Funny Story by Emily Henry Published by Penguin on April 23, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 400
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon
AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Named a Most Anticipated book of 2024 by TIME ∙ The New York Times ∙ Goodreads ∙ Entertainment Weekly ∙ Today ∙ Paste ∙ SheReads ∙ BookPage ∙ Woman's World ∙ The Nerd Daily and more!
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
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?
My Review
I am going to say it now: I am an Emily Henry fan. I have read everything that she has published, I believe, and I plan on reading anything that she intends to publish. Her books are always a good time, and Funny Story is no different. This book is among my top three favorites by Emily Henry. Reader, this is crazy to probably even ask at this point, but have you read any Emily Henry books, and if so, which ones have you read? I have listed my top three and what I have previously rated them below. As you can see, they are pretty high up there for me.
- Beach Read *****
- Book Lovers *****
- Funny Story ****
In this story, we are following Daphne, who recently moved with her fiance to his hometown in Michigan. Daphne gets her dream job at a library as a children’s librarian. She loves the work, but the pay is not great. Peter, who is Daphne’s fiance, has a good job and makes plenty of money. He buys a house in this little town and puts his name on it, telling Daphne not to worry. She can be the one to furnish their home. That will be her responsibility since he will take care of the mortgage. This suits her just fine because she is in love, and they are getting ready to start their happily ever after. What could possibly go wrong?
Petra and Peter grew up together and have been best friends forever, so of course, they hang out and are happy to see one another again. Miles is Petra’s boyfriend and has been for years. They share a two-bedroom apartment and seem to have a wonderful life together. Miles works as a bartender, which he loves, but he also has many other little jobs to go with it. Miles loves his life and assumes that Petra does as well. Little does he know that his life is going to make a drastic left turn.
It is not long after being back in his hometown that Peter decides that he is no longer in love with Daphne but that he has been in love with Petra all along. It turns out that Petra feels the same way about Peter. I am sure, Reader, you can guess what happens next. Peter dumps Daphne and gives her about a week to move out of HIS house while Petra and him take a little vacation together. Petra, of course, moves out of Miles’s apartment, leaving Miles with a two-bedroom apartment to himself. I am sure you have guessed that Peter and Petra are moving in together. It isn’t long after all this has happened that Miles offers Daphne a place to stay I mean come on he does have a two bedroom apartment.
Daphne and Miles do not know each other well; actually, they do not know each other really at all. They are, however, both in the same predicament since they were both dumped and now their partners are dating each other. Needless to say, they are both heartbroken. They deal with it in very different ways, though, with Miles smoking a bit of weed, listening to epic love ballads, and watching things like Bridget Jones’s Diary. Daphne, on the other hand, works to carry on with her life through her work rather than wallowing in her sadness. Their sadness amps up a bit when they receive an invitation to Peter and Petra’s wedding. Things go even further when Peter gets in touch with Daphne, and she tells him she will be bringing a plus one, her new man, Miles. Let the fake dating trope begin.
Daphne can not believe that this has become her life where she is actually lying about dating someone. Daphne needs to get out of this little town, but she can not do that until she does the big library sleepover and fundraiser for the children in the town. Miles catches wind of Daphne’s countdown to move away, and this bothers him because he does not want her to move, especially without actually giving the town and its people a chance. Miles offers to take Daphne around each Sunday so she can get to know the area and its people. Daphne, of course, agrees, and this is the start of their new friendship, or maybe even more.
For three years I’ve been eating like him, exercising like him, working tirelessly to befriend his friends and impress his family, going to his favorite breweries, and all along I thought it was my idea, my life. Only now, without him in the picture, absolutely none of the rest of the picture makes sense. I’m not sure what parts of me are him and which parts are genuinely my own. And I want to know. I want to know myself, to test my edges and see where I stop and the rest of the world begins. (pg 101)
I very much enjoyed watching Daphne make these discoveries about herself. I loved reading about her reactions to foods that she hadn’t had in forever along with discovering new activities that she enjoys doing. I liked watching her make friends of her own for the first time since her childhood and I also enjoyed seeing her relationship with her mother and the closeness that they share. Daphne’s father, I found to be incredibly infuriating for reasons I am not going to mention because of spoilers.
I need to be okay. Because I need to be okay. As a kid, I just felt so fucking scared and powerless, all the time, and now, I just need to be okay. (pg. 236)
Miles is so much more than the stoner bartender he appears to be at the beginning of the book. Miles has so many layers to him (think Shrek telling Donkey about onions and their layers), and I enjoyed getting to know more about those layers. Miles is such an easygoing character who pretty much gets along with anyone and everyone. Daphne, I believe, described him in the story as a ray of sun that people want to gravitate toward. Miles is the guy who does not realize just how special he truly is, and well, the same can be said for Daphne.
Reader, if you are looking for a fun fake dating trope, then this might just be a book for you. If you are looking for a read about community and finding your place in it, then again, this might be for you. This book is about discovery and friendship with a whole lot of finding love for yourself and others while learning to trust and overcome your past. As I said above, I very much enjoyed this story, and I look forward to Emily Henry’s next release, whenever that may be. I am going to leave you with some wisdom from Daphne’s mom that really stood out to me, and I hope it can do the same for you. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Life’s short enough without us talking ourselves out of hope and trying to dodge every bad feeling. Sometimes you have to push through the discomfort, instead of running. (pg. 361)
Trigger Warnings:
- Substance Use
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Emotional Infidelity
- Grief and Loss
- Trauma
- Child Abuse (emotional) and Neglect (abandonment)