After decades of only reading romance novels that are also fantasy/sci-fi/historical novels, I think I’m firmly in my contemporary romance era. I like having shorter, easier-to-digest books to read in between the longer fantasy epics that are my favorite (currently working my way through Robin Hobb’s 16-book Realm of the Elderlings series, as well as a re-read of the 15-book Wheel of Time series, so I’m in serious search of things to read in between!). Last month I read most of Ali Hazelwood’s oeuvre and enjoyed them enough that I wanted to read something, if not similar, then at least in the same wheelhouse. I’m also a bit lost when it comes to picking out contemporary novels—I know what I’m looking for in more specific sub-genres, but I don’t exactly know how to describe what I like yet for books set in the real world (it’s not so much specific “tropes” that I like or dislike so much as it is writing style and general vibe)—so I’ve decided to simply read the most popular (at least according to Goodreads and/or TikTok) books (probably not the best strategy, I don’t like a lot of the most popular Romantasy books, so I know from experience that popular (at least according to Goodreads and/or TikTok) doesn’t necessarily equate to my personal definition of “good”), starting with Emily Henry’s Funny Story.
Funny Story starts out with Daphne getting dumped by her fiancé Peter after he and his “platonic” childhood best friend Petra realized that they were in love with each other all along. Peter kicks Daphne out of their shared home (Peter bought it), so Daphne has to find a new place to live (Daphne knows no one in town, they moved there because Peter grew up there and wanted to move back, and most of her social connections were his friends and family). Petra’s now-ex, Miles, has a 2-bedroom apartment, and because Petra has moved in with Peter, needs someone to help cover the rent, so Daphne moves in with him, where they become closer while also dealing with their own personal issues.
I went into this with tempered expectations, but I actually ended up loving it (hey, what’s popular isn’t always “bad”)! I liked that the characters felt like real people, not like wish-fulfillment fantasies of people. I also liked that Daphne had to learn to grow into her own person, instead of just defining herself by her romantic relationships.
I’ve picked up a few more of Emily Henry’s books to read, but I’m trying to space them out a bit (I mentioned in my review of Ali Hazelwood’s books that they started to get sort of same-y after a few of them, so I’m trying to avoid a similar fate with these). Also, please please give me recommendations of books in a similar vein!