“I love you in a way that feels brand-new. You make every single thing that went wrong feel like it was just a step in the right direction, and it—it makes me excited. For life to keep surprising me.”
I just finished Emily Henry’s Funny Story this morning, and the last line had me happy-crying. I want to be Emily Henry when I grow up (yes, I’m aware she’s younger than me), and I want to live inside one of her novels. Since neither of those things are possible, I’ll pursue the next best thing, and continue to be inspired by her writing, and write my own romance novels that I hope may someday be compared to hers.
But about Funny Story…what did I love about it? So many things.
The plot is fairly straightforward. Daphne is engaged to Peter, who convinced her to uproot her life and move to this picturesque tourist town on the shore of Lake Michigan. Everything is great until the night of his bachelor party. Then, he cheats on Daphne with his childhood best friend, Petra.
He calls off the wedding and tells Daphne she has a week to move out of their house, which is only in his name.
Enter Miles. He and Petra were dating and sharing an apartment. Suddenly, Daphne needs a place to stay, and Miles could use some help with the rent, so she moves into the spare bedroom.
They’re complete opposites, but they bond when they both receive an invitation to Peter and Petra’s wedding. After a night of drunken commiserating, they RSVP yes. The next day, Peter calls Daphne and he is so condescending, that she lies and tells him that she and Miles are a couple. That leads to a fake dating scenario, and Daphne and Miles learn that opposites attract, best friends can show up at unexpected times, and emotional scars can be healed through love and understanding.
One of the best parts of the novel is how Daphne and Miles really get to know each other and become friends first. Emily Henry is a master at using romantic tropes like opposites attract, grumpy vs sunshine, pretend dating, and friends to lovers in ways that are unexpected yet realistic, and which gives both the characters and the plot added depth. Plus, she is the master at banter.
And while the dialogue is witty and awesome, so are some of the emotional descriptions. Like:
“He kisses the top of my head like it’s the most natural thing in the world.”
“I thought about taking a video of myself giving you a lap dance, but I don’t have anything to mount your phone on, so this was the next best thing.”
“I will happily go back into the woods, find some sticks, and build you a tripod, Daphne,” he says.
“You been harboring a secret bartender fantasy?” Peter asks dryly. “No,” I say firmly, turning in to Miles. I loop my own arms around his waist, basically propping my boobs up on his chest, and gazing into his eyes as I say, “But the roommate thing is pretty hot.”
Life isn’t a competition, and neither is love, but I’m still the loser.
“You said no one wants you around,” he replies. “What about me?” “What about you?” I say. “Me wanting you doesn’t count?” he asks, brows knitted together.
This is one of those books that I’m sorry is over. But I’m so very glad I got the chance to read it!
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