Funny Story by Emily Henry
Genre: Romance/Women’s Fiction
Heat Level: 🔥
Release Date: April 23, 2024
Publisher: Berkley
I received a complimentary copy from Berkley and audiobook from PRHAudio.
SYNOPSIS
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?
REVIEW
What you can expect to find in Funny Story
-fake dating + real feelings
-forced proximity
-roommates
-slow burn 🔥
-small town
-found family
When children’s librarian, Daphne finds herself literally without a place to live because her (ex)fiancé, Peter, decided to call of their wedding on the night of his bachelor party because he still had feelings for his childhood best friend Petra – Daphne’s not quite sure what to do. She moved her whole life to be where Peter was. In a wild twist of events Daphne finds herself rooming with Miles. Miles, whose ex-fiance is non other than Petra – the same woman that Peter decided to leave Daphne for.
Miles and Daphne are both mourning the loss of their respective relationships. Daphne’s not even sure if she wants to stay in Michigan. Seems like everything she has there is because she was a part of a couple. But soon, Miles and Daphne form an unlikely friendship. He’s there to show her how great Waning Bay, Michigan can be. And if they accidentally/on purpose post pictures where it looks like they’re in a relationship – so what? But when those fake feelings start to feel really real – will both of them be able to move on from their heartache?
I ended up reading like half of Funny Story in one sitting. The writing is so captivating – balancing funny moments with heartbreaking ones is a talent that Emily Henry has in spades. I loved how enigmatic Miles once until he opened up. And the slow burn between Miles and Daphne was soooo good. Fake dating when done right is one of my absolute favorite tropes and it was done so well in Funny Story. You know you love a couple when glances, accidental touches and of course the force proximity gives you butterflies. I loved loved love Miles + Daphne.
BUT, I also love the side characters in Funny Story. Everyone from Daphne’s library co-workers to the people around town made this story that much more special. Yes, there was heartache and character growth. Did I cry? Of course I did – this is an Emily Henry book.
I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of Funny Story and really enjoyed it! Julie Whelan is such a wonderful narrator and once again I love how she brought Daphne’s character to life. I could feel all the emotions that Daphne was going through – whether that was joy, excitement or frustration. If you’re a fan of audiobooks I highly recommend listening to Funny Story!
Funny Story was more of a rom-com compared to last year’s Happy Place. That’s another thing I love about EH’s books – they’re all slightly different. Some are more angsty while others are more like a rom-com! I love that she gives us a little bit something different each time.
Loved Funny Story and can’t wait to go back and reread my favorite parts.
Ranking Emily Henry books (they’re all 5 stars)
1. People We Meet on Vacation
2. Book Lovers
3. Happy Place
4. Funny Story
5. Beach Read
*subject to change at any moment.
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