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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:
Complicated
Such a great read. So witty and lighthearted yet emotional. I love Daphne and Miles and Ashley is so great lol. It’s a beautiful romance and so real and fun and has growth. Loved it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Minor: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
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:
Complicated
Funny Story was a solid summer romance but not my favorite of Emily Henry’s (don’t get me wrong I fully enjoyed I just think she’s an elite contemporary romance author). This one reminded me a lot of "Just for the Summer" by Abby Jimenez, and I think if I hadn’t read that one first, this might have been an even bigger hit for me.
I adored Daphne and her journey to define her life on her own terms. She made such a fun little found family, and her struggle of making friends as an adult was #relatable. Sweet stoner Miles is definitely a new dream book boyfriend.
The writing was great, just as expected from Emily Henry. I loved the combination of the roommate dynamic and fake dating—it worked perfectly!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hear me out...
This wasn't bad, but in comparison to Emily Henry's other books, this didn't do it as much for me. It could be partially that when I started it I was (and have been) in a strange transitional period of my life, but I don't think that is all it is. I didn't connect very much to the characters and didn't care that much if they got their HEA. There were definitely parts that I enjoyed and annotated, but there were also elements that I struggled to care about. I hate saying this about something one of my auto-buy authors wrote, but you don't follow me to lie to you, so I won't. Hopefully the next one is a banger.
This wasn't bad, but in comparison to Emily Henry's other books, this didn't do it as much for me. It could be partially that when I started it I was (and have been) in a strange transitional period of my life, but I don't think that is all it is. I didn't connect very much to the characters and didn't care that much if they got their HEA. There were definitely parts that I enjoyed and annotated, but there were also elements that I struggled to care about. I hate saying this about something one of my auto-buy authors wrote, but you don't follow me to lie to you, so I won't. Hopefully the next one is a banger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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 was my first dip into Emily Henry and I can't say I'm disappointed. Miles and Daphne were cute. However, I loved how Daphne was finally able to find a place to call home. She found her new family.
Some of my issues were with the writing. Some inconsistencies would take me out of the story. They were minimal but to me a bit disruptive. This is the freshest on my mind since it happened in the last chapter but Elda is the character but she is referred to Elsa at one point. Another issue was the 90% conflict. It felt somewhat cheap. The miscommunication was kind of ridiculous. I had other issues but I can't remember at the moment: TBD.
Overall, it was enjoyable and I will probably read more from Emily Henry.
Some of my issues were with the writing. Some inconsistencies would take me out of the story. They were minimal but to me a bit disruptive. This is the freshest on my mind since it happened in the last chapter but Elda is the character but she is referred to Elsa at one point. Another issue was the 90% conflict. It felt somewhat cheap. The miscommunication was kind of ridiculous. I had other issues but I can't remember at the moment: TBD.
Overall, it was enjoyable and I will probably read more from Emily Henry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Uuuuugh... I hate not loving an Emily Henry novel. I just have no feelings about this one. It's like the characters had too many feelings for there to be any room for my own 😂
I heard someone on a podcast say that in this book (at least, I think it was about this book) all the characters really needed therapy but instead just had each other... And I totally agree. There's a difference between revealing some of your flaws/difficult childhood to a new romantic partner versus trauma dumping - and trauma bonding! I feel that Daphne and Miles were doing much more of the latter.
Maybe rebound romances just aren't for me, I don't know, but I had a hard time buying into the setup. What newly single woman grieving an engagement would like, immediately move in with her ex's new partner's ex? And then fall in love with him (in mere weeks) after giving the reader the impression that she thinks he's just a deadbeat pothead? That seems like a stretch and needed more development to be believable.
3 stars because I enjoyed it enough to finish it (and Julia Whelan always makes audibooks listenable just by being the narrator), but meh. I'll still eagerly await the next Emily Henry though!
I heard someone on a podcast say that in this book (at least, I think it was about this book) all the characters really needed therapy but instead just had each other... And I totally agree. There's a difference between revealing some of your flaws/difficult childhood to a new romantic partner versus trauma dumping - and trauma bonding! I feel that Daphne and Miles were doing much more of the latter.
Maybe rebound romances just aren't for me, I don't know, but I had a hard time buying into the setup. What newly single woman grieving an engagement would like, immediately move in with her ex's new partner's ex? And then fall in love with him (in mere weeks) after giving the reader the impression that she thinks he's just a deadbeat pothead? That seems like a stretch and needed more development to be believable.
3 stars because I enjoyed it enough to finish it (and Julia Whelan always makes audibooks listenable just by being the narrator), but meh. I'll still eagerly await the next Emily Henry though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Alcohol, Classism
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
This book was so so good! One of my favorites right behind Beach Read. Emily Henry as always describes feelings and emotions in the most elegant way. She also did an amazing job of depicting what it’s like to have/had been in a narcissist relationship with a parent. I related to the characters in this book the most out of all the characters in her books
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
After loving all of Emily Henry’s previous books, I was eagerly anticipating Funny Story. The first chapter sets the story up brilliantly and I couldn’t wait to see how the story unfolded! As always with Emily’s books, there was a great cast of characters who we got to know and love (or heavily dislike!), none of whom were “perfect”. What I particularly like about how she writes characters is that there is always a heart-warming and/or relatable element to them which endears you to the likeable characters. Another thing I like is that she delves into the psychology of the characters well, making it feel detailed enough and without excusing anyone’s behaviour. That being said, I was left a little disappointed with this book after loving the others. I wouldn’t say this is her best book. There were some lazy errors in terms of typos/grammatical errors and, sadly, her sex scenes have become very formulaic, with the same things happening in the same way each time the two main characters get together for the first time. That really took the shine off the book for me after a very tantalising will they/won’t they anticipation that she had built up nicely. The ending also felt a bit rushed, like things simply had to be tied up with a “happy ending” bow after a storyline with such complex notes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment