Emily Henry is my favorite writer, I think I can confidently say that now after finishing her 5th novel. I am awestruck every time I open a page she has touched and overwhelmed with emotion, thought and feeling.
I've gotten into a pretty good groove of pre-ordering her books but then letting them sit for days, weeks or months before I pick it up because I know the minute I touch it, it'll be finished. The novelty will wear off and I will have to wait a long time for another story.
That's what happened with Funny Story which was released in April but I didn't start reading it until last week. What happened next? I finished the book in less than 24 hours... once I crack open the fresh Emily Henry there's no stopping me.
I will admit that I wasn't that intrigued by the plot but I was hoping for the best...turns out, Funny Story might've just over taken Book Lovers as my favorite Emily Henry novel.
Publisher's Summary
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?
My Thoughts
I did not love Happy Place and the more I think about it, the less I like it. It's a hard truth to admit but I'm mature enough to accept it. It felt like such a strong pivot away from Henry's usual style of writing that it felt like I had whiplash -- I wasn't expecting it and it was hard to swallow.
I expected Funny Story to be similar in that sense and I was right, but I think she found her groove with Daphne and Miles. There was a lot of romance, SO MUCH STEAM (like probably her dirtiest book yet and I loved it) but so much thoughtful character development and conversation. It was beautifully written, very poetic and literary but with that romantic undertone we've come to know and love.
Daphne might've been my favorite main character that Emily has written; she was strong, sure of herself in what she liked and didn't but was still open for exploration. She wasn't totally closed off, she let herself want and need, but with her guard up. It felt very natural, like you could meet someone like this walking down the street. She didn't feel like a character, she felt real.
Miles was similar in nature, though his back story wasn't as cut & dry. I understood his reasoning for why he was the way he was but it just didn't make much sense...but that could be my own ignorance.
There were a lot of great side characters in the story that I was very invested in, and it felt a lot more natural than Happy Place because you were meeting them just as other characters were.
The trope of this story is also hilarious and so well done by Henry -- Daphne's ex-fiancee's new fiancee's ex boyfriend is her roommate? That is only going to happen in a fictional world and I'm really glad Emily Henry wrote it. I could imagine this plot could be written by someone who is only focused on romance and sex, without the deep character development and thoughtful prose but it just wouldn't hit the same.
One of my favorite things about Funny Story was that the miscommunication trope that usually happens in the third act was minimal. It wasn't drawn out of overly complicated, it was actually kind of twisty & cool how it was done.
This was the ultimate story: love, hurt, friendship, familial relationships, career...it was utter perfection and I loved every second of it.
It's hard for me to express just how much I loved Funny Story and I think this will be a book that I read again when I need something excellent. If you've been less than impressed by Emily Henry in the past, I think that Funny Story is one you should sink your teeth into.
xoxo
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