Breakaway Books

Authored by Emily Henry; Published April 2024; Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

I love Emily Henry’s romances. They’re never *just* about the love story but the full emotional life of the heroine. At the end of Henry’s books, the star crossed pair is not just together, but better.

Funny Story is no exception. Daphne is a librarian who struggles with feeling like she is never quite good enough, always coming second place to someone just a little bit better. My heart hurt with hers as her father de-prioritizes her again and again throughout the novel. Enter Miles, dealing with his own issues from a mother who reacted with anger every time he dared to be upset.

What I appreciated about this pair’s romance was that, in spite of the fact that they clearly had chemistry, they didn’t leap straight into a serious relationship. They acknowledged that they were dealing with real issues, and they talked about it. Only after really looking at their problems and seeing how they could help each other were they able to live happily ever after.

This book had lots of smaller touches that brought me joy too: Daphne’s work as a childhood librarian and her budding friendships with her coworkers; Miles’s positive relationship with just about everyone in the community. It had the ring of Groundhog Day, with how tied into the community the two end up. It warmed my heart. Bonus points for the fact that Daphne has a serious conversation about how she failed as a friend with her fellow librarian—we should normalize these types of conversations in friendships!

I love how Henry writes romances that address serious issues without making the novel itself feeling heavy. Pick this one up now!