This review is for Funny Story by Emily Henry which releases in the UK on the 25th April! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Viking Books UK for giving me an eArc copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Have you ever read a book and then when it’s done, all you feel is empty inside and don’t know how to feel because you loved it so much and now it’s gone and you don’t know how to feel and the world feels weird? Yeah me too, and it was after reading this book. Emily Henry has fully cemented herself as one of my must read and most favourite authors and I’m so grateful I was able to get an early copy of this. It was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it has lived up to every expectation I had.

I devoured this in one sitting, I could not put it down because I was so obsessed and I needed to know what happened. It had fake dating, forced proximity and chemistry that was burning through the page. She always manages to take such stereotypical and well used tropes but put her own twist on them, turning them into something special. She also always manages to create such complex and realistic characters, I’m captivated every time.

I know everyone else is going to say it, but the characters were so New Girl coded. You have Daphne, a buttoned up and creative children’s librarian with a passion for story telling, and then you have Miles, the easy going and seemingly carefree bartender. They were both so sweet and I fell in love with them both. The chemistry and sexual tension was also *chefs kiss*.

I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who gets to read this, so all I will say is that you will giggle, you will cry and you will want to pull your hair out in frustration. But you won’t want to put this book down. I loved every second, and wish I could wipe my brain so I could read this again for the first time.

In Emily Henry novels I can always trust that I will

a) have a fun time
b) always find some form of relatability in her protagonists
c) Feel all sappy by the end

At the beginning of the novel, we see the protagonist Daphne in a rough place- her ex-fiancé left her for his childhood best friend, she’s lost all her mutual connections and the house she lived in and, as a last resort, she finds herself becoming roommates with her ex-fiancé’s new partner’s ex-boyfriend, Miles. What I liked most about Funny Story was the pacing and of course, the great banter that I’ve come to expect and adore about Henry’s writing.

Another element of Emily Henry’s novels that I’ve come to really appreciate is the emphasis she places on the importance of connections and friendships aside from the main romance plot point. In Funny Story in particular this is such a key factor in Daphne’s personal growth, and I loved being in her head while she figured that out. The setting is also so much fun in this book and Miles is so sweet.

With a swoon-worthy romance, funny dialogue, a librarian protagonist, and a wonderful sense of small-town community, Emily Henry fans, romance readers and general book lovers (ha, see what I did there) are in for a real treat with this one!

There are some guarantees in life and one of those is that I am going to adore any novel that Emily Henry delivers into the universe 🫶🏻

Funny Story is the newest offering by the queen of romance and it’s SO good 🥹 while Book Lovers retains its place as my absolute favourite EmHen book, Funny Story comes steaming into my top 3. Close proximity, friends to lovers, slow burn attraction - what more do you need?

Miles Nowak is truly a top tier character, he may even be the crème de la crème of all of Emily’s creations thus far. He is thoughtful, caring, attentive and just the most perfect book boyfriend, I was obsessed with his budding relationship with Daphne - like could happily read several more books just about them as a couple! Also Daphne is a great main character - she’s fiery and stands up for herself and is a child’s librarian aka the dream job 🫶🏻

There is honestly so much to love about this book: the sizzling romance, the powerful female friendships, the less than perfect and therefore entirely realistic view of strained familial relationships, and just that familiar way Emily Henry has of drawing you into a story with the magic that is her words.

Thanks to Viking & Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Emily Henry's books and Funny Story was no exception. It was so refreshing to read a protagonist who feels socially awkward around people/isn't the world's-greatest-friend/is a little introverted. And Miles was adorable and unusual in all the right ways. I did find their requisite emotional turmoil a bit over-explained and wordy, especially in the final 1/3 of the novel, but I also appreciate that our main characters are complex and have reasons for their behaviours. Overall a brilliantly entertaining read.

It's a funny story (he he) but I found this really hard to get into and thought the first 10% was quite chaotic! After that, I pretty much devoured the rest of the book 😂 I did enjoy it, but as you can see by my rating, I thought it was good, but nowhere near as good as Emily Henry's previous books, which all got 5⭐ from me...

I'll start with what I liked.
⭐I liked both of the main characters, Miles was charming, kind and giving; he was adorable. Daphne was a bit bland, but she grew on me, and after a while, I found her quite funny and I felt for what she had been through. Both were realistically written, with sad back stories and flaws.

⭐The chemistry between the characters was 🔥They had great banter, and I enjoyed their slow burn relationship.

⭐I enjoyed the side characters, especially Ashleigh and Julia.

⭐I adored the location of Waning Bay in North Michigan! It sounded like a gorgeous place, and I could really visualise all the places they visited on their not dates. The sunrise and sunsets sounded beautiful.

⭐The writing was addictive, the dialogue good, and I found the story both funny and emotional.

There were some negatives for me personally though.
😐Obviously, I mentioned the start already..It was rocky.

😐The characters felt a bit familiar, predictable and bland?

😐Certain parts of the book bored me and I actually skimmed (I know, I know I can't believe it either!) like the readathon, certain parts of Daphne's job etc

😐How long the miscommunication went on for. I'm not a fan of this trope, and it irritated me, even though the crossed wires ended well.

😐The fact that Daphne lost everything and realised that she needed a life outside of her partner but then fell straight into the same trap. This was somewhat resolved, but even then she only really had one friend outside of the relationship.

😐I also felt like both characters needed to spend time by themselves, and get a whole lot of therapy (especially Miles) to move on from their childhood family traumas. It wrapped up too quickly, whereas we could have had some really great character development.

So I did enthusiastically binge read this, and I did enjoy it, but it didn't wow me or leave me with that feeling of walking on sunshine, that Emily's other books did. It's a good, quick read, but maybe expecting authors to churn out a book a year is having a detrimental effect? Or maybe it's a blip? Or maybe it's just me...

I think most fans of this author will love this, and it has a high rating from other early readers, so give it a shot and see where you guys fall! Definitely read it for Miles, for the amazing setting, for looking for love after loss. 3.5 rounded up to four stars is by no means a bad rating, but it does reflect my hesitancy, despite steaming through it.

🍷🍷🍷🍷

Hello Emily Henry cinematic universe and why have I misjudged you for so long? Funny Story is the first EmHen novel that had me truly encapsulated from beginning to end. The main characters were to die for. With Daphne’s witty, dry sense of humour and her love of all things books, how am I not supposed to love her? She is everything I desire to be. Along with Miles’ Nick Miller personality. Please just give me the plot of New Girl in another font and I will EAT IT UP. I adore how Henry intertwines women’s fiction with an added romance. It’s one of my favourite genres. Like, yes, I want a book that makes me feel empowered and not alone in this scary world, but also give me a sarcastic brunette to crush over - perfect, thanks.

Time to reread her whole discography with a whole new outlook on life.

This is my favourite Emily Henry so far.

The characters are a delight to spend time with, I loved them all, I even loved hating Petra & Peter. Obviously, I was a huge fan of Daphne & Miles (even after our initial less than flattering introduction to him) & I read a lot of it with a cheesy grin on my face. Two of my favourites were Julia & Ashleigh, who brought a wonderful snark/banter level to the book.

I really enjoyed the friendships in this book, Daphne & Miles, Daphne & Ashleigh, Miles & absolutely everyone.

There was just something about this one that made it stand out.

Fake dating, acquaintances to lovers, friendships, found family & just the right amount of will they won't they.

This amazing set of characters very quickly became friends and I was pulled into their lives and willed their futures to be happy.this is the second book I have read by this author and she is fast becoming one of my favourite reads.
This story moves from heartbreak to what if? Can Miles and Daphne move past their disjointed childhoods and recent heartbreak to fully commit to each other?
Beautiful descriptions of Lake Michigan and the surrounding area transported me to this lake and small towns around it.
I really did not want this book to end, but I also needed to discover what.happened to the characters.
Highly recommended

Enjoyed this so much!!!!! May be my favourite Emily Henry book yet. Really heartwarming and charming with an attractive love interest and a really interesting plot. All of the characters felt incredibly well developed and the dialogue was realistic.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Emily Henry has done it again and reminded me why she is still one of my favourite authors.

I loved Daphne (and not just because she is a librarian too), she grows so much during this book. We meet Daphne when she is in a difficult point in her life and trying to find out who she is as an individual and not in a couple. I really enjoyed her journey!

Miles is just a sweetheart and I loved getting to know him better along with Daphne.

This was easy to read and addictive as Emily's books always have been.

As always, I can't wait to see what Emily is going to write next!

I was just so happy to get the chance to read this book before its release date; Emily Henry is my favourite romance writer of all time, and she just brings sunshine to my life with everyone of her books, and all of her previous novels (with the exception of Book Lovers) have been 5 star reads for me. Sadly, this was not the case, but it was still so good, hence the 4 stars.

I had the best time reading this story of finding oneself again, and of starting to trust people for the first time. I felt so much for Daphne, the main character, she doesn't trust easily and what happened with her ex-fiancée was horrible. Luckily she founds Miles, and together they find a way to overcome the wrongful things life threw at them in the past, and these things were also what brough them together. Their relationship felt real for me, and even if the way they meet is quite funny (hence the title), the rest of their story is a sweet discovery of how we are never alone.

I think this was not a five star read for me simply based on gut istinct. I read a lot of romance novels, so sometimes you just have to go with how a book makes you feel in rating it. And this made me feel less than the other Henry's books (as above, with the exception of Book Lovers). I preferred other stories, and in the end I didn't connect so much with Miles and Daphne as much as her previous couples. But that's just a me thing, this book is still so sweet and full of that beautiful balance Henry has to mix a light-hearted novel with serious topics. I totally recommend it.

Emily Henry has done it again.

I knew I would love this book, but it's officially my new favourite book of all time. Emily managed to create two characters who feel so real and relatable by using such an unique concept. This book made me laugh, cry and feel butterflies. I was invested in Daphne and Miles, together and individually, from the moment they were introduced. The chemistry was off the charts and their relationship felt so genuine. All the side characters and setting were so wonderful too. I loved this book so much and I will be recommending it to absolutely everyone.

Also, if you're a Taylor Swift fan this book is for the people who resonate with Mirrorball.

This was incredibly good! I didn't expect anything less from Emily Henry, but it still wowed me

In Funny Story, Daphne ends up sharing an apartment with Miles after her fiancé decides he's actually in love with his best friend, Petra, who was in a relationship with Miles at that time. Not only does Peter, now Daphne's ex, ends their relationship out of the blue, but he makes it clear that it's his house she's living in, so she needs to figure out where she's going to go. Funny Story is a romance, yes, but also a journey of self-discovery for Daphne because she realizes she had centred her whole life around Peter - where she lived, who she was spending time with, and even the activities she took part in. Miles is dealing with his own breakup, but also learning a lot about himself and his extreme sense of responsibility and guilt.

I loved this book! Both of these characters felt very real and so did their struggles, even if the premise setup felt a bit rushed. Emily Henry keeps getting better and better with each book she writes. From a person who was not a huge fan when she published her first two books and now considers her to be one of my auto-buy authors, I truly believe her writing has matured and her characters feel more believable and complex with each new book. I also loved how this was a love letter to books!

Thank you so much to Viking UK and NetGalley for this e-ARC!

Emily Henry's books are ALWAYS amazing and she's an instant pre-order author for me, but I so loved this one! It's such a great set-up and I can't wait for my friends to read it too so we can all DISCUSS!

EH just keeps getting better and better. Daphne and Miles are both such interesting, nuanced and imperfections characters and I adored getting to know them. This book is heart-warming, silly and really deep all at once.

I loved Daphne and Ashleigh's relationship so much and the exploration of what it feels like to find yourself after the rug has been pulled out from beneath you.

Waning Bay is also a super adorable location.

Highly recommend this!

“I’m not sure what parts of me are him and which parts are genuinely my own. And I want to know. I want to know myself, to test my edges and see where I stop and the rest of the world begins.”

Thank you so much to the Viking Books team and to NetGalley for gifting me an eARC of this funny, sexy, and utterly delightful romance by Emily Henry! I had the most joyful time reading this, and it’s one of my new favorite romances 🩷

This book is for anyone that enjoys a good romance with a lot of heart and a bit of spice! And it’s especially for you, if you like:
💫 opposites attract
💫 sunsets and sunrises
💫 forced proximity
💫 good food (so much of it)
💫 small adventures

While this didn’t make me cry like Happy Place did, it made me giggle more than once! I loved it, and I loved Daphne and Miles, in all of their flawed perfection! They both hurt people around them, but they grow, and they become better people, not just for themselves, but for each other and for the people in their lives.

In typical Emily Henry fashion, this book is not only an incredible romance, but so much more! It’s a wonderful portrayal of characters learning to heal, learning to stand up for themselves, and learning to build community. Community is such a central theme of this story, and the large cast of supporting characters made this novel unique in the best way possible 🥰

Although this isn’t my favorite Emily Henry book, Daphne and Miles’ story still holds a place in my heart. I see a lot of myself in Daphne, in her weird, genuine laughter, in her desire to belong with others, in her fear of being abandoned and of not being good enough. It is rare for me to relate deeply to characters, so it felt really special to me!

TW: Alcohol and drug use, absent parent, infidelity, child abuse.

Emily Henry has done it again. Her signature detail to the senses (the smell of ginger and woodsmoke *chefs kiss*) was evident, as well as the impressive balance between scenery description, witty dialogue, and moving the plot along. Will’s almost golden retriever energy is complimentary to Daphne’s sometimes self-deprecating ways. The chemistry truly crackles in the beginning from their first kiss to Daphne getting stuck in her wedding dress and beyond. Daphne evolves not only in her romantic relationship, but in her friendship with Ashley and her strained acquaintance with her father (and Starfire). Overall, it was a wonderful read.

I know when I pick up a book by Emily Henry, I am in for a five star whirlwind of feel good vibes and romance. I say whirlwind, because I cannot stop reading her books once I start. I got everything I was expecting and more from Funny Story. I couldn’t help but feel for Daphne and Miles and root from them after their worlds are turned upside down when their exes couple up. I love the forced proximity trope and the delivery of it was pitch perfect in this book. More than that. I loved the small town and the side characters. Why don’t I have a 24 hour readathon to attend? I would love that.

Romance readers, relax; you have found your next favourite couple, beach read and pick me up, all rolled into one book.

Thanks to Emily Henry, her publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review and advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Daphne finds herself homeless after her fiancé announces he's leaving her to be with his best friend, Petra just before their wedding. So she ends up moving in with Miles, Petra's ex. After a drunken might out they both RSVP to the wedding and fake date as a way to get back to their exes, but somewhere along the way Miles and Daphne grow closer and the line between fake and real blurs.

I love Emily Henry's books, she is great at writing romantic banter and her characters are always layered. This book didn't disappoint, especially the character of Miles who needs to be protected at all costs. Compared to her other books it did feel like it took at bit to get into it, but once the story hit its stride it was great.

I love how many of Emily Henry's books (I haven't read them all) are based in the book/publishing world. This time it's a library. The characters are very relatable, the premise is pretty funny-peculiar but kind of plausible too. Really enjoyed it. Emily Henry does not disappoint!