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?
Release Date: Apr 24, 2024
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $12.99
My second Emily Henry story made me cry.
Henry is quickly becoming an author I can count on to pull on my heartstrings, and not always in the romance department. More in the humanity area as she crafts characters that continuously break my heart. Daphne and Miles in her latest release are no exception.
Both Daphne and Miles are victims of being dumped and in the worst possible way. Daphne was days away from the altar when her fiancé announced he was leaving her for his best friend from childhood, Petra. Petra’s ex, Miles, offers Daphne a place to stay, at least for the time being, since they both lost out in a big way. Though Daphne has big plans to get out of Waning Bay, Michigan, and back to some sort of semblance of the life she was building before her fiancé broke her heart.
Too bad a broken heart often leads to bad choices as awkward Daphne finds herself lying that Miles is her new boyfriend and a plus-one to their ex’s impending nuptials. She knows she should call it off, but Miles doesn’t mind Daphne’s ruse. As they launch into a plan to make-believe for social media, Daphne discovers that Miles is nothing like she thought and, in turn, starts wondering if maybe he’s more than just a distraction…
Slow burn alert. Daphne and Miles are adorable. Though I still hate that Henry only gives us the story from Daphne’s point of view. At times Daphne herself is a bit bleak. She’s got a messed-up childhood, no friends, a life in shambles, and watching her rebuild from the ground up tore at my heartstrings a bit. Though that’s where Henry hooked me in. Daphne’s voice is crystal clear, and you can’t help but root for her. Add in an ensemble of memorable characters, and it’s easy to see how Daphne could fall for miles and the town of Waning Bay.
Overall, if you like reads you can get lost in. This is one not-too-miss. For readers who enjoy Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game or Penny Reid’s quirky characters. I’ll be reading more, Henry, in the future, that’s for sure.
~ Landra
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