A review by entiresunset
Funny Story by Emily Henry

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.5

This was my first book of Emily Henry and this will definitely not be my last. I absolutely loved this book! And I connected to so many of the characters it's almost unbelievable. 

First of all, having a lot of dry humor myself, I instantly felt connected to Daphne. But also the deeper and more emotional parts of Daphnes character made me feel very connected to her. Not knowing who she is after giving everything up for all the people she loved - deeply relatable. 

I also loved Miles character. He is such a kind, lovable and warm person. I loved there was more to him than just his sunshine personality and that this part of him also was there for a reason.
I loved how he made Daphne realize how important she is and how worthy of love and how Daphne on the other hand helped Miles realise that he has been bearing too much all this time. And that
the dark parts inside of him could never be too much
. 
Their conversation where Miles talked about
his childhood experiences
actually broke my heart. The way Daphne helped him see how much he
did for his sister and how he saved her
touched me deeply.

It was so sad to see how
both of their defense mechanisms drove both of them away from each other: Miles panicking and self sabotaging and Daphne pushing him away after he stood her up, afraid to let him in.

But I liked that this was a realistic consequence of Miles behavior
and that Daphne did not magically take him back just cause he apologized and told her he loved her.
And I loved that it wasnt unnecessary drama or the obligatory third act break up. The conflict felt organic and understandable from both of their points of view. 

I felt for Daphne deeply. How she
was stood up and left so many times. And again and again by her dad :(. How she drew the conclusion that she was the problem and something about her made her unlovable. No wonder she couldnt forgive miles just like that. It just cut too deep.

And I also felt deeply for Miles. How he
believed he was only lovable showing his best parts and was not allowed to show his dark sites.
The way he thought he
was responsible for all the shit his parents put him through broke my heart


Being a trauma survivor myself with experiences in parental abandonment and emotional abuse
I connected deeply to both Daphne and Miles. 

At times, especially in the beginning to middle, the story or rather Daphnes and Miles bond felt a bit rushed. Also, I would have loved to explore Miles past and its consequences a bit more.
But still I loved the complexity of the characters and felt like the consequences of experiencing
that kind of trauma
were accurate and felt natural. 

I loved how the story not only focused on romantic but also on platonic and familiar love and explored Daphne and her moms and Miles and Julias relationship as well as Daphnes and Ashleighs friendship.  

Really looking forward to my next Emily Henry book :) 
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