A Review Of “Funny Story” By Emily Henry

A huge thank-you to Berkley for this advanced reader copy of Funny Story by Emily Henry.

Why “Funny Story” is Yet Another Excellent Romcom by Emily Henry by The Espresso Edition cozy bookish blog

One thing about me: if Emily Henry writes it, I’m going to read it (and love it). It’ll come as zero surprise that I’m considering Funny Story yet another excellent romcom!

At this point, I’m pretty sure one of the fastest ways to summon me is to mention Emily Henry books. I have given every one of her romcoms a 5-star rating, even after multiple rereads. If anything, with each read, they get better! This is one author who has never ever let me down. I knew from the instant I read the synopsis for Funny Story that I would love it with all my heart… and I wasn’t wrong.

One of the most exciting parts of 2024 so far has been my acceptance into the Berkley influencer program. They have published so many of my most beloved books and it feels like an absolute dream to be receiving ARCs of their upcoming releases–primarily from my favorite romance authors! Getting the chance to read and review Funny Story by the absolute queen of romance herself, Emily Henry, is such an honor.

Funny Story hits shelves on April 23, 2024. If you haven’t already preordered a copy, make sure to pick one up at your favorite book retailer right away (or download the audiobook, since it’s narrated by the spectacular Julia Whelan). You won’t want to miss this absolutely phenomenal romcom!

LOOKING FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS?

Click here for the reviews archive

My honest review of Funny Story by Emily Henry.

Synopsis:

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author 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?

Content Warnings: (Major) Cursing, (Moderate) Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Sexual content, (Minor) Vomit

Honestly, how do you even begin to review an Emily Henry book aside from *pterodactyl screeching noises* and *unintelligible fluttery hand gestures* to properly convey how much you love it? Just when I thought I couldn’t love her romcoms more, she goes and writes Funny Story.

Since 2021, I have not managed to find a single romance novel to top my obsession with People We Meet on Vacation–and I have read several hundred romances. How Emily managed to beat her own book is absolutely beyond me. Funny Story now takes first place in my favorites list.

As I was reading my eARC (thank you, THANK YOU, Berkley) I decided to highlight everything that stood out to me. Three paragraphs into the first chapter and I was already highlighting a quote that had me snorting with laughter. The rest of the book made me feel precisely as giddy as those first few lines and I managed to highlight nearly 40 quotes and added countless notes.

Something that constantly impresses me with Emily’s writing style is that while she maintains a classic romcom formula (meaning that the book is equally as funny as it is romantic), she doesn’t skimp on depth and emotion. I have cried nearly as many times as I have laughed while reading each of her novels and Funny Story was no different. It dealt with themes like emotionally abusive family members and toxic romantic relationships. But it doesn’t just glaze over them or make them feel unimportant. They’re an integral part of the story and handled with so much grace.

This book also gave me an element I never knew I needed (?) in an EmHen novel: found family. It may have manifested in an untraditional sense, but it was absolutely part of the narrative and I really loved how it was cultivated and nurtured throughout the story. By the end of the book, I felt as though Ashleigh’s friendship with Daphne was just as important as the romantic relationship with Miles.

If you’re looking for something feel-good that will make you laugh so hard you nearly pee yourself, cry a little, and just fall in love with love all over again, you need to pick up Funny Story. I had the best time ever reading this book and I can’t wait to pick it up whenever I’m craving some extra comfort. All the stars for this fantastic romcom!

**Unrelated and semi-unimportant but fun fact time: A truly delightful part of this for me was that the Richmond they reference time and again is Richmond, Virginia… which just happens to be where I was born and raised and lived until 2021. Seeing it mentioned over and over made me really happy. Now, if only I could convince Emily to do more tour stops there…