Member Reviews
Funny Story by Emily Henry is not just a funny story - it's a tale many of us can relate to. It's about how Daphne and Miles, two seemingly different people, find their way into each other's lives. This sad, funny, and completely relatable journey includes elements like fake dating, opposites attracting, and small-town life. There's so much to love about this story, but what I loved the most was how much I could see myself in it.
I loved the setting, both the bookish aspect and the watery beauty of the lakeside town. The library and the beach are two spots that make me happy. The story made Waning Bay, Michigan, so appealing and invested me not only in the story but also in the setting. The small-town charm, the close-knit community, and the picturesque lakeside views all contributed to the story's appeal. I found it funny that though I hated growing up in a small town, a story set in a small town warms my heart.
The romance in Funny Story is a breath of fresh air in the genre. It doesn't rush, but unfolds gradually, just like a real relationship. The dynamic between Miles and Daphne is a perfect blend of challenge and growth, creating a unique and compelling love story that I couldn't help but be invested in.
Lastly, I was deeply moved by the authentic portrayal of the challenges of making friends as an adult. It was a theme that was not only well-developed and represented, but also completely warmed my heart, endearing me to many of the side characters.
Funny Story is more than just a funny story. It's poignant, relatable, heartwarming, and the perfect read for a spring day.
Perfection. Hands down my favorite Emily Henry yet (and I promise I haven't said that about every one!). There's just something about the combination of everything in this book that really made it a hit for me. I've liked, even loved, every Em Hen book, but this is the first one I've given five stars.
Daphne and Miles are both so relatably flawed. Em Hen knocked the millennial librarian out of the park and there were so many times I felt called out and I was like wow I would literally say that. Miles is one of my favorite love interests. The tattoos, the working at a winery. I just love it all.
I think part of what made this book feel different to me is that it's the least connected our MCs have ever been. It was so fun to watch them fall for each other.
Daphne always loved the story of how she and her fiancée Peter met…right up until it became how her fiancée left her the week before their wedding for his childhood best friend, Petra. Now she is left in a town that’s not her own, with no friends or family and living with the only person who understands her sorrows, Petras ex, Miles. They are basically thrown together in this tiny apartment knowing nothing about each other until one night they devise a plan to which leads to a long summer of adventures and rediscovery.
I can’t really put into words how much I loved this. I loved the witty banter, the characters were so funny! The main characters, the side characters, every single one of them, were so well written. The book left my heart in a cheesy ooey gooey mess and I didn’t want it to end. Ugh 10/10! 😍
I loved this one!!! I loved the unexpected beginning with these two moving in together after their significant others found love with each other. We got to know both characters so well & I enjoyed the literally piece with the library and readathons
While it wasn’t my favorite Emily Henry book, it definitely drew me in like her precious books with the amazing writing and banter of the characters. I enjoyed all the way through!
Rating: 4.25⭐️
Just gave my kindle a hug after finishing this one! As a huge Em Henry fan, I shrieked when I gained access to her latest -- FUNNY STORY, which publishes April 23! This 384 page novel will give you all the feels. Funny Story reminded me a lot of Beach Read.
Definitely will be recommending this to those that love:
- baking
- wineries
- small towns (Michigan specifically!)
- female friendships
- lighter spice
- forced proximity, strangers to best friends to lovers
If you are a fan of Book Lovers and Beach Read, you will happily love Funny Story.
The premise of this is so fun and I loved Daphne and Miles so much. They were such opposites of each other personality wise but for some insane reason, their dynamic really worked. The banter, as always with Emily Henry books, was just delicious and had me laughing out loud.
I really appreciated the backstories for both of these characters as they helped explain why Miles and Daphne are the way that they are and made the 3rd act breakup believable for me. I loved the character growth that both of them went on but especially Daphne. The overarching theme of this book showed that people can change and we're not beholden to previous wants and desires and I think that's a super important message to tell. I think any fan of EH's works will really appreciate this book and find it to be a good addition to her catalog.
Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for this arc, all thoughts are my own.
I don't even know how to fully express my love for this book. Each of Emily Henry's new releases is my new favorite, but this time it's true with Funny Story. As someone who also loves to talk and tell stories, this is right up my alley. I was already intrigued with the concept of how Daphne and Miles would meet and it was executed brilliantly. AH, there were just so many things to love. From the library support to the pop culture references to the wide range of tropes and details, I was hooked from the start. This had a little small-town romance vibe, roommates to friends to lovers, found family, and a bit of he fell first. All the references Emily threw in here felt deliberate, and I thought they fit well into the story. I also get Nick Miller energy from Miles and I am here for all of that. Besides the lightness of it all—and I was laughing out loud at several points—there was also a bit of heaviness here due to a neglectful parent and not feeling worthy or good enough for love. That being said, the emotional aspect was so well done. I cried at several points in the book—feeling like I not only related to the fictional characters but the beautiful words Henry wrote as well. It's easy to say this is definitely one of my favorite books of the year if not a new favorite in general. I hope Em Hen never changes because stories like this are exactly what I love to read. It was an incredible book that I know will be living in my head for a long time. Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for providing me with an e-ARC to read and review!
Loved this one!! I loved the set up. I loved that Daphne was a librarian and we got to see what is involved with her job. And, I loved the chemistry between her and Miles!
Thank you to#Netgalley for the ARC
This book was a good read I enjoyed the plot and romance a lot. This book follows the fmc Daphne who's fiance has just left her for another woman. She finds herself rooming with Miles who was the ex-boyfriend of the woman that Daphne's fiancee ran away with. Everything is so messy and Daphne finds herself roommates with Miles who works in a winery and smokes a lot of weed. They both get a wedding invitation from their exes invited them both to the wedding which leads them to fake dating to get back at them. As they spend more time together they get closer and have so much sexual tension. They both have emotional, family, and personal baggage they are working through which impacts their relationships, friendships, and even romance when they eventually hook up.
I enjoyed the chemistry and sexual tension between the characters, it was well-written and believable. I also really liked the character's journey outside the romance and their struggles and weaknesses. I will say that it took a while for me to get into the book but once I did I quite liked it. If you like women's fiction and contemporary romance then you'll like this one. Thank you Berkley for this arc for an honest review.
Absolutely loved Daphne and Miles as individuals and I even enjoyed them as a couple but something about this story fell flat for me. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the whole way through! However, I think I was waiting for more of a packed punch like I got with Beach Read, Book Lovers, and HAPPY PLACE! There were still multiple quotes that I want tattooed on the back of my eyelids and I think this is such a fun and interesting take on the childhood friends to lovers — more of a “what would happen to exes of the childhood friends to lovers”.
I absolutely adored this book! Smart and emotional and insightful. It had it all! I read it cover to cover in a day and what a beautiful day that was.
I absolutely loved Happy Place and Beach Read, so my expectations were high. Overall, I did like this book but I couldn’t say that until about halfway through.
Actually 3.5 stars rounded up
The first half felt very much like a romcom, hence the title, but it felt all too predictable. It didn’t feel like a Henry book.
Fast forward to the second half, and I finally started to get the classic Emily Henry feeling that makes her books more than just a romance novel. The main characters’ baggage really starts to unfold, and we get to the nitty gritty of the situation.
The biggest gripe I have with this story is that it’s not super believable for me. Yes, it’s a book, but all of Emily’s other books feel like they could really happen. Like the characters are real people, not people in some cheesy romcom.
Personally, I wish more of the book was like the second half. I feel like the average romance reader would really enjoy this, but die-hard Emily Henry readers might feel similar to me.
If I were giving someone who’s never read Emily Henry before a book, this would be it because (imo) you can only go up from here!
~~~~~~~~~~S P O I L E R ~ W A R N I N G~~~~~~~~~~
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I think it was really unrealistic and overdone that these two who JUST got out of major, long term relationships, are now jumping back into one and saying “I love you” after what, 3 months? 4? That was where this book REALLY lost me.
I know sometimes we just meet the right person at the right time, and she did hold off on moving in with him in the end, take things slow, and maybe I’m being too much of a realist here, but I just can’t ship a couple that would do this.
4⭐️ 1🌶️
Oh Emily how you do this every single time I’ll never understand but man am I grateful to you and your stories.
I want to do a reread of all the books and try to put them in order of favorite to least favorite but it’s so damn hard when they all have something I could not live without. While this one is not my favorite and leaning towards the bottom of the group, I have to say it was still very good. There was just a little something something missing for me personally.
Daphne and Miles couldn’t be more opposite to each other if they tried, but they worked together which goes to prove that opposites do attract. I think they found themselves in the shittiest of situations and made the best of it. Neither one of them deserved what they went through, both were wayyyyyy too good for their prior relationship and I’m happy they worked out so perfectly because their love just felt right.
This book was different to prior EmHen books. No more slow burn in the way Emily likes to edge and torture us. And you know what, I’m not mad about it. There was still torture and tension for days but she gave us something extra this time and it felt fitting to the story.
They had this forced proximity of sorts going on and while in this case I wasn’t a big fan of the fake dating, I found myself getting emotional in those little moments were Miles just couldn’t take his eyes away from her, or would say something so absolutely beautiful that I had to take a minute, pause the reading and take a deep breath. Is he the best EmHen man? IMO he is, just not my favorite when compared to Wyn or Alex. But Miles just has this young feeling about him. He is more care free. He’s not the traditional Emily Henry man we have gotten before. He smokes pot, and wears crocs, and says hi to everyone because he knows everyone, he has many sides to him and they all come beautifully together to form this amazing character.
Daphne is definitely more of the classical EmHen FMC we have gotten before and I just wanted to wrap her in a hug so tight she lost her breath. I felt such rage any time asshole Peter had the audacity to breathe or be on page… Jesus how I wanted to jump into this book and simply strangle this guy. And don’t even get me started on PeTrA…. Seriously 😒
I am just torn because this is a 5 star read but I don’t know why something still feels like is missing. I highly recommend it, I don’t think there’s anything an Emily can write that I wouldn’t. Now to suffer until we have news and little crumbs to feed us enough until the next release 😭
The audiobook as usual, thank you PRH for the ALC, was phenomenal but I expected nothing less of my Queen Julia Whelan.
This book… there’s just not a way to properly describe how an Emily Henry book makes me feel. She can do absolutely no wrong. The way that I can go through every single emotion and feel so emotionally invested in these characters and not only their relationships, but their friendships too, is unreal. I wasn’t able to put this book down. I loved Daphne and Miles characters SO much. I related to them both a lot and just felt so connected to them. Not to mention the banter in an EmHen book is always top tier, so this book was so much fun and easy to just sit and read for long periods of time. I’ll be impatiently awaiting her next release!!!
I’m so obsessed with everything EmHen. I about cried when I saw that I got the ARC for Funny Story and then I proceeded to d e v o u r it knowing that it’s my book club choice for later this year. I will absolutely be reading it again come July!
My formal review:
Emily Henry can do no wrong. That’s it. That’s the whole review. Funny Story has easily taken over Happy Place as my favorite Emily Henry book of all time. Everyone go read this the second it comes out on April 23!
Thank you SO much to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review 💕
5/5 ⭐️
Emily Henry can do no wrong. I absolutely loved this. You can find friends to lovers, forced proximity, and opposites attract. I genuinely loved seeing Daphne and Miles form a friendship turned lovers. Right from the beginning, they had such a special bond. They had me laughing, crying and just all around feeling all the feels for them. Miles is the cutest guy ever. I immediately loved him, he is funny, sweet, playful and fun. I love how he jokes around with her. I hated when he would be hurt by Peter, it made me so mad because he’s so gentle and kind that I wanted to give him a big old hug. He is a little sweet emotional man that I adore so much. I also loved seeing Daphnes journey and realizations. It felt like such a special book in which I highly recommend.
Emily Henry, the woman you are.
♾️ stars / 5, my favourite read so far this year and one of my new favourites couples ever.
I didn't know how much i needed this and per usual, idk where to start with how i feel about this book. I'm sad i finished it but so grateful i read it.
I'll just start with (one of) my favourite quote in the book
— "𝙃𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢."
It's only the second book from Emily Henry I read and thought i was a Poppy girl but im def Daphne. I saw myself so much in her it felt like Emily Henry wrote her specifically for me (im sure she did). Like she just wants to be loved and seen. It was so validating to see myself in her tbh. I also saw myself a lot in Miles which surprised me cuz I'm not one to relate to MMCs lol.
This book was so raw, vulnerable and beautiful. I literally went through so many emotions reading this like literally all of them lmao. I think they're quite different but prove opposites do attract sometimes and complements each other well. I love that Daphne and Miles got to navigate through so many relationships not just their own romantic relationship. Like Daphne making friends, making up with others and also her relationship with her dad. I litch could go on forever but I'll probably spoil something and just never finish typing.
Also Emily Henry miss girllll I didn't know she had it in her like the spicy sneces???? I was GAGGED and was giggling.
Anyways everyone needs to read this.
Thank you Netgally for the arc!!!
“Don’t drop me”
“Never”
This book single-handedly reminded my we why I love reading, why I love books, why I’m an English major and why I love words so much. Words wield so much power and magic and Emily Henry puts her whole soul into these words she’s strung together.
I love love loved the not meet-cute and the development of their relationship and individual character development. Miles and Daphne were so perfectly imperfect, they were so human, they made mistakes and laughed a little to loud and I loved how they didn’t seem to be traditionally compatible but they were so perfect together. They brought out the best in each other. Their relationship was so complicated, two strangers who become roommates because their significant others dumped them to get engaged? Complicated doesn’t even cover it.
I cried at lest 5 times while reading this, partially because I resonated with both characters so much, and partially because the story was just that good. The beauty of her characters and the complexity of their relationships rly felt so reassuring and warm. It felt like I was watching a movie, everything just felt so real. 🤍
I loved the romance, but what I really enjoyed about this was that the focus wasn’t just on them and their story. Their individual journeys were a major focus throughout the story. Daphne’s journey especially as she rediscovered how to build her own life and make her own friends really was so beautiful. Her friendship with Ashleigh and the way that they both made mistakes but kept showing up for each other regardless really healed the girl in me who always thought she would never find genuine friendships. And Miles working through trusting himself again after being shut off from his feelings for so long? That was like a shot to the heart.
And the cherry on top for all of this? The ending. It was the most beautiful full circle moment. But I won’t spoil that for you. You’ll just have to read it yourself. 🥹
This was my first time finishing an Emily Henry book because I DNFd beach read, and I can confidently say this convinced me to go back and retry beach read AND read every other book she’s ever written! This was art!!
This is my favorite book by Emily Henry!
Daphne thought she had found the stable home life she had sought. Her fiancee, Peter, and her home in Waning Bay, Michigan is all perfect to her. Peter is reliable and her job as a librarian has been a dream.
Then, the next day after his bachelor's party, Peter walks in and tells her that he just realized that he is madly in love with his childhood friend, Petra and he is taking her to the Amalfi Coast to start their life together. He also gives Daphne a week to move out of his house.
Daphne feels stranded. She has no friends or family close by. She doesn't have a place to stay until she finds Miles, Petra's ex-boyfriend who is also devastated by the news. Ever the practical, Daphne asked if she could be his roommate now that Petra was gone.
What starts as a devastating situation for both, glues them together. They opened up about themselves and accepted each other just the way they were. From friends to maybe something even better.
But can it work when they are so different?
So many things to love about this book. The main characters were both great. Daphne from being a little stiff to morphing into someone who accepts change and learning to trust that not everyone walks away. Miles is a selfless, humble, and sexy guy who is on my book-boyfriend list of all time.
The secondary characters were delightful in their own quirkiness, the fictional town of Waning made me think about moving there, and of course, the library sounded like a dream I wanted to visit.
I loved this one and I was so glad there was an epilogue.
Cliffhanger: No
4.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley Publishing Group via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I feel so lucky to be alive in the same time as Emily Henry.
It’s unrivaled, magical, and quite frankly astonishing how she makes her characters and journeys feel so real. Once again, I saw so much of myself and my relationship in the characters. I also truly felt like I experienced Daphne and Miles relationship grow with them. The bits and pieces they learned about each other had me swooning. I was rooting for them the whole time!
I loved their individual journeys as well. The found family/home was so heartwarming. Loved seeing how they each made their unique family pasts into strengths. Of course, this really made me want to 1) visit Michigan and 2) be a librarian too. And of course the banter, as always, delivered.