How is it that every time Emily Henry brings a new book out into the world, I end up loving it more than the previous one (which I always think is impossible)?
Happy Place is a second-chance romance masterpiece. One that will hit you in the feels right from the beginning. Harriet and Wyn have broken up six months and find themselves at their yearly getaway with their best friends, having to pretend to still be together as they have not announced their break-up to anyone. Except, they're not over each other.
There are many layers to who Harriet and Wyn are, and consequently to their relationship. This is shown through the time-jumps between now and the different stages from the time they meet up to the present. And it is a lovely journey, with ups and downs, and poignantly beautiful moments that had tears streaming down my face.
Wyn is so intricately woven into Harriet, that the lack of his pov is not noticeable. Not even a little! I didn't even realise it until a friend pointed it out. Brilliant work by Emily Henry 👏🏼
And the smart, witty banter? Signature Emily Henry. The best friends - Sabrina, Parth, Cleo, Kimmy - all bring their own into the story.
You thought you loved Henry's leading men from her previous books? Brace yourselves because you're not ready for Wyndham Connor.
I know I've said it before about Henry's books, but Happy Place is not only a story, it's an ✨️ experience ✨️. It is outstanding artwork. All the stars for this book. All of them. One of my top 3 reads of 2022, and one of the other two is Book Lovers.

Thank you to Penguin Books UK and the author for the ARC via Netgalley UK. All opinions are my own.

I quite literally squealed when this hit my inbox, best surprise ever! This book was filled with all the usual warm fuzzies and giggles I've come to expect, and so much more emotional depth. It explored love on so many different levels; how our past experiences bring emotional scars into both relationships and friendships, how this has a consequence so much later in life. The love story was as always beautifully developed and most importantly perfectly paced, unwrapping deliciously slowly intersected with flashbacks of the past. Another fast favourite, can't wait for the next one! Welcome to the Emily Henry Universe Wyn and Harriet ❤️

Simply one of the most beautiful, romantic, heartfelt books I’ve ever read.
Harriet and Wyn’s story is passionate and tender, it's oh-so-compelling and everything you’d want in a relationship (except for the reasons they’ve split up of course). They’re witty and tactile and have that perfect banter of two people who have known each other for ages and simply fit together. I loved them both from the off.
But the story is about so much more; heartbreak, heartache, friendships, knowing yourself, learning to recognise your flaws, the complexities of growing up, of growing apart, of fitting back together as you change.
As with her earlier books, Henry’s writing is gorgeous- whether it’s dialogue, description, scenes, locations or mood- the romance weaves through every paragraph. Her word choices and her observations are perfect. I’ve never been to Maine, but I completely felt I was there, sharing this last summer – the nostalgia, the joy, the lamenting sadness- with this wonderful, funny, messy, diverse gang of college friends.
When I get the paperback it’ll be reread until it’s falling to pieces and I’ll be trying that tabbing thing too. Just order it already.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Firstly, I want to say thank you ,thank you ,thank you.Thank you for sharing this masterpiece early with me.I will forever be grateful .

I have no words to describe how much I adored this book. I am forever ruined for all the other authors and other books.Past,present and future. To be honest I feel whatever I say would not be enough .Words can’t do this book justice and could not describe the emotions I have experienced while reading . One needs to experience this on their own as it is an emotionally charged journey. I can’t wait for everyone to experience the roller coaster of emotions that this book takes you on. Absolute perfection . Already preordered the physical copy. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone and would rate it infinite stars if I could.

I don’t know where to start. I so desperately want to do this book justice, so bear with me.

I went in blind, knowing nothing about the plot and not wanting to look it up either. From the start, I was drawn in by witty banter and funny dialogue (I will be getting my own “virgin who can’t drive” t-shirt, thank you very much). I immediately found a piece of myself in Harriett and couldn’t let go. My jaw immediately dropped when we find out who Wyn is. From there on forward, it was sweetly painful to keep going. It was so good it hurt. I could feel these characters in my bones.

On the one hand, I kept relating to sides of the characters’ lives (like Harriett’s sadness at barely knowing her own sister), and on the other, I became a witness to Emily Henry’s mastermind. I cannot put into words how deeply I started rooting for the characters and what I physical and visceral reaction I was having at watching it all unfold the only way Emily Henry does it, beautifully.

There was a point where I was not ok to put the book down, my heart cried for this lovely group of friends. I hated that Wyn had a good reason for doing what he did. I loved that Wyn had a good reason for doing what he did. Also, now I have to like the name Wyn for the rest of my life, unfair lol.

I spent the last 20% of the book holding back tears, but if I’m beings honest, I started shaking way before that. It may seem like to much, but we all know books that have the power to break us and then put us back together with an even better understanding of ourselves. Emily Henry did, she continuously does.

I wanted to get to the end because I wanted needed them to get the happiness they deserved, but I was also sad: I wanted to keep relating to them for a bit longer, as I’m not sure I’m ever going to get to my own hea.

Friendship is hard. Silence is easy.

If my own pain hadn’t stared back at me from the pages, maybe it would have been less heartbreaking. In that case, the downside would be how less beautiful the book would end up being.

You might think this book is about a broken-up couple pretending to still be together whilst vacationing with their group of friends. You’d be wrong. It’s about pain, and life, and friendship, and careers, and doubts, and fears, and love, and finding out who you are (or who you aren’t), and identity, and belonging, and kindred spirits. Just life in all its beauty and pain.

Side-note: I might quit my job despite it not being the most financially responsible decision.

There are so many good and heartwarming quotes in the book. I don’t feel comfortable sharing them yet since the book will be out in quite a few months still, but I can’t wait.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this absolute privilege. Thank you Emily Henry for existing.

YOU, YOU, YOU.
What a wonderful and fantastic book.
FIVE stars for this beauty.
Not only does this book have this perfect fake engagement, second chance romance plot, but it also has a very unique book layout, with snippets every other chapter of a different time and place that is ultra captivating.
This book had me gripped from the first page, but I already knew that because every Emily Henry book is wonderful.
This book was absolutely amazing and I truly think all the people patiently waiting for this book release next year will be pleasantly surprised(or not so surprised if you're familiar with the greatness of Henry's work) and won't be let down at all.
While I did feel quite heartbroken at times, the book healed me all over again and left me so, so happy. Wyn and Harriet were an adorable couple to follow and I wish I could have stayed in this world longer.
I loved the growth of all of the characters, the mental health issues tackled by the characters, and the overall plot of the book was well timed, well planned and perfectly executed.
If I could go back and read this book again for the first time, I 100% would. For those of you who have to wait until next year to read this book, I promise, it is worth the wait!!!
I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Happy Place by Emily Henry through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Happy Place ♡ I screamed with excitement when I got an email from @penguinbooks about an earc of this book! It absolutely lived up to my high expectations, I read it in a day and it made me cry so many happy/sad tears. @emilyhenrywrites is so talented, this book felt different to her others and it is my favourite 😍 5/5 stars, I can not wait to buy a paperback in April next year so that I can highlight.

Emily Henry did it once again.

Happy Place has some of the most believable, authentic characters I’ve ever come across in a romance novel, and it is this quality that makes Henry’s writing so compelling. Yet again she has managed to write a romance that feels fresh and inventive, with characters you won’t forget any time soon.

This novel felt a little bit deeper than her other novels, in the way that it truly delves into the lives of each character. I loved how multilayered the plot was; dealing not only with the main character, Harriet, but also with her best friends and their respective lives. But the thing I appreciated the most, was Henry’s take on the second-chance romance trope. It worked perfectly in this novel, primarily in how it showed that a happy ending is not as easy as you might think. Normal people have their own issues, and their own lives to take care of, and that can make us hurt the people we love. Henry depicted this beautifully, and I really enjoyed reading a romance novel that wasn’t just rainbows and sunshine.

In all honesty, I am already in desperate need of another novel of hers.

Boy was I excited to be able to dive into another of Emily Henry's books, and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I sat here this rainy Sunday and finished the whole book!
The story is about a group of friends about to hit an end note on an important part of their friendship, namely a specific place they all go to every year, which won't be available to them much longer.
But it centres around one couple, in particular, Harriet and Wyn. From the off, there was an unwritten rule that you didn't date your friends, or things would go weird if it ever finished.
They were the first couple of the group to break that rule, and now, they are desperately trying to hide the fact that it didn't work out, so everyone else can have a good time together.
The whole group of friends were an excellent bunch, and the way Henry has woven in the intricacies of long-standing friendships as well as a second-chance romance, is just brilliant.
Oh, and I want to go to a Lobster Festival, too, now. (And I don't ven eat seafood!)
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life and Penguin Business for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars.

Emily Henry has the gift of writing characters who set such high unrealistic standards while also simultaneously portraying the core of human relationships in such an extremely realistic way.

So for now, let’s just say that after reading this I feel like I came out of a therapy session as a changed person.



(PS: seriously though I still can’t get over how hard I got slapped in the face about how hard adult friendships (and relationships) are by a rom-com.. and I loved it)

As a giant Book Lovers fan, I was so excited to be given the opportunity to read Happy Place and Emily Henry did not disappoint!

I now fully love this friendship group and see myself in each of the characters, learning about love, loss and growing up all in one. Harriet and Wyn are so perfectly perfect together and each of their journeys towards finding happiness both admirable and inspiring.

A giant thank you to Emily Henry for this one!

I might be a little biased because Emily Henry is my favorite author and I usually automatically love her books from the moment I start reading them. And it was no different this time. From the start, she has proven that her writing style is just amazing and beautiful, her storyline innovative and characters well built. The banter she writes never disappoints and it was again funny and witty.
At first, when it was hinted, that there was a miscommunication between Wyn and Harriet (about their breakup), I was a little skeptical, because this usually doesn’t turn out good or is executed poorly. But Emily Henry has done the opposite. It made me cry, when I was reading about their breakup and in what dark places they both were. This made the characters seem like real people with struggles. I actually related to both Wyn and Harriet – the fear of being loved and then the person leaving all of a sudden and being heartbroken, but also pleasing parents and making everything right between friends.
The friendship between Harriet, Cleo and Sabrina was imperfect in the present time, but it was beautiful. I think everyone wants this kind of friendship, that feels like family. They fight, they are different and might grow apart with years, but will always love each other nonetheless.
This book taught me so much about friendships, relationships and love and mostly putting your happiness first. It was like a warm hug, and even though I was sobbing during the last third of the book, it kind of soothed me at the same time.
I remember Emily Henry asking us to be gentle with her people pleasing, Mirrorball girl Harriet: I was. I adore her. And I also adored the scared, but wonderful Wyn.

(Also, the mention of January and Gus? I lost it.)

I really enjoyed Happy Place, which I received early for review on Netgalley. There was something nostalgic about the atmosphere, and though it was melancholic in tone it was also hopeful. I really liked how this focussed on a friendship group who were struggling to keep themselves together even though they were growing up and growing apart. The balance between the then/now storylines was really well done; I didn't feel like I was taken out of the story during the timeline shifts. I liked that we got to know all the characters fairly well, despite it only being told in the first person. This book felt different to other Emily Henry's due to the larger cast but I really enjoyed it.
I found the characters/ struggles really relatable; I think this book will stick with me for a long time - I'm keen to buy it when it comes out in April 2023!

I was absolutely ecstatic to get an ARC of Happy Place by Emily Henry - thank you, thank you, thank you Penguin General Books! I have just inhaled it in a matter of hours! I read it on an autumnal Saturday afternoon in Ireland but was transported to Maine on a get together with Harriet, Sabrina and Cleo and their respective partners. Emily Henry’s stories are always so perfectly observed that they play out like films in your head while you are reading them. Happy Place is no different - it deals with a week long get together for college friends that always used to holiday at Sabrina’s father’s house. Harriet and Wyn have been together for so long that they can’t bring themselves to tell their friends that their relationship has ended. The week puts strain on all the friends as they try and recreate the magic of previous holidays whilst not being completely honest with each other. As to be expected from Emily Henry, the chemistry and tension between Harriet and Wyn is perfection. Happy Place does not topple Book Lovers from its top spot in my list of favourites but I’m not sure anything will!. 4.5/5 🌟

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. I’m pretty sure my entire street heard me scream when I woke up to this treat in my inbox! How did I get so lucky? I’m going to go back in time and tell my 10 year old self that being a book nerd really does pay off.

Happy Place had me FEELING. Hard.. I found it to be the heaviest of Henry’s books yet, with one of the strongest messages. To me, it was about being in charge of your own happiness and the power of expressing your feelings - but I know others will get something different out of it too! (Eg strength of friendships)

The second chance romance with all its hurt and pain lifted right out of the page into my chest and I was *in* this story with the characters. I cried A LOT. I felt a physical ache for Wyn and Harriet.

Things I loved:
- The signature Emily Henry dialogue - sharp as ever, high quality banter. And so funny. Wyn and Harriet’s in-jokes had strong PWMOV vibes!
- The beautiful friendship group and the personalities of all of the characters. I felt jealous that I missed out on a friendship circle like that!
- The timeline jumps badged with “real life” “happy place” “dark place” - a clever way to indicate the feeling of the chapter and place in time.
- The stunning setting - it was so vivid for me, a testament to the writing quality.

I did find it a little long, although I have no idea what I’d cut. I think I just struggled feeling the hurt and tension for so long - and this might relate to my own personal experiences with the idea of a second chance. I also predicted one of the plot points. However - what’s this genre without a little predictability?

This book was another win by Henry - she’s a master of the contemporary romance genre, combining intelligent writing and sharp banter with a big ol’ dose of feeling.

I can’t wait to buy the 3 copies I’m inevitably going to get (Aus edition, US edition, and the audiobook (it better be Julia Whelan!)) - hurry up April 2023!

I always think there’s no way Emily Henry can possibly outdo herself, and then she does. Happy Place is a masterpiece.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, based on the synopsis, but the dual timeline worked so well for me. I loved getting to fall in love with Harriet, Wyn, and their friends in both timelines.

Every character was so well fleshed out and all of them could have easily stone alone as the main character. I would jump at the chance to read a book from Sabrina or Cleo’s POV. But Harriet was the perfect main character. When Emily Henry said this one was for the mirrorball swifties, she wasn’t kidding.

Watching Harriet become more and more weary and on the edge of burnout as the story progressed was incredible. Emily Henry handled it so well and it’s something that I’m sure most Millennial people-pleasers will relate to. (I suddenly have a laundry list of things to bring up in my next therapy appointment.) And Wyn was great. Although we saw him through Harriet’s eyes, I still feel like we got a really good idea of how he saw himself.

Aside from the characters, the romance was spot on. The chemistry was there in both timelines and I was rooting for Harriet and Wyn from page one.

I also really loved that we got to see a few of the places that were important in Harriet’s life, while still feeling rooted in now timeline.

Emily Henry is my favorite romance author, so it’s no surprise that I loved this, but I am surprised to have a new favorite Emily Henry book. I’m going to be re-reading this over and over until I have the next one in my hands.

Content warnings: Break ups, divorce, anxiety, depression, death of a parent, illness (Parkinsons,) sexual assault, pregnancy, drug/alcohol use.

It is difficult to articulate how great this second chance/fake dating romance actually is - it left me pining for a Wyn of my very own. I consumed the whole book in a single sitting and Emily Henry has now officially moved into my 'automatic/read everything of hers Author list'. Along with the compelling romance which really does pull on the heartstrings, the story deals with familial expectations and growing apart.

There is nothing I did not love about this book - At the moment, thinking about this story is my Happy Place - I
highly recommended you pick up a copy when it is out on April 25th 2023.

With so many people dying for a copy of this book, I really do feel like the chosen one - I feel so incredibly lucky to have an early copy of the book - so a massive thanks to NetGallery and Penguin Random House UK for the widget .

Not me sobbing at midnight because this book was so good!

I loved the friend group, and while they were all idiots, they were lovable, relatable idiots. I also really liked the discussion of the more serious topic of growing apart and how to be happy.

This might be the Emily Henry book that hit me the hardest and the one I could relate to the most.

5/5 glorious stars for this amazing novel. I might have to re-read it before it releases in April.

It was the best and most needed surprise when the team at Penguin send me the download link to this book out of nowhere! So THANK YOU Penguin for sending me this!

Thank you to Viking for my earc of this HIGHLY anticipated book!
In the least surprising turn of events ever, Emily Henry has written another absolute banger of a book that I devoured in less than a day.
I loved the plot, I thought that the characters were brilliant and realistic, I loved their dynamic!
I think the romance element is so romantic, yet realistic and messy and wonderful.
The way Henry writes love and friendship and family is somehow both gritty and real and imperfect and also shows all the best bits without trivialising all the very real things real people have to deal with.

I loved this book, I only wish I had taken my time with it because I’m bereft now it’s gone.