I didn't mean to read this as fast as I did but I was desperate to know what they broke up. The "happy place" parts dragged on for me and I found myself not invested in them at all. Real Life had all the answers. I loved the angst between Harriet and Wyn but at the end of the day it was a very "meh" read for me. I didn't dislike it I just wasn't twitterpated and blown away with it.

Whenever someone pitches Emily Henry as a cartoon cover romance writer, I feel many things. First, what's wrong with a good cartoon cover romance? Nothing. Second, it is obvious this person has never read an Emily Henry book, and therefore their opinion matters very little.

Where do I start? I loved the characters, I loved the setting. I felt hope, sadness, and that deep melancholy of drifting away from my friends. Sometimes I genuinely think Emily Henry has taken snippets of my life and put them into her characters. Hitting a life crisis, not loving your career, and pivoting--Been there.
Second chance romance and exes to lovers? Not my normal thing but I'm here for it.

If witty banter is your thing you will LOVE this book!

The author excels in keeping the dialogue funny and loose. It feels exactly like how I actually talk to my friends. Harriet and Wyn are the main characters and it’s hard not to fall in love with them as a couple. This book goes from present day to jumps in the past where we see how they fell in love and what exactly tore them apart.
This story is a will they or won’t they get back together meshed with a wonderful story about friendship. Is it possible to keep your college friendships going into your 30’s as you all grow and change? Can exs truly become just friends? If you love something should you really set it free or should you fight for it? These are the questions you will ask yourself while reading this incredibly charming book.

Emily Henry has really found her audience when it comes to romance novels. To me though, Happy Place hits that middle ground I’m sure most of us haven’t been able to identify. If you’re a reader of her other works, you’ll know that some of her books tend to be extremely character-driven with little romance or vice versa yet Happy Place hits that middle ground.

Happy Place follows Harriet and Wyn who are forced together for a last vacation hurrah with friends and have to pretend they’re still happily engaged. The story does focus a lot on them dealing with that, but we also watch their first meeting, their first kiss, and eventually their breakup. Everything is all-consuming with these two and makes for a compulsively readable experience.

In the flashbacks though, we learn a lot about Harriet and Wyn as people. It's nice watching them go from young adults to adults with all the trials and tribulations that come from that. In a way, it’s painfully realistic, especially with what Wyn’s going through. He’s dealing with so much change and it’s so consuming while Harriet is trying to make the best of her situation while caring for him.

If you couldn’t tell by the title, Happy Place is about being in a happy place with friends which is what Wyn and Harriet are doing. It’s also about finding that happy place within yourself to be able to sustain taking care of yourself and nourishing a relationship. To me, there was something so realistic about watching what Wyn and Harriet went through and how it affected their relationship.

You might have guessed that this book features a deceased parent and it does, but it didn’t consume the entire story as the previous books have. I won’t give away too much about that because I felt like it’s an integral part of the story, but it did seem to reinforce what a happy place is and can be for someone.

Considering that I read this book in one sitting, I can confidently say that this is my new favorite Emily Henry book. Happy Place managed to combine everything I’ve loved in previous books of hers and made it more streamlined. I feel like this book is good if you’ve loved Emily Herny’s previous books or if you’re looking for a place to start with her catalog.

Regardless, I don’t really have much to say about this story aside from Wyn and Harriet’s friends being annoying at times. I know they meant well but I felt like Sabrina was so grating at times and I couldn’t understand why those two were so quick to forgive her. Aside from that, Happy Place is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2023 so far.

Absolutely adored everything about this. Will never be the same after, Emily Henry has wrecked me. Wyn & Harriet own me, heart & soul. Happy Place is a book that you’ll want to hug & keep close to your heart forever.

Emily Henry is an auto-read author for me and HAPPY PLACE did not disappoint! First of all, Henry needs a standing ovation for creating the most perfect setting. I told my book club that we need to book a trip to Maine immediately. Throughout the descriptions and experiences, Henry made the setting come to life. I felt like I was there, experiencing her happy place. Sometimes I feel like these types of books lack the level of character development that I typically crave, but HAPPY PLACE provided just the right amount for me. It was still a quick, easy read -- like a spicier, steamier Hallmark movie. Highly recommend and am eager to get my hands on a physical copy this April!

Emily Henry's pin sharp knack for dialogue does it again in what is sure to be another beloved novel.

Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple. Together since college, they are complete soulmates and a major staple of a decades long six piece friend group. The annual week long couples getaway should be perfect, it's their happy place. The only problem is that Harriet and Wyn broke up five months ago.

Not wanting to ruin, what turns out to be the last trip to the beloved Maine cottage, the former couple agrees to fake for the duration of trip. But with so much love left between them, and memories around every corner, it's not just their friends they are trying to fool.

HAPPY PLACE leans more into sentimentality than spice this time around. While still sexy and charming, what really drives the story is tension between knowing what you want and knowing what you believe to be right. Henry gives an honest portrayal of adults dealing with realization that life is always changing, and relationships that once came so easily, now require more work as you get older.

I have different places I consider to be my happy place - mostly made of some very happy memories with my family! I also have a group of friends that when we get together, they are my own happy place.

There is romance and a love story in here but for me, this was an incredible story about the found family we make in our core group of friends. If you've ever felt like you are starting to lose your closeness with your friends - this is the book for you. I loved getting to know each of the characters in their friend group and what they all meant to each other. This is part coming of age story in the flashbacks, seeing the go through small and big life moments together over the years.

The romance arc was also so good and I loved Wyn! Warning - this is a bit steamier than her other books! I read this in two sittings and had to know - why this couple that clearly are obsessed with each other still broke up in a 4 minute phone call, why they aren't together now, and how they can make each other happy long term! There is also so much depth to this book as the characters struggling with mental illness, grief, and personal growth.

I was crying so hard through the last 20% or so that my husband was laughing at me. I didn't love this quite as much as People We Meet but this is still high up there for me.

Recommend if you enjoy:
◻️ Second chance romance
◻️ Found family
◻️ Witty banter
◻️ Character introspection
◻️Atmospheric setting

Emily Henry can do no wrong! I am convinced. All of her stories are swoon-worthy but believable, romantic, and the best sort of beach reads. I was rooting for Wyn and Harriet from the beginning. Sometimes a second chance offers just the right amount of perspective.

Reading HAPPY PLACE was like the equivalent of pressing a tender bruise - a little satisfying, but a reminder of hurt. This book deals so much with homesickness, belonging and above all, that feeling of being somewhere beloved for a finite time with those you love and knowing you can never return exactly to that moment again.

Emily Henry is a popular romance novelist, but she often writes so much about grief — even if the book is not centered on death, it lingers on the acute pain of longing and feeling misunderstood - by others and by yourself.

It’s interesting that a woman who only writes books set during vacation, writes so clearly about pain. You don’t actually get a lot of “happy moments” in HAPPY PLACE. You don’t even get that much happy, euphoric romance. And it makes me wonder a little bit about how much “happy” the average romance reader wants before the HEA. Personally, I wanted more happy from this book than I got, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I’ve read every adult romance Henry has published and I’ll continue to do so - but I’m not the fan girly I once was - if nothing more than I wanted less suffering from this book, however poignant it was.

This is my favorite Emily Henry by far! Harriet and Wyn were such great protagonists, but the romance came second in this book when compared to the friendships. Parth, Sabrina, Cleo, and Kimmy made up such a dynamic and funny friend group. I could read seven more books about this group; their college memories, other vacations to the cottage, any and all of it. I was obsessed and not ready for this to end. I can't wait for the public to get their hands on this!!

This book was interesting in that it made me happy but also incredibly sad. I wouldn’t call it a romance book at all but I also don’t think any of Emily Henry’s books are necessarily romance books.
I’m going to need 5-10 business days to truly process this book because of the way it made me feel. It’s not my favorite Emily Henry book, maybe even my least favorite but it’s still incredible because HELLO it’s Emily Henry.

I devoured this in a day. At this point Emily Henry can do no wrong. I would highly recommend this to Henry fans, it's more in the vein of Beach Read, with a lot of introspection and healing. This is a great title for people who read slow burn or second chance at romance titles.

It was a stunning book. It was reflective and undoubtedly her funniest book. Even though I already want to read this book again, I was actually sorry when it was finished. One of my all-time favorite books might be this one.

Age Rating: 18+

Special thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.

CW: sexual content, death of a parent, grief, break up

This is a book that I don’t know how to review. It’s one of those books that made me feel so much, and felt so personal, that I don’t know how to put those feelings into words.
Objectively, technically speaking, is this Emily Henry’s strongest work? No.
But regardless, it is my favorite of her books.
I related so heavily to Wyn (and to Harriet, but mostly Wyn), and even more heavily to aspects of Wyn and Harriet’s relationship, that I don’t think I’m capable of being objective.
I think that the characters and relationship of Wyn and Harriet were executed as perfectly as one would expect of Emily Henry. They’re dynamic, honest, real. Every word they speak, every emotion they experience, feels as if it’s more than words on a page. Emily Henry is a master of complex characters and making them feel as real as you or me, and Wyn and Harriet are just another testament to her skill.
However, the supporting cast of characters in this book are not as well developed. Parth was the worst, having no personality, no motivations, no agency. He existed solely because Sabrina needed a significant other for the story to work. Cleo is slightly more developed, but barely. She is supposed to be one of the main trio, but her partner has more personality, more of a roll in the story than she does. Sabrina has the most development of the group, but she’s obnoxious. To be fair, I think she’s kind of supposed to be, but I think she’s also supposed to be lovable, redeemable, as well… and in order for that to have fully landed the way it was supposed to, I think she, too, needed more development outside of “spoiled rich girl with mommy and daddy issues”.
Now, I don’t think any of these characters are bad or poorly written. I think they’re just…average. While reading, I was so caught up with Wyn and Harriet that I didn’t notice the ways that the rest of the crew fell flat, for the most part. On occasion, I would, but 90% of the time I didn’t. It’s more of a looking back a few weeks after reading, really thinking about this book, this story, these characters, comparing them to Emily Henry’s other books and what I know she’s capable of, that I realize that Sabrina, Cleo, Parth, and Kimmy definitely fall flat in comparison. This book was amazing—my favorite—but I think that, knowing Emily Henry, it could have been more so, if she’d had more time. This book is the most complex, in terms of themes and number of important characters, that I can’t help but wonder what it could have been if the release date had been pushed out just six months.
Now please don’t get me wrong. I freaking love this book. It is amazing. One of the best books I’ve ever read. I recommend it equally as much as any of Emily Henry’s other books, and more than like 99.99999% of all the other books I’ve read. The plot, the romance, the angst, the heartbreak—impeccable. The only thing that I wish was a little more developed is the supporting cast, but even then, they in no way took away from my love and enjoyment of this book. I just think they didn’t add quite as much as they could have.
I read this book in 24 hours. I cried so hard I couldn’t see the words and my cat crawled into my lap and pawed at my face. I laughed out loud. I felt every possible emotion more intensely than I think almost any book has ever made me feel. I highlighted the shit out of my ARC, and I cannot wait for my preorder to get here so that I can re-read it and annotate it. This is a book I see myself rereading again and again. This book means so much to me. I love it. I love Emily Henry. I love Wyn and Harriet. I love Knotts Harbor. This is one of the best books I have ever read and ever will read, and I cannot wait until it is officially out in the world and everyone can read it.

3.5 stars - I would put this book in the same realm as People We Meet on Vacation vs. Book Lovers & Beach Read. While there is nothing wrong with it (the writing continues to be lovely, great themes, etc), this is just not my kind of contemporary romance. Too angsty and I'm ALWAYS a hard sell for second chance romance. I think fans of Emily Henry will still enjoy this & I will still look for her next one. It's just not my fav from an author I have very high standards for

To no surprise I LOVED this book. In Emily Henry's previous novels the hurt and pull at the heartstrings has never primarily come from the main romance but in Happy Place that is where most of the hurt, tension, and grief existed. 5 months before the story begins Harriet was dumped by her boyfriend of 8 years, Wyn. The story starts with Harriet arriving to the annual summer vacay with her friends to find Wyn there as well. Due to high stakes regarding the trip the former couple agree to pretend like they are still together so their friends can enjoy themselves. Harriet and Wyn find themselves taunting each other with lust & desire and of course...there is only one bed.

I love a second chance romance but the reason I loved this one so much was because of how fresh it was. For Harriet, the break up was still an open wound and as a reader we were in her head, processing everything Wyn says and does to try to see if he is just as hurt as she is. Is he lying through his teeth when he says he's fine just like Harriet is? Or does he mean it? As Taylor Swift once sang, "just between us did the love affair maim you too?". I also loved that this book including flashback chapters. We got to watch how Harriet and Wyn's romance began and those chapters also had me tearing up because you knew where the story was going. You knew it would lead to heartbreak but you were stilling falling for them anyway, enjoying all of their happy moments.

This book also still reads like an Emily Henry novel. Her writing style is so unique to her and it instantly made me feel at home. I love Emily's stories so much because her characters, plots, and settings remain so authentic and human. Reading her books feels like listening to my friends talk about their lives.

If you have loved any of Emily's past books I highly recommend pre-ordering Happy Place!

I received an advance reading copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Can I tell you how much I love Emily Henry? Because I really, really, REALLY love Emily Henry. I like the romance parts of the book, yes, but where it shines for me is the relationships her characters have with everyone (not just the romantic lead). I love untangling the threads of how the characters got to be where they are and how their past choices affect future decisions. It's such an intricate web that Henry weaves and she does it masterfully.

Another novel from Emily Henry that hooked me immediately. Wyn, Harriet, and their group of friends were engaging and endearing. While the tone is often sad and reflective, the banter and humor kept it moving and made it easy to get attached to the characters. Very minimal spice, but the tension and longing was palpable and I was absolutely rooting for Wyn and Harriet. Loved it and excited to re-read.

Emily Henry hits the mark again with Happy Place. Harriet is possibly my favorite Emily Henry protagonist yet, and I love how thoroughly Henry explores the breakdown in communication in Harriet and Wyn's relationship while making them both incredibly sympathetic characters with a vibrantly written group of friends in a well realized Maine setting. I found myself sobbing on an airplane while finishing this book which is a strong recommendation on my part. Definitely a must read for Emily Henry fans and all second-chance romance fans.