An almost immediate 5 stars for me except it has the one trope I cannot stand. Adults who do not communicate. There are 6 grown friends in this house and not one of them is honest with each other which could solve 100% of their problems. Jeez Harriet just tell Wyn you love him and you’re not happy.

I know, it adds to the angst, I felt the angst, I love angst. But I was yelling at them the whole time.

Other than that? God I LOVE THIS and I LOVE Emily Henry.

Emily Henry is as quick-witted as ever in this second chance romance!

This is the story of Harriet and Wyn! They have broken up, but they haven't told their four best friends. Actually, they haven't told anyone about the break up! Now, they have to pretend to be together for one more week so everyone can enjoy a last vacation in their favorite place.

The story goes back and forth between present day (real life) and the past (happy place). I love how Henry uses the time in the "happy place" to tell Harriet and Wyn's love story from the beginning. They are a sweet couple and they have a great group of friends! The banter between them all is just so clever and fun!

I would highly recommend this book, especially, if you have loved Henry's other books!! They just keep getting better!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital advanced copy!!

A masterpiece I fear

Happy Place is Maroon by Taylor Swift... Maroon by Taylor Swift is Happy Place... I do not make the rules I simply see the cinematic parallels so strongly that I'm so confused that they wrote these two pieces of media separately lmao maybe I'm deranged

Me: oh boy Emily Henry is tackling the fake dating trope with second chance romance hehe let's have fun
Me 4 hours later: sobbing with my head in my hands (ain't that the way shit always ends.. SEE the taylor references don't stop??)

Alright if I may I'll gather my thoughts

Harriet and Wyn met late in their undergrad careers, dated for 8 years, had a long engagement, and almost 6 months ago, they broke it off. But... they didn't tell their best friends... it's the kind of thing where they didn't say anything at first because it was painful, then it kind of snowballed because they hadn't said anything and then they couldn't say anything 3 months after the fact.. and now it's 6 months in and they're getting invited on the annual best friends' trip..... and in order to not ruin the fun, they decide it's best to wait until after the trip to break the news. So yeah, the first time they've seen each other since the breakup, they have to play happy couple. Seems easy enough

Their friend group is nowhere near split up, but they definitely have distance between them that wasn't there when they were all super tight in college. Which is a tough reality of growing up!! Which also explains why it was easy to pretend nothing had happened between Wyn and Harriet - because everyone lives in different states. The friend group consists of the original 3: Harriet, Sabrina, and Cleo; the 3 of them were freshman roommates. Parth was a roommate of theirs later in college, and now he and Sabrina are dating. Harriet went abroad in junior(?) year and Parth's friend Wyn moved in - so when Harriet got back, Wyn was in her friend circle, but they had instant chemistry. Things were back and forth between them for a while, but eventually they started dating. Then the 6th member of the group, Kimmy, didn't come in until later, when Cleo met and started dating her.

It sounds complicated but essentially the friend group consists of 3 couples. Or, in this year's case, 2 couples and Harriet and Wyn's charade.

The way this story is told is a pretty well used and effective narrative style - alternating between present day and the past, with the past starting from "the beginning" and being linear from there.

Harriet and Wyn go through the best friends' week pretending to be fine - amidst the lovers' suite they're given to share, amidst the swimsuits and drinking and all the tempting things that make you realize your ex is hot and you may have regrets, amidst just generally being in each others' vicinity for the first time as exes. While they're going through their own little version of hell, cracks in the group's friendship are beginning to show for the first time, and the stress suddenly isn't fully contained to the two of them.

The reason I feel so strongly connected to Emily Henry's books, and the reason I think a lot of us do, is that she is a fucking good character writer. She just is. Anyone can tell us what kind of person their character is meant to be, but Emily Henry has this way of making up these past scenarios that show us what characters are like, and the scenarios seem so specific and real that there's no way these characters only live in her head. Like Wyn's dad making pour over coffee for the whole family at the holidays and it taking so long that everyone is ready for their second cup by the time he finishes the last cup of the first round and he just happily begins making round 2. Like it's the casualness of the stories - it just sounds like something a friend would tell you their dad does. I feel like I'm kind of rambling here.. there's just no need for this one flashy and important defining story for each character because their foundations are all built by their day to day actions.

There is a lot of conversation in this book about understanding how to show love and be loved, and how you react differently to love being shown based on the love you received in childhood. Harriet's parents never divorced, but they never really loved each other either, and she has no attachment to them just as they have no attachment to each other. Meanwhile, Wyn came from a loud and loving household where you felt welcome as soon as you walked in the door. I think their upbringing absolutely influenced the people they became in adulthood, and influenced their relationship. As well as their friends were affected by their own childhoods. I think this was a really good thing to bring light to: not only the way we are formed by our parents but just to remember that not all your relationships can be as simple as you want them to be, because even people with years of shared history have different love styles.

Now... listen... I shan't lie... I was broken hearted that Wyn and Harriet broke up. I was that invested in their relationship that even knowing that they'd get back together by the end of the book, I was physically crying over the fact that they went their separate ways. Their relationship and its peaks and valleys was just really special to me and I Love Them

The group as a whole is fairly diverse. Cleo is Black, I believe Parth is Indian (mostly basing this on his name), and I'm not really sure about Sabrina, but she has "olive skin" so she could just be like a tanned white girl idk. Cleo is also wlw - Kimmy is her partner as we've established

So, I don't need to convince you to read an Emily Henry book, you're either going to or not going to and it doesn't have a thing to do with me, but I absolutely loved this book and just the reading experience in general. It had funny moments, tense moments, and personally devastating moments. If you love character based stories, I cannot see how you wouldn't like this one.

Alright y'all. I would read Emily Henry's CVS Receipts. I love how her books are thoughtful, steamy and bring a new layer of depth to the romance genre. I was exceptionally proud to be able to receive this ARC from Netgalley and Berkley Publising, thank you!
Last night, as I finished about 2/3rds of Happy Place I was ready to say, this is a hard trope/plot and to give it 4 stars. Break-up books or Lovers to Frienemies back to lovers are notoriously challenging. You almost have to start backwards, and for a fateful moment I thought this book would not live up to the hype. But as always, Emily Henry wrote a triumphant third act. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. I was so emotionally involved in all of the relationships in this book. Henry has a way of capturing all the complexities of all types of love beyond just romantic. This book captures friendships, families for better for worse and grief. For the people pleasing honeys, this one is for you. For the folks who firmly believe in a chosen family, this one is for you.
Although I was thankful for a sprinkle of diversity in this book, it was that, just a sprinkle. My only critique is that Henry's love-interests always seem a bit too similar and maybe a bit too perfect. Wyn's flaws and insecurities seemed like an after thought, but I was in love with him too, so maybe that's the point. I gave this 5-stars and I cannot wait to add it to my physical collection in April to look back on how to fight well and love loudly,

I love a second chance romance. It's my favorite romance trope because I love angst and I love love. Second chance is all of my favorite things right out of the gate. As a self-proclaimed Emily Henry girlie, I was immediately intrigued by Happy Place as soon as it was announced.

For the most part I really enjoyed this one. I'd argue that the beginning is one of her best works so far. Somewhere along the way though I just grew tired of the Wyn and Harry's back and forth as it never felt like they were moving forward until the moment it jumped all the way there. It felt like I was teased with a slow burn and then all of a sudden we were all the way to the end. I wish I got just a little more along the way. That being said, there were some stellar moments in this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and Emily Henry for this ARC.

To call Happy Place a "delight" would be an accurate but incomplete review. Truly, the book reads at a lovely pace. The author captures the magic of those special, happy places we all have or find ourselves searching for. But on a deeper level, this story also captures that post-quarter-but-pre-mid life-crisis headspace of one's early thirties.

Complicated friendship dynamics. Jagged shards of heartbreak. Humour. Realism. A craving for fries seasoned with Old Bay. The story, characters, and setting of Happy Place feel whole and fleshed out.

A "vacation read" with teeth. Thoroughly enjoyable. 4 Stars.

OBSESSED! Emily Henry just does not disappoint. I don't want to be rash, but this may be my new favorite of hers. These characters felt so real to me, the whole friend group of 6 felt so fleshed out which is really hard to do. I think I could read a thousand pages between the 6 friends. Harriet felt so real to me and while I am sure she is not for everyone I hope people will cut her a little slack as a people pleaser I so relate. Normally fake dating does not do it for me, but this may be the first one that I really understood why the couple was doing it and it didn't just feel like some crazy scheme for a book.

This is the sort of book that makes you stay up late to keep reading because it is so good. The sense of place captured in this Maine coastal town is strong, as is the bond between the group of longtime friends adjusting to adulthood. This story is rich with inner conflict, and I think fellow millennials will find the existential angst experienced by both main characters incredibly relatable. What should I do?; where should I live?; and the biggest question of all: who should I spend my life with?
In addition to wrestling with those big questions, I appreciated how the author laid this book out to tell the story between different time frames to let the story unfold over ten years. The depth and breadth of the characters added to their authenticity and I could feel their unique qualities shine through in their dialogue and actions. Importantly, the romance aspect was tastefully done and felt realistic, which is a challenge for me with these contemporary romances.
This is easily now one of my favorite books. I can't wait for it to be published for others to enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley & Berkely for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With all the hype around Emily Henry, I somehow never read her books till now! I can definitely understand the fuss - she's a good writer, very engaging. She perfectly captures the feel of being on vacation in a small resort town. The characters are well fleshed-out and feel real (if a little too perfect in some senses).

Harriet is going on one last "friend group" vacation at her former roommate, Sabrina's dad's house in Maine. What none of her friends know is that she and Wyn, their other friend, have broken off their engagement some months pervious (after failing at a long distance relationship while Wyn cares for his sick mom and Harriet does her residency as a neurosurgeon [come on, now]). These 6 have been friends all through college and are now 30, yest, somehow haven't really graduated into adulthood. No one is married, although they are coupled off. No one has kids (maybe this is normal, now?), and it seems like any disturbance to this delicate balance will ruin the dynamics of the friendship.

So thinks Harriet, who's not expecting her ex to show up from Montana. But he does, and they spend the entire book pretending to be just as in love as ever. And of course, they are. The breakup was sudden, and Harriet hasn't exactly processed it. Anyone who's ever had that kind of breakup will relate. What's not relatable: not being truthful with your best friends (5 of them! it rivals sitcom "misunderstandings"), going through a breakup without ASKING QUESTIONS AS TO WHY EXACTLY IT'S HAPPENING, apparently hating your family in part because they are living vicariously through your achievements.

You know how the story will end, and it does. Along the way, some friends are called out on their bullsh*t, which is good. There is growth. People have to change their ideas about what a successful relationship is. You don't often get this in romance novels, so it's a nice change.

I didn't love everything about this book, for the reasons stated above, but it's still far and away one of the better romance novels I've read this year. I will definitely BOTL for more Emily Henry now that I understand the hype!

This book was fantastic. Emily Henry never misses and this one is no exception! This book kept me interested and invested in Wyn and Harriet's relationship as they revisited the past and tried to hide from their friends.

Each time Emily Henry comes out with a new book I think, “surely, she can’t do it again. Surely she can’t write another book that wrecks me.” But, alas, she always does. This book, I would give it 10 stars if I could.

Harriet is a med school student whose long-time fiancé, Wyn, broke off thier engagement 5 months ago. And she still hasn’t told their closest friends who she’s meeting for one last friend trip in Maine before the house they stay in, their “happy place,” gets sold. When she walks into the house, ready to come clean with them, she discovers that they’ve secretly roped Wyn into coming as well.

The perfect “former lovers into second chance romance”, this book will pull on all the heartstrings. Emily masterfully writes about love, loss, and friendship in such a beautiful way. Make sure you have a box of tissues at the ready.

I obviously loved this. I wasn't initially sure how would this would work; how would I root for people who had previously decided to part ways? And why did they? Who hurt who, and is love enough to look past that? The answer is making Wyn a full and nuanced character, with insecurities and hopes, who loves deeply and has a kind heart. I absolutely adored him.

Both of the leads were very relatable and made me look at things I usually sweep under the rug. Why do I feel that I am not enough? Why do I extend myself to convenience others, but criticize myself for having any needs at all? What really makes me happy? What does that word mean to me? I loved that these characters acknowledged their fears. I loved their hesitations and their bravery equally. I really loved how strong the friendships were and the emphasis on friends as family. Harriet's entire family situation was painful, but the way her friends offered support when it was necessary was very well-done. Most of all, I loved that each character had a rich interior life. It wasn't just the lead and her love interest that got the 3D treatment.

I will always recommend Henry's books. Each one is a treat. Each one challenges me to approach a difficult part of myself that I'd rather not look at too closely, and I'm always grateful for the empathy and gentle guidance that her stories offer.

Annnnnnd Emily Henry does it again. With Happy Place, she took me on a beautiful journey where I laughed, cried, and basically had to take a breather at the end of every chapter just to reflect.

I tend to hyper fixate on the romantic interests when I read but this time I really fell in love with the main character, Harriet. I have never related to a character more. Her internal dialogue was so … vast :) Not to be dramatic but this is easily one of my favorite books I have ever read and I have learned so much from it.

What I liked:
•Fake dating trope
•Found family <3
•Second chance romance!!
•Every side character is important and has their own personality and story
•Stunning internal dialogue from our heroine
•AMAZING banter between the love interests
•It’s almost like a coming of age story but as an adult and I completely fell in love with that concept
•Exceptional character growth
•An ending that just makes sense🤍

What I wish there was more of:
•More scenes of Wyn and Harriet in “real life” that showed their love for each other now earlier on
•An epilogue that shows them in the future still together and happy for my piece of mind + I wouldn’t mind seeing little flashes of the other main characters from Emily Henry’s other books like I’m the end of Book Lovers!

A quote that stuck with me:
“I don’t think she’s ever totally understood why I find it easier to fulfill other people’s expectations than to set my own.”

Links to online reviews:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR4a4vEg/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClwQrzvroT_/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/1a373745-82bb-4d00-95b9-cbd741a0a39f

THIS BOOK. I am obsessed. I am an Emily Henry stan and this book just reinforced my love of her writing and characters.
The banter. The angst. The friend group/found family dynamic. All the feelings. ALL OF IT.
I read so many reviews about Book Lovers where people related so much to Nora. While I loved Nora, I didn't. Harriet on the other hand? I felt so seen.
Pre-order this book now. Do it. It will be so worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy.

This is my favorite Emily Henry novel to date. The prose is beautiful, the descriptions were vibrant. I felt like I was THERE, jumping in the ocean, on the Ferris wheel. I loved Harriet and Wyn so much. I loved the story woven together between the here and now, and how i never once felt MAD about their conflict. I felt as if it were relatable, something a very real couple would experience. My heart is full.

Once again Emily Henry came and saved the day! The formula of this book is little different than the other books that I have read by this author, despite that, I really loved how serious but often neglected themes like identity crisis, adulting, and adult friendships and personal boundaries were explored throughout the book. I loved the friend’s dynamic. The romance was amazingly fulfilling to read about. Overall in my humble opinion, it deserves 5 star and so much more

I got to the end of this novel and truly didn't know how to feel. I've finished each of Emily Henry’s last three novels with the feeling of "WOW! That was so freaking good! How does her brain work?? Everything was excellent!"

I didn't feel that this time around and I’m still trying to figure out exactly why. Happy Place still had a lot of things that make an Emily Henry novel such as strong relatable characters, an exploration of grief (though this was on the lighter side for sure), questions of self-identity, and an exploration into different familial relationships. But as a whole, the book itself felt undercooked? That's the only way to describe it at the moment. For most of the book I was waiting for the big undertaking that usually comes with Henry’s novels that leave me feeling raw and exposed, but it never happened. Or it did happen a tiny amount but a little too late and then the book was done.

There wasn't enough time with all the topics trying to be explored. (Side note: this book felt a lot shorter than her others too and could’ve benefited from an extra 50 or so pages). We have this friend group that was fractured in so many places that I wanted a deeper dive into. We had Harriet's fractured relationship with her sister that I wanted more from. However, as someone who has a very similar relationship with their own older siblings, I still felt very seen from what we did get.

I also wanted a more in-depth look into Harriet's relationship with her career. For Harriet to have gotten that far into her residency and walk away choosing pottery felt off. I get what was trying to be done but I expected her to switch concentrations or still be connected to the medical field somehow. Why did she even choose medicine in the first place out of all the other prestigious and rigorous careers that would've demanded the same amount of time and money?

I did appreciate the deep dive we had into Harriet’s relationship with her parents. I LOVED the conversation she had with her mother at the end about wanting to be happy but right as it was all coming together then the novel was done.

Now to Harry and Wyn. This was the first time reading an Emily Henry novel where I was kinda rooting for them to stay friends more than I was rooting for them to be a couple. Don't get me wrong they were still romantic as fuck and I'm glad they ended up together! How they fell in love and got engaged had me grinning from ear to ear. But I wanted more time in the nitty gritty dark days of their relationship or more angst surrounding their reunion. Maybe their time apart should've been longer or the stakes around the week they were forced to lie should've been higher. The main reason why I was rooting for them to stay friends was because of how happy Wyn kept saying he was in the present day. I also thought Harriet would try to define her own path for once outside of a relationship or her parents.

Knowing that Wyn had the ring on him and learning that he tried texting her multiple times post-break-up, I thought he would've been there to fight for her and admit that he should've never ended it. Something more dramatic??? That four-minute phone call was hyped up so much and then we only got a recap of it. But like I said earlier they were still so romantic and pulled at my heartstrings many times. I loved how sure Wyn was of his love for Harriet and his need to constantly touch her. I loved that Harriet always encouraged Wyn to believe in himself and taught him not to downplay his own accomplishments. With every Emily Henry book, the steam gets steamier which is amazing!!! Emily Henry writes erotica challenge when???

Lastly, it was nice to finally see featured people of color in an Emily Henry adult novel. However, I didn't enjoy using context clues to identify their races. For instance, we're told that Cleo has box braids, deep brown skin, and sleeps in a bonnet, but it was never explicitly stated that she was Black. The same goes for Parth who we never really got a super detailed physical description of but based on his name and the cover of the book I'm assuming he's South Asian. But that's the thing, I shouldn't have to assume. If you can describe the color of the ocean in great detail and the precise weather in this small town in Maine then it should be an easy lift to say "This is Cleo, she's Black, has box braids, etc etc." The lack of these definitive statements allows people to easily whitewash characters even with the context clues provided.

Overall I really enjoyed this book but it didn't alter my brain chemistry the way her previous work has. If this had been my first Emily Henry novel I would've immediately run to read her other work because the writing was still amazing and I still felt seen throughout. I don't consider this a letdown but rather an “Okay solid. When is the next one coming out?” Because at the end f the day Emily Henry and I are locked in for life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley for the advance copy of this book, I was so excited to read this!

I am a big fan of Emily Henry, I think that she hits it out of the park with all her contemporary romance titles that she has put out and Happy Place instantly became one of my most anticipated books of 2023 as soon as it was announced. I was so glad that Happy Place was just as good as Emily Henry’s previous romances.

In comparison to Emily Henry’s other books, this one is a bit on the heavier side. I found myself relating a little too much to what Harriet and Wyn were feeling, so much so that I would have to put the book down at times. I really enjoyed the exploration of these feelings of insecurity and depression in juxtaposition to the “happy place” in the story.

I also really enjoyed that this book was a romance, but it was also a friendship story. At the center of this book, is a group of friends who care so deeply about each other coming together. Often in romances, the side characters are not so fully developed as these and it was very nice to see.

Let me just start by saying how thankful I am to have been given the chance to read this book! Emily Henry is one of the authors that I will automatically read! With that being said, Happy Place was not one of my favourites. All in all, this book was just okay. It tells the story of a couple who broke up and has to tell their friend group they broke up but didn't. Thus the story starts with the friend group going on their yearly trip and Harriet and Wyn need to pretend they are still together.
The writing was great, as always but the story was flat. It only got better in the last half. It took a while to get interested in the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Publishing for the E-ARC!

I have read everything Emily Henry has written and Happy Place might just be my favourite so far. I love second chance romance and I loved this romance. I couldn’t put this book down. Thank you to Netgalley for my advanced copy.