Funny Story by Emily Henry

A book review by Mina Nguyen

Engaged to Peter, Daphne always loved the way Peter described their story of how they met and fell in love over a flying hat. Knowing that he was “the one,” Daphne uprooted her life to Michigan and merged friend groups. Everything was perfect, until Peter’s bachelor party where he realized he was in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Now, Daphne is stranded in Michigan without her friends or family and a dream job as a children’s librarian and now roommates with Petra’s ex, Miles. Miles is the exact opposite of Daphne, scruffy opposed to Daphne’s organized life. When wedding invitations come in the mail, Daphne and Miles propose a plan to post misleading photos of their adventures together but what happens when these fake adventures start to mean something a little more?

While not my favorite of the Emily Henry romance books, Funny Story deserves a high place for rom-coms. Opposites-attract is a typical rom-com trope, but Emily Henry knows how to turn a cliche trope into something that can be heart-aching and wholly romantic on an incomparable level. The chemistry between Daphne and Miles was off the charts, especially since I wasn’t sold on Miles since he isn’t the stereotypical rom-com-love-interest-type, but I loved the relationship that formed between the both of them. It was mature, open, and communicative. What I really enjoy about Emily Henry’s writing is that she sets realistic expectations for relationships. Within their relationship, there were ups and downs, reflective of real-life relationships; sometimes the arguments are valid but sometimes the arguments are a reflection of how the character’s day went. It’s realistic, but Emily Henry knows how to turn it into a romantic scene. Additionally, I find this book so successful because these characters can survive on their own as individual characters; they’re fully flushed out and developed and don’t lose their personalities when they inevitably fall in love. They’re individuals on their own, and Emily Henry heavily emphasizes that. Also, I find that Emily Henry does a great job of giving her side characters a background that makes them integral to the story. Ashleigh, Daphne’s new friend, is an additional relationship that Daphne must consider in her life because Daphne’s life does not only revolve around her love interest. I loved the friendship between them, especially when they had their own set of problems and the way they both discussed their fears; it was a great way to show their insecurities without it revolving around a man. As an avid fan of New Girl, I found that this book was also reminiscent of Nick Miller and Jesse! While this wouldn’t be the first Emily Henry rom-com I would recommend, I would put it high on my list as a must-read rom-com for the summer!

Books similar to Funny Story by Emily Henry:

● Beach Read by Emily Henry

● The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas

● Boyfriend Material by Alexis J. Hall

Put Funny Story on hold today!

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

A Review by Mina Nguyen

Misery Lark, daughter to the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, has grown up being a collateral between Vampyres and Humans. Instead, she is called in after living among the Humans as an outcast to be wed to the Alpha of the pack, Lowe Moreland, in order to uphold an alliance between the Vampyres and Werewolves. Misery, initially against this idea, realizes the benefit of this marriage after her best friend, Serena, has mysteriously disappeared with the name L.E. Moreland on her calendar, which so happens to be the initials of her future husband. What starts out as this marriage of convenience, turns into something different and foreign to Misery, who realizes that love exists in multiple ways while unraveling the disappearance of her best friend.

Ali Hazelwood has consistently written the same “blueprint” romance with brooding and grumpy male love interests with the sunshine main character- all STEM-based romance.

However, Ali Hazelwood brings something original to what she’s written before. She writes a paranormal romance- not STEM based- with both slightly grumpy and protective characters. Her usage of two characters that have similar traits challenges her to write a different dynamic, which allows her characters interact differently around each other. With her other writing, it was predictable how these characters react to one another, but with Bride, readers don’t know exactly how these two characters from different species with similar traits will react around one another. While it is a bit predictable, as all rom-coms are, it is definitely different from what Hazelwood has produced in the past, which makes it a more interesting read. Additionally, she adds a mystery aspect as a subplot rather than her typical STEM subplot. With Bride, there’s still a lot of romance, but there’s a mystery subplot which keeps readers more engaged. The chemistry between Lowe and Misery is off-the-charts! The tension is great and the personal character development is what makes this book strong. This book started strong and ended strong and leaves room for her to further explore the Omegaverse. While not a fan of this type of genre of book, I still enjoyed it. I’m not a big fan of “mates,” but Hazelwood does a good job of keeping me engaged. The side characters were extremely likable and had nuances that made them memorable. While I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, this book is geared towards those who have read Hazelwood’s books in the past and want to continue to explore her future works and those who would like a romance-centered read and those who may be interested in reading something from the Omegaverse with werewolves and vampires.

Books similar to Bride:

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer/ Any book by Ali Hazelwood!/  The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson /Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Put Bride on hold today!