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funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The beginning had my blood pressure so elevated (and contemplating murder) and then effortlessly moves into a really rom-com. This read like a love letter to libraries and the incredible staff who help communities everywhere (I fucking love the library) and the awkward growing pains of making friends as an adult. As always I want to know all of these people, visit these places and eat every single food that was mentioned. What can I say, Miss Henry doesn't miss. This is the most ‘Rom-com’ of her books and I needed that.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Abandonment
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
I know it might seem premature to say this but Funny Story is easily my favorite Emily Henry novel, hands down.
It hits all of the familiar beats: a male love interest that both feels so authentic and real while also seeming too good to be true at times, a female main character who I see so much of myself in, and characters navigating their interpersonal relationships with soul bearing honesty.
Miles is so incredibly Nick Miller coded (iykyk) and that was an immediate draw for me. As a major fan of the show New Girl (I even have a tattoo of Furguson the cat to prove it), I am a die hard Nick fan. I love his character growth, I love his wacky personality, and I love his endearing and unrelenting love for the people that he loves.
Daphne was a character that was, at times, almost too easy to self insert. I see myself in the way she feels unloveable, always feeling like a second choice and consolation prize for someone looking for the next best thing. I see myself in the way that she hates surprises. I see myself in the way that she has a hard time making real friends, ones that aren’t just surface level and small talk.
I really appreciated the fact that both of these characters were exactly who the other needed at times, especially when dealing with their respective families.
This book quite literally had me giggling and kicking my feet.
Thank you so much to Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio for the early arc of this book!
It hits all of the familiar beats: a male love interest that both feels so authentic and real while also seeming too good to be true at times, a female main character who I see so much of myself in, and characters navigating their interpersonal relationships with soul bearing honesty.
Miles is so incredibly Nick Miller coded (iykyk) and that was an immediate draw for me. As a major fan of the show New Girl (I even have a tattoo of Furguson the cat to prove it), I am a die hard Nick fan. I love his character growth, I love his wacky personality, and I love his endearing and unrelenting love for the people that he loves.
Daphne was a character that was, at times, almost too easy to self insert. I see myself in the way she feels unloveable, always feeling like a second choice and consolation prize for someone looking for the next best thing. I see myself in the way that she hates surprises. I see myself in the way that she has a hard time making real friends, ones that aren’t just surface level and small talk.
I really appreciated the fact that both of these characters were exactly who the other needed at times, especially when dealing with their respective families.
This book quite literally had me giggling and kicking my feet.
Thank you so much to Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio for the early arc of this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content
Daphne thought she and Peter had the rest of their lives perfectly planned—that is until he realized he was in love with his childhood best friend, Petra, leaving her heartbroken and with an unexpected roommate in Petra's ex, Miles Nowak. As they navigate their shared heartbreak they begin to form a genuine friendship with one another that eventually leads to more.
I think this is Emily Henry’s funniest and maybe even her most romantic book yet! The banter was top-notch like always, like it truly had me giggling and kicking my feet. The way that Daphne and Miles’ friendship and eventual relationship developed felt so natural and honest to them. They constantly showed up for one another in the ways that the other person needed. And I just loved seeing Daphne build her own life in this town.
I have to go back and reread all of Emily Henry’s books, but I really do think this is my new favorite, after Beach Read, of course.
Thank you to Berkley for this e-arc.
cw: infidelity, abandonment, mentions of previous parental neglect/emotional abuse
I think this is Emily Henry’s funniest and maybe even her most romantic book yet! The banter was top-notch like always, like it truly had me giggling and kicking my feet. The way that Daphne and Miles’ friendship and eventual relationship developed felt so natural and honest to them. They constantly showed up for one another in the ways that the other person needed. And I just loved seeing Daphne build her own life in this town.
I have to go back and reread all of Emily Henry’s books, but I really do think this is my new favorite, after Beach Read, of course.
Thank you to Berkley for this e-arc.
cw: infidelity, abandonment, mentions of previous parental neglect/emotional abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rating: 5/5 stars
Daphne is dumped by her fiancé right before their wedding…and ends up roommates with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex-boyfriend, Miles.
This book is PHENOMENAL. It leans heavily into traditional rom-com tropes and structure, but also manages to be completely fresh and original in true Emily Henry style. I laughed, I teared up, I swooned, and I thoroughly enjoyed my entire time reading this one, including slowing down at one point because I literally didn’t want it to end.
Daphne and Miles are both fantastic main characters who are deeply relatable in different ways—I was particularly drawn to Daphne and her struggle to feel wanted/accepted/part of the “in” group. Finding home and the place where you fit is a recurring theme in EmHen’s work and one that I really enjoy, so I was glad to see that front and center again here. Finally, I thought the supporting cast was so great here, and especially loved Ashleigh!
I genuinely think this one will be a lot of people’s new favorite book once it’s released in April—and I can’t wait for the world to be able to read it! Highly, HIGHLY recommend.
CW: Infidelity/abandonment; emotional/parental abuse
Daphne is dumped by her fiancé right before their wedding…and ends up roommates with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex-boyfriend, Miles.
This book is PHENOMENAL. It leans heavily into traditional rom-com tropes and structure, but also manages to be completely fresh and original in true Emily Henry style. I laughed, I teared up, I swooned, and I thoroughly enjoyed my entire time reading this one, including slowing down at one point because I literally didn’t want it to end.
Daphne and Miles are both fantastic main characters who are deeply relatable in different ways—I was particularly drawn to Daphne and her struggle to feel wanted/accepted/part of the “in” group. Finding home and the place where you fit is a recurring theme in EmHen’s work and one that I really enjoy, so I was glad to see that front and center again here. Finally, I thought the supporting cast was so great here, and especially loved Ashleigh!
I genuinely think this one will be a lot of people’s new favorite book once it’s released in April—and I can’t wait for the world to be able to read it! Highly, HIGHLY recommend.
CW: Infidelity/abandonment; emotional/parental abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Abandonment
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, Abandonment
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
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
As always, Emily Henry nails humor and emotion - this time with some sexy pining. Miles is the perfect golden retriever stoner boyfriend, and the author also nails Phoebe’s job as a children’s librarian. The plot ended up feeling meandering in the second half, but I couldn’t help but root for these two and their character development as individuals and together.
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is Emily Henry’s funniest book to date! I feel like it’s the first of her books that has a title that really fits the story. I could not stop laughing! Practically everything out of Miles’ mouth either had me cackling or swooning. With the exception of Alex Nilsen (because no one will ever top Alex Nilsen in any book ever ever), Miles is my favorite Emily Henry MMC. Besides being really funny, he’s also so thoughtful and romantic. His only flaw is having feelings for Petra in the first place, but I guess Daphne has a similar flaw in her feelings for Peter.
This book was also deeply romantic. It’s one of the best strangers to lovers stories I’ve ever read, with me truly believing their trajectory from two separate heartbroken people to a unit that seemed destined to end up together. I love how despite seeming like complete opposites, they had so much in common and they complemented each other. They also had great chemistry and their slow burn was perfect! I also love how them taking their time to seemingly find their other half in their own apartment felt so realistic.
I loved Daphne! With the exception of Poppy Wright (sensing a pattern?), Daphne is my favorite Emily Henry FMC. Her journey to realizing that she hadn’t been living a life for herself is so relatable and it was genuinely inspiring to watch her practically start her life over in her 30s, not only with Miles, but also in forming her friendship with Ashleigh.
Speaking of Ashleigh, this is one of the best portrayals of friendship that I’ve ever read. To be honest, despite that being the whole theme with Happy Place, I kind of hated the friendships in that book. This book, however, portrayed realistic friendships that weren’t toxic and it was amazing! Even the mention of Daphne’s relationship with Sadie felt so incredibly relatable. Everyone has had that friend that they thought they were close to until an SO became the center of their friend’s world. It sucks, but it’s realistic and I loved that portrayal. I also thought that her friendship with Ashleigh felt both realistic and was a lesson in what it means to have a healthy friendship. You can screw up, but as long as you can admit that and still be there for one another, you can still be friends.
The moral of the story is that Petra and Peter suck and the two of them dumping Miles and Daphne, respectively, is the best thing to ever happen to Miles, Daphne, Julia, Ashleigh, Harvey, or Elda!
Thank you to Edelweiss, Berkley, and Emily Henry for providing me access to this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Thank you to Berkley Romance for this ARC!!!
Emily Henry is magic. I'm not sure how she manages to pack so much tension and clever banter into each and every book she writes but I'm so in love with her books👏 every 👏 single👏 time. In a surprise to no one, I absolutely adored this book. I always tell myself that I'm gonna take my time with each new Emily Henry release but I am physically unable to and devour it in a day (and then I'm sad because it's over, but there's always a reread).
As always, her characters are so well-written and fleshed out. Daphne is so relatable; her thought processes and struggles were so real to me and she might be my favorite Emily Henry MC yet. Daphne's relationship with the library feels especially relatable to me, as someone who spent a lot of time there (one might say *too* much time there) in my youth to be out of my parents' hair. Libraries truly are amazing places and I love the passion and love that Daphne has for them.
Miles might be my favorite Emily Henry boyfriend, but let's be real: "men written by Emily Henry" is my actual type. The things I would do for a Miles POV chapter...
I loved this book so much, on top of the top tier banter + tension + shenanigans we also have parts that made me cry and characters working through issues that left me feeling a little raw (in a good way). I can't wait for pub day so I can reread in the form of Julia Whelan reading to me.
Emily Henry is magic. I'm not sure how she manages to pack so much tension and clever banter into each and every book she writes but I'm so in love with her books👏 every 👏 single👏 time. In a surprise to no one, I absolutely adored this book. I always tell myself that I'm gonna take my time with each new Emily Henry release but I am physically unable to and devour it in a day (and then I'm sad because it's over, but there's always a reread).
As always, her characters are so well-written and fleshed out. Daphne is so relatable; her thought processes and struggles were so real to me and she might be my favorite Emily Henry MC yet. Daphne's relationship with the library feels especially relatable to me, as someone who spent a lot of time there (one might say *too* much time there) in my youth to be out of my parents' hair. Libraries truly are amazing places and I love the passion and love that Daphne has for them.
Miles might be my favorite Emily Henry boyfriend, but let's be real: "men written by Emily Henry" is my actual type. The things I would do for a Miles POV chapter...
I loved this book so much, on top of the top tier banter + tension + shenanigans we also have parts that made me cry and characters working through issues that left me feeling a little raw (in a good way). I can't wait for pub day so I can reread in the form of Julia Whelan reading to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity