I don't love second chance romances, but Happy Place is an absolute gem. Henry's newest novel feels different from her previous books. It feels a bit more grown up, sadder, and grittier. The characters are so realistic and are perfectly imperfect. I loved how Happy Place explores love, friendship, identity, and place.

This one was a bit more serious than “Book Lovers”, but still brought me to tears and made me laugh all the same. I loved Emily’s look at friendship, what it means to be in love, and what happens when everything starts changing around you and you have to grasp the art of letting go. I loved all the characters. They are relatable, awkward, charming, sarcastic, hilarious, stubborn, foolish, and genuine. I loved their friendships and how they all learned and grew together. My only complaint is that I feel we didn't get enough time with the other characters and they felt a little 2 dimensional. However, I don't think it hindered the story. I lived for the past flashbacks. They really help you learn and understand their history and also allow you to truly feel their connection and chemistry. I felt like I got to know Wyn even though the book was told entirely from Harriet's perspective. Their banter and electric energy is written so well; Emily Henry knows how to make you connect to a character. I will read anything Emily Henry writes. Happy Place is some of her best work, both in the storytelling and in her writing. Her books are fun and easy to read. Thanks to Netgalley and Emily Henry and Berkley/Penguin Random House for this eArc. I can’t wait to see what Emily writes next!

Yet again Emily Henry makes me swoon and also cry. I was nervous about the idea of a second chance romance (not usually my favorite kind) but she handled Harry and Wyn's story with such skill and tenderness. I loved the little friendship world that she built and how realistic it was. The theme of alternate universes worked so well in this. I rooted for Harry and Wyn all the way through (even when I was mad at Wyn). I predict a lot of people will drop out of their residencies after reading this, and honestly good for them!

Best romance of 2023? I think so.

In both a past and present timeline, Happy Place follows our protagonist, Harriet, five months post-breakup as she’s on her way to her ‘Happy Place’ – the summer cottage in Maine with all her closest friends. Harriet plans on breaking the news to her friends once she settles in that her engagement has been called off. But, when she arrives, she is shocked to see her ex-fiancé, Wynn, at the cottage, acting as if the past five months have never happened, and they’re still the happy couple their friends know and love. After a few shocking revelations, Harriet realizes she’s going to have to put her feelings aside for the week and pretend that she and Wynn are still happily engaged for the sake of her friends. How bad could it really be anyway?

THIS BOOK! I don’t know where to start; Emily Henry keeps topping herself! Wynn is a dream, and I’m convinced Emily Henry slipped into the deepest crevices of my brain to write Harriet. I have so much to say, and every time I’ve tried to write a review, it’s been an overly excited and incohesive mess, so I am splitting my review into four parts: character, dialogue, plot, and structure.

Characters:

The most diverse cast of Emily Henry's characters thus far, all with distinctive backstories that make the characters feel real. Each character in this book is fleshed out, and you find yourself understanding on an intimate level how they make the decisions they do and how their past has shaped who they are today.

Harriet and Wynn’s struggles are both very internal, they are two characters who struggle with feeling like they are worthy of love but in two very different (but deeply relatable) ways. Harriet feels as though her value comes from what she can do for others, she is anxious and a people-pleaser, and she struggles to communicate her needs for fear of disappointing others.

Wynn views himself as average in every way possible. He feels like he is constantly disappointing others, and if he’s not, it’s because they had such little expectations of him, to begin with. He feels like he is not worth fighting for.

With this, we see many missteps in their ability to communicate their needs with one another. This is illustrated in the book and makes their relationship, fallout, and rekindling real and believable. But it also makes both characters incredibly sympathetic and relatable, and I loved watching them both overcome their struggles and insecurities with one another.

Dialogue:

The banter? *chef’s kiss*. One of Henry’s strongest skills as a writer. The dialogue is genuine, witty, and realistic. It’s reflective of natural dialogue and at no point feels unnecessarily forced.
I think it’s also skillfully used to showcase humour as a coping mechanism for Harriet.

Plot:

Like many of Henry’s other works, Happy Place resembles the plot of many 2000s romcoms (in the best way). It is well-paced and interesting. Henry uses tropes in addition to her plot, rather than centring the plot around them (which is a personal pet peeve of mine). I felt like every part of the storyline made sense and flowed naturally. I could see it playing out as if it was my own life. The friend group quarrels, the nature of the relations, the breakup, and the rekindling. It all fits very well.

Structure:

I love the past and present timeline; it sets up the story well but also adds a lot of interesting context and background to the relationship and their circle of friends. I’m curious to see how this will be received, though, because dual timelines are a hit or miss for some.

Overall, this one is definitely in the running for my favourite Emily Henry book, and I cannot wait to reread it and annotate it when it comes out. This is for the people-we-meet-on vacation-this-is-me-trying-mirrorball readers

Everyone has that one book where their heart and soul are poured out onto the pages, where the feelings you’ve thought for so long you were alone in feeling are so well-articulated and accurate that nothing and no one has ever come close to understanding and you can’t help but cry tears of relief—Happy Place was absolutely it for me. I truly don’t know how i’ve existed without Happy Place because this book whole-heartedly means everything to me. Both incredibly visceral and cathartic, EH has truly perfected her craft and found her balance with this one, creating such an incredible romance story unlike any i’ve read before while also handling and highlighting platonic love with such love and care. this book truly felt incredibly autobiographical for me, even to some extent where it, again, brought out such visceral emotions out of me to the point of catharsis. I don’t think I could ever fully spell out how much this book means to me without getting incredibly personal but i’ll leave you with this: for all the fleabags, “you’re on your own, kid”’s, people-pleasers and quiet romantics, the ones who crave a love so deep, romantic or platonic, but sometimes feel unworthy of it, those who feel a bit too much all the time, the ones who have so much love and no idea where to put it—you’re not alone and this book is here to prove it.

Friends. Happy Place hit the mark of what is like to be almost thirty, everything is changing, and you are learning how to be yourself in the world. If you love Emily Henry, you'll love this one. Plus this cover is my favorite by far.

Harriet and Wyn broke up months ago. Now they are stuck together on vacation with their four best friends, pretending it hasn't happened. A week in Bar Harbor, the two of them constantly pushed together, what is going to go wrong?

Wonderful premise, but really what makes this romance so great is the friendships. Friends that have become family. Every character is wonderful in their own way. Henry's fantastic humor and careful consideration of mental health makes this one of my favorite reading experiences. I'm always down for anything she writes but this might be my favorite so far.

Thank you to Berkley for the eARC.

Emily Henry has done it again. There’s something in every one of her books that makes me fall in love with her characters and the story. The way that she writes dialogue and banter is masterful and is just as good in this book.

I loved the premise from the moment I read the synopsis and the book did not disappoint. The relationship dynamics and tension was done in a way that made this story feel unique and original while still leaning into a well-loved and often used trope.

I will definitely be recommending it to everyone when it releases.

I really wanted to love this, Emily Henry on the cover is usually all it takes. This one did not live up to expectations, though. The characters weren't well developed and I honestly didn't care what happened to them. The friendships were once good, but the current scenes weren't enough to convince me they were worth fighting for. The ending was disappointing. I wish I had loved it.

I have loved every book I have read by Emily Henry, and this one is no different. The construction and pacing of the story keep it interesting, the setting is vivid, and the characters are fully realized. This was a book that had me staying up late to see how things could work out, and they did in the most satisfying way. Highly recommend!

thank you to berkeley publishing for this e-arc. this was one of my most anticipated releases for 2023 and i am so honored and grateful to be able to read it early. <3
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now let's get into this review, i will start off by saying that this is probably my favorite emily henry book and the main reason is because this story goes far beyond than just being a romance novel. this book revolves around second chances, acceptance, found family and most importantly love. this book made me reflect how love comes in many different forms and in ways you may least expect. it also made me reflect how important it is to fight for what you love while also putting yourself first. now harriet kilpatrick was a character that i surprisingly found myself relating too a lot. emily henry sure hit close to home with harriet. her character is basically the embodiment of mirrorball by taylor swift. she was funny and witty but also had a lot of depth to her. the chemistry between harriet and wyn was immaculate we really see the their 10 year history throughout. i just loved the found family trope and the way it was written. throughout this book we see harriet, wyn, cleo, kimmy, sabrina, and parth come together to form a deep family bond despite their faults and differences it is very clear how much they love each other and everything they would do for one another. i will probably be singing praises for this book for a long time. overall it was a five out of five because it had me screaming and crying.

This book was heartbreaking and somehow managed to make me homesick for a cottage i’ve never been to and a group of friends i’ve never met. Their desperation to stay together as they all get older and begin navigating their own adult lives is so realistic and relatable.

This was just the most beautiful story of friendship, loss, found family, and finding yourself again after YEARS of going in the wrong direction. This book was about losing the love of your life while they’re sitting right in front of you. About recognizing something is wrong but not knowing why or what you can do to fix it. About hoping old promises of forever are enough to get you through but not knowing if the other person still feels the same. And i’ll be damned if that didn’t break me in two.

These were some of Henry’s most relatable characters yet. Harriet really said “ah yes you know that song mirrorball by taylor swift??? yeah she wrote that about me” and i said GIRL 👏 ME 👏 TOO 👏 And then we have Wyn. Sweet, sweet, self depreciating as a form of coping with his own unhappiness, Wyn. I just want to give him a kiss on the forehead and promise him everything is going to be okay.

Buckle up friends. I think this is her most emotional novel yet and you’re going to love every single second of it. All the stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

While normally I love Emily Henry books, this one didn't strike me quite as strongly as her previous novels. Normally, Henry's books have my emotions in a stranglehold, but HAPPY PLACE struck me as a bit more straightforward than her normal affective nuance, and seems a lot like PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION, just less striking. While this is a fun second-chance romance about ex-fiances who pretend to still be together to keep the peace at their annual friends' trip, it isn't the Emily Henry novel I'd recommend.

Visually stunning, second chance romance that captivates! Emily Henry simply has a knack for books that are inventive yet familiar. I highly recommend people to read this and will for sure be pushing this book for my stores customers and co-workers.

I’m unsure what kind of magic this author weaves through her pages as she’s writing, but I am always desperate to get a copy of every new release. When I do, I immediately open and devour every word. Emily Henry is my latest must-read author and I can’t get enough of her voice.

Happy Place is labeled as both a contemporary romance and a women’s fiction novel. And I agree wholeheartedly with those classifications. While ultimately this is a book about a couple stuck in an impossible situation, broken up, but pretending to be together for the sake of their best friends group, it is also about true, long-term friendships and finding authentic happiness and peace.

Our main protagonists are Harriet and Wyn, a couple who have split up after being together for years. The secondary characters, who don’t really feel secondary at all, are a group comprised of college roommates and the people they added along the way. Sabrina, Cleo, Kimmy, and Parth are Harriet and Wyn’s closest friends in the world, the family they chose, and their ride-or-die besties. Afraid to change the dynamic between the group, and ruin the last weekend at their beloved vacation home, they choose to keep their parting a secret. But Harriet is hurting from not knowing why Wyn ended things and Wyn seems to act like he still loves and misses her, but he insists he has his reasons. Can they act like the happy couple convincingly enough to get through this last trip?

This book is told in alternating timelines, bouncing back and forth between Harriet’s happy memories of her friendship with Sabrina and Cleo, and meeting and falling in love with Wyn, and the present situation of the whole group on vacation. I found her to be a reliable narrator, both in the past and present. The reader can feel her love and devotion to the people in her life. I enjoyed these parts of the story just as much as I did the present-day push-and-pull, chemistry between Harriet and Wyn. And they do have incredible chemistry, I never for a minute doubted that they still desperately loved each other even after the breakup. I think this may be Emily Henry’s sexiest novel to date, there is lots of teasing, flirtatious glances full of longing, and hot and heavy “this might be the last time we feel each other’s body against ours so we need to make it good” moments.

Ultimately, this is not just a novel about romantic love, but about friendship. And this author writes those relationships so well. There are so many beautiful moments. It is also about growing apart, finding your way back to each other, and breaking out of the shell you’ve encased yourself in to discover your true happiness, regardless of how you were raised or the traumas of your past. There are some deeper themes, but quite a few fun, lighter moments as well.

Overall, I found Happy Place to be incredibly an incredibly romantic, uplifting read. So looking forward to this author’s next release. Definitely recommend.

Grade- A

Another winner for Emily Henry. Such a great summertime read, with a feel good theme to it. Anyone can wrap themselves in its warmth and sunshine. Thank you Net Galley and and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC.

With every Emily Henry book, I somehow think I won't love it more than the last. And then I read it. And then it becomes my entire personality.

This book was stunning. It was introspective and easily the funniest book she's written. It was perfect- quite actually nothing I would change. 6 out of 5 stars if I could. Wyn is actually my dream man. He and Harriet had the sweetest moments, the best banter, and their tension gave me all of the butterflies and feet kicks. I was actually sad for this book to be over and I already want to read it again. This might be one of my favorite books of all time.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

An enjoyable relationship book, the chapters move back and forth between present and past, giving us lots of backstory to fill in the story of the characters. It has some nicely timed reveals in the final chapters with a nice wrap-up couple and group relationships. Not enough humor to be able to consider this a rom-com, but as long as that doesn't bother you it's a pretty good read.

I didn’t think Emily could top “Book Lovers” but she did. I was totally absorbed in not only Harriet + Wyn’s romance but the family of friends that serve as the backbone for this story. It really touches on the possibility of keeping your loved ones close regardless of how much time passes or how each individual within the group changes. Those who love you meet you where you are +,despite the ups + downs these friends faced, they do just that. I can’t wait for people to get their hands on this book come April. They are in for a major treat with a lot of heart.

4.5 stars

This book had the perfect amount of angst and was laugh out loud hilarious. I finished it in under 24 hours and loved it. It totally made me nostalgic for a place I had never been to, and I loved all the characters.

Emily Henry has managed to do it yet again. Another couple that everyone can fall in love with over and over again without question. Henry's new novel follows a group of close friends from college who want one last week vacation altogether, reliving old nostalgic memories and how close they once were. The only problem for the narrator Harriot and her ex-fiance Wyn is they have yet to tell the rest of the group about their breakup. Now, for the duration of the trip, Harriot and Wyn have to pretend to be together to save everyone from the implosion of this news. This, in turn, brings up wounds, not at all healed, and the real reason Harriot was unceremoniously dumped during a 4-minute phone call after an almost decade-long and seemingly happy relationship.

I am the first to admit that I am not a fan of second-chance romances, but this one was done perfectly. Everything I didn't like about this trope was nonexistent. Emily Henry brought in a serious miscommunication element that didn't feel tiring while also being the driving force of the slow burn. Speaking of the slow burn, the tension and banter these two characters give were unmatched. They both showcased their love for each other all the way through but felt it could not last, which aided in the heartbreaking yet satisfying story of Happy Place. Harriot and Wyn are both such unforgettable characters on their own, but together were just so special to see. Wyn has won the title of book boyfriend, no questions asked.

Told in a non-linear timeline, Harriort has to figure out what happened to Wyn's love and what has happened to her as a person due to her upbringing. This gave much more than romance, Like Emily Henry's stories usually do. I find the search for identity and what you want to do with your life into your 30s refreshing. There's also a considerable friendship component throughout the story. We are brought into this group of 6 friends and their conflicts. Our getting to see everyone meet, go through college, move out, get engaged, and break up added to what I love about this story.

Reading Happy Place was a fantastic experience, and Emily Henry could never disappoint. I want to go back and read it for the first time, tearing up with Harriot and crushing over Wyn again and again.