Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt
When falling in love is the punchline…
Farley Jones is a loud, chaotic, and hilariously clever standup comedian on the way to stardom. The only thing she loves more than the rush of telling jokes in front of a revved-up audience is her hot older manager Meyer, though he doesn’t have a clue. Keeping her feelings hidden from him is agony (a tragedy, even―in lieu of flowers, please send cash…) but Meyer has been Farley’s closest and most treasured friend, not to mention vital to the trajectory of her career. She can’t risk ruining their relationship by telling him how she truly feels. After all, who else would have the patience to put up with a hot mess like her?
A former standup star himself, single father Meyer Harrigan left the stage years ago in order to focus on raising his deaf daughter Hazel. Farley has been everything to them since she came into their lives three years ago, and despite his grumpiness, his protectiveness over Hazel, and his disdain for public attention, Meyer will do anything to make her standup dreams come true.
When the biggest opportunity of Farley’s career comes along and forces the pair to fake-date in order to stir up publicity, it doesn’t take long for their act to bring all those other funny feelings out into the open. Like most matters of the heart, it quickly begins to feel like anything but a joke.
Touching on the creative spirit and all that comes with sharing that gift, Tarah DeWitt’s Funny Feelings is a swoony story about friendship, love, and looking for the laugh in life.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge
The Reason
I’ve had this on my TBR for a while. I’d also been reading a lot of heavy books all at once, and I really needed something lighthearted. It was also available on audio just as I felt I needed it most. So here we are!
The Quotes
“Well, how interesting. Men are afraid of women being funnier than them, and women are afraid of, oh, I don’t know, being oppressed, beaten, raped, or killed by men. But look out! Funny chick here might follow you down an alley and make you chuckle without consent!”
“This book is dedicated to all the women who’ve ever been told that they’re Too Much. Maybe you’re too loud, too crass, too open, too bawdy. You overshare too often, say too many bad words, you’re too weird, or too emotional. To the women who, in their quiet moments, still think back on their social interactions and wonder if they really are too much, if they should feel embarrassed, or ashamed. You are fucking incredible. You are my people. Don’t you dare dilute yourselves to make yourselves more palatable. You are all heart and fire.”
“There’s a Swiftie song for everyone.”
“As long as I remain true to myself, I know that my silly streams of words have the power to make someone’s day brighter.”
The Narrator(s)
Nelson Hobbs and Stephanie Bentley. They were pretty good. I did have some trouble hearing properly at some points, but they were few and far between.
My Thoughts
The beginning started off really strong. I love the premise and I’m always up for a fake dating trope. I also really love that there was a deaf character named Hazel, and deaf-specific jokes. I had an ear operation when I was 10 years old, and have had hearing problems and tinnitus ever since, and my name is Hazel! I’m not deaf, and I don’t think I’m even in the category of being hard of hearing, but I do struggle occasionally.
Unfortunately, I think that the later part of the book kind of slowed down and wasn’t as strong as it could be. It seemed like it lost momentum and the drama that popped up wasn’t really convincing at all. It wasn’t bad, and I still enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been.
My Feels
A lot of the book really resonated for me with the comedy, the sentiment, and many of the quotes. The romance itself didn’t do as much for me, but it was still the nice fun read that I needed.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
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