Funny Story - Emily Henry

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex... right? (link)

Review: 4/5

Good day, my evil little minions… Today I will be reviewing my first ever experience with Emily Henry. I’m told she’s one of THE it girl’s in romance and I wasn’t disappointed with this read! After this review, I’m afraid her books will go downhill… But you can read why next week, and the week after. (Yes, I read three Emily Henry books in a row, LEAVE ME ALONE).

Let’s start with the obvious; I LOOOOVE FAKE DATING! It reminds me of watching Disney Channel original movies when I was little. It brings a certain nostalgia to a trope that I didn’t recognize I felt.

I also loved how the first kiss was BAD!!! I think that’s realistic since every first kiss I’ve had has been bad, but that’s what makes a young relationship so exciting; you don’t know if every kiss will be bad, or if you’ll adapt to each other’s body language and relationship preferences… I’m obviously a staunch believer in the theory that every time you kiss someone, you kiss them differently than you kissed someone else before. It’s like snowflakes, right? AND THEN there’s a redemption kiss?? Hey, why am I swooning?

While we’re at it, I’m going to apologize in advance. If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love a man with a beard and mommy issues.

The only time I got a smidge defensive was the mocking of past life and spirituality beliefs… Of course I took it personally! As I read more, I realize I am the “awfully insufferable” step-mom… Her name is Starfire, she cries often, and she believes in auras, sage, and homeopathic medicine… I wasn’t only reading the book, but the book was reading ME.

One minor detail I’d like to point out is how often Miles’ “gingery” scent is brought up. I understand pheromones and everything, but we are REALLY highlighting this specific scent. Every chapter. Every page. Every time he’s mentioned. If there’s one thing I remember about Miles, it’s his gingery scent.

Also, the narration was slightly insufferable - a bit too whiny for my personal taste. There’s a part when they have sex (gasp!) for the first time, and this exact scene plays out: Miles asks “Why are you crying” and she replies with “because I’m happy.” How corny can you possibly get? I cringed out of my skin when I read that.

Speaking of sex scenes (gasp!!) I will warn you: this audiobook might be too smutty for work. Did I start and finish it at my 8-5 desk job? Yes. But maybe I’m losing my edge, because I cringe out of my skin when I listen to smutty scenes. While I have you, Ms. Henry, we can skip on the aftercare description because my skin is shedding itself at this point. Hickeys when you’re in your thirties are disgustingly gross. Is this… my frontal lobe developing?

As someone who is a hopeless romantic, I strongly believe that slow burns past 5 pages are TOO LONG and third act breakups are a cheap way out of character development. This book has BOTH.

I also loved how realistic the feeling of “when it rains, it pours” mindset; she fucked a friend over on accident (albeit still her fault), then she got fucked over by someone else, THEN she got an interview for her dream job in a different city than the setting of the book. I’ve had two of those “pouring” days, and they’re the worst but also the best. Such a signal of necessary reflection and change!

The phrase “You know the worst part-” during a fight is like taking a tequila shot. Tangy and spicy and hard to get through it and it’s so overrated but YES I LOVE IT. I feel like I’m fifteen watching the “asked the girl out for a dare but actually fell for her” movies! (Yes, I do love Ten Things I Hate About You, thank you for noticing!) And to be hit with the BACK TO BACK “So that’s it, you’re leaving” “That was always the plan” is SO GOOD. This is the only argument scene I’ve pictured in the rain, like WOW is this a movie scene? It feels like it. I cried while reading it.

Last note is of appreciation; I LOVE the mature and realistic friendship- you get into disagreements and miscommunications, but you have to be willing to change or reflect and take accountability. That’s a HUGE lesson I’ve been learning lately as I’ve been becoming close friends with people whom I couldn’t imagine losing. And I’m thankful to have grown in my humility in the last few years - and yes, I know I have a long way to go.

Anyhow, this playlist reflects the playlist I would curate if I were in charge of the musical score of a Rom-Com. If you don’t like it, I don’t care. 🙂

Spotify: LINK