A review by dianaschmidty
Funny Story by Emily Henry

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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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.

Also, can I rant about Petra and Peter for a second? I kind of loved their existence because in many books, and other types of media, the “nice people” that the main characters want to hate but really can’t are usually nice. They’re not secretly backstabbing traitors who pretend to be the “nice people” to keep their status. The entire novel, Daphne and Miles are very authentic people, while Petra and Peter are little conniving weasels who like to remind Daphne and Miles how “happy they are for them” in their fake relationship. And it was honestly amazing to watch.

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.
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