Books Like Funny Story — 10 Fake-Dating & Roommates Reads (2026)

Funny Story is the Emily Henry book that turned getting dumped into the best thing that ever happened to two people. Daphne’s fiancé leaves her for his childhood best friend Petra — who was, awkwardly, engaged to Miles — and the two collateral-damage exes end up sharing an apartment, nursing their wounds, and eventually fake-dating to give the happy new couple something to choke on. What starts as spite becomes the realest thing either of them has. Henry does her signature move: sharp banter over a deep well of grief and starting-over, two people rebuilding their lives while pretending they’re only rebuilding for show.

The craving it leaves is warm and specific: fake dating that turns real, forced-proximity roommates, and the particular sweetness of two people helping each other start over. Below are five trad-pub picks in that lane, then five from our own catalog for readers who want the same fake-dating fun with the heat turned all the way up — across MF, FF, and MM. The indie five are free with Kindle Unlimited.

5 Trad-Pub Books Like Funny Story

1. Funny Story — Emily Henry

The anchor. Daphne and Miles are the collateral-damage-exes-turned-fake-couple standard — two people who got left for each other’s partners, thrown into one apartment and one revenge plan, slowly becoming each other’s soft place to land. It’s warm, funny, and quietly devastating about grief and reinvention. If you’re here without having read it, start now. Get Funny Story on Amazon →

2. Happy Place — Emily Henry

The closest cousin, and the obvious next read. A recently broken-up couple pretends they’re still together for one last week at their friend group’s annual vacation home, because nobody can bear to admit the split. It’s the same fake-relationship-to-protect-everyone’s-feelings engine as Funny Story, with Henry’s deepest bench of found-family side characters and an ache that sneaks up on you. (Widely available; check your retailer of choice.)

3. Beach Read — Emily Henry

Henry’s debut and the gateway drug. A burned-out romance writer and her literary-fiction rival dare each other to swap genres over a summer in neighboring beach houses. It’s rivals rather than fake-dating, but it’s the same cocktail — sharp banter, a summer of proximity, real grief under the comedy — and it’s the one to read if you want more of Henry’s voice above all. Get Beach Read on Amazon →

4. Book Lovers — Emily Henry

For readers who came to Funny Story for the banter most of all. A cutthroat literary agent and a broody editor keep colliding in a small town, sparring their way into something neither planned. It’s the sharpest workplace rivals-to-lovers Henry’s written, and it flips the small-town-romance script in a way that’ll make you grin. Different trope, identical wit. Get Book Lovers on Amazon →

5. Love and Other Words — Christina Lauren

To step outside Henry: the second-chance benchmark for readers who loved the starting-over heart of Funny Story. Macy and Elliot were each other’s everything as teenagers until it fell apart; years later they collide again with all that history between them. It’s a dual-timeline childhood-friends-to-lovers with the same emotional depth-under-the-charm that makes Henry hit, and one of the most-recommended comfort reads on the shelf. (Widely available; check your retailer of choice.)

5 Indie Picks: Fake Dating in Every Flavor

Henry keeps the heat measured — the tension and the feelings do the work, and the door mostly stays shut. If you want the same fake-dating-turns-real setup with the door wide open, that’s our catalog’s lane. Our fake-dating shelf happens to run deepest in sapphic, but there’s MF and MM here too — all free with Kindle Unlimited.

6. Fake Fiancé, Real Filth — Isla Wilde (MF Fake Engagement)

The MF pick, and the closest match to Funny Story’s fake-relationship engine. A pretend engagement staged for everyone else’s benefit — the ring, the story, the performance of a couple — and two people who turn out to be much better at faking it than they are at admitting how little faking is actually involved. All the delicious spite-and-pretense of Daphne and Miles, dialed to full inferno. Start here if you want it MF. Browse Isla Wilde’s catalog →

7. Fake Wife, Real Heat — Aurora North (FF Fake Marriage)

The sapphic take on the fake-relationship fantasy, and the most direct trope match on the list. A pretend marriage between two women that neither can keep pretend for long — the pretense cracks, the feelings win, and Aurora North doesn’t fade to black when it counts. If the fake-dating-becomes-real spine of Funny Story is what you’re chasing, this is that spine at full throttle. Browse Aurora North’s catalog →

8. Her Plus-One Problem — Aurora North (FF Wedding Fake Date)

The wedding-date version of the trope, for readers who loved that Funny Story’s whole scheme is really about surviving other people’s happy occasions. A fake relationship staged for the benefit of a watching crowd, slowly becoming the realest thing in the room — all the pressure of performing a couple in front of an audience, plus the specific delight of two women better at faking it than admitting it. Browse Aurora North’s catalog →

9. Her Name on My Lease — Aurora North (FF Roommates)

The roommates pick, for readers whose favorite part of Funny Story was two people stuck sharing one apartment and slowly failing to stay mad about it. Two women, one lease, zero interest in getting along — until the shared walls and the shared coffee maker wear the animosity down into something neither planned. Forced proximity at its most domestic, and its hottest. Browse Aurora North’s catalog →

10. Cedar & Ink — Ames Willow (MM Second-Chance, Starting Over)

The MM pick, and the one for the starting-over heart of Funny Story rather than the fake-dating hook. Julian comes back to the small Vermont town of Willowbend and gets stuck — literally and emotionally — with the man he left behind, both of them rebuilding a life neither planned to have here. It’s got the same cozy warmth and second-chance-at-everything ache as Daphne and Miles’s reinvention, in a snowy New England town you’ll want to move to. Read the first chapter free →

FAQ

What order should I read Emily Henry?

They’re all standalones, so any order works. Publication order is Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, Book Lovers, Happy Place, Funny Story, then Great Big Beautiful Life. Most readers who come through Funny Story go to Happy Place or Beach Read next.

Is Funny Story on Kindle Unlimited?

No — Henry publishes through Berkley/Penguin at standard pricing. The five indie picks above are all in Kindle Unlimited, which is the cheapest way to binge the fake-dating trope.

How spicy is Funny Story?

Mild to moderate — around a 2 out of 5. There’s a scene or two, but the book runs on banter and slow-building feeling. If you want the same fake-dating setup with the door wide open, that’s exactly what the five KU picks are built for — most run at full inferno.

What’s the best fake-dating book after this?

Trad-pub: Happy Place is the closest match (another fake-relationship-to-save-face story). On Kindle Unlimited: Fake Fiancé, Real Filth if you want it MF, Fake Wife, Real Heat if you want it sapphic, both taken all the way up.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Fractal Enigma earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Want more recommendations like this? The newsletter sends new releases, free bonus chapters, and reader-only giveaways. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. 💛