The Book:
No Funny Business by Amanda Aksel
Published July 12, 2022 by Berkley Books
Date read: August 8, 2022
The Characters:
Olivia and Nick
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Two down-on-their-luck comedians embark on a road tour and find more than a few good laughs on the way.
Olivia Vincent dreams of stand-up comedy stardom. Bustling around a busy Manhattan office by day and hustling from club to club by night, she can’t catch a break. Work is falling through the cracks, and after ditching a major client to make a performance, Olivia gets the boot.
Determined to pursue her dreams, she snags an audition in Los Angeles for a coveted spot on late-night TV. But the only way to get there is to join Nick Leto, a seasoned stand-up, on a cross-country road tour. She agrees on one condition—no funny business.
Icky comedy condos, tiny smoking nightclubs, and Nick’s incessant classic rock radio are a far cry from life on the Upper East Side. Reality sets in, and Olivia wonders if she can hack it in showbiz or if she’s just a hack. As Nick helps Olivia improve her act along the way, sparks begin to fly and ignite what they thought was an impossible flame. Maybe being stuck with Nick in a Jeep isn’t so bad. As long as it doesn’t get in the way of Olivia’s actual funny business.
The Review:
Many thanks to the author for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
No Funny Business follows two comedians on a cross-country road trip to get to an audition in LA. As you can expect from the subject matter, there is a lot of humor in this book. This book certainly had me chuckling throughout! Nick and Olivia found themselves in a series of ridiculous situations that were a lot of fun to read.
Olivia’s character was very well-developed, and I was rooting for her from the start. She struggles with some personal issues throughout the road trip, which provided a nice contrast to the lighthearted comedy scenes.
I was a little skeptical of Nick and Olivia’s relationship at first. Nick clearly has some baggage and less-than-ideal qualities, but Olivia is drawn to him nonetheless. Their banter was great, though, and I came around to Nick eventually.
I read Delia Suits Up last year, and enjoyed No Funny Business even more. I’m excited to see what Aksel delivers next!
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