𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬💭:
Thank God for EmHen! This book pulled me out of my slump and i’m so happy it did! Aside from it being all over Bookstagram, my bestie told me its tropes and I was sold! College best friends with a second chance romance? She knew me well enough to know i would love this book. Because, well, this is actually MY love story 😂 so thanks bestie for making me pick this one up stat!

Thank you Berkley Romance for my copy!

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛📝:
Wyn and Harriet have a yearly getaway in a cottage in Maine with their lifelong college best friends. When they find out the cottage is being sold, they’re invited back. Except this time, they broke up 6 months ago and haven’t told anybody.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫/5. To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of her other books aside from PWMOV. But now, Happy Place comes a close second! The banter was A+, and the unresolved feelings intertwined with the fake dating made me smile from ear to ear. Wyn was sooo sweet and swoony he gave me butterflies🥹 there’s just something about vulnerable fictional men! The build up was so good and i found myself tearing up to the realistic conflict that really made my heart swell. I knocked out half a star though cause i was expecting a bit more at the end. In any case, it was an excellent romance read complete with depth and a bit of a mystery. You are gonna want to kick summer off with this one!

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚: 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨

Henry is a very successful American author of rom-coms ("Beach Read", "Book Lovers" etc.) and is May's author of the month. This new one has the characters of Harriet and Wyn who met in college and eventually got engaged, but they broke up six months ago. The problem is they never told their four other best friends and now have to spend a week with the friends at the cottage in Maine that has been their happy place. When Sabrina (one of the friends) surprises them by announcing she and her boyfriend are getting married at the end of the week , Harriet and Wyn decide they must keep up the pretense to not ruin the wedding. The other problem is Harriet never understood why Wyn broke up with her and she still loves him. This is a fun read, with humour, romance and some surprising depth. It is a great recommendation for rom-com fans that like just a little spice.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Five snarky comment, gooey romance, enthusiastic stars!!

I love Henry’s work and this may be my favorite of hers yet. I loved the characters, the storyline, the humor, the tears, everything. I usually get annoyed in romance novels when they characters can’t make up their minds or are stereotypical romance novel tropes. None of that with Henry.

Love it and can’t wait for her to come out with another!!

4 stars for me!

This was a super cute book! Parts of it here and there reminded me of The Summer I Turned Pretty and Every Summer After which I loved! I thought it was really interesting and I’m a sucker for the fake dating trope! I loved how the timeline would go from Real Time to the “Happy Place” back when Harriet and Wyn were together. I loved the chemistry between the whole friend group. I’d love to read about Sabrina and Parth!! At first, it did start off a tad bit slow and I felt that sometimes when Wyn and Harriet would talk to each other sometimes things just got repetitive. Other than that I loved how things ended and watching both Harriet and Wyn have extreme character development was great to read. I also like how Emily Henry brings in a sub-theme regarding the importance of mental health and grief and loss as well. This is my second book my Emily Henry so far! I don’t think it was better than Book Lovers but I did enjoy it! I’m hoping to read beach read by her soon!!!

Spoilers:
First off, Emily Henry's books are supposed to feel like an escape. So, please tell me why, my heart was hurting for half this book. Do I know it's a romance with a HEA? Yes. Did that stop me from believing that these two idiots were going to stay apart when they are CLEARLY in love? No. this book has an adorable, happy, pop cover. It was supposed to be lighthearted and fun. There are a ton of humorous moments throughout the book that did make me giggle a little bit, but that did not stop me from raging against the 2 main characters anyway. I will say, I was surprised to find out that only 2 of here best friends were aware of the break-up instead of all of them. I had it in my mind the entire time that all 4 of the the others were creating this intricate scheme to make Wyn and Harriet get married instead.

Anyway, loved it, would recommend.

Emily Henry is an auto buy for me, so I was VERY excited to read Happy Place, her newest release.
Happy Place follows Harriet and Wyn, ex-fiancés who are stuck in a friend vacation where they have to pretend they are still together, 5 months after their engagement ended shrouded in confusion.
Y’all. I loved this. I read it straight through in one sitting. Henry delivers another hit! It has some of the vibes of People We Meet on Vacation in terms of lost relationship, forced proximity, and alternating timelines. It also touches on growing up, finding your voice, found family, and changing together.
While I was processing, I realized- this book is giving me real Taylor Swift vibes! (I love her) My feelings after reading this book really echoed how I feel after I listen to a Taylor Swift album. (I keep coming back to the Speak Now album specifically, but I think the overall journey of listening to any of her albums could be a fit!) I felt understood and seen. I felt connected to the material. I’m thinking of friends and love and self-exploration. There are bops and ballads. It was honest and relatable. The comparison is evident in their storytelling. Henry showed us she is also a master at marking the progression and ups/downs of a real relationship and life.
I will note, Taylor, Emily, and I (it’s like we’re friends who brunch!) are all in the early 30s bracket and that may also play a role in the relatability factor for me. Adulthood is officially here and it’s another transition of finding yourself and defining your relationships. It spoke to me.
Read this no matter what adult age you are. Read this if you like Taylor Swift or not. But defn read it if you relate to anything I shared.

As much as I love Emily Henry, this was just not for me! The second-chance-romance trope did not work for me, though Emily Henry's writing and characters were wonderful and charming as always.

Emily Henry has done it again, you guys (*pretends to be shocked*). With a second chance romance combined with a wonderfully executed fake relationship trope set against the backdrop of a delightfully escapist small town in Maine, this book will break your heart and put it back together again while also making you want to go take a vacation with your closest friends.

Told in dual timelines, the story follows Harriet and Wyn, college sweethearts, the couple that you look at and say “when is it my turn?” Or at least, they were. Each year, Harriet, Wyn, and their tight-knit group of college friends meet at a cabin in Maine for a week of partying, food, and fun. This year, Harriet is showing up alone and single. The only problem is, she and Wyn haven’t told their friends about their breakup, so imagine her shock when her friends decide to fly Wyn out to surprise Harriet. Before the pair can come clean, they learn that the cabin is being sold, making this their last vacation in Maine, the end of an era. Not wanting to upset their friends even more, Harriet and Wyn agree to maintain the ruse of their relationship for the week. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Except the close proximity is bringing up unresolved feelings, no matter how hard they both try to ignore them, and they will be forced to address what went wrong all those month ago if they ever want to move forward.

We all know that Emily Henry books will always be firing on all cylinders. She knows how to deliver the angst as well as the romance, but this book really highlighted how well she does the supporting characters. As much as I loved Harriet and Wyn’s relationship (and I loved them a LOT, like they made my heart ache), I found myself so connected to their friend group as well. There were moments throughout the story that I saw myself in not only Harriet and Wyn, but also the supporting characters like Sabrina. I loved how she explored the platonic friendships with as much nuance and care as she did with the romance, and overall it became a story you cannot help but fall in love with simply because you love all the characters so much.

This one tugged on the heartstrings, and if you are looking for a fast-paced romance book that hits all the emotional notes, be sure to check this one out.

Emily Henry had my heart in my throat, but what else should I have expected from her!! I love the past and present chapters and this story really gripped me from the start.

This was fine, I guess? Not my favorite Emily Henry but luckily it doesn't have to be, as everyone else has already put it on the Library Reads and Indie Next lists, and there's already a waitlist for it and other librarians recommending it here so I don't feel bad giving it only three stars and otherwise focusing my reviewing and recommending on other titles that need it more (including other Berkley titles, since they publish so many other books I adore!). Thanks as always to the publisher for the ARC and hopefully Henry's next will do it for me more!

I was so excited about this book when it was announced and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I don't normally love when books jump back and forth between "now" and flashbacks, but it really didn't bother me with this one. The characters are fun, sweet, and very much individuals, which I loved. My only thing was that in certain places the friends detracted from Harriet and Wyn's story, but it wasn't so much so that I took too much of an issue with it.

I loved this book so much! I loved the depth of the characters, and it was a good sad like I cried a lot, but it was it was it was very heartfelt

Happy Place by Emily Henry emphasizes that for most people, their happy place is where the people they love are found.

My initial thoughts on this was that it was my favorite Emily Henry book…. And that hasn’t changed. I think the fact that I was able to first read this via audio was the reason why. The narrator was EXCELLENT. I don’t think I would have sounded that good in my imagination lol

Aside from the near perfect narration, I also liked the characters. Harriet is me and I am her. She is such a people pleaser and I related so hard. It was sad because I knew immediately that’s what she had going on. I recognized all the signs almost as soon as they appeared. And I really felt bad thinking of the money and time she wasted. I know it wouldn’t have done anything (because it doesn’t do anything for me) but I really wanted to hug her.) As for Wyn, I wasn’t as happy with him. He just seemed really cold and closed off the whole time. I know it was a “front” (and come on his reasoning for not saying anything in the first place was kinda sweet I thought lol) but I never really “GOT” him if that makes sense. But when it finally came down to it, they made a lot more sense together.

What I didn’t like tho was there was this amazing book that had this amazing girl who I related to and this guy who was really mean…. And then their reasoning for all this fighting and all that yelling and stuff was just a miscommunication. I swear the whole book could have been finished early if it they had just talked. It was stupid. Why do authors do this? At the very least, they could have done just been expecting different things at that point in life or something. But do something more creative than just saying giving a situation where they could have talked it out.

Again, this Emily Henry book was probably my favorite. I think it was because of how her writing was? Idk, this made me so much more emotional than her others? I want to say it was because of the situation they were in, but it really felt like her writing style developed a bit more. Like she made it more emotional on purpose? I don’t know. But whatever it was had me hooked to this one. But what’s funny about that is if you liked People We Meet On Vacation more than Beach Read, you don’t really enjoy this one. The opposite is true for me, so I LOVED this. I really hope her next one is just as mature and just as emotional as this one!

And just like with all of her books, the setting of this was perfect. Henry thought of everything and I loved that. I was fully enveloped in the story because of all her fluff and details. And since I was listening to it, and I have lived on an island before, I really understood the decor and the way things were kitchy and island themed. It really made me feel like I was IN the story. Pair that with the way I related to Harriet’s character already, in some places I felt like I was in the story.

Speaking of emotions, the way Julia Whelan performed this! Lordt I wanted to give her a standing ovation when I finished. She was there for every character change, every sound effect, and every emotion. That moment when they are finally getting some things left off their chest, I heard the tears choking Julia as if she was really having that conversation. And when the claustrophobia came up and she had to be the person talking the other person down?! Idk, she really brought it with this narration and I was seriously impressed. I remember looking through the rest of her back catalog because it was that good.

Although I really liked it, it didn’t come without its flaws. But this one felt more real than all the others. I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to read more from Henry. Also, did anyone catch any Easter eggs? I tried listening for them, but I only got one. If there was more, someone let me know what I missed lol

Real rating I had was 4.5

Is there anything that Emily Henry can't write?!?!?! She is officially my FAVORITE romance writer! Her novels have so much depth and heart, it's hard to believe she can continue at the rate she's going but somehow she does it every time. I absolutely love second chance romance, and this is the perfect example of it. Harriet and Wyn have my heart, and no one is dislodging them from their rightful place anytime soon. It's hard to pick a fave among Emily Henry's books, so I'm just going to treat them like my children and love them all equally. Happy Place made me absurdly happy. So read it and you'll be happy, too. <3

When I feel exhausted at the end of a story, it isn't a great sign.

I enjoyed Happy Place, but more despite itself. I debated quitting this story several times, but ultimately powered through. I think the writing is really good, actually, like the banter and phrasing is done with care, but the plotline is a hot mess of miscommunication that made me pray for an end more than once.

I feel like Emily Henry makes things more complicated than they need to be. Who knows, maybe I'm just not the target audience for this type of story, but the back and forth plotline and the characters circling around feelings and never actually saying anything of substance was so tiring. I also don't think this book is genre romance (FYI, romance readers) because the focus seems to be more on friendship and self-discover than anything else. If the romance is supposed to be front and center, the author really missed the mark.

Also, second chance romance books are not my jam. When there is a history between the main characters, we don't get to see their firsts and how they got that emotional intimacy in the first place, which often makes me feel cheated, as a reader. I think the author tried to give us that intimacy, but it didn't quite work.

I think the friend group was too intense and too messy for my tastes, and I think the plot felt too long, but even with those flaws, I think the story was kind of... special? I don't know how to describe it, but it felt like one of those messy relationships that you want no part of but you also can't get away from. I was interested in reading on but I didn't necessarily enjoy the journey.

Probably one of my least favorite Emily Henry books, but YMMV with this one.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Every time I think Emily Henry has written her best book I read the next one and I’m blown away. Happy Place was such an emotional journey of life, love and friendship and I loved every minute of it. Harriet and Wyn had me smiling one minute and an emotional mess the next. As someone that is not always into second chance romance there was nothing about this book that I didn’t love. All of these friends, not just Harriet and Wyn, but the whole group of them, learned a lot about themselves and their relationships. Truly a great book from beginning to the end. Get this on your TBR!

I loved this book so much! The Taylor Swift vibes were impeccable, and I found myself crying on many occasions while reading. This book is a time portal to summer, in a cabin, with a loving group of friends. But it also reminds of the past in so many ways. This book is just 350 pages of nostalgia, and the little moments and gestures so seamlessly woven into the love story show that it is about yearning for something that is long gone, but also about taking something old and accepting that it can be something new. As someone who really struggles with change, this book is a beacon of hope that though things change, sometimes things can still turn out okay in the end.

What I Liked: I always enjoy the romances at the heart of Henry’s books but what makes me enjoy her stories the most are the friendships she creates. Even without Harriet and Wyn’s relationship, I would have loved reading about Sabrina, Cleo and Harriet and the love they have for each other. I wanted to be a part of their group and join them for their yearly vacation, even with the issues they have. The friends’ storyline and how they deal with the changes they are personally going through and how it affects their group was wonderful. All friendships experience ups and downs and I like how much of this story centered around that. I normally don’t enjoy books where the action jumps back and forth in time because I usually find the flashbacks to be useless or uninteresting. Not so with this book, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading about the start of Harriet and Wyn and the dynamic between the friends.

What I Didn’t Like: I found myself frustrated with Harriet and Wyn and their complete lack of communication, especially as we are supposed to believe they are engaged and have been together for 8 years. I felt a lot of their issues could have been minor (or never been an issue at all!) if they just talked to each other. Despite this, I found their chemistry believable.

Who Should Read It: Emily Henry has such a great track record that fans of her work will want to pick this one up and they won’t be disappointed. Anyone else looking for a “beach read” with some emotional weight will also like this book.

Review Wrap Up: This wasn’t my favorite Emily Henry book, I still really enjoyed my time spent reading this one. Even though I liked all the characters, I found the issues between Harriet and Wyn to be a bit too contrived, which prevented me from loving them as much as I have other couples in Henry’s books. For me, the friendships are what made this story great and worth the time.

Favorite Quote: “My best friends taught me a new kind of quiet, the peaceful stillness of knowing each other so well you don’t need to fill the space. And a new kind of loud: noise as a celebration, as the overflow of joy at being alive, here, now.”

Henry's previous book, Book Lovers, brought several new readers from our library. As a rural library, the book didn't actually touch the shelves for over 6 months due to the lengthy hold list and the overwhelming praise and recommendations from staff and patrons. I was looking for the same magic in Happy Place; however, it just didn't hit the same. That being said, it was a fun second chance romance filled with Henry's usual banter, heart gushing moments, and solid writing. There is some movement of jumping back and forth in the time line. Generally for readers like myself, this can become a bit frustrating and disorienting. Not in Happy Place. Henry does a wonderful job of making sure the transitions are there and that readers know where the story moves in that timeline. While I'm not gushingly in love with the book overall, I know our patrons will adore the story, characters and romance.