Warning: this book review contains minor spoilers for the romance novel Funny Story by Emily Henry.
If you’re a reader or are trying to get into reading, chances are you’ve heard the name Emily Henry before. Born and raised in the American Midwest, Emily Henry writes beautiful, heartwarming, and relatable romance novels that are great for people who love romance and those who don’t. Her newest release, titled Funny Story, is no different. I read Funny Story in just a couple of days and enjoyed it thoroughly.
I’d like to start off with the disclaimer that I read this through audiobook and eBook together. Emily Henry has the same narrator for every book she writes – fellow author and voice actress Julia Whelan. Julia does such a wonderful job narrating Emily’s writing style, so if you’re an audiobook lover, I highly recommend listening to Funny Story and Emily’s other works via audiobook.
A Positive Review of Romance Novel Funny Story: The Summary
Now, the synopsis of Funny Story is quite heartbreaking. Daphne is a librarian living in a small town in Michigan with her fiancée. On the night of his bachelor party, he realizes that he’s in love with his best friend, Petra. He promptly comes home and kicks her out, then gets engaged to Petra. So, where does Daphne end up living? With Petra’s ex, Miles. The fun begins when Daphne accidentally panics and tells her ex-fiancé that she’s now in a relationship with Miles, and they begin a fake dating relationship.
Daphne struggles with the idea that she’s not good enough for anyone around her and tends to take on a pessimistic view of her relationships because of it. So, when she begins to befriend Miles, she is completely convinced that he’s only talking to her because he feels bad for her. The truth, though, is that he just enjoys her company. Miles has his own baggage to unpack, but when he’s with Daphne, he feels like she sees him for who he truly is, and he loves that about her.
A Positive Review of Funny Story: Thoughts
One of the things Emily Henry manages to do in every single book she writes is make you have a moment where you stop reading, and you sit there and think, “Did she write this about me?”. Whether the details of the circumstances reflect you or not, you find yourself recognizing character traits and emotions expressed on the page that are so relatable that you can’t help but wonder if Emily is in your walls.
Now, the fake dating romance trope can be done well or not so well. Emily Henry happens to write a wonderful fake dating scenario in which the relationship from friends to lovers develops steadily. We aren’t forced into anything, but we see from Daphne as time goes on that she truly cares about Miles and finds his presence to be a positive thing in her life during a not-so-great time.
Another thing I loved about this book was that the side characters had their own little character arcs – which is such a satisfying thing to see in a book! We discover more about them as the novel goes on, and by the end, I love them enough to wish for a book about each of them in the future (Emily Henry, if you’re reading this, please write a book about Ashleigh).
A Positive Review of Funny Story: Wrapping Up
No book is without it’s flaws, but honestly, I had such a fun time reading this book, I can’t think of anything negative to say about it. Maybe just know going in that this is probably Emily Henry’s spiciest book, so if you’re not a fan of that, there are about 3 scenes to skip. If you are a fan of spice, you’re in luck!
Overall, Emily Henry writes a beautiful story about finding yourself and finding love. I loved the message that she provided – that sometimes we need to stand on our own before letting people into our lives, but sometimes new people can help us stand on our own.
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