A review by thenovelmaura
Funny Story by Emily Henry

emotional funny fast-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

3.0

This was my first Emily Henry book and I was enjoying it until about the halfway point. Admittedly I had to ignore the ridiculous premise and super short timeline, but I liked Daphne and Miles' banter and the premise of him showing her how to experience summer in small-town Michigan. Based on their character traits, I could easily see how they were a better match together than with their prior partners. The focus on Daphne's job as a children's librarian was incredibly endearing, as well.

Then at a certain point, the book just felt so repetitive, like Henry didn't trust the reader to retain anything that Daphne or Miles had previously shared about their personal hangups. Why make a book 400 pages long if you're going to use that length to make the characters think and speak in circles? She also threw in a third act friendship breakup on top of a romantic one, which added to the redundancy. Finally, we just blew past the Read-A-Thon, which Daphne had been dedicating herself to for the entire book. I'm glad this was a quick read despite its length, because at a certain point I was just powering through and wishing for that initial spark to return.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Abandonment