Emily Henry never disappoints -- but even among her very best (from her YA titles to her adult romances), this novel stands out. It's unbelievably affecting, and it made me laugh and cry in equal measure. It's easy to see the love that exists between these two leads, as well as the love that exists between the friends making up the story. Henry is already on my 'instant buy' list, and this novel only adds to my conviction in that being a solid fact.

Though second chance romance isn't my favorite trope, Emily Henry is one of the best writers in our generation! She weaves together a slow but moving story of choice, love, and happiness no matter where you are. Can't wait to see what comes next!

Second chance romance with ups and downs. I really liked the setting (the happy place where the friends meet up). The bright cheerful cover with swimmers is sure to encourage readers to pick this up this summer!

Another hit from Emily Henry. She reliably places a plotline alongside the romance that bears nearly equal weight, and here, the shifting dynamics of a friend group long out of college maybe even overshadows the romance plot. I don't love the way she held back information from the reader in this book, because it's not being held back from the characters. Still, her stories are just so compelling. For people who are frustrated by situations that could be solved with honest conversations, you might hate this! But I think it does a good job of portraying why honest conversations are hard, and why some people's instincts to protect others' feelings can backfire.

After breaking up their engagement, Harriet and Wyn end up on their friends’ annual vacation as if they’re still together. Could keeping up this ruse ignite a flame between them or are their acting skills that convincing? What about the friends, the lives they had and now have?

Wow! This was an emotional story that captured a successful woman’s desire to love and be loved by friends, family, and her long lost love. I mean, it had some of our favorite classic tropes—forced proximity, fake relationship of sorts, and second chance romance—but it also had depth, heart, and strong bonds. I personally adored the mention of UCSF and neurosurgery because that’s my old stomping grounds. And I did love Wyn and all he stood for. Another excellent and well-written book by Emily Henry.

If you like books featuring…
Maine Summers
Found family friends
Witty banter

Great for fans of…
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Book by Jenny Han and Amazon Prime show)
28 Summers by Elin Hillebrand
The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Happy Place by Emily Henry is a fun sweet romantic standalone novel. We meet our heroine, Harriet, a surgical doctor, who is invited to 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. When Harriet heard that Sabrina’s father was selling their Happy Place, she knew it may be the last time they get together. Sabrina, a lawyer, has been dating Parth, also a lawyer, and they planned to get married. Cleo, a farmer, was with Kimmie. Harriet has kept a secret from her friends, as she and Wyn (together for 8 years) broke up 5months ago, and to her shock, when she arrives, Wyn is there.

They both agree not to ruin the week with the news of their breakup, and tell them when the holiday is over. So they pretend to be together, sharing a room, and totally fake dating (not admitting their attraction to each other remains). Harriet has still not gotten over why Wyn broke up with her in a brief phone call.

What follows is a fun, sweet 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 was hot; but would that be enough to bring them together, after the week was over? Slowly, things change, as each of the couples have issues, which caused concern. Harriet was always the one who kept others together, never fighting, as she hated conflicts, and wanted to please everyone.

Happy Place was a wonderful second chance romance, with fantastic friendships, family atmosphere, and love all around. I loved Harriet’s fantastic friends in Sabrina and Cleo, and really like Parth, Wyn and Kimmie. It was so much fun to see them together. As we got closer to the end, secrets are revealed, causing possible break of friendships. An amazing group of friends will rise to the occasion, to bring love back into the picture. Happy Place was so very well written by Emily Henry. I really enjoyed this book, and suggest you need to read this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars

At this point, I am incapable of giving an Emily Henry book less than 5 stars. Even when they rip my heart out, I love them and I thank them for being perfect. Happy Place ripped my heart out multiple times and I was just exhausted by the time I got to the end. Did I love it? YES.

Happy Place is a second chance love story with a dose of fake dating. Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple..until they aren’t. They are part of a close knit friend group that goes to a Maine cottage every summer. However, this summer is different because Wyn and Harriet broke up and can’t bring themselves to tell their friends. Due to multiple hijinks and insanity, Harriet and Wyn must pretend to still be together..which is a lot easier than either wants to admit.

It’s always all about the banter and the vibes in an Emily Henry novel and both are top notch in Happy Place. While second chance romance is not my favorite trope because I tend to not enjoy a ton of pain and stress in my reading experience, Emily Henry (of course) masters the trope and makes it as painful and as stressful as possible. She is the best.

Now, for the characters. Wyn. Well, Wyn gave me some rage. But Harriet? Harriet was perfect. Harriet loves cozy mysteries and Murder, She Wrote. How could I not love Harriet? Wyn eventually won me over and I appreciated how flawed and layered he was…but he still gave me rage…but I also loved him. Harriet is the star of the show and I love that mirrorball girlie more than anything. Hands down my favorite character of the year. The found family vibes were spot on and I lived for the banter between the friend group. I want to wear a ton of linen and eat lobster and just live in that beach cottage. It sounds like the happiest of places.

All the stars. All the tears.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

First off, does Emily Henry ever miss? Happy Place has officially become my favorite novel of hers! There was so much to love about this book. From Harry and Wyn (I'm not crying, you are) to their group of friends (seriously, I loved them all so much) everything just flowed so well that I couldn't stop reading.

Harry and Wyn: where do I begin? The banter, the steamy moments, the heartbreak, the reconnection... incredible. There was this undeniable chemistry between them and it felt like my own heart was being crushed whenever Harry thought she wasn't good enough and tried to make herself fit what she thought she should be. Also, I really enjoyed the back and forth of the timelines and watching their relationship develop.

Lastly, when it came to Cleo and Kimmy and Sabrina and Parth, I thought the friend dynamic (especially between Harry, Cleo, and Sabrina) was top notch. Henry encapsulated that terrifying feeling of growing up and feeling like you're growing apart, but at the end of the day you're family and you're loved.

Overall, I just adored this book and would definitely recommend!

Emily Henry is on a roll. She continues to mix comedy, steam and romance into her books, while also telling a great story. Loved the friendship between the six characters and am already excited for what's next from her.
Formal review and links coming soon.

Every time I read an Emily Henry novel, I think it's my favorite of hers. Happy Place is no exception. Told in a then versus now perspective, Harriet is on her way to her happy place, a summer cottage in Maine, where she spends a week every summer with her best friends. Unfortunately, that includes her now ex-fiancee, Wyn. A big problem is that none of their friends know they broke up. I absolutely adored this book! The characters are well thought out and the storyline kept me reading until the end. My absolute favorite type of book revolves around found families and this is one of the best I've read.

I genuinely just really like the way Emily Henry writes her books. While HAPPY PLACE hasn't eclipsed either of my two favorites of her adult novels, it's still a solid read. One of the standout things about this particular one of Henry's novels is the setting (there is more than one, but there's one that is the central setting of the novel); I felt like I was really there, grounded in a sense of the place, and it honestly made me wish that I could visit. I also really enjoyed getting to know this cast of characters as well, though I didn't quite personally connect as fully with them as I'd have liked. I definitely was invested in seeing this story through to the end, though I also felt like this one immediately gave me those 'this could be a movie' vibes from the start. It was, overall, a good read (and I say this while thinking about how it made my heart swell and my eyes teary towards the end), and another solid addition to Henry's body of work.

Am I surprised I gave another Emily Henry book a 5? No, not at all. She writes these amazing characters and relationships and they are swoony & deep all at the same time.
I related to so many characters in this book. Harriet for fear of letting people down, Sabrina as the organizer and the glue that tries to hold a friendship together.
This book made me want to go to Maine to lobster fest and take a boat ride and fall in love.

Truly Emily Henry can do no wrong. Happy Place, ironically, made me cry A LOT. I fell in love with these characters and the friend group. I was rooting for Harriet and Wyn and yelling at them to just kiss already. I have never read a "second chance" romance before, but I really enjoyed it. Pulls at your heart strings and makes you think of your own past loves and second chances.

This book is all about friends, relationships, and all the messy in-between. It's the perfect Summer read for Emily Henry fans!

The thing about Emily Henry books is that I love them all, but I love them all in very different ways. This is her fourth book, and I've read all four. I've given them all 5 stars, but they are all different 5 star ratings in my head.

This is a wonderful story. For being called Happy Place it was extremely melancholy and a bit sad. I think I struggled with that a little mentally, I don't think maybe I was in a high enough high to be brought down by the mostly sad book. I think it's something to be prepared for, because the cover and the title are very deceiving with this one.

But the story was beautiful. Emily Henry is an incredibly talented writer. She is one of those authors that I will automatically read without question. The characters are real and fleshed out and the world she creates is vast.

Is this my favorite E.H. book? No. But as I said before, they are all five star reads in their own right.

This book! I loved! Happy Place is one of my favorite reads of the year. I knew it wasn't going to be good, because of this author's ability to storytelling - she takes you on a trip that makes you feel connected with the characters. And I mean all the characters, even though this book is about the main characters - Harriet and Wyn, they friends also bring this story to light!

Harriet and Wyn - there was so much love between these two and also so much miscommunication. As you know, they are broken up and just trying to make it through a trip together with their best friends, before they tell everyone. I was rooting for Harriet and Wyn from the beginning.

I am kinda disappointed by this book. It’s definitely not my favorite book from Emily Henry.

What I liked: the dual timeline set up and the friend group

What I didn’t like: the whole plot of the book was based around miscommunication. It was so frustrating at times and just took me out of the story.

It’s kinda similar to PWMOV, two timelines, they know the thing but we don’t yet, trip/vacation. It’s just a bigger cast of characters and second chance instead of friends to lovers.

Not a bad book just not what I had hoped for. Still will read her next book.

Another easy 5 stars for Emily Henry. Happy Place brings us another wonderful read from our favourite author who hit the ground running and has just kept going and going. I love her so much.

I'd like to say Happy Place was exactly what I expected but I actually expected nothing. Emily Henry is an author where I just go in completely unaware of what's to come and I have the BEST time. When I started reading this and realized it was a second-chance romance, I was hooked. I read this bad boy in like two days and I will always regret not pacing myself so it wasn't over so quickly.

Book Lovers was one of my Top 10 Reads of 2022, and while I can't say I loved Happy Place QUITE as much, it's still a fantastic book. Second chance romance is never going to be my first pick, but Emily Henry is such a great writer, I'll read anything she gives. Emily Henry knows how to hit us in the feels, and add a layer of emotional depth you don't find in a lot of romcoms. The rom is less com in this story, and a bit more melancholy and introspective. This is an author who deserves the hype.