i think i know now why emily henry books feel reliably solid: the main characters feel just as insecure, riddled with doubts and oddities as most people. the main character in this one has friendships and coworkers and family relationships she cares about outside of the romantic lead.

sure, i might be biased as a librarian and a former storytime improv regular, but even if i don’t have much in common with these characters, they felt real enough to both be frustrated with while still wanting them to succeed.

many thanks to berkley publishing group and netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

I will rate it a 3.5 rounded up to 4. I really like Beach Read, but I didn't like the last 3 at all. And people can't understand it, but I don't know. I just got so bored trying to get through them. I don't think the wit was that witty, so this one in comparison was a breath of fresh air, and made me really like this author again. Even though the plot is not exactly original by any means and it is terribly predictable, I really enjoyed the book and wanted to finish it. It was extremely cute. The plot is basically two exes become roomates and then fake date to get revenge in a nutshell and it's shocking how it all turns out in the end (sarcasm).

Thank you so much to #netgalley and #berkleyromance for this advanced copy for an honest review.

A longtime fan of Emily Henry, I'm always eager to see what else she's got up her very crafty sleeves. Funny Story immediately captured me, the first few chapters quickly exposing just how chaotic life has gotten for children's librarian Daphne. The story kicks off with newly living with her ex-fiancè's new girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, with no friends of her own to speak of in the small town of Waning Bay, Michigan.

Fake dating hijinks ensue, and rapidly gives way to the complications of attraction and developing feelings.

To put it simply, it's delicious.

While not my favorite of Henry's works, Funny Story is a humorous and tender romp through life as a 30-something, trying to carve out a place of your own in this big? wide world. It was sweet and sexy and incredibly funny, all while dealing carefully with the reality of complicated family dynamics.

The biggest downfall for me was the last 15% or so, in which we find Daphne fumbling through a series of events that really test her and the relationships she's built. The conclusion fell really flat for me, which was really surprising because of how voraciously I tore through (and adored) a majority of the book. By the very last bit of the book, I didn't feel engaged any longer, which is why it's a 4-star read for me.

The "banter queen" does it again! After the delicious heartbreak of "Happy Place"--which I also adored, but, you know, *ow*!--I was excited to dive headfirst into what promised to be a classic EmHen romance.

As always, the romance built to a fever-pitch with fiery glances interspersed with laugh-out-loud quips, and I couldn't help falling for both characters--hard.

Henry does great secondary characters, too--I haven't been this besotted with a feisty best friend (Give! Ashleigh! Her! Own! Book!) since Libby in Book Lovers. And Waning Bay was possibly my favorite character of all. I could have spent hours browsing the stacks of Daphne's library, sampling cheese and asparagus at the market stands, drinking the finest flights at Miles's bar.

Hundreds of pages flashed by in an instant. The ease of Henry's prose never fails to impress me. Her writing is concise, monumental. She packs acres of sentiment into inches of page length, and I walked away, yet again, wishing I could be best friends with Daphne, Miles, Ashleigh, Julia...and Emily Henry herself!

The only way I can describe how I feel after finishing this is like my heart was pulverized and then the best cardiac team ever created (preferably the one from Grey's Anatomy) revived me and put me back together just enough so that I could call my therapist and talk about the abandonment issues I share with Daphne.

In all seriousness, this was such a beautifully funny story with so much heartache. Emily is one of the most talented storytellers. She always comes full circle. The characters ALWAYS stay true to themselves. Funny Story is about facing the darkest, ugliest parts of ourselves and deciding you want to be different. The commitment to becoming the best version of. yourself so that that's who you can bring to the table in a relationship. And about becoming brave enough to stand on your own. People always talk about finding who you are, and it's not a straight path for everyone. I thought the way it was reflected in this story was so raw and beautiful.

From their initial breakups with their significant others, both Daphne and Miles are forced to move forward, separately but together, and they are both absolute messes. Just doing their best.

But the way they prop each other up is so endearing. And then they begin to work through parts of themselves they've never shared with anyone else, and honestly, didn't even want to admit to themselves. Daphne has some difficult pieces of herself that she comes to terms with, ones that I know are so unpleasant and difficult to admit to yourself. But watching her begin to become her own person, build a life she is realizing she wants and own up to mistakes she's made? So rewarding. Such a beautiful journey to go on. And Miles. Sweet baby Miles. He's such a LIBRA. I was so scared when they finally hit their sort of third act breakup that I'd never forgive him. But damn she knows how to write a man. How to make them pull through.

Additionally, I am so thankful of the way she handled Daphne and Petra. I was scared that there would be woman on woman bashing. I mean, your fiancee leaves you for his 'platonic' gorgeous best friend and it's hard not to compare yourself to her. But the way Daphne did was always about Daphnes beliefs about herself. She never bashed Petra or tried to tear her down. And I think I've just seen that play out in the past and I am so grateful we're moving away from that!!

Anyways, if you have a fear of abandonment issues, I'd put your therapist on speed dial before reading.

I loved this book. The characters were not stupid like too many romance characters are and the plot was adorable and full of healthy communication and female friendships and I love it. The conflicts werent overblown miscommunications and the main characters were adorable.

an unsurprising and completely expected infinity star book. i will talk more about it in april but i do have a few thoughts i want to share 💌

this book is for us girls that want to make everyone around us happy, but don’t do enough to have our own happiness. it’s for the girls who would do anything for people to stay, even if they know they won’t. it’s for the girls who want nothing more than to be wanted and loved by certain people but knowing they’re just going to leave (queue the attachment and abandonment issues).

i feel a DEEP connection with both miles and daphne, and funny story has easily became my favorite Em Hen book 🥹. there are so many things i loved about this book, but the way miles and daphne quietly love and support each other has to be my favorite (hello confessions!)

i really hope everyone picks this book up in april and loves it as much as i do 🫶🏻🥹 thank you so much berkley for the advanced copy.

🎧songs:
the archer
mirror ball
long story short
matilda
you’re on your own kid

instagram: @morgansbooknook_

A million thank yous to Netgalley for this ARC!

This is my new Emily Henry favorite. This was sweet, witty, fun, and I am totally biased because I'm a librarian. This was the perfect mix of serious and sweet. I blew through this book, and I'm going to buy it just so I can think about it and love on it more.

I got goosebumps from those last couple of lines, my god. Emily Henry has done it again. She can only write 5-star books! I'll be thinking (and talking) about this one for a long time!

Is Emily Henry my secret best friend? Seriously, every time I dive into one of her books, it’s like she’s dishing out the best life advice or dropping these crazy relatable nuggets that just scream “this is YOUR story.” It’s like she’s writing these love letters meant for my eyes only. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, her characters are so real and she creates storylines that are just a joyride of chaos.

I just finished “Funny Story,” and surprise - it was perfect. But then again, when has any Emily Henry book been anything less than a masterpiece?

Daphne find herself rooming with her ex fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex boyfriend after she is asked to leave what should’ve been her new home. Awkward.. Then when they both get invited to their exes’ wedding, she lies and says they are going together because they are also dating. If only Miles wasn’t turning into her best friend. If only he wasn’t so attractive. If only he wasn’t so willing to go along with the plan….what could go wrong?
Another great Emily Henry romcom.

"Funny Story" was such a wild, unexpected ride for me. At first it was giving full "rom-com" vibes but I shouldn't have trusted Emily because that woman likes to play with our emotions.

This was one of my favorite reads of the year, alongside Happy Place. The writing and the pacing was perfect as always, the romance was beautiful (more like a subplot) but beautiful nonetheless. Our main character, Daphne, is the type of FMC that you can relate to. She was real, she was full of emotion and her character development from start to finish, inspired me in the best way possible. Around 60% into the story, I was sobbing uncontrollably and I had to stop at several points because it was hitting me way too hard. I loved this. There are not enough words to thank Emily for writing this masterpiece. I can see certain readers loving this one more than previous books by Henry, due to its topics and the things that both of the main characters have to deal with (I personally did)

Now moving on to our male main character, Miles. He was everything to me. He was the perfect representation of "The Archer" by Taylor Swift (Daphne was more like "mirrorball"). He was going through it, wanting to be seen and appreciated and I APPRECIATE HIM!!!!! He's perfect, sweet, caring, passionate, honest and I SEE HIM.

I loved this. Also the spice?????? This one was spicy!!!! 🌶️ I loved it. I can't wait to read more by Emily Henry. She's awesome.

Emily Henry never disappoints. The way I fell hard for both Miles and Daphne. My heart was fluttering the entire time. I could not put this book down.

I LOVE Emily Henry and this one was definitely a great addition to everything she's written! I'll read everything she publishes, honestly.

I feel like every time I read a new Emily Henry book I say, “okay this is my new favorite of hers.” I can confidently say THIS one is my new favorite.

Per the usual, I inhaled this book in two sittings (which has been tough for me lately!) Emily Henry is just magical when it comes to dialogue and creating real, complex characters with real, complex backgrounds and feelings (that DON'T feel like the same romantic interests/tropes over and over again, like other romance authors tend to do).

While I did want to keep reading and was interested the entire time, I will say that I didn't get the same warm fuzzies I usually do when it comes to an Emily Henry. While all her books deal with the aforementioned complex backgrounds and feelings, this novel felt a little like it traveled more into that territory (seemed more focused on career, friendships, familial relationships, etc. than romance) The romance almost was sent to the back for a lot of this? Which is fine, but it wasn't really what I was expecting. I still adored it, but I am interested to see if Henry diverges from romance in the future to write more general contemporary/women's fiction. Either way, anything she puts out is a must-read for me!

Much like "Happy Place", this book really pulled on my heartstrings even though it is a very different vibe of a story. I appreciate how Emily Henry can just draw you in and connect you to the characters. I will sell Emily Henry's books to people until the day I die.

RATING: 5/5 STARS

Only Emily Henry could:
-Make me love a MMC whose closet is filled with crocs(!)
-Create the most romantic story about people pining over their exes
-Endear the cold northern state of Michigan to me
-Write a fifth book that becomes my favorite

Being an Emily Henry book, I knew FUNNY STORY was going to be good but it surpassed my expectations. Daphne and Miles are well-dimensioned and realistic characters and I adored their trajectory in this novel. I think the magic of EH novels is that she envelops romance with themes of personal growth and connection with friends and family that feel so intimate and relatable, especially to women in their 20s and 30s. And the banter and wit in this book were just sublime. Absolutely killed it.

I am so grateful that I was able to get an arc of this book because it is hands-down, the best book I’ve read in years. Emily Henry is a master of words and truly the Jane Austen of our century. I love her more than words can describe and this book was a perfect embodiment of everything that a 20 something-year-old girl like myself needs. I felt seen, understood, and most of all accepted. The love story was life changing, the main character were beyond perfect and the story could’ve not been better. Truly, my favorite book of hers of all time. Everyone needs to read this book immediately.

Yet again, Emily Henry comes in with a page-turner filled with well rounded characters that leave you feeling like they are your best friends. I could not put this book down, as I slipped further into the emotional depths of Daphne and Miles. With a plot of exes teaming up after their significant others leave them for each other, Henry comes in with childhood traumas guiding her characters' paths in their newly single status. With sexual tension simmering under a blossoming friendship, this book will have your pages turning fast with a blush on your face.

I highly recommend this book to romance lovers that enjoy tension, friendship, and characters that are relatable and realistic.