Funny Story

by Emily Henry

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?

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, Book Club, Contemporary Romance, Adult

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2024

About the author

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read, as well as the forthcoming Happy Place. She lives and writes in Cincinnati and the part of Kentucky just beneath it.

Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.

Reviews

[Clace · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75!

“All those moments throughout the days, weeks, months that don't get marked on calendars with hand-drawn stars or little stickers.
Those are the moments that make a life.
Not grand gestures, but mundane details that, over time, accumulate until you have a home, instead of a house.
The things that matter.
The things I can't stop longing for.”

Now I am not gonna lie but this was not Emily's best work and after a rant with Roxy I understand that there can be some things that could have been done to make the story better but that does not change the fact that I loved reading this book and did not want it to end because you just have to read Emily Henry's works to understand that! Good writing is such a plus for me because if the writing is engaging and has you fully immersed in the book you probably won't see the problems that it has, unless its pin pointed out and this was the case with this book because I was so in love with the writing and the characters and with everything that she set up that I did not even find anything bothering me. She writes such intricate characters who you can relate with so much and you actually do feel for them, overlapped with such realistic qualities and problems that makes you relate to them and that doesn't make you feel alone because you see how another character faces the same problems, deals with it the same way you do and there' just something so beautiful about it.

Okay so it's basically about two two people Daphna and Miles both their Fiancées cheat on them which leads to Daphne getting kicked out of Peters house and has to stay with Miles and while they both are there, the get a wedding invitation from their exes which leads to Miles and Daphne falling into a fake relationship to make them jealous and honestly them being roommates as well was so hot. It was different from other fake dating tropes because of the way it was set but the way it unraveled could have been something more. There's this quote during this scene where Daphne tells Miles of what she did that I laughed at and smiled stupidly at:

"Wait!' He braces his hands against the counter, face brightening. "So he called to try to make you feel so pathetic you wouldn't come ruin his special day and you told him we were dating?'

'Im sorry,' I say again.

'That fucking rules,' He says. 'How'd he take it?"

Daphne and Miles were such good characters and I kind of think that there could have been more depth to them but I still enjoyed the way that they were written in like Daphne self doubting herself because of her father always left her after promising that he was there to stay and I loved how she got over it and finally confessed her feeling by giving an angry rant on his phone because he needed that and I also appreciated the bond that she had with her mother although I do think that we could have gotten more one on one scenes for them and as for Miles, I loved him so much and its with all Emily Henry's men, I see myself in them.. be it Gus, Wyn, Charlie, Alex or Miles theres always something within them that I find I can relate too and for here with Miles was how he texts, the way he overuses the word nice which bug Roxy off so much but for me the thing that I related to him the most was where He panicked and reacted anxiously and then realized what he had done a little too late I won't elaborate on that because that would be a spoiler but I did get him during that scene but besides that scene, Miles was such a cute and hot too?? loved him. There was one thing that I appreciated as well but thought more could have been done was Miles past with her mother and how it turned him into who he was, always overlooking peoples negative side, never lashing out and always being nice(?)

Their banter that I loved:
"True,' he says 'but I haven't had any luck yet tracking down the stretch of beach where thirtysomethings go to smoke weed'
'Oh, they're all just vaping from their beds while watching HGTV'
'Not us,' he says
'No, we're adventurous' I say"
_
"I turn to look at him. 'Even when you try to be mean, you're nice,'
His eyes seem to spark when he smiles. 'I'll try harder."
_
"Do me a favor,' he says lightly, 'Unlock your door.'
'Why?'
'So I can push you out as I peel out of the parking lot,' he says,
'You would never,' I say
'I would never' he admits."
_
“Drink. Dance. Have fun.”
“In a room with our exes,” I point out. “Who think we’re dating.”
Miles’s smile hitches up. “See?” he says. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

I absolutely loved the friendship that Ashleigh and Daphne had because it was so down to earth and real and raw that I just fell in love with it and I think it was because Emily focused on Ashleighs character as well and gave her a story which made us understand where she was coming from and what was happening and how that eventually led them to be friends and I also loved how she supported Daphne's decisions but wont lie to her as well and would subtly try to make her understand things, she was certainly better than whatever the fuck Sadie was. Another bond that I liked but thought some scenes could have been explored more was of Miles and his sister JUlie they were just so wholesome and cute and deserve the whole world.

"You're worth it, Daphne," he says, hand soft on my jaw and eyes closed.
'Miles?' I whisper. 'I do, I do what all those parts of you'
His eyes open, molten, warm, 'Good,' He says. 'They want you too.'
Then he kisses me."

The romance was honestly the horniest Emily has ever been it was not I would say insta-lust because there was development and it wasn't like ' oh one look and im hard' but it was that instead of the intense pining, proximity and slow burn, they just acted on what they felt. I am a sucker for slow burn and wanted more but I cant deny how much I enjoyed reading the scenes. Also, the way emily henry also writes poetic smut?? Like??? How can you do that woman. Despite it being her horniest, it was very well balanced.

Now,The things that could have been better; (spoilers)(credits;roxy)

1, More drama as we were promised a wedding which could have increased the sexual tension, the fake dating part and the drama a lot.

2, Daphne going to her mom to rant like we saw Rory do with Lorelai in Gilmore Girls.

3, Male povs because having Miles's POV would have been so interesting since would've gotten his emotional scene with Julie and it wouldve been more showing and less telling.

4, More drama by Miles's mother meeting them and this book being at least 200 pages more

Now the scenes that I loved

1, When Daphne gets dumped and throws almonds at Petra and Peter

2, Miles and Daphne hanging out across the town

3, The cherry hill scene with Ashleigh, Miles and Daphne

4, Daphne making it up to Ashleigh

5, Miles going to confront Daphne's dad

6, The cute tender moments between Miles and Daphne that will make you feel single.

7, the milkshake, fries and beach scene.

Overall, a fantastic read that I will definitely read again and again despite some things that could have been added.

Ratings for her other books:
1, Beach read: 5
2, Happy place: 5
3, Funny story: 4.75
4, People we meet on vacation: 4.5
5, Book lovers: 4.02

Special shoutout to Roxy for getting me to read all of Emily's books last year and hearing my rants about it. We need another EH buddy reading session.
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EMILY HENRY I AM IN LIVE WITH YOU!! LETS GET MARRIED SO I CAN GET ALL THE STORIES YOU WRITE (RTC when I finish my rant with Roxy and gather my thoughts)
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Its time 💫

• Buddy reading with the one and only Roxy

(Emily Henry so far all my anticipated reads have not met my expectations I'm begging you pls don't disappoint.)
___
Yes, Emily henry is a drug and i am an addict.

I am not even joking when i say this but this is the only ting that i am looking forward to this year.

Emily Henry writes the best books, her writing style alone is so beautiful and bewitching and the feeling of loosing yourself to it is so immense and amazing that i just cant wait to feel that again!!

[aleksandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

The review contains spoilers!

What a forgettable, bland, boring and not Funny Story. This is my first Emily Henry book that turned out being such a letdown for me, as I was a big fan of the rest of her stories, or at least most of them. I'm still not entirely sure if the title was meant to refer to the way our two main characters, Miles and Daphne, began their relationship—"You know, Funny Story.. my fiancé dumped me for his childhood best friend, who happened to be Miles’s girlfriend, and that’s how we ended up living together, and then I accidentally told my ex-fiancé that Miles and I are dating, so now we are fake dating.", or if it was just meant to suggest that this would be a fun story to read. Maybe it even refers to both of these options at the same time—which is most likely, but unfortunately, as I already said, it didn't end up to be a fun read for me.


As usual, as in every Emily Henry book, we have a book-loving character, this time a librarian—Daphne, who turned out to be quite an okay heroine for me. I could relate to her in a few ways and if I had to choose which main character I liked more, I would point at her, but at the same time, she wasn't even close to the bond I had with January, who I'm starting to think will always be my favorite heroine of this author. I probably would have felt more than just "quite okay" about her if she hadn't moaned every time she ate something, but like I said, she wasn't that bad. I actually loved that she stood her ground and never considered going back to her cheating ex-fiancé, unlike our hero who wasn't so sure about it and who, speaking of which—let's get to him now.

Miles Nowak, our Bridget Jones's Diary-watching, spicy-woodsy-smelling (like every other romance book hero), Crocs-loving hero who as for now is my least favorite Emily Henry male character. Yes, he had some good moments, but instead of screaming, blushing, and kicking my feet for how wonderful he was with Daphne, I kept thinking about these facts about him

"Miles looks up at me.
“They,” I say, “suck.”
“She’s the love of my life,” he says.
“The love of your life sucks,” I tell him."

The love of your life? Hell no. I didn't like that he said that about his cheating ex-girlfriend, so I expected him to say the same thing about the heroine later in the book, but that didn't happen. I know he loved Daphne and chose her, but this quote left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Or when the question was asked "if they would get back together with their exes" and Daphne's answer was this

"Would he take her back? I find myself wondering, before seamlessly transitioning into Would I take Peter back? “Definitely not,” I say aloud."

and Miles’s that

"Petra was the exception, not the rule, for me. So if she wanted to get back together? I don’t know. But it’s not worth thinking about, since she’s engaged to your ex-boyfriend.”

She cheated on you with her best friend?!? What do you mean "I don’t know."?? It should have been "No." from the very beginning when you found out about it.

The worst moment in the book that confirmed me why he is my least favorite Emily Henry hero was when he went to see his ex when she called him crying and because of that he left Daphne waiting for him.

"And then Petra called, and she was sobbing. So hard I couldn’t understand her. I’d never seen her cry before. I honestly thought someone had died. She asked if I could come see her, and I said yes. Because I was worried. I still care about her.”

She cheated on you and then a month later was engaged to her best friend!?! What do mean you still care about her??

"I didn’t mean to tell her first.” The tops of his cheeks redden. “That I’m in love with you."

And then the first person to know he loved Daphne was also his ex. You know that feeling when you read a romance novel and you just feel that the hero loves the heroine? In Miles' case it was the opposite. Throughout the book, I had the impression that if his ex-girlfriend wanted to come back to him, he would welcome her with open arms. Only at the end of the book, when he did one thing, I was like "Hmm, okay, maybe he loves Daphne then.". But as I just said, I only started feeling it at the end of the book. All the things I mentioned, plus the fact that a month after the breakup he still kept pictures of her in his room instead of burning them, are why he will probably always be my least favorite Emily character.


I don't even know what to say about the romance part of the book because it was boring as the chemistry between Daphne and Miles seemed non-existent to me. They finally confessed their love to each other, and the only thing I felt was happiness, because I knew that this book would end soon. I guess that alone says enough how much I enjoyed their love story.


I never expected that reading Emily Henry's book would evoke so many unpleasant emotions in me, and yet, as you can see, it unfortunately happened. I hope I'm in the minority of people who feel this way, because Emily's book being one of the biggest disappointments of the year wasn’t on my bingo card.



────────

Me at my graduation: 😐
Me at my wedding: 😐
Me when Emily Henry announces a new book: 😍😍😩😩😻😻😻😍🥰🥰😍🥰

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 4.5 stars, rounded up to steamy forced proximity, friends to lovers, opposites attraction. In no way can I give any Emily Henry book less than five stars.

This book isn't my favorite among Emily Henry's works. "Happy Place" holds that position, while "People We Meet on Vacation" is my least favorite of hers. (By the way, both earned five stars from me, so I have to work on a different grading system for Henry’s books like triple five stars, minus five stars, etc. But I'm sure each of her books will become my favorite romance readings of the year, even though Colleen Hoover releases a book at the same time. Yep, ColHo fans, I’m one of yours, but fair is fair! Emily Henry is a true musician and poet playing the strings of my heart.)

But let's be honest: Miles Nowak is the BEST BOYFRIEND Emily Henry has created! He’s caring, a charm magnet, selfless, easy-going, adventurous – not only the best boyfriend but also the best male friend any woman seeks. His irresistible hotness is the cherry on top. I'm usually irritated by the heroes Emily Henry creates, but so far, Miles has exceeded them with his good heart, sense of humor, naturalness, without having a selfish bone in his body!

I have to admit I had doubts when I first decided to read this book because I've never been a fan of love triangles or ex-lover situations. When they are involved, things get messier, and emotions get blurrier. Most characters do something irritating, missing the ex or trying to rekindle, which pisses me off.

I won't give spoilers, but I can say this: the situation of becoming roommates with your ex-fiancée’s new fiancée’s ex-boyfriend couldn’t be handled very gently and fairly. Both Daphne and Miles are wise, analyzing their situations very reasonably. When they accidentally find themselves in a fake dating situation, they even share their thoughts honestly. That’s why I loved both of the characters. They know their own flaws, weaknesses, and they don’t whine or obsess over their exes. They hold each other to get through the trauma, and from their mutual tragic incident, a beautiful, unique friendship is born. I loved how they slowly lowered down their barriers, learning to explore themselves and the huge life awaiting them. They acted so mature and were so careful not to be each other’s rebound, even though the sparks fly and burn the apartment they share to the ground.

The plot revolves around Daphne, who loves the story of how she met her fiancée Peter until he dumps her after the bachelor party to choose his childhood friend Petra over her, giving her one week to move from their shared house, heading to the Amalfi Coast with his new girlfriend! Yes, what a jerk! Homeless and hopeless, Daphne, who recently left her old life behind to start a new life with Peter, finds Miles: Petra’s dumped a few minutes ago boyfriend at Peter’s door, and she pops up the question: is there any vacant room at your apartment?

Yes, the equation might be too complicated. Daphne: reserved, tight-lipped, buttoned-up children’s librarian living with a carefree, adventurous, pothead guy who is working odd jobs, as her ex-fiancée defined. But when they get an invitation to Petra & Peter’s wedding, their very reserved roommate relationship changes after a night ends at the bar, and both of them decide to RSVP to the wedding. And guess what? The same day Peter makes a pity call that leads Daphne to lie about her relationship situation with Miles. She says they are dating, and thankfully Miles plays along with her game.

But what if she misjudged Miles from the beginning? This self-deprecating, friendly guy who always puts others before him, comes to the library to cheer him up when she reads books to the kids, takes him places in town she has never seen, helps her open her mind and heart, rediscovering herself. Is he the guy her heart wants?

Well, I loved Miles, I loved Daphne & Miles' love story, and the beautiful epilogue in the end! No more words! Emily Henry never disappoints me! She meticulously solved this challenging relationship equation with the best possible outcome! Go on! Read, reread, and reread this lovely book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing book’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

my heart is broken. i feel like i'm dying. the world holds nothing for me anymore.

i'm three starring this book.

i adore emily henry, and i have since her magical realism days. i'd happily read her to-do lists if she released them once a year, and i'm sure even those would have more banter and loveliness and whimsy than your average full-length release just by virtue of being written by her. i'd say the same about her grocery lists, but i already do read those. (the woman writes a mean substack.)

there were a few things i didn't love about this book. it tries to fit so much into a few hundred pages: our protagonist, daphne, is left by her fiance weeks before her wedding, causing her to: move in with miles, her fiance's new girlfriend's ex-boyfriend; realize she has no friends; begin a quest to find herself; get over the fiancé and fall in love with miles; join a variety of community groups and neighborhood activities; make her current job her dream job; repress some CLEAR mommy issues i thought we were going to address, and fully get over her daddy issues.

all of this is happening so much.

it comes at a cost, which is that typical emily henry magic (and i don't just mean the bygone magical realism i mourn every day and never shut up about).

this book is not quite as funny — jokes feel forced, sometimes to the point that you can only identify something as reaching for funny because the character "joked" or "played along" instead of "said."

it is not quite as polished, with writing feeling a bit unconfident, full of words italicized for emphasis and, you know, the whole verbs that aren't said thing. (there are a LOT of dialogue attribution words that aren't "said.")

and the characters have none of their usual better-version-of-reality charm. miles' nick miller archetype would never work for me personally, but my real issue with him is that his character traits fade once we're supposed to see him as a romantic prospect. our side characters, ashleigh and julia, feel like interchangeable joke-bots to the point of being vaguely threatening. (when they pop up on page in tandem i feel a sense of unease.)

and to be honest, daphne has no self awareness. because there's so much happening in this book, everything has to be incredibly simple: daphne's issue with her dad, AND daphne's issue with miles, AND daphne's friends' issue with daphne all has to be the same. it makes for some moments of ridiculousness — like how can daphne be melting down about being wronged on the same city block where she realized several hours earlier she had wronged someone in that exact same way? how could she be so unwilling to give the grace she expects for herself? and how could emily henry set scenes of this book on a cherry farm in michigan when she knew what it would do to me, specifically?!

sorry. that's the last time i'll bring up magical realism. i think.

ol' daph just has too much to figure out about herself. i think this abandonment would be so completely traumatic even if she HADN'T built her entire life around her fiancé only to be left entirely alone, and even if it WASN'T eerily similar to her daddy issues, and even if she DIDN'T have a bunch of unresolved things going on up in ye olde memory palace, that the last thing she'd be doing is sticking around someone else's hometown flirting with her new roomie.

especially since what she ends up doing is repeating the exact same cycle with no awareness at all.

bottom line: like anything emily henry has ever written, this is better than a lot of books. it just isn't better than most emily henry ones.

----------------------
currently-reading update

me arriving to the world's biggest emily henry fan contest but my competition is all of goodreads

(GUYS IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING)

thanks to the publisher for the e-arc

----------------------
tbr review

i would like to request that no one talk to me about anything that isn't this for the next 3 to 5 business years.

[elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

to preface this review, i love and adore emily henry's books. book lovers is in my top 5 books of all time (and i am not a romance reader), and happy place is the only book that made me cry last year. time is truly measured in emily henry releases for me.

my current emily henry rom com ranking is: book lovers (5 stars), happy place (5 stars), beach read (4.5 stars), funny story (3 stars), and people we meet on vacation (2.5 stars). if we have completely different rankings, you'll probably feel differently about this book!

if you are a big romance reader (reading books for the romance), you will most likely enjoy this a lot. but if you are a lit fic reader who loves emily henry books for the protagonists and their introspection and the fact that her romance feels grounded and realistic (me), this might be a slight miss. it's been a while since i've described an emily henry book as just "good", but this one feels like that for me.

funny story still has emily henry's signature witty dialogue and chemistry between miles and daphne. it is arguably her most commercial romance to date, filled with more romantic scenes between the two characters. daphne, after being dumped by her fiancé for his best friend, decides to room with miles, who was dumped by said best friend. in classic emily henry rom com style, funny story is set in a beautiful town in the midwest (michigan), charged with quick banter and heart to hearts between the characters. in this vein, the book felt like a mix of beach read and book lovers, in a sense.

but not really. while it's impossible for me to dislike a emily henry book because of her writing, much of my enjoyment as a reader comes from being able to see myself and parts of my personality reflected through either protagonist. for book lovers, it was overwhelmingly nora, for happy place, it was harriet, for beach read, it was gus, and for people we meet on vacation, it was alex. and so on.

the main qualm i had with funny story is that neither miles nor daphne felt relatable to me, which made it a less enjoyable read than her other books. this is why i say that my neutral stance on this book is most likely a personal one. daphne and miles both felt very confusing to me as characters, almost as if they were hybrids of emily henry's previous characters. i couldn't quite get either of their characterizations or defining traits. there is not a single emily henry book i didn't read in one sitting...until this one.

like i mentioned above, a big reason for my love for emily henry books is her protagonists and how their introspection does not read like other commercial romance books, but more like literary fiction. her characters are well thought through, reflective, and very three dimensional. nora was literally just me from start to finish (so i don't have to really put forth a defense about three dimensionality). harriet's introspection on loneliness and living for other people genuinely changed my life. but daphne didn't really have any.

the chemistry and get-together also felt a bit rushed and forced at times, and the dialogue and heart to hearts felt less genuine and blander than her other books. for a book called funny story, it was...not. i think my big issue was just with miles as well. he just didn't enough charisma and charm for this book to be memorable for me. wyn and alex didn't really either, but i related a lot to alex and wyn was redeemed through harriet.

funny story is a great read and definitely still a cut above other romance books. but this one just didn't do it for me. i really hope her next release works for me!

thank you berkley for the arc!

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

i didn't love this i'm sorry guys

review to come


⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

I GOT THE ARC WHOOOOOOO

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

emily henry ! do you want my firstborn? my college diploma? my kidney? you name it, it’s yours !!!

[manju ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

i have now read three emily henry books, and while she is undoubtedly a talented writer, what i find most fascinating is the loyalty of her readers; going to your nearest bookstore on release day for a book that is probably no less than $30 — that’s dedication. and you know what, i think i finally get it.

i didn’t have particularly high expectations for funny story, but in all transparency, this just might be my favorite book of hers, hovering right above beach read (which i thoroughly enjoyed) and book lovers (of which i have no recollection but still think highly). it’s far from perfect, but it does a lot of things well, and that’s quite a feat considering it’s less than 400 pages (proof that less is more!) and, according to the reviews i’ve seen, her most “romantic” romance novel yet.

still — i think funny story, like her other books, straddles the line between lighthearted romcom and introspective women’s fiction. the banter in this one is some of the best she’s written — it’s reread worthy, the kind that makes you laugh out loud. the characters themselves are wonderfully written; it’s obvious that emily henry adores them. she crafted miles and daphne with so much care and thought, adding dimension to the characters through their experiences and focusing on how said experiences changed and ultimately shaped them into the miles and daphne we read about in this book. it’s rare for me to like one mc in a romance book, let alone both, but daphne felt so relatable — her thoughts mirrored my very own at times. and miles i had a soft spot for because how could you not? he’s this is me trying personified. and the romance? god, the romance. i’m a harsh rater, even more so when it comes to contemporary romance. but in every! one! of! her! books! emily henry prioritizes the emotional connection between the two main characters. and the way she develops their relationship and has them slowly open up to each other? it gets me. every. time. i live for their vulnerable moments, for their conversations about their pasts, about what haunts them, as much as i live for their banter.

despite this being first and foremost a romance, it is also a story about rediscovering yourself, relearning who you are and what you like and what you want out of life. it’s a reminder to live for yourself, to spend your days with the people you love, to love them without restraint or inhibition. the ending is beautifully uplifting, the last sentence tying back to the very first, the tone hopeful and reassuring. it’s what i think i needed right now as someone who’s entering her twenties and is so intimidated by the unknown, who’s tempted to run away from the unpredictability of it all. and i’m sure it’s a book i’ll come back to when, in five years, my life will probably make even less sense than it does now.

thank you to netgalley and berkley publishing for the arc 💓

[Yun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can a book survive on nothing but banter? Well, Funny Story sure tries.

Okay, all you rabid Emily Henry fans. Before you chuck your rotten eggs at me, please let me explain.

If ever there was an Emily Henry book that I should connect with, it's this one. Daphne is a librarian (my dream job) and she's in a pretend relationship with her roommate, Miles, in order to get back at her ex-fiancé (an intriguing premise). And yet, something was missing. I kept waiting for the story to grab me, and it never really did.

I hate to say it, but the crux of the problem is that the whole thing was rather forgettable. I only just finished the book, and already I hardly remember anything about it. The characters, the interactions, even the conflicts, while all feelgood on the surface, were in fact fairly bland underneath.

I enjoy a low stakes beach read as much as the next gal, but there is a difference between low stakes and no stakes, and this was too much in the latter. At no point was there anything really on the line. The story just shambled along, with lots of banter and some minor conflicts here and there, until the requisite 300-some pages were met, and then it was called a book.

Speaking of the conflicts, I totally didn't understand Daphne and Miles' issues, or even Daphne and Ashleigh's. Do people really get so upset and potentially break up relationships and friendships over such small issues? And each one, blown up to be so important, can only be resolved after much back and forth, with pages upon pages of dialogue of each person's feelings and the associated parental trauma that was at the root of all their misgivings. It was a bit much.

Don't get me wrong, I did have fun. There were entertaining moments, and the banter was truly top notch. And it wasn't just for the main couple during romantic moments. No, the banter was interspersed everywhere and among everyone, so we got plenty of chuckle-worthy moments.

But you can't just sustain a story on banter alone, no matter how delightful it is. When the characters feel as lackluster as Daphne and Miles and their conflicts equally bland and forced, it was hard to care either way if they ended up together, which is always a bad sign in a romance.

I feel like I'm the only person out there who doesn't get heart-eyes at the merest mention of an Emily Henry book. My experiences so far have been largely underwhelming, or maybe I just haven't read the right books by her. Either way, I'll add this to the pile of Emily Henry books I've pretty much forgotten the moment I finished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
Beach Read
People We Meet on Vacation
~~~~~~~~~~~~

✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧

[Ayman · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny story? ha. ain’t nothing funny about the way my heart was tugged while reading this book. emily henry im under your bed cuz why’d you write a fmc that has the same thoughts and fears as me?!? 💀

opposites attract has never been written better than before this. Daphne and Miles were written for each other like a prophecy. this is one of emily’s most horniest books yet, and i was there for it all the way through. “his mouth is still cool from the lemonade, his breath tinged with hints of lavender, and his hand slides around to the small of my back, fisting into my shirt…” i love these descriptions. there was something very tender when he said “always so buttoned up” to Daphne, who’s a librarian, as he was ripping her clothes off. 🫶🏽

i just know if i had an attentive, calm, loving, cherishing, beautiful man like Miles in my life he’d be extremely manly to the point where i can turn off my brain, be a girly girl, and not have a worry in the world. his gentle love felt like a caress to my soul. the way he effortlessly took care of her, saw the signs, respected her space and mind. Miles…YOU GOT IT LIKE THAT?!? he makes me feel like im standing in sunlight☀️

lives were changed when Miles said, “ I know I’m not who you pictured yourself with, but I think I could be, eventually. If you’ll let me. So don’t go. Because I don’t want you to. Because you’re my best friend, and I’m in love with you.” brother my knees just hit the floor in the middle of walmart😭

Daphne such a well rounded character. her fears were so real and the way she overcame them was nothing if not humbling. emily writes her fmc so nuanced and layered and deep. i feel like she’s writing about me and im ok with that 😁

also if i ever catch Peter in public im throwing a brick at him

emily henry books ranking:
1) beach read
2) funny story
3) book lovers
4) people we meet on vacation
5) happy place

[jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

i'm all for recycling but does she have to keep writing the same book every year


boring. repetitive. bland characters. a mc that moans every time she eats something (is this some kind of weird new sex thing. was i supposed to be turned on. sparks were definitely flying but that's just because i considered setting myself and the book on fire multiple times). i was actually gonna give this two stars but the more i think about it the more i hate it. also i'm in a very bad mood. lol.


i have said it with book lovers before and i will say it again: all her books feel the same. wake me up in two days time and yell the names alex, gus, and miles at me and i will struggle assigning them to the right books. i don't even remember happy places mmc... and i actually liked that book... meh whatever.


those two had about the same amount of chemistry as me and that work project i have been putting off for weeks because it bores me to death just thinking about. watching paint dry would have been more exciting than reading this. maybe it isn't too late yet. someone get me a brush.


my theory concerning emily henry's popularity on goodreads is that she always writes about female characters that in one shape or another love books. and... that's basically most of the demographic here so. which is fine and yay yippiee juhu, representation (the poor underrepresented class of *checks notes* white cishet female readers) but like .... please write a book that isn't just the previous ones rearranged and glued together?


also, the story wasn't even funny???

[Ali Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! I 🫶🏼 Emily Henry sooo much. She is such. a. good. writer. There was soooo much I loved about this book. I don't even know where to begin with writing a review so here are 10 reasons why you should read this book...
1. Miles's messy hair and tattoos
2. the fact that Daphne is a librarian
3. it takes place in summer by the beach
4. the forced proximity of roommates who both just got their heart broken
5. fake dating!!!!
6. a fun friendship
7. so much depth outside of just the romance
8. this quote: “And I know I'm not who you pictured yourself with, but I think I could be, eventually. If you'll let me. So don't go."
9. dramaaaaa with their exes
10. two people who had to find & love themselves before they could love each other

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

make your love interest nick miller coded and i am SEATED

also there’s no way that many people could comfortably live in that apartment at one time

full blurb and review to be posted closer to publication

thank you to edelweiss and the publisher for providing the arc!!

Follow me on Instagram

[Brady Lockerby · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute! did the majority of this one on audio because i will listen to anything that the audio narration queen, Julia Whelan, narrates. i think on a normal day i would give this like a 3.5, but i am feeling generous on this beautiful friday afternoon so 4 stars it is! plus it made me laugh out loud a few times

[daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

GIRL DINNER

[chai (thelibrairie on tiktok) ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Henry needs to write a romance that happens to me personally

[SK (Back for good this time? We'll see) · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny story.. I went in expecting to dislike it but ended up having a really great time 👀

[len ❀ [ia bc of school] · Rating 1 out of 5]

i don’t wanna talk about it

so i won’t

[Sara Carrolli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beach read & Happy Place have my heart but now so does this book

I love Miles and Daphne sm

[Heather Mclarry · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 !!

[Alexa Raye · Rating 5 out of 5]

welp. guess i’m an emily henry fan now! 🤭💙

[Kat]

lost my will to go on at the comparison of daphne’s nipples to meerkats, and we never recovered.

[s.penkevich [mental health hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘If I had to be marooned, I’m glad it was with you.’

Bust out the tweed and toast your awkward roommate if you’ve got one, Emily Henry has a romcom for you. Sometimes, just when it feels like smooth sailing on the raft you call a life, an unexpected fucker of a wave smashes your plans to splinters and send you off course and adrift. Such is the case for Daphne in Emily Henry’s charming new novel, Funny Story, whose life has been shipwrecked upon the shores of a Lake Michigan vacation town with the ex of her ex’s new fiance. You read that right, and these mutual exes are such a smart match they are practically named after each other, Peter and Petra, so out with the tweed and in with the twee I suppose. But, as Daphne learns, sometimes a shipwreck can be a new start to something more beautiful. One of this books biggest strengths in allowing the narrative to wade through sorrows to create a portrait of adults discovering how to carry their own baggage and how their interactions with others are affected by it with a lot of the drama not being a miscommunication trope, per say, but more people tripping themselves up into confirmation bias based on their own personal traumas. It has some grit that grounds the otherwise breezy narrative and the real love story is learning to love oneself in order to love and be loved. It does wrap up a bit overly idyllic but honestly, I felt the biggest cracks in the veneer of the story was when it tried to make things happier than it probably needed to be but I understand why that is the case. With her signature witty banter, wry humor, and characters that are easy to fall in love with as they fall apart and into love themselves, Funny Story is a endearing tale about picking up the pieces only to discover oneself amidst the wreckage, learn to be yourself for yourself, and find a love where you least expect.

‘The same universe that dispassionately takes things away can bring you things you weren't imaginative enough to dream up.’

Alright let’s talk about love and stuff (surprise: the “stuff” is trauma!) I found Funny Story to read as a much quieter novel than most of Emily Henry’s works, but also found that, coupled with a slow-burn plot that lets scenes and character introspection really breathe, to be part of what made it so endearing for me. This will probably take some criticism for being slow but my favorite books are the sort that don’t exactly have what most people call a “plot” soooo this was fine for me. Funny Story reads more along the lines of the coziness in Book Lovers while also being more successful than I found Happy Place to be. Having just read Lynn Painter’s Happily Never After, I felt like this was a successful version of the many things that story tried to be (both books, however, have a thing about eating pizza being sexy which…ok…???) where the characters actually felt their age, the fake dating felt plausible, the third act drama was passably believable for the genre. It does try to tie up too many loose ends and solve all the issues and I don't think we needed that, but I suppose cliches are cliche for a reason and there are expectations in genres so thats more a Me thing. And like, sure there's a lot to pick at but also it’s aiming to be a fun book and it lands that aspect while also managing to have a dynamic look at how past hurts can haunt our self-esteem and hinder our vulnerability when trying to connect with others and that helped hold the story together. One person's breakdown is another person’s novel glue I guess? Wait, I think I just finally understood literature.

‘You can't force a person to show up, but you can learn a lesson when they don't.’

This is a fairly character driven narrative of self-discovery and trauma processing that just so happens to stumble into romance so having the characters be in their early 30s helped bring this to life. Also that everything sucks and they just keep having to go to work and smile because they work public facing jobs–I FELT THAT SO HARD. I’ve found in similar novels that the characters felt far too young for their ages whereas Funny Story captures being an adult but not having the stable career/family/housing/etc that would make one “feel adult.” It's a very Millennial narrative where jokes like ‘are we evil or just immature?’ to laugh off behavior felt very true to life and all these characters seemed to walk onto the page directly out of the sort of single, early 30s service industry folks I’ve known and been friends with. But it also positions the characters in the wreckage of their Round 1 attempt at adulthood where they can no longer pretend they aren’t a product of their past and have to weigh out how their past traumas and coping mechanisms have embedded into their personalities. Especially since both Miles and Daphne are still reeling from hurts caused by the actions of their parents and don’t have a healthy relationship to serve as a compass for their own (and Daphne’s father is still a source of constant disappointment). ‘I don’t want you to look at me like I’m broken,’ Miles says at one point and this cuts to the heart of how these character’s present themselves: eager to show they are alright while feeling far from fine inside and wanting to hide that.

’It’s easy to be loved by the ones who’ve never seen you fuck up. The ones you’ve never had to apologize to, and who still think all your ‘quirks’ are charming.’

Since so much of dating involves understanding each other’s defense mechanisms and unpacking how past traumas inform your interpersonal relationships, being able to be vulnerable is important to intimacy and Funny Story does well by showing how frustrating it can be to open yourself up at the same emotional places where you are currently bruised. Though, speaking of intimacy, readers should know Emily Henry is not a closed-door romance writer (as Ashleigh says it is ‘definitely not PG’) and while the sex scenes are fairly awkward here (I suspect the term “cringe” will get used in a lot of reviews) I think thats part of their charm as these are just…awkward people. Henry wrote a rather humorous article (read it HERE) on how to write sex scenes and the key detail she returns to several times is vulnerability and embracing the awkward, but also using the scenes to progress the characters.

‘The scene has to change things. Because every scene has to change things.
And that’s it. As close as I think I could get teaching someone to write (or rewrite) a sex scene. You have to treat it like any other scene, because that’s what it is…It has to move the story. It has to shift the emotional landscape. It doesn’t have to be universally deemed sexy (it can’t; people like different things) and it doesn’t have to avoid the territory of cringe (it won’t, for the aforementioned reason). It simply has to be true to the story.’

While I’m not sure the scenes here really count as plot progression, I found the awkwardness that leaves the characters rather flustered and confused about their relationship to work as part of the character study that seems to be the focus of this book. Its a novel about finding yourself but thankfully its not white folks “finding themselves” by going to India or Joshua Tree listening to The Doors, its just getting high and watching action movies with your roommate and getting some “accidental” action of your own.

‘She’s a walking fantasy and I’m a librarian who actually does wear a lot of buttons and tweed.’

Learning to love oneself in all your faults and failures is difficult, but the joy in the discovery of what makes you “you” comes alive through Daphne quite well. The set up is pretty great and Henry launches you into it rather quickly. I do enjoy how it sort of mimics the set up in Book Lovers where she gets dumped in a very romcom ending “I realized my best friend was my love all along” way like Daphne is the discard fiance that barely gets any lines and seems lame anyways (so I guess shoutout to anyone who maybe identified with Mark Ruffalo’s fiance in 13 Going On 30?). This is just another incident in a long line of feeling not important in the lives of those who claim to love you, and having had an absentee father taught her a few self-defense mechanisms long ago:

‘Trust people’s actions, not their words.
Don’t love anyone who isn’t ready to love you back.
Let go of the people who don’t hold on to you.
Don’t wait on people who don’t jury for you.’

Being free from a relationship she thought would sail her happily from life has also made her reflect on how she never really formed a solid sense of self and instead allowed a relationship to fill in all the blanks for her. ‘I always cleaved to people I love and tried to orient my orbit around them,’ she realizes, which was an attempt to ‘make myself unleavable.’ And guess what? They all left. But now she has a new opportunity to find herself in it all.

‘Im not sure which 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.’

Having also ended up in a Michigan lakeshore vacation town only for my supposedly “got it together” lifeplans to go down like the Edmund Fitzgerald (if you are from Michigan you are required to love the Edmund Fitzgerald and think of the Great Lakes like some fierce god that gives life but takes it away. Any museum is like “Science/Art/History/etc is so cool!” Michigan museums are like “the Lake is a cruel mistress who will kill you and everyone you love!”), this all resonated with me. Too much maybe. But I loved seeing her come to love it and find her own place. ‘I feel embarrassing pride at having become a regular at someplace new all on my own,’ she thinks about becoming a familiar face in a coffee shop. Can confirm that is a cool feeling when you feel utterly alone in the world. Good for you, Daphne, find your place.

‘There’s no place on this earth like Waning Bay.’

Speaking of place, Emily Henry excels at capturing a sense of place and embedding it into her narratives as if the local community itself were a supporting cast character in her romcoms. It helps, too, that her locales tend to offer plenty of comedic relief along with their atmosphere. Henry has spoken at length about the importance of “place” in crafting her novels in interviews, stating that ‘I want my characters to feel like they grew up in the place where [my books are] set.’ In Funny Story, however, we watch Daphne as she has to learn a new place being stuck in a Northern Michigan vacation community, but it is less the way learning a place is about learning to better understand her love interest as it was in Book Lovers and more about learning to understand herself. Luckily she is aided by her new roommate, Miles, who also had to find his way amidst this community after shipwrecking there himself (can relate, buddy). Henry captures these Michigan communities in highly specific and humorous ways while making it still relatable to those unfamiliar with them. Maybe I’m biased and Daphne being a librarian and Miles being a bartender at a cherry themed wine bar is just something I’d enjoy because I work in a library after having myself been a wine bartender at a cherry themed establishment. But aspects of Michigan vacation towns felt so true to life. I laughed at the bar named “BARn” which is so eye-rollingly Michigan. But also aspects like seeing a young couple that are ‘on a first date which might somehow be an actual vacation,’ or everyone having their “corn guy, jam connection or cheesemonger, or someone saying things like being on the water is probably what church is to some folks. But for real, if you need amazing tomatoes, I know a guy.

‘A good librarian makes all the difference.’

The side characters are great as well, like the younger sister who brings in a lot of heartfelt discussions on family dynamics in response to family traumas, or the single-mom librarian. The library aspects are a bit kitschy but charming and I’m glad Henry presents the very real issues of how much blatant sexual harassment librarians face or the random moments of extreme anger or weirdness and how we just…deal with it and move along like a blip in the day. I usually hate when authors add libraries or librarians into plots because it's so stereotypically twee or inaccurate but Henry pulls it off well. Back to the sister for a moment, I thought the age gap between siblings was explored in a pretty comically-true-to-life way and how it wasn’t miscommunication between them but just…lack of communicating at all because you just assume what the other person is thinking. Which, okay real. That plays into the third act drama as well where its less a miscommunication and more falling victim to your own confirmation bias and assumptions. But Miles is sweet. I really liked Miles, guys. Miles feels like people I've met, especially in my bartending days. Also a coworker told me they think Miles is based on me. He’s not, I don’t own crocs (shoutout to the cover artist for including that). Did he do something sort of uncool at the end that Daphne is understandably upset about? Yes. Not great. But also did it feel like...well, something you'd hear a friend tell you about why their mad at a guy? Absolutely.

I also don't know if this actually needed a successful romance? Maybe that's just me but the aspect about loving yourself and existing outside the circle of your partner was pretty great and we could have left it at that.

‘A second act I fell into, and the home that I chose, as much as it chose me.
I can’t wait. I can’t wait for this whole world I’ve invited to surprise me.’

All in all, Funny Story is a sweet story of summer, libraries and finding joy in a new town and new friend. What I really loved about this book—even when it made me cry because I sobbed at the end—is how it just felt like people interacting with people and stumbling through their own issues instead of having some driving plot pushing people in directions. What I’m getting at is they felt like people instead of chess pieces for the sake of plot. The third act drama is done well too. Though when Henry tries to tell you that Michiganders refer to vacationers as “fudgies” for coming here to get our fudge (which is yum)...no we don’t. But the people from the Upper Peninsula DO in fact call the lower Peninsula “trolls.” Nobody in this novel says “ope” though, which is the Michigan noise for everything. Daphne should have said “ope” during a sex scene, I would have fallen over and then made this novel the State flag or something. Anyways, I enjoyed this and I hope you will too.

4/5

‘Family. The real kind, who will always love you, even when your decisions make no sense to them.’

UPDATE: I totally bought the Emily Henry merch shirt for this book. Worth it.

[Photo: Waning Bay Public Library Inaugural Overnight Read-A-Thon]

[Emmy Rosam · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, we saw this coming ⭐️ Officially my 2nd fav Emily Henry book ever just behind Book Lovers. I loved this!

[chan ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

damn can’t we get an actual funny story or like a happier story some time? i’m tired of this grandpa

(that being said i can begrudgingly admit this was well written and the hero was a real person so let’s all clap for the growth cause usually these dudes are just lady obsessed cardboard cutouts)

[Lilyya ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75stars

what’s the point of a contemporary romance if by the end of it i am not even convinced that the male protagonist loves the main female character more than his —beautiful, accomplished, heartbreaker, full of life— ex ?

to say that i’m disappointed is an euphemism so i wont even put an effort to coordinate two sentences to pull a well structured review. this book deserved more romance. some dialogues could’ve used some chopping. it was frustrating how some side characters had a soupçon more spotlight than the male main character. the female main character deserved better. least favorite EH hero.

ready for mother to break my ✨HEART ✨
——
the title ? the way we all see the irony behind it.. this story is not going to be funny

[Natilie Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ☆

Well as the self proclaimed romance hater - I'm giving this 4 stars, which is probably like 6 stars in a romance lover's eyes. This was such a good story, I loved following it and it was genuinely just cute. Her writing was just smooth and buttery.

I usually don't like the FMC in romances (but I've only really read Ali Hazelwood and all her characters are the same person in different fonts) - but she was really relatable and I was rooting for her the whole time. Her whole 'finding herself journey' was so wholesome and heartwarming to follow. I relate to her relationship with her mother, and with finding friends. I think I do the same thing too, but I just didn't know how to express it until Emily Henry put it into words. I rarely sink the time into people and just conclude they'll be an acquaintance.

Miles is a top tier guy, I would totally date him in real life and he'd give me so many butterflies - I'd also think he was being 'just nice' like Daphne did and not that he actually liked me. That says a lot more about me than it does him - he's perfect.

I love Julia and Ashleigh as well - such girls girls, I would love to have friends like them. I'm genuinely so proud of Daphne, it makes my heart so fuzzy and warm. I would have loved to live this romance.

I couldn't give this 5 stars (for personal reasons), because I winced at certain moments and was like 'why isn't love like this in real life'. ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡

I'm going to read another of her books - which one should I read?

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── reading log

22/05 1:21pm ୨ৎ
they're so sweet together im so jealous why isn't love like this in real life see this is why i have issues - it is NEVER like this in real life ugh men

22/05 9:00am ୨ৎ
awww I relate to her relationship with her mum

21/05 1:09pm ୨ৎ
NO its all too quick

21/05 11:26am ୨ৎ
he's kind of cute yknow 😳

︶︶︶ ⊹ ︶︶︶⠀୨♡୧⠀︶︶︶ ⊹ ︶︶︶

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── pre-reading

it's happening... this certified romance cynic is reading her first emily henry book. i will keep my complaining to a minimum i swear

︶︶︶ ⊹ ︶︶︶⠀୨♡୧⠀︶︶︶ ⊹ ︶︶︶

may tbr:

ಇ. salt to the sea
ಇ. powerless
ಇ. house of earth and blood
ಇ. everyone in my family has killed someone
ಇ. bride
ಇ. listen for the lie
ಇ. she's not sorry
ಇ. love on the brain
ಇ. the familiar
ಇ. a court of wings and ruin
+ a good girl's guide to murder
+ the clinic
+ a court of frost and starlight
+ funny story

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

considering this latest release is EHs highest rated book, i really expected this to become an instant favorite. 

but it never quite got there for me. undeniably cute, absolutely. but it didnt give me the same feelings i felt when i read ‘beach read’ or ‘book lovers.’ and i think its because the characters seem a little too perfect to be believable. sure, daphne and miles each have their own baggage, but it never actually felt like their issues were actual issues to the plot. 

buuuut there are still a lot of things i did like about this. i enjoyed the set up for how the two MCs got to know each other, the atmosphere of the town they lived in and the things they did is fun, the depiction of making friends as an adult is realistic and, as always, EHs writing is really quite something else. 

so not my favorite, but a solid and successful addition to EHs bibliography!

↠ 4 stars

[chloé ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

*＊✿❀🌼 3.5 stars 🌼❀✿＊*

once i was able to move past him being a stoner, having a messy bedroom, owning multiple pairs of crocs, and having a thing for her moaning when she eats food (often)… i had a pretty decent time.

trust the process, i suppose 🤝🏻

(p.s. dear emily henry, i love your banter so much but please, PLEASE, find a substitute for the word “chortle” — i beg you.)

my EH tier list:
1. beach read - 5 stars
2. book lovers - 4.5 stars
3. funny story - 3.5 stars
4. happy place- 3 stars

[Emily (Books with Emily Fox on Youtube) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beach Read/Book Lovers > Funny Story > Happy Place/People We Meet on Vacation

The premise was bound to be fun, I am happy with the ending and appreciated that the male character was emotionally mature and that as always her book isn't only about the romance.
My interest did vary throughout the book though.

Not my favorite by her but worth reading!

[bruna · Rating 2 out of 5]

★ 2.75 stars

i guess it’s time for me to start considering that maybe i’m not exactly the target audience for Emily Henry’s books.

see, i don’t think she’s a bad author. i really don’t. believe it or not, i do think she’s a good writer and i can understand (to a certain extent) why most people are obsessed with her work. but as much as i tried and keep trying, i can’t be one of those people.

aside from this book, i’ve read four other books by EH. you can easily guess which ones because they are her most popular: Beach Read, Book Lovers, People We Meet On Vacation and Happy Place. i hated Book Lovers & PWMOV, but enjoyed Beach Read and Happy Place [she’s very hit or miss as you can notice]. however, while these two books were enjoyable — back when i read them, at least — i can’t exactly say i was obsessed with them. were they good? well, yes, but they weren’t perfect and i personally found them a bit overhyped. my not-so-extraordinary experiences with her past works were the main reason why i didn’t have high expectations for Funny Story. although, deep down, i wanted it to be the book that would make me say “wow... now i really understand all the hype she gets, i’m definitely an Emily Henry fan now!” but that obviously did not happen.

it’s such a shame because this book actually started off good. i mean... kind of. in the first 50% i was convinced that this was going to be a 3 star read — i know people have different thoughts about three star ratings; some think it’s reserved for bad reads, others think it’s reversed for decent/‘just okay’ reads. in my opinion, it can mean both, it just depends on the book.

at first, i thought Funny Story would be getting the “decent/‘just okay’ three star rating” from me. i was liking some things, but disliking others.

our female main character, Daphne Vincent, was one of the things i was liking. she was imperfect and flawed, but also realistic, which was a nice thing to me. i prefer reading stories with characters who are not perfect and have flaws because that makes them feel more human, real, and easy to relate with. of course there were particular things i didn’t like about her and i won’t lie that sometimes throughout the book i found myself getting annoyed at her, but generally speaking, Daphne was not an awful character. not the most remarkable or loveable if we’re being brutally honest — i do wish Emily had given her a more captivating personality, but she was still likeable despite that so i’m not going to complain much. my favorite thing about her character is probably the fact that she is a librarian, how cool is that? she’s living the dream!

as for our male main character, Miles Nowak... um, was i supposed to care about him? because i didn’t, sorry. honestly, Miles is not even a bad MMC and i truly had nothing against him — the thing is that i just found him uninteresting and rather forgettable. sure, he was cool guy occasionally and he had a few nice moments, but that’s about it. nothing more to tell you. Miles didn’t have any outstanding or charming qualities in my opinion and i was pretty indifferent about him for the majority of the book. i thought he would win me over eventually, but eh, he never did.

the story itself was not the bestest and most interesting i’ve ever read, but the positive thing is that it was keeping me somewhat entertained. even with its issues, i was not bored and i wanted to keep reading more and more. i even started feeling a tad hopeful that things would improve at some point because i could see some potential there. but guess what? it did not improve. in fact, it got worse.

i don’t know where exactly things started going wrong, all i can tell you is that after 50% i lost all my interest in the story.

i assume it might be because of the romance. Daphne and Miles started having more “romantic” scenes and i was not interested in that. not even a little bit. from the beginning, i couldn’t feel any chemistry between them and their romantic interactions were all so cringe and unnatural to me. just unpleasing to read. so yeah, it actually makes sense why i lost interest when they really started becoming more than friends.

i genuinely enjoyed the friendship between these two, their dynamic as friends was fun and sweet, but as a couple? oh, absolutely NOT. when i read romance books i surely expect to root for the main characters to end up together, because duh, but Funny Story made me do the exact opposite. Daphne and Miles should’ve stayed as friends and friends only and i’ll die on this hill. no one can convince me otherwise. it’s not even just because i think they have zero chemistry, there are another million reasons why i think that that they shouldn’t be a couple. the biggest one is that neither of them were very prepared to embark in another serious relationship so quickly (nor they should). they should take care of themselves first and get therapy instead.

on top of that, the author also started coming up with unnecessary and tedious subplots. like for example the dad subplot — the most boring — and i just... couldn’t take it anymore. i was getting more and more annoyed and the urge to give up was very strong at that point, but i kept pushing through. i don’t know why, though? it wasn’t even worth it.

then... when i thought it couldn’t get any worse... the author throws in a ✨ third act conflict ✨ and what a stupid, irritating third act conflict it was. was it even necessary? it came out of nowhere and the whole thing felt way too forced and annoying. i got so angry at Miles’ actions and i don’t think Daphne was that wrong or immature for reacting the way she did. the conflict just proves my point that they! were! not! ready! for! a! relationship! (well, mainly Miles.)

ironically, for a book called Funny Story, this wasn’t funny at all. it’s not the worst book i’ve ever read (trust me when i say i’ve read worse) but it’s not one of the best either... it was just not for me i guess. i still recommend it, though — i feel like others might like it more than me. i certainly hope they do.

𓂃 ⚝ 𓂃 ๋. ₊ ꒰ ✉️ favorite quotes. ꒱ ₊ . ๋ 𓂃 ⚝ 𓂃

“The same universe that dispassionately takes things away can bring you things you weren't imaginative enough to dream up.”

“You can’t untell someone your secrets. You can’t unsay those delicate truths once you learn you can’t trust the person you handed them to.”

“Life, I’d learned, is a revolving door. Most things that come into it only stay awhile.”

“It’s easy to be loved by the ones who’ve never seen you fuck up. The ones you’ve never had to apologize to, and who still think all your ‘quirks’ are charming.”

“Trust people’s actions, not their words; Don’t love anyone who isn’t ready to love you back; Let go of the people who don’t hold on to you; Don’t wait on anyone who’s in no rush to get to you.”

“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.”

“I don’t think there’s a right way to feel. And you can’t control it, anyway. Feelings are like weather. They just happen, and then they pass.”

“You can’t force a person to show up, but you can learn a lesson when they don’t.”

[Cindy]

i appreciate the love interest being a stoner but he is still afflicted with the emily henry curse of being charming and likable! how can i relate to him now!