Books I've Read: Funny You Should Ask

This book read something like a fantasy.  Not fantasy in the sense that it's an alternative world with magic and dragons and wizards and such, but more like the kind of day-dreamy fantasy you might indulge in while taking a walk or trying to go to sleep at night.  Or maybe that's just me...

Set across two time period the book jumps between events happening 10 years apart.  In the past, Chani is a young, hungry journalist trying to make a living writing puff pieces about celebrities in Hollywood. When she's assigned to do an interview about Gabe Parker, the surprise choice to take on the iconic role of James Bond, she expects it to be more of the same.  The only difference being she's long held a celebrity crush on Gabe.  She determines to keep it professional, but somehow the afternoon interview spirals into a whirlwind weekend that has the gossip pages frothing.

Ten years later, Chani is still trying to escape the notoriety that one profile has given her.  despite building a very respectable career as a writer, that article is always the first thing she's asked about.  So when Gabe's PR team ask her to do a follow-up interview, she's inclined to say no.  But she has never forgotten the time they spent together and having watched Gabe's spectacular fall from grace from afar, she's curious. So she agrees.  

Even if it means she'll have to face some of the most humiliating moments of her life.

This was a very quick and easy read that follows most of the standard romance novel tropes.  The Hollywood backdrop gives it a little added glamour, especially the inclusion of an iconic character like James Bond - basically just a shortcut for telling us how gorgeous and charming this guy really is.

But this also makes the whole book read a little like a fan-fiction fantasy.   Which isn't necessarily a bad thing!  I mean, who hasn't daydreamed about dating a fabulously beautiful movie star at one time or another?  There's a certain kind of glamour about it that you just don't get with dreaming about the guy at the dry cleaner or the courier with amazing legs...

So, I enjoyed this for the fluff it is.  Nothing substantial or even very satisfying, but a sweet, confection spun out of dreams.  if your brain needs a break or you just need to get away from the grimness of the real world for a while, you could worse...

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

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.