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emotional
funny
relaxing
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity
Minor: Gaslighting
emotional
funny
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
In this book, readers follow a woman named Daphne. Daphne is planning her nuptials to her fiancé, Peter, or so she thought. When Daphne and Peter are reminiscing over their meet-cute in the park the day after his bachelor party, he informs Daphne that he is in love with his childhood best friend Petra and calls off the wedding. This situation forces Daphne to reevaluate her life and move in with Petra's ex, Miles, as roommates for convenience.
Daphne and Miles are opposites. Daphne is practical and orderly whereas Miles is a scruffy, messy free spirit. Miles and Daphne adjust to living together by acting standoffish with each other. That doesn't last long though. One day, while bonding over their mutual breakups, Daphne and Miles form a flimsy friendship and a plan for some casual revenge. 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?
Overall, this book is cute, funny, and engaging. The book's title is fitting as I found myself chuckling many times while reading. I was not an Emily Henry fan before but now, I am slowly warming up to her writing This was hilarious, heartwarming, and raw. However, Emily Henry's overuse of the word chortle was maddening. I also hated that Peter wanted to have his cake and eat it too. Peter gives me the ick, I stan Daphne and Miles though.
Daphne and Miles are opposites. Daphne is practical and orderly whereas Miles is a scruffy, messy free spirit. Miles and Daphne adjust to living together by acting standoffish with each other. That doesn't last long though. One day, while bonding over their mutual breakups, Daphne and Miles form a flimsy friendship and a plan for some casual revenge. 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?
Overall, this book is cute, funny, and engaging. The book's title is fitting as I found myself chuckling many times while reading. I was not an Emily Henry fan before but now, I am slowly warming up to her writing This was hilarious, heartwarming, and raw. However, Emily Henry's overuse of the word chortle was maddening. I also hated that Peter wanted to have his cake and eat it too. Peter gives me the ick, I stan Daphne and Miles though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Vomit
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a cute and funny book—the main character is relatable & funny & the plot absolutely tore me up (in the best way). I love how well rounded the love interest feels—I feel like this is something some romcoms lack & Emily Henry did a good job combating that.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse
emotional
hopeful
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
As always, Emily Henry is adored in the book community, so when this book was finally released on Paperback, I instantly pre-ordered it. I have loved some of Emily’s book, I have struggled with Emily’s book, so I was a bit nervous going into this seeing how hype it was, and I enjoy it.
This book is based on Daphne, and she has always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met, fell in love, and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He was good at telling it, right up until the moment he realised he was 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, and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak. Miles is 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?
I enjoyed the storyline, and it was an interesting way on a meet-cute, both of the exes dating. I liked the character development Daphne went through where she was putting herself in a box to have this perfect family and joining in their traditions and changing herself, to sticking up for herself and what she wanted and making her own traditions, even when Peter came back, she realized how much she has changed and that she doesn’t need or want him anymore. I love how she managed to stand up to her dad because hearing Daphne talking about her relationship with her dad and how fucked up it was, well, it hit a little too close to home and I'm glad that Daphne got the ending and how she managed to say stop doing this dad, you are hurting me and I'm done. Miles was funny and I loved his attitude to get Daphne to enjoy the town and to not hate the town and to hate Peter instead. Ashleigh, Miles’s sister and Harvey saved this book from being 3 stars. I loved them and how they were calling them both out on their bullshit but also going through it themselves and the found family that they built within the small town.
I felt like it took a good while for the relationship to feel like a relationship or proper feelings. I would have loved for this to be a dual POV, I think it would have made the book 1000% times better. I was getting sick of the repeated thoughts from Daphne being “he’s just my roommate, I'm leaving, he is still in love his Petra, he deserves better”. I thought Miles was just going along with it for Daphne and to help him move on, so I would have LOVED for Miles’s POV to see this man pinning over Daphne and seeing her in a different light. I think I was wanting as dual POV as well because Daphne was giving me a headache sometimes throughout the book, being in her brain hurt my head and I found myself skimming over her monologue and her “I’m unlovable” thoughts. The third act conflict wasn’t needed, miscommunication on both of their parts and it just took a conversation to resolve it all.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I enjoyed the character development both went through. I think I was just expecting more with how hype it has been.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Vomit
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
All of the books by this author I have previously read were slow starters for me. That wasn’t the case with this one. And while there was plenty of angst, I found it lighter than the previous stories. Not light as in fluffy, but with the characters having more optimism.
Boy, do I love Miles. Yet the introduction to him makes it seem he is going to be hard to love. Not so! Once the first time he’s on page is over, the next time he’s on page, it’s clear he is a wonderful guy. The thoughts and opinions of Daphne’s ex regarding Miles had swayed her impressions of Miles, which she doesn’t realize until they get to know each other by being roommates of circumstance.
Daphne does a lot of soul searching and grows a lot throughout this book. It’s not that she is a bad person. Not at all. But she has certain ideas about her life, how things should be, etc., that have limited her world. She’s also kept herself from branching out further than her relationship with her ex, which bites her in the butt when he leaves. Daphne learns that she’s not as independent as she thought, but her journey in this story gets her to where she needs to be on that front.
Miles and Daphne develop a fantastic friendship. It may start because of the devastation left behind when their significant others leave them, but it blossoms into something wholly separate from that. I love the way they could talk to each other and how they supported each other in ways they didn’t even realize they needed.
Of course, with this book being set in Michigan, I have thoughts on the accuracy. The author did a mostly great job, and I assume what she didn’t get right was due to “romance reasons”. The location of this story is hours north of me, and I can guarantee nobody is sitting on the beach of Lake Michigan in May (or even June) without a sweater. The water of Lake Michigan is cold, even in the summer. And the beach at night in the late spring is beautiful, but brisk.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
Another great read by Emily Henry! I love the way she writes banter between characters. There was strong character development for the female and male leads. It was great to see Daphne build multiple different kinds of relationships and not just a romantic one. I also enjoyed how we kept peeling back the layers of both of them through different adventures and conversations. The slow build was believable and real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
adventurous
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
okay emily henry girlies i get it. this was really fun and heartwarming. the characters were rich and interesting and i cared about them as people.
as a michigander from birth, i am convinced emily henry is backed by the pure michigan ad campaign. and i am not mad about it because i love reading about michigan. mitten state representation is very important!
the only reason the ranking isn't higher is that we got a triple whammy miscommunication in the third act. and it is my least favorite trope in books.
overall a great read!
as a michigander from birth, i am convinced emily henry is backed by the pure michigan ad campaign. and i am not mad about it because i love reading about michigan. mitten state representation is very important!
the only reason the ranking isn't higher is that we got a triple whammy miscommunication in the third act. and it is my least favorite trope in books.
overall a great read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
This is my second read by this author and it did not disappoint!
I laughed and cried at different times.
While I really enjoyed the story and the slow burn I didn’t like that the two exesended up together. I loved Miles and Daphne as a couple I just hated that their exes dumped them both and that’s how/why they ended up together.
I laughed and cried at different times.
While I really enjoyed the story and the slow burn I didn’t like that the two exes
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Abandonment, Classism