REVIEW: Funny Guy by Emma Barry

Funny Guy by Emma Barry: Have a pop star girlfriend they all said, it will be amazing they said. But no one ever warned Sam that he could end up being the inspiration for his now ex pop star girlfriends hit song Lost Boy, a song that basically picks apart all of his childish, messy ways. So definitely not the look that Sam had being going for or the look his budding comedy career needs floating around! Which is why Sam heads to his safe place, his best friend Bree’s house, to lie low until this storm blows over. The thing about staying a confined space with someone for an extended period of time is that sometimes unexpected buried feelings begin to surface…

Oh the friends to lovers trope is a firm favourite of mine and add in the forced proximity trope and I was totally sold by the idea of this book. As much as the title of this book implies that this should be a romcom, I would say that it leaned more into a romance with a side of comedy. For me Funny Guy read more as a romance novel about self growth and self love, rather than being a comedy. This was in part what made this such an interesting book to read, granted I had gone in hoping for a lite fun read.

Sam was in interesting male lead, he definitely did a lot of growing in this book and I really enjoyed getting to see his journey. I will say at first he did come across as this chaotic mess that really needed to pull himself together but the more we got to know his backstory the more things made sense. Regardless of his flaws Sam was genuinely a nice guy that I could not fault. As for our leading lady Bree, well she was a lady with her life together. I really liked her character, even while harbouring her feelings for Sam she was still able to be a good friend and be the support system that he needed. For all her buttoned up, got my life together front our girl Bree had a few struggles of her own, the biggest being her inability to believe in her own competence and ability to make a difference in the world. This was such a relatable issue to face and I think this only made me like her character all the more. As much as this was a story about Sam, I really enjoyed getting to see Bree also coming into her own and really flourishing.

I loved the angsty build up of their friends to lovers relationship and all the references to the past that they shared. This really helped set the tone of their relationship. Though I will say that this was a pretty slow burn romance with some good old pining. I really enjoyed getting to start the book of with Bree fully in love with Sam and pinion after him only for to try and put some distance between her friendship with Sam and her romantic feelings for him. This only got more interesting when Sam started to see Bree as more than his bestie, now this is really where things got good. I loved seeing Sam have this ah ha moment that his perfect match had been right in front of him all this time. All in all I really liked Sam and Bree as a couple, as different as they are they really did complete each other.

Funny Guy is a whole lot more than a fun haha read, this book is packed with emotion and really hits home the fact that we need to love ourselves before we can truly love anyone else. Definitely a friends to lovers romance that I would recommend!

Book Info:

Publication: May 16, 2023 | Montlake |

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?