This book was absolutely amazing. I didn’t want to put it down.
I loved each and every moment and the characters were relatable
4 stars

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Another e-arc from Netgalley

After reading A Thousand Boy Kisses and being utterly broken, I knew I needed something the complete opposite.

So it was an obvious choice when I remembered I had a backlog of Netgalley books to read

Emily Henry is my comfort read.

Harriet and Wyn have always been the perfect couple. The ones their friends look at and aspire to be.

Called to have one last holiday with their friendship group, Harriet and Wyn haven't yet told their friends that they broke up... 6 months ago.

Determined to give the cottage one last hurrah, they vow to pretend they're still a couple for one final week. Fake dating trope at its finest!

Will they last the week without everyone finding out? Can they deny how they truly feel?

It's definitely one of my favourites (I think I said that about her last book too)

Cannot wait to see what they write next

This book was amazing. The characters were so real and relatable. This book wasn’t just a love story, it was about friendships, and growing up, and not knowing what to do with your life. It was just such an easy and cozy read, and I feel like I read it at the perfect time in my life. Plus I loved the coastal New England setting. If you love Emily Henry then you’ll love this.

This took a VERY long time to finish and several different attempts, and even thoughts of putting it back on my shelf.

The first half of the book is very slow as the story progresses. But, along the way, we get a deep insight into each of the characters. What drives them, what tips them off, who they are, their fears. It all comes together in the end. Full circle.

If anyone goes into this book thinking it’s a romance novel, you’ll b disappointed. This is a story about broken people. Searching for meaning, fostering friendships and relationships. Finding happiness in your career, in yourself, your life path. Difficult family and sibling relationships. It’s so much more than any of Emily’s previous books. So much more mature and grown up.

Emily Henry books are always delightful reads, this one especially so.

Harriet and Wyn are THE perfect couple, meeting up every year in their Happy Place with their special friends, only this year is the last time there as the cottage is being sold, what their friends also don’t know is they are no longer together, let the lying commence…

The friendship dynamic is heartening, struggles keeping in touch through college/uni, even though they’re all in different parts of the country but still being there for each other.
Rooting for Harriet and Wyn to get back together as the chemistry was always there.
I fell in love with every character and felt I was there with them during the festivities by the sea, my happy place.
Love the message having to heal and love yourself before you can fully invest in a relationship.
A fab beach read.

loved this so so much. would definitely hand-sell and add to my staff recommendations. will probably go buy a hard copy when out because this was honestly amazing. normally have a little trouble getting into books but this was perfection.

Emily Henry is the queen of romance , this one surprised me though !!

It gave us all the classic Emily feels but also touched on some pretty heavy subjects ?

I’m counting the days until Miss Emily graces us with a new release 😂🙌🏽

Emily Henry sets the bar very high, but clears it effortlessly every time. I loved Harriet and Wyn's story - the reasons they broke up felt real and insurmountable. You know that Emily will get you there in the end, but you keep wondering how on earth she will square the circle so these two can have their happy-ever- after.

A winner from a writer who's fast becoming one of the all-time best in her genre. Bravo!

Emily Henry never lets me down. I was really into Harriet and Wynn’s dynamic, the friendship group and the setting. I wished that there was less miscommunication but that aside I enjoyed the storyline.

Emily Henry didn't disappoint. A really great read. I loved the different layers each relationship had, and the bond of the friendship that rode insecurities and second guessing was fascinating and kept me hooked from start to finish. Definitely one for the summer book shelf!

Oh my good lord, Emily Henry has done it again and punched me directly in the feels. I am not exaggerating when I say my heart ACHED throughout the whole of this book from start to finish. Yet I could not put it down! I don’t think this woman is capable of writing a bad book!

I think I might have come to the conclusion that Emily Henry and I will never be a perfect match when it comes to her books. There's nothing inherently wrong with the story, but it just wasn't for me.

I can honestly say that Emily Henry is one of my favourite authors ever. When I read the excerpt of Happy Place it became one of my most anticipated reads for 2023 and I’m so lucky and grateful that I was sent a copy. I always know that anything written by her will tug my heartstrings and make me feel a multitude of emotions. Happy place was no different. We explore the broken relationship of Wyn and Harriet and what led them to be where they are in the present. The layout reminded me of you and me on vacation, as we flitted about between the different timelines. I personally like that in some books as it keeps the intrigue up. As well as following their story and reconnection we look at their ties to their close friends and follow their troubles and relationships.

To me, what Emily Henry does well is her characters. They always have a lot of complexities and feel like real people. The romance can sometimes be secondary to the friendships and I think that can be refreshing in the romance genre. To show that love isn’t just about romantic love but the love we have for our family and friends too. I adored Harriet and the groups friendships, the evolution as they aged and what happens as we grow up and our priorities begin to shift.

Overall this was another 5 star read and I cannot wait to see what Emily Henry comes up with next!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!
EMILY HENRY HAS DONE IT AGAIN
I LOVE HER AND THIS MADE ME CRY SO MUCH, I WILL BE BUYING THIS FOR ALL OF MY GIRLFRIENDS ASAP

The title and cover of this book made me think, light-hearted romcom. That couldn't be further from the truth. This book is so much more than that. It broke my heart before putting it back together again. It's a story about the rare friends you make who become family. It's about memories and decisions and grief. Most of all it's about love. Messy, complicated, confusing love.

A truly beautiful story that absolutely captivated me and will become one of my firm favourites.

I’m as obsessed with Emily Henry as everyone else so I was thrilled to read this. It took me a little longer to get into than her previous novels, but once I was in I was all in. Wonderful setting and characters, sexy, funny and emotionally intelligent. I loved it.

Happy Place is another fantastic read by Emily Henry! She has become an auto-buy author for me. Like I have come to expect from Henry, this was an unflinching look at the fears we have about growing up and, more importantly, growing apart from the people we love. The ideas are explored in both Harriet and Wyn’s relationship and through their college friendship group. I adored the found family in here it is one of the best I’ve read. 

Harriet and Wyn were the perfect college sweethearts. They were meant to be, except when they don’t. They broke up six months ago and they still haven’t told their best friends. Harriet has planned to tell them during the group's annual group getaway to Maine. However, the cottage is up for sale, two of their friends are getting married and Wyn has shown up unexpectedly. Not waiting to ruin the trip, the pair spend the week lying to their friends, all while trying to navigate their heartbreak of their breakup and the undeniable pull to be together.

The romance in here plays out in two timelines. First, the present, where Harriet and Wyn are lying about their breakup and pretending to be together, and the second is in the past, where we see their first get together and watch it slowly unravel. The angst in here was at an all-time high. You can see the chemistry between the two, but Harriet is still reeling from their breakup. She's unsure of what happened and trying to figure out where it all went wrong. At first, the idea that they broke up because of miscommunication, or really a lack of communication, frustrated me. But learning why and what barriers they had to opening up – Harriet’s need to please everyone and seem unflappable and Wyn’s feeling of not being ‘good’ enough – make their breakup felt authentic and utterly human. We see it every day, relationships that break because people stop communicating.

Harriet is a driven surgical resident. She fears losing the people she loves and has a strong perfectionist streak. I found her oh-so-relatable. She’s used to not fighting for what she wants and ignoring her needs in hopes that it will make the other people in her life happy and more comfortable. It’s almost like she’s been programmed by her family to become small and not speak out or want anything to make everyone’s else life easier. However, it has the opposite effect as she comes across as apathetic and uncaring. Watching her learn to speak up and allowing herself to be vulnerable to Wyn, and her friends, was beautiful. The scene where she lost it and finally tells Wyn and her friends what she’s feeling and why she’s never spoken up before was stunningly done. You can feel how hard this is for her, but you also see how cathartic it is.

On the flip side to Harriet’s avoidance of confrontation and driven personality, is Wyn the laid-back charmer who rarely lets people in to see below his carefully constructed persona. We slowly learn that he's been dealing with some mental health issues and, in the flashback scenes, we get glimpses of his lack of self-worth. It’s clear that he adores Harriet and lets her go, mostly because he thinks it’s what’s best for her. The way he keeps asking if she’s happy, and knowing why, it broke my heart!

I adore the found family aspect of this novel. Harriet and Wyn found this group of friends in college and they've stuck by each other’s side through all the highs and lows of their 20s. While Harriett is dealing with the loss of her relationship with Wyn, there is also this underlying fear of growing up and growing apart from this friendship group. This is what drives the pair to fake date for the weekend. The fear of losing the connection to the people we saw every day in school as we dive into adulthood and life takes us in all different directions is very real. The depiction of this had me tearing up at serval points. Henry managed to weave in a sparkle of hope that while yes, the relationship is different, it does not mean you have to lose these connections. They can adapt and change. Even if it does not look the same as in your late teens/early twenties, it's still a meaningful relationship.

I adored Happy Place! Harriet is someone I strongly relate to. The way Emily Henry can explore the love, fear and joy of this friendship group and highlights the importance of communication is beautiful. I highly recommend this! Just be aware it is not straight-up romance. While Wyn and Harriet’s fake dating and second chance romance is a huge part of the plot, I would argue that watching Harriet reflect on what she wants out of life and navigating expectations that her family and herself have placed on her is the real focus of the story.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the e-arc for an honest opinion.

Please take in mind it’s my opinion, and everyone is allowed to have one.

I DNFed this around 40% (maybe more, maybe less). I just couldn’t get into this, nothing was really going on. And the trope isn’t it for me.

Mind you just because it wasn’t it for me, I do hope you’ll like it.

Exactly what I wanted and needed from an Emily Henry romance novel! At the start I wasn't sure - something about the idea of a second-chance romance for a couple that's broken up after years and years together didn't really grab me - but I really didn't need to worry. 100/10. I loved the flashbacks to the start of Harriet & Wyn's relationship and I also reeaally loved the dynamic of their friendship group, which kind of reminded me of the friends in LAST NIGHT by Mhairi McFarlane. Harriet the main character has to face up to what she really wants - from her friends and family and career and relationships - and I loved how she comes to her decisions at the end of the novel. Flew through this in 24 hours like I knew I would and already miss it <3

I really enjoyed this book, maybe not quite as much as Book Lovers but it was a great story with really brilliant characters. I really liked the storyline too, I liked the time jumps which kept you guessing about the details of the backstory.