This is Emily Henry’s fifth novel, and I have loved every one of them. If I had to choose, my favourites before this one are Beach Read and Book Lovers.

Daphne is heartbroken, her fiance left her for his childhood best friend. She’s now humiliatingly living with her fiance’s childhood best friend’s very recent ex boyfriend, Miles and trying to be okay with everything. Thankfully, Miles is a good roommate in that she never sees him as he’s always barricaded in his room. I actually laughed out loud at one of these sections, where Miles is watching Bridget Jones’ Diary over and over, eating ice cream while wrapped in a blanket. Emily Henry manages to speak to my soul.

Daphne and Miles are real, live people. Anxious and excited and hoping for the best and sometimes getting it wrong, with the best of intentions. Even Peter and Petra are depicted not as the big bad villains, but two people who realised they were in love with each other and needed to act on it. Not exactly selfless, but the alternative was to make four people miserable forever. One of the things Henry is great at is writing characters who you wish were your friends, and actually, you feel like they could be your friends, if they existed and were real people.

The other Henry themes are there too - complicated parental relationship, a sense of loss or longing around a childhood or teenager event, the message that home is where the heart is and not necessarily the place you spent most of your youth living in.

I also loved that it was a love story about libraries, and not just about romantic relationships. Daphne works in a library, and her enthusiasm is palpable. It made me want to run down to my local library and check a book out, just to make sure it stays open.

Recommended for fans of Emily Henry, of course. This is now in my top three of her books. I think it also felt similar to Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guilory and Yours Truly by Abby Jiminez - thoughtful romances, is what I’d call it. But not boring!

Buy your copy of Funny Story from all good bookshops from April 25th 2024, and you can pre-order a beautiful signed hardback from Waterstones, here.

Thanks as always to Viking for the early DRC (what a present for Blue Monday!) and Netgalley for the platform.

If there’s one thing about me it’s that I’m first and foremost an Emily Henry girlie, so when I saw that Funny Story was available to read on Netgalley I JUMPED to request it.

Funny Story follows the relationship between Daphne and Miles as they become flatmates of convenience after their partners run off together. The dynamic between the two reminded me of that of Gus and January in Beach Read, and Charlie and Nora in Book Lovers, two of my favourite Emily Henry novels, but I loved the way that the forced proximity of the flatmates dynamic added a depth and complexity to their relationship. I also really enjoyed the way that this novel includes familial and platonic relationships as crucial, not secondary, to the plot, which really strengthened the story for me. As for the plot itself, Funny Story is a classic on-form Emily Henry novel, I devoured it over the course of a couple days and could barely put it down.

The only drawback for me was the main character’s name, as Daphne is a name that is very deeply tied to Scooby Doo so I find it hard to apply it in other fictional contexts, but I feel that this is likely because I’m British and it’s not a common name here, so it would perhaps have a different impact on a US audience.

All in all, if you’re an Emily Henry girl, or a lover of well-rounded romance then you will love this!!

From the very beginning Funny Story wrapped me in a warm and comforting hug and wouldn't let go, not even when I was laughing out loud or fighting back tears. I have found this to be true with everything I have read by Ms Henry - it feels like coming home.

Funny Story is at times funny, sure - just ask my family how many times I laughed out loud while reading - but more than that it is a touching and moving story about life, and about what to do when the rug has been pulled from under you and you have to start over, once again. Told from Daphne's point of view I actually found both Daphne's and Miles' stories and personal growth equally meaningful and I loved how they supported each other and gave the other person space to grow. The book is written in such a tender way that all the emotions feel very real, the self-doubt and the fear of trusting other people and life itself are very relatable, and all the little moments of joy that these two wonderful characters experienced filled my heart with happiness.

A wonderful, wonderful novel - thank you so much for the ARC!

This took me a little while to get into as I have struggled with physically reading vs just putting an audiobook on for the last few months, but once I got to the 50% mark I absolutely devoured it. I loved this story, and I adored Daphne and Miles. I loved their vulnerabilities but also how their relationship blossomed out of that. Julia and Ashleigh were great characters too, and from about 80% I completely sobbed, so I'm going to say it's another win for Emily Henry! Definitely one for the Happy Place fans.

I've said this before but I'll say it again: Emily Henry is the queen of romance.

Her stories always feel real and it's because the characters are flawed and so so well fleshed out. None of her books make you roll your eyes and whisper "this will never happen in real life" (and we're talking about a story where the main plot point is that the MC falls in love with her ex-fiancé's new fiancée's ex-boyfriend). She somehow manages to make everything believable.

That being said, I felt like this dragged a little. Loved the beginning, loved the ending, but the middle could loose a few dozen pages to keep the pace going.

As always, I fell in love with the love interest, but I think Daphne is the MC to which I can relate to the least. However, I think their flaws and both their childhood traumas were very very well written and truly the mark of a great writer.

In a nutshell: Really liked it but not my favorite Emily Henry romance. And I will read anything she publishes until the end of time.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was CHUFFED to get an early copy of Funny Story by Emily Henry and I tell you this book has EASILY taken top spot for my favourite Emily Henry to date. This book is a rollercoaster of emotions and I don't generally get tearful whilst reading but this book definitely made me well up a little in places.

I loved Daphne and Miles SO MUCH!!, I loved Ashleigh too, what a WHOLESOME read. It starts off with turbulence which is total vital to the plot, and ends up unfolding beautifully. Even the 'Villians' of the story weren't too terribly unlikeable which was pleasant because it didn't take anything away from Daphne or Miles.

I devoured this book in one sitting and I'm already planning a reread - an absolute MUST BUY of a book.

Daphne and Miles find themselves living together as roommates after their respective (ex) partners decided they were madly in love with each other and dumped the two.
The roommates find themselves becoming friends (and maybe something more) after the two enter into a fake dating situation in the face of their 'happy' exes.

This was a particularly underwhelming romance for me. As someone who has adored most of Emily Henry's books, the set up and characters of this book didn't really click and I felt no emotional connection to the story. It was a fun enough time but there were also a number of elements I disliked which ultimately had the story falling flat for me.

Ahh, every time I read a bunch of romances and I'm disappointed and think maybe romance isn't the genre for me, and then Emily Henry returns with a new book and I ask for the book and then bam, I am back in my hearts and flowers phase.

Funny Story is so good, like we're back here again in Emily Henry's world and we don't wanna live anywhere else. Charming, funny, sexy and smart - Funny Story is so much more than funny, it is everything you need from a romance. I always appreciate her character building and how well she develops and gives her characters arcs, and here again we see that signature talent at work.

Writing wise, she is my favourite for a reason. The dialogue in this book between Miles and Daphne sparks off the page and they really connect so well on paper, with great banter but also real moments of feeling that Henry does so well. Particularly when they are written in beautiful settings that make you wanna drop anything you're doing and move to some obscure Midwest American town.

I enjoyed Funny Story, who doesn't love a happy ending and this is one of my new favourites.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC for honest review).

A fantastic romance, with hilarious lighter moments as well as heavier emotions that will make you cry, the new Emily Henry novel is a must read for fans of her previous books.

As soon as I discovered that Daphne, the main character of this book was a librarian I knew it would be the book for me. When someone asks her where it all began and she replies “Narnia,” this just reinforced my first impression.

When Daphne’s fiancé leaves her for his childhood best friend she has to start all over again in a town where everything is his - his house, his family, his friends. She loves her job as a children’s librarian and decides to stay long enough to hold the fundraiser she’s been planning. She is able to move in with Miles, the only other person who could know what she’s going by through as the childhood best friend was his girlfriend.

Although some aspects of the story were predictable, that’s not really a bad thing in a romance. There were lots of laugh out loud moments alongside some much tougher emotions. Both Daphne and Miles experienced difficult things growing up which affect the way that they deal with emotions and relationships.

I really enjoy a story that has a lot more going on than you at first realise. Emily Henry has done an excellent job in this book which makes it a more impactful read than you might at first expect. One thing I really enjoy in her books is the other relationships outside of the main romantic one. In Book Lovers I especially loved the relationship between the sisters, and in Funny Story I loved the friendships that Daphne forms with her colleagues.

As usual with Emily Henry's books, this was such an entertaining and beautiful book. I loved the way the relationship between Daphne and Miles was built, the pacing was fantastic and how they went from kind of strangers to roommates to friends to finally falling in love, it felt very natural and believable, which is something I always value when reading a romance.
I liked both characters, Miles was such a good guy and I related to Daphne in some moments. The author always makes me relate to her characters at some point, or at least empathise with them, and I love that.
Something I also loved was Daphne's choice at the end, it's so important not to make your life revolve around someone else entirely.
Miles and her were very different but I really felt like they fit and complement each other really well, and they got to know each other deeply and honestly, and loved each other in a very healthy and beautiful way.
Finally, I also found funny and original how they became roommates, with the connection to their exes. This was refreshing and very easy to read and enjoy.

as always emily henry never disappoints.
this book has some of the best small town vibes i have ever read. with a librarian and a barista as our main characters, the vibes are immaculate. they are very fleshed out it feels like they can come out of the pages. emily henry always creates such realistic people with realistic problems and i love how in her stories it’s never all sunshine and rainbows. it was a wholly wholesome read and i feel like i will miss being inside this book.

I love it when one of my most anticipated books turns up a winner and this one was definitely one!

When Daphne's fiancé leaves her for his best friend at his bachelor, she is left homeless, in a new town counting down the days until she can, at least Miles whom was said best friend's boyfriend, let's her move in with him.

While she hadn't spend much time with Miles, they became roommates and now she is seeing a very different picture than then one she had on her mind about him.

When their exes decide to get married and invite them, in a moment of panic she says that she and Miles are dating and would love to attend.

Those two bonded over their shared heartbreak but with time it was apparent that it was all for the best, their fake relationship turns into a true friendship and the more they are together they develop some very real feelings.

I loved the way they became more than roommates, they were true friends and it was wonderful to see them rebuilding themselves.

Daphne found a way to become more on her own, she made that town her own in a way that it wasn't before and Miles helped her achieve it from the very beginning.

Miles is sweet, caring and a true sweetheart. He is a true supporter all the while he is working on making his life better, battling his own demons.

I love how they bantered through the book, the humor was so on point and the whole town felt like a warm hug all around.


* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Emily Henry just knows how to write a good book.

The characters are all so fleshed out. It is so well done that each of their actions and their mannerisms just make sense within their own stories.

There is always a cast of fun side characters.

I really enjoyed this. It encompassed the ‘to be seen is to be loved’ vibes immaculately. She continues to be my favourite.

I really needed a story like this: love for books and libraries, decent people, humor, and a happy ending. Just like life should be.

Funny Story by Emily Henry is simply perfect. I think it's possibly my favorite book by the author.

The story revolves around Daphne, an unhappy librarian whose fiancé (on the eve of their wedding), Peter, left her for her childhood best friend, Petra.

Since the house was in his name and he insisted that she leave quickly, Daphne decides to move in with Miles, Petra's ex-boyfriend who was also betrayed by her. A situation that will lead to the attraction of opposites. Daphne is introverted and organized, Miles is extroverted and impulsive, and together they are hilarious.

Emily Henry has a gift for creating unforgettable characters and absolutely hilarious and intelligent dialogue. Her characters are never perfect, and the situations they create are always seasoned with a good dose of humor.

In short, a light, intelligent, and humorous book.

⭒ Rating: 4,5

Funny Story felt like such an different Emily Henry but at the same time it was so her. I don’t know how to explain but this story felt like it was on another plane for her.

These two main characters were so different from her usual but I had so much fun getting to know them and watching them go from strangers who shared the same deep pain to two people who shared a deep and meaningful connection and knew each other better than anyone else. It was so beautiful to watch that connection build. I loved every minute.

I was so so giddy at the first little glimpse of more between them. I literally squealed. That’s how much I was loving these two together and rooting for them. Miles was so so sweet. It was impossible not to love him from the beginning, even when Daphne wasn’t sure about him. The way he showed up for her every time even when he was in pain himself. Just writing this review is really making me want to read this book again.

Funny Story had so many cute and romantic moments. Some of the locations and the overall aesthetic of this book was incredible. And the whole thing Daphne did at her job at the end and the way everyone came together for her to pull it off was amazing and sounded so fun. These two were definitely special together.

I love Emily's books so I was excited to be invited to read Funny Story. I wasn't sure at first about the concept of two people fake dating after their exes dump them for each other. But I was proved wrong because the fake dating is only a small part of the story. I don't want to give away anything but I loved Daphne and Miles. They are a close second to Nora and Charlie from Book Lovers.

💫/5 “I want to live with hope that things get better, even if, in the end, they don’t.”
I adore Emily Henry & her books so much so when i got the arc for this i was beyond excited. The moment i started i knew it was my favourite, Miles & Daphne have my heart. I love them so much, the way they loved each other, their banter. Oh my god i am obsessed, the second i finished this book i want to open it up again and start from the beginning.

Funny Story......

You've heard that faithful line at the start of many a tale. In the case of Emily Henry's newest and possibly best novel, Daphne is dumped by her fiancé at the same time as Miles is dumped by his girlfriend. What's funny about that I hear you ask? Only that Daphne's fiancé and Miles' girlfriend run off with each other! Peter and Petra (side eye emoji) are long time best friends since they were running around in nappies. Each swore that they weren't attracted to the other, until suddenly they were.

Daphne is left with no other choice but to move in the Miles' spare room. Bonding over their mutual hate of their ex's an unlikely friendship is forged.

I LOVE Emily Henry's books, I mean love them right? She writes the most human characters, the perfect book boyfriend in Miles' even though his flaws were perfectly highlighted throughout the book. I love depiction of making friends as an adult and how hard that can be especially after a failed relationship. I also adored the fact that Daphne was a librarian, a dream job and the little community she build for herself.

A stunning romance with fake dating, opposites attract and forced(ish) proximity.

I think it's best to start by saying, I was slightly hesitant to read Funny Story. While I'm a dedicated reader of Emily Henry's rom-coms, I was quite disappointed by her last release: Happy Place. For me, it just didn't have the usual flair of her books. So, I picked up Funny Story with a bit of hesitancy, unsure of whether I would even like it at all, after Happy Place. Well, now I can confidently say that I am so, so happy that I picked this up. This is easily my favourite Emily Henry book to date and if you love Emily Henry's other rom-coms, I think this might be yours too.

There's so much to love in Funny Story. As is expected of Emily Henry's books, there is a lot of heart here. Following librarian Daphne and stoner/bartender Miles, two strangers who find themselves co-habiting after their respective partners 1) cheat on both of them and 2) end up formally getting together, it explores anxiety, friendship, belonging, and self-worth in such a tender, intimate, and beautiful way. Of course, Emily also makes sure there is great chemistry between her two MCs. The wit and banter in this book is top notch and I loved reading about these two strangers falling in love. Their romance was sexy, fun, and also, somehow, so lovely. Once again, Emily Henry strikes the perfect balance between the tender and the steamy. I don't know how she does it!

All of this is to say that Funny Story is Emily Henry's best rom-com yet. If you love libraries, books, intimate friendships, fake dating/friends-to-lovers tropes, and swoon-worthy romance, this one is for you. This one is not to be missed by fans and newcomers alike.

Another 5 star review for Emily Henry, I am entirely unsurprised by this!

I absolutely fell in love with Daphne and Miles in this gorgeous slow burn, room mates, friends to lovers story!

I really liked the concept of Daphne having to move in with her ex fiancés new fiancés ex boyfriend and them slowly going from two people who have been forced together through decisions not made by them to tentative roommates to the best of friends before slowly becoming more.

Daphne really came into her own throughout the story as she started to let the people around her more and more into her life and really started to form the relationships she had been missing through moving around so often when he was younger and being so absorbed in her ex fiancés life.

As always whenever I read a new Emily Henry I think this one just because my new favourite and Miles definitely just because my new favourite love interest because he was a tattooed sweetheart.

If you love Emily Henry then I’m pretty sure you will love this and if you’ve never read her before I’m also pretty sure you will love it!