A slight change of pace from Emily Henry's usual books, Happy Place follows a couple that have broken up but are forced to pretend they haven't to ensure they don't ruin a trip with a group of their closest friend.

This really tugged at the heart-strings!

3.5 stars

Harriet hasn't told anyone about her break-up with her fiancé, Wyn.
Now she finds herself sharing a room with him at the yearly holiday that Harriet and her friends have, pretending that she and Wyn are still madly in love.
Harriet can get through one week without anyone figuring out something is wrong, right?
She thought she could, but now Harriet isn't so sure.

The premise for this book intrigued me, and I was keen to read it and find out how long Harriet and Wyn could keep up their deception for.
Harriet was a likeable and relatable protagonist. She was funny and I liked her banter with Wyn, who I also liked, as well as their friends. I thought it was really sad how both Harriet and Sabrina's upbringing and relationships with their parents affected their lives. I also found it sad that Harriet and her sister weren't close.
The story is told with chapters set in the past and the present, and I enjoyed finding out how Harriet and Wyn got together.
I could definitely feel the chemistry between Harriet and Wyn, and I was really hoping that they would get back together.
The plot was enjoyable and held my attention, but I wasn't gripped or itching to read the next chapter. I liked the themes in the book, and I did tear up a few times.
The writing style was easy to follow. This is the third book I've read by the author, and I would happily read another.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

It took me a ridiculously long time to get to this book, but I loved it SO much. Emily Henry really has a way of writing romance that isn't just about the couple you're following and it really shines in this one. I loved reading about this group of friends and all the little things that make them a family.

Will absolutely recommend!

Thoroughly enjoyable romance ideal for a summer read. Thanks for the reading copy, as always, Emily Henry does not disappoint. .

Brilliant - Emily Henry's books keep getting better! Would absolutely recommend to romance & rom-com readers, especially as a summer read.

Emily Henry's "Happy Place" is a delightful, heartwarming novel that effortlessly blends romance, humour, and introspection. Set in a charming small town, the story follows the unlikely relationship between Harriet and Wyn as they navigate grief, friendship, and the unexpected twists of fate. With its engaging characters and witty dialogue, "Happy Place" is a feel-good read that will leave you smiling long after you've turned the last page.

Happy place. Wooo Nelly. It really took me some time to gather my thoughts on this book. I have read all other Emily Henry’s books and this one really hit different and not in the way I expected. I love a lolly-sweat fun romance as a way to escape real life and Emily’s other work wasn’t exactly that however the nuance of Harriet and Wyn’s relationship is so relatable to me and came as sort of a gut punch.

Additionally I don’t typically love a second chance romance; for me f the relationship came to an end there must have been good and valid reasons. However the growth of these two characters really made this a journey that really drew me in and made me cry with the earnestness and rawness that Henry was able to conjure with her words.

Not a typical Rom -Com but you don’t want it to be either. Well worth the read. I love smart, layered women. Thanks Emily for writing that.

Emily Henry is one of my instant-read authors, I always enjoy her writing style, the humour and quirky, yet relatable and likable characters!

I have love/hate feelings about this book. I loved the prose and emotive and descriptive language used. Its well paced and seamlessly transitions from past to present. However the whole premise of this book is based on the flimsiest miscommunication trope and unrealistic HEA.

I loved the tension that came from the one bed/forced proximity. The chemistry between Harriet and Wynn is palpable, in a why did they break up way. I do love the hi-jinx that can come from fake dating, especially when fake-dating an ex in front of all your friends. Wynn did frustrate me as it felt like he never once fought for Harriet, even during their relationship. The entire first half of the book is them both pining after each other after Wynn pulled the plug for the smallest miscommunication and "I know bet" attitude he seems to have.

The pacing is great and you keep turning pages to find out what happens. The prose is lyrical and emotive. It makes it really easy to picture the scenes. Most of the characters oozed authenticity,

I love that there was a HEA but it felt very forced that Harriet just suddenly quits being a surgical resident to follow her pottery passion. I feel there was a less extreme compromise like becoming a GP (small towns really need those), with a pottery business on the side.

This one just didn't work for me unfortunately? I have loved many of Emily Henry's previous books, but for whatever reason I just never really felt like I clicked with either of the characters. I kept reading and hoping that it would just work in my brain at some point, but I ended up kind of not wanting to pick this one up. I DNF'd at about the halfway point, but I think this will still work for other people, and still like Emily Henry's writing style. Maybe the next one!

Every single one of Emily Henry's books I've enjoyed, this didn't reach the heights of Book Lovers but I loved it still. I always like how she balances the romance elements of her books with personal growth for her FMC's. This was a lot more emotional than I think Henry's other works have been and I am always worried about a 2nd chance romance because the miscommunication trope is often done wrong. However, in this instance, it works. Because of the characterisation of our main couple, the reasons they broke up in the first place felt understandable if misguided. This is also the case with the confrontation between the friends as well, it was a moving and honest depiction of a friend group moving from Young adulthood to full. Henry sometimes lacks in her background characters because she is so focused on developing a wonderful believable romance, however this cast of characters were truly the best she's ever created. Flawed, real and with a banter that felt like a group that had known each other for years.

I really liked this one, it is a fun twist on the romance genre as we start with the couple breaking up. I liked getting to know Harry and Wyn's relationship and I enjoyed seeing them reconnect. I'm glad that they both accepted they needed to change and grow to reboot their relationship, although I'd have also been happy with it ending with them not actually back together.
I felt that the friends were really horrible- Parth and Sabrina were really unlikable- especially with their actions at the end. And this did lower my enjoyment as I feel like we were supposed to like all the friends.

I loved the banter of this group of friends, I laughed out loud at times as well as cried at certain sections. I loved the dual timeline of the present and the happy place and felt it added depth to the characters and relationships we were seeing in the present.

Although romance is not a favourite genre Emily Henry has become an auto buy author for how much I enjoy the writing style and characters.

🩷fake dating
🩷second chance romance
🩷dual timeline

📖Harriet & Wyn were the perfect couple but they broke up six months ago and haven’t told their best friends yet. So when Wyn turns up at the groups annual getaway they have to fake being an engaged couple again!

I LOVED:

🩷Harriet- a FMC I actually like!! She had so many great one liners that had me laughing and just really enjoyed her character.

🩷I love a dual time line, finding out more about a characters past relationship is so fascinating to me, and it was so sad to see what actually tore the couple apart

🩷the second chance!!! One of my favourite tropes…we all love a rekindled romance & the angst in this was 😮‍💨

🩷but the best bit for me was the moral of this book. You have to be happy in what you are doing to be happy in your life. You can’t do something just to please others, true happiness relies on being happy within yourself 🫶🏻

This book was brilliant. I loved every minute of it. Emily Henry never fails to make me feel every emotion🥺🥰😭

It’s hard to put into words how much I adored this book. Emily Henry never fails to write a story that has you relating and understanding the characters on a personal level. I saw myself in Harriet and Wyn. This book felt like she managed to capture my inner thoughts.

It felt relatable in the best and worst ways. Happy Place makes you feel the nostalgia of remembering your glory days, the fear of growing up and growing apart from your friends, the fear of moving away, of not being enough or being too much, the struggle between choosing to live for yourself or live for the people you love, the fear of navigating new chances and feeling lost and rediscovering what you want and discovering that what you thought you wanted doesn’t fit with who you are anymore

The writing style of this book reminded me a lot of You and Me on Vacation which really made me love the story more. The flashbacks add to the backstory and history between Harriet and Wyn; every look at their history had me more obsessed with them. They are imperfectly perfect. I loved the side characters, I couldn’t pick a favorite. They were all relatable and loveable and I adored the bonds and friendships between the characters.

Read this if you like:

Fake Dating
Only One Bed
Second Chance Romance
Forced Proximity
Found Family
Dual Timelines/Flashbacks

There’s something special about an Emily Henry book! Even if you’re not a huge romance reader (like me) there’s always something to keep you invested.
In Happy Place, we’re following a second chance romance and a complex friend group. I really love how the author makes her characters human - they’re all flawed but somehow we still root for them. I don’t know that this is my favourite romance from her but I loved everything else that was happening in the book. She never disappoints, I’ll be waiting for her next release!

Read a while ago now but loved the characters and the premise. Seeing how the friends interacted with each other after so many years and how they remined friends was beautiful, even if there are a few arguments. Emily really is a master of the romance and building the tension.

Loved loved loved this latest from Emily Henry. The miscommunication and yearning between Harriet and Wyn was so tangible, it made me cringe in places. Emily Henry is a master of character development and this was perhaps her most accomplished book yet. They just keep getting better and better!

I was slightly disappointed with this book as I’m such a big fan of Emily Henry but this just fell slightly flat for me.

loved the emphasis on finding yourself throughout this book, and this was definitely shown with flashbacks etc.

This book had been sitting on my shelf for a year before I finally picked it up. I was nervous for it because I had loved Emily Henry’s previous book. It didn’t end up surpassing Book Lovers, but I still enjoyed it nevertheless.

Harriet and Wyn were the perfect couple. Except, they had broken up. For six months. None of their friends knew, which was why when the group had a get-together at their Happy Place, they ended up sharing one bedroom. It was a glorious summer, and the last holiday they’d have at the cottage as it would be sold soon. If only they didn’t have to pretend to still be in love with each other!

Aww, I knew Harriet would have her heart broken just by her definition of the Happy Place. IMHO, she was placing too much expectation on her ‘perfect’ group of friends and the cottage. Her rose-tinted glasses didn’t help her facing reality and her struggles.

The plot in this one was quite predictable, and the miscommunication trope wasn’t to my taste. Luckily, my favourite thing about Emily’s writing was the dialogues - the inner monologues and the banters - which I still got in abundance in this. So I had a great experience with the book.