Funny Story is a new romantic comedy by Emily Henry that takes “friends to lovers” to a whole new level. The novel begins with our heroine Daphne Vincent living in the extra bedroom of her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex-boyfriend’s apartment. To explain that sentence, let’s back up a little. A few weeks earlier, everything in Daphne’s life was going swimmingly. She was engaged to the perfect, dependable Peter Collins, they had just bought a house—or rather, he had bought a house for them—in his hometown of Waning Bay, Michigan, and she had landed her dream job as a children’s librarian. But then, Peter returns from his bachelor party trip and drops a bomb on Daphne. He’s fallen in love with his childhood best friend Petra (who was, of course, included in the bachelor party), and they’re moving in together. Into Peter and Daphne’s new house. Without Daphne. Now, Daphne has to find a place to live so she can keep working until she figures things out. Enter: Petra’s (ex) boyfriend Miles Nowack and his extra bedroom. Miles is pretty much the exact opposite of Daphne—he’s an ultra laid-back Type B personality to her hyper-organized Type A personality—but he’s nice enough, and soon their roommate situation begins to feel like a friendship. Just to make things a smidge more complicated, after a night of too many sorrow-drowning shots, Daphne and Miles craft a plan to get back at their exes: they post a picture posing as if they’re dating, hoping to remind Peter and Petra just what they’re missing. However, Waning Bay is a small town, and a fake relationship might not be as easy to maintain as they think, even between friends…
Over the past few years, Henry has delivered hit after hit with her smart, sophisticated romantic comedies like Beach Read and Happy Place, but Funny Story feels like her best one yet. Living up to its title, this book is so funny—like, make-you-laugh-out-loud-while-reading-in-a-public-place funny—especially the banter between Daphne and Miles. The two share a delightful odd couple connection, and their dialogue feels like a flirty battle of wits; they tease each other, make each other laugh, and lovingly challenge one another to step out of their comfort zones. In this “will they, won’t they” situation, it was refreshing to enjoy the couple’s dynamic as friends as much as I enjoyed their dynamic as lovers. Henry is an expert at filling out her romances with the real-life, outside stuff like jobs and best friends, and those often end up being my favorite bits, this book being no exception. I loved watching Daphne savor her days at the library, running Story Time for the children and organizing the Read-a-thon, and the friendship that develops between her and her coworker Ashleigh captures all the nerves and elation of making friends as an adult. Funny Story fizzes with personality, brims with insight, and crackles with sexual tension—this is definitely a new all-time favorite romantic comedy.
I’d recommend this book to…
- Anyone interested in a smart, funny romance with snappy dialogue… it’s similar in style to Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey
- Anyone who thinks friendship leads to the best romantic chemistry… it’s similar in theme to A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin
- Anyone looking for something thoughtful yet still bubbling with flirtation… it’s similar in tone to Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
