Funny Story by Emily Henry
Publication Date: April 23rd 2024 by Berkley & Penguin Audio
Pages: 400
Audio Book Length: 11hrs 23min
Narrator: Julia Whelan
Source: Publishers
Rating: ★★★★★
My
Thoughts:
Daphne moved to Waning Bay, Michigan following her fiancé,
Peter, back to his hometown. Her planned future with him is everything she’s always
wanted: stability, family, friends, and a gorgeous Victorian home. Everything
is perfect until Peter decides he’s actually in love with his childhood best
friend, Petra. They get together leaving Daphne homeless, so she ends up moving
in with Miles, Petra’s ex-boyfriend, also dumped. Daphne’s counting the days until
she can pick up and move.
I loved everything about this romance! Miles and Daphne bonding
over fake dating, fun outings, whacky family, new friends, and plenty of laugh-out-loud
moments! They also bonded over sad things: heartache, toxic family, and
feelings of not being good enough. Waning, Michigan sounded beautiful as Miles shows
Daphne around to all his favorite parts!
Funny Story ties with Book Lovers and Beach Read as
my favorite Emily Henry’s! The story brought pure joy to my heart!
I alternately read an e-copy and listened to the audio version
of Funny Story and recommend either version. Julia Whelan is such an excellent
performer! She really enhances any story she narrates! All characters are
distinct, their emotions come through loud and clear! I listened at my usual
1.5x normal speed.
Book Description:
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.
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?
The bookish elements with a contemporary romance make for a combination that's hard to pass on!
ReplyDeleteIt was really good!
DeleteI see I must pick up an Emily Henry story and this sounds like a good place to start.
ReplyDeleteYes! You could definitely start here!
DeleteFantastic! I'm glad you loved it too. Emily Henry has been a must read for me for awhile. Julia Whelan just makes it even better.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart
Yes, she enhanced an already amazing story!
DeleteI am so excited to see everyone's thoughts on this book and also very excited to read it myself.
ReplyDeleteHope you love it as much as I did!
DeleteI loved both Beach Read and Book Lovers! And I can't wait to read this one. If only my library hold would hurry up and come in. :D
ReplyDeleteThose were so good! I hope you love this one too, Lark! I look forward to your thoughts!
DeleteThis sounds like a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI am on a long list for this one at the library. I am hoping to listen to it, as I love Julia Whelan's narration. This sounds like a great story, and of course the romance too. Wonderful review, Rachel.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I loved their story.
ReplyDeleteI should give her another go. I was not too impressed by the one I read, but that was just one book
ReplyDeleteSo, I really need to try another book by this author. And try reading instead of listening to. Hoping that will get me to enjoy them as much as everyone else seems to be doing. Great review!
ReplyDeleteLisa Loves Literature
I just started listening to the audiobook yesterday! Pretty sure it'll be a 5-star read for me too.
ReplyDeleteI will start by saying I enjoyed this book very much (4.5/5), but I always feel like an outlier when it comes to my favorite Henry books (A Million Junes, Friends We Meet on Vacation, Happy Place). I thought the premise for this story was a good one and it was executed well, but the characters and setting are what really won me over. Miles ended up being quite the gem.
ReplyDelete