Emily Henry does it again. No one is writing such honest depictions of friendship as Emily Henry. Harriet, Sabrina and Cleo were randomly assigned to be random freshman roommates, little did they know they would become their own family. As they grew up, their family grew to include new friends, including Wyn. Harriet and Wyn fall in love and seem like the perfect couple, but they haven't told their friends they broke off their engagement and now have to fake it for a whole week. Will it be the end of their friendship or the start of something new?

In a perfect world, we all would have a group of friends like Harriet has. Unfortunately, she's keeping this huge secret from them- that she and Wyn broke off their engagement months ago. When they're forced to spend an entire week together, feelings become jumbled and confusing.

I'll be honest, this wasn't Henry's best work. Some of it was soooo slow that I nearly DNF'ed the book. It took way too long to tell their story and dig through all the things they did during the week. Most of it seemed irrelevant for the story.

4.25⭐
Do you have a happy place?
You probably know two of mine just from my profile pictures.

Each year a close-knit group of friends gather for a weekend retreat at a cabin in Maine. This year there will be a few drastic changes.

Wyn and Harriet who’ve been engaged... are no longer a couple. The rest of the group have no idea and they fully intend to keep it that way. But the (unhappy) couple keep getting awkwardly thrown together. Maybe it’s destiny…maybe they aren’t through with each-other just yet!😉

Do you still have the same special group of friends from high school or college? Do you dread the day that the dynamics change?

This was a sweet, contemporary romance that shows the unflinching bonds of friendship.

Once again, Emily Henry gave us an amazing group of characters that you can easily get behind and root for! I’m already looking forward to her next release!

A buddy read with Susanne.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing

This book wrecked me in the best way. Probably my favorite so far? I loved the romance, the friend group, the extravagant beach house, everything.

Okay, let's review this little gem.

First up, thank you to Berkeley for the early review copy of this book. You made my year with this one *kisses*

Happy Place was probably the most personally relatable of Emily Henry's books. I have read her other three adult romances and loved them all. I do dare say that Beach Read is still my favorite, and the banter in Book Lovers is unmatched, by Happy Place takes the cake for poking at my own weak points and shining a lovely little mirror at the struggles I've faced in my friendships and relationships in my thirties.

Happy Place is the story of Harriet. It is also the story of Harriet and Wyn. It is also the story of Harriet, Wyn, Sabrina, Parth, Cleo, and Jimmie. Like Henry's other books, it is all of these things simulaneously: a story of confronting personal issues, a story of a romantic relationship, and a story of friendship. Harriet has been friends with Cleo and Sabrina since they were freshman roommates in college, and three girls spent many summers at Sabrina's dad's lake house in Maine. It become their spot where they built traditions and memories -- even moreso when each fell into long-term relationships and brought their partners into the fold, building the friendship crew to six.

However, all good things must come to an end and two major changes have happened in the friend group this year. First, Sabrina's dad is being forced to sell the lake house, effectively ending their annual traditions. Sabrina helps organize one final week at the cabin, complete with a surprise intimate wedding for her and Parth, and all six friends drop everything to make that happen. Second, unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Harriet and Wyn have broken up. They broke up a few months ago and Harriet didn't have the heart to tell her friends. When she and Wyn end up at the cabin for the last hurrah, neither wants to ruin the vibe be admitting that their romance has come to an end. Instead, they decide to fake date to keep up appearances.

Because we all know how THAT usually goes.

So, basically what we have here is a fake-dating second-chance romance, for those of you keeping track of the tropes at home.

Happy Place is about mature relationships going through changes, which is different from Henry’s other books. Wyn and Harriet have been together for a long time. Harriet, Cleo, and Sabrina (and Parth and Wyn and Kimmie) have been friends for a long time. Sabrina and Parth have been together a long time. Cleo and Kimmie have been together a long time. But maintaining those kinds of deep, life-long relationships includes some ups and downs. There are moments of big change alongside the traditions, comfort, inside jokes, and debauchery. As a person in my 30s, this mirrored my own life in so many ways and the challenges we all face as we hit different phases in life.

This book is about the found family of friendship as much as it is about falling (back) in love. And with found family, we often see the start of those relationships rather than how they weather into extending beyond what could be their natural end. When jobs and geography and babies and mortgages pull you away from the friendships of your twenties, these relationships don't often endure -- and if they do, they must look different. They involve work and planning. And that is equally true for love. We see the start, but the middles and ends are important stories, too. We just don't read about them as often.

At its heart, Happy Place is about finding your happy place, and understanding that only YOU can figure out what that is and make it happen -- whether it be in your career, friendships, romantic relationships, or even vacation destinations. This resonated with me HARD. I don’t cry in books, but this message made me tear up a bit as I think about my thirties and the relationships that have started and ended in the past twenty years of my life.

Happy Place is still a romance, but definitely leans into the the other themes a bit more than Henry’s other books. It’s funny and sexy, yes, but it is so many other things. I’ll be interested to see what readers who read this as their FIRST Emily Henry book will think about it. I’ll be interested to see what readers think in general. The hard part of an early reading of a book is not having anyone to talk to about it and not being able to see everyone else’s reactions! But, for me, this was such a good read. I related so much to Harriet in ways that I haven’t related to other romance leads. I hope others love Harriet and Wyn (and Cleo and Sabrina and Kimmie and Parth) as much as I did.

An easy five stars.

Another wonderful release from Emily Henry. This is another book that exemplifies how beautiful a story can be when you give as much life and depth to your secondary characters as you do to your main characters. And the dual timeline works very well in this novel because the reason for the split isn't obvious, even as we see how the relationship started and blossomed and developed. Henry is a true talent, and this book will live up to (and exceed!) the hype around its release.

Harriet and Wyn have broken up, and they are afraid telling their friends will ruin their last hurrah at their favorite summer cottage. The relationship between all of these friend is really great, and feels real. I really enjoyed learning about how they all came to be. This latest Emily Henry book felt a little more like relationship fiction, and a little less like romance. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and read it in a day! But I miss the more rampancy part of her writing and storytelling.

Initially seems like quite a departure for this author and took me a while to get through the first third. Very down, depressing vibe with lots of emotional scenes. Personally not a fan of the flashback structure, and the connection between the characters was just sort of assumed due to their prior relationship. I never really found anything that made me believe they liked each other. MC in general was a bit underdeveloped. However, it was entertaining and readable.

SHE DID IT AGAIN!! Emily Henry had become one of my favorite authors in the last two years, and this book adds to her standing power. I am ABSOLUTELY buying this when it releases!

Yesss!! I hadn't loved "Book Lovers" as much as the others, but so so so enjoyed this one. I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on it. I loved reading about mirrorball Harriet and Wyn. I did have some times where I just wanted to shake them to make them actually talk about things, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

I am a sucker for a book with a found family, great friend group, and second chance romance. This book had all three and Emily Henry has once again pulled at my heart strings, made me swoon, and smile at the beautiful ending. I don't think there's a book Emily Henry can write that I'd hate.

4.5/5 stars for me!

I've really enjoyed every Emily Henry book I've read and this one was no different. The story follows a group of friends as they spend one last weekend in a Maine cottage before the house is sold. The main characters, Harriet and Wyn, have been together since college...the only problem is they have broken up but haven't told their friends.

Throughout the book, Wyn and Harriet lie to their friends as to not ruin the weekend. They have to pretend to be together, even while they still are in love with each other. The writing is great and Harriet and Wyn have great chemistry. I feel like there was a lot of miscommunication between characters, which I found frustrating., Overall though, I really enjoyed the book.

Emily Henry always has likeable characters and interesting stories. I think each of her books gets better and better. It is a predictable rom-com with a great ending.

Happy Place took me to my happy place which is deep inside a book by Emily Henry!
Harriet and Wyn met in college and have been the iconic couple of their friend group. Which is why when they split up six months ago, they found it so difficult to share the news with their friends. Now they are all at their happy place, a summer house in Maine which is about to be sold and Harriet and Wyn must pretend to be in love for one last week. Can they keep up the pretense and if not will their break up break up the friends?
I could not put this down today. The complex relationships within the friend group was wonderful. Harriet and Wyn’s romance was totally hot and their issues were believable..
Loved this book !

Love changes and we must adapt and communicate with our partners and friends. In life we cannot maintain the status quo. We grow up, we move, we meet new people, our family dynamics change and we must change with them. Sometimes we keep the people we have loved for so long in our life and other times we don’t.

I love this journey in second chances that Emily Henry has brought to life. It’s a journey for friends and lovers.

Definitely a spring/summer read.

At this point, I only believe that Emily Henry gets better and better. This story is about a group of college friends on their annual friends vacation, all of whom are couples now. Except for Wyn and Harriet, who have secretly broken up and now have to fake it through the next week with their friends. It is a great story about how friendships, and relationships change with time. There is a lot of self discovery and honesty that is explored. It makes you ask yourself: What truly makes me happy? Where is my "happy place"? I thoroughly enjoyed this story and there were some super sweet moments. The characters were all great. I can't wait to see what EH writes next.

Another charming romantic comedy from Emily Henry.

Harriet and Wyn have been together for years and planning on getting married. They spend a week each year at a friends family cottage with their best friends. This year is especially meaningful as the cottage is going to be sold after this season. It sounds like a wonderful time together with the exception of the fact that Harriet and Wyn broke up and have not yet told their friends. Now they must spend a week pretending that everything is fine. The usual problems and difficulties ensue as everyone there has something they are not sharing. Harriet and Wyn must finally confront their issues and actually talk them. A light, fun read with good characters.

Happy Place is another enjoyable read from Emily Henry. Perfect for fans of second chance and fake dating tropes, with likeable characters and some nostalgia. Emily Henry fans will not be disappointed.

If BOOK LOVERS is Emily Henry's most laugh-out-loud book, HAPPY PLACE is (ironically, given the title) her most heartbreaking. I'm a sucker for a good friends-to-lovers story, and also for stories about shifting dynamics in friend groups, and this book was full of both—throw in a creatively done dual timeline structure and a memorable setting in Maine, and I think this will hit just the right notes for so many readers!

Emily Henry is the new queen of romance novels. Wyn and Harry are on vacation with their friends, although their friends don’t know they’ve just broken up. To keep the vacation happy for one last time they pretend to still be happy and together.