elle’s review of Funny Story > Likes and Comments
1029 likes · Like
I would give her anything 😩💗 Love her
JB wrote: "how do you get an arc??"
i'm in the publisher's influencer program
uh oh- anxiously awaiting your review elle!
I'm reading it now and feeling the same way!
I'm reading the arc right now. And it's definitely not pulling me in like her other books usually do :(
thank you for this review<3 i really loved the only book I read from Emily Henry so far, which is Book lovers, and I loved it for the same reasons as you... Therefore I think i'll still read Funny Story but with lower expectations, more as a romance novel than as a lit fic novel
Omg, yes!!! Book Lovers is at the top of my list too… yet People We Meet on Vacation is towards the bottom so I know already you and I have similar views!
thank you for being honest!! that matters more than anything, in my opinion. <3 can't wait to read this, but trying not to hold this one to the standards i've set for emily henry books i've read previously. (beach read is my favorite.) not being able to relate to characters is really difficult. hoping for better books in your near future!! <3
So interesting you think of her writing as literary fiction... none of her books have ever come close to lit fit for me. I loved it as a romance with a compelling hook!
Kimberly wrote: "So interesting you think of her writing as literary fiction... none of her books have ever come close to lit fit for me. I loved it as a romance with a compelling hook!"
i do think of it as romance—i said that it was reminiscent of a lit fic, not that it was.
I totally agree with this! I just finished my ARC and feel the same way. This read much more like commercial romcom romance
i relate to this review so much and it makes me sad that i probably won’t love this
Wahhhhh! I totally agree with your EH rankings with BL as my #1 and PWMOV was definitely my least favorite. So that makes me bummed because I’ve been looking forward to reading this book. Oh well, I do love a good review and a heads up! Still 100% gonna read as soon as I can get a copy!
Starting to think she may not be the author for me - Book Lovers is also in my top 5 and Beach Read is great - but I haven’t loved anything else. I’ll probably still read it though :))) if you liked Book Lovers, Nora Goes Off Script is another fun one!
Agreed. Just finished and — I don’t know. I loved People We Meet on Vacation and I’ve always felt like lumping EH win with romance/rom com wasn’t quite right because she was more lit ficcy or at least upmarket women’s fiction? But this one feels like she was leaning right into the romance and idk, it was all a bit MUCH. So MUCH wanting on every page. But maybe that’s just me!!
I did enjoy this book quite a bit, but as a lit fic girlie with Happy Place being arguably my fave EmHen bc it is more women/lit fic-y, I do absolutely agree with you. It felt like a step back more into the mainstream from Happy Place, which made me sad!! I love the risks she took with HP, and to me, this felt way more generic/forgettable. Her signature writing was there, and for me personally, the romance worked, but I wanted to see more depth from both characters and especially more of the background characters.
It sounds like you’d enjoy Abby Jimenez characters
Funny but I feel the complete opposite about this one. I’m frustrated with ALL the introspection and side stories with her dad and Ashley. I’m skipping through parts because I read for the romance and this has been extremely disappointing for me in that department.
Miranda wrote: "It sounds like you’d enjoy Abby Jimenez characters"
i hate hate hate hate hated the friend zone so i'm never reading a single book by her ever again
book lovers and happy place on top!!
Love this honest review as someone who has only read people we met on vacation and happy place (I really like people we met on vacation) I’m gonna have to read book lovers if it’s that good
yeah your rating is exactly my thoughts. the characters didnt feel as neatly defined nor human and realistic as in her previous books
I am a lit fiction reader who recently delved into romance after discovering and falling in love with Emily Henry's writing. As someone who had a tough childhood I actually felt really emotionally connected to Daphne and Miles, and even the plot felt surprisingly relatable to my own romantic relationship life (minus the whole fake dating trope thing), so this was a 5 star romance, 4 star lit fic for me. I agree with your order of the EH book rankings, except for this one just because of my personal relatability I think.
I’ve never seen someone put it into words so well omg. The lit fic lover to Emily Henry lover pipeline is real
Omg I so agree with everything you just said
I came to GR to see if anyone was feeling the same (I’m 60% through and I’m not connecting to the story). I read and loved Beach read but mostly because it went beyond a simple romance, I want a good plot / character development …
This one did feel a bit commercial in ways her others didn’t. I found myself at times wondering if she wrote it for a rom-com (the stuck wedding dress scene comes to mind). It just was not the same experience as reading her other books. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
This review is so well written-- at first I couldn't figure out what it was that I didn't love but you said it perfectly! I never really got a great picture of who Daphne was...
Thanks for the thoughtful review. I have only read one Emily Henry book - Book Lovers and loved it. But I am not an avid romance genre reader and more as you described yourself. So I will skip this book and read Happy Place instead. Thx.
I’m about 70% through the book and your review really sums up my feeling. I am also sick of hearing about Miles beard I don’t care enough about it to have like 10+ mentions in the book
My ratings of her books are exactly the same as yours. Ugh I really wanted to love this one but they can't all be winners I suppose.
100% agree i didnt connect w these characters at allllll
I haven't read any Emily Henry yet. Do you have to read in order? Which would you recommend first?
Just finished the book and your Emily Henry rankings align so perfectly with my own. It's kind of hard for me to pin down why exactly I didn't dig this book as much as I usually do with her work, and I think you've detailed it nicely.
back to top
message 1:
by
Jess💗
(new)
Aug 29, 2023 11:38AM
I would give her anything 😩💗 Love her
reply
|
flag
JB wrote: "how do you get an arc??"i'm in the publisher's influencer program
uh oh- anxiously awaiting your review elle!
I'm reading it now and feeling the same way!
I'm reading the arc right now. And it's definitely not pulling me in like her other books usually do :(
thank you for this review<3 i really loved the only book I read from Emily Henry so far, which is Book lovers, and I loved it for the same reasons as you... Therefore I think i'll still read Funny Story but with lower expectations, more as a romance novel than as a lit fic novel
Omg, yes!!! Book Lovers is at the top of my list too… yet People We Meet on Vacation is towards the bottom so I know already you and I have similar views!
thank you for being honest!! that matters more than anything, in my opinion. <3 can't wait to read this, but trying not to hold this one to the standards i've set for emily henry books i've read previously. (beach read is my favorite.) not being able to relate to characters is really difficult. hoping for better books in your near future!! <3
So interesting you think of her writing as literary fiction... none of her books have ever come close to lit fit for me. I loved it as a romance with a compelling hook!
Kimberly wrote: "So interesting you think of her writing as literary fiction... none of her books have ever come close to lit fit for me. I loved it as a romance with a compelling hook!"i do think of it as romance—i said that it was reminiscent of a lit fic, not that it was.
I totally agree with this! I just finished my ARC and feel the same way. This read much more like commercial romcom romance
i relate to this review so much and it makes me sad that i probably won’t love this
Wahhhhh! I totally agree with your EH rankings with BL as my #1 and PWMOV was definitely my least favorite. So that makes me bummed because I’ve been looking forward to reading this book. Oh well, I do love a good review and a heads up! Still 100% gonna read as soon as I can get a copy!
Starting to think she may not be the author for me - Book Lovers is also in my top 5 and Beach Read is great - but I haven’t loved anything else. I’ll probably still read it though :))) if you liked Book Lovers, Nora Goes Off Script is another fun one!
Agreed. Just finished and — I don’t know. I loved People We Meet on Vacation and I’ve always felt like lumping EH win with romance/rom com wasn’t quite right because she was more lit ficcy or at least upmarket women’s fiction? But this one feels like she was leaning right into the romance and idk, it was all a bit MUCH. So MUCH wanting on every page. But maybe that’s just me!!
I did enjoy this book quite a bit, but as a lit fic girlie with Happy Place being arguably my fave EmHen bc it is more women/lit fic-y, I do absolutely agree with you. It felt like a step back more into the mainstream from Happy Place, which made me sad!! I love the risks she took with HP, and to me, this felt way more generic/forgettable. Her signature writing was there, and for me personally, the romance worked, but I wanted to see more depth from both characters and especially more of the background characters.
It sounds like you’d enjoy Abby Jimenez characters
Funny but I feel the complete opposite about this one. I’m frustrated with ALL the introspection and side stories with her dad and Ashley. I’m skipping through parts because I read for the romance and this has been extremely disappointing for me in that department.
Miranda wrote: "It sounds like you’d enjoy Abby Jimenez characters"i hate hate hate hate hated the friend zone so i'm never reading a single book by her ever again
book lovers and happy place on top!!
Love this honest review as someone who has only read people we met on vacation and happy place (I really like people we met on vacation) I’m gonna have to read book lovers if it’s that good
yeah your rating is exactly my thoughts. the characters didnt feel as neatly defined nor human and realistic as in her previous books
I am a lit fiction reader who recently delved into romance after discovering and falling in love with Emily Henry's writing. As someone who had a tough childhood I actually felt really emotionally connected to Daphne and Miles, and even the plot felt surprisingly relatable to my own romantic relationship life (minus the whole fake dating trope thing), so this was a 5 star romance, 4 star lit fic for me. I agree with your order of the EH book rankings, except for this one just because of my personal relatability I think.
I’ve never seen someone put it into words so well omg. The lit fic lover to Emily Henry lover pipeline is real
Omg I so agree with everything you just said
I came to GR to see if anyone was feeling the same (I’m 60% through and I’m not connecting to the story). I read and loved Beach read but mostly because it went beyond a simple romance, I want a good plot / character development …
This one did feel a bit commercial in ways her others didn’t. I found myself at times wondering if she wrote it for a rom-com (the stuck wedding dress scene comes to mind). It just was not the same experience as reading her other books. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
This review is so well written-- at first I couldn't figure out what it was that I didn't love but you said it perfectly! I never really got a great picture of who Daphne was...
Thanks for the thoughtful review. I have only read one Emily Henry book - Book Lovers and loved it. But I am not an avid romance genre reader and more as you described yourself. So I will skip this book and read Happy Place instead. Thx.
I’m about 70% through the book and your review really sums up my feeling. I am also sick of hearing about Miles beard I don’t care enough about it to have like 10+ mentions in the book
My ratings of her books are exactly the same as yours. Ugh I really wanted to love this one but they can't all be winners I suppose.
100% agree i didnt connect w these characters at allllll
I haven't read any Emily Henry yet. Do you have to read in order? Which would you recommend first?
Just finished the book and your Emily Henry rankings align so perfectly with my own. It's kind of hard for me to pin down why exactly I didn't dig this book as much as I usually do with her work, and I think you've detailed it nicely.
