Is it therapy or is it Emily Henry? Answer: Yes. I stayed up until 2am to finish this book and I cried my way through to the end. She's become an instant read for me.

Words cannot express how much I loved this book! I saw so much of myself in Harriet and how she deals with issues. I felt this book in my very soul and I cannot wait to recommend it to everyone I come across. Beautiful characters, beautiful message about found family and friendship. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and of course, Emily Henry for providing me with an eARC of this novel. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

This was too cute. I have yet to dislike a single book of hers that I've read, and this was no exception. I loved it from beginning to end. I loved the characters, the friendships, and the little bubble they created on their summer trips. I loved the idea of doing everything they'd done prior years, their favorite things, or just part of their routine as a little found family.

I loved watching Harriet and Wyn work through their issues throughout and the little light bulb moments for each of them when it came to the other and what had happened between them. I loved how authentic so much of this book felt, from those college friendships that you form, to really truly becoming a family that you quite literally picked. Watching that family grow and change, but still just being there for each other.

I loved all the different types of families present in this book, all the varying degrees of friendship, family, and sibling relationships. The love interests, the romantic relationships, everything felt so real and raw, and I loved that.

I absolutely loved this book, and it definitely made me tear up more than once.

Wow. Wow. Wow. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a more beautiful, crisp, moving romance than this. Harriet and Wyn are so real, so painful and raw. The writing is crisp, the characters so thoughtful and rich. The whole book is like drinking hot apple cider in the chilly fall morning. Emily Henry has created a love story filled with soul.

Happy Place is told in Harriet’s POV with chapters set in the past, her “Happy Place” showing the history of how Wyn and Harriet became friends and fell in love. It revealed just enough snippets from the past without slowing the plot. It also recounted the history of Harriet and her friends, Sabrina, Parth, Cleo, and Kimmy. The friends are very much part of the story, and they have their own mini stories within, as well. The chapters in the present, “Real Life”, showed that Harriet and Wyn are far from over each other as they spend the week in coastal Maine with the gang. The setting is gorgeous in real life, and it came through with Henry’s talented writing.

Both Harriet and Wyn went through so much in their time together, that muddled what was important. The trip helped them sift through and boil down exactly what they needed and wanted in to be happy. Their journey made me cry and filled my heart with joy!

Happy Place was the perfect second chance romance with all the longing and hurt palpable between Wyn and Harriet. Their chemistry was off the charts! I was worried it would be super melancholy and a lot of angst, but it was just the right amount balanced out with fun and humor. Emily Henry writes the best banter, clever and sharp at times and slap happy, hilarious at others.

I alternately listened to Happy Place and read an e-copy and I highly recommend both! Julia Whelan is one of my all-time favorite narrators and her match-up with Emily Henry’s writing is perfection. She hits all the range of emotions from sharp, ironic humor, gut-wrenching emotions, and light-hearted bits beautifully! I listened at 1.5x-1.75x normal speed.

This is only the second book I have read by Emily Henry but I am hooked. I will admit, I am a bit of a romance snob. But, the author has such a great way of writing and incorporating so many other feelings that her books are hard to put down.

This book focuses on a group of friends who get together every year. Unfortunately the house they always meet at is being put up for sale so it will be the last time they get together there. And for Wyn and Harriet, it is going to be one hell of a vacation...they are no longer a couple and haven't told any of their friends. While this book is still a romance book, I felt the heartache of Harriet's - she doesn't really know why Wyn broke up with her after so long and with a brief phone call. And why did he ship her things to her almost instantly?

There are so many stories within this story and I wasn't sure, but thankfully it was a HEA. Highly recommend!

loooooooooved this one!! My favorite EH story yet. Loved all of the side characters/found family aspect, the chemistry between the 2 MCs was great and I just loved this one overall - it felt very natural and authentic.

Emily Henry is the reigning sovereign of the rom-com.

From “Book Lovers” to “Beach Read,” Henry toys with common tropes, but she does so with a twist. Her fiction borders on cheesy, but it’s blissfully self-aware. In her latest novel “Happy Place,” released April 25, Henry continues to sculpt a sunny world of honest love and easy endings, but the journey to get there is much more poignant and “slow-release hot.”

“Happy Place” traces the relationship between Harriet and Wyn across multiple timelines, detailing their college romance, derailed engagement and subsequent reunion at a cottage in Maine with their longtime friends — who still don’t know they’ve broken up. The plot is classic exes-to-lovers, but the varied temporal planes strap readers in for a complex emotional journey that belies any back cover summary.

From the beginning, Harriet is an easy character to latch onto, attempting to build a new “happy place” in a life post-Wyn. But when she arrives in Maine, she is dealt two blows: Her ex is there, and this will be their last ever trip to the cottage. For the remainder of the novel, Harriet must grapple with the reality of change, as well as acknowledge that her feelings are valid.

Will-they-won’t-they tension simmers in a nostalgic landscape as the friends attempt to hold time in stillness. Lobster dishes, late-night swims and high-flying carnival rides twist and turn between the pages, offering some semblance of the good old days, even when things seem off-kilter. As Harriet and Wyn keep up the ruse that they’re still together, their friends hold onto their own secrets. Henry reveals each one beautifully and methodically, bringing together the bigger picture one piece at a time.

Wyn is an archetypal Henry love interest — mysterious and hard to read at the beginning, honest and endearing by the end — but his character arc is still a bit more complicated. Told from Harriet’s perspective, the novel obscures readers’ impressions, keeping them guessing with each turn of the page. As Wyn and Harriet rekindle their flame, past and present storylines converge to reveal their ill-timed fate, as well as their desire to love even as the world pulls them apart.

Henry pays careful attention to each character, but that doesn’t always translate to likeability. Though Sabrina’s supposed to come across as quirky and almost overly caring, at times she can be annoying. Cleo, on the other hand, has a certain groundedness that lends to her intrigue. Meanwhile, Parth and Kimmie add fun-loving color that brightens the novel even in its sadder moments.

As always, Henry succeeds in the dialogue department, throwing in quirky quips and clever banter. Whether they’re vehemently feuding or passionately making up, Wyn and Harriet never cease to deliver a conversational zinger. Even the wedding cake featuring the words “Happy birthday, wicked pissah” maintains an air of humorous fun amid the dull pain of heartache.

Henry knows how to write a good sex scene, but it shouldn’t be dismissed as just smut. Even sultry scenes are weighted with emotion; each physical encounter punctuates a relationship arc that may very well be reaching its end. Whether they’re in the shower or the cottage’s cozy honeymoon-ish suite, Wyn and Harriet share steamy chemistry that comes to life on the page.

At times, “Happy Place” comes across a bit cheesy (“He’s a golden boy. I’m a girl whose life has been drawn in shades of gray,” Harriet muses). Especially as the novel nears its end, readers may need to suspend their disbelief in order to appreciate the conclusion. But for longtime readers, this is not only expected, but desired. In the world of Emily Henry, there are always happy places and happy endings.

For Henry, love is a staying force. It may waver and weather, but when it’s real, it’s built to last. It’s the heartbeat that runs through each novel, and it’s what keeps readers gladly grabbing for their tissues through to the very end.

Emily Henry is a masterful writer who has woven a story of friendship with a romance that is both heart-wrenching and hopeful. It begins with Harriet (the narrator), Sabrina and Cleo meeting as freshman roommates who, despite being polar opposites in appearance, background and personality, form a lifelong, if improbable, bond. Best friends Wyn and Parth eventually round out the group and, despite Parth declaring no one can date friends, the pull between Harriet and Wyn is irresistible. It’s love at first sight and for 8 years, as Harriet pursues her dream of becoming a surgeon, from medical school at Columbia to a residency in San Francisco, Wyn follows. A family tragedy pulls him back home to Montana, but Harriet is blindsided when he calls off their engagement in a 4-minute phone call. So, when the group gathers for what turns out to be a farewell week at their happy place, Sabrina’s family summer home in Maine, Harriet is shocked to find Wyn there despite their plan to continue hiding their break-up from their friends. As they’re forced to fake it for a week, they struggle to understand where it all went wrong and what part their own fears and insecurities played in driving them apart.

This isn’t a light-hearted fake relationship, forced proximity romance. In fact, it was often difficult to read, not only because love often isn’t enough but also because saying goodbye to a happy place can be as painful as the loss of a beloved person in your life. Personally, I lost my happy place (a beach house in RI) when it was sold out from under my children and me, and the lifetime of memories often bring more hurt than comfort and joy. I shed a boatload of tears reading this book, not only because of the parallels, but also because Henry keeps you guessing until the end whether Harriet and Wyn will find their way back to each other. So, grab your tissues! Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This book made me think so much. I absolutely loved it, reading Harriet and Wyn's love story is one that I will never forget. The friend group felt incredibly real and I could feel all of the platonic and romantic love on the page. The conflicts were real and it is a beautiful story of how we all grow and change but love can also love and change with us. While I was instantly hooked by the love story between Harriet and Wyn, the story surrounding Harriet and her job is one that very strongly hit me right in the chest. The book made me question everything that is important to me and my priorities in life. it is also a beautiful story surrounding grief and not feeling like you are enough. I found myself reflected in both Wyn and Harriet and I will carry their story with me for the rest of my life. If you are a fan of musical theater, this is like The Last Five Years but with a twist.

Happy Place by Emily Henry was a hit and my new favorite by this author! I loved all of the complicated, yet heartwarming details of Wyn and Harriet's relationship. The friendships and relationships between all six main characters were so wonderfully described that I felt a connection to each and every character. This one is a hit and sure to be a hand-sell title in our store.

I absolutely loved Emily Henry’s debut novel Beach Read. But you know, sometimes those amazing debut novels don’t always mean the author will be able to replicate that magic in follow up books. Before I decided to make Emily Henry an auto buy author, I decided to give check out her second book, People We Meet on Vacation, a try and see how the sophomore novel went. It was a great second novel and enough to confirm me as a big fan. But it was truly her novel Book Lovers that made Emily Henry an auto buy author for me!

Seeing her latest novel Happy Place was coming out this spring, it was simply a no brainer that I would read it. She is now a confirmed favorite author of mine and I was looking forward to this book so much. Henry has a wonderful voice that is funny, poignant, relatable, and charming. Readers won’t be able to get enough of Henry once they get their hands on any one of her books. Henry’s books have a way of making modern readers feel seen and understood as the characters try to navigate their lives and their romances which are clearly two very different things in Henry’s books.

These books aren’t chick lit or women’s fiction but they have more substance than some traditional romances. They have this great mix of all these genres that could almost make a whole new genre. I love how much there is in each book to sink your teeth into and this book was just another excellent book in a series of excellent books by this author! This will no doubt be THE READ for the summer so make sure you secure a copy for yourself today!

Summary

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry. (Summary from Goodreads)

Review

As I mentioned, Henry’s books incorporate a lot of different things to make a unique book baby. This book is as much about friendships and life as it is about romance. I will say this book was definitely on the steamy side, more than any of her other novels, but I think it worked for this book as the characters had been together before. The steam and chemistry was so on point for this book which begs the question why did Harriet and Wyn break up in the first place? While I enjoyed this book, I don’t know that some of the reasons for the break up held much weight for me. I think the book did a good job highlighting the difficulties and struggles the come from being in relationships with others. There is no doubt love there but sometimes there are things the couple needs to work through relationship wise and I think that Henry does a nice job exploring that. But there was a part of me the struggled with understanding why they weren’t together in the first place etc.

This book was a solid read but I will say I liked Book Lovers and Beach Read better. I had a hard time relating to Harriet, she was more of a people pleaser and hated conflict which was hard for me because I am not those things. But I think as women, there is a pressure to please people by nature so even if I couldn’t relate to her I could understand her. But understanding and relating are two different things and I think that it was a struggle for me as a reader to fully connect with her in the way that was expecting to, but I wouldn’t say she is not relatable if that makes sense. I did like that this novel focuses a lot on friendship and how important that is in any romantic relationship. I think it made the relationship between Harriet and Wyn realistic and an accurate representation of modern characters.

The intensity and love that Harriet and Wyn have shows on each page of this book. I love how well supported and developed the characters are in this book even if I didn’t love Harriet as much as I have loved some of Henry’s other heroines, I still felt like she was fully realized and realistically portrayed. If you love romance with substance and intense characters that ooze feeling, then you don’t want to miss any of Henry’s books. She is an incredible writer and I love connecting with the characters and stories even if some I like better than others. This was a great read that will get readers ready for those summer romances.

Book Info and Rating

Format 400 pages, Hardcover

Published April 25, 2023 by Berkley

ISBN 9780593441275 (ISBN10: 0593441273)

Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: romance

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review. This brought me back to the sparkly magic of Emily Henry's first book, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading it. It's the kind of book I feel a lot of people would enjoy-it deals with heartbreak and the expectations we have of ourselves in a very genuine way. The characters and dialogue are spot-on, and you feel like you are in Maine while you're reading this book. Surely this will be another winner for Henry!

I'm a fan of Emily Henry. There I said it. She writes beautiful characters, gorgeous stories, and makes you heartsick when they are finished. A beautiful, slow build of a romance is what you will find in Happy Place. Laughter, the strength of female friendships, and the depths and valleys of human emotions as you age and change are the foundation of a gorgeously told story that will make you regain your faith in family and friendships. Just really a beautiful book, I can't get over it and when I finished I smiled and sighed a wee bit. Bravo!

Emily Henry’s newest novel is a funny, sweet, and at times, heartbreaking novel about love and friendship, that will evoke laughter and tears and have readers hoping against hope that love conquers all.

When Wyn and Harriet get invited to spend a week with a few of their best friends at their Happy Place in Maine, they just can’t say no. The two were a couple for what feels like forever and were even engaged once. Unbeknownst to everyone else, these two recently broke up. So as not to spoil the fun for their besties, they agree to fake it, just for a few days. After all, how hard can it be?

Little did they know, it’s actually torture, especially when they both still care about each other more than they’d like to admit.

Spending time with their best friends from University sounds like just what they need to remember what brought them together in the first place.

A contemporary romance filled with fantastic characters, love, friendship, fun, witty banter, laughs, and a bit of heartbreak.
4.35 Stars

A buddy read with Kaceey that we both enjoyed.

Thanks to Elisha at Berkley Publishing for the arc via NetGalley.

I think I have to break up with Emily Henry. This book simultaneously felt like it was way too long but also too short. Nobody talked to each other for real, most of the book took place in Harriet's head, so much miscommunication, and Harriet and Sabrina and all of their parents need to get their butts to therapy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

I don't even know where to begin with this masterpiece of a book.

This book was like sitting through the last ten years' worth of therapy appointments with all of my insecurities and relationship issues laid bare between 400 pages of Harriet and Wyn. I have never had a book hurt so viscerally but also make me feel so uplifted and hopeful. The story itself was wonderfully paced, giving glimpses into the current state of their relationship as well as showing the way they got there.

I think this may have been the best Emily Henry book to date. And that's saying so much because all of her books have been five star reads. This book was just so beautifully written and so personally meaningful that I'm having a hard time coming up with something better.

Even though I don’t read as much romance as I did when I first started blogging, I absolutely adored this wonderful second-chance romance. The Maine setting, the dual timelines, I loved it all. Even the chapter headings!

“Think of your happy place, the cool voice in my ear instructs. Picture it… What can you feel? Sunlight, everywhere. Not just on my bare shoulders or the crown of my head, but inside me too, the irresistible warmth that comes only from being in the exact right place with the exact right people.”

Surprisingly, this book also explores the evolution of friendships and family relationships in a very satisfying way. The story also has an engaging cast of supporting characters that provide depth to Harriet and Wyn’s relationship. There was a lovely sense of longing and nostalgia to this book that I really loved. ”Time doesn’t move the same way when we’re there. Things change, but we stretch and grow and make room for each other.”

The spice level this book was just perfect. Overall another totally addictive read from one of my auto-buy authors!

(𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.)

Sort-of fake dating meets second chance -- Emily Henry does her usual masterful job of plumbing the depths of a relationship gone wrong. Harriet and Wyn met in college and swiftly formed a deep romantic bond. They get engaged...and then life falls hard on them both and they break up and don't tell their "chosen family" of friends. Not a problem, until the friend group's annual trip to the Maine cottage, when Wyn begs off, but then shows up as a "surprise" finagled by Harriet's bestie. Their journey back to a relationship is sweet and profound and explores the depths of all the ways stressful events and mental health and family dynamics can fuck up something amazing. It's a different variety of second-chance romance that doesn't often show up: that of renegotiating a relationship that isn't shiny and new any more.

this, like all of emily henry's books, is so much more than a romance. this is her first story with an extended friend group and their dynamics, and this is the part that i ended up connecting with most. this is perfect for anyone who is experiencing the way that friendship evolves and shifts in adulthood, when everyone is in vastly different stages in life, and the loneliness that can sometimes result from that.

harriet and wyn are two of emily's characters that i felt like i could relate to the most. harriet is practical, empathetic, and hardworking, but she is also indecisive and someone who tries to keep the peace by putting other's needs before her own. wyn is thoughtful, charming, and people are drawn to his energy, but underneath all that, he doesn't believe it about himself, doesn't believe he is special or good enough. their love is so special and it felt undeniable to me. emily writes banter like a pro and their conflict felt so grounded in reality that it hurt to watch it unfold, because that sort of thing can really happen to anyone.

this is a book about change, growing up, grief, and letting go, and those themes are what make this book memorable to me, especially reading it at this specific time of my life. 💖

*thank you to berkley romance & netgalley for the eARC!