Funny Story

Daphne gets dumped by her fiance for his childhood best friend, which is the kind of sentence you have to read twice. Then, because the universe has a sense of humor, she ends up sharing an apartment with that best friend's jilted ex. Two heartbroken strangers, one lease, one small Michigan lake town that does not offer many exits.

What it's about

Daphne moved to a picturesque resort town for a man who then left her for someone he has apparently loved since grade school. Stranded with a lease and no partner, she moves in with Miles, the only other person in town whose life just detonated in the exact same way. He is her ex's new fiancee's ex. (Read that as many times as you need to.)

What starts as a coping mechanism between two people licking their wounds turns into a fake summer romance, staged partly for the benefit of the people who wrecked them. The trouble with pretending, as anyone who has tried it can tell you, is that summer is long and lake towns are small. The premise runs on a simple engine: two opposites, one shared apartment, a whole season to fill and feelings that refuse to observe the boundaries everyone agreed on.

Why everyone's talking about it

Emily Henry has become the closest thing contemporary romance has to a sure bet. Her books land on bestseller lists on release day and stay there and this one arrived carrying the goodwill of readers who already trust her banter, her wounded-but-witty leads and her habit of building whole towns you want to move into.

This one is for the reader who wants the fake-dating trope done with actual emotional stakes, who likes a slow burn where the two leads are genuinely funny to each other and who does not mind a heroine rebuilding herself in real time. If you prefer your romance heavy on external plot, spice-forward, or free of the messy interior work of getting over someone, this may feel gentler and more character-driven than you want. It leans into the comfort-read register: warm, talky, seasonal.

The verdict, for now

If Emily Henry is already on your shelf, this is an easy yes and if she is not, this is a friendly place to start. Read it in a hammock, ideally near water, ideally with a cold drink and no plans. The only real risk is finishing it before the summer does.