Let me start with an admission: I've avoided Emily Henry novels. Nothing against the modern queen of literary rom-coms, who consistently tops the New York Times Best Sellers list. But she doesn’t need me hyping her books. And I just wasn’t into romance novels.
Or so I thought.
Then my husband and I took a road trip recently, and we decided to listen to Funny Story on audio. Now I know what the fuss is about. It was a charming, funny, spicy way to spend a few hours on the road. (And special props to narrator Julia Whelan, whose voice brought this novel to life. There’s a reason she’s the O-G of audiobook romance.)
Funny Story follows Daphne and Miles, who find themselves sharing an apartment because — funny story! — Daphne’s fiance left her a few weeks before their wedding for his childhood best friend, Petra, who also happened to be Miles’s girlfriend. When Peter and Petra invite Daphne and Miles to their wedding, Peter calls Daphne to tell her it’s totally fine if she doesn’t want to go. Because, you know, she’s all alone and everything. Daphne tells him she’s not alone, in fact, because she’s, um, dating Miles!
And that’s where the ol’ fake-it-til-you-make-it trope takes off.
Daphne, a super organized children’s librarian, finds herself drawn to her polar opposite, a scruffy, pot-smoking, chocolate lab of a man who turns out to be a pretty good guy. And if the characters and witty dialogue aren’t enough, the fictional lakeside town of Waning Bay, Michigan, will have you itching to take a summer vacation.
And wherever you go, take this book with you. It’s an absolute delight.
