This book successfully passed my two personal markers for a great read: I devoured it in one sitting and I cried (an extreme rarity). If, like me, you loved Book Lovers, you will adore Emily Henry’s newest.

Happy Place is a second-chance romance novel told from the perspective of the painfully relatable Harriet, who spends the novel balancing on an emotional - and professional - fulcrum point as she contemplates what it means to truly be happy.

I adored the framework of the story. Rather than bouncing in time (in the way that People We Meet On Vacation does), the chapters in Happy Place bounce between Harriet’s real life and her various happy places. For me, these settings were the real highlight of the story as they not only set up the internal conflict of our main point-of-view character, but they also serve as the vehicle for introducing us to Harriet’s friends and family. The periphery cast of Happy Place is a joy to hang out with, everyone feels fully-realized and three-dimensional and her friends’ various existential crises that come with facing change all feel earned. True to Henry, the banter between all of the characters is top-notch and if I wanted anything more from this book, it’s more time with Cleo and Sabrina.

Generally speaking, I am not one for the second-chance/exes-to-lovers trope, but this one worked. Harriet and Wyn’s initial breakup felt inevitable, but not insurmountable. Portions of this novel ache under the weight of their mutual pining and regret and it’s impossible to not root for them to find their way back to each other. More importantly, it’s equally impossible not to root for them as individual characters: I cheered when Wyn confronted his insecurities and I cried with Harriet when she finally admits her struggle balancing personal happiness against the weight of expectation.

5/5 stars for this fun, relatable, and pining romance by Emily Henry. I have already started recommending it to my friends to pick up when it’s released.

My gratitude to NetGalley and to Penguin Publishing Group for an ARC to read in exchange for this honest review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy! For starters, Emily Henry books are simply wonderful and hard to put down. I never find any of her books to be over the top, cheesy, or cliché. I love friendship stories and really enjoyed the friendship dynamics between all the characters. Happy Place centers around a cottage trip in Maine where Harriet and Wyn alongside their group of best friends [Cleo, Kimmy, Sabrina, Parth] visit Sabrina’s cottage one more time before it sells.

Harriet and Wyn do not want to ruin the festivities by telling their friends they have broken up, so it’s silly and fun to see them “pretend” to be together and figure out their issues along the way. I really liked how Emily intertwined flashbacks into the story – I was rooting for Harriet and Wyn, so it was heartwarming to learn how they met and fell in love but also how all their friendships came to be. Emily investing in her story and characters resulted in well-developed story lines and real characters!

To me, Happy Place was truly more of a friendship story. I thought the second chance romance was a bonus. Maybe I have watched too many Friends episodes, but I visualized a Friends type dynamic with the witty banter while reading this. It can be difficult navigating a story with an ensemble cast of characters, but overall thought Emily did an amazing job creating genuine and *gasp* likeable characters! That does not always happen! At this point, Emily does not even need reviews for readers to pick up her books. Her previous books speak for themselves, and I am excited to see what she writes next! Thank you again to NetGalley for an arc, I feel very lucky!

Emily Henry can do no wrong. While this a being publicized as a romance (and don't get me wrong, it totally is a romance), it felt more like a story about friendships, growing up, and learning about what you want. The friendship between Harriet, Sabrina, and Cleo was so authentic, real, and special; like something you could walk out on the street and find between a group of people but also so unique that you could never find something like it, ever. I connected with Harriet about how she felt about school and academic validation; some of those moments felt like Henry plucked those experiences right out of my life. I felt way more invested in Harriet's personal growth and her friendship than her relationship with Wyn. I still loved Wyn and Harriet's dynamic, but they seemed so destined to be from the beginning that I was more interested in the relationships around them and within the whole group as a whole.

Overall, this is some of Henry's best work and I will not be shutting up about it anytime soon. 5 stars!

As per usual, you can expect this Emily Henry novel to gut you emotionally. A second chance romance of two people who have grown apart in an eight year long relationship due to a myriad of reasons that the book reveals in the most gut wrenching yet cathartic way.

The book explores found family in a tender and reverential way, cherishing long years of companionship in proximity and distance, appreciating the growth and love and support that is provided by the people you choose to keep around you. It is twined in with Wyn and Harriet's relationship troubles as they try to protect the friendship and figure out whether distance or a second chance is what they need to prioritize.

Of course, in typical Emily Henry fashion, the story subverts traditional romance tropes and story structure in a refreshing and introspective way. You feel the pain, the joy, the love, the melancholy, and more.

Truly a stunning fourth book.

4.5 stars.

Oh Emily Henry, what can’t you do? I swear I’ll read every book this woman publishes until the end of time. I finished this book in one day, clutching my ereader, tears streaming down my face while trying not to wake my partner at 3am.

I love the way she breathes life into her characters and how distinctly “themselves” they are. The friendship between this group of people is clear, their dynamic endearing, and you’ll fall in love with each one.

I understand this is a romance but I found myself wishing for more scenes with the entire cast vs. the love interests together. I feel that is a testament to Henry’s skill in developing her characters into actual people and not vehicles to drive the plot along for the MCs.

I want to start off by saying a huge thank you to Berkley Publishing, NetGalley, and of course Queen Emily Henry for allowing me the privilege to read the e-ARC of Happy Place. I think it is my favorite read this year.

This review is going to be all over the place, because I cannot organize my thoughts well enough to really describe how much I absolutely loved this book, so I apologize!!!

Happy Place broke my heart and put it back together again. It was such a beautiful story and it was executed in a way that only Emily Henry knows how to execute a book. Basically it was freaking perfect. I literally would not change a damn thing about this book.

I loved all of the characters, and I loved how even the supporting characters were complex individuals, all going through their own struggles. I loved being able to see the growth of Harriet and Wyn's relationship and I LOVED HOW MUCH THEY LOVED EACH OTHER. They were both such simps for each other. This book was so real and so relatable. I found myself crying at some parts, and then laughing the next, and literally smiling like an idiot through most of it, because the dialogue between Wyn and Harriet, and even between the group of friends was TOP TIER. They were all so quick and witty with each other and I LOVED IT.

I absolutely loved Book Lovers and I would literally sell my soul to experience that book for the very first time again, but Happy Place, just became my all time favorite book. I finished it this morning and I already want to read it again. I sacrificed sleep, just so I could keep reading it last night and that has not happened in a long time (probably when I read Book Lovers the first time lol).

Basically this book is freaking amazing. It was written so beautifully and I CANNOT WAIT to see what the future holds for Emily Henry (AKA one of the best romance writers of our generation).

10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND ALWAYS.

Leave it to Emily Henry to take one of my least favorite tropes (second chance romance) and turn it into something incredible. There is so much about this story that I didn't think was going to work for me, and instead this book made me feel all the feels. I can't believe how much I loved this book. I can't wait to get physical copies in my hands so I can start passing them around. Another job incredibly well done. At this point I will read anything this woman writes.

Emily Henry crafts her romance novels with such intricacy and care to both the romance and the characters, and Happy Place is no exception.
Happy Place is centered on Harriet and Wyn, a couple who broke off their engagement prior to the events of the book and are now forced to lie to their friends of their breakup by essentially fake dating.
It is a second chance romance with fake dating. While I do think some books portray one of or both tropes in a way that makes it seem mediocre, Emily Henry handled both tropes well and without it being incoherent within the plot. That being said, in comparison to her previous books, I do believe Happy Place is Henry’s best work yet. It is ambitious with the amount of characters introduced, the intensity and angst of a second chance romance between two people who were once engaged, providing a relatable portrayal of long friendships while also writing between the past and present without dragging, and Henry combined these aspects into a cohesive and beautiful story.
One thing I love about Henry’s books is the way I’m immersed into the settings. Her writing has improved by the year and its amazing to see her grow as an author.
I loved that at the heart of this novel is not just the romance but the relationship between Harriet and her friends — Cleo and Sabrina. It is done so well with the banter and chemistry I seriously couldn’t get enough of it.
Overall, a fantastic romance with an amazing subplot of friendships, and I can’t wait for Henry’s next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange of my honest opinions.

Ms. Emily Henry. How do you do this. How do you do this to me every goddamn time, and somehow, impossibly, wreck me worse than the last book.

I’m raw. Happy Place was a salt and a salve, a blade and a stitch. Emotionally, I’m in the ICU.

Harriet’s hidden pain and desperate longing and deep emotional turmoil broke me. Wyn’s quiet sadness and self doubt and hopeful yearning BROKE. ME. This book is about losing your love when they’re right in front of you, watching them slip through your fingers, not knowing how or why it’s happening, not knowing how to fix it, or where to go from there. This book absolutely ripped me open. And then, somehow, it sutured up my gaping wound, tucked me in tight, and gave me a sweet kiss on the forehead. I am Not Okay™️.

But this book was about so much more than just the aftermath of two broken people desperate to love each other. It was about the rise and tide of friendship, the joy of found family, the human right to live and let live, the tentative baring of your soul. It was about cultivating a happy place within yourself, in the ones you love, and bringing that love with you wherever you may be, with whatever you may be doing.

The alternating timelines ticked down the moments to emotional detonation and I felt the metronome strike with each turn of the page, the desperate build of desire and grief. The quick wit and banter between lovers and friends brought such joy. I cackled, I cried, I’m signing a DNR.

All of the ⭐️s, in Emily Henry we trust, amen.


***all of my love to NetGalley and Berkley Romance and Emily Henry for blessing me with this eARC, you deserve every happiness***

This is my new absolute FAVORITE book by Emily Henry and is 100% going into my staff picks at work as soon as it releases.
I love a good second chance romance and Emily Henry just did it so well.
I enjoy the angsts and build up in this book and highly enjoyed reading about Harriett and Wyn.
I loved their cottage during lobster fest. This book was so fun and so descriptive. I finished in less than 2 DAYS!
Happy Place is my new Happy Place.

I am fooled every time by Emily Henry’s books. I think it’s the sparkly covers and the fun, witty, snappy writing that makes me feel like I’m sinking into a delightful rom-com, then suddenly it’s three a.m. because I can’t put the book down, and tears have been dripping down my face for two hours. Because Emily Henry makes me feel things. She writes such *real* people that it’s inevitable that you’ll get your heart broken a little along the way, but also get your heart filled too, because her novels are a lot like life.

“Time doesn’t move the same way when we’re there. Things change, but we stretch and grow and make room for each other. Our love is a place we can always come back to, and it will be waiting, the same as it ever was. You belong here.”

harriet is exhausted. that bone deep exhaustion you can only feel from working 18 hr days in healthcare. not to mention that the last five months have been miserable. ever since that 4 minute phone call saying it was over. her fiancé wyn, the love of her love, her everything, broke things off. with everything going on in both harriet and wyn’s lives they decide the best course of action is to pretend they are still engaged and not tell anyone about their break up. harriet can take time to move on while balancing work life and not have to feel pathetic and embarrassed while telling people her fiancé broke up with her over the phone. sounds great right? wrong.

harriet’s best friend sabrina is planning a one last trip type vacation for her and their inner circle at their happy place. the cozy cottage on a rocky shoreline in maine. this is harriet’s everything. it’s all of her friend’s everything. it’s where they spent the best days of their lives drinking, swimming, chatting, and creating an unbreakable bond. harriet decides this is the perfect time to break the news of her breakup and spend a week to heal. however, when harriet shows up for her week long happy place getaway, sabrina tells everyone that her father is selling the cottage. this is the last trip they will have. as if that wasn’t enough to rip out harriet’s heart, her ex fiancé wyn shows up invited on the trip. due to believe circumstances, harriet and wyn must convince the group that they are still engaged while making the most of their last week in paradise.

emily henry fucking delivered. i mean, this was just simply phenomenal. the story is told in an alternating timeline which ads so much tension and suspense to the story. it’s filled with emotion and is utterly captivating. there is a feeling that emily henry books give you. those butterflies in your stomach, that lodge in your throat, your eyes welling up, it’s all present here. the side characters are also fantastic. i love the found family aspect of this story and i think emily henry did a fantastic job of not just telling you how close these people are but showing you that they are beyond loving towards one another.

as per usual, the banter and dialogue is great. i could not stop grinning at all the flirtatious remarks and jokes. this woman has such a precise talent of character language and making all of her characters feel so unique. obviously the steamy scenes were fantastic. the will they won’t they aspect is pretty heavy and my god did i eat it up. chapter 29 had me gagged…. i will also say that this is not as emotionally theme heavy as book lovers but i did find myself tearing up over wyn and harriet. i found their motivations and fears to be very compelling and i think a lot of people will relate to both of these characters. all in all, this was a lovely story about the importance communication and understand love.

“Everything is changing. It has to. You can’t stop time. All you can do is point yourself in a direction and hope the wind will let you get there.”

My cold, frozen heart has been taken out out for it’s annual thaw, and I am once again reminded that I am capable of emotions. The romance in this completely shattered me and then put me back together. I’m normally not a huge fan of second chance romance, but this knocked it out of the park. The chemistry, love, and hurt were absolutely palpable; from page I was rooting for these two crazy kids to sit down and communicate honestly and figure it out. The friendships - which are a huge part of this as it revolves around a group vacation - were also wonderfully written. Emily Henry really succeeded at making you feel the history and love between this group of people from the outset. This was, at least for me, the best Emily Henry yet!

This book was everything I had hoped it would be.

This book had me hooked from the first page - the friendships, the love story, the setting and the characters are all exactly what I would expect from Emily Henry.

My heart was on a rollercoaster with every page -- everything from the lowest lows of feeling the pain and confusion and frustration not on Harriet and Wyn were experiencing but everyone else too!

Just pure happiness at the very end!

Thank you for the early copy - I've already preordered a copy for my bookshelf!

Happy Place follows a group of six friends who vacation together every year in Maine. This year is a little different because Harriet and Wyn, once engaged, are no longer together. They choose to hide it from the group for the week to make thing easier. It's told with flashbacks that slowly explain Harriet and Wyn's relationship and why they broke up.

While the writing is amazing and I was kept in the story all the way through, this wasn't my favorite from miss Henry. I enjoyed the friendship dynamics. We get to see a lot of different relationships, friends, good parents, bad parents, happy couples, unhappy couples. As well as a whole bunch of hobbies andifestyles, college, grad school, pottery, surgeons, table making, farmers....it was almost too much.

The miscommunication went on for so long and it took 90 percent of the book to finally figure what the heck is the deal with these two, bickering and eye fucking each other every chance they get, by the time the story ended I was so sick of these two I didn't care of they ever got back together. Overall didn't enjoy this one, but I can see why a lot of other people would and I would still happily recommend it

Oh Emily Henry, you beautiful genius, you. You've done it again!

To begin--I am a huge fan of Emily Henry. People We Meet on Vacation is one of my go-to romance recommendations for people. Her writing is always so witty, smart, layered, etc. Though her books are romance novels, they aren't shallow, formulaic, generic stories that anyone could write. You can really see how smart she is in her writing--especially her dialogue.

And I'm happy to announce, Happy Place lives up to all the expectations I've come to have of an Emily Henry novel! As usual, I am shocked by how distinct her characters are from one another--Happy Place focuses on a friend group of six people who have come together throughout a course of a decade and become lifelong friends, and each person feels so real and different. I usually find that romance writers have the same protagonists with different names in each novel they write, but Harriet and Wyn are so distinct from, say, Poppy and Alex from People We Meet on Vacation, or even either of the other couples featured in Happy Place.

All in all, I absolutely adored this book. I can't believe the rest of the world has to wait five months to fall in love with Harriet and Wyn!


SPOILER UPCOMING!!! YOU ARE WARNED!!!!

The only teeny-tiny thing I found odd was how Harriet went from being a surgical resident to working at a pottery place. Not only did it feel like a huge jump (when it usually seems like career-switching trope character's new career at least has some sort of tie to what they were doing before), but we didn't really see Harriet searching for other things she loved or trying much beyond that. It kind of felt like she pointed at a random hobby and decided to make it her career instead of taking time to discover different things she loves. But take this with a grain of salt--you can tell she really loves it and is a different person when she's throwing. I just wish we had seen more of her branching out and trying new things.

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, for providing an advanced copy of Emily Henry's second-chance lovers romcom Happy Place. I DEVOURED it! It has a charming setting, characters that are both fun and complex, and themes that go beyond a will they/won't they romance to include navigating relationships and discovering your passions as an adult. I loved it!

I have read and loved all of Emily Henry's novels, but this is my new favorite! I loved everything about Happy Place - the characters, the setting, the emotions, the switching between the present and the past, the family issues, the friendships...all of it! I think a lot of readers will relate to Harriet's struggle with finding what truly makes her happy and not following the expectations of her family and friends.
I adored the friendship group in this novel immensely, and Henry does a great job of exploring how tight knit friendship groups can change over time.
The "will they/won't they" aspect of Harriet and Wyn's relationship had me riveted and hanging on to every word. I have never rooted for a relationship more!
I absolutely inhaled this book and think this will be a big hit for Emily Henry. Thank you to NetGalley and to Berkley Publishing for the e-galley.

Absolutely lovely — my heart feels near to bursting from all the feels. Happy Place is an enchanting story about enduring love, found family, and the courage of pursuing happiness. Emily Henry has a way of cleaving into the breastbone of human experience with her prose, holding your heart in her hands, and making you feel utterly safe, seen, and hopeful from start to finish. Quite possibly my favorite Emily Henry book to date and easily one of my favorite books of the year — I’m fully in love with Harriet, Wyn, and co.

Well, this book was adorable. I am super grateful that I was able to read Happy Place before its publication since I have loved all of Emily Henry's previous books. However, this title is definitely my new favorite. With the majority of the book set in Northern New England (Maine & Vermont), I felt super connected to the story. There is a certain charm to my home region and Henry definitely brought that to this title. The witty banter that readers expect from Henry's protagonists is present in this story and I have no doubt that this book will be a hit once it is published. Also, there is a small call-back moment to her book Beach Read that true Emily Henry fans will catch and be excited about. I can't wait until Happy Place is released into the wild in April 2023.