Funny Story by 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?
Review: Daphne was happy to move to Michigan to live near her fiancé Peter's family, especially once she found her dream job as a children's librarian. Her life feels like a dream, up until the moment that Peter confesses that he has feelings for his childhood best friend Petra and is breaking up with her. Without any where to turn, Daphne ends up roommates with none other than Petra's ex, Miles. Seemingly with only their mutual breakups in common, the pair seem very different and mostly avoid each other, until they begin to form a tenuous friendship and post deliberately misleading photos that make it look like they're more than just roommates.
I would characterize this as a romance with substance. I loved Daphne and Miles's story, but I also liked that the story wasn't just about their connection. In this book, Daphne spends a lot of time reflecting on her relationship with her parents, where she wants to be in life, what kind of friend she wants to be, and what makes her happy. In particular, she spends a lot of time reflecting and discussing her relationship with her father, which has never been a great one. Likewise, Miles spends time thinking about his own family and his relationship with his younger sister.
I did love the connection between Daphne and Miles, which felt genuine and natural. And I love how the author is so good at weaving bookish content into her books. Daphne is a librarian and so references to reading and books is naturally sprinkled throughout the book. I will say that for a plot that hinges on a great heartbreak occurring to both of the main characters, there sense of loss is negligible. I never got the sense that Daphne was upset, let alone devastated. She comes across more as inconvenienced by her marriage being called off.
Emily Henry is really good at turning romantic tropes on their head and this book is no different. This was a fresh take on fake dating and rebound relationships. I have hard other readers say that they were bothered by the causal marijuana use by characters in this book and while it didn't bother me, just a head's up. A fun romance with great banter and chemistry and a satisfying happy ending.
Stars: 4
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