can emily henry do it again? - bonus chapter: funny story by emily henry

grab your headphones and your hot beverage of choice and join us for a new talk lit, get hit bonus chapter where we dive into the cosy world of Emily Henry's latest novel, "Funny Story." we explore the superiority of housemates to lovers, fake dating and the timeless “are they looking? let’s KISS” tropes as well as how Tourism USA should really put Emily Henry on their payroll. library lovers, new girl fans and people who are looking for some expertly crafted sexual tension will want to tune into this episode (also people who are looking for an unexpected nod to the childhood legend "The Stinky Cheese Man").  a special mention to us for attempting to rank her books - funny story, happy place, book lovers, beach read and the people we meed on vacation - an impossible task! whether you're a longtime Emily Henry fan or new to her work, this episode is a must-listen!

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Transcript

Bridget 0:01

Hello and welcome to a TalkLit Get Hit bonus chapter. The little book chats in between the big ones.

Laura 0:08

We'll talk about reading authors and have discussions with people who, like us, can't shut up about books.

Bridget 0:13

We might get sidetracked and talk about literally anything else, but this is a bonus chapter we wrote just for you. Hello and welcome to the Funny Story Bonus Chapter.

Laura 0:22

You're joined by TalkLit Get Hit hosts Bridget and Laura. Hi Bridget. Hello. This time last year we were reading Happy Place by Emily Henry. It had just come out and we got to experience the like unparalleled thrill of going to the shop on opening day and looking for the book and staying up all night and reading the book.

Bridget 0:41

I remember we were like excited about the free gifts, and then we got the free gifts. We were like, this sucks. But I got another sh uh shit gift, and you did as well. I got the notebook, which I think is better. I got another like useless bag that like only holds a too large book, like a drawstring canvas bag. I haven't even taken it out of the Dimmix.

Laura 1:04

Not the drawstring. It's so bad. And is it in the same colours as the funny story cover?

Bridget 1:10

I mean, I haven't looked at it for longer than a second, but I'm pretty sure it's just like the cover of the book. Maybe. Or maybe it just has the words. I don't know. That's how uninterested I was in it.

Laura 1:20

Well, in case you haven't um picked up what we're laying down, we found so much joy in that experience last year that we decided we'd do it again. Instantly derailed.

Bridget 1:31

It was fun. And I think we talked about in the episode that we hadn't experienced a book release like that since maybe Harry Potter when we were children. So it is exciting to read, participate in a global event. Global, as in like we're on the world stage. A few thousand people on TikTok. But you know, I really did feel included, and that's what life's all about.

Laura 1:51

So I had another shit time trying to find the book as well. I think I went to three or four stores. I was having a day that day. I can't remember. Just tiny, tiny misadventures. But I finally got a copy, and my God, I was so happy.

Bridget 2:06

I think you sent me a voice message and you went to like Big W or something, and you said their book section was a mess and they should hire somebody to sort that out.

Laura 2:14

You were really angry about it. No, that was that was happy place. And then funny story, it's all come flooding back to me in like horrific, vivid detail. Crack of dawn, I'm up, go to Kmart. Says online they've got stock. I go there, book section and disarray. A little life was in like self-help. That's not a good move. You will not be receiving any sort of help or stability from that book. And someone went to look for me, and then they were like, Yeah, I think it's in the big pallets of books that we have that we have not unpacked. And so then I went to another Kmart in another shopping center, same story. And then I went to a Target, same story. And then I eventually went to QBD, and I mean I did get the sick bookmark and a notebook. I guess you could say that your journey to get the book was kind of a funny story.

Bridget 3:02

Yes. Cool. Before we get too off track, we're going to be talking about Funny Story by Emily Henry. So if you have not read it and you don't want things spoiled for you, then pause this, go get the book, read it, and then come back. We will wait for you. So you read this book in one sitting. Yeah, I was really lucky that I finished work. I mean, I finish work at three most days, and then I can just go home and do whatever I want. Because I try to do all my work during lunch breaks and before school. So anyway, left work, went to buy the book, and then I got home, and then I just did not move until I finished it. And it wasn't like a conscious decision. It was just so easy to read and so easy to get through, and it's just funny and it's sad and it's cute and all of the things that just make an Emily Henry book an Emily Henry book.

Laura 3:44

I was so jealous of that experience because I felt like I really wanted to devour it, and I just didn't have the mental capacity to just sit down and read. I think I got about halfway through in like little snatches, and then I read the rest in one sitting and was like, God damn it, I just wish I read the whole thing because it was so It was so good.

Bridget 4:03

It was so good. The thing that I was thinking when I was reading it, and I was like, hmm, okay, this small town USA life doesn't seem that bad.

Laura 4:11

Like I had the same thought. I was thinking like tourism USA or whatever should hire Emily Henry because she writes these little like Hallmark movie cutesy, like farm to table scenes.

Bridget 4:25

And I want to go there. The cherry farm, um, the winery sounded so good, and I don't even like wine. I was like, I want to go drink wine. Um, I wanted to go canoeing, I wanted to go sit on the little secret beach, I wanted to eat asparagus. Who am I? The fudge as well. Like everything just sounded so nice. And I think that is a feature of Emily Henry books because Beach Reed made Lake Michigan sound so nice, even though I've never had any like interest in going to Lake Michigan before.

Laura 4:55

Even though we were so upset that it wasn't even a real beach. Yeah, we were like, Beach read, Lake Michigan.

Bridget 5:00

But then we did look at photos and we were like, okay, I saw it. I guess it's got sand or something. Whatever. But then also like Happy Place, I guess they had they went on that like luxurious holiday homes. But I was trying to think of if there's any other books or like movies that have ever really made me want to just live in a small town in the United States. And I think the only one that's come close is like Hannah Montana movie. Um like it's a vibe, but uh I don't know. I think this one tops out even. I just feel like they would be like fireflies roaming around.

Laura 5:32

It kind of is a bit like sort of a Nancy Myers film, like the holiday, something's gotta give. I don't know if this is quite right, but they're just that kind of cozy coastal grandma.

Bridget 5:43

Yeah, I was thinking like Emily Gilmore in A Year in the Life. Emily like completely changes her life and she goes and stays in like the coast, and it's so beautiful. And that's just what I imagined. Like she works in a museum as like like a tour guide or something, and it's just so cute. And that's what I was imagining Daphne doing, just really changey her whole life.

Laura 6:03

Uh, I don't know where to start. This book ticked so many boxes for me. One, I really liked Daphne. Maybe a lot of that is due to the fact that she's a librarian and I'm a librarian. And so when she was waxing on about how great libraries are, I was like getting really emotional, like an unexpectedly engaging part of the book for me. And I love that all of her characters are in like the book world. That's so cute.

Bridget 6:28

I like Daphne too. The only thing I didn't like was her name. There's just something about the way Daphne looks on a page. I can't support it. But other than that, I really liked it. And Miles, obsessed with Miles. How did you feel about him?

Laura 6:43

I really liked Miles too. I have some questions about Miles, but overwhelmingly was obsessed with Miles.

Bridget 6:49

I think I saw many people online say that he was like Nick Miller, and I was instantly into that. I love New Girl so much. Have you seen New Girl?

Laura 6:58

No, not really, but I've seen this online a lot as well.

Bridget 7:00

Yeah, you should definitely watch it. New Girl has the most perfect on-screen first kiss that I've ever seen. And just the slow burn of that is just incredible. And the characters are so funny as well. But Nick Miller, Miles, they are one and the same.

Laura 7:15

And I'm so, so here for it. I think when New Girl came out, it was obviously post 500 days with Summer, and people had started to sort of say, like, oh, Zoe Dechanel's so cute, like the tweet queen of the universe. But meanwhile, I was busy trying to be a contrary and like she's actually like been around for ages, you guys, and it's over. Now that she's on like daytime TV or whatever, I'm no longer interested. So I think I would enjoy it a lot, but I was busy trying to hate it to be different.

Bridget 7:43

I would have been exactly the same. But also, it's harder to watch things then as well. Like, yeah, we didn't have Netflix or anything. I think I only watched it when like I got older and could afford to have a streaming service.

Laura 7:54

Yeah, that's true. I don't think, like, in all my years of share housing, I don't think I figured out how to get the channels on the TV once. So I just didn't watch anything.

Bridget 8:03

Help TV. He's my enemy, honestly.

Laura 8:06

I'll see you in Hell TV.

Bridget 8:09

Whenever I have to go to like my mom's house or like a relative that still watches TV, I'm like, please, please don't turn it on. Please don't make me watch the news.

Laura 8:18

So this book sort of builds on one of my favorite tropes, which is like friends to lovers. Also unexpectedly unlocked a roommate's trope obsession. Didn't know I needed that in my life.

Bridget 8:30

I also really enjoyed the fake dating. Oh yeah, how can I forget? Yeah. I don't know if I've really read a good fake date since to all the boys. But I feel like the fake date of Miles and Daphne, I think it was ridiculous enough to be believable because they would have these moments of passion, but then the appropriate amount of awkwardness would follow. And they were like, Oh, I've gone too far. And it just seemed a bit more reasonable than something like the love hypothesis, where it was like, put sunscreen on him, do this, do this. It just seemed like, oh, I've kissed him. I went too far. It was like I was in high school. Now I must stay in my room for the next three days and be embarrassed. And I think that like that would actually happen. I think the way that it came about made sense. Like it wasn't like, quick, kiss me while he sees, or so he doesn't see me looking like a single girl. God forbid. It was like a reasonable setup.

Laura 9:26

Yeah, like they were both truly wronged. Yeah. It makes sense to want revenge. And it kind of like counteracted the awkwardness of it because even though, like, the one where they're in the parking lot at that farm stand or whatever, and Peter is there, I think Miles is like, is he looking? And then kisses her. I was kind of like fist pumping the air, being like, Yes, kiss more. But I mean, obviously that's a really cringy thing to do, but it felt so satisfying because they earned it. They did.

Bridget 9:53

And it didn't even really matter if it was real or not, I think, to get revenge. It was more just like rubbing it in their faces that you didn't hurt me as much as you think you have. Which I think is so good. And also just like the the realistic roommate situation again, like him just staying in his room and watching Bridget Jones. Yeah. So funny.

Laura 10:13

I have seen like quite a few people online talking about Miles's first introduction and then them realizing that he is going to be the love interest, and they are really not on board. I saw someone saying that it was like a real turn off to have him being kind of like sad or crying, and also a bit of a shit take. People saying, like, oh, he only works at a restaurant, like he's not a provider. Um, and just kind of maybe missing the point of the book. I don't know, or the point of his character.

Bridget 10:45

That is a really weird thing to say because I mean, personally, I hate reading romances where it's, you know, Macho man, who did this to you? I'm gonna kill them, like rich billionaire or whatever. Like, I much prefer this sad little man who's like a bit scruffy.

Laura 11:01

It's relatable, it's normal, it's healthy.

Bridget 11:04

God forbid he's sad about the breakup of his like long-term relationship. I think this description of Miles sort of explains why he was a good love interest. And I think it probably addresses that confusion about the start of the book and people being confused that wait, this is the guy that we're meant to be rooting for. Miles is handsome, if not the kind of man to make your jaw drop and hand sweat on site. That was Peter, TV handsome, mum called it. The kind that knocks you off balance from the start. Miles is the other kind, the kind that's disarming enough that you don't feel nervous talking to him or like you need to show your best angle, until wham, suddenly he's smiling at you with his messy hair and impish smirk, and you realize his hotness has been boiling around you so slowly you missed it. God, that's good. It's so good. And then also, do you want to watch Bridget Jones's diary? That's hot. That's so funny.

Laura 11:55

And he cooks for her, and he's like, that's so hot to me. Like a man that is capable and confident in the kitchen and decisive about what to eat. What more could you ask for? Willing to cry in public or like more important.

Bridget 12:10

And then also just like his casual physical affection that he shows her, even before there was any real interest in dating each other. Like he was just comforting her in such a lovely way and like wasn't creepy, wasn't predatory, wasn't like you're in my house, now you're mine, sort of thing. Like, let her have her space, let her have time to grieve as well. And oh god, I was so glad that it was not ever like you still love Peter, even though there was a little bit with Petra, but that was, you know, I think that was sort of understandable. But that wasn't really like a big part of their relationship. Them each believing the other was still hung up on their ex. They knew that they needed time to get over that before they could start something new.

Laura 12:47

I so appreciated that too. It was so grown up, and I think this is something we noticed with Happy Place as well. Is that maybe, possibly, the criticisms around their relationship, maybe the way Miles treats Daphne towards the end of the book, are coming from younger people or people who have different values in a relationship to what you or I might have. Because that was something I was wondering, like at the end, when Miles does go to help Petra move out after Peter and Petra break up, and he's kind of being a little bit vague about it. Um, you know, as someone needed me, I went to help them. When I finished the book, I was like, yay, yeah, yeah, happy, happy, love miles, love miles. But then I sort of thought about it and was like, I don't know. Like, would I personally be secure enough to handle that? Would that upset me more than it seemed to upset Daphne? And I think that it would. But I really enjoyed Daphne's growth throughout this book, and I really enjoyed the way it showed this very important element of an adult relationship, which is trust, I guess, and just believing that people are who they say they are. And if they're letting you down, that's not anything to do with you. I think Miles had showed Daphne who he was again and again throughout that book. And so by the end of the novel, she was able to trust that it was only done in goodness and kindness, because that is who he is. And I support her on that.

Bridget 14:16

I think I would also be upset, and I think her reaction was justified. As you said, still learning how to be together at that point. I think after being with somebody for so long, your personalities do sort of merge, especially if one's more dominant than the other. You're used to what you're used to, and it's just about needing that time to get used to someone else and see how your lives fit together, which I think is an understandable challenge, especially after they've both been betrayed by their past partners, but also her father is just a constant let down for her as well.

Laura 14:46

I found that whole end of the book so emotional. I was really sobbing when that was happening, and I honestly didn't know which way it was gonna go because Daphne was on that sort of I can do anything by myself journey. And for a while I really was thinking, God, maybe they won't even end up together. And I was sort of even thinking I wouldn't mind that, but I did really love Miles, so I'm glad that they did manage to work it out.

Bridget 15:11

I was thinking the same. I didn't think they were gonna get together, and I would have been sad, but I did like that she was looking for another job.

Laura 15:17

The scene that made me especially emotional was after Daphne has been ghosted by Miles and he comes back and he picks her up in Petra's car and she's asking him, What's up? Where'd you go? And he says, I woke up and something came up, a friend needed help, and I lost track of time. Something came up, a friend, like, oh, gutting. And then she's on this whole shutdown internal monologue, blaming herself, hating herself for like ending up in this situation, and she asks who and he admits it's Petra. And his explanation was pretty unsatisfying. He's just sort of like, Oh, I realize how badly I fucked up and I traded cars and I left and I tried to make it up to you, and it's pathetic, and I was really not enjoying that. But the next part of that scene where he tells her he loves her reminded me so much of the confession scene in Little Women where Lori confesses his love to Amy and Florence Pugh's doing the Florence Pugh face, and she's like, No, Lori, you're being mean. Oh, and just was sobbing so hard because he says, I freaked out, Daphne, and she said, I need it out. No, the wound will gush when it's gone, but don't care. No, I stammer. No, Miles gives a hoarse laugh. How is that a response to what I just said? I just told you I love you, Daphne, and I am telling you no. I undo my seatbelt with trembling hands. You don't get to say that to me, you don't get to disappear and then show up and buy me fucking fudge and pick me up from work and tell me you love me. I was like, when I was reading it, I was crying so quietly in bed, but with so many tears. Another thing that I enjoyed about this book was the friendship between Daphne and Ashley. And I know I've spoken before about how I could never really get involved in fictional friendships, but I was really invested in this one for whatever reason. And I think I was able to relate to Daphne's sort of assuming like, why would I put myself out there? Why would people want to be my friend? Uh, oh, I wouldn't want to impose on people, you know. I I always have that mentality against all logic, maybe, but it was nice to see something come from that.

Bridget 17:24

I was thinking the same thing, and I was wondering if the reason why I liked their friendship was because I was there for the start of it, and I could see how they started hanging out. And I feel like there is always that person that you like sort of know, but and you think they're quite cool, but you don't really start hanging out with them until quite a lot later. But when she like didn't turn up for her birthday, oh, that was so mean. I was gutted. I felt sick. How she could forget that because I forgot about it too, until Daphne realized, and I was like, oh my god. I just I could not believe it.

Laura 17:57

I'm actually I'm getting shivers all over my body. I feel that made me feel so sick and so sad and awful.

Bridget 18:06

I was imagining her sitting in her house with her paint and like she's wearing her painting clothes, and she probably had like like snacks. Oh, it's just and she's someone that doesn't like her birthday already. And yeah, what a disaster. That poor woman.

Laura 18:21

I liked though that it wasn't resolved with a conversation as well. It was very real. They like hashed out over a number of weeks, they weren't quite back to where they were, but they were both, you know, willing to grow and put in the work, and that is healthy and normal.

Bridget 18:37

I think that was a really good learning opportunity for Daphne, and she has a realization about this about halfway through the book after she sees that Peter and Petra are visiting Cooper and Sadie in their old brunch spot, and she's telling herself that this feeling that she has of loneliness and being deserted in an unfamiliar place is her fault because she's the one who built everything around him, and so she moved to his hometown, she let her relationships get absorbed by him instead of being a girl's night. It became like a double date all the time, and she basically put all of her eggs into one basket, and then the basket left. And this is a realization she came to about halfway through the book, but I don't think she really got the chance to actively learn from it until this happened with Ashley, and then she was like, Oh god, I'm doing it again. I have centered myself around Miles again, around a man again, and I've let down people I've let down myself. And so while it was painful to read, I think it was like a necessary thing to happen to her. She needed to stuff up in that way to grow as a person.

Laura 19:46

Good on Ashley for calling her out. Uh, she taught me the term wee girl, um, which I really like. And now I'm like, oh god, am I a wee girl? Ah. But that's also an important element of friendship is just calling out people when necessary. So way to go, Ashley.

Bridget 20:03

I don't know if I would have done the same thing as Ashley just because I'm like not interested in conflict. I think I would have been like, no, no, it's really fine, whatever. Like I didn't even, I was like busy and I was sick anyway, it doesn't matter. Like I just would have lied. Thanks for the crumb. Yeah.

Laura 20:15

Being cried at home by myself. I haven't always been such a big Emily Henry fan, but something that I enjoy so much about her is like, yes, she does write sex scenes, but they're not written to the point of excess. And she also has this way of writing or making observations about men or love interests that is so attractive without being explicitly sexual. And I find that she's really good at crafting this kind of tension and that sense of what if, without just dumping it all on you. An example would be when Daphne's dad and Starfire came to stay and they were trying to figure out the sleeping arrangements. Um, and Julia was there, and they were like, Oh, well, she'll sleep in Miles' room, and oh, we've got the pullout couch. And I was like breathless thinking, are we about to get a one bed? Like, is there gonna be a one bed? And there wasn't a one bed, but even that tension just had me like spiraling out of control. And then everybody's tucked in, going to bed. Daphne's, I think she's on the pull-out couch in the living room. And it says, in the dark living room, I make a nest on the couch, the bathroom door creaks open, tendrils of light reaching towards me. Miles steps out in a cloud of steam, his hair damp, the little wet spots across the collar of his camel t-shirt making the fabric cling to him in a vaguely suggestive way. And even as I was reading that, I was like, Why is it so attractive that he just had a shower and it was a hot shower? And he's probably like coming out into the cold room, and she can see the light behind him, and it probably smells so nice. It's dark and it's just like steamy and like smells nice. Oh my god. I was like, am I? I'm just like at a point of desperation for some reason, or is sh she somehow crafted a sexual masterpiece.

Bridget 22:10

I also think the way that she writes like love or maybe longing is so nice. Like I have this quote here. Right at the end when he takes her to his favorite beach and she gets into the water and he's still on the edge of the water. I don't know why I pointed over there. Like the water's over there. Over yonder. He's over there. She's over there. He's on the edge of the water. And she says, Are you coming? I shout back over the waters roar. I see him laugh but can't hear it. And I feel robbed of the sound. Oh. That's such a sweet thing to say. She's she misses his laugh that she can see him laughing, she can't hear it. It's so nice.

Laura 22:47

There were a couple of those moments that I find myself being really critical of in other books where they're kind of mythologizing the characters in like a really quotable or wannabe-quotable way, where they're like, he was a sunshine boy. When he laughed, the world laughed. Tears of silver. And it's like, what does that even mean? Like, you can't just say that shit about someone. But I felt that Miles's personality was put on display like through his actions. It wasn't just Daphne saying he's the best, he's the best, he's so nice. It when those sort of observations were made, also written in a much better way than what I just said. It felt believable and justified. There is a character, Harvey, who Daphne works with at the library, and she described him as looking a bit like Morgan Freeman. And then later in the book, she goes to this secret social outing that Ashley set up. And when she opens the door, there's another man there that looks like Morgan Freeman. And I was enjoying this book so much. I was like so desperate to find something wrong with it. That when I saw that she had described two characters as Morgan Freeman, I was like, oh, gleeful to be like, caught you red-handed, Emily. You're not perfect. Slammed. That I started Googling like Morgan Freeman, Emily Henry. And then I read like the next line, and it was like, oh, I realized it was Harvey. What the hell? But I was like, sprung. Gotcha. Got you. That's so funny. I'm the idiot.

Bridget 24:19

As like in a shocking twist. It is weird that she didn't immediately recognize him, though. Yeah. Like, oh, that's not what I think when I see someone. Oh, that looks like that guy. Wait, it's that's the guy I work with.

Laura 24:33

Probably the only other thing I want to say is that this book provided me with a throwback to a really formative childhood memory, which was a mention of the book The Stinky Cheese Man.

Bridget 24:46

I'm not familiar. It's so scary.

Laura 24:51

It's actually so scary. I think you just need to Google the Stinky Cheese Man. It was a part of this book called The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales. Oh, Stinky Cheese Man is scary.

Bridget 25:07

It's a great name for him because he really does look like a stinky cheese man.

Laura 25:12

There is actually an article I'm looking at right now on NPR published on the 22nd of January 2023. So pretty topical. After 30 plus years, the stinky cheese man is aging well. Here it's this here. It's one of the 15 best children's stories of all time. Yeah. It begins. Once upon a time, there was a little old woman and a little old man who lived together in a little old house. They were lonely. So the little old lady decided to make a man out of stinky cheese. She gave him a piece of bacon for a mouth and two olives for eyes and put him in the oven to cook. Is that what's going on with his face?

Bridget 25:49

Because I was concerned about the mouth. It looks like a deep gash. But it's bacon, that makes sense. Gingerbread men retelling.

Laura 25:57

Yes. And they have other ones in it, like Cinder Rumpel's Stiltskin.

Bridget 26:01

Oh, that's so good.

Laura 26:02

The really ugly duckling. Um, and little red running shorts.

Bridget 26:06

Looks like there's a play here. We should go see if there's one coming to town.

Laura 26:11

Hell yeah. Anyway, like shout out to Daphne Vincent for bringing the stinky cheese band back into my orbit.

Bridget 26:19

I would like to shout out Daphne for another thing, and it's for introducing me and my friend Maddie to our new favourite game, which is Whiny Babies. I thought that was such a good game. Whiny Babies is such a great game where you just take turns whinging. And I love whinging and I love listening to people whinge. So we have um we've been playing whiny babies a lot lately.

Laura 26:42

I've unofficially been playing for years, as it turns out.

Bridget 26:50

Do you have a winner? No, normally it's just like, can I play whiny babies for a sec? And then it's like, go for it, and then that's it. So we haven't had like a back and forth, but you know, maybe brilliant. Maybe soon. That's always time. Maybe there'll be a championship.

Laura 27:06

You're in the major leagues now.

Bridget 27:10

Do you have any negative thoughts other than the faux Morgan Freeman duplicate?

Laura 27:19

No, I don't really have any negative thoughts. If I were reviewing this book on a just vibes, no thoughts, I think it would be a five stars. I cried, it's a tick. It was so compelling to read. I laughed, I thought it was like very funny. I didn't hate the female protagonist, which is always a win. I thought Miles was great. I liked the supporting cast. I thought that everyone was like pretty well fleshed out. Like the backstory with Daphne and her dad, and also her mum, and like their journey throughout. I was like very wholly satisfied with this. The only thing was maybe Miles' treatment of her at the end, which kind of turned me off him a bit. But I like I said before, I think it really makes sense for her character. I think that's still an ongoing process for her to work through. And if she wants to take a leap of faith, then that's up to her. But I don't think it's like a leap of faith. That's a bit dramatic. It seemed like it was gonna work out for a little while.

Bridget 28:20

How about you? I had one thing that it's definitely not as intelligent as that. I just couldn't handle every time they talked about how she moaned every time she made something good. I really, really hated that. It it was a bit gross. It was meant to be like a little bit sexy. I just thought it was revolting. Just like sort yourself out, Daphne. We don't need to hear that something is like, oh, you did the Daphne moan. Uh-uh. No, thank you.

Laura 28:45

It's kind of just the word moan as well, I think. It's inescapably horrific. That's about it, really. If it had been brought up maybe just a couple of times, it was relentless. Hey. Yeah.

Bridget 28:57

You can't tell me that she's just never had good food before. Like, not everything that she's eating has to be like chicken and broccoli. Moan worthy. Yeah. This was a five-star read for me, but to be fair, I give out five stars, like there's no tomorrow. Five star, five star, five star. So this was a five star. I was thinking about my ranking earlier. And at this time, I think it's actually my favorite Emily Henry book. And then I think number two would probably be Happy Place. And then I think number three maybe Book Lovers for Beach Read. Even though I love Beach Read. I love all of them. And then number five is People We Meet on Vacation, which again also love. It's just like it's got a bit of a different vibe than the rest of them.

Laura 29:40

Granted, this one is very new, but it is currently her highest-rated book. It's got 4.41 stars on Goodreads. And the next closest behind that is Book Lovers, which is 4.14. So nice work there. I start off the same. I think this is also my favorite, but it's very closely followed by Happy Place. I think the only thing is I probably liked these characters a bit more. I think we sort of thought maybe the characters in Happy Place could have just had a bit of a discussion. Like they could have just used their words a bit better. And so maybe I just enjoyed that there wasn't so much miscommunication in this. That was really refreshing, actually.

Bridget 30:20

And I also think that what I liked about Happy Place wasn't the romance so much as the friendship and I think just like the general vibe of their holiday and like consequences of their actions and growing up and all of those things. But this one I really liked the romance. So I think that's why it sort of tops Happy Place for me.

Laura 30:40

Oh, I'm right there with you. That is spot on. Book lovers, I can't really remember it, but I do remember crying in the supermarket listening to it and saying, I love it better than Beach Read. So I I remember she was a sort of hard ass like publicist or something. I remember finding it very funny because it was super self-aware of what it was. I think I would probably agree with what you said upon reflection. I know I really liked people we meet on vacation, but that second read of Beach Read really, really got me. That's tough.

Bridget 31:12

One more thing that I feel like we really need to address is on page 22. Should I turn to it and guess? No, because you'll guess it straight away. You'll know immediately. I'm now old enough to have kids without anyone being scandalized by it. Hell, I'm old enough to have a daughter named Rene on one of those under-five soccer teams. And we are old enough to have daughters named Renezme. And I would just like to have it on the record that i bags naming my daughter Renezme.

Laura 31:48

I'm gonna come in with a next gen pharaoh. You can do Carly. I forgot that was the option.

Bridget 31:55

Why would she not have gone with Carly? I don't know how everything we do comes back to Twilight, but I'm I'm so happy. I'm so happy that it does. And that's the end of the episode. To hear our thoughts on other Emily Henry releases, check out our Beach Read and Happy Place episodes from season one. Have your say on what we read next by keeping an eye on the link in our show notes and on our socials. Make sure you subscribe to the show, and if you want to be on the same page as us, follow us at talklit.gethit on Instagram and TikTok.