Oh my, Happy Place was so, so good!! I loved Book Lovers, so I knew I was going to love this one as well, but it really took my emotions by surprise. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me so frustrated with Harry wasn't able to express herself...and then finally opens up. I loved the relationship between all of the friends and how, eventually, they all learned it was okay to express your feelings. It was the absolute perfect read!!

It took me far too long to get into this book (like a month!) but once I was hooked into the story, I couldn't put it down. Even though it was so sad and gave me such a stomach ache the whole way through, I really did like something about this one!

I really enjoyed this book! It made me laugh, it made me cry, it gave me all of the emotions. I feel like this book was more emotional than her previous books, which gave it more depth for me even though the ending was pretty predictable. I loved the story and the idea of the characters, but I wish the friends were fleshed out more. I feel like we did not get to know them much even though they were consistently a part of the story. Regardless, I loved Harriet and Wyn and the ending gave me all of the feels.

I am an Emily Henry stan through and through so Happy Place was probably my most anticipated book of the year and of course it did not disappoint. This book feels like the epitome of a summer romance. I feel like what sets it apart is the fact that the side characters feel just as strong as the main couple, the feel fully developed and I was truly invested in everyone's story.

Had to DNF. I get that EH likes to write characters that are angsty and pining, but if I make it to 25% and I haven't figured out why the MCs like each other, I cannot get invested.

Thank you SO MUCH to Berkley Romance, PRHAudio, and Netgalley for providing advanced copies of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

Will there ever come a time I don't love an Emily Henry book with every fiber of my being? Not likely.

There is something about her books that just hits so well with me every time. Her humor works perfectly for me and the themes that she covers are so timely for my life (hello other millennials)

I listened to this on audio - because Julia Whelan is a gift to the audiobook world - and it did not disappoint. The story came to life and I can't recommend reading this via audio enough.

I also listened this in 1 sitting (and stayed up way too late doing so). This is one of those stories you can't fathom putting down until the last page. I sobbed my way through the last 4 chapters (full ugly tears) but it was 100% worth it.

This follows a couple who called off their engagement but have yet to tell there friends. While on vacation with their friends, they find themselves pretending to still be a couple.

While this is FULL of miscommunication, I found that I actually enjoyed the angst it brought to this story. There is just something about the way Emily Henry crafts her characters and plots that makes everything feel so organic and realistic that I can't help but believe that this is exactly how this scenario would pan out.

That, plus the way she mixes humor with romance and hard hitting moments, is the perfect combination every time.

I think People We Meet on Vacation will forever be my favorite, but this definitely gave it a run for its money.

If you're an Emily Henry fan, don't miss this one. It's beautifully written, insanely romantic, and will leave you hanging on until the final page.

Emily Henry's writing always gets me right in the heart and makes me feel all the emotions her characters are feeling. I cried so much reading this book. While it was a little slow to start at first, once I got into the story and things began unraveling and weren't so vague I couldn't stop reading. The characters were complex and all had their own hangups, yet they all accepted each other for who they were.

Another very good read from Emily Henry.

Harriet loves her best friends. They take an annual trip to Maine and have been since they were in college. But after breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, another part of the group of besties, Harry stops responding to her friends. She doesn't tell her best friends that they've broken up and then doesn't realize that they've insisted that her ex comes along for the trip, because two of the best friends have decided to get married THAT WEEK. Now she's got to deal with not telling her besties they've broken up so she doesn't mess up her friends' wedding.

Boy, a lot of Harriet's troubles stem from trying to live up to familial expectations. That's really a b*tch, isn't it? My heart breaks for her a little bit, but when someone is solely focused on doing what their parents want, this story is definitely an example of the possible result.

I love that this is a love story about FRIENDS, as much as it is about Harriet and Wyn. I love Wyn's character in general, and I love that the best friends aren't just flat caricatures, but have some depth and interest to them. I also appreciate that Emily Henry doesn't rely solely on a steamy sex scene to get across the fact that the main characters are in love and have the hots for each other.

I love Emily Henry's writing. I'm so glad I picked this one as my next read. Highly recommend.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Happy Place by Emily Henry starts of as a lovers to enemies hiding secret break up back to lovers, but there is a little more going on under the surface. This friend group, of which Harriet and Wyn had been a part of since college, has been getting together at a family house in Maine every year, but now the family is going to sell it. They want to have one last hurrah and do everything they used to do every year, but they realize that they don't love to do that anymore. They are growing up, and moving forward, into adult lives. It was a very poignant story when looked at in this light and the characters had a hard time accepting the changes. It was a coming of age book into adulthood

Breakups are hard. Breakups are especially hard when you're part of a tight-knit group of friends. Friends who get together often at the place that Harriet considers her happy place. But now she's going to ruin their happy place because Harriet and Wyn are no longer together. They actually broke up six months ago but didn't tell anyone. Now she's on vacation with their friends alone. But hers isn't the only big news; the cottage is for sale and their weeks of halcyon vacation days are about to be over.
There was a lot of anxiety built into this book: Am I enough for the other person? For my group of friends? And, while we saw a bit of "past Wyn," I would have liked to see more of "present time Wyn;" just a little more romance. Or maybe more of the friendships. Henry has beautiful writing but also strong character connections and this book revolved more around Harriet than anything else.

Three stars
This book comes out April 25, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Lovely. Emily Henry never disappoints. This second chance story gets the yearning just right. And those summertime vacation vibes, too.
We really enjoyed interviewing Ms. Henry on the #amwriting podcast!
https://amwriting.substack.com/p/very-serious-about-fun-reads-ep-333

This book was extremely well written. I enjoy Emily Henry's writings very much and this was no different. I enjoyed the depth of the main character - which gave it a slightly different feel than Henry's other books. I would definitely recommend this book to others!

It's quite possible that Emily Henry will never top BOOK LOVERS for me, as it is a pitch-perfect romance that contains everything I love most about the genre... that being said, I loved reading HAPPY PLACE! I'm very impressed that Henry managed to make my least favorite plot device ('we're keeping a huge secret from our friends/family and also lying to them about it') into a compelling and utterly charming book. No one does banter like Henry, and I definitely swooned over Wyn at many different moments. The third act in particular sold me!

Emily Henry does it again! Readers who love her witty banter and adorable characters will love this story of second-chance love and friendship. I particularly enjoyed the latter--Henry deftly explores the second coming of age we experience as our friendships of youth change in adulthood.

Harriet’s life is a mess. But it doesn't matter because she is on her way to her happy place—the beach house in Maine where she and her best friends Sabrina and Cleo visit every summer since that first year they met in university. This year is different. This year Harriet is trying to the long hours at the hospital, her lonely apartment, and her bitter feelings about her ex fiancé behind her. But when she arrives, her plans go right out the window because there he is. Wyn was also invited for the summer and the worst part? Their friends didn’t know they have broken up.

Harriet and Wyn try to muster up the courage to tell their friends the bad news when Sabrina shares hers first—her family was selling the beach house. This would be there last summer there together. Losing her happy place is bad enough, but to keep Sabrina in good sports Harriet and Wyn pretend to still be together just long until the vacation is over.

Happy Place is another Emily Henry classic—witty and heartfelt and full of romance that makes your heart ache. Emily Henry never disappoints!

I really enjoyed this one, it’s not my favorite emily henry book as beach read and book lovers remain my favorites, but I still really loved this one!! wyn 🧎. I love harriet and wyn plus the found family in this book made me so happy. this book was kind of fake dating ish since they had to pretend to be together for the trip after breaking up so that was interesting. I’m not a huge fan of second chance but I liked this one. I wish emily henry would giving us the mmc pov because I would die to know what wyn was thinking at times. Overall really loved this one and emily henry will forever stay one of my top authors.

Win and Harriet are the ultimate couple---until they aren't. They are geared up to spend a week together with their best friends in Maine but their best friends haven't yet learned that they broke.up. Now they have to spend a week together acting like a couple in their "Happy Place".

This book was funny, clever and a fun summer read. I chuckled at some parts and literally sobbbbbbeeeeddd at others. But it wasn't a traditional exes back together book.

While I didn't love it as much as Book Lovers, I still loved it!

Happy Place is the perfect beach readl for summer 2023.

College sweethearts, Harriet and Wyn were the perfect couple. Engaged to be married, they broke up five months ago and still haven’t told their family or friends. Their college crowd is scheduling the annual get-together in Maine and Wyn and Harriet are keeping up the charade of their romance. When they find out this may be the last year of the Maine house, they decide to fake their relationship for one more week instead of adding more bad news. But faking a romance isn’t easy when feelings are still there.

Emily Henry’s writing transports the reader with a fast paced and heartwarming story about romance and friendship. The characters are likeable and realistic. You will feel like you are on vacation with the crew. Happy Place is a steamy must-read for fans of romantic comedies.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Happy Place by Emily Henry was just okay for me. I really loved the wit and character interactions in Book Lovers.by the same author so I was looking forward to reading this. However, I felt this one struggled to really develop the characters and their interactions of the friend group. There was very little history of how the group of friends met, and their history. A majority of the book focused on the history and relationship of the love interest.

Emily Henry writes some of my very favorite summer beach reads. Happy Place was another great romance by her that makes you think of the choices you make throughout your life...are you making them because it's what you really want or is it to make someone else happy. Pick up Happy Place this summer and I'm pretty sure you'll fall in love with Harriet, Wyn and their friends just like I did.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 25 April 2023.