Emily Henry has been crowned the queen of the contemporary romantic comedy or feel good romance over the last couple of years and for good reason. Happy Place is the happy romance feel good that you think you wanted, with the brightest cover to boot. Go look cool reading it at the pool.

Emily Henry captured our hearts with 2020’s Beach Read, and she’s dominated the New York Times Best Seller list ever since with People We Meet on Vacation and Book Lovers. Now, she’s back with her fourth adult romance, Happy Place, and it may just be her best one yet.

For the eight years since Harriet and Wyn met in college, they have been the perfect couple. At least, that’s what their friends think. Because even though it’s been six months since Harriet and Wyn broke off their engagement, they still haven’t told anyone. And now, on their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends, their secret must be kept. Because with the cottage for sale and an unexpected wedding to plan, they can’t let their friends down. After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week, anyway?

If that premise isn’t enough to convince you, here are all of the reasons why you need to read Happy Place:


The Escapist Setting

Picture it. Summer in Maine, where the mornings call for a sweatshirt and the days are warm enough for a dip in the Atlantic. A week off from work, free of your responsibilities. A cottage on the coast, complete with a pool, an outdoor shower, and a well-stocked wine cellar. A quaint downtown, housing a bookstore called Murder, She Read and a movie theater with only two screens. Locals and tourists all out for the annual Lobster Fest. And most importantly, all of your favorite people right there with you.

Can you see it? That’s Harriet’s happy place. And when you dive into the pages of Emily Henry’s latest, it will become yours, too.


The Ride or Die Friendships

Romance novels are sometimes criticized for having isolated main characters. But you don’t have to worry about that criticism here. Because Happy Place is about the love between friends just as much as it is about the love between romantic partners.

Harriet, Sabrina, and Cleo have been best friends ever since they were matched as roommates their freshman year of college. The three credit the housing committee for bringing them together because on paper, they make no sense. Harriet, used to her parents' tense conversations about not being able to make ends meet, is well on her way to being a doctor. Sabrina has turned her feelings about the fact that her father is on his sixth wife into a successful career as a divorce attorney. Raised by a music producer and an essayist, Cleo majored in art and now runs a successful farm in upstate New York. But despite their differences, one thing has always been true: they have each other’s backs, no matter what.

And that fact has remained true as the group has expanded. First, with party boy Parth, who becomes as successful as a lawyer as his eventual girlfriend, Sabrina. Then, with Wyn, the laid-back charmer. And finally, with Kimmy, the opposite of homebody Cleo in many ways but an equal partner in their life and business. They know they’re an odd group, but they also know they’re the kind of friends who have become each other’s family.


The Expected Tropes—In Unexpected Ways

One of the things that I love the most about Emily Henry’s novels is that I can always find my favorite tropes in them, but I can also always count on her to deliver them in unexpected ways. In Happy Place, we get a second chance romance. But instead of two people reconnecting after not seeing each other for years, we get two people who broke off an engagement so recently that they haven’t even told their friends and family about it yet.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a traditional second chance romance, and Emily Henry still gives us those butterflies-in-our-stomachs, head-over-heels, young-and-in-love feelings by taking us back to when Harriet and Wyn first meet in college. But she also gives us the fresh heartbreak and raw emotions of two people whose relationship ended so recently.

Which brings me to the second trope in Happy Place: forced proximity. We see this trope paired most frequently with enemies-to-lovers. But Harriet and Wyn don’t hate each other. In fact, they’re doing everything they can to ignore how desperately they still want each other. Which makes the best mini-trope, there’s only one bed, all the more exciting.


The Romance, Of Course

Emily Henry’s novels wouldn’t be rom-coms without the romance, of course. And the romance between Harriet and Wyn is one that will have you swooning. There’s the banter in their first conversation, heightened by the fact that Wyn has seen a nude painting of Harriet (done by Cleo, of course). There’s the deepening of their relationship, from something mostly physical they hide from their friends to an emotional connection they couldn’t possibly keep a secret. There’s the challenges of building a life with someone, moving from job to job and city to city. There’s the sexual tension of wine cellars and favorite t-shirts and outdoor showers.

And through it all, there are two people with their own goals and wounds and dreams who must answer one question: are they better together or are they better apart? As you learn more about Harriet’s fears and Wyn’s insecurities, it’s no secret which outcome you’ll be rooting for.


Final Thoughts

You can trust me on this one: no matter how large your TBR list is, Happy Place by Emily Henry needs to be on it. Why? Because I have an overflowing TBR list of my own, and I love it so much I’ve already read it twice.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Emily Henry and Julia Whelan are an author/ narrator combination that I really enjoy. Happy Place gives us a long term couple where each loves the other, maybe more than themself. There is also the insecurity of not being enough for the other person. These feelings are based on both family and personal history. We get some flashbacks to their college days which show how they all became friends, started their yearly getaway and how Harriet and Wyn get together.

Harriet has always been an excellent student and planned to go to medical school. Her parents are not happy in their marriage, having married when they got pregnant with her older sister. The older sister has always been a problem, rebelling and going against her parents wishes. Harriet, on the other hand, has tried so hard to be good to make things easier for her parents who work hard to make sure the two girls have everything, especially things they didn't get to have. Harriet also developed the habit of cleaning to help her parents.

Wyn has a lovely family who support him and his siblings in their choices. Wyn is not a good student and had difficulties in high school and college. His talents lie in other areas than academic. But poor academics make him feel like he is not good enough.

Harriet became life-long best friends with her diverse and talented roommates from college. Parth and Wyn are also part of their friend group and apartment sharing friends from college. Every summer the friends go to a vacation home in Maine which is Harriet's happy place. Now it's going to be sold so this is the last year. Wyn and Harriet broke up six months ago and haven't told any of the others. So they both end up on the holiday.

There is SO much happening here with emotional situations for all of them. The vacation finds them learning their truths and savoring their deep connections. All the friends end up finding support for their changes to take them into the future. I felt this emotional journey.

For the last ten years, since they met in college, Harriet and Wyn have been a couple, but just recently Wyn unexpectedly called off their engagement. Neither found the right time to tell their group of friends, and now they are in Maine for their yearly vacation with besties Sabrina, Cleo, Parth, and Kimmy. After Sabrina announces her father is selling the cottage—their happy place—they decide to keep their breakup secret so they don’t ruin their final—tenth(!)—trip for everyone else.

Maintaining the pretense weighs on them both. As they try to match the affection and closeness of years past, they realize they still have feelings for each other, but even the love they feel for each other isn’t enough to repair the problems in their relationship.

Harriet and Wyn both have trouble articulating their needs, and they must learn how to identify and voice their desires. Harriet, who is extremely conflict-avoidant, also has to learn how to fight in a healthy way, even though she’d rather clean and ignore discord. (My grandma was known to use this avoidance strategy!)

As much as this is a story about Harriet and Wyn, it’s also about the entire group of friends and how they are changing and perhaps growing apart over time as their interests diverge.

HAPPY PLACE is full of Henry’s trademark banter, with a dash of steam, and a winning setting on the Maine coast. The book has an accurate representation of grief and depression, but I felt that the prevalence of patterns developed during childhood was even more spot-on. I liked this almost as much as BEACH READ which is my favorite Emily Henry, and was very satisfied by the ending though I shed some tears before the book was over.

If it doesn't yet exist, there should be a literary review on the importance of place and setting in Emily Henry novels. Maybe I should write it??

Happy Place is Harriet and Wyn's story of a lasting college romance that takes the couple from Vermont to New York to San Francisco to Montana and the hated Midwest where no one ever seems to be happy. But we start in Maine, where a college friend's family vacation house has been a place of bliss for a decade. Wyn and Harry reconnect after a hasty breakup after Wyn's father passed away. But no one knows of their split... because who are they without each other? Does their split alter their friend group? Do they find their way back to the people they were?

This is a story of adulthood - how humans form connections at pivotal points in our lives, but it takes work to keep the solid bonds. I love the book and wish all the characters were as developed as Harriet because this has a lot of potential for other stories. It has enough depth to warrant re-reads, but enough fun to make it a beach read. And it is a touchstone, serving to remind us of our origins, but also consider that maybe what we thought we wanted isn't what we are meant to be.

Wyn and Harriet had the perfect relationship according to their friend group. However, even though the two love each other, they realize they can’t make it work. They decide to go their separate ways, and Harriet is prepared to tell her friends while on vacation to one of their favorite places. She puts a pause on revealing the secret when she discovers that their Happy Place doesn’t have the heart to tell them that they broke up. She agrees to keep the secret a bit longer and pretend they are still happy one last time.

I read this book with such anticipation and emotion. Ms. Henry may be an absolute master at the craft of drawing out the feels. The story alternates between the present and the past, reflecting the beginning of Harriet and Wyn’s long relationship.

This may not read like a traditional romance story which makes it perfect. I don’t know how to describe Ms. Henry’s style, but she takes you on a journey to get to that romantic, sweet spot. While I am a romantic at heart, I enjoyed the flashbacks most because I got to see the friendship between Harriet and her girls through the years. Happy Place is not just about romance it is about friendship, growth, and so much more.

Harriet is such a people pleaser, and she doesn’t realize how much she gives to everyone else. It is so easy to see how she got lost and couldn’t find her way in her relationship. Then there is Wyn. How delicious this character is! He has so much depth and richness to him.

I loved this book so much that I look forward to getting my hands on the audiobook. I wonder if the impact would be the same. The feels of Wyn and Harriet in love just to break up and find it all over again. This romance is such a wild rollercoaster, and I’m glad I got to enjoy the ride. As usual, I love Emily Henry’s books, and this one is no different. This is definitely another winner in my book and holds a special place in the rankings amongst her books.

~ Samantha

A thoughtful, emotional book about how our childhoods shape us, on how we can find family when we least expect it, on growing up and on falling and staying in love.

These are just a few of the things this book touches on.

I often dislike miscommunication (or maybe lack of communication in this case?) tropes, but it worked her me here. This is a second chance romance I can actually get behind, because it makes sense. Our main leads never stopped loving each other, never stopping thinking of each other. Their issues aren’t unrealistic or insurmountable. They stem from insecurity, from a place of love and care. Because at the end of the day they both desire, above all else, each other happiness.

This book reminds us that love, genuine love, is unconditional. Whether it’s between friends or family. One doesn’t and shouldn’t have to constantly have to prove something for it.

<b>”You don’t date your friends.” “You’re not my friend, Harriet,” he says quietly. “What am I, then?” I ask. “I don’t know,” he says. “But not that.” </b>

Harriet & Wyn. 1. He’s well versed in regency customs. 2. He’s super flirty. 3. He’s voracious with physical touch. 4. Cinnamon roll. He’s a golden boy and her life has been drawn in shades of gray.

Emily Henry’s books are like pulling on a favorite sweatshirt, worn to perfection. Adore her characters and her stories.

<b>”You are in all of my happiest places. You are where my mind goes when it needs to be soothed.” </b>

What’s your happy place?

✨ THINGS AND STUFF ✨
-the coast of Maine
-dual timelines
-aspiring brain surgeon & restless rancher/
-found family
-second chance
-pretending to be together
-it’s always been you
-there’s only one twin bed
-pottery
-air horn app
-grocery gladiators
-blueberry ice cream & fries covered in old bay
-crossword puzzles
-learning how to fight & communicate
-#IsThisAKissingBook: open door. Stolen kiss in a game of sardines (reverse hide and seek). “I’m not going to stop fighting for you, Harriet.“

Thank you Berkley romance for an advanced e-copy!

Song: Graduation by Vitamin C (IYKYK)

Happy Place by Emily Henry is a beautiful an amazing second chance romance with a close-knit group of friends who gather each year for a weekend retreat at a cabin in Maine; showing the bonds of friendship. This year there will be a few changes and surprises. Harriet is beyond ready for her annual Happy Place, where she spent the last 10 years with her wonderful and fun best friends, Sabrina and Cleo; after college Parth, Wyn and Kimmie became part of the group. They have been friends for 10 years so I can say that they have witnessed each others' worst moments, successes, and everything in between.

Harriet and Wyn were a perfect couple, until five months ago when they broke up and told none of their friends about it. Upon arrival, Harriet finds Wyn is there instead of taking care of his ailing mom. Soon they learn that the cottage is up for sale, so this is their last hurrah. Harriet and Wyn can't bear to break their friends' hearts, so they'll just pretend that everything's good for one more week. Maybe it’s destiny, or fate, or karma. Or maybe they truly aren’t done with each other, just yet. That's how Harriet finds herself sharing the bedroom with only one bed with Wyn, “pretending” to be in love, sharing kisses, and PDAs.

What follows is a fun, charming week with all of them enjoying each other’s company, drinking wine & cheese, eating at various restaurants, having the time of their lives in their sun filled happy place. Harriet and Wyn began to succumb to their feelings, and the chemistry between them sizzled. It is going to take some honest and open communication before between Harriet and Wyn can solve what caused them to separate. Slowly, things change, as each of the couples have issues, which caused concern.

The story alternates between the present and their relationship over the years, from the moment Harriet and Wyn met, fell in love, and their eventual break-up. The past chapters (Happy Place) were full of joy and love, as readers watch them fall for each other; but it also made reading the present chapters (Real Life) painful to read after knowing how much they loved each other. The Real Life chapters allow readers to know all of their unique and wonderful friends who have all arrived with secrets of their own, as they party for one last joyous and happy summer, together in Maine.

Happy Place was a wonderful second chance romance, with fantastic friendships, family atmosphere, and love all around. As the end of the story approaches, secrets are revealed, causing a possible break of friendships. An amazing group of friends will rise to the occasion, to bring love back into the picture. Overall, this is an inspirational novel about self-growth, friendship, growing up, changing, grief, and mental illness. I highly recommend Happy Place to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Another Emily Henry MASTERPIECE! The perfect book for the second-chance lovers trope that is absolutely amazing and incredible. I just can't even handle my feelings enough to write a sensible review. Just know you need to get your hands on this one on release day. Literally, wait for the doors to open before barging in. This is THE book of the summer!

💖 HAPPY PLACE by Emily Henry 💖⁣
Thank you SO much to @berkleyromance for the gifted ARC! This one is out April 25 ☀️ #BerkleyRomancePartner⁣
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I loved many, many things about this book — the summer house in Maine with a group of your closest friends? Sign me UP.⁣
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This book follows Harriet and Wyn (not my favorite hero name but it is what it is), whose engagement has ended but they decide to pretend to stay together for the sake of one last summer cottage weekend before it gets sold. As the two are forced to pretend they’re still together, they begin to wonder why they broke up in the first place.⁣
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Another thing Emily Henry does well is PINING — these characters were CLEARLY in love with each other & being dumb about it, which drove me up the wall a little bit LOL. Sometimes EH’s writing can be a *little* pretentious as her romances lean more literary than romcom, but I just let myself enjoy it for what it was. ⁣
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All in all, I don’t think this is my new favorite Emily Henry (that still firmly belongs to People We Meet on Vacation), but it was definitely worth the read ✨

Can I just say that this is by far my favorite Emily Henry cover? I mean her other ones are adorable too but this one stands out so much and I am in LOVE! I knew I’d love this one based on the cover and that’s exactly how I felt the whole way through. Happy places is a second chance, exes-to-lovers, romance with a forced proximity and one bed trope. But this book is also MORE than just a romance. This is a book about friendship. It’s a book about chasing your dreams and changing the course of your life. It’s a book that deals with raw and real feelings, and a book that shows us that communication is indeed IMPORTANT in any relationship. Overall, it’s a total must read an I can’t wait to have a physical copy on my shelves so I can re-read it again in the future.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Happy Place is a well written romance comedy by Emily Henry. It follows Harriet and Wyn, the perfect couple who met in college. They broke up six months ago, but still haven't broken the news to their closest friends. Now they are forced to spend the week together in Maine at their yearly get together with these friends.

Henry does an amazing job creating dimensional characters that you can connect with. She also excels at witty and entertaining dialog. This book was a pleasure to read and needs to be in everyone's beach bags this summer!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this fun book!

4.5 stars

Emily Henry is my comfort author. She's phenomenal at romances that's a known fact but its not just that. She understands all relationships. How friendships are so important and Happy Place nails that. The fear of growing apart, lives changing, people moving. I was in tears from happiness to heartbreak throughout Happy Place. Any book that gets me to happy cry to my best friends on how much I miss them and need them forever is instantly 5 stars.
Oh and the guy is cute too. Ranked #2 of the Henry Men.

This was my first Emily Henry book and I was disappointed. The book follows Harriet and Wyn's story of them falling in love and then breaking up but not telling their friends. I really enjoyed the storyline of this book and the way it was written. The plot was well structured with many conflicts in the story. The book is written in the past and the future and I wish it was labeled as that at some points I would get confused about what year it was. I did enjoy the setting and how the friend group would meet up there every year for vacation. About the story, I loved how there were a lot of heartfelt moments of healing and growing between the MCs and the friends. This book is only from Harriet's perspective but I wish we also got Wyn's.

Harriet is the main MC and I loved how caring of a person she was. We were similar in ways we were not but I loved her development with the way she reconnected with her friends again. Wyn is the hero of the story who had some trouble in the past but wants to be with Harriet again. As I wish we got his pov, I did enjoy his story and everything I learned from the book about him. He also developed in the books. There were many side characters but mainly the 4 friends. I loved how they are all so different but understand each other. They also shined in the book with reconnecting and developing with oneself. The romance is a second chance at love and friends to lovers. Honestly, I didn't feel the chemistry between the main couple but I loved the side couples a lot.

The ending was well done and very cute. I really enjoyed this book even though there were some minor issues for me. It was overall a great read that is perfect for the summer that deals with friendship and love. I recommend reading this book if you love Jenny Han and Carley Fortune.

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college, except, for reasons they refuse to discuss the duo have not been together for 5 months and have told no one of the split. When it comes time for their friend groups yearly getaway to Maine they agree that Harriet will be the one to go but things do not go as planned. When Harriet arrives Wyn is already there and since no one knows they've separated they are forced to share a room and a bed. Determined not to ruin their last getaway at the cottage for their friends, Harriet and Wyn pretend they are still together and decide to lie their way through it. But the more they fake it, the more it becomes apparent that maybe they still want each other. Emily Henry is a great writer and I devoured this book. I can't wait to see what she puts out next!

Harriet Kilpatrick, Sabrina Armas, and Cleo James met in college and have been best friends ever since. Every year the group heads up to Knott's Harbor, Maine to Sabrina's family cottage for a week of fun by the ocean. After the girls meet Parth Nayak and his friend Wyndham "Wyn" Connor at college they also join in the fun, along with Cleo's girlfriend, Kimmy Carmichael. Every year the group does the same fun, silly things. This year though things are different.....Sabrina's dad sold the property so it will be their last time there together. Throughout the years, Harriet and Wyn started dating and now are engaged. Sabrina and Parth are also dating and decide this last time together would be a perfect time for them to get married in Knott's Harbor just like her parents did. Unfortunately the group does not know that Harriet and Wyn broke up 5 months ago. With Harriet's medical residency in California and Wyn having to take care of his mother in Montana, the two have just drifted apart. Now they have to pretend to be happy for one week so as not to ruin their best friend's wedding. How hard can it be? Well considering Harriet and Wyn still both deeply love the other it ends up being very hard.

As these two try to face the changes in their lives as well as their friend's a few secrets come out, while emotions are running high. Along the way the group does have some fun, crazy times but in the end, certain things are realized. It will take a good long, hard look inside each person in order for the group to find their happy ending, but once they all do it makes for a perfect story.

I really enjoyed this contemporary romance about friends and lovers that had so many emotions. All of these characters brought something fun to the story. Be prepared to laugh, swoon and cry because this story is one big, roller coaster of emotions.

someway, somehow, emily henry went into my brain and took every emotion, thought, and experience out, and then proceeded to put it into a book. this book speaks to me BEYOND personal levels, this was written for me and only me…i don’t know what to tell y’all🧍🏾‍♀️

the way emily writes and tells a story is so distinctive, nobody is doing it like her, she is in her own category

i’m not seeing where some people say the romance isn’t romancing because it is right there in your face😭this book is told in past and present timelines so we see what harriet and wyn looked like when they first fell in love vs how they’re navigating having to be around each other post break up, while simultaneously acting like they are still together for the sake of keeping the peace on their friend groups last vacation. despite them being broken up and practically walking on eggshells around one another, you can clearly see that they still have so much love for each other. like i have never seen a love that was a pure as theirs. WE WITNESSED TRUE LOVE‼️

harriet and wyn are my babies, i saw so much of myself in both of them, it was slightly unnerving..

harriet is a people pleaser down to her core and is always finding a way to keep the peace, not wanting conflicts to arise. what she’s doing in life, it’s purely just to please the people are around her and she isn’t truly happy with what she’s doing, but doesn’t want to disappoint everyone who she believes is supporting her

wyn, my sweet golden boy, him as a character is extremely multifaceted and just has so many layers to his personality. on the surface, you see he’s such a flirt and quite the charmer, but as you start to chip away at that, you see a lot of his insecurities, fears, and overall vulnerability

although we all were here for the romance, the real heart of this story is the friendship and found family all these characters have found with one another. even though we are only in harriet’s head, you still get such a deep insight into sabrina, cleo, kimmy, and parth’s thoughts and how they are as people. alongside seeing the romance in past and present timelines, you also see these friendships form between all the characters and ultimately how you grow up and sadly can grow apart.

although this book is different from what we normally see from emily (not to me but i digress) i believe that if you’ve experienced something close to any of the themes in this book, you’ll find comfort in feeling and being seen. having actual words and phrases to truly describe thoughts and feelings you’ve felt so alone with

side note, i’ll never forgive emily for writing chapter 28 and 29…I’ve NEVER felt so unwell???? the chapters actually jumped me

double side note, even though this story isn’t what everyone thought it would be with themes of happiness and the good ole summer time feeling, it doesn't negate the fact that this was still an extremely beautiful story that needed its time to shine. just because it wasn’t what you expected, doesn’t mean its bad

This book broke my heart but in the best way. The writing was fantastic and Harriet & Wyn’s story felt so real and relatable, as heartbreaking as it was.

Sometimes the strongest of loves can’t be enough to sustain a relationship and I think that Emily Henry explored that in a realistic way. Grief can hit in the most unlikely of ways and has a tendency to exacerbate any other emotions/issues someone might be going through. It was hard to see Wyn and Harriet try to navigate all of this while trying to pretend everything was great around their friends. On top of all of that, they are also dealing with the changes within their friendship group that come with growing up.

This book was much more than a romance and as heartbreaking as it was in all aspects, I loved the journey and I closed the book with a satisfied smile and, what I imagine will be, an incredible book hangover.

*I received an early copy from NetGalley & Berkley Pub for voluntary review

Happy Place is so much more than just another summer beach read. The feelings and friendships are deep and true; the relationship is full of yearning, anger, and what-ifs. Happy Place will make you believe in love and friendship while also punching you in the stomach with heartbreak. SO good.