I fell in love by the first three chapters. The overall premise is of a fake relationship, and this is the first time I have ever read this trope and understood the character's choice to pretend to date. Usually it's a flimsy excuse, but if I were in the position the characters are I could actually see myself doing the same thing. This book is filled with good, exciting tension throughout, a lot of unexpected surprises and turns, and the best part is that all of them real and driven by the characters Henry has created. It's not forced, it's not out of nowhere, everything makes sense with satisfying payoff. This is the best thing about this books is its cast of characters. Aside from the main couple there are four others, with the six making up the cutest found family, and all of them seem to have full, rich, interesting lives of their own. I desperately want a sequel from Chloe's perspective! If you like books with characters that feel like real friends, or real people you could know, this one is a winner.

Harriet and Wyn have been together since college for ten years seeming to their intimate group of friends to be the perfect couple. They a big secret: a devastating breakup has not been shared with those same friends because neither has the courage or strength to admit their failure. To complicate matters, the last trip to a beloved Maine cottage is planned where Harriet thinks Wyn will not be there until he is sending her into a major panic.

Harriet avoids controversy at all costs because of a lot of family baggage. Wyn has his own perceived inadequacies to deal with so they have a lot to overcome in order to ever be together again. Wyn had to return to his Montana home to help out an ailing parent which helped foment their breakup five months before where Harriet has a medical residency hundreds of miles away in San Francisco.

To say that Harriet and Wyn’s reunion and forced proximity is tortuous for them both is a vast understatement. Clearly, they still love each other desperately but feel reuniting is impossible under their current circumstances. Harriet is very angry, and a whole lot other of tightly wound emotions, at Wyn for the perceived reasons for their breakup while Wyn cannot seem to stop sending mixed signals. The only thing they can agree on is not telling their friends and spoiling this last vacation in a place that is very special to them all.

In some ways, this book is one big book painfest especially since Ms. Henry’s writing is so thorough at taking this reader on an intense emotive ride. Told in two timelines, Happy Place from the past and Real Life in the present, this story is quite an emotional roller coaster ride. I think it is the most angsty and heartbreaking book from this author I have read. It is in the “smack a character with her own book” territory and suffering along with Harriet and Wyn which shows Ms. Henry’s talent in this story at torturing…er…keeping her readers interested to see how the love story plays out. As Tobias Wolfe once said, memory has its own tale to tell so looking back at the past reengages Harriet and Wyn with why they fell in love and how it all fell apart.

Emily Henry has done it again!!! Just when I think I've found my new favorite book of hers, she goes and writes another one that leaves me breathless. This book made me laugh and cry! I wanted to savor it, but I also desperately wanted to know what happened in the end.

I read along while listening to the audiobook (because Julia Whelan!!) and Whelan gave another superb and emotional narration that left me on the edge of my seat.

This is one I'll read again and again and recommend again and again while I patiently wait for her next one!

Another Emily Henry banger! I love the unexpected twists and the thoughtful revelations. This is a perfect beach read for sure, but it's so much more about friendship & true happiness than just the relationship at the center of the book. Highly recommend!

I loved Henry's previous book, Book Lovers, so I couldn't wait for this one to land in my hands. I approached this one with a giddy anticiaption hoping for some fun, some heart break, and some heart warming relationships.
I am a sucker for second chances. If they're done right, they are everything. This one was done right, mostly. Why mostly? It was drug out jut a little too much for me. And some of the secrets that came out actually had me wanting to roll my eyes. But, as a whole, I really enjoyed this book.
I enjoyed the push and pull between all the characters in the book. They're college friends turned adults. This book took a good look at how our lives drift in and out with those we love the most. We all change and grow up, and sometimes we do grow apart. That's life. And this book does a great job at portraying that.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I didn't love it, but I did like it a lot!

review: happy place by emily henry 💕🏺

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"at my darkest, on my worst days, i'll still love you more than i've ever loved anything else..." 💕🥺

✨ MINI SYNOPSIS ✨

harriet & wyn broke off their engagement 6 months age deciding to keep their separation a secret, as they enjoy a one-week trip to maine with their best friends. after years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week…in front of those who know you best?

✨ MY THOUGHTS ✨

⚠️ cw: grief, mental illness, & death of a parent ⚠️

if evermore is your favorite taylor swift album; you love quirky friends, scavenger hunts, lake days second chance romance, forced proximity, fake dating, the one bed trope, & ugly crying this book might be for you!!

alexa play gold rush by taylor swift 🎶

🌟 RATING: ★★★★☆
🥵🔥 spice scale: 🌶️🌶️

raise your hand if you have been personally victimized by emily henry! 🙋🏽‍♀️ oh my gosh, i'm gonna try to be as vague as possible because i really don't want to spoil this book for anyone, but i literally felt two emotions while reading this book: frustration & sadness!! 🤦🏽‍♀️ it was extremely frustrating because harriet & wyn really needed to learn how to communicate. i was constantly having to pause & set my kindle down so i wouldn't fling it across the room. if i had a dollar for every time I yelled "please just talk to each other.."🤣 sadness because it's an extremely beautiful book about growing up, loss and grief and how those things affect not only us, but our relationships with others. it wasn't a good time, but it was a pretty damn good book!! 💕

I LOVED this book. I tried to keep my opinion unbiased going into it (because I love Emily Henry), but she made it so easy to fall in love with her characters and their complexities. Henry delivers an astounding and emotional read about friendship, second chances, and flawed humans making flawed choices. Absolutely one of my favorites of hers!

Emily Henry is back with yet another book that the masses will call the best Emily Henry book. Quite honestly, I'm not a fan of her second chance romances and this one was no exception. for me. I found the reasons for the characters breaking up suspect at best and if you break up under those circumstances and in that way, maybe your relationship is toxic and you shouldn't be in a relationship with one another. I found the pining and longing more a laundry list of physical characteristics and not some undercurrent of LOVE. Yes, this fulfilled the checklist of a romance, but it just wasn't a romance that I bought into.

This was extremely "meh" for me. Emily Henry is a very popular author, and while I appreciate a good second chance romance, I didn't find this particularly compelling. Straight white people being rich and not having necessary conversations just doesn't feel enough for me anymore. I'm sure this will be very popular, and the writing was well done. This just isn't something I'd want to spend money or time on, though it will definitely appear on beaches everywhere this summer, I'm sure.

Do you ever have that one author that you save when you KNOW you need a five star read? Emily Henry is that author for me. I finished Happy Place last week and I absolutely adored it. I’m convinced at this point that Emily Henry can do no wrong!

I’m such a sucker for second chance romance, they’re always filled with that angsty emotional goodness that I love. But I when I say that Happy Place had angst, it had A N G S T! Harriet and Wyn were everything, they had one of those love stories that you feel deep in your chest when you’re reading. Add in the forced proximity and alternating past and present chapters, I simply could not read it fast enough!

Happy Place is the epitome of a perfect “found family” story. Oh my goodness I LOVED this friend group. They felt so real and their relationships were just as emotional and gut wrenching as Harriet and Wyn’s.

Happy Place was easily one of my favorite books so far this year. All the stars!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I am here YET AGAIN blown away by Emily Henry. How does she do it? Every time I read her books, I am like “there is no way she’ll keep churning out hits” but yet, here she is, creating something truly amazing. I guess I will stop doubting her and just read all her books until the end of time. I wasn’t the hugest fan of People We Meet on Vacation, but I LOVED Beach Reads and Book Lovers, and this book is up there with these books in my opinion. Harriet and Wyn are the main love interests in this book, but this book is more than a love story. It’s about creating a found family and at its root, this story is about finding what makes you happy in life. This sounds simple, but Henry delves into this topic in a thoughtful, beautiful, refreshing, and lovely way. This book made me smile and cry, in equal measure, and Henry really understands this balance. Overall, this book felt a little more melancholy than her other books, but not at all in a negative way; it was just very thoughtful and lovely. Like her other hits, I will be raving about and recommending this book for a long time. I HIGHLY recommend this book for fans of Henry, contemporary romance, and reflective fiction.

Perfect book is perfect.

At one point while reading Happy Place I told a friend that it felt like a weighted blanket on a rainy day. A little melancholy, but cozy and comfortable.

I loved every single perfect page.

Thank you Berkley Romance for my copy of Happy Place! All thoughts are my own.,

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Book-ternet in the last three years, it’s that everyone has very strong feelings on Emily Henry’s books. I have a definitive ranking of favorites and I think Happy Place has made it close the top. I have been craving these Romances that are grounded in reality lately and this definitely fit the bill. Not to say that all Romance isn’t real, but I’ve been in the mood for something with a little more…more.

I was sucked into the story of Happy Place, the friend group and their annual vacation. I loved the sense of family and the very real fears of thinking that you’re growing apart from the people who mean the most to you. I found the book to fun and flirty, heart wrenching and romantic, desperate and sad. Plus, the Maine setting is dreamy and perfect to enjoy on vacation this Summer.

Synopsis:

“A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry. Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week…in front of those who know you best?” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Setting—Though the book takes place in multiple places, they’re all equally dreamy. College in Vermont, post-grad in NYC, trips to Montana, and of course the cottage in Maine. I love how Emily Henry weaves the setting seamlessly into the emotions and experiences of the characters, almost personifying the highs and lows through the lens of the places where they take place.

The Internal Dialogue—I could really relate to Harriet and the pressure she puts on herself.

Wyn Connor—I know he won’t be for everyone, but boy oh boy was he for me. I was utterly charmed by Wyn the whole book.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

Wanted More from the Friend Group—Based on other reviews I saw, I thought the romance would come second to the friend group. In truth, I felt the other way around but that the two plots were completely interconnected and entwined, which I think was a the greater message of the book.

Character Authenticity: 5/5 Spice Rating: 1/5 Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Content Warnings:

death of a parent, estranged parental relationships, grief

OK, here's the thing. I love, love Emily Henry's books. Like, have reread them multiple times. So I was really looking forward to this one. And I was heartbroken when it just fell flat for me.

To start with, this is a dual-timeline book. It takes place in the present, and then in the past from around seven years ago until months before the present. Additionally, the book has a large cast of characters who have all been friends since college (the beginning of the early timeline). Now, I usually like multi-timeline books. So that's not the issue. I think what it really comes down to is that I really don't care about the characters.

The story revolves around Harriet and Wyn, who were part of the same friend group in college, started dating, and fell in love. The group of friends stayed close even into adulthood. Then Harriet and Wyn, who have recently broken up without telling their friends, find themselves thrown together for a week's vacation with those same friends.

At it's heart, this book is about growing up and changing, and transitioning from kids to adults and how that changes relationship dynamics. And I understand that. But for it to make an impact, I need to care about the characters, and I just didn't. The characters aren't really fleshed out at all. Rather, they're caricatures - the classy rich woman, the rich party boy, the lesbian hippies, the cowboy with confidence issues, the med student who is having an identity crisis... It's not enough to make me really want to know their story.

While I did stick it out until the end, and I didn't hate it, this was definitely my least favorite Henry read.

HOLY ASDFGHJKL; EMILY HENRY
Anyway, welcome to my review where I talk romance books. Today we're going to be talking about Emily Henry, a favorite, an author that consistently delivers, and the author that seemed to have written my love life in a book and named it Happy Place.
I don't know how, but Emily Henry consistently knows how to pull me apart and put me back together, and she did that with Happy Place. The only difference this book has made versus her other releases (which I have also loved, make no mistake) is that this book some how consistently made me feel all the things because it was RELATABLE.
If you have been in a long distance relationship, this book is for you. But it will also wreck you. It will make you remember all the moments in your life where you've felt so low, so unhappy, because you've tried so hard to make things work. And when they don't, you want to give up. This book tells you that you will find your happy place again.

Anyway, will be thinking about this book for a while. Will probably reread it again and again. EH has my soul.

DNF at 66% I can't believe I'm DNFing an Emily Henry (I've seriously loved all her other work) but this was just so boring. I honestly didn't care if they got back together and couldn't connect with any of the characters.

Harriet and Wyn broke up six months ago but their friends didn’t know that, so they pretend that they still together for their annual weeklong vacation. Harriet was so sad and feels that everything she loves are gone. The house, the man she was going to marry. And now that all of them are in a vacation in the house, Harriet and Wyn was forced to sleep together in the same room.

They’re both messed up but both are getting stronger and still love each other. I love how they make up for what happened before. Also the friendships in this book is so strong. Overall it was a great read. I don’t know if I’m the problem because I’m still not in the mood in reading or that, I just loved Book Lovers more.

Thank you Berkley Romance & NetGalley for my gifted copy.

"He's a golden boy. I'm a girl whose life has been drawn in shades of gray. I try not to love him. I really try."

Emily Henry is my Happy Place!!!

Happy Place is a second chance romance / women's fiction / friendship fiction with so much heart I felt like mine was going to burst.

Do you ever read a book and wonder how ALL THAT came from ONE HUMAN'S BRAIN? Good God. Emily Henry's brain is so juicy and smart and creative. She has the ability to create these wonderful three dimensional characters with these real life relationships and problems. It's all so believable. So easy to get lost in. With so many lessons on friendship, relationships, and life. I'm convinced Emily Henry is a love expert. How do you write love like this without a deep understanding of it?

This book is everything and will undoubtedly be one of my top reads of the year. Beautiful, brilliant, perfection.

All the stars for Happy Place! It might be her best one yet. LOVED!!!

Gosh, Emily Henry has done it again! What a beautiful story! The plot, the characters, the Pov! And all of it just so gorgeously written! This is one we will definitely be getting at our library!

4.5 stars

I could not put this one down! I was consumed by this story and at the end of every chapter I would tell myself “just 1 more” and keep going. Emily Henry truly has a gift. She created this beautiful ride or die found family and sent my emotions all over the place. The mix of women’s fiction and romance was just right and I was laughing, swooning, and shedding a tear or two. Readers really have to work for that second chance romance HEA and my heart took quite the beating as Harriet and Wyn’s friendship evolved and fell apart. I don’t think the angst needed to be *quite* so high (my heart!), but it definitely made the end satisfying.

One of the things I loved most, was that the friendships were just as important (if not more important) than the romantic relationship. Harriet, Cleo, and Sabrina are the heart of this story and I loved how all their different pieces fit together - not perfectly seamless, but rather into something uniquely them. Emily Henry tackled the topics of growing up, being you vs. what you think others want/expect, and how friend dynamics change and shift over time so honestly and beautifully.

I mainly listened to the audiobook of Happy Place, but I also reread chapters in the ebook to make the story last longer. There’s a reason Julia Whelan is known as the GOAT. She conveys so much emotion in her performances and her comedic timing is always spot on. I will listen to anything she narrates.

Audiobook Review
Overall 5 stars
Performance 5+ stars
Story 4.5 stars

CW: Parkinson’s, death of parent (past), grief, depression, claustrophobia, strained family relationships, anxiety

OW/OM notes:
- FMC is kissed by coworker (not reciprocated) while in a relationship with MMC
- MMC’s dating & sexual history (prior to his relationship with FMC) is discussed. No mentions of OW during separation.
- Brief mention of FMC trying to date and that she kisses/has sex with someone during the separation.

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*