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howlinglibraries's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
While Miles is also a delightful character and I definitely enjoyed his golden retriever energy at first, I loved the reveals about his own inner turmoil and found him so easy to root for. The chemistry between these two was perfection! I love a good best-friends-to-lovers romance, and despite the bizarre circumstances that first brought Daphne and Miles together as roommates, that's exactly the vibe this story gave me: best friends first, partners second, and I adored it.
I'd be remiss to review this book without talking about the side characters, too: Miles' sister Julia and Daphne's co-worker Ashleigh were incredible and I'd happily read a spin-off novel about either of them, should Emily Henry ever choose to write one (or both). Honestly, Ashleigh finding joy would probably be an instant Book of the Year for me. *nudge nudge, Emily*
Emily Henry knocked it out of the park again, and nobody is surprised. I adored this book and am so glad I read it. Thank you yet again, Emily Henry, for gifting your stories to the world. 🥰
Thank you to the publisher and LibroFM for the gifted audiobook! All thoughts are honest and my own.
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Funny Story" follows Daphne and Miles. Daphne thought she had the picturesque life: a successful, gorgeous fiancé, a job she loves, and a beautiful house that she was slowly making home. But all of that is shattered when her fiancé, Peter, tells her that he wants to call off their wedding so he can pursue a relationship with his longstanding, best friend, Petra. With nowhere else to go, Daphne moves in with Petra's ex, Miles. But maybe this new living situation will not be all bad.
This was such a sweet romance, and it is definitely one of my favorites from Emily Henry. There was just the right amount of spice, and the character's chemistry was radiating off of the page.
Miles is the epitome of the perfect guy. Although he is flawed and definitely has his own things to work through, he was always so supportive of Daphne. He was the perfect balance to Daphne's sometimes obsessive ways. Daphne needed to learn how to relax, enjoy life, and decide what she wants and go for it, and Miles showed her that she was worth it.
Daphne was such a wonderful character and I found her to be highly relatable. She is a librarian, and a really creative one at that. I loved the portrayal of her working in a library and showing that it is not always the picturesque world us book lovers think it is. Daphne also goes through some growing moments when she learns how to be a better friend, which I really appreciated seeing. She develops a friendship with a character and realizes that she can make her own happiness no matter where she is or who she is dating. Friendships are so vital for human connection and having a few great friends in your life can help to improve romantic relationships because there is not so much pressure placed on the romantic partner.
Daphne and Miles have amazing chemistry, and I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop. They start off as strangers who are bonded by this really traumatic breakup, but the more time they spend together, the more a friendship blossoms, and that is the foundation for a great relationship.
This novel has some other plotlines going on in the background and I thought Emily Henry handled them exceptionally well. For example, Daphne has a strained relationship with a parent and that reaches a major climax in the story, but it did not take away from the budding romance between Daphne and Miles, in fact, it enhanced it. Elements like this make the story feel more authentic, and really keeps the interest of the reader.
I highly recommend this novel, and I look forward to seeing what Emily Henry writes next!
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As a co-worker mentioned, you can tell Henry is a book person because she actually references children's books that kids actually read. Daphne felt authentic as a children's librarian, and we love to see it. Her and Miles have great chemistry, and they were just thoroughly fun to read about.
A bit different from what I normally read, but I could see having a good time with other Emily Henry books! It was a great palate cleanser from a couple of darker reads.
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse and Drug use
amateur_bookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Minor: Abandonment
laneyreadz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
khloereads86's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was really cute tho, the characters were quirky and well-fleshed and worked well together. The background characters were sweet too, I wasn’t sure about Ashleigh at first but ended up loving both her and Julia and I think they added so much to the story.
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Drug use
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Alcohol
annabananadel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
“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.”
I did a buddy-read with @heypatreads and we devoured this in one week! Emily Henry is really just an amazing writer that it's so hard to not buy her book once it was out. What's even amazing was that Philippines got to have stocks on release day! We usually don't get books on release day so imagine how shocked I was when I randomly went in a bookstore just to "check books out and not buy them". Yeah, I ended up buying, of course.
So the story is about Daphne and Miles who are ex-lovers of people who got together after Daphne's fiance's bachelor's party. This is why it's hard to have a significant other that has an opposite sex's best friend. Books and movies and other fictional stories made us believe that men and women can never be just friends. But seriously though, they can! I would be traumatized though, if what happened to Miles and Daphne happened to me. Anyways, that's the premise of the story and what a unique premise too! I don't think I have read a book that starts of like this. Me and Pat did talk about how for her, it was insta-love, but for me, it was a roommate situation so it was bound to happen especially if they are attracted to one another. But looking at it now, she did have a point - it was a little bit of insta-love. But can you actually blame me if I also did fall in love a little bit with Miles? So really, I wouldn't fault Daphne (although the drugs thing was a turn off for me oops!)
What I did love about this story is that it's FMC is a librarian - a job I don't see often in a book and that excites me so much because there's so many relatable book book quotes, events and situations! I also did love the little moments where they started being friends and slowly developed their feelings to one another - and you can see it happening! That's why it wasn't an insta-love for me immediately, because I can really see them falling in love with one another.
I just did not love the ending as much as I would have wanted to. It's a bit predictable and the epilogue has one redeeming quality - which is the friendship. Plus points though for a found friendship - because it's so much fun seeing other aspects of the story that is not the romance.
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting and Infidelity
Minor: Drug use
katieroth25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Drug use and Emotional abuse
hdabru's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol, and Drug use
atamano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Classism, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Grief, Sexual content, Alcohol, Cursing, and Drug use