Monday, June 3, 2024

Funny Story by Emily Henry

June 3

I don't have a ton to say about this book, but I can give the nonspecific highlights:

Emily Henry's Funny Story is in my second of three tiers for her books. Tier 1: Beach Read and Book Lovers. Tier 2: Funny Story and Happy Place. Tier 3: The People We Meet on Vacation (maybe the title being so long was a sign). 4 stars. Do recommend if you like the genre.
It does what she does well. You know who the One True Pairing is early. You simmer tension throughout only for a break to come because of a misunderstanding.
She's done better, but this one has its charm. And it involves books as a plot point.
It plays a little with the genre. She is fond of putting romance tropes in her books that are side plots (Book Lovers has a Hallmark-style one that leaves our main character as the odd person out to get the plot rolling).

This book felt very familiar as I read it. There was an obvious Beach Read connection where they do shared planned adventures.

But the characters were familiar for a reason I couldn't place. Henry loves to put the sunshine and grumpy characters together (and don't we all?). But the dynamic (and even some lines) felt like I'd seen it before. And I had. Fangirl. The woman is the grumpy one. The man a gregarious friend to all. And he doesn't like to read because of dyslexia. It took me too long to realize that Cath and Levi were transposed into this one.

Henry is also fond of easter eggs for her other books. The Beach Read authors are the default.

All in all, it was a fun read.