A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

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?

Book Type:

Romantic Comedy

Review: Funny Story

Embittered roommates pretend date (and fall in love) in retaliation against their respective exes.

Daphne’s fiancé, Peter, comes home from his bachelor party and unexpectedly breaks off their engagement. Worse yet, he proclaims he’s in love with his childhood best friend, Petra. Peter and Petra jet to Europe while Daphne is forced to move out of their place and pick up the pieces of what she thought was their idyllic life.

Without much recourse, she temporarily moves in with Petra’s ex-boyfriend, Miles—the only one in the same miserable predicament.

Scruffy, chaotic, messy, and unexpectedly charming, Miles is the opposite of the pragmatic, ultra-organized, and often closed-off Daphne. A children’s librarian, Daphne moved to Waning Bay, Michigan, for Peter. Now without family or friends of her own, she must find her way through the all-too familiar storm of shattered promises and lies.

Daphne and Miles largely avoid each other, but one day, they form a tremulous friendship amidst their shared sorrow. Their friendship turns into something more, however—at least publicly—when in a moment of panic and deflection, Daphne declares she’s dating Miles.

Trouble is, the more time they spend together, the harder it is to discern what is real and what is not, as real feelings escalate between Daphne and her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex.

As with Henry’s other novels, it felt like the most delightful escape to jump into her story about two people—seemingly opposites—finding something real with each other. I loved the balance of humor and poignancy, and as always, the characters felt relatable and loveable in their flawed authenticity.  Their chemistry touted an irresistible ease that felt natural in the narrative—evidence to Henry’s meticulous, storytelling prowess.

A joy to read, perfect for springtime reading.

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