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Funny Guy
From the author of Chick Magnet comes a heartfelt friends-to-lovers story about what can happen when a funny guy and his childhood best friend are stuck together in a small New York City apartment.
Sam can’t escape the smash hit “Lost Boy” because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.
At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but she’s never revealed her biggest secret: she’s in love with him. To help herself move on, Bree applies for her dream job across the country―and doesn’t say a thing to Sam.
But as Sam tries to resuscitate his career, he turns to Bree for support―and maybe more. In the confines of her tiny apartment, they share a different dynamic. A charged dynamic. But she’s his friend. He can’t be falling for her.
Except he is.
Are his feelings for Bree just funny business? Or is their smoldering attraction the real deal?
Sam can’t escape the smash hit “Lost Boy” because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.
At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but she’s never revealed her biggest secret: she’s in love with him. To help herself move on, Bree applies for her dream job across the country―and doesn’t say a thing to Sam.
But as Sam tries to resuscitate his career, he turns to Bree for support―and maybe more. In the confines of her tiny apartment, they share a different dynamic. A charged dynamic. But she’s his friend. He can’t be falling for her.
Except he is.
Are his feelings for Bree just funny business? Or is their smoldering attraction the real deal?
Audio CD
First published May 16, 2023
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About the author
Emma Barry
29 books222 followersEmma Barry is a teacher, novelist, recovering academic, and former political staffer. She lives with her high school sweetheart and a menagerie of pets and children in Virginia, and she occasionally finds time to read and write.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 249 reviews
June 5, 2023
Skimmed after 54%. I’ll start off by saying I absolutely loved Chick Magnet. And when this book also became available as a Kindle Unlimited read and listen, I was stoked.
But I cannot recommend this book. This relationship AND the hero are so toxic. And the heroine is so concerned about HIS feelings and what HE needs/wants, that her pining for him became absolutely exhausting. They are supposedly best friends, but it seems like their relationship is always about what he wants and she allows it and seems to make it about that even more than he does. This book started to make me feel sick.
It’s so hard not to love the heroine because she’s an urban planner… and that’s a rare career to have for a book main character. I’m a planner so I would LOVE to have a romance heroine that I relate to. But it feels so clunky in this book. Like the author has to carefully explain everything (probably because she had to research it herself and understand it). It just makes it feel a bit preachy and overexplained. I wanted to like this part, but I didn’t.
Also, as an employer who hires folks, it felt so off for her to ask for WEEKS of time to contemplate taking the job offer. If they offer and you don’t say “yes!” than it usually means you don’t really want the job. I was kinda appalled that she said this was her dream job but she put them off like crazy. And for what? Her stupid crush on her “best friend”? It would have made WAY more sense for her to say "YES!" to the job and then stress out about telling him. Her excuse is that if she tells him she's leaving, she'll also have to tell him she loves him... but the heroine doesn't even tell him about the job offer AFTER she tells him she loves him. It makes no sense. It's just so unhealthy.
Here are some things that irritated me:
1. She’s chasing her dream job and worries that he’ll be upset when she tells him. They are best friends and she’s upset that HER dream job would upset him. What? That makes no sense.
2. Her pining was so annoying. Another reviewer said it was her only character trait… and it started to feel that way.
3. He is her best friend. But he has TWO female “best friends”. And while best friend 1 is pining over him, the hero thinks “I would ask best friend 2 to marry me except I’m not her type”. What!? Romance author! What are you thinking!?
4. The hero is endlessly whiney.
Basically, we have a heroine who has pined after this one dude for way too long while he’s been self-absorbed and doing whatever he wants. He’s dated around and been engaged while she can’t seem to find anyone. Add to that, she is on an AMAZING first date that could have gone somewhere when her “best friend” interrupts it with HIS needs and all the sudden our heroine can’t get excited about this other man.
It felt like the hero only starts looking at the heroine because he’s tried it with everyone else and he FINALLY realizes he had an amazing woman in front of him the whole time.
This book shows such an unhealthy relationship. And it exhausts me. And there's just not enough character growth to make it work for me.
But I cannot recommend this book. This relationship AND the hero are so toxic. And the heroine is so concerned about HIS feelings and what HE needs/wants, that her pining for him became absolutely exhausting. They are supposedly best friends, but it seems like their relationship is always about what he wants and she allows it and seems to make it about that even more than he does. This book started to make me feel sick.
It’s so hard not to love the heroine because she’s an urban planner… and that’s a rare career to have for a book main character. I’m a planner so I would LOVE to have a romance heroine that I relate to. But it feels so clunky in this book. Like the author has to carefully explain everything (probably because she had to research it herself and understand it). It just makes it feel a bit preachy and overexplained. I wanted to like this part, but I didn’t.
Also, as an employer who hires folks, it felt so off for her to ask for WEEKS of time to contemplate taking the job offer. If they offer and you don’t say “yes!” than it usually means you don’t really want the job. I was kinda appalled that she said this was her dream job but she put them off like crazy. And for what? Her stupid crush on her “best friend”? It would have made WAY more sense for her to say "YES!" to the job and then stress out about telling him. Her excuse is that if she tells him she's leaving, she'll also have to tell him she loves him... but the heroine doesn't even tell him about the job offer AFTER she tells him she loves him. It makes no sense. It's just so unhealthy.
Here are some things that irritated me:
1. She’s chasing her dream job and worries that he’ll be upset when she tells him. They are best friends and she’s upset that HER dream job would upset him. What? That makes no sense.
2. Her pining was so annoying. Another reviewer said it was her only character trait… and it started to feel that way.
3. He is her best friend. But he has TWO female “best friends”. And while best friend 1 is pining over him, the hero thinks “I would ask best friend 2 to marry me except I’m not her type”. What!? Romance author! What are you thinking!?
4. The hero is endlessly whiney.
Basically, we have a heroine who has pined after this one dude for way too long while he’s been self-absorbed and doing whatever he wants. He’s dated around and been engaged while she can’t seem to find anyone. Add to that, she is on an AMAZING first date that could have gone somewhere when her “best friend” interrupts it with HIS needs and all the sudden our heroine can’t get excited about this other man.
It felt like the hero only starts looking at the heroine because he’s tried it with everyone else and he FINALLY realizes he had an amazing woman in front of him the whole time.
This book shows such an unhealthy relationship. And it exhausts me. And there's just not enough character growth to make it work for me.
June 1, 2023
gosh what a fun, sexy, and angsty romance for these two forever friends. HE is such an absolute disaster and mess, and i really loved seeing how Barry worked how these two forever friends finally got their HEA. An epic Howl's Moving Castle inspired tale (he is SUCH a Howl).
I will definitely need to reread this at some point because I want to hear the jokes on audio!
thank you to the publisher for the ARC
I will definitely need to reread this at some point because I want to hear the jokes on audio!
thank you to the publisher for the ARC
February 17, 2023
Ahhhh this whole book is just *suffused* with yearning, and I loved it!
Sam and Bree have been devoted best friends ever since they were kids, when their friendship got them both through abusive childhoods. Now they're both successful in their own fields in New York City, Bree as an urban planner and Sam as a comedian on the fictional equivalent of Saturday Night Live. (Think: a much more appealing and attractive Pete Davidson, basically.) They date other people, they have different jobs - but they're always, always linked...and Bree's been keeping a secret for decades: she's head over heels in love with him. She's terrified to admit it - but when Sam's latest ex, a pop star, releases a #1 single all about their breakup and his inadequacies, he retreats to the emotional safety of Bree's apartment...and everything begins to change.
Like Sam's own comedy, this book is, on the surface, light and clever and funny - but absolutely roiling with the intensity of the emotions underneath. It is the most emotionally intense romance I've read in ages - and as quiet and steady as Bree is and as fiery and caustic as Sam is, I 100% believed they were genuine soulmates. I was rooting SO HARD for them to work - which made it really painful to see the Black Moment inevitably coming. But the character work is so delicately, persuasively done that I absolutely believed in both of their decisions and reactions - and I loved the way that it all got resolved.
I really, really love this new era of Emma Barry romances! I already can't wait for her next one. (I enjoyed her earlier romances, too, but these latest two have really hit a whole new level and are just *wonderful*.)
Sam and Bree have been devoted best friends ever since they were kids, when their friendship got them both through abusive childhoods. Now they're both successful in their own fields in New York City, Bree as an urban planner and Sam as a comedian on the fictional equivalent of Saturday Night Live. (Think: a much more appealing and attractive Pete Davidson, basically.) They date other people, they have different jobs - but they're always, always linked...and Bree's been keeping a secret for decades: she's head over heels in love with him. She's terrified to admit it - but when Sam's latest ex, a pop star, releases a #1 single all about their breakup and his inadequacies, he retreats to the emotional safety of Bree's apartment...and everything begins to change.
Like Sam's own comedy, this book is, on the surface, light and clever and funny - but absolutely roiling with the intensity of the emotions underneath. It is the most emotionally intense romance I've read in ages - and as quiet and steady as Bree is and as fiery and caustic as Sam is, I 100% believed they were genuine soulmates. I was rooting SO HARD for them to work - which made it really painful to see the Black Moment inevitably coming. But the character work is so delicately, persuasively done that I absolutely believed in both of their decisions and reactions - and I loved the way that it all got resolved.
I really, really love this new era of Emma Barry romances! I already can't wait for her next one. (I enjoyed her earlier romances, too, but these latest two have really hit a whole new level and are just *wonderful*.)
March 8, 2024
This book was a deep dive to childhood friends - best friends - and it was very internal by and large. It also felt real in a way that I think is very hard to convey in friends-to-lovers. There was whiffs of codependence and acknowledgment of deep flaws in the characters. it was angsty, heartbreaking and explored vulnerability for both characters but Sam's was particularly raw given his profession and Taylor-Swift-esque recent breakup. You also understand their respect regard and the upshift to a romantic relationship. Bree and Sam were both equally frustrating and endearing - and felt dimensional.
Definitely worth a read if you don't mind heavily internal books with characters who have struggled to reveal their deepest truths to each other.
I really like Emma Barry!
Definitely worth a read if you don't mind heavily internal books with characters who have struggled to reveal their deepest truths to each other.
I really like Emma Barry!
March 8, 2023
I'm sorry to say I was a bit disappointed with this book.
On paper the story was supposed to be funny and romantic, but in the end I found it boring; but that is probably because it felt real, like a story a friend of mine could share, not a romance book story.
It was actually really similar to my relationship with my boyfriend.
That's why I gave it 3 stars, because it's nice to see for once a story that does not have great gestures (ok, it has one, but it's still relatable, kind of), or great plot twists; it just feels normal, real life.
On the other hand that is exactly what pops the sparkly bubble I look for while reading romance books.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
On paper the story was supposed to be funny and romantic, but in the end I found it boring; but that is probably because it felt real, like a story a friend of mine could share, not a romance book story.
It was actually really similar to my relationship with my boyfriend.
That's why I gave it 3 stars, because it's nice to see for once a story that does not have great gestures (ok, it has one, but it's still relatable, kind of), or great plot twists; it just feels normal, real life.
On the other hand that is exactly what pops the sparkly bubble I look for while reading romance books.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 19, 2023
Thank you netgalley for the e-arc!
I love a good friends to lovers story, all the angst and the mutual pining but with this one I don't know I just didn't really get that.
In the book it mentioned how bree has been in love with sam since forever but the moment they got together there's barely moments between them. I didn't feel their love and connection within each other as it just went flat.
I had trouble when sam's comedy hour show involved, I think it was fine in good amount but when it got little bit too much i got bored. I mostly just scan through that quickly.
I love a good friends to lovers story, all the angst and the mutual pining but with this one I don't know I just didn't really get that.
In the book it mentioned how bree has been in love with sam since forever but the moment they got together there's barely moments between them. I didn't feel their love and connection within each other as it just went flat.
I had trouble when sam's comedy hour show involved, I think it was fine in good amount but when it got little bit too much i got bored. I mostly just scan through that quickly.
May 26, 2023
Sam and Bree have been best friends since kindergarten, and she’s been in love with him since they were 14. He’s now a famous comedian on a hit sketch show (think Saturday Night Live) known for aggressive comedy and asshole behavior. But his hard nature is an act to protect the boy beneath. So when his famous pop star ex-fiancee bares Sam’s soul in her latest hit, it’s time for him to hide out with Bree, again.
Funny Guy is a wonderful friends-to-lovers romance. It’s easy to understand Bree’s unrequited love and the heartache of loving your best friend. Bree and Sam have their own issues, and I love that the author doesn’t dismiss them or make things easy. While Bree is very in touch with her own feelings, Sam is very spontaneous and allows his more negative emotions to control his actions. So when he realizes that he has these odd feelings towards Sam, it’s a bit of a shock for him.
While on the surface, it looks like Sam and Bree have a one-sided relationship, it’s evident from both POVs that he loves Bree and will do anything for her. It’s just that his baggage is way more visible than hers. He comes to her after every breakup, yo-yoing in and out of her life; however, it’s not that he leaves her life, it’s just more in your face when he stays with her. The author and Bree make it clear that Sam may be clueless about her feelings, but he’s a good friend. He does what he can with a kind heart.
Bree loves Sam with her whole being, but is happy being his friend because their relationship is so important to her. She doesn’t want to risk telling him her feelings out of fear it will get awkward, or worse, that he’ll question their entire friendship and cheapen what they have. But she also realizes she’s never going to have a full life as long as Sam is such a big part of it. Deciding to move is a huge decision, and I felt the weight in my own being.
In the end, I adored Funny Guy. The author does a wonderful job creating real emotions that I could understand and experience through her characters. I loved watching Sam realize what is true and who he loves, and seeing the pair fall in love.
My Rating: A-
Review copy provided by Netgalley
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
Funny Guy is a wonderful friends-to-lovers romance. It’s easy to understand Bree’s unrequited love and the heartache of loving your best friend. Bree and Sam have their own issues, and I love that the author doesn’t dismiss them or make things easy. While Bree is very in touch with her own feelings, Sam is very spontaneous and allows his more negative emotions to control his actions. So when he realizes that he has these odd feelings towards Sam, it’s a bit of a shock for him.
While on the surface, it looks like Sam and Bree have a one-sided relationship, it’s evident from both POVs that he loves Bree and will do anything for her. It’s just that his baggage is way more visible than hers. He comes to her after every breakup, yo-yoing in and out of her life; however, it’s not that he leaves her life, it’s just more in your face when he stays with her. The author and Bree make it clear that Sam may be clueless about her feelings, but he’s a good friend. He does what he can with a kind heart.
Bree loves Sam with her whole being, but is happy being his friend because their relationship is so important to her. She doesn’t want to risk telling him her feelings out of fear it will get awkward, or worse, that he’ll question their entire friendship and cheapen what they have. But she also realizes she’s never going to have a full life as long as Sam is such a big part of it. Deciding to move is a huge decision, and I felt the weight in my own being.
In the end, I adored Funny Guy. The author does a wonderful job creating real emotions that I could understand and experience through her characters. I loved watching Sam realize what is true and who he loves, and seeing the pair fall in love.
My Rating: A-
Review copy provided by Netgalley
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
April 26, 2023
A solid friends to lovers contemporary romance that suffers a little from a lack of engaging characters. Charming a-hole Sam is the toast of the entertainment world when he isn't scorching his own reputation by lambasting total strangers in coffee shops and going off on his co-workers at "Comedy Hour" (Saturday Night Live) and Bree is his long suffering best friend who's been "secretly" in love with him since they were children together bonding over their equally broken homes.
I genuinely enjoyed this. The banter and deep friendship between Sam and Bree is the strongest part of the book. Unfortunately the actual story around them isn't as strong. We're not really given enough of a grounding in how they've gotten where they are, the what came before that might make the reader more invested in their success now and the flowering of their friendship into something more. And when things go south as they always do in these stories it feels too much like a plot device and not enough like an actual conflict.
All that said this is a charming and funny read that makes up for what it lacks in substance with sweet, and often quite sexy romance
I genuinely enjoyed this. The banter and deep friendship between Sam and Bree is the strongest part of the book. Unfortunately the actual story around them isn't as strong. We're not really given enough of a grounding in how they've gotten where they are, the what came before that might make the reader more invested in their success now and the flowering of their friendship into something more. And when things go south as they always do in these stories it feels too much like a plot device and not enough like an actual conflict.
All that said this is a charming and funny read that makes up for what it lacks in substance with sweet, and often quite sexy romance
July 4, 2023
The last friends to lovers book I read was a major letdown, so I thought to try it again with another book (this time NA)
Happy to say that my faith in the trope has been restored 😌
(Also AA shout-out!!!)
Content warning: sexual harassment (not main pairing), past abuse, sex scenes
Happy to say that my faith in the trope has been restored 😌
(Also AA shout-out!!!)
Content warning: sexual harassment (not main pairing), past abuse, sex scenes
July 11, 2023
Meh. Listened to about 75% while I was cleaning over the weekend, but I'm just not feeling the pull to pick this back up, so I think I'm going to leave it here. Too many loans just came in at the library to force this one...
April 4, 2024
Man. I dunno. I really loved how biting and angsty the beginning was? But things fizzled the minute Sam and Bree got together. I think I just take issue to how a switch suddenly flipped for Sam and he suddenly realized he's in love with Bree. And in general, Sam was a bad friend and I can't see him being a good partner/husband. Like ever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2023
3.5 Stars! Witty, optimistic, and sweet!
Funny Guy is an uplifting, layered tale that mixes the kind, hardworking Bree, who may finally have to come to grips with the fact that her childhood best friend doesn’t love her in the same way she loves him, and Sam, the hotheaded, impulsive comedian who seems to use his tortured past and feelings of worthlessness to continually try to destroy his successful career and any relationships that could be long-lasting.
The writing is warm and charming. The characters are patient, supportive, and scarred. And the plot is a delightful mix of life, love, friendship, chemistry, attraction, heartfelt moments, introspection, taking chances, and moving on.
Overall, Funny Guy is a captivating, tender, quick read by Barry that did a wonderful job of mixing heavier issues with some lighthearted fun.
Thank you to Kaye Publicity for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Funny Guy is an uplifting, layered tale that mixes the kind, hardworking Bree, who may finally have to come to grips with the fact that her childhood best friend doesn’t love her in the same way she loves him, and Sam, the hotheaded, impulsive comedian who seems to use his tortured past and feelings of worthlessness to continually try to destroy his successful career and any relationships that could be long-lasting.
The writing is warm and charming. The characters are patient, supportive, and scarred. And the plot is a delightful mix of life, love, friendship, chemistry, attraction, heartfelt moments, introspection, taking chances, and moving on.
Overall, Funny Guy is a captivating, tender, quick read by Barry that did a wonderful job of mixing heavier issues with some lighthearted fun.
Thank you to Kaye Publicity for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 21, 2024
This one was sweet, but I think my issues with it were in line with what I’ve seen a lot of others say — too much time spent in various office settings beyond the main romance, and I would’ve almost enjoyed some flashbacks to Bree and Sam’s childhood together so we could experience the full weight of their history and just how long they’ve been in each other’s lives. The friends-to-lovers vibes were great, though! So while I ultimately enjoyed reading, it wasn’t my favorite from this author overall.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
June 29, 2023
Truth: I am a HUGE Seinfeld fan, which is one of the many reasons I looked forward to Emma Barry’s Funny Guy. Another is, simply, it’s an Emma Barry romance! I was not thoroughly enamoured of Chick Magnet (because “chickens”) but it won me over. Funny Guy, on the other hand, had me from page one, thanks to “funny guy” Sam Leyland and his torch-carrying best friend Bryony “Bree” Edwards…oh Sam’s carried a torch for as long, except he’s so-not-clued-into his feelings. Another reason this romance works so well? We are privy to Bree’s tortured, often funny thoughts about her love for Sam; when Sam’s revelation comes, it’s more “road to Damascus” than slow burn. Because this isn’t only a friends-to-lovers romance, it’s an opposites-attract romance and the latter makes it more compelling than the former. But, to start, let the blurb speak for itself:
Sam can’t escape the smash hit “Lost Boy” because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.
At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but she’s never revealed her biggest secret: she’s in love with him. To help herself move on, Bree applies for her dream job across the country—and doesn’t say a thing to Sam.
But as Sam tries to resuscitate his career, he turns to Bree for support—and maybe more. In the confines of her tiny apartment, they share a different dynamic. A charged dynamic. But she’s his friend. He can’t be falling for her. Except he is. Are his feelings for Bree just funny business? Or is their smoldering attraction the real deal?
The attraction is real all right: a long, torturous awareness on Bree’s part and a smack up side the head for Sam. And how I loved them both. Sam is such a mess and Bree is calm, self-aware, and self-contained. Sam is petulant, sarcastic, rude and yet Barry manages to make him lovable. Maybe because no matter how outrageous he is with everyone else, he’s good to Bree. Sam’s Bree-lodestar helps us sympathize with him even while we’re heart-broken for Bree.
That forced proximity business suggested in the blurb? Sam doesn’t only turn to Bree because he imploded his career (he doesn’t suffer fools easily); he nurses Bree through a bad cold, with soup, meds, ginger ale (stirring the bubbles out) and cuddles…the cuddles lead poor Sam to a confusing physical awareness, a tight heart-stirring he can’t quite figure out for his best friend; after all, “Bree Edwards was the conscience Sam didn’t have.” Sam puts Bree on a not-to-be-soiled pedestal while Bree yearns, “when she’d been fourteen, she and Sam had been laughing together in the sad excuse for a park near his grandma’s house when she’d known: I will love you and only you forever.” It’s quite the entertaining dynamic.
Barry centred Bree and Sam’s identities and relationship in their background from a small, poor Ohio town and their troubled families. They brought themselves up and they brought each other up since the day they met as children on the playground. This bond goes deep and, while Bree has known she’s been in love with Sam for years, Sam never allowed himself to “go there” because Sam is a self-acknowledging mess: how can he risk losing the person who centres him by ruining another romantic relationship? The only people who don’t realize Sam loves Bree are Sam and Bree. So the reader’s smug knowingness adds to the novel’s pleasures.
Barry does something interesting: while most romance writers are content to show how their protagonists make their way to each other, Barry wants to show how they must break away from their long-running self-sculpted molds. She accomplishes this most successfully with Bree because when we first encounter her, Bree is determined to move away from Sam, to build a life away from him and find a partner. She is, however, equally motivated by her career, not in a sharky ambitious way, but an aspirational, valuable, purposeful work way.
Bree is an adult and makes adult decisions, but she’s also vulnerable because she’s watched Sam fall in love with other women over and over again while she pined. I loved Sam’s moment of realizing he’s in love with Bree, but the dark moment, when it arrives, is one in which both participate. But it’s Sam who has to make the greatest change. It works in every way. Miss Austen would love Sam and Bree. Barry’s Funny Guys offers its readers “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.
Emma Barry’s Funny Guy is published by Montlake. It released in mid-May. I received an e-ARC from Montlake, via Netgalley, for the purpose of writing this review. This does not impede the free expression of my opinion.
Sam can’t escape the smash hit “Lost Boy” because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.
At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but she’s never revealed her biggest secret: she’s in love with him. To help herself move on, Bree applies for her dream job across the country—and doesn’t say a thing to Sam.
But as Sam tries to resuscitate his career, he turns to Bree for support—and maybe more. In the confines of her tiny apartment, they share a different dynamic. A charged dynamic. But she’s his friend. He can’t be falling for her. Except he is. Are his feelings for Bree just funny business? Or is their smoldering attraction the real deal?
The attraction is real all right: a long, torturous awareness on Bree’s part and a smack up side the head for Sam. And how I loved them both. Sam is such a mess and Bree is calm, self-aware, and self-contained. Sam is petulant, sarcastic, rude and yet Barry manages to make him lovable. Maybe because no matter how outrageous he is with everyone else, he’s good to Bree. Sam’s Bree-lodestar helps us sympathize with him even while we’re heart-broken for Bree.
That forced proximity business suggested in the blurb? Sam doesn’t only turn to Bree because he imploded his career (he doesn’t suffer fools easily); he nurses Bree through a bad cold, with soup, meds, ginger ale (stirring the bubbles out) and cuddles…the cuddles lead poor Sam to a confusing physical awareness, a tight heart-stirring he can’t quite figure out for his best friend; after all, “Bree Edwards was the conscience Sam didn’t have.” Sam puts Bree on a not-to-be-soiled pedestal while Bree yearns, “when she’d been fourteen, she and Sam had been laughing together in the sad excuse for a park near his grandma’s house when she’d known: I will love you and only you forever.” It’s quite the entertaining dynamic.
Barry centred Bree and Sam’s identities and relationship in their background from a small, poor Ohio town and their troubled families. They brought themselves up and they brought each other up since the day they met as children on the playground. This bond goes deep and, while Bree has known she’s been in love with Sam for years, Sam never allowed himself to “go there” because Sam is a self-acknowledging mess: how can he risk losing the person who centres him by ruining another romantic relationship? The only people who don’t realize Sam loves Bree are Sam and Bree. So the reader’s smug knowingness adds to the novel’s pleasures.
Barry does something interesting: while most romance writers are content to show how their protagonists make their way to each other, Barry wants to show how they must break away from their long-running self-sculpted molds. She accomplishes this most successfully with Bree because when we first encounter her, Bree is determined to move away from Sam, to build a life away from him and find a partner. She is, however, equally motivated by her career, not in a sharky ambitious way, but an aspirational, valuable, purposeful work way.
Bree is an adult and makes adult decisions, but she’s also vulnerable because she’s watched Sam fall in love with other women over and over again while she pined. I loved Sam’s moment of realizing he’s in love with Bree, but the dark moment, when it arrives, is one in which both participate. But it’s Sam who has to make the greatest change. It works in every way. Miss Austen would love Sam and Bree. Barry’s Funny Guys offers its readers “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.
Emma Barry’s Funny Guy is published by Montlake. It released in mid-May. I received an e-ARC from Montlake, via Netgalley, for the purpose of writing this review. This does not impede the free expression of my opinion.
May 1, 2023
4.5 stars rounded down. Loved this one! This book was both funny and touching, with complex and relatable characters. The hero Sam was a celebrity stand-up comedian working on an SNL-type show, and he gave just enough Pete Davidson vibes to be sexy and damaged without being full-on crazy. The heroine, Bree, was a smart and savvy urban planner (be still my nerd heart).
Bree and Sam grew up together in circumstances that were at best poor and unhealthy, and at worst neglectful and abusive. They’re now 30+ and have remained best friends, but Bree can’t let go of her unrequited feelings for Sam. I normally don’t enjoy friends to lovers with pining, but this worked for me because the story flowed well and there were believable reasons why they hadn’t hooked up.
Great character growth is one of my favorite things, and both Bree and Sam matured through the book. While the end conflict was predictable, it was also understandable and the author devoted enough time to a satisfying resolution. All in all, a great read!
Bree and Sam grew up together in circumstances that were at best poor and unhealthy, and at worst neglectful and abusive. They’re now 30+ and have remained best friends, but Bree can’t let go of her unrequited feelings for Sam. I normally don’t enjoy friends to lovers with pining, but this worked for me because the story flowed well and there were believable reasons why they hadn’t hooked up.
Great character growth is one of my favorite things, and both Bree and Sam matured through the book. While the end conflict was predictable, it was also understandable and the author devoted enough time to a satisfying resolution. All in all, a great read!
April 7, 2023
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.
Funny Guy is a friends-to-lovers romance.
Sam and Bree are childhood friends who end up needing to live together in a small apartment in NYC. Bree has known she's in love with Sam... forever? But she hides her feelings thinking they won't be returned. [ typical ]
While living together, their dynamic changes just a tad... which makes Sam realize he just may be falling for Bree. Surprise, surprise.
The book is cute. Wholesome really. It's fairly slow at times but overall, it's mostly engaging and easy to read.
Funny Guy is a friends-to-lovers romance.
Sam and Bree are childhood friends who end up needing to live together in a small apartment in NYC. Bree has known she's in love with Sam... forever? But she hides her feelings thinking they won't be returned. [ typical ]
While living together, their dynamic changes just a tad... which makes Sam realize he just may be falling for Bree. Surprise, surprise.
The book is cute. Wholesome really. It's fairly slow at times but overall, it's mostly engaging and easy to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2023
Thank you to Emma Barry & the publisher, Montlake, for the ARC on NetGalley.
This was actually very charming and emotional. Both Sam & Bree have a lot going on on their own, and there is a decent amount of growth for them. There is probably a bit more telling than I think is ideal (them each being in love with each other, and how the relationship comes together, mostly), and I was very taken aback with the third act, becuase I didn't feel the ground had fully been laid for it. That being said, very cute, very easy read, glad Emma Barry is writing more.
This was actually very charming and emotional. Both Sam & Bree have a lot going on on their own, and there is a decent amount of growth for them. There is probably a bit more telling than I think is ideal (them each being in love with each other, and how the relationship comes together, mostly), and I was very taken aback with the third act, becuase I didn't feel the ground had fully been laid for it. That being said, very cute, very easy read, glad Emma Barry is writing more.
April 9, 2023
Bree and Sam are childhood friends. She has been in love with him for years, and when she finally decides to move across the country to her dream job, he realizes that he loves her too. After two years of pure bliss Sam finds out that Bree is moving and they break up. Sam is a comedian known for not being able to have stable relationships and keeps getting in trouble with the press, to the point of losing sponsors. Realizing that he was being unfair with Bree, he decides to make a special Christmas episode in his comedy program, to try to get their relationship back.
It's a sweet love story where childhood friends fall in love. Not exactly original and funny as I expected, but I liked it anyway.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC. The opinions above are my own and given freely.
It's a sweet love story where childhood friends fall in love. Not exactly original and funny as I expected, but I liked it anyway.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC. The opinions above are my own and given freely.
February 15, 2023
I liked it but not as much as I expected to.
More detailed review to come closer to release day
More detailed review to come closer to release day
June 25, 2023
I was really getting tired of the friends to lovers trope in romcoms. But Barry brought me back around 100%. Sam and Bree finally got the HEA both characters deserved given there backgrounds.
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.
May 14, 2023
This one wasn't for me. She spun her wheels too long (not in reality, in text; too repetitive) and I could get over him being a jerk if he wasn't a comedian who didn't understand why people laugh when they do? That was it for me, I think. But I did like the shared history, the grand gesture, and the way they both still had habits from poverty that they carried with them. I do wish there'd been more showing than telling and maybe more of his POV since he has so much more character growth and it wasn't an equal POV swap anyway.
It did have a lot of cozy feels and maybe if this hadn't been the second SNL romance I read this year, I would rate it higher. But maybe not.
It did have a lot of cozy feels and maybe if this hadn't been the second SNL romance I read this year, I would rate it higher. But maybe not.
April 29, 2023
REVIEW
⚠️cw: childhood trauma, abuse⚠️
When snarky comedian Sam Leyland's ex writes a less-than-flattering song about him, he's humiliated. Seeking solace from the constant barrage of attention, he temporarily moves in with his best friend. Urban planner Bree Edwards grew up with Sam in a trailer park and has been in love with him since she was fifteen. Now 32, she knows she needs to set herself free. But Sam might have other ideas.
This was a moving story. As someone who really hates musicians trading on openly humiliating their exes, I immediately felt for Sam. He was a really interesting character. Outwardly snarky, yet internally incredibly vulnerable and self-sabotaging. He could sometimes come across as needy around Bree but was also an absolute sweetheart with her. I also loved how he looked after Marc, the new writer. Sam struggled with imposter syndrome and had a massive destructive streak, but I really loved him as a character, especially as the story progresses, and we learn all the little ways he'd been there for Bree. I loved Jane and Roxy, his colleagues at the SNL style comedy show.
My heart broke for Bree so many times. In many ways, she was just as vulnerable as Sam, and you could feel how much her seemingly unrequited feelings were exhausting her. I could empathise with her worries about potentially ruining their friendship if he only loved her as a friend, given how close they were. While I'm not a fan of miscommunication, Sam's initial reaction confirmed Bree's fears, and once. That said, they were SO cute together, and the intimacy was hot but also incredibly sweet. I LOVED the resolution and really appreciated that Sam did the work to exercise his demons.
This was a nuanced, emotional ride, and I loved it.
Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥
Emotional Rating: 😬😂👏🏻💔💓😢💓🥰💔😢💓😬🙈😍😢💓🥰🤦🏻♀️😢💔😢💓👏🏻🥰😍
*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review. Funny Guy is published on 16th May in the UK*
Favourite Quote:
Salem had told the world Sam was a lost boy—but Bree knew that when they were together, Sam didn’t feel lost. She didn’t either. Together, and maybe only together, Bree and Sam were found.
⚠️cw: childhood trauma, abuse⚠️
When snarky comedian Sam Leyland's ex writes a less-than-flattering song about him, he's humiliated. Seeking solace from the constant barrage of attention, he temporarily moves in with his best friend. Urban planner Bree Edwards grew up with Sam in a trailer park and has been in love with him since she was fifteen. Now 32, she knows she needs to set herself free. But Sam might have other ideas.
This was a moving story. As someone who really hates musicians trading on openly humiliating their exes, I immediately felt for Sam. He was a really interesting character. Outwardly snarky, yet internally incredibly vulnerable and self-sabotaging. He could sometimes come across as needy around Bree but was also an absolute sweetheart with her. I also loved how he looked after Marc, the new writer. Sam struggled with imposter syndrome and had a massive destructive streak, but I really loved him as a character, especially as the story progresses, and we learn all the little ways he'd been there for Bree. I loved Jane and Roxy, his colleagues at the SNL style comedy show.
My heart broke for Bree so many times. In many ways, she was just as vulnerable as Sam, and you could feel how much her seemingly unrequited feelings were exhausting her. I could empathise with her worries about potentially ruining their friendship if he only loved her as a friend, given how close they were. While I'm not a fan of miscommunication, Sam's initial reaction confirmed Bree's fears, and once. That said, they were SO cute together, and the intimacy was hot but also incredibly sweet. I LOVED the resolution and really appreciated that Sam did the work to exercise his demons.
This was a nuanced, emotional ride, and I loved it.
Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥
Emotional Rating: 😬😂👏🏻💔💓😢💓🥰💔😢💓😬🙈😍😢💓🥰🤦🏻♀️😢💔😢💓👏🏻🥰😍
*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review. Funny Guy is published on 16th May in the UK*
Favourite Quote:
Salem had told the world Sam was a lost boy—but Bree knew that when they were together, Sam didn’t feel lost. She didn’t either. Together, and maybe only together, Bree and Sam were found.
August 14, 2023
Huge let down
This is a story about a wonderful ambitious woman who has been pining away for a man child who has no control over his emotions. So of course she's held herself back and missed career opportunities because her BFF would throw a fit if she left.
I hated pretty much everything about this book but especially the hero.
This is a story about a wonderful ambitious woman who has been pining away for a man child who has no control over his emotions. So of course she's held herself back and missed career opportunities because her BFF would throw a fit if she left.
I hated pretty much everything about this book but especially the hero.
March 8, 2023
Funny Guy was an entertaining friends-to-lovers rom-com, with an interesting set-up. There were some parts of this story that were a hit and some that were less so.
Sam's life is exploding. He is a wildly successful comedian, but his latest ex-girlfriend has written a very revealing song about his character. Bree has been his best friend since childhood and has been in love with him for years. She never plans to share her feelings but when a job opportunity in a new city comes up, things start to get more complicated between the best friends.
Sam was a very well plotted out character and this largely felt like his book. He had strengths and numerous flaws and definitely had some growing to do. I felt sympathy for his background and his tendency to self destruct. I also liked the details about his job on the faux SNL set. Bree, on the other hand, felt a little more flat. At one point I had the distinct thought that her only personality trait was pining for Sam. I enjoyed the first part of this book with Bree longing for Sam and him coming around to thinking of her in a more than friendly way, but the reveal of their feelings felt a bit sudden and anti-climatic, as did their relationship. I did really like the third act and the epilogue, because it felt like something was finally happening.
I would recommend this book. It was a quick, entertaining read, filled with drama and longing. If you are a fan of friends-to-lovers, give this one a try!
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.
Sam's life is exploding. He is a wildly successful comedian, but his latest ex-girlfriend has written a very revealing song about his character. Bree has been his best friend since childhood and has been in love with him for years. She never plans to share her feelings but when a job opportunity in a new city comes up, things start to get more complicated between the best friends.
Sam was a very well plotted out character and this largely felt like his book. He had strengths and numerous flaws and definitely had some growing to do. I felt sympathy for his background and his tendency to self destruct. I also liked the details about his job on the faux SNL set. Bree, on the other hand, felt a little more flat. At one point I had the distinct thought that her only personality trait was pining for Sam. I enjoyed the first part of this book with Bree longing for Sam and him coming around to thinking of her in a more than friendly way, but the reveal of their feelings felt a bit sudden and anti-climatic, as did their relationship. I did really like the third act and the epilogue, because it felt like something was finally happening.
I would recommend this book. It was a quick, entertaining read, filled with drama and longing. If you are a fan of friends-to-lovers, give this one a try!
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.
February 11, 2023
It's a very realistic take on friends to lovers without all the bookish drama, grandiose scenarios, and implausibility of this being how someone's real life may play out.
It was a little boring for me specifically because I went in expecting a fictional romcom, heavy on the comedy, but what this book delivered was exactly what the blurb promised about this being a more heartfelt and emotional read. I just didn't feel particularly invested in the characters or their feelings, I am glad this all worked out for them but not glad enough that I'd reread this just to witness their love story all over again, y'know?
The best part about this for me was honestly that the MMC read as an extremely thinly veiled Pete Davidson, which may or may not have been an accident but was fantastic all the same. Love that guy.
Thank you Montlake & NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for honest and unbiased feedback
It was a little boring for me specifically because I went in expecting a fictional romcom, heavy on the comedy, but what this book delivered was exactly what the blurb promised about this being a more heartfelt and emotional read. I just didn't feel particularly invested in the characters or their feelings, I am glad this all worked out for them but not glad enough that I'd reread this just to witness their love story all over again, y'know?
The best part about this for me was honestly that the MMC read as an extremely thinly veiled Pete Davidson, which may or may not have been an accident but was fantastic all the same. Love that guy.
Thank you Montlake & NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for honest and unbiased feedback
May 16, 2023
3.5 rounded up.
A fun, steamy, dual POV, friends to lovers romance set in NYC that sees Sam and Bree, two childhood best friends finally taking a chance on love when the playboy sketch comedy actor finally decides to admit his feelings for his friend who has secretly been pining after him for years.
I didn't like this one quite as much as Chick magnet - Sam was a little bit too much of a playboy rake/badboy and Bree felt a little too much of a wallflower for my tastes but they definitely had a sweet friendship and great chemistry. Good on audio narrated by Lucy Rivers and Teddy Hamilton.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. Recommended for fans of authors like Vi Keeland or Pippa Grant.
Steam level: open door
A fun, steamy, dual POV, friends to lovers romance set in NYC that sees Sam and Bree, two childhood best friends finally taking a chance on love when the playboy sketch comedy actor finally decides to admit his feelings for his friend who has secretly been pining after him for years.
I didn't like this one quite as much as Chick magnet - Sam was a little bit too much of a playboy rake/badboy and Bree felt a little too much of a wallflower for my tastes but they definitely had a sweet friendship and great chemistry. Good on audio narrated by Lucy Rivers and Teddy Hamilton.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. Recommended for fans of authors like Vi Keeland or Pippa Grant.
Steam level: open door
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September 4, 2023UPDATE: Funny Guy is a Kindle Monthly Deal for September, 2023! Get your copy of Sam and Bree's romance for only $1.99.
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This is one of my Amazon Publishing edits, out now! Childhood best friends to lovers. Opposites attract. Forced proximity. Standalone contemporary romance. 🤍
http://editsbykristi.com/funny-guy
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This is one of my Amazon Publishing edits, out now! Childhood best friends to lovers. Opposites attract. Forced proximity. Standalone contemporary romance. 🤍
http://editsbykristi.com/funny-guy
Read
March 18, 2023I've read a bunch of Emma Barry books in the last four or so months, and she is without a doubt one of my favourite romance authors right now. This book is such a great example of pining and angst, and the best friend trope was done so well. It was emotionally strong, and sexy, with characters who do the work to change their circumstances and grow. Loved it.
March 12, 2023
For some reason I thought this book was out already? And then it wasn't? Thankfully NG had it as "READ NOW" so I could instantly download it and continue my Emma Barry reading spree!! And I really enjoyed this one.
Possibly more than Chick Magnet? But mainly bc there was a lack of chickens here.
This is a friends to lovers romance where Bree has been pining for Sam forever and it is getting harder and harder to hide her feelings from him. Sam is a comedian who has a lot of baggage and using comedy to poke fun about himself. Sam needs a place to hide out after his ex girlfriend wrote a hit song about their relationship and ends up staying with Bree which makes them both have to deal with some feelings.
I really like how Emma Barry writes characters that feel real. Both characters grew up poor and have quite a bit of baggage because of that. Neither of them are perfect and Sam is a hard guy to like for parts of the book. But I liked seeing his flaws and seeing Bree accept him despite them. She makes some mistakes too and they have to deal with them. I'm not interested in seeing perfect people fall in love. And seeing Sam and Bree work for their HEA was so rewarding.
I will say the ending didn't entirely work for me, I don't like public ~ things ~ and part of it felt too easy, but it's fine. And I was happy where both characters ended up.
TW: bad relationships with parents (both MCs), trauma from being poor , implied domestic violence (prior to story)
CW: poverty,
*thanks so much to Netgalley & the publisher for an eARC; all thoughts are my own*
Possibly more than Chick Magnet? But mainly bc there was a lack of chickens here.
This is a friends to lovers romance where Bree has been pining for Sam forever and it is getting harder and harder to hide her feelings from him. Sam is a comedian who has a lot of baggage and using comedy to poke fun about himself. Sam needs a place to hide out after his ex girlfriend wrote a hit song about their relationship and ends up staying with Bree which makes them both have to deal with some feelings.
I really like how Emma Barry writes characters that feel real. Both characters grew up poor and have quite a bit of baggage because of that. Neither of them are perfect and Sam is a hard guy to like for parts of the book. But I liked seeing his flaws and seeing Bree accept him despite them. She makes some mistakes too and they have to deal with them. I'm not interested in seeing perfect people fall in love. And seeing Sam and Bree work for their HEA was so rewarding.
I will say the ending didn't entirely work for me, I don't like public ~ things ~ and part of it felt too easy, but it's fine. And I was happy where both characters ended up.
TW: bad relationships with parents (both MCs), trauma from being poor , implied domestic violence (prior to story)
CW: poverty,
*thanks so much to Netgalley & the publisher for an eARC; all thoughts are my own*
April 13, 2023
I really enjoyed Barry's previous romance Chick Magnet so I was really looking forward to this one - and I wasn't disappointed! Setting up the MMC as a kind of handsomer Pete Davidson was genius and I loved it. Sam is a famous stand-up comic on a weekly comedy TV show (essentially SNL) but he's also a guy with a lot of problems - not surprising given his shitty upbringing in a poor and broken household. His co-dependent relationship with childhood friend Bree is also not surprising, and I really enjoyed how the plot unfolded as they discover they mean more to each other.
When Sam's ex (a Taylor Swift-style singer) writes a song that eviscerates his personality and becomes a huge hit, it hurts his pride and he immediately flees to Bree's apartment to dodge the paps and lick his wounds. Bree knows that she shouldn't be so dependent on her relationship with Sam - he's always been a huge part of her life - and is thinking of physically moving cities for work to gain some distance and independence (and hopefully get over her lifelong crush on her friend). The pain of being in love with your best friend is a huge part of her lifeand it hurt my heart!
When Sam suddenly realizes he actually LOVES his best friend, it's like a lightning strike and things quickly become complicated. Bree can't believe all her daydreams about being in his arms are coming true, but she is still considering a massively great opportunity for her career which would mean leaving New York. She doesn't want Sam to hold her back, and dreads his reaction to this news.
I raced through this book, I absolutely adored every bit of it. There's quite a lot of trope-y moments - celeb romance, forced proximity, a splash of fake dating - but it all works really well. I was fully invested in Sam and Bree and their love story and will definitely read more from this author.
When Sam's ex (a Taylor Swift-style singer) writes a song that eviscerates his personality and becomes a huge hit, it hurts his pride and he immediately flees to Bree's apartment to dodge the paps and lick his wounds. Bree knows that she shouldn't be so dependent on her relationship with Sam - he's always been a huge part of her life - and is thinking of physically moving cities for work to gain some distance and independence (and hopefully get over her lifelong crush on her friend). The pain of being in love with your best friend is a huge part of her lifeand it hurt my heart!
When Sam suddenly realizes he actually LOVES his best friend, it's like a lightning strike and things quickly become complicated. Bree can't believe all her daydreams about being in his arms are coming true, but she is still considering a massively great opportunity for her career which would mean leaving New York. She doesn't want Sam to hold her back, and dreads his reaction to this news.
I raced through this book, I absolutely adored every bit of it. There's quite a lot of trope-y moments - celeb romance, forced proximity, a splash of fake dating - but it all works really well. I was fully invested in Sam and Bree and their love story and will definitely read more from this author.
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