Emily Henry does it again! I love her books and this book is no exception. I was so excited to get an ARC of this book. It was such a fun romance read that sucks you in right from the beginning. Her books make you love the characters and want to keep reading. This book was perfect to read in one day. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this book as an ARC.

Emily Henry always writes a great romance. I would say this is lighter than happy place but still has heart and a great supporting cast. Daphne being a librarian who loves chai just like me makes me love her and want the best for her! Can’t wait to see what Emily Henry writes next. 🤩

I love Emily Henry. I love libraries. I love wineries. Miles and Daphne are such beautiful and fun characters. This was an excellent read and moving up the list for my favorite Emily Henry book. She just is so excellent at constructing characters and weaving them together seamlessly.

As usual….Emily Henry does not disappoint! I was so excited to meet Daphne and Miles and their story was one for the books (heh). The humor, the banter, the conflict, the passion — I was on fire the whole time for these two and couldn’t put the book down. Miles was unlike any of Henry’s previous love interests and he was so fun to read — such a positive, happy light in the storm of Daphne’s life. I can’t wait to re read this over and over again throughout my life.

Thank you SO MUCH to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC!

Emily Henry has yet to write book I haven't fully fallen in love with—her books are full of complex, imperfect characters that make the love stories so much more moving. Funny Story follows Daphne and Miles, who are left as roommates their Lake Michigan town after their significant others—who are childhood best friends—suddenly dump them... for each other. It was such a heartfelt examination of how experiences shape how people feel about love and their own worthiness. Miles and Daphne were such a joy to follow—as were the sweet community they have around them. And made me want to visit my library even more than I do. Emily Henry is 5/5 in making me cry with her characters and at this point I don't know why I'm surprised when the tears come anymore! Looking forward to being 6/6 sometime soon.

Daphne and Miles have both just been jilted by their longtime partners, forcing them together first as roommates and then into fake dating as revenge. The set-up is interesting, but the chemistry between the two leads did not quite follow through with its opposites-attract tension as well as Henry’s previous books, and a lot of time is spent describing the couple’s exes to the detriment of the characters who are actually present for much of the novel. I appreciate that the friendship relationships get as much attention as the romantic one, with their own ups and downs to be worked through. Still an enjoyable read with believably flawed characters, a strong sense of setting, and much banter, but less to my personal taste.

I loved this book--for an Emily Henry it's just about perfect. I enjoyed it much better than her last book. She does wear me out with the big speeches at the end, though.

I am so incredibly grateful to have been given this e-ARC, because I cannot get enough of Emily Henry's writing. I have absolutely loved each and every one of her books. And the last three, Funny Story included, have become some of my favorite books of all time. I do not know how she does it where she writes these fresh stories, and each one is so completely their own. I cannot even rank them in order of how much I like them because each one is so different and so so good. And I feel like asking me to pick my favorite is like asking a mother to pick their favorite child....its not possible.

I loved Charlie & Nora, I adored Wyn & Harriet, and I could not get enough of Miles & Daphne!!!! They had such amazing chemistry between the two of them...AND THE TENSION. OH MY GOODNESS. IT WAS SO GOOD. I love how complex her characters are written. There is so much more to them, than you find in other Romance books. I also could not get over the fact that Daphne was a librarian!!!! The crazy library patrons stories were so spot on and I could not stop laughing whenever Daphne or Ashleigh mentioned one of their crazy and lovable patrons. It was so relatable.

The only thing that I would change a little bit, was if there was more of a argument/climax regarding Daphne's friend Sadie. I feel like that almost hurt more than what Peter did (almost) and I wish we could have seen something more there, (Also would have loved for Daphne to have punched Petra & Peter , but I know that's not her style) but other than that, I ABSOLUTELY ADORED EACH AND EVERY SECOND OF THIS BOOK. Literally, everything that she writes, is pure gold. I don't think she knows how to write a bad book, like I think its physically impossible for her to do so.

Anyway, thank you so much to Emily Henry, NetGalley, and Berkley publishing for this opportunity and for this AMAZING, FANTASTIC, WONDERFUL, e-ARC. It was everything I expected & more. <3

As an avid Emily Henry reader, I can honestly state that Funny Story is close to being her best book. The prose is stronger, more sophisticated, compared to earlier books. The character development is wonderful, honest, and real. In fact, the two protagonists do not come across as stock Emily Henry characters who happen to be cast in an Emily Henry novel. I found myself identifying with Daphne and Miles more so than any character from Henry’s other books. Also, there were elements of this work that reminded me 0f Beach Read — the pop culture references, waxing poetic about the power of books and libraries, the bond between Daphne and Miles or Daphne and her mother. I can’t explain it, but while reading Funny Story, I had the impression that the author had as much fun writing it as I had reading it.

This year's Emily Henry rom-com does not disappoint. Daphne is a children's librarian who was raised by a hardworking, single mom and ends up being dumped by her fiance after she built her life around him. Throw in a strained relationship with her dad and you are rooting for her to get her happy ending. Miles (also dumped) is a delightful guy and beloved by everyone in their small town. He has some family issues, but I felt like they weren't as clearly fleshed out as Daphne's, which was a weakness in the story. The residents of this small town in Michigan are quirky and entertaining. Ashleigh particularly shines as a snarky sidekick to Daphne. This book also serves as a love note to libraries and librarians and for that I am grateful.

Emily Henry has another hit on her hands. Funny Story is more than contemporary romance; it’s about healing childhood trauma, taking responsibility for your emotions and actions, and opening yourself up to new friendships, new ways of looking at life, and yes, new love. 10/10 would read again.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this friends to lovers roommance at first since the premise felt a little too convenient (Daphne's fiance dumps her and she moves in with her now ex's new fiance's ex - Miles, a pot-smoking, bearded, bartender) plus Daphne felt kind of wishy washy/doormat-ish in the beginning.

However, once I really got invested in Miles and Daphne's growing friendship, the way they supported one another through tough family drama/trauma (both suffer from cPTSD/neglectful parents) I couldn't put this story down!

Daphne in particular has a great character arc, discovering her independence and unwillingness to go along with what's expected/easy but fight for the friendships and love of the people who show up for her (her friendship with co-worker/single mom Ashleigh was a particular highlight and the way the author wrote about the challenges of making new friends as an adult was top notch!).

I also really loved that Daphne was a kick ass small town children's librarian or that this was an AMAZING small town Michigan summer setting. Perfectly pairs with Abby Jimenez's upcoming, Just for the summer (another book with cPTSD rep and extreme family/childhood trauma).

A side note that Miles took a while for me to warm up to but as he works through his own issues and tries to show Daphne how to have fun and trust in people, he grew on me too (even though he's not much of a reader but I will forgive him that due to his dyslexia). Many thanks to NetGalley and the Berkley Romance for an early digital copy of one of my MOST antcipated 2024 releases!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts are my own.

What a fun read!

I love the worlds Emily Henry creates and this one was no different. I enjoyed falling into Daphne and Miles' lives as they navigate the world post-breakup. I loved the setting and the cast of small-town characters. I loved the slow build to Miles and Daphne figuring out their own messes and how they could stand on their own and together. I loved Daphne learning how to be an 'i' instead of a 'we' and the messy way she went about it. I loved Daphne and Ashleigh finding their way to true friendship and that their love story was just as significant as the one between Daphne and Miles.

In true Emily Henry fashion, this story was warm and captivating. I fell into this book easily and quickly. The emotional impact wasn't as big for me as Happy Place (my favorite EH book) but I was endeared to these characters and loved this book nonetheless.

Emily Henry, my rom-com queen!

First, I LOVE that the main character is a children’s librarian. This is everything to me. So much of this book took place in libraries and it was heavenly.

The love interest, Miles, was the sweetest man on the planet and he and Daphne together was just 🥰🥰🥰. To me, this book felt closer to Beach Read than to her other books. Very classic rom-com format. Emily Henry never misses!

WHAT A FUN READ - thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC! (slight tropes/vibes spoilers ahead but honestly they should hype you up)

Things I LOVED:
- The concept of "what happens to the two people that are dumped when two childhood best friends get together" and all the angst and karmic revenge happening
- Miles (the LI) who's a TATTOOED hipster man who knows everybody at the farm stand
- I am slightly convinced I should move to small-town Michigan?
- I loved how DESPICABLE some of the characters are. Like, genuine assholery which I feel is new and fresh in Emily Henry books
- THERES SLIGHT FAKE DATING (but its not the whole plot, which is nice) which always gets me feral
- WE GET A LITTLE MORE 🥵 SLIGHTLY EARLIER ON IN THE BOOK
- The banter is excellent (but imo, nobody tops Charlie Lastra (sorry !))
- I laughed out loud and wanted to throw my kindle across the room 8x times minimum

Things I wanted slightly differently:
- Emily Henry herself says that Karma by Taylor Swift is THE SONG for this book, which I agree like...PLOT mechanic wise, but in terms of VIBES, no. I personally wanted more 😈🗡💀 KARMA rather than 😝🙊🤞KARMA you know? The MC is quite a soft girl but I would have preferred ANGRY VENGEFUL B*TCH rather than a SAD wallow-y kinda vibes
- I had a really hard time imagining the MC and getting a sense of her personality other than being sad
- The pacing in the climax/end was a bit rushed because there were a LOT of emotional baggage beats in rapid sequence, and I appreciate how she's trying to pull off BOTH character arcs of the MC and the LI, which in past books I didn't feel we got as much of
- MORE SPICE PLS BUT I GET IT OKAY THIS IS A ~*CHARACTER*~ BOOK
- Random note the use of drunken confessions + frequency of heavy drinking is a lot in this book so I just wonder how future books will turn out as more and more readers go alcohol-free and it just happened so often I ended up taking a mental note of it

Things that made me to go ????????? but you may be into it:
- Love interest has a beard
- Love interest is described as grown Macauley Culkin with a beard (??????)...imo just...no. i invite you to google him, it is not GIVING
- She's a librarian who is literally very buttoned up (clothing-wise)?

Gobbled it up in a day, as per usual with a new Emily Henry book! With a likeable and flawed heroine, complicated but sweet love interest, small town cast of characters, and a library at the centre (Daphne is a children’s librarian after all!), what’s not to love??

I love Emily Henry and always find myself drawn to her characters. They are relatable and emotional.

Daphne and Miles have heartbreak in common, but they don't really know each other. When they suddenly become roommates, Daphne sees that Miles is a really friendly, kind guy. She's always been bad at small talk and doesn't have a lot of friends.

Daphne is a librarian and is super passionate about the work she does at the local library. She loves her job and the kids at storytime. As a librarian, I loved reading about her life at the library. It was realistic and fun to dive into.

Both of our main characters have a lot of emotional baggage to unpack and Emily Henry makes you feel the big emotions while they do. I cried and smiled and.really rooted for them both to find their own happiness.

Thanks to netgalley and Berkeley publishing for an ARC to review.

I LOVED this book. Easily Emily Henry’s best yet. It has the banter of Book Lovers, the emotional depth of Happy Place and overall love that is so unique and sweet. Miles and Daphne come together from the most absurd circumstances and yet they form the sweetest friendship. They work on healing themselves while also healing each other. 10/10 recommend this book to anyone who loves a sweet romance full of self discovery and swoon worthy moments.

I ate this up so quickly. Miles is a different kind of romantic interest than I have read in quite some time, but Emily Henry just has a manner of writing characters that are so so so incredibly real and genuine. I know these people, and I could be friends with these people. They are so honest, and as a bookseller/book hoarder, Henry's protagonists always hit so close to home. Thank you for the opportunity to read the ARC!

i really enjoyed this book. it wasn’t what i was expecting but i loved the build up between daphne and miles. i loved all the side characters and the found family aspect. however, i do feel that at times the storyline got very repetitive and dragged a bit. but overall it was very enjoyable. i laughed and i cried and definitely recommend this one!