussman is the author of the novel FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK, as well as the young adult novels, DRAWN THAT WAY, STRAY, and BURN.

She has a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA from Pacific University, and in a previous life managed animators and organized spreadsheets at some of the best animation studios in the world, including Nickelodeon, Disney, Dreamworks, and Sony Imageworks. You can see her name in the credits of THE CROODS, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, and TANGLED.

She lives in her hometown of Los Angeles with her husband and their two dogs, Basil and Mozzarella.

Reviews

[Hannah B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

✨Funny you should ask I hate it✨

If you don’t like books with flashbacks that culminate to nothing. Don’t read it. If you don’t like books with random “articles” and “interviews” thrown in between the actual plot. Don’t read it. If you don’t like books about “great writers” who when you read their “great writing” you’re like um no? Don’t read it.

Now that I know this book was heavily *inspired* off of a GQ article (about Chris Evans) that the author fails to mention in her acknowledgements, I hate it all even more. I dislike the article because I again found it weird and unethical and weird and I don’t like knowing this shit really happened. Please don’t feel up the people you’re interviewing. And in the book she kept referencing how he was probably too drunk but she still wanted to get that sound bite.

I checked my arc against a finished copy and the author still didn’t mention Edith Zimmerman or that GQ article anywhere in the book/acknowledgments. The rest of my review is also checked against a finished library copy. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt but alas.

✨

Their relationship presented in the article felt unethical and the writing style was a mix of flashbacks, present, and useless “articles” and “interviews” and “blog posts” thrown in to break up the plot for no reason. I really don’t like when those things pop up in books. I stuck with them at the beginning because I was still interested in the “plot,” but then I realized nothing they revealed was actually useful to the overall story and I skimmed the rest. I mean the plot didn’t reveal anything either, let alone the flashbacks. Why do flashbacks get incorporated when the big “fight” scene in the past is just. so. boring?

I did like the beginning (until the faked dog death and then I was one button press away from full on meltdown) and I was interested to see what really happened in the past. But the more I went along, I felt like her article was unprofessional and awkward and made me feel weird. She kept talking about all of these stereotypes, when her article did its best to perpetuate them? And she was so sad and angry that she had friends with private jets because she didn’t know if her career was “earned” or not.

Plot twist it was not because what else did she have to write about? I can’t imagine she had three collections of essays published. Essays on WHAT. She proves none of her skills to me, which is another tough sell in books: writers, songwriters, etc always just seem so forced and awkward in books and the secondhand embarrassment is cruel to me. She was so whiny about her writing especially when she thought he didn’t like it.

✨

I suppose the dude was more decent, but I still didn’t like him. He sounded nice in theory but the execution was lacking. The whole marriage thing and friends with benefits thing was just not what I wanted to see from him and it made him Not Hot. He was kind of a dick but so was she so they belong together in their phallus palace I suppose. We also finished this book with them knowing each other for a collective six days in ten years. I didn’t buy that.

This book was based on a much shorter, insubstantial in its own right article and it shows. Maybe the article really did happen like the journalist said, but that didn’t make this book any more logical. And it doesn’t have to be but it just had a weird feeling. I was more stressed out at her being invited to after parties and passing out and getting drunk.

I felt zero chemistry between the characters by the end and I disliked both of our MCs which is impressive. She’s angry that people got the wrong impression from an article she intentionally wrote to give the wrong impression and I just………

✨

On that ……….. note, there’s a lot of stilted speech (especially during the sex scene) where they’re like “can…I…..please…….Alaska…….ninety…..seven…..” and she’s like I don’t know what he means but okay and I’m like no not okay I don’t know what’s going on???? After this book I ban ellipses. Funny…you…should…ask…I…am…in…pain…

✨ ”It’s not a problem,” he says. “With you, I…” / “You…?”
✨ “I just…these fucking…goddamn buttons,”
✨ “There…Please…Gabe…Please…”
✨ "Don't," he chokes out, stilling my hand. "I...you…can't..."
✨ "Fuck," he groans. "Can I...can we…..please..?”
✨ “Gabe…” / "Don't...stop...Please..don't..."
✨ "Yes..." My head goes back. "I need...yes..."
✨ "Fuck, I'm..."

^Those all happened in the five page sex scene. It took 90% for:




I’m also very confused because the author recently wrote an article about the importance of sex scenes in romance and that leaves me even more confused…this sex scene was an afterthought at 90%…and…lukewarm…at best... It’s nice to know the author loves sex scenes, but where is this proof in this pudding?

The pining was pretty good but the payoff was stale. Vague is en vogue here. The words “orgasm,” “climax,” “peak,” “come” were never used during the sex scene. “Got off” and “coming” were each used like twice at various points. No “cock” was ever mentioned. I think “length” (mentioned once at 91%) is as good as it got. There’s like nothing regarding her body. Wait! We got: “Hands. Hips. Lips.” Oo baby, oo baby. 👁🫦👁 Le sigh.

The author does this so many times at all times and I never knew what she was talking about and she also referenced things that happened to these characters as if we knew what they were and then like three pages later she defined them and I’m like……………..I just wasted five minutes rereading past pages to see if I missed the information!

The way I read the ellipses sections in my head was a mix between Bella Swan’s pauses and Anthony Bridgerton’s heavy breathing. Imagine how detailed the sex scene was! Imagine it! Are you imagining it? Bc I guarantee whatever you’re imagining is hotter than the book’s one pathetic attempt at sexual ellipses.

✨

Yes. I am one of those angry Goodreads reviewers she mentions in the pointless filler interludes. Funny you should ask.

The only thing I liked by the end (besides the fact that I was done) was his reveal of what happened in the past. It didn’t warrant a breakup and ten years of pining but it was funny. But even then, it wasn’t even revealed in a flashback so my previous point of them being useless still stands. I can see why people like this book, but it checked all the wrong boxes for me.

⭐️/5 🌶🌶/5


P.S. From 30% to 60% this book tricks you into believing it killed a dog (that you saw as a puppy) and that’s fucking sick.

I cried but not bc of anything revolutionary the book did. No I lost it at “wow what a cute puppy ten years ago but time is crazy and now the dog is dead and wow just kidding this dog is actually alive but your dog is still dead have a great life bitch.” I gave the book the benefit of the doubt and kept reading to see if the dog actually was dead and thank god it wasn’t but I was triggered and had a terrible time I can’t believe they expect people to be okay with that. That’s a big gamble. From 30% to 60% and now all that in between % has been tainted and now I’m just pissed off.



Thanks to the publisher for my advanced copy! All opinions are honest and my own as always ✨


***SPOILER***









And to circle back to “great writers” in books not being great writers, I politely ask how the fuck she got the assignment of interviewing him in the first place???? SHE HADN’T EVEN SEEN A BOND MOVIE.

Also who the fuck was reading a third collection of her essays? What did she have to write about??? I absolutely don’t understand.










I am pain.







Me talking to the plot:

[Ayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok so if you’ve been waiting to scratch that emily henry itch then read this book.

this book was written incredibly well. it has a “love and other words” format in which it goes from the “then to now” timeline. 1 interview and the 2nd interview 10 years later.

i was mostly reading this for the character development not really the romance but i feel it’s worth picking up if you want a romance book that’s more women’s fiction if anything else. i will say this book was the slowest of slow burns but it’s all worth it. trust. there is a little miscommunication but it actually works for the plot and it makes sense.

this book goes through the highs and lows of combating addiction, success/fame, and love. it kinda reminds me of a taylor jenkins reid book ngl. if emily henry’s books and tjr books had a baby this would be it.

the ending was the most happiest thing to read it made my heart ache…in a good way.

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

doing the unthinkable (reading a booktok book)...

and receiving my karmic retribution.

this committed the biggest crime than a romance can commit: it is not fun!!!

there is literally no tension here. these people fell in love in 2 days, ten years pass, they are still in love with each other and there is no obstacle. not even a miscommunication. not even a separation. not even a trope.

the love interest is so perfect and boring. i thought this would have some SPICE to it. some BANTER. but no. the dialogue is unforgivable.

keep the jesse eisenberg interview out of your mouth...do not mention andrew garfield x chicken shop girl...chris evans is also boring but even the gq article this steals its entire plot from is more interesting than this.

bottom line: making fiction more of a snooze than life is almost impossible. this achieves that and also makes it look easy.

[chan ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

the reason celebrity romances typically don't work: the heroine has to be pathetic

maybe i have an inflated sense of self, but conceptually... why would i obsess over a man when he should be obsessing over me? like. this is fiction. and you actively chose to write a white bread hero that our heroine thinks is a total catch in comparison to her total loser ex-husband? bleck. give me wish fulfillment. or write some harry styles fanfiction... give me a hero worth drooling over lmao.

also didn't care about this chick's blog and it didn't need to break up the narrative of the story.

not to double down on the pathetic aspect but she thought it was sweet that he "arrived" before they could even get started. bye.

[Ali Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if I'd like this book since I've heard some mixed reviews about it, but I ended up really liking it! Our main characters have a whirlwind start and then don't see each other again for 10 years. I loved going back and forth between the alternating time lines to see how their connection began while trying to figure out what went wrong to cause their 10 year gap.

It's also such a fun/unique plot in that our main characters are a journalist and a movie star! I've always loved the 'one of them is famous' trope. Plus we get to read articles after each chapter which was fun to get insight into how the public views our two main characters.

My biggest disappointment was that the characters only end up spending like 6 or 7 days together over the whole book, which makes sense for the plot, but I feel like it's less meaningful to me when characters fall in love without really spending a lot of time together. Would recommend this book tho!

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

im a simple girl. i read a ‘second chance/reunion years after an unforgettable first meeting’ and i enjoy it. ugh. seriously, a god tier trope. enough said.

and so, normally, this would be getting 5 stars from me. but theres just something about the connection between the two characters that prevents me from absolutely loving this. the “then” chapters, when chani first meets and interviews gabe, are fire. seriously. so so so good. i also like the inclusion of the article she wrote here and there so you could compare what she published versus what actually happened that weekend.

but the “now” chapters… the chemistry is just not there. yeah, they have been pining for each other for 10 years, yeah they have been romanticising their one weekend together, but i just never felt it. their reunion is still cute, but i found myself really looking forward to getting back to the “then” chapters instead.

so still one of my fave tropes, i just wish it been used a tad bit better.

↠ 4 stars

[nia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is for the girls that make a fake scenario before going to bed & have been through several fan girl phases.

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, there are so many mixed reviews about this book! I actually respect everyone’s opinions and big buzz about this book’s story is based on Chris Evan’s whirlwind, entertaining and unconventional interview he’s made with Edith Zimmerman on 2011 for GQ article!

I read the article and it’s possible that author might be inspired by the idea of a celebrity and reporter’s extra entertaining weekend with lots of unexpected events, drunk talks ended with reporter’s crushing in movie star’s house!

At this book; Chani Horowitz makes an interview with movie star Gabe Parker she’s having a big crush for years( she even uses his photo showing his abs as a wallpaper of her phone) which puts her on the map of famous article writers and also gives enough credit to Gabe to become next Bond even he’s American and he’s called a hick!

I have to be honest ten years to fix your unresolved feelings and finding each other with the person you’ve spent only six days it’s not logical for two divorced people who have been through a lot!

But this is a romance story! We all love Notting Hill when famous movie star Julia Roberts stand in front of a boy asking him to love her! So what if these two people who still try to find their place and their own success in the universe fall for each other? Is it still impossible? No it’s not! It’s about emotions, attraction, your soul’s calling! Or maybe it’s fantasy! But it’s still good to believe in fairy tales!

I believed in Gabe and Chani’s chemistry! It was real! Their love story was too instant. Gave was still dealing with his insecurities. He didn’t think he deserved to be James Bond and when he spent those romantic days with Chani, he still questioned his own value.

I found both of them impulsive, childish because of the things they’ve done in ten years. But all those wrongdoings, mistakes, lies, misunderstandings were necessary! Because if they didn’t do those mistakes and separated apart,they would ruin the possibility of happiness between them. They were too young, impulsive, dumb, impatient to know the real value of great love!

Now they met again to make another interview. Chani is successful article writer, publishing her upcoming book, divorced after 6 years old marriage as Gabe waltzed around rehab centers, finally divorced, trying to fix his tarnished reputation.

They can both get benefited from the new interview but are they mature enough to face the rekindling feeling between them?

Overall: I loved the smart, sarcastic writing style! I especially enjoyed to read blog parts of Chani!

The instant love and some immature behaviors of the characters made me pissed off but I still love this book so much and I’m truly looking forward to read more works of this gifted writer!
And I definitely agree with her about Philadelphia is underrated work and still one of the best romcoms of movie history!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

[Maditales · Rating 3 out of 5]

How can characters talk soo much but also not reveal anything and therefore suck at communicating?

Chani’s character was okay. I mean I understand some of the decision she made (especially Bc she’s literally spending time with her Hollywood crush) but at times I was staring into the unknown, not being able to comprehend why she decided to do certain things.
Especially decisions she made after those 72 hours that they spent together (Iykyk).

And then there’s Gabe… a character that had a lot of potential to be one of my new fav book boyfriends but turned out to be a surface character that had his “deeper” moments here and there but overall was a confusing man that should have just fucking talked during those 72 hours…
He struggles with something for years and I do not think that we got enough detail on it. I really wish we could have had more deep felt talks about his issues.


Now onto the plot:
The idea that you cannot stop thinking about someone you met for 72 hours 10 years ago, makes sense because he’s a famous actor. Long time crushes are a pain in the ass and real.

BUT WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH THE COMMUNICATION???
Also the last 15%??? What’s up with how fast everything happened here????

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ooookay... Where to start.

I heard so many great things about this book. I was ready to write the most glowing review ever made before I even picked it up, which is why it breaks my heart that I’m only giving it two stars.

This story was inspired by a real GQ profile of Chris Evans from 2011, written right before the first Captain America came out (you can find it here https://www.gq.com/story/chris-evans-...). If you haven’t read it, let me tell you: it reads like a romance novel. The journalist basically goes on a date with Chris Evans where he’s all flirty and touchy and cute, then they go to a party at his house where she drinks too much and ends up passing out in his guest room and sneaking out at 5 am. Then they go to a premiere where she meets his whole family and they all make fun of her. I don’t want to say it’s the best thing ever written, but it's up there.

Funny You Should Ask was inspired by that profile, meaning the heroine, Chani Horowitz, is tasked with writing a profile on Gabe Parker, this hot actor who’s about to take on the role of a lifetime – this time, James Bond. The article turns out to be just as much of a hit as Chris Evans’s (it's also basically the same article, lol), and the book is split between the interview that led up to it, the handful of times Chani and Gabe met again over the next ten years, and the present, where she’s in her late thirties and he’s in his early forties, and she’s supposed to write a follow-up article on him.

Over the ten years between the two interviews, Chani and Gabe’s lives changed completely. Gabe struggled with alcoholism, they both struggled with divorces. And yet, reading the present-day chapters of the book, it’s very clear that something happened between them along the way, and that he screwed her over at some point.

The story has everything it needs to be a juicy, delicious celebrity romance. And yet. So many things about the plot and the writing didn’t work for me. I wish I could pinpoint the exact thing that made me dislike it, but I can’t! I just found the characters so boring, and the more I read, the less I cared about them.

Also, I found both the interviews to be so unbelievable! Chani just asked a handful of terrible questions each time (this even becomes an inside joke between her and Gabe) and it really bothered me that she was supposed to be an amazing writer when she didn’t seem to be very good at her job, lol.

Anyway. I thought the structure of the book was also messy – one chapter is present-day, one chapter is the first interview, one chapter is a meeting they had over that last decade, one chapter is Chani’s original article, one chapter is Chani’s blog, one chapter is a random review of one of Gabe's movies... There were just so many things going on, I couldn't keep up.

This was so hard to get through, I just wasn’t interested at all. Sorry, Elissa Sussman! ☹️

[aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

"He looks up, and shakes his head, long and slow, his hair falling across his forehead. “There’s nothing JUST about you,”

"It’s feeling like every day is the perfect day, even if the whole day isn’t perfect, but finding the moments that are. Being so proud of her that I could burst. It’s knowing that this isn’t a fantasy. It’s real life."

[Naty · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is so bad I wish I could give it a zero, but that’s not possible, so I give it a one.

[Cat Moutoux · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited about this one & disappointed isn't even the right word for how I feel after finishing it.

I initially planned to give the author some kudos in two areas:

— 1) The cover is fantastic - eye-catching, interesting, & unique. Well done. The publisher probably found a great graphic designer & she made the right call by approving the design.

— 2) Yeah, yeah - we've seen the impossible lovers trope, but this ultra-specific premise of a celebrity falling in love with a normie doesn't feel oversaturated in literature. Cool concept!.....until it wasn't.

Unfortunately, any praise on the grounds of originality were quickly shot to hell the moment I discovered the 2011 Chris Evans GQ article by Edith Zimmerman. The similarities between Sussman's novel & Zimmerman's article are undeniable & uncomfortable. The most notable evidence includes, but is not limited to:

- The casual restaurant interview over lunch, lots of beer, & banter.

- Chris/Gabe are typecast as hot idiots in B-level movies but are on the brink of a make-or-break career move when they're awarded the role of Captain America/James Bond.

- "Dates" at the red-carpet movie premiere, afterparty, & house party over the course of one weekend.

- The overall portrayals, backstories, & apparent dispositions of the main characters mirror Evans & Zimmerman entirely.

- The scene where she sneaks out of his house & the one where she leaves behind an item of clothing.

- Meeting Chris'/Gabe's mom & finding out he's a huge mama's boy.

- The general public assumes they slept together.

I really wanted to believe that this was all some strange coincidence...but when I saw that this author follows both Chris Evans & Edith Zimmerman on Instagram, all my suspicions were confirmed. This explains why Chani & Gabe's relationship felt VERY surface-level & how everything else just feels like forced fluff. It's evident that Sussman struggled to fill in the gaps, as Zimmerman didn't provide her with a playbook on how to stretch a ~2,000-word magazine article into a 350-page novel.

I am all for fan-fiction & drawing upon real-world inspiration, but Sussman has lost all credibility & creative integrity as an author in my eyes. I mean, at the very LEAST she could have mentioned the original GQ journalist in her acknowledgments after exploiting HER article & narrative! At most, she could have mixed up the details to make the dupe less obvious. Everything about this is icky.

You can find the referenced article here: https://www.gq.com/story/chris-evans-...

Aside from it being a blatant rip-off, this book just didn't work for me. I felt that way before I was privy to the aforementioned poaching. It started out cute, but the couple's insta-love after minimal encounters felt so contrived. There's a real lack of substance & the only chemistry I enjoyed was Oliver-related. The alternating timelines & various POVs were a valiant attempt to break up the book & make it fun, but they weren't done right. The execution resulted in redundancy & confusion. I didn't jive with the pacing either, as it was painfully slow and then suddenly rushed at the end with a bizarre fight/resolution. And can we please CHILL on the shitty ex-boyfriend references? That, along with the plight of female journalists was NEVER. ENDING. Like ok, we get it - now where's the actual romance? Answer: There's virtually none. The only real intimacy happens around the 90%-point & I can only describe it as store-brand vanilla at best.

I rarely leave negative reviews & try to lean on constructive criticism for the author & potential readers. "Funny You Should Ask" is the first of its kind that I've encountered. I never thought I'd be writing a review like this. The author & her team need to seriously consider reaching out to Edith Zimmerman and/or publicly acknowledging her work as "inspiration" prior to release.

All in all, I appreciate NetGalley & Penguin Random House for sending me this ARC e-book in exchange for my honest review.

[Maryam · Rating 2 out of 5]

i should stop trusting booktok for recommendations

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

why did this take me a whole month to read? idk. anyways. 👁👁 the “then/now” timeline will always hit!!! and not only that but we also got some articles in between? yes pls!! this gave ‘chris evans gq interview’ & I ate that up ofc because duh.. chris evans. the only thing I don’t love is the fact that they met for one weekend and then 10 years later they still haven’t forgotten each other? the math isn’t mathing there. regardless tho a fun & cute read.

“I could make you happy”
“show me” <3

[Bianca · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book…was utterly fucking bonkers and I am a girl who has read a thing or two but the idea of someone fresh out of grad school getting to interview the new James Bond (me interviewing Daniel Craig???) and then proceeding to fall in love in six days during the span of ten years….babes I might not be good at math but something isn’t adding up

POINT IS: the idea was fucking there but the execution was not…curse you BookTok

[Becca Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I DEVOURED this book in less than 24 hours. As an aficionado of the famous person/non-famous person romance genre, this one hit all the right notes for me without feeling stale or overly trope-y. A 26-year-old journalist is commissioned to write a profile of the actor who is cast to play the next James Bond. The piece goes viral and, despite denials from both parties, there's speculation that something romantic happened over the weekend they spent together for the interview. Ten years later, the two reunite so she can write a follow-up profile on the actor, who, after a failed marriage, public struggles with sobriety, and a verbal altercation with a director has been shunned from Hollywood. I loved the juxtaposition of the then/now timelines and thought the exploration of how the virality of the original profile both positively and negatively affected the writer was so interesting. I think this book is going to be a huge hit. If you're reading this, it's definitely worth saving/pre-ordering!

[Ilhaam · Rating 4 out of 5]

andrew garfield and amelia look different here

[elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

full review to come

I FINALLY FOUND ANOTHER PERFECT ROMANCE NOVEL

[Hoda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf at 60%

This was supposed to fix me not bore me to death✋🏻

Everything was very bland and boring I skimmed so many pages and still nothing happened.I couldn’t care less about both of the main characters. Gabe lost me when he compared her eyes to a clock because they were so big. And she annoyed me with how much she talked about her ex.
The only thing i loved about this is the dog 💘💘

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This popped up as a donation to my Little Free Library Shed. After a few thrillers, I thought it would be nice to step back into a little romance.

So, I began to read.

And this one was different. It told its story backwards and forwards – then and now, of two highly unlikely individuals who were meant to connect.

Or were they?

An up-and-coming writer, and a movie star with major issues. What was their story?

And when we were in the present, and the characters would talk about the past, without any understanding of what that meant, because we readers weren’t seeing it, until we did, how did that affect the flow of the story?

At times, I was confused. But I was also interested. I wanted to know…

What happened? Why did it happen? And, are they meant to be together? Or not?

Sussman has a way with words that connect readers to her characters. I cared. I wanted a happily-ever-after scenario that would work. I wanted to feel the realness of how love grows. Or even happens between 2 people.

And this story gave me everything I needed. So that when I came to the final page, I felt a sadness that I was leaving these characters interesting, yet flawed lives, and knowing that all could possibly be well.

And when we have a dog involved, that is happy and wags its tail for the people it loves, how can we readers not love them, too?

4.5 stars rounded up.

P.S. - I found out from one of my GR friends, E.M., that this story was inspired by a 2011 celebrity profile article on actor, Chris Evans in GQ. Link here: https://www.gq.com/story/chris-evans-...

I also recommend reading E.M.'s beautiful review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very high 4 stars! I’ve never been an especially big Chris Evans fan, but when I saw a tiktok saying that this book was based on a whirlwind weekend-long interview he did with a reporter I IMMEDIATELY closed the app and opened my kindle to dive in. Dear reader, I am SO glad that I did. From page one I was completely endeared to both Gabe AND Chani and this was just an all-around delight. I devoured it in one sitting because I just couldn’t get enough. It was equal parts swooney and heart-felt and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment spent between these pages. Oddly, I’ve read quite a few Hollywood-centered romances this year (some I’ve loved and some… not so much lol), and this one definitely managed to stand out amongst the crowd and I just highly, highly recommend. Absolutely one that I will be re-visiting for years to come and I can’t wait to pick up whatever else Elissa Sussman puts out next!

CW: alcoholism, divorce, death of a loved one, terminal illness (cancer), discussions of weight gain/loss

[Theresa Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I had a hard time getting through this. It kept putting me to sleep. A large part of the plot hinges on an alleged stereotype of female journalists sleeping with celebrities to get a story. If that’s a stereotype, it’s the first I’ve heard of it. I think of writers and journalists as more likely to be brainy and nerdy (in a good way, since I like smart, literate people) than vixens using their wiles to get a scoop. The protagonist is so defensive that even though I agreed with much of her world view, I didn’t like her.

Ten years ago, Chani gets an interview with the actor Gabe Parker and ends up going to a movie premier with him, meaning she spends more time than just asking some questions over lunch or a cup of coffee. The subsequent profile she writes launches her career, and he does well for a while until his addiction to alcohol causes him to stumble. In these 10 years, they’ve both had less than successful marriages. When they’re reunited a second time, the lust everyone assumes they acted on a decade earlier has an opportunity to bloom.

I got an advance copy of this from NetGalley. It RELEASES APRIL 12, 2022.

[Karla Espinosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored every single moment in this book! The realness and relatability of the characters made them so likable and the reading experience that much more enjoyable. This was a story about a huge movie star and a young reporter that meet for only an interview but it turns into the most memorable weekend for both. The book starts out with them reuniting a decade later and having to face all of their very real feelings for each other even after so long. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I feel like the ending for a book like this is so important because, after so many years of waiting and so much built-up tension that these characters go through, the ending can make or break the whole story. This ending, I will say, was absolutely perfect.

[daniella ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

did i enjoyed it more than i think i would? yes. but did i only enjoyed it because i was romance deprived and haven't read a romance book in 6 months? maybe. maybe not.

[m · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so cute!! I’m jumping off a cliff 😍

He looks up, and shakes his head, long and slow, his hair across his forehead.
"There's nothing just about you.”

this is a cry for help gabechani have destroyed me for life and I’m sobbing once again

[abigail ❥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
“But when you're focused on feeding something that can never truly be satiated, you miss what you're actually hungry for.”

If a book can keep me blushing and internally reprimanding myself over how single I am because I am jealous of fictional people, then I'd say that it was a phenomenal story.

I haven't read a romance in a while that had me going like this. The tension between Chani and Gabe was palpable. Chani meets the heartthrob Gabe due to a piece she is commissioned to write about him and his newest movie job as James Bond. Her piece hits the stands in a whirlwind and speculation about a budding romance between the two is heard from left to right despite the many denials (and their internal desires). Everyone goes their separate ways with things left unfinished and feelings hurt. Ten years later, after life swooped them each up, Chani is again commissioned to write a follow-up piece about Gabe due to her original piece bringing soo much traction. The two finally meet once again.



Both characters go through lots of changes and their character development was one of the biggest points in this book in relation to their relationship with each other. Entirely a slow burn, but the reader is never left with a dull moment. It's a lot of the ever-so-great fluff and undeniably sexy chemistry us readers are always asking for.

[Sally Darr Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need someone to make a list of romance books where the man's body isn't described as hard and muscular. One way to immediately take me out of the story is to make the man completely ripped and conventionally hot.

THAT BEING SAID....

I was so excited to find out that this is a Chris Evans fanfic once I finished....because he happens to be the only man with a six pack I find attractive.

[Jess Conte · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

[clara · Rating 2 out of 5]

my god i lost the few brain cells i have bc of this book i stg lol

dumb person meets dumb person and makes dumb decisions. the ending, ollie, and teddy is why the book is 2.5 🌟

i was so frustrated with chani when he invited her to the premiere, after party, and a party the next day and thought it was an EXTENTION OF THE INTERVIEW BC SHE WAS TOLD THAT SHE WOULD GET "EXCLUSIVE ACCESS" my god, i truly wanted to slam my head when this kept continuing throughout the book. she also comments on how he says her name correctly, REPEATEDLY. dont get me wrong, i LOVE the satisfaction of getting people's name right but she mentioned it one too many times on how he pronounces her name correctly 😭

we also get to see the articles written by chani and other writers, as well as her personal blog, which i didnt need because it's basically a reiteration of what the previous chapter said..... but i respect it.

there were some cute and funny moments but i just can’t get over the fact that they met for a couple days, spoke once or twice during the 10 years they went without speaking and spent another few days together for the re-interview, and i’m supposed to believe that they’re in love with each other and have been for the past 10 years…? give me a goddamn break. they talk about it in the book too but i am not convinced😾