It took me a little while to get into this book and I had my doubts to begin with, but I’m glad I stuck with it as I ended up really enjoying it. It tells the story of 6 very different characters who have been friends since they were in college. They head off on holiday for the last time to the family holiday home of Sabrina, whose family are about to sell it on. This is a special place for all of them and Sabrina had wanted them to have one last special time there together. Of course, things do not go according to plan but love, friendship and family will hopefully come through in the end,

3.5/5.

The overwhelming thought I have coming out of reading this is just...what was the point? I'm genuinely struggling to find a reason why I just read 400 pages of a predictable book about two people who can't communicate and find reasons not to do that over and over again because of 'emotions' for said 400 pages. The story does not justify the page length at all.

Emily Henry is a great writer. She has a tendency to overwrite chapters with dialogue that adds nothing to the plot and infuriate me as I twiddle my thumbs waiting for something to happen, but she's a great writer. But it took me FOREVER to actually get into this book and I think it's because, for the first 30% or so...nothing happens. It felt like such an effort to pick this up - I actually forced myself to power through until I got to a point where I was actually interested in finding out what happened.

Much of 'Happy Place' is built around the fact that this couple - who haven't told their friends they've broken up - are forcefully reunited at a holiday home they all stayed at. This is a great conflict, but it's not played upon nearly enough to be interesting. They pretend a lot in front of their friends, but it's largely just grinding on each other and calling each other 'honey'. There were so many opportunities for comedy that just got ignored in favour of irritating the other person.

The side characters are the saving grace of this book - and by far the more interesting. I think choosing Wyn and Harriet for this book was the wrong choice. But Sabrina and Parth? The child of divorce getting married and losing her happy place but micro-managing one last week there - now THAT is an interesting romance / women's fiction book!

I'll say it as a warning - this book plays very heavily on the 'we don't communicate and therefore that's conflict' trope. Which I dislike with a passion. Even from the beginning, the whole break up these two went through was entirely miscommunicated. And even though it redeems itself slightly as Harriet explores her own flaws and past traumas influencing present conflict, it could have literally been solved with a conversation. I think it would've gotten us to the same place in the end - which, tbh, we all knew where it was going. And when we finally got to the crux of the 'why we broke up' argument, I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. It was so...bland. Like. It was all miscommunication, of two people not just going away, cooling down and talking like damn ADULTS, but just deciding to implode their lives.

Harriet and Wyn just felt like teenagers. These are not grown adults - they're sixteen year olds. Maybe that's why I didn't like them.

Something I've realised I also have an issue with in these books is the sex is so...tame. Like. I don't think it's ever referred to as 'sex'. All those scenes are painted in metaphors or vague language that make you THINK they're sex scenes, but without anything particularly graphic. Which is also something I really don't like in books. If they're going to do it, just do it. Don't beat around the bush (pun most certainly intended).

I loved 'Book Lovers'. I loved 'People We Meet on Vacation'. I hated 'Beach Read'. I think 'Happy Place' falls somewhere in-between those two. Not bad, but now that this is the fourth book I've read by this author, I can see the familiar tropes, the same patterns, the same kinds of couples being put together and forced to play out trauma and I'm getting bored. Honestly, if you'd changed any of the names in this book with ones from her different books, I would not have been able to tell the difference. The heroines are always smart, a little bit cool and filled with trauma, the men always also filled with trauma, brooding and terrible at communicating. I don't know. I think the allure is starting to wear off.

'Happy Place' is not a bad book. I just don't think it was particularly original or interesting.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel. I was so incredible happy when I got the email.

Therefore it hurts to say this book was only a three star read for me. I LOVE People We Meet on Vacation and really enjoyed Booklovers.

First, I'm not a fan of small miscommunications that wrecks a whole relationship and this was like that. Wyn and Harriet had been together for eight years and she never demanded an explanation?? WTF? I don't buy it.

Second, the pacing was off. Some parts were sloooow, like the flashbacks, and it hurts the overall impression. I actually skimmed some parts because it felt like the story was stalling. The flashbacks didn't work at all.

Third, I didn't feel the chemistry between any of the friends och couples. I was told a lot of times how much the friends loved each other and about their boring games (lame) and I became bored.

I'm sorry, but no, this was not for me. The only reason I'm not giving this a 2 star is because I think a lot of other readers will enjoy this one.

Omg omg omg.
The end.
Wtf. I don’t want this to end 😭😭

This was so good 😭 second chance romance, roadtrip, he fell first and harder, fake dating, depression rep, the fear of doing things for yourself, the urge to forget about what you want and what makes you happy just to make everyone else (but you) happy 🥲

Wyn is such a vulnerable guy and I’m living for it 🫶🏼 love him so freaking much (would love if the author had showed us more of him)

This book is so well written, so many beautiful quotes 😭😭

“Like even when something beautiful breakers, the making of it still matters”

“In every universe, it’s you for me. Even if it’s not me for you”

“I love you in every universe”

“They belonged to you before I ever say you. They belong to you in every universe we’re in, Harriet”

“I’m saying, it’s not home unless you’re there”


I don’t even know what to say about his book without spoiling it. We have a very strong friendship, a found family, an amazing friends family. We have people who had grownup and grown apart but still love each other. We have one final trip. One final trip to the happy place. One final trip to change everything. To fix everything. To make things change.

Harriet and Wyn still have a chance to fight for their love. To fight for themselves. And I cried. Like a lot. And this was so good. My expectations were high and Emily Henry did not disappoint me.

This was amazing! One of my most anticipated reads and one fav of this year. 🫶🏼

UAUUU! This book goes right into my top 3 Emily Henry’s books.

We are following Harriet that goes to her best friend vacation house that is being sell so they are going to make a “last trip”.

The problem is that all of her closed friends are there and they don’t know that Harriet and her fiancé, Wyn (that was invited too), are not together anymore so they will need to fake date.

Here we have dual time line, second chance romance, fake dating, a fantastic group of friends (loved all of them) and all the vibes that we need in a romance.

Wyn and Harriet were everything 😭 loved them sm and I just wanted to see the moment where they realized that they still loved each other.

Emily Henry’s writing is so beautiful that I wanted to highlight every sentence of the book. I’m definitely going to buy a physical copy so I can annotate it.

100% recommend it and can’t wait to re-read it.

“In every universe, it’s you for me. Even if it’s not me for you”

Pleaseeeee read it 🤍

Emily Henry knocks it out of the park, once again! I'm in thrall to her talent and ability to melt my cold, dark heart. Every freakin time! 'Happy Place' is about enduring friendships, the imperfect nature of family and the loves (and lives) we choose for ourselves. The setting is idyllic and the characters well-considered. I enjoyed every moment. More please!

Thankyou to Netgalley, the publisher and Emily Henry for allowing me to read this ARC.
I was SOOOO excited when i got the email to say that i was approved for this title.
This book made me laugh out load and also made me sob uncontrollably.
Full of friendship and love.
I honestly finished this book in one sitting.
I love Emily's writing style.
I love when you flash back to the past and the present.
I don't want to say too much else and ruin it for others with spoilers.
Thankyou again so much!
5/5 stars

𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚆⁣
𝓗𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓟𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮 ★★★★★⁣
⁣
I. Love. Emily Henry. And I don’t care who knows it! This is the third of her books that I’ve read and been obsessed with, there is just something about her writing that is comforting and makes me never want to stop reading. ⁣
⁣
The actual story felt like more of a different style than the other two books I’ve read which were more similar, but I still adored it and it still has that fundamental Emily Henry love story 🫶🏻 I was very much invested in finding out why Harriet and Wyn, who had been together for 10 years and were clearly still soulmates, had fallen apart.⁣
⁣
Emily creates the most interesting and dynamic characters - it feels less like I’m simply reading a book and more like I’m among living and breathing real people. Although the focus is obviously on Harriet and Wyn’s relationship, there are also some really poignant moments that take place within the wider friendship group (all of whom I ADORED). A realistic look is taken at the journey we go on when we’ve been friends with people since we were young and wild and how those relationships change when we enter adulthood and have different priorities.⁣
⁣
Happy Place has now shot up to being my favourite Emily Henry book (with Book Lovers and You and Me on Vacation a close second and third respectively), it’s such a beautifully written story with all of the emotions and I loved it ♥️⁣
⁣
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭒ Rating: +5stars

I wish I could read this book again for the first time. It was THAT good.

I just adored this whole group of friends so much to the point I’m sad we’ll never get books on the other couples.

The whole vibe and aesthetic of the book was perfection! I love how much history was in this location and between this amazing group of people. I love how they worked through the fact they were getting older and growing physically apart but wanting to still be close. That made my heart happy. Each character was so special and I adored them all to pieces.

The angst in this one was just wow. I loved every bit of it. The two main characters had me in a chockhold. I was dying to get the full picture of what had happened between them but also for them to get back together for real, and once it all fell into place, it was such a good surprise and made me so happy.

Happy Place immediately became a 5 star read and a fav book, definitely a contender for my fav Emily Henry book as well, and even though Book Lovers is still my number one, this one was a very close second. A masterpiece.

⭒ ARC kindly provided by the author, in exchange for an honest review.
 
♥ Tropes: summer read, friends to lovers, second chance, fake dating, found family

Harriet and Wyn were a perfect couple - but five months ago they broke up and told none of their friends about it.

That's why Harriet finds herself bunking with Wyn in the bedroom at the cottage they've been going to with their besties every year for the past ten years. For one glorious week, they ditch their real lives, and soak up the salty air with their favorite people.

However, this year, Harriet and Wyn are telling a big old lie. The cottage is up for sale, so this is their last hurrah. They can't bear to break their friends' hearts, so they'll just pretend like everything's all good for one more week.

It's a perfect plan - if they can pretend to still be head-over-heels in love with each other in front of their closest friends.

“No,” he says quietly. “In every universe, it's you for me. Even if it's not me for you.”


It doesn't feel like reading when i open up an Emily Henry book. The characters are living and breathing. They feel so real. I find myself lost in their lives, feeling their emotions and experiencing their struggles alongside them. One of the things that makes EH's writing so compelling is her ability to delve deeply into the psyches of her characters, making them feel like fully formed individuals with complex inner lives.

In this book the chapters alternate between the present and their relationship over the years, from the moment Harriet and Wyn met, fell in love, and their eventual break-up. The past chapters (aka Happy Place chapters) were so full of joy and love and it was adorable af watching them fall for each other - but it also made reading the present chapters (aka Real Life chapters) so much harder to read after knowing how MUCh they loved each other.

Another thing i absolutely love that Emily Henry is so good at is how she skillfully incorporates popular tropes into her scenes without making them feel forced or cringey.

Harriet and Wyn are everything. i don’t remember loving a book ship as much as i love these two. They might just be my fav EH couple. The side characters were also funny and loveable and not boring to read about, i was invested in the friendships in the book as much as the romance.

My emotions are still reeling and I have no idea how I am going to pick up another book after HP.

I could go on and on about this book but all I’m gonna say is that you need to read this!! Preorder and save the date. You wont be the same after Happy Place!

Happy Place is arguably Henry’s best work yet; compulsive, authentic and emotionally charged. The time carved out each day to settle down and immerse myself in this book has been my happy place over the last few days.

Although written in the same vein as ‘You and Me on Vacation’, Happy Place remains refreshingly unique and original with a beautifully crafted sense of emotional maturity. Set over the course of one short, and possibly final, trip away between friends and lovers, Henry has concocted an emotive story exploring the bittersweet progression of relationships and navigating both their fragility and durability.
 
I utterly adored Henry’s loveable, diverse and remarkably relatable cast of characters. The fake dating trope is explored between lovers, whilst the miscommunication trope is embedded without the usual frustration - just a complex reflection of how relationships grow and change over time, and how our intentions and needs can be misinterpreted.

Friends, family, lovers - we follow Harriet as she scrambles to hold the pieces of her life together as everything seems to fracture and splinter apart. I cherished the romance, soaked up the raw emotion that gripped my heart strings and basked in the natural and comforting eb and flow of Harriet’s Happy Place.

I don’t think I can do this book justice. Henry has a way with words - taking a feeling and moulding it into something tangible. Happy Place is more than just a romance. It’s everything you’ve come to love and expect from Emily Henry, and yet so much more. I award it all the stars.

I really enjoyed this story. It was about normal people facing the dilemmas that most people face and finding ways of dealing with them..There were some good characters and a very emotional storyline at times. A very satisfying conclusion.

i consumed this book in 2 sittings! her best book yet, you're immediately sucked into the story and all the characters have such great depth to the point you're invested in them all. i dont want to give any spoilers but personally i wished a different ending - but thats just my opinion! enjoyed it from start to finish and excited for the next one.

I can’t even describe to you how much I loved this book. If I could rate this book higher than 5 stars I would have GLADLY done so because this is probably one of the best books I’ve read in my life and I am now scared I will be in a reading slump.

Emily Henry literally gets you immersed within literal seconds. She presents the standard tropes of “forced proximity, friends to lovers, second chance romance, fake dating” in such a unique amazing way I literally couldn’t get enough of it. Her story telling skills are impeccable and not one word she writes is out of place. The way she writes perfectly describes situations from what it’s like to meeting someone for the first time to getting into an argument.

There wasn’t one character I didn’t immediately fall in love with. All your initial impressions of each character are so strong and I loved how independent their personalities were yet how well they intertwined. And the friendships?!!? I could write a whole essay about that topic alone because the depth of these relationships is beautiful. Friendship was the root of this book and I am here for it.

I could relate to Harriet SO MUCH on a personal level it opened my eyes up. And Wyn had my whole heart. He reminds me why men written by women are just elite and nobody can tell me other wise. Their relationship was complex and had so many twists and turns yet I just couldn’t get enough.
On top of that there are funny, heated, deep, sad moments. Like Emily Henry ticked every single one of the boxes because I found myself laughing but then crying and then feeling relaxed and then having a panic attack al in one???? AND ITS THE FACT ITS ALL REALISTIC. I genuinely felt I was there experiencing all this and that’s exactly what a good book does.

AND THE AMOUNT OF LESSONS YOU CAN LEARN FROM THIS BOOK?! About mental health, self-love, the importance of taking time out for yourself, communication like every person can and will take something from this book.

I could re-read this whole book again right now even though I’ve just finished it and I would still rate it 5 stars and have a whole lot more to say. I genuinely have not one bad thing to say about this book. I have so much more to say but this would just go on. This book is my Happy Place.

🏝️ HAPPY PLACE 🏝️

What is your most anticipated read of 2023? Mine was this one. And when Viking invited me to read and review Happy Place, the forthcoming novel by my favourite, Emily Henry, I dropped all other reading plans and devoured it straight away!
🏝️
This book is everything. It has all of Henry’s trademarks: smart writing, tonnes of chemistry and characters you’re really rooting for. But it also has a lot to say about family, friendship, mental health, grief and that tricky transition between those heady students days and true adulthood.
🏝️
I’m going to go ahead and say it: I think this is my favourite of all Emily Henry’s novels. I loved Harriet and Wyn and all of their friends, and I thought their story was very well written with plenty of food for thought.
🏝️
This one isn’t out in the UK until the 27th April so there’s a little while to wait. But what better way to treat yourself this Valentine’s than putting in a cheeky preorder..? 💜
🏝️
With thanks to Viking for making my January so much brighter! This one will be a contender for my book of the year, without a doubt.

Happy Place by Emily Henry
I give this book 4.75 stars

Two exes. One pact.
Could this holiday change everything?
Harriet and Wyn were the perfect couple for the past decade.Except this year, they broke up six months ago.and still haven't told their friends..One last holiday all together in their Happy Place before the cottage is sold.
But how can you pretend to be in love - and get away with it - in front of the people who know you best?

Meet Harriet the people pleaser and gorgeous Wyn (swoon) who feels like he doesn’t belong,add their lifelong friends into the mix and off we go.
.This book explores what happens to friendships and relationships over the years as life becomes more complex and you change.There’s something in this book for everyone to relate to,which is what I want in a standout read like this.The authors engaging writing style,relatable plots,flawed characters ( that I want in my life) and idyllic settings are what draws me in every time and leave me impatient for the next book.
2nd chance romance,
past/present timeline to draw you in,
banter,emotion,love,life,miscommunication,secrets,found family and plenty of angst
Find your happy place and embrace your life!
I LOVED IT
With thanks to Netgalley,Emily Henry and Penguin General UK for my chance to read and review this book

This book commits 100% to giving you all the angst, and let me tell you, I felt it. Parts of this had me so tense that my stomach started to hurt, but also compelled me to keep reading in the hopes that I would finally find out what had happened between Harriet and Wyn.

It takes a while before we get there. The story is told in two timelines, where we explore how they met and fell in love up until their breakup, while in the present, they are struggling to keep their single status a secret from their best friends. Of course, this goes about as well as can be expected when both of them are hurting but pretending they're perfectly happy.

Even though there were misunderstandings and lack of communication (not my favourite tropes), I found that these didn't bother me in this case because I understood why they hid certain things. There were a few moments where they were discussing their problems and opening up to each other that had me emotional, and even though a second chance romance doesn't always work for me, I was rooting for them. I do think the way it gets resolved was a bit weak—at one point Wyn says, "Because there's nowhere I wouldn't go for you," which completely erases their entire history and feels a lot like the definition of insanity.

As is usually the case, Emily Henry tackles a lot more than just the romance. In Happy Place we have a group of six friends who have been slowly growing apart, but so far refuse to acknowledge it. I really liked the focus on friendships and how much work you have to put into sustaining them, especially once you're in different physical locations or different phases of your life. The banter within the entire group was top notch as always—the snappy dialogue is definitely one of the reasons Henry's writing tends to work for me.

Oh, and if you've read Beach Read, there's a blink-and-you-miss-it easter egg in this one.

Happy Place isn't my new happy place, but it's another solid entry from Emily Henry, who has become an author whose romances I will always pick up.

Emily Henry has done it again! Switching between the present and flashbacks, you're taken through the love story of Harriet and Wyn, and their heartbreaking split. I was instantly hooked and obsessed with their relationship, rooting so hard for them to get back together! I absolutely flew through this book, it might be the most gripping romance I've ever read. Will be recommending to anyone and everyone!

This was a really great romance read which explored all the six main characters in great depth. Another Henry book that I loved!

Did not finish. I tried hard to like this author, but I've come to terms, and she'll never be my cup of tea, sadly. I won't rate it since I didn't finish the book