Romance is not my typical genre, but I really enjoyed Emily Henry's Book Lovers and when I saw she had a new book coming out I decided to give it a shot. I think it's good, solid, romance writing. The end is (somewhat) predictable but the path to get there is at least a little windy and rocky. The timeline goes back and forth between the present and past and each time it does, we get more insight into the relationships between each of the characters and how they wound up where they are in the current. In addition to the romance storyline, there is also plenty of self-reflection and growth as these young adults learn to accept change, and how to stay friends after the bubble of college is popped. Recommended for fans of Emily Henry and readers who enjoy contemporary romance.
I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a down-to-earth book. I chose to review this book before it officially was published because in the past I have found this author to be really interesting to read. This book was original in the way the that the characters perceived family. Some of the characters used their college/life-long friends as family; others had wonderful families growing up and they just tried to find themselves and if they pleased their family then it was a plus. I understand why the author chose to bounce from the present to the past to give the reader the background that was needed; I just wished a little for a deeper emotional present instead of just sticking a toe into the emotional ocean. I will be suggesting this books to many friends and fellow book readers. I will continue to follow this author.

In Happy Place you can expect to find:
-angst...so much angst and longing
-found family
-evolution of friendships
-fake relationship (kinda)

This book, ugh. I'm pretty sure I had tears in my eyes at like 10% of the book, but I wouldn't expect anything less with Emily Henry. After being together for 8 years, Wyn and Harriet have decided to end their relationship and simultaneously call of their engagement. It's been a hard 5 months since their breakup, but Harriet is set on moving on. Only one problem - neither Harriet or Wyn have told their core group of friends that their relationship is over. When Harriet realizes that Wyn will also be at the summer house in Maine that they vacation at every year, with their entire group of friends in the same spot, it gets super messy super fast. Wyn and Harriet decide to pretend like they're still in their relationship for the sake of their friends. How long will these two be able to fake still being in love before they end up hurting each other again?

I LOVE a second chance romance and the angstier the better. Emily Henry definitely delivered with Happy Place. I loved the back and forth timeline with when Harriet met Wyn and their eventual pulling apart as a couple. The giddiness and butterflies you feel when a relationship first starts vs the bitterness and hurt when one ends - I felt both of these emotions so acutely. I had tears streaming down my face so many times while reading this book.

I also loved the core group of friends and their relationships with one another. While they started off so carefree and fun (typically how it is in college), they got more complex as lives got busier, messier and took these friends to different parts of the country as well as different parts of their lives. This happens so often in real life - when you're friends with someone and think you know them so well only to drift apart and think how well do I really know this person now?

Emily Henry has a way with words and so many sentences of Happy Place are highlighted on my tablet. I already can't wait to go back and reread this lovely book.

If angsty, swoony, second chance romance is your thing - add Happy Place to your tbr.

Ranking Emily Henry books (they're all 5 stars)
1. People We Meet on Vacation
2. Book Lovers
3. Happy Place
4. Beach Read
subject to change at any moment

Emily Henry's fourth book is an absolute charmer perfect for fans of early Kristan Higgins. Darker and more subtle than her previous books it will have you laughing and crying as you read through the layers of Harriet and Wyn's romance.

I ended up really enjoying this book! This definitely gave me more Beach Read vibes, as it was more of an emotional story. I absolutely loved the setting of this book. The summer time, quaint beach town was so perfect and the way our main character Harriet described her love and memories of the town was such a heartwarming thing to read. The friend group and found family aspect of this story was very sweet too! The romance took a little bit of time for me to get into, with the couple already being separated when we first meet them, but there were moments in this book that really just made me clutch my heart at the romance! I also really enjoyed the way Emily Henry dived into the emotions of the main male character, as we don’t always see that, and showed both sides of the scope of the breakup. Overall, I think if you’re a fan of Emily Henry, you won’t be disappointed by this one!

This book made my soul ache. Like two of its characters - Harriet and Wyn - there is a before and a after. And no one is the same after. Emily Henry’s latest novel follows three girlfriends and their partners as they come together for one last hurrah at their beloved summer home. Told from Harriet’s perspective we learn how the group came together, how Harriet and Wyn came to be and everything else that matters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this title. :)

I've pretty much loved every romance Emily Henry has written and they've all gotten progressively better for me, but something about this one was really special. I've seen other reviews mention that it's got a different energy than her last few and I think that's true, probably because of the nature of the relationships that exist within the story. Protagonists finding a second chance with each other is pretty different than two characters exploring a newly unfolding relationship, after all!

I teared up more than once while I read this for a variety of reasons - the descriptions of grief and loneliness, the friendships, and the near-palpable love that existed between Wyn and Harriet despite the conflict all felt like they were reaching out of the book and catching my heart in a vice grip.

This also felt like it veered away slightly from the typical "third act breakup" in a way that felt refreshing. Others may disagree, but I found the route this story took to be an interesting version of that familiar trope! I also loved the fuller cast of characters; the entire friend group was SO fun to read about, but I especially loved Cleo and Kimmy.

I don't want to say a ton but I really loved this. I feel like I say it every time, but this might have dethroned my past Emily Henry favorites. I'm definitely looking forward to any and all future releases.

Emily Henry, how dare you keep hitting me in the feelings like this! I will continue to read everything she writes but I will also continue to be mad about it!

While Happy Place is not my favorite book by this author, which would be Book Lovers, I still very much enjoyed it. It has a great concept; it explores how relationships and the dynamics of a group of friends change over time, which I believe will resonate with many people. It also looks at love in many forms, from the bonds of family and friends to your love for a spouse or lover.

There were many touching moments and some steamy sexy moments. But, the easy banter and dialog between the characters and their vulnerabilities as they faced everyday struggles is what remains with me long after finishing the book. Emily Henry nails the chemistry not just between Harriett and Wyn but also between the group of friends.

I like books that pull me in emotionally with characters that I can relate to, and this book delivered.

Not my favorite. The pacing was kind of odd. Harriet didn't seem to experience any meaningful level of personal growth until the last two chapters, and even then, it wasn't sufficient to feel satisfying. Their relationship sounds exhausting more than anything. That being said, I did really enjoy when she finally figures out what she wants to do with her life and gathers up the courage to pursue it. It was just too long of a walk to get there.

i get to live one day a year free of fear and anguish, and it's the day i read the new emily henry. i'm not usually a fan of second chance romance, but i decided to trust ms henry. she wouldn't let me down, i thought, and, as always, i was right. she sells it. i bought it. a little frustrating at times (please have a full conversation where you finish your thoughts), but ultimately excellent as always. made me cry.

Emily Henry’s romances are just so well done. I think they’re the perfect fit for reluctant romance readers to discover the magic of the genre. I loved her take on second chance romance here, and I’m glad Harriet felt distinctive from Henry’s other heroines. This was a slower burn, which was fun too.

Everything is better when you're happy!
Happy Place was like cozying up with a cup of hot chocolate, sitting on the patio and watching the rain, and getting a big hug! By the end of the book I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to these characters and see the story come to its conclusion. I loved the setting of a cozy little town in Maine which is considered to be the main character, Harriet's, happy place. And I loved seeing the friendship between Harriet, Cleo, and Sabrina.
Through the dual timeline of the story we see not only the past romantic connection with Wyn, we also get to see the friendship between Harriet and her friends develop. In true Emily Henry fashion, the focus of this "romance" book was not just the romance. It tackled topics such as female friendship and how it changes as people get older and move away, the role happiness plays in our life, and that it is okay to stand up for yourself.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I would say that the last 30% is what made it for me! It was nice getting to see more of Wyn's story and see how Harriet chooses to seek happiness in the monotony of life. It started off a little slow for me, but the end was definitely worth it!

Emily Henry has a magical way of writing books that feel like they were written specifically for me. Happy Place is a new favorite of all time. I can just feel it.

Epic perfection. That could literally be the entire review and it would sum it up perfectly.

Emily Henry is simply a wizard of words. She has this incredible ability to put you directly into her stories alongside her characters like they’re longtime friends. She also writes supporting characters like they’re YOUR best friends and it just makes the book feel so real and raw. You feel like you’re living the characters lives and its perfection. Have I mentioned this book was perfect?

Second chance romance will almost always get me every time. I’m just a sucker for it. And this one was equally heartbreaking and heartwarming. I loved the back and forth flashbacks between present and past of Harriet and Wyn’s relationship so we could really see what was going on and what happened in the breakdown. This book was beautiful and is officially my favourite of Henry’s. By the way, it was perfect.

Emily Henry is my happy place. Her books are always a highlight of my reading year. Happy Place is about a group of friends from university that go to their friend's cottage in Maine for their regular yearly trip, but this will sadly be their last trip as the cottage is being sold. This book took me a little longer to get into than her other books, as it was more about friendship and group dynamic than about a romance, which I wasn't expecting. But I did end up really enjoying that the main focus was more on the friends than romances, and the romance did not disappoint. I truly had no idea what was going to happen. I only gave 4 stars as opposed to 5 because it took me a little longer to get into it and because some of the relationship communication issues seemed a little too far fetched for me, but overall really enjoyed the story.

📖 BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: Happy Place
AUTHOR: Emily Henry
FORMAT: eBook
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
DID I CRY: Yup
PUB DATE: 4/25
RATING: 10/10
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @berkleyromance @berkleypub @netgalley for my #gifted advanced copy🫶🏼

MY THOUGHTS

Words will never be enough to convey my feelings for this book. I’ll be the first to admit, I was in a MAJOR slump when I picked this up & it took me until about 40% in to love it. I had questions that needed answers in order to form opinions on characters & relationships, and once I got them I was ALL in.

This book is pure magic. The setting — we KNOW how much I love a beach house in a coastal town in New England. The writing — @emilyhenrywrites is a master. The dialogue, the detail, the wit, the banter, you name it — it’s perfect. The characters in this book are unlike any she’s ever written IMO. They are real, raw, honest & flawed. They have relatable challenges & personalities that I saw a lot of myself and the people in my life in. They make this book what it is. Not just the MCs either, I’m talking every single character. The tropes are different, and seeing EmHen’s twist on second chance/fake dating with a sprinkle of enemies to lovers and forced proximity was blissful.

What’s really special about this book for me were the themes. There are a lot of sensitive topics covered in such a delicate way. There’s loss and grief, mental illness/mental health, LGBTQIA+, friendship, family, career, secrecy and honesty, authenticity, AND SO MUCH MORE. GOD when I tell you to pick this book up I MEAN IT. The last 25-30% of this book were some of my favorite pages I’ve ever read in any book. Truly. This book is a love story not only between two lovers, but between friends that become your family, and a reminder to love yourself first and prioritize your happiness no matter what.

This book is something special & I will hold it in my heart for a very long time❤️‍🩹

Emily Henry's best work to date. I laughed, I cried, I didn't want it to end. The banter was insanely delicious. The characters loved hard- you could feel it through the words written on the page. It's a book that will stay with me for a long time.

i don’t know how Emily Henry does it. BOOK LOVERS had exceeded every one of my expectations so i truly had the highest of hopes for HAPPY PLACE. and once again, @emilyhenrywrites has completely outdone herself.

i loved the way that HAPPY PLACE was written through different lenses: Harriet’s “happy place”, real life, and, at times, the “dark place”. we get to see the big moments and the small things, and the times when she meets her favorite people.

the thing i love most about Emily’s books is how they make me feel. they capture real life moments that are so relatable and the reading experience is so beautifully cathartic. this one made me think of my friends, who truly are my happy place. we live in different places and are in completely different stages of life but at the end of the day, we always have each other.

don’t let the title fool you… this book is EMO. it’s got happy and beautiful moments but there is loneliness and heartbreak. if you’re a swiftie, you need this book.

i cannot wait for a physical copy of this book so i can go back and annotate all my favorite quotes. i hope this book touches your heart the same way it touched mine.

Emily Henry is a master at telling a perfect romance story. Every book she writes is somehow better than the last. I loved this book with its group of friends, messy complications, and highly relatable feelings of not being enough. I cannot recommend this more highly. A perfect novel