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.

unfortunately this is my least favorite emily henry, i think the issue is that the fake dating trope has just became so over-saturated that i may just need a break from it. i thought the friendships in the book were subpar like very much tell and don’t show also the relationship just didn’t give me the warm and fuzzies like they usually do :(

my heart is singing and sobbing at the same time.

i absolutely adored harriet and wyn. this was the most nuanced emily henry book so far; it definitely crosses over into the literary fiction space. each time henry releases a new book, it seems her books move more and more into realism, weaving in so much more than just the romance and incorporating the difficulties of relationships, both platonic and romantic.

To many readers, BookTokers and Michigan Daily Arts writers, Emily Henry is the unquestionable queen of romance. With her complex characters and deep storylines, she masterfully weaves together romance novels that entertain readers and set romantic expectations very high.

Her upcoming novel “Happy Place” is one of the most anticipated books of 2023, which is no surprise after the success of her past three novels — the most recent of which won the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards for the romance genre.

“Happy Place” is a second-chance romance, where protagonist Harriet and her love interest Wyn are reunited at their friend’s summer house shortly after breaking off their engagement. Their friends are unaware of their breakup, and after receiving upsetting news from their friend group, Harriet and Wyn agree to maintain the facade of their engagement for the course of their vacation so as not to disappoint their friends further. What does that mean? It means that they undertake the classic fake relationship trope. Unsurprisingly, the book follows them as they find their way back to one another.


Similar to her second novel, “People We Meet on Vacation,” “Happy Place” has a dual timeline — we read chapters of Harriet in her “happy place” (moments of time in the past when she and Wyn are happy together) and chapters of “real life” (present day, where Harriet, Wyn and their friends are all struggling with various secrets). This format keeps readers eager to continue reading; in particular, we get little hints here and there about why Harriet and Wyn break up, but it takes reading both past and present storylines to get the full picture and understand just what went down between the two characters.

In a departure from her previous novels, “Happy Place” features far more side characters than readers might typically expect from a Henry novel. “Beach Read” was very insular, focusing primarily on January and Gus, and “People We Meet on Vacation” had a few side characters, but none of them were very important. “Book Lovers” featured a primary character beyond the main couple (Nora’s sister Libby), but “Happy Place” has an entire friend group that frequently appears on the page. The inclusion of a friend group was ingenious — it allowed readers to get a deeper understanding of the characters and the evolution of all their relationships with one another. As a result, we immediately feel more connected to the characters — Harriet in particular. Harriet’s relationship with her best friends Sabrina and Cleo especially adds to her own characterization; she becomes so much more than just another romantic lead when we understand her past and why her friends are like her family.

In terms of the romance, Harriet and Wyn are complicated. Wyn is unlike most of Henry’s literary love interests. He holds a lot of responsibility for their breakup, and that can make it difficult to feel sympathy or forgiveness toward him. In fact, he has a lot to make up for. When reading, I was wholly on Harriet’s side, unsure whether Wyn’s actions would make up for the heartbreak she’s feeling. That being said, in true Henry fashion, both characters make sacrifices for one another and learn more about themselves and each other on the road to repairing their relationship.

In many ways, even if romance isn’t always your preferred genre, Henry’s “Happy Place” should still capture your attention. Her focus on creating detailed characters and pure, platonic friendships contributes to a feel-good book. And if you do like romance, “Happy Place” will certainly be another Henry story that goes down in history.

Daily Arts Writer Sabriya Imami can be reached at simami@umich.edu.

This was my first time delving in to Emily Henry and she did NOT disappoint!!! Her prose is excellently written and I love how the words flow on the pages giving us a thorough image of her diverse characters and their stories. I don't have much experience with friends but this book truly made me wish I had a friend group like Harriet and Wyn!

I loved this book - lots of angst, wit, and surprises until the end. I will be promoting this as the perfect summer read.

Emily Henry does one thing really well: she creates characters that are so well-rounded, they feel real. This story of a group of friends coming back together for one last 'hurrah' in a building full of memories felt so real, like I was watching it in front of me.

𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: second chance romance, nostalgic feels, New England setting, found family, fake dating, college sweethearts, vacation

"𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧"

I feel like everyone and their mom have read and reviewed this book already but in case you need another one, here it is… 😂

So we all know I’m not biggest second chance romance fan, but this story is one I can fully support because there’s actual character growth between the two leads from the time they broke up to them being back together! Oh man, those insecurities and miscommunication always ruin any good relationship, do they? Emily Henry just has this class with her writing that she touched on these issues so beautifully.

Also, I appreciate the slight nod to my cozy mystery loving people out there like me! 😂 I swear Idk why not a lot of people like this genre more but it’s honestly so entertaining minus the stress lol plus don’t you just love an animal, baked good, murder weapon trifecta on your book covers? 😂

Love the Maine setting! Honestly, anywhere in New England has this quaint feeling of a small town and it’s just always the perfect background for nostalgic stories like this.

As any EmHen book, this one is also rich with witty banters and I just love the found family trope and all the vacation feels from this read!

Definitely worth adding to your bookshelves! I can’t add a synopsis anymore because insta will just cut me off again 😂

💭 Give me your top 3 happy places!
☕️ Home, beach, bookstore cafe for me

Quick Breakdown:

Destination Romance
Second Chance
Relationship in Crisis
Found Family
Multiple Timelines
Single POV
Open Door - Mild Details

Thank you @prhaudio for the ALC & @berkleyromance for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m not a big second chance romance fan, but with Happy Place, it seemed to work for me. Harriet & Wyn reunite after 6 months apart, but with SO MUCH left unsaid, it felt almost like a relationship in crisis instead of a full second chance. They were written with an abundance of undeniable chemistry that left me incapable of not rooting for them.

There is so much more to love here, too. All of which stem from Emily’s beautiful writing. She crafted this big, found family full of dynamic characters I became fully invested in. The lifelike coastal Maine setting described in such detail you can practically see, hear & smell it.

As much as I loved the over all story, I found myself conflicted while reading. Happy Place is riddled with miscommunication, between the MCs & the friend group alike. This is where I struggled. Given the MC’s histories / backgrounds, I couldn’t necessarily blame them for the emotional hurdles they had to jump over to properly communicate & work through their issues, but it left me incredibly frustrated. Angst created from circumstance is one thing, angst created from not communicating is a red flag for me.

Side note: I am a firm believer that Happy Place, just like any other Emily Henry book, should be consumed via audio. It’s just TOO GOOD not to listen. Julia Whelan is a master narrator. Her performance fit the emotional aspects perfectly. I swooned, I cried. Then I cried some more. This story is told in single POV, but (mixed with the top notch writing) I loved how well she voiced the male characters. Sexiest male voice acted out by a woman, IMO.