Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Funny Story

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Funny Story by Emily Henry

117 reviews

irenically's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

ktv's review against another edition

4.5

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

So good I love Emily Henry so much
For some reason this felt spicier than her other books? But it makes sense bc the tension between miles and Daphne was insane. I rly like how it was all written
My star rating doesn’t rly mean anything I liked it a lot but it doesn’t have the same meaning to me that pwmov does. And tbh I kinda forgot abt the minor details already

Content Warnings

justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition

3.75

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

I think this is my favorite Emily Henry book that I've read so far (?) Well, it's definitely better than Book Lovers and People We Meet on Vacation. It still had its... quirks... that made me not rate this higher, like the same weird quotes at times that made me go uhmm... ok? I still think it could have been better. For example,

actually seeing Petra and Peter's wedding??? Maybe getting a Miles POV or something where his mom comes to visit him?

It also feels like they were rebounds for each other, considering that they were hung up on their exes for most of the book. But the moments that Daphne and Miles had together were sweet. I think that a few things put me off Miles, though. I heard that he was similar to other Emily Henry men (he's Gus), and I'm glad it's been a while since I read an Emily Henry book because I can't compare the two off the top of my head. The third act conflict was really dumb. With that being said, I think that the fact that I fly through any one of Emily Henry's books means that there is something about romance that I love every time. Also, this is the first time I've listened to Emily Henry on audiobook! Julia Whelan is an amazing narrator and I think that made me enjoy the book more!

Current Ranking:

Funny Story
Beach Read
People We Meet on Vacation
Book Lovers

Content Warnings

idk_indigo's review against another edition

2.75

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Okay, so I'm ending my little hiatus on writing book reviews because I feel like there's just.. so much to say about this one.

Things I liked:

How the very ending
paralleled her relationship with Peter via telling the story of how the two met
The setting of the library; working in it, her experiences as a children's librarian, even some humorous stories
The fact that even though she
decided to stay in Waning Bay, she did end up getting her own apartment so her and Miles weren't navigating a fresh relationship while also being roommates.
Honestly a very smart decision for both of them if you ask me, and I love a knuckle-headed FMC but idk something about that I was like damn... y'all are making responsible decisions I love that

As for things I hated, I feel like there's less a specific list and more, like... just, aspects of the writing more generally.

For example, the sex scenes were... not good.

First of all, he doesn't eat her pussy, which, I mean we all know how I feel about MMC's refusing to go down on their ladies, especially when she went down on him... like... please tell me you're joking. Say it right now or else (knife emoji)
So freaking cliche, literally full of cliches. She could feel herself shatter... she could feel the pieces of herself coming (cumming) together... she rose and as she fell she wasn't sure if she would ever get back up or even if she ever wanted to. Like girl please shut up it's a freaking orgasm you're f*cking fine

I know it was supposed to be lightly spicy, and I love that, however, you can make things lightly spicy or even closed door and not have it, like literally, cringeworthy

I also just felt like the chemistry between Daphne and Miles was nonexistent... not even bad, it didn't suck, it wasn't inconsistent. It simply was not there. I feel like she's talking about how weird and nasty he is, what a weirdo loser who smokes so much weed and doesn't use a calendar (which, like, also shut up and download Google calendar bc you're really making yourself look dim-witted rn, Daph) and then I turned a page and she's staring deeply into his brightly colored orbs and feeling a twinge between her thighs. It was so rapid from "This guy sucks, can't wait to move out" to "OmG i LoVe HiM" but without any passion or chemistry or lust.
I also feel like this probably has a lot to do with the fact that the sex scenes sucked.

Okay, and the final thing I will say is that this book fully convinced me that Emily Henry is using Chat GPT because her past handful of books remind me so so much of the following exchange I've had with AI:

Me: Please recommend me a recipe to make. I have these ingredients.
AI: Here you go! Here's a recipe, it's perfect for you because it has all of the ingredients you have. You're going to love it! You will need approximately $4,000 worth of cooking equipment.
Me: Okay, actually... please recommend me a new recipe, but preferably without needing to buy any equipment.
AI: Okay great, here you go! This time, you won't need to purchase any equipment! All you'll need is the ingredients you have, plus at least 10 ingredients that you don't. Good luck!

And, like, so on and so forth until one of us gives up. I genuinely feel like this book is her last several books, but, like, slightly to the left.
It feels so uninspired. There is not enough of a personality change between all of her FMC's. As a friend pointed out, her side characters are all the same person. I feel like you can't have a set of books that highlight how important friendship is in a relationship, but then make those friends not have full lives and characteristics of their own.

I also feel like the "childhood trauma" aspect of this book just borrows way too heavily from Happy Place (the last Emily Henry book I read) along with, like, whatever book on attachment styles is popular at the moment. I get it, I love it, childhood trauma sucks for sure, you struggle with accepting love, you're 35, now let's move on. I feel like there was one scene in particular where I felt like I was reading a list of, like,
"Things Your Childhood Trauma Might Say To You (Newsflash: They're All Wrong)" and it was like:

You're not deserving of love.
Everyone is going to give up on you.
People are just waiting for the first opportunity to leave.

Okay, what is this? A middle schooler's tumblr account? LOVE! For a middle schooler. You're 35. Move on.

All that being said, EH is a very good writer, albeit I don't love her storytelling (I hope that makes sense). Idk. I enjoyed it, however, it was boring - both as a novel and as a concept.

PS. I almost forgot about my least favorite thing of the whole book! When Miles is going through

his shit with his family and Daphne just like completely changes the subject

I wanted to be like ma'am... he was talking. It pissed me off so much like she just has to be making this all about her.

Content Warnings

half_finished's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Overall, an enjoyable read but I think the 3rd act "break-up" felt a bit contrived but it was still an enjoyable read.

Content Warnings

littlewishling's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book made me so emotional! I absolutely loved every page of it. Henry writes such beautifully flawed characters that you can’t help but love.

Content Warnings

anikataylor's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Omg was this book really something!! I was hooked from the first page and read this within the span of 24 hours! I loved the chemistry of the characters and the side charters were all adorable!! This was such a fun read and I couldn’t put it down! This book did focus on a lot of trauma type stuff which I don’t love but expected so it was all good + it was well written. I feel as though I could see these characters existing in real life and the whole story was so wholesome.

Content Warnings

oceanwriter's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

When her fiance, Peter, leaves her for his childhood best friend, Petra, Daphne finds herself knocking on the door of Petra’s ex, Miles’, door needing a place to stay. They mope around the apartment for a while, but for the most part, they carry on with their separate lives. That is until they receive wedding invitations from Peter and Petra.

In a panic, Daphne tells Peter over the phone that she and Miles are dating. Miles is more than happy to play along, in fact, he encourages the game. This results in them spending their summer weekends together. The more time they spend with each other and get to know one another, the lines of their real relationship begin to blur.

Honestly, I was terrified to pick up this book because I really didn’t enjoy Happy Place. I’m glad I finally gave Funny Story a chance because I think this is my new favorite from Emily Henry. I loved the dynamic between Daphne and Miles. Their differences/contrast suited their chemistry. I’m also a sucker for the fake dating trope. I enjoyed the side stories as well.

Content Warnings