Hands down, Emily Henry is the queen of romance. I’ve read all of her other books except for People We Meet On Vacation, and fell in love with each one. I’d say so far, Book Lovers is my favorite (which is a bit of an unpopular opinion). When I saw she released a new book, I went and bought it straight away.

We follow Daphne Vincent, a children’s librarian, and Miles, a bartender at a winery. Daphne had been engaged to a conventionally gorgeous, low-carb eating, sweep you of your feet dream of a partner, Peter. She uprooted her life to move in with him in his beautiful hometown: Waning Bay, Michigan. And yet, trouble brewed in paradise when Daphne’s soon-to-be fiancé left her for his childhood best friend, Petra.

Alone and friendless in an unfamiliar city, Daphne scrambled for a place to stay. In the end, she moved in with… Petra’s ex-boyfriend, Miles. Which is, honestly, a bit of a convoluted set-up. (So, her ex left her for his best friend, whose now-ex she moved in with…) I found myself mentally puzzling through the whole process a couple times. 

Daphne and Miles couldn’t be more different. Daphne is responsible, romantic and awkward. Miles is honestly a bit of a wreck and outwardly very charismatic. And yet, explaining the characters like this, I don’t feel like I captured their souls properly. Their outlines were very trope-y, but there was so much blank space inside taken up by their various interests, quirks and genuine personalities. I can’t articulate them properly – there were just so many things they did and thought that made them perfectly human to me.

Daphne and Miles, even with all their differences, are irrevocably connected by their situations. After skirting around each other for months, they connect over their shared misery and decide to go out together for drinks. Things spiral outwards after that as they decided to ‘fake’ being together at their ex’s wedding.

The thing I disliked about this book was the mixture of various conventional romance-book scenarios. The author really just threw in every possible thing here – opposites attract, fake dating, dating your ex’s… new partner’s ex? (okay, maybe that one is new). And yet… despite (or maybe because of) all that I really enjoyed this book.

Somehow, Emily Henry managed to weave such a heartfelt story around those conventional romantic book standards. Both Daphne and Miles were such human, interesting characters, and I loved their banter. Their conversations all had such a nice flow.

One of the things I love the most about Emily Henry’s writing is the conversations between her characters. Somehow, she makes time pass so perfectly whenever her main leads talk – the conversations are deep, interesting, funny and unhurried. They aren’t breaks in between the main action, but truly pages where we spend quality time with the characters. I genuinely feel like I’m falling in love when I read her books.

I also loved all the side characters in this book – they were such an eclectic, interesting mix of people. We had Julia, Miles’ sister and a chaotic, energetic whirlwind of a person. We had Ashleigh, a single mom and Daphne’s pragmatic work colleague (and later on, best friend).

Emily Henry enriched the world in the book by expanding Daphne’s support system. We had such interesting characters all around her, and so many dynamics to explore – her friendship arc with Ashleigh and effort to find connection in an unfamiliar city, her insights into seeing Miles in the role of older brother, her familial issues… there was so much to sink your teeth into.

Emily Henry’s new novel is full of wit and heart. The author redefines stereotypes and explores troupes in a funny, heartfelt and ultimately romantic way. She plunges us into a colorful setting full of love and explores friendship, trauma and the bravery of loving again after being hurt.