Author: Emily Henry (narrated by Julia Whelan)
Year published: 2024
Category: Adult fiction (romance)
Pages: 400 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5
Location: (my 2024 Google Reading map): USA (MI)
Summary: 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?
Review: Another Emily Henry? Sounds like fun to me! I listened to this one and Julia Whelan is an excellent narrator so that's was an extra bonus.
This isn't my favorite of Henry's novels, but I liked it. The fake-to-real dating trope works for me! I like that this novel actually delves into how difficult it is to commit to someone, to allow yourself to be vulnerable and open to hurt and pain.
I also like Daphne's relationship with her mom. They had a rough time when Daphne was growing up, but they have stuck with each other and support each other. Her mom gives good advice. The characters also (eventually) give other characters the benefit of the doubt, making up with people who have disappointed them in the past. And of course, the ending is happy. And that makes me happy.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Bookish--main character is a librarian and the story builds up to a readathon
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