Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / B Review / Review: Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Review: Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

April 13, 2022 by Kate H. 2 Comments

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
Contemporary Romance
April 12, 2022 by Random House – Ballantine, Dell
ARC

Review by Kate H.

Chana Horowitz is a busy writer in LA, in her thirties and newly divorced.  Her successful career as an essayist and interviewer was launched by an interview with Hollywood movie star, Gabe Parker.  A decade ago she was given unprecedented access to the actor, and she spends much of a weekend learning about the heart-throb who has been controversially cast as the next James Bond. The article goes viral – spurring unprecedented conversation: was the article great or awful?  Did or didn’t she sleep with him?  Only two people know the truth. Then, a decade later, she is invited to do a follow-up interview with Gabe.  Suddenly everything is opened up for reflection: her career, her marriage, and her feelings for Gabe.

Chana is a complex character – she is both strong and weak, the way real people are.  She’s both confident about her writing abilities, but at the same time, she questions her choices, including her chosen genre which seems inferior in comparison to the more literary writing her ex-husband, “The Novelist,” did.  She’s at times self-deprecating, but also brave.  We don’t get to look at Gabe quite as closely, but slowly we see he is much more than his public persona.  He has similar doubts about his professional choices.

The character of the ex is actually important in this novel.  He’s insecure, but verbally abusive comments about Chana’s writing, help us understand her own self-doubts.  He probably didn’t create them all, but he fed them for years.  But he is not simply a monster – they clearly had some good times, as evidenced by several vignettes.  Like many mistakes, “the Novelist,” with his undermining behavior, becomes more visible in hindsight. 

I did get irritated with the structure of the novel, which goes back and forth between past and present, but is also interwoven with excerpts from the original article that Chana wrote about Gabe, as well as numerous other shorter articles and blurbs throughout the novel. It’s a lot! On the one hand, these “outside” pieces help us see what seemed to happen, versus what did actually happen.  However, I thought they were distracting and sometimes too repetitive to the actual narrative.  After reading all the parts of Chana’s article about Gabe, I kind of agreed with her critics – it was too self-absorbed. For me, all the moving about between the narrative and the documents, from the past to the present and back again, pulled me out of the reading experience.  But I think others will enjoy the mixed style.

One of my favorite moments in this novel is near the beginning when Gabe insists on learning how to pronounce Channa’s name correctly.  It’s one of the early clues that he’s not just some dumb actor from Montana.  But it becomes a signature “I see you” motif that reverberates through the novel.  

CW: Emotional abuse, death of a parent

Grade: B

Amazon * Goodreads

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: B Review, Ballantine, Contemporary Romance, Dell, Discussion, Jewish Heroine, Kate H., Random House, Trope: Second Chance at Love

Comments

  1. Kareni says

    April 13, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    This sounds intriguing, Kate H.! Thanks for your review.

    Loading...
    Reply
  2. Arlene says

    February 23, 2023 at 2:27 pm

    When they show the questions on the background NOW, I can’t see them. When the person wlns and goes to answer questions, the screen is larger and I can see that. Why they changed it and snow moves in background is NOT GOOD.

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Jennifer Probst, Jackie Lau, January Bell, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Jennifer Probst, Jackie Lau, January Bell, and more!
  • New Releases- Week of May 5-9, 2025
    New Releases- Week of May 5-9, 2025
  • Review: When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley
    Review: When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley
  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
    Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
  • Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
    Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Review: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger
    Review: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger
  • Release Blitz- The Pretend Fiancé Fiasco by Pippa Grant
    Release Blitz- The Pretend Fiancé Fiasco by Pippa Grant
  • Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
    Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d