Review: Funny Story

Title: Funny Story 

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: 25th April 2024 by Penguin UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking

Pages: 384 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Women's Fiction

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

My Thoughts

I think I have to come right out and say it … I am officially an Emily Henry fan. Funny Story is a rom-com/drama about Daphne, a librarian, whose fiance leaves her for his childhood best friend, Petra. With nowhere to go, Daphne moves in with Miles, who also just happens to be the ex-boyfriend of Petra. Events would have it (… of course … that is why we read these books!) that Daphne and Miles pretend to annoy their exes by fake dating. The plot then moves to close proximity romance but rest assured, there is always much more to an Emily Henry novel than pure romance.  

‘It’s more, controlling the expectations you have for certain people. If a person lets you down, it’s time to reconsider what you’re asking of them.’

Funny Story may start with all the rom-com chuckles but romances are never all smooth sailing. Apart from dealing with being dumped, both Daphne and Miles have personal family issues that need to be faced. So while romance is what we are all about here, there are equally important personal issues to be addressed in each character's growth arc. 

‘… it matters way more that you’re present than that you’re perfect.’

What I love here is … yes, okay, Miles! He is wonderfully sweet. The respect and friendship that develops between the two is heartwarming. There are also wonderful side characters that bring depth to the story, particularly with a view to Daphne’s growth in what it is to be a friend. The fictional town of Waning Bay, Michigan is also brought to life wonderfully well - from wine bars, to beaches, to the library and coffee shops it all adds to the story. 

‘All those moments throughout the days, weeks, months that don’t get marked on calendars with hand‑drawn stars or little stickers. Those are the moments that make a life. Not grand gestures, but mundane details that, over time, accumulate until you have a home, instead of a house. The things that matter.’

Funny Story seems to veer more towards drama rather than straight out romcom which I like. With issues of family and friendships, identity and abandonment put under the spotlight it gave so much substance to an already swoon worthy plot. It is everything readers of Emily Henry have come to love - the banter, the angst and the underlying themes of being brave and embracing change. 

‘I want to know myself, to test my edges and see where I stop and the rest of the world begins.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: The British Booksellers

Title: The British Booksellers

Author: Kristy Cambron

Publisher: 9th April 2024 by Thomas Nelson

Pages: 384 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction | Romance | Women's Fiction

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.

A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington . . . until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.

When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.

As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.

From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of WWII, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.

My Thoughts

I first came across Kristy’s writing a couple of years ago with The Italian Ballerina and found it to be wonderful. Therefore I was quite excited to read her latest, The British Booksellers and I found this to be even more remarkable. Of course there were many things that readily ticked the box for me - historical fiction, two timelines, romance and it involved a bookstore! So imagine my delight when it was all of that and so much more!

‘I was willing to give up my entire world for you, Amos. I thought you were too. Weren’t we to make a new world together, you and I?’

Kristy’s books are special in that they are so detailed and intricate in their plotting (mind blowing if truth be told) but also provide twists and turns that kept me hooked until the last page. She keeps dropping little ‘crumbs’ that will have you following the trail to a fitting conclusion. Charlotte and Amos are in both WWI and WW2 timelines, so the narrative jumps back and forth for that. However, the greater part of the story is dedicated to the WW2 timeline and the focus being the ‘forgotten blitz’, the deadly Coventry bombings. 

“Perhaps days like this are exactly why we have books in the world. To remember that not all is lost, even if we find ourselves in the unknown. I like to think we provide a haven for the wanderer. And help him remember he has a place to call home.”

This is the kind of narrative to just lose yourself in for it certainly has it all and I am now a firm fan of Kristy’s writing. It is deeply emotional and pulls at the heartstrings - two wars, two romances, two ways of living (before and during war) that make this book memorable. I think perhaps Kristy’s secret is the little things that are memorable like a book, or a cello, or a pocket watch. 

‘… things she’d loved once. The cello, books, childhood dreams, and a farmer’s son who’d shared them.’

This book is not only rich in historical details but equally rich in storytelling with characters that will long be remembered. Kristy Cambron is a wonderful storyteller weaving this epic tale of family drama across the decades.

“War does not change everything; it cannot change secrets of the past.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: All the Words We Know

Title: All the Words We Know

Author: Bruce Nash

Publisher: 27th February 2024 by Allen & Unwin

Pages: 336 pages

Genre: General Fiction

Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

In the beginning is the whatsitsname. The woman in the car park. She wears a nightgown and lies on her back, looking up at the sky. The nightgown is white and embroidered at the neck with blue . . . what do you call them? Forget-me-nots. A small crowd is gathered around her. All in their unicorns. Uniforms. All younger than the woman, much younger. They look at each other. They look up at the sky. They look down at the woman. They whisper. 

Rose is in her eighties and has dementia, but she's not done with life just yet. Alternately sharp as a tack and spectacularly forgetful, she spends her days roaming the corridors of her aged-care facility, ruminating on the staff and residents and enduring visits from her emotionally distant children and grand-daughters. But when her friend is found dead after an apparent fall from a window, Rose embarks on an eccentric and deeply personal investigation to discover the truth and exposes all manner of secrets - even some from her own past.

All the Words We Know is a wickedly funny and genuinely moving story about loneliness, language and how we make sense of the world.

My Thoughts

All the Words We Know is a unique and enlightening book. This is a story narrated by Rose, an elderly woman who is in Aged Care and suffering from dementia. What is incredible is that the author writes this book - confusion and mixups inclusive - as it would be for Rose. Hidden within all this dementia prose is a mystery that is taking place with the residence. 

‘It’s important to us that you understand, Rose,’ he says, as if I am a lovely, brainless old thing instead of just an impossible one.’

Undoubtedly the author demonstrates clever use of language by taking the reader into the world of Rose as she not only wanders around the Aged Care facility but attempts to solve a mystery. At one level the language is playful and filled with humour, as frustrations surface in communication and unraveling past and present events. 

‘I hate it when she tells me to remember. What does she think I’m trying to do, for God’s sake? But she’s the one who gets angry.’

The reader will most likely also find it frustrating as at times it becomes repetitive and unclear but of course, that is surely the experience of dementia. Personally, it would have been a hard balance to attempt but I found it detracted from not only solving the mystery but also in reaching an understanding with her children and grandchildren. 

‘There are too many names, too many words, too many passwords, too many bits of silk attached to things. Too many. You have to be . . . seductive. Selective.’

All the Words We Know is really a very clever book and many readers are sure to relate to the situation both in terms of muddled words and observations with the more serious issue of communication with loved ones. I admire Bruce’s efforts in presenting an authentic book that is not only a wonderful play on words but illustrates rather poignantly the plight of many older people. 

‘What I am really afraid of is the forgetting.’ 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: The Woman Who Ran Away from Everything

Title: The Woman Who Ran Away from Everything

Author: Fiona Gibson

Publisher: 14th March 2024 by Avon Books UK

Pages: 360 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Women's Fiction

Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

Kate is sick of being taken for granted by her husband Vince. It’s bad enough that she allowed herself to be dragged away from the London life she loved, but now she’s constantly compelled to keep up with the (very smug) Joneses in this small home counties town. She hates it here. What happened to the fun-loving woman she used to be? At almost 50 Kate feels lost, overlooked and like nothing is ever going to change. That is, until she comes home to an unexpected party – one that she has to cater.

And that’s it. The final straw. Breaking point.

Scrambling out the bathroom window, Kate leaves. She has no plan, but a chance encounter at Euston station sees her following her own heart for once – to beautiful Scotland where a crumbling mansion and a handsome bookseller could be just what she needs . . .

As Kate discovers, sometimes you have to feel utterly lost to find out who you truly are.

My Thoughts

The Woman Who Ran Away from Everything is exactly as you would imagine with that little bit more. On the surface it appears as a light and funny read with chaotic scenes like the one on the front cover - Kate climbing out the bathroom window! It does not take long, however, for readers to understand that this book dives emotionally deeper as Kate’s people pleasing attitude has run aground with her selfish husband Vince resulting in their marriage coming under the spotlight. 

‘Nah, don’t worry,’ Vince says dismissively. ‘Kate’ll sort that.’ And that’s it. That’s when I know I can’t do it anymore - be ‘obliging Kate’, that is.’

The book is told through both Kate and Vince’s viewpoint as they deal with separation and what their marriage was and will be. Obviously it’s about Kate finding herself and regaining her autonomy, however, the equally interesting journey is Vince discovering his independence without the assistance of a wife/partner. There are many enjoyable and laugh out loud moments. Equally there are many sad and heart wrenching moments that many readers are sure to either understand or relate to. 

‘Just let go of the responsibilities,’ she adds, ‘and think about yourself for a change.’

The Woman Who Ran Away from Everything is a fun and heartwarming tale about marriage, separation, family, friends and learning that it is never too late to make your life everything you want it to be. 

‘I’m beginning to remember who I am.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.