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Funny Valentine
Stevie was a young woman who took life very seriously wouldn't drink coffee if it came from a chain, would never buy a card on Valentine's day. Why would she, of all people, be sent to spend a week with a film star? Why would she, of all people, fall in love with him? Why would she, of all people, get involved in the fame game? Why would she, of all people, send him a Valentine? A Valentine that blows it all apart. Funny Valentine..
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First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
May 6, 2020
I’ve found that much of the chick-lit genre can become formulaic. The characters seem to have plenty of time on their hands to enjoy long lunches and conversations with friends, without work getting in the way. Yet, despite having little work, they somehow seem to have the income to manage long shopping trips and expensive habits. But then, before Amy Jenkins came along and wrote “This Life” for television, lawyers were staid characters who made long pronouncements in courtrooms whilst wearing funny wigs, but they never seemed to have a personal life. Her early foray into novels with “Honeymoon” wasn’t quite as genre shaking, but it was enough to make me want to read her next attempt.
In “Funny Valentine”, Stevie is a freelance journalist struggling to get anything into print. Part of the reason for this is that she hates the corporate and celebrity machinery and would prefer to write exposes of these, rather than write the fluff pieces about celebrities that actually sell. Returning from a trip to explore the poor working conditions of flower sellers, she has a genuine meeting with a celebrity, film star Louis Plantagenet. Or rather, his bodyguard, who shoves her to the ground when she inadvertently gets too close to him at the airport. This doesn’t improve Stevie’s impression of celebrities, nor does it help her story sell, but it does open up an opportunity to write a celebrity piece, which she would rather not do, but the bailiff on the doorstep when she returns home does sort of demand she take a paying gig.
As with Jenkins’ earlier novel, I did think this was going to get a little predictable, particularly as the meet-cute had a “Notting Hill” type feel to it, except with the genders switched and a slight change in occupation. However, it quickly transpired that there was more depth to it than that and the relationship which develops between Stevie and Louis took some unexpected turns, largely due to Stevie’s actions and some of the people she associates with. Indeed, this is something of a rollercoaster story, as just when things seem to be going well, something happens to upset that delicate balance and it all goes a little bit wrong.
“Funny Valentine” was a touch more believable than Jenkins’ previous novel, as whilst there were some parts which seemed a little unrealistic, many of these could be explained by Stevie’s lack of foresight rather than just mere plot devices. Even some of the more outre plot lines had something of an explanation and nothing really happened that didn’t have a through line, which is rare in the genre. Admittedly, there did seem to be a little more money available for Stevie to chase around the world than the early story appeared, but apart from that, this was a relatively believable story, albeit based in a world that I have no experience of and little knowledge about.
One of the things I liked most about Jenkins’ writing previously was the deep emotional responses to events. That remained the case here and perhaps it’s a little predictable that the supposedly anti-romance Stevie would do things in the name of love, or at least infatuation, the emotions portrayed here were plausible and well written. This novel also removed one of the main faults I had with her earlier novel in that there were too many irrelevant characters and sub-plots, which wasn’t the case here. There is perhaps one character who could have been removed, but she had a minor impact on the story that her inclusion didn’t take anything away from the main plot, as happened in the earlier novel and, indeed, it can be argued that the lack of sub-plots went too far the other way and it would have been a benefit to see more about Stevie’s anti-establishment ideals being put into greater action than happened here and sometimes events occurred whilst Stevie was out of the picture, which was slightly disappointing as exploring them further might have been interesting.
However, “Funny Valentine” was, in my opinion, a far better novel than “Honeymoon”. It had all the readability of the earlier novel and retained the emotional impact, but lost some of the genre clichés and was far better plotted and believable, for the most part, than both the earlier novel and many in the genre. There was much to enjoy here and less to get upset about than much I’ve read previously and this is certainly a worthy addition to the genre, as well as providing lessons in how to write emotion to many authors, both within the chick-lit genre and without.
In “Funny Valentine”, Stevie is a freelance journalist struggling to get anything into print. Part of the reason for this is that she hates the corporate and celebrity machinery and would prefer to write exposes of these, rather than write the fluff pieces about celebrities that actually sell. Returning from a trip to explore the poor working conditions of flower sellers, she has a genuine meeting with a celebrity, film star Louis Plantagenet. Or rather, his bodyguard, who shoves her to the ground when she inadvertently gets too close to him at the airport. This doesn’t improve Stevie’s impression of celebrities, nor does it help her story sell, but it does open up an opportunity to write a celebrity piece, which she would rather not do, but the bailiff on the doorstep when she returns home does sort of demand she take a paying gig.
As with Jenkins’ earlier novel, I did think this was going to get a little predictable, particularly as the meet-cute had a “Notting Hill” type feel to it, except with the genders switched and a slight change in occupation. However, it quickly transpired that there was more depth to it than that and the relationship which develops between Stevie and Louis took some unexpected turns, largely due to Stevie’s actions and some of the people she associates with. Indeed, this is something of a rollercoaster story, as just when things seem to be going well, something happens to upset that delicate balance and it all goes a little bit wrong.
“Funny Valentine” was a touch more believable than Jenkins’ previous novel, as whilst there were some parts which seemed a little unrealistic, many of these could be explained by Stevie’s lack of foresight rather than just mere plot devices. Even some of the more outre plot lines had something of an explanation and nothing really happened that didn’t have a through line, which is rare in the genre. Admittedly, there did seem to be a little more money available for Stevie to chase around the world than the early story appeared, but apart from that, this was a relatively believable story, albeit based in a world that I have no experience of and little knowledge about.
One of the things I liked most about Jenkins’ writing previously was the deep emotional responses to events. That remained the case here and perhaps it’s a little predictable that the supposedly anti-romance Stevie would do things in the name of love, or at least infatuation, the emotions portrayed here were plausible and well written. This novel also removed one of the main faults I had with her earlier novel in that there were too many irrelevant characters and sub-plots, which wasn’t the case here. There is perhaps one character who could have been removed, but she had a minor impact on the story that her inclusion didn’t take anything away from the main plot, as happened in the earlier novel and, indeed, it can be argued that the lack of sub-plots went too far the other way and it would have been a benefit to see more about Stevie’s anti-establishment ideals being put into greater action than happened here and sometimes events occurred whilst Stevie was out of the picture, which was slightly disappointing as exploring them further might have been interesting.
However, “Funny Valentine” was, in my opinion, a far better novel than “Honeymoon”. It had all the readability of the earlier novel and retained the emotional impact, but lost some of the genre clichés and was far better plotted and believable, for the most part, than both the earlier novel and many in the genre. There was much to enjoy here and less to get upset about than much I’ve read previously and this is certainly a worthy addition to the genre, as well as providing lessons in how to write emotion to many authors, both within the chick-lit genre and without.
June 27, 2020
When I picked up this novel, I was young, curious and bored. The cover looked promising for it was colourful and it suggested humor and romance. The summary looked fairly interesting as well. So I decided to give it a read and I enjoyed the reading experience very much.
It is like a typical romantic comedy movie except that it is a book. Amy Jenkins write quirky and fun. There were several one-liners that made me laugh out loud. The story is a bit cliche - A London girl falls for a big movie star and then needs to deal with all its consequences - but then again, that is nice.
Because sometimes, we all need a bit of cliche. Sometimes, we all need something fluffy and warm and funny, something that we know will probably never happen so easily but is still a heck of a lot of fun to read.
Memorable quotes that I like
"How bad does it have to be before you do something about it?"
"They say you’re meant to live everyday as if it were your last, which I’ve always thought was daft, since no one would ever pay the gas bill if that was the case, but what if it were your first?"
"Oh I believe in loving cats and dogs and children and parents – sometimes – but I don’t believe in romantic love. Of course, there’s the momentary rush of hormones and chemicals that encourages us to mate, but it’s biology – it’s no more inherently mystical than the nicotine in that cigarette you’re smoking"
It is like a typical romantic comedy movie except that it is a book. Amy Jenkins write quirky and fun. There were several one-liners that made me laugh out loud. The story is a bit cliche - A London girl falls for a big movie star and then needs to deal with all its consequences - but then again, that is nice.
Because sometimes, we all need a bit of cliche. Sometimes, we all need something fluffy and warm and funny, something that we know will probably never happen so easily but is still a heck of a lot of fun to read.
Memorable quotes that I like
"How bad does it have to be before you do something about it?"
"They say you’re meant to live everyday as if it were your last, which I’ve always thought was daft, since no one would ever pay the gas bill if that was the case, but what if it were your first?"
"Oh I believe in loving cats and dogs and children and parents – sometimes – but I don’t believe in romantic love. Of course, there’s the momentary rush of hormones and chemicals that encourages us to mate, but it’s biology – it’s no more inherently mystical than the nicotine in that cigarette you’re smoking"
January 8, 2021
Clever. A bit grim. Discursive, musing, thoughtful. Formatted as a romcom, but too dark to classify as such.
Moments that aren't about romance at all: just the narrator talking out loud, you can feel the universe incandescing all around as she does it.
Liked it. Hell of a strange romance novel.
Moments that aren't about romance at all: just the narrator talking out loud, you can feel the universe incandescing all around as she does it.
Liked it. Hell of a strange romance novel.
March 12, 2008
This is definitely not "my kinda" book. But somehow I love it. This is my happy book. It's light and entertaining and oh so very sweet...
October 26, 2012
This is my ultimate guilty pleasure book, I have read it around 7 times and it always makes me feel good.
October 24, 2023
"They say you’re meant to live everyday as if it were your last, which I’ve always thought was daft, since no one would ever pay the gas bill if that was the case, but what if it were your first?"
BOOK: Funny Valentine
AUTHOR: @amyjenkins
GENRE: #romance #contemporaryromance
RATING: 4.6
Stevie is not a conventional girl , and so proves her house which has all of her friends , even ex-boyfriend in place of her parents. She was broughtup by her grandmother because her mother simply didnt want to be a "mother" and didnt want to get to know her. Her father was in her life, but she had to behave like an adult because he absolutely had no clue how to be a dad to her. In all this fucked up mess that she is in, she is also a journalist who is not ready to write about juicy tit-bits that the majority of the world wants to read which makes her poor as well, a very bad combo, thats when she meets a star, an actor, Louis. She didnt believe in love but still she was drawn to him in the short timeframe of their encounter. Its the story of stevie and Louis and their crazy friends and family but its also the story of total unconventional people and their lives. #suggested
I dont know why its called funny valentine though, because stevie definitely is not funny. Maybe I think her messed up life and the messes she ends up in, makes it all look like funny.
BOOK: Funny Valentine
AUTHOR: @amyjenkins
GENRE: #romance #contemporaryromance
RATING: 4.6
Stevie is not a conventional girl , and so proves her house which has all of her friends , even ex-boyfriend in place of her parents. She was broughtup by her grandmother because her mother simply didnt want to be a "mother" and didnt want to get to know her. Her father was in her life, but she had to behave like an adult because he absolutely had no clue how to be a dad to her. In all this fucked up mess that she is in, she is also a journalist who is not ready to write about juicy tit-bits that the majority of the world wants to read which makes her poor as well, a very bad combo, thats when she meets a star, an actor, Louis. She didnt believe in love but still she was drawn to him in the short timeframe of their encounter. Its the story of stevie and Louis and their crazy friends and family but its also the story of total unconventional people and their lives. #suggested
I dont know why its called funny valentine though, because stevie definitely is not funny. Maybe I think her messed up life and the messes she ends up in, makes it all look like funny.
September 18, 2023
Че е любовна, любовна е... донякъде. Но, че е смешна, е още по-вярно. Хората, които могат да попадат в подобни ситуации или по-скоро имат тая способност, да се оплитат все във фантастични и невъзможни сюжети, заслужават специално място на пиедестал на нашия хумор. Тя накрая наистина го целува, уоу, но по-интересното е по какъв начин стига до него. Книгата е забавна, лека, лятна, със сигурност не за "Златно перо", но човек заслужава да си дари и малко несериозна литература. А, да, и най-важното за книгата - намерих я на плажа и след като я просто етох, я оставих да живее в седалката на един самолет...
March 13, 2013
I'm giving this 4 STARS!
I'm wandering around a book store and I accidentally found it! I love the cover! So I read the preview then I think of " why not try it? I think I'll enjoy it, they said it's a funny read." So there! I bought the book and start reading it as soon as I got home.
I am just disappointed in one thing, They didn't end up together! I mean no "I love you's" And they KISSED only ONCE! I thought this book is like, a boy meets girl, they fight, they fall with each other and definitely ended up together. But no. It's not :(
But the story was good. Stevie is such a funny woman! HAHAHA I love her! All in all I recommended this book for everyone who wants to read. But if you are a fan of sweet/romantic lines and gestures I think this book is not for you. Just saying. :)
I'm wandering around a book store and I accidentally found it! I love the cover! So I read the preview then I think of " why not try it? I think I'll enjoy it, they said it's a funny read." So there! I bought the book and start reading it as soon as I got home.
I am just disappointed in one thing, They didn't end up together! I mean no "I love you's" And they KISSED only ONCE! I thought this book is like, a boy meets girl, they fight, they fall with each other and definitely ended up together. But no. It's not :(
But the story was good. Stevie is such a funny woman! HAHAHA I love her! All in all I recommended this book for everyone who wants to read. But if you are a fan of sweet/romantic lines and gestures I think this book is not for you. Just saying. :)
April 13, 2013
After loving Honeymoon so much, I couldn't pass this little gem up. It's start is a little strange and I'll admit I didn't love the scenes set in the decrepit share house. But once it got going, I enjoyed the story of how a stunning male film star could feel like the loneliest guy in the world and fall (sort of) for the hapless heroine. Good fun, like a rom-com in book form!
May 16, 2015
Sweet and funny, without the leads falling head over heels for each other without reason, or the author describing in detail how beautiful they both looked. An engaging story line that moved in a comfortable pace. The perfect beach read.
December 27, 2017
didn't like it at all. weird, confused plots, no real red line, it wants too much and then totally disappoints in the "chick-lit-department".
September 18, 2015
This was a fast read. I don't like romance novels that deal with celebrities but the summary sounded interesting. In the end, it was only an ok read for me.
August 23, 2017
Även läst 14 Jan 2010 (3.5)
October 25, 2024
I hated “Honeymoon” by Amy Jenkins, but I feel anyone can make a mistake, so I read “Funny Valentine” to see if she could create something worth keeping. I threw “Honeymoon” in the trash halfway through. turns out I was the one who made a mistake this time around.
I really, really wanted to love this book. it started out great. I liked Stevie and most of the other characters. she has so much personality, she’s funny and the moments between her and Louis were enticing. it's an easy read, and well written, until about a third way through. then it's like Jenkins didn't know what direction she wanted the story to go, so she crammed as much drama as she could into the last, about 100 pages. most of it completely unnecessary, and made little sense to the story. which is funny indeed, because when I had read what I thought was a decent amount to be safe, I said to myself, “I’m so glad there doesn’t seem to be any unnecessary drama in this novel. things that can be easily avoided if the characters could have some trust toward one-another, or simply just talk to each other”. boy was I wrong. and I am hereby disappointed, again, so I won’t be keeping this book around, either.
I really, really wanted to love this book. it started out great. I liked Stevie and most of the other characters. she has so much personality, she’s funny and the moments between her and Louis were enticing. it's an easy read, and well written, until about a third way through. then it's like Jenkins didn't know what direction she wanted the story to go, so she crammed as much drama as she could into the last, about 100 pages. most of it completely unnecessary, and made little sense to the story. which is funny indeed, because when I had read what I thought was a decent amount to be safe, I said to myself, “I’m so glad there doesn’t seem to be any unnecessary drama in this novel. things that can be easily avoided if the characters could have some trust toward one-another, or simply just talk to each other”. boy was I wrong. and I am hereby disappointed, again, so I won’t be keeping this book around, either.
August 10, 2025
Funny valentine is a good novel, a real funny one actually that features Stevie who is not interested in love, or love is not interested in her yet somehow manages to sleep with one of the hottest guys.
The story is funny, and i sometimes see chandler bing in stevie's comebacks and dialogues which is cute and funny.
And i liked it and it had short chapters and an empty page at the end of each chapter which felt like a reward for reading and can be read easily.
It's funny and relatable but for a big- confession - engaged and wedding romance kinda girlie like me didn't relate to it much and yet enjoyed it.
3/5 for the fun
The story is funny, and i sometimes see chandler bing in stevie's comebacks and dialogues which is cute and funny.
And i liked it and it had short chapters and an empty page at the end of each chapter which felt like a reward for reading and can be read easily.
It's funny and relatable but for a big- confession - engaged and wedding romance kinda girlie like me didn't relate to it much and yet enjoyed it.
3/5 for the fun
January 11, 2021
Persevered because I hate leaving a book unfinished. Spent the whole time waiting for something interesting to happen, which it never did. Went on some random tangents with seemingly no link to the story and never really reached a conclusion or had any "moral of the story" moment. Started off with some promising character journeys which only went so far then stopped.
February 2, 2022
this is not the usual book i would pick up to read and think i would enjoy, i usually go for more YA fantasy. but i couldn't put this down it was so different to what i read and i love it, it definitely opened up my reading options it was funny and sweet.
June 5, 2024
This is a quick, lighthearted read. It started off quite funny and there were some laugh out loud moments but as it progressed the comedy faded. It was a shame, the story had potential but didn’t deliver.
July 12, 2019
En äkta feelgood-bok, perfekt för stranden.
April 24, 2021
Only read this if you are having a bev in the sun. Not particularly interesting or imaginative.
December 6, 2021
a fun rom-com book. showed the dark side in the life of celebrities. kind of dark plots but still got me invested. average light read
March 18, 2023
kinda cute kinda meh
August 9, 2023
3.5/5
April 20, 2024
Very slow start. Found stevie character difficult to understand..Took till half way in book where the plot started to get interesting. Think it could have been better.
Read
May 12, 2024Just not interested
September 30, 2024
Sorry but this book was a waste of paper. Figured out what was going on with the characters in about the first five pages.
April 4, 2025
Some fun, pacy writing. Entirely improbable plot. On balance, entertaining.
July 23, 2020
It was an easy-read. Although couldn’t really connect with the characters or believe them.
It’s a bit chick-lit but good for a romance-book
It’s a bit chick-lit but good for a romance-book
April 23, 2026
easy read.
November 8, 2021
Amy Jenkins was an ingenue back in the nineties, most famous for creating and writing the cult series "This Life". On the back of that series, she signed a £1 million royalty advance two-book deal for her novels. "Funny Valentine" is the second of that two-book deal.
I always been intrigued with whether her writing abilities would transfer well from screen to print. I read this book in 2021, 19 years after publication. "Chick Lit", as it was known in the industry and the papers, is no longer as popular a genre as it used to be. This book would fall under that genre so by today's standard, it's no longer fashionable.
I found the main character, Stevie, a bit annoying. She's too idealistic and serious for her own good. Her living situation in a modern squat/commune would have been regarded as kooky back in the early noughties. Amy Jenkins explores themes of celebrity, fame and the paparazzi in this book. This book comes alive when Louis Plantagenet is on the page. The witty interchanges between Louis and Stevie are the highlights of the book and the reason why I am giving this book 3 stars instead of 2 stars.
3 stars.
I always been intrigued with whether her writing abilities would transfer well from screen to print. I read this book in 2021, 19 years after publication. "Chick Lit", as it was known in the industry and the papers, is no longer as popular a genre as it used to be. This book would fall under that genre so by today's standard, it's no longer fashionable.
I found the main character, Stevie, a bit annoying. She's too idealistic and serious for her own good. Her living situation in a modern squat/commune would have been regarded as kooky back in the early noughties. Amy Jenkins explores themes of celebrity, fame and the paparazzi in this book. This book comes alive when Louis Plantagenet is on the page. The witty interchanges between Louis and Stevie are the highlights of the book and the reason why I am giving this book 3 stars instead of 2 stars.
3 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews