Let me start off by saying that even though I love romance in many forms, this is not the type of book that I normally like. The fact that it was so unexpectedly enjoyable and engaging speaks to the author's ability to write excellent characters and surprise you with their depth and interweaving histories. I usually get bored with forced proximity/fake dating tropes unless it's like a reality TV thing, but Emily Henry has made me re-evaluate that position for sure!

The cover of Happy Place is gorgeous and was one of the things that drew me to it when I requested it on NetGalley, but it didn't prepare me for how serious some parts of the book were. I thought it was going to be a fun, but fluffy romance read- I was so very wrong. There was a lot of fun, but even more depth than I expected as the author excavated what female friendships, aging, choosing what feels right to you instead of what you should do per societal standards, and truly evaluating the efficacy and importance of romantic relationships look like in 2023. All of the characters are young, but the aging aspect specifically peered into how friendships change as one grows out of college age into adulthood where lives often go in very different directions. (Think mid-twenties to early 30s when people are settling on careers and deciding if they want kids.)

Our two main characters, Harriet (Harry) and Wyn have broken up months prior to the friend's trip they are both invited to attend with their old university besties. The problem is that they have not told anyone about the breakup, and Harriet does not have the heart to tell her friends since she is still very much grieving the loss of the relationship. As the story progresses, the two MCs are forced to explore their relationship in depth as the complexities of adult friendship also rise to the surface. Harriet is in medical school but finds that she desires a life with fewer time constraints and with more availability to do what she loves- create art. Her fear of her family's judgment, grief over her failed romantic relationship, and the stress of putting on a "good show" for her friends force Harriet to come face to face with the question that plagues many people in young adulthood: Should I do what is stable and expected of me, or should I take the risk of acting on what brings me joy?

The characters are very compelling, and even though there is plenty of fun banter among all the characters, Emily Henry does not shy away from prying back the layers of social programming and exploring how authenticity emerges when we have the bravery to face who we really are. All in all, it was not what I expected from a book with a bright (gorgeous) pink cover with a bunch of people lounging and playing on the water! Not that pink indicates a lack of depth, but on romance books, it is something I usually correlate to something like a rom-com. There was humor injected throughout the book, but I was pleasantly surprised by the author's willingness to look at life "as it is" as well. I loved everything about Happy Place and truly enjoyed the development afforded to the side characters. The ending is fully satisfying, and I can officially call myself an Emily Henry fan!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Emily Henry, and Penguin Random House- Berkley for sending me an e-ARC of Happy Place! Given how much everyone enjoyed Book Lovers last year, I think that this is going to be the next contemporary romance "it" book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me an ARC copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

One week in a nostalgic location with all of the people who know you best – including your fiancé whom no one knows you aren’t engaged to anymore. What could go wrong?

When Harriet steps off the plane in Maine, she is ready to be in her happy place. Sabrina, her best friend and college roommate, has had her and their triomate Cleo out to her family cottage every year since Harriet could remember. She is expecting relaxation and peace from the growing disdain she has for her work back in San Francisco. What she is not expecting is for her fiancé Wyn to already be at the house with a plan to keep their breakup under wraps. Armed with months of resentment, Harriet is determined not to let this, or him, ruin her annual bonding experience. As the week goes on, Harriet and Wyn are forced to reminisce about their relationship over the years. They begin to realize that for every sacrifice they made in the name of love, they only added a dagger to the others heart. When their friends start to feel the tension bleed, Harriet and Wyn must decide how far they are willing to build their walls up before everything comes crumbling down.

This book was everything that I love in a romance novel. Miscommunication, forced proximity, separate trauma/shared trauma, child of expectation, found family, teased spice. It had it all. I blazed through this because I desperately needed to know if Harriet and Wyn got their shit together and had a real conversation. As a child of expectation, I understood Harriet’s trauma of needing to do the right thing and how that bled into her requirement of being a perfect/needless partner. I was just as much in love with Sabrina/Harriet/Cleo’s love story as I was the romantic one. They found each other when they needed it most and they swore their love forever. Adult relationships are hard. I loved that Henry showed all of their imperfect vulnerabilities and how they leaned on each other to heal.

Emily Henry would write a story about a trash goblin falling in love with a dust bunny and I would find a way to get my hands on it. The way she writes about her characters elicits such familiarity that you feel a pull to their story and that is magic. To keep us turning every page for just a glimpse more into the story of others. To feel something in ourselves along the way.

Happy Place is a exes to lovers, second chance romance.

Emily Henry delivers a story of a couple who break up after almost a decade of loving each other, only to realize the flame they have is still there. There isn't one big reason the couple is no longer together, rather a cluster of reasons that were never spoken about during their time together. These ex lovers are brought back together when they're forced to spend an entire week with their closest friends. All of whom don't know the love birds have drifted apart. For the entire week, Wyn and Harriet must pretend their relationship is still close to avoid spoiling the wedding occurring at the end of the vacation. The tension is thick.

Our main character, Harriet, is very relatable. Even if you don't love her, you can't help but understand her. She comes from a difficult family dynamic, struggles with expressing herself (even with loved ones), and never learned how to fight with loved ones in a healthy manner. Harriet learned from a young age to avoid conflict, she must be an easy person to be around. As an adult, she eventually realizes how avoiding conflict her whole life has only caused strain with those closest to her.

Our love interest, Wyn, is a kind and soft soul. A rancher and furniture mender from Montana. He is the one who ended things with our mc, yet seems to be as in love as ever. Wyn ended things in a 4 minute phone call and immediately shipped Harriet all of her belongings back to her. Now that they're close together for a week long vacation before the vacation house is sold, Harriet wants to know: "why?".

I absolutely loved Wyn and Harriet's relationship because it was very real as well as their conflicts are. This story is one of inspiration, mental illness, growth, adult friendships, grief, career discomfort, etc.

Thank you, NetGalley, Emily Henry, and Berkley for an eARC.

Emily Henry books are becoming MY happy place. This has everything you would expect from a Henry novel-- romance, humor, summertime vibes and a strong sense of setting. It was a good read.
That being said, I wouldn't call this Henry's best work. The main character, Harriet, feels real enough, and I enjoy that this romance focuses on an existing relationship. But the stakes never felt high enough. It takes a long time to understand how the couple broke up, and even then it doesn't make a lot of sense. However, it did feel more true-to-life that way. Break-ups aren't always about infidelity or unhappiness with your partner, but sometimes simply reflect the struggles a person is having as an individual, which flows over and taints a relationship. I thought that felt very real, if a bit frustrating as a plot element.
My other criticism is that the cast of characters is fairly large, but most of them never feel like more than placeholders. As somebody who adores the "found family" trope, I kept waiting to feel more connected to the group of friends, but that never materialized, and because of this the climax of the book wasn't as emotionally satisfying as it could have been.
Overall, I would say this book was 3.75/5. Even Henry's lesser books are better than most others in the genre!

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.