there was no doubt about this one. i'm absolutely convinced EH wrote this for me and the ones who suffer in silence, the ones who are closer to their friends than they are with their family and siblings, the ones who will do anything to make others proud of them. the people pleasers and the quiet romantics, the ones who ache to be seen for who they really are and how they truly feel. she wrote it for the ones who center love in their life but have never had love centered for them and the younger siblings who had to pick up the pieces and shoulder the responsibilities, the weights, and the burdens of unspoken trauma. in Wyn, she wrote the ones who feel lost, struggling to fit into a world that prioritizes "passions" and "go-getters", the ones who love the little things about life, the ones who don't feel like they deserve anything special, and the ones who never feel like they're enough. and lastly, Happy Place is such a beautiful romance novel but it also captures the love and magic of platonic love. the depth of a friendship so beautiful, you know they were a part of your soul in another life and will have a piece of your heart for the rest of this one. this was truly so well done.

This is one of those "devour in as few sittings as humanly possible" blissful vacation reads, which is what I'm always looking for with Emily Henry. I found it a little annoying at first that every single character is beautiful and rich and had that perfect-with-one-endearing-quirk energy that usually comes with the territory of less-good romance novels, and I also found the overall conceit hard to swallow in the first several chapters. However, EH won me over in the end, as she always does. I also think--much like most of her other books--that this would make a great movie, but it doesn't have the annoying "written to be a movie" vibe.

I adored everything about this book. The back and forth from present to past fit perfectly with everything happening in the story, and I found all of the characters to be very multidimensional. Even with the conflict, the relationships between all of the characters felt very strong and well-developed, and I loved the way Harriet, Sabrina and Cleo’s friendship was portrayed.

Oh my god. Her best yet. I usually try to read my net galley ARCs in order of publication date but I could not hold myself back and I'm NOT SORRY. This book broke my heart and put it back together. I have zero complaints, suggestions, or tweaks. I just wish I could read it again for the first time.

Things I loved: realistic, devastating depiction of grief, found beloved family, complicated, changing friend groups/dynamics, emotionally complicated (but not stunted) male protagonist, emotionally complicated female protagonist who has to figure out what she actually wants out of life, happy endings not necessarily looking like you thought they would.

I have to stop writing because I'm crying again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How lucky am I to read the new Emily Henry book?! Another warm, funny, insightful novel that warms your heart and stays with you long after you read it. Wyn and Harriet have been engaged for years but recently called it off, and are forced to pretend they are still together on a week with their best friends, in a house in Maine where so many of their best memories occurred. The relationship between the two main characters unfolded beautifully, not withholding information and frustrating the reader (as so often happens with romance novel 'misunderstandings' that would be so easily cleared up!) The friendships at the heart of the book were sweet and real. I enjoyed it all! Send me every one of her new books and I will recommend them far and wide!

So good! A story of love and friendship and found family that leaves you feeling like you are reading about friends and wanting more. Harriet is going to her happy place, the house on the coast of Maine where she has spent time with her closest friends, but this time things have changed and it seems like they are all keeping things from each other. She is, she hasn't told her best friends that she is no longer engaged to Wyn, and Wyn is here. How are they going to tell their friends when this week is supposed to be a celebration? I did not want this to end.

Listen, I don't even know what to say about this. It's an Emily Henry book, _of course_ it's going to be the most fantastic and heartbreaking and romantic read. I devoured it in a day. I preordered my own personalized copy. What else are you going to do when it's a new Emily Henry book?

I love Emily Henry and this book has once again knocked it out of the park. I love how beautifully it depicts how friendships and relationships change and evolve over time and how hard it is to stay connected as adults. The romance and friendships were wonderful. I sat down to start this book and didn't move until I was finished. I was immediately pulled in and I never wanted to leave. An absolutely lovely book.

Thank you so so much to Berkley and NetGalley for my first ever ARC ! I can say, genuinely, truly, frustratingly, and adoringly… Emily, you have outdone yourself. From beginning to end, this book touched the deepest, loneliest parts of my heart and slowly patched them as I went. Emily Henry has an incredible ability to capture things we all might feel but cannot voice, to create characters that we can truly see ourselves in, and to present it all in an adorable, comforting, whimsical background that still feels human, and real.
One of my favorite things about this book was that it wasn’t just about Harry and Wyn. It isn’t just a love story between two individuals, but the love of a friend group who is trying so hard not to let go because it’s so scared when things change and you’re not sure how to change the way you love to adapt to it. I saw so much of myself and my best friends in Sabrina, Cleo, and Harriet. I felt so much of that bittersweet ache of being so close but so far. It was about the love of the happy places that will always hold those happy memories. It was about loving yourself enough to love it all.
I loved loved loved this book. Emily Henry is a god, truly. I’ll never get tired of anything she writes, but this is truly peak for me. I cannot wait to hold this in my hands and read it again and again until it’s falling apart. This book, in its entirety, is my own happy place.

Emily Henry’s new book Happy Place is a read that readers are sure to love. A romance yes, but also a story about the importance of friendship and how it develops over time. Definitely keep an eye out for its release in April 2023!

It will come as a surprise to no one that I loved this. Emily Henry really knows how to transport you with her writing, and I felt like I was right there with Harriet, Wyn, and their friends on the coast of Maine.

I connected so much with both Harriet and Wyn and could see myself in each of them in different ways. This one feels more poignant in some ways than Henry's previous books, but still with plenty of that witty humor we have all come to know and love from her. I loved how there was a lot of emphasis on "found family," and all the places and people we call home. Feeling like you belong and have a place (and people) to feel at home with is so important. We need that connection as human beings. Whether that is with the family we're born with, or the family we create with friends.

Some readers might get irritated that this has quite a bit of a lack of communication trope between our main characters, but I felt like this felt true to life. It's difficult to talk about things sometimes, especially if you're used to gaining love and acceptance by your actions and accomplishments only. It's hard to be vulnerable even when there's the risk of losing what you need and want the most.

I highlighted sooo many lines and am already looking forward to reading it again.

Overall, another stellar book from Henry.

Emily Henry is a prime writer of contemporary romance that has a hard edge. Her latest, Happy Place, is perhaps her best so far. Don't miss it!

A big win for Emily Henry fans! This one is different from her other books in a way I can't quite put my finger on but I cannot wait until this book is released to the world.

Emily Henry strikes again with a perfectly balanced rom-com about whether or not you should let the expectations of others rule your life, or allow yourself to live on your own terms with Happy Place. Harriet and Wyn have broken up for nebulous reasons, and they certainly don't want to go over those reasons with their best friends, who have gathered for one last summer vacation in Maine. Not wanting to rock the boat, Harriet and Wyn pose as the couple they've been for eight years, only to discover all the reasons they broke up, and why they might want to get back together, all while their friend group is growing up, growing apart, and maybe fracturing for good.

Emily Henry's books are fabulously layered, with rich character arcs and entertaining side characters that never fail to disappoint.

Emily Henry did it again, every new book she writes is my favorite until her next. I LOVED Happy Place, the friend group is amazing, each character is fully realized and flawed but lovable. I saw some of myself in both Wyn and Harriet. The fake dating plot line was taken to a whole other level with this book. I loved the switching timelines so we could see where they are now but it was slowly revealed how they got here. Thank you Emily Henry, for your amazing banter, it's always delightful to read your sharp witted characters.

Emily has some big shoes to fill after Book Lovers and while this didn't totally live up to Book Lovers for me, I still really enjoyed it. I loved the setting and all of the characters. You really grow attached to them with the way the story is laid out. It's enjoyable to read and I know it will literally fly off our shelves!

I am so grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this arc to review.

I want this review as vague and spoiler free as possible because it is such a highly anticipated release. I do not want my thoughts to give anything away so no mentions of tropes I love or dislike other than the one we already know about.

My abbreviated thoughts on this one:
-First and foremost mental health is a big part of this narrative. As someone who is currently dealing with and managing my own mental health diagnoses similar to those of the characters in this book I truly appreciate the broaching of this subject and how the author wrote about and handled it.
- It rivals Book Lovers for my favorite Henry book if not actually surpasses it.
- There was so much emotion and feeling in this one than the others and is why it may win out in the favorite list.
-The fake dating trope, which we know about from the blurb, was executed perfectly even if I did have an early inkling about some stuff.
- I was legitimately near tears during several scenes because of how well Henry wrote the emotions.
- All characters are relatable and I got invested in everyone’s stories not just the MCs.
- Emotional rollercoaster and I loved every minute of the ride!
- Three words: Harriet and Wyn!

I can’t wait for everyone to read this one!

Happy Place is a fun romp of friendship and rediscovering love. Emily Henry always hits a home run, and readers will be pleased with Happy Place!

My ideal romance experience is when I'm so into the story that it's physically impossible for me to stop reading. This has been the case with every Emily Henry book and Happy Place is another shining example of her hypnotic writing—I didn't move from my couch for 4.5 hours and stayed up 3 hours past my bedtime (no regrets). It's a fast read thanks to the dual timelines, and all of the standard EH ingredients are in place: a dreamy/moody dude, complicated heroine, an enviable friend group, witty banter, angst galore. What stood out to me is Happy Place's potential to appeal to a wider variety of adult readers; we get to know the characters both in their easy-breezy early twenties as well as a decade later, when their personal and professional lives are far more complicated.

I am not a massive fan of second-chance romances like I was not a fan of friends-to-lovers before “people we meet on vacation,” but Emily Henry’s writing is so clever I knew she could make me enjoy this trope too.

I don't think Happy Place is as strong as her previous books; it starts a little slow, but then it picks up and it gets better.. Still, Henry is excellent at dialogues. I am always surprised by how easy it is to feel like I’m in the room with the characters when there is a section heavy on dialogue.