Funny Story by Emily Henry meets my approval, in case anyone was waiting for me to say it. The short of it – it’s great, you’ll love it. The long of it, well, it’s a good thing I have a whole review to fit it all in because there are so many things I love about this read. Strap yourselves in, folks, because this is going to be a long one for sure!

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 realised 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?

Does that sound like an exciting read? Maybe one with a lot of drama, so it immediately sounds like your cup of tea? When I first started reading Funny Story, I had a sneaky suspicion that I would be hooked into the novel when I least expected it. I was wrong, of course, because Emily Henry writes in such a way that I was hooked within the first chapter. There was nothing for me to do but continue reading knowing she knows how to write a good romance book. I prefer Funny Story to Book Lovers, Happy Place, and Beach Read, but looking at my reviews for those books they are all at least 4-star reads, so really it goes to show how right this book felt to me.

The more romance books I read, the more I realise that a small town with a tight-knit community feel, weekly produce markets, good bar venues, and people who make the place come alive is really what I am looking for. It feels like the perfect escape – slipping into this no-nonsense town for a few hours, enjoying the sensory description and emotion flavouring the air. On top of that, you give me a complex, layered romance to watch unfold and I will be engrossed for hours. Everything about this book was inviting, engaging, and well worth the read.

Aside form the setting which is the die for, the people who were to die for, and the writing style which I would kill to possess, Funny Story contains so many poignant themes and journeys surrounding self-discovery, trauma, and family – be it blood family or found family (and who doesn’t love that trope). There is a softness to Emily Henry’s books when it comes to the more serious stuff, like the reader is getting a glimpse at the vulnerable and the conflicts that come from it without feeling like they are wading in waters too deep or picking at the scabs of their own situations. Funny Story address, it acknowledges, it shows the good and the bad, and then it shows a way forward. It is such a lovely book to read, and I surprised myself with how quickly I got through it.

I highly recommend Funny Story. Whether you are a contemporary romance reader, an adult general fiction reader, a new adult romance reader, or just looking for a book to fill your time, Funny Story should be added to your tbr list. It is well worth it, and probably my favourite of Emily Henry’s books. I have yet to read People We Meet on Vacation (I am aware my reading order with her books is a little out of whack, so long as I get them done it is all good), and with Great Big Beautiful Life making its way into the world I have yet another book to add to my own tbr. Happy reading, everyone!