Emily Henry is one of my favourite romance writers, so I was very excited when the publisher sent me the ebook arc of this book. I had very high expectations going into this book and it did not disappoint!

There was nothing that I didn't love about this book. It was so well written and the characters were amazing. I really enjoyed the plot and the character development. I felt like all the main characters had big developments through out the book.

I was hooked from the start and my interest in the book only got bigger and bigger the more I read.

I will definitely buy this once it gets released and if you like Emily Henry's books I highly recommend you do as well, because she has slayed again!!

I counted my lucky stars when I received this ARC from the publisher and felt no less lucky when I finished reading it. Another amazing read. Emily Henry writes so beautifully, plumbing the depths of flawed relationships and bringing the chemistry of a romantic couple to life with amazing banter and yearning (OMG the yearning).

As always, it was a rollercoaster of the emotions and the angst in this book was dialled up to eleven, not just for the main couple but for the group of friends as they prepared to say goodbye to their "happy place". I think that's why this one didn't end up being a 5 star for me. It's not that I don't enjoy that added depth to the characters world, I think it just ratcheted the intensity up a little too high for me to feel the same kind of warm, fuzzy glow I love to get from a romance. One hundred per cent worth the read, but definitely go in expecting to be put through the wringer!

I don't know if my hopes were just too high but I was really disappointed by Happy Place. It's no doubt an easy read and a good one to pack for summer holidays but barely anything happened throughout the plot to hold my interest.

I liked the idea of this same cottage that a group of friends visit annually and you'd think this would make a great breeding ground for a bit of drama but literally every 'issue' that occurred was the result of a lack of communication which felt really weak. Even the whole premise of the two protagonists not wanting to tell their friends they had broken up just felt silly and unnecessary.

When it came to the characters, I just didn't care about Harriet and Wyn as a couple and found Sabrina to be over the top controlling while Parth was dull and plain forgettable. If I had to choose, Kimmy and Cleo were probably the most interesting of the group.

I appreciate the author exploring topics such as grief, growth and family complexities but sadly these simply weren't strong enough to hold this book afloat.

real rating 4.75

I was so excited to read this book. Emily Henry is one of my favourite authors; her books are always a delight to read.

One thing I love the most about Emily's books is that they are not only about romantic love but so so so so much more. And this one it's no exception. Happy Place felt like a warm hug in so many ways, the friendship, the self-growth, the love, the angst, the happy place.

The friendship between all of them was so beautiful and heartwarming to read. But I love that it wasn't perfect; it felt more genuine.

Harriet and Wyn -our main characters- were wonderful. They are real and flawed, and their insecurities make them even more human. It was beautiful to read parts of their relationship and how they got where they were. It was emotional, poignant and oh-so-heartwrenching at times.

As always, Emily Henry's writing is so marvellous that it uniquely touches my heart; even when I think one of her stories won't make me cry, she proves me wrong. I cried so much with this one. And we do love a good cry, don't we?

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

I’ve heard many good things about Emily Henry, but haven’t yet read her books. So when I saw her latest romance was available to request I promptly asked to read this. I can definitely see why people are drawn to her. She balances romance with contemporary and relatable issues like friendship, family and difficult times. She plots well too but not at the cost of characterisation nor does she deliver lazy writing and indulge in wish fulfilment (aka Colleen Hoover). In many ways she reminds me of Beth O’Leary, an auto-buy of an author who delivers cute romances with relatable and real characters.
This story is written in first person narrative, following 30-year Harry (short for Harriet), who attended college near Vermont on a scholarship with financial aid where she met rich and elegant Sabrina, and bohemian, waif-like Cleo. The three became best friends and later roommates. A decade later their friendship is going strong even though career choices and life decisions have resulted in them being spread over the states. They meet every year in Vermont, in Sabrina’s dad’s holiday home. Harry, who is doing a residency in San Francisco, looks forward to these yearly holidays. It’s her Happy Place. Her job is demanding and she is often exhausted. Also unknown to her bffs, she has broken up with her college sweetheart of ten years, due to long distance after he moved back to the east coast to support his unwell mother. Plus both feel they’ve changed. Her fiancé was a part of her circle of friends and her roommate during college, so both Harry and Wyn decide to tell everyone about their breakup when the time is “right” which ends up being put off.
Now Harry is at her Happy Place, but to her shock Wyn is there too. Sabrina has asked him to be there because she has news - her dad is selling their holiday home. They have a month left to enjoy the home before they officially move out. This is just the start of change and adult life. To keep everyone’s morales up, Wyn asks Harry to wait until the end of the week before announcing their breakup. But in such close encounters to her only love, will Harry be able to stop herself from falling in love with Wyn again?…
The narrative flashes back to the past too, and we see how Harry and Wyn meet, and the journey of their relationship. But how will their story end?
I quite enjoy faux romance when done well, which it is here. I liked that Henry’s writing doesn’t focus solely on the romance aspect of it, and that her characters actually feel like real people. I was completely and utterly charmed by this sweet, and cute story ultimately about six friends and how their lives change dramatically now that they’re entering their thirties. With the flashbacks offering a different perspective to certain events, this was a pacy and binge-able read.
However there was a few things that niggled. I was confused about the Harry and Wyn getting married aspect of the novel, and wasn’t sure if this was something that they had arranged but forgot about. It just seemed so random. Also Wyn’s physical appearance especially that one piece of hair that always falls across his forehead was such a cliche and stereotypical, it made me LOL and took me out of the story at times. Lastly I found the dialogues at times a bit too “twee” for my taste and trying a bit hard to be cute particularly when Harry and Wyn meet. Some of the lines were charming, but at times it was cringe as was the scene when Harry gets picked up by Sabrina and jokes about getting a new face thanks to Etsy (Huh? What does that mean?) which I found baffling. I wish Wyn was better rounded as a character too, as occasionally he felt too good to be true and a bit of trope of a character. But these qualms aside I was charmed by this sweet story, which I read in one seating.
I’ll definitely be exploring Henry’s backlog and am happy to say this is an author definitely worth the hype on book-tok. I get why people are obsessed with her books, and look forward to experiencing more Emily Henry’s cute stories.

This is the first Emily Henry book I have read. I was pretty surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It is written very well, and the characters are enjoyable. You do feel that you are following along on the journey with them. I also felt that Henry did a great job of making the reader feel the pain the two main characters were experiencing and showed how much they loved each other. Along with the main plot line, there were side characters who made the story fun and entertaining. I would recommend this book. Thank you very much for the ARC

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. Emily Henry's books are one of my favorite summer books. This was a cute love story. I did think the book was a little long, but was still very heartwarming. Good story about friends that have endured lots of events and still manage to maintain friendship. Couple twists in there I didn't see coming!

Happy place is the perfect mix of Beach Read, People We Meet On Vacation and Book Lovers. There is the banter of Book Lovers, a similar structure as You and Me on Vacation and the melancholy and nostalgia of Beach read. The one thing that has not changed is Emily Henry’s ability to capture emotions, you will giggle, cry, scream, laugh hysterically and then cry some more (hysterically, because let’s be real this book is beautifully painful). You will relate to the characters and be surprised of how seen you feel.

Here Emily Henry decided to dip into the ex to lovers trope, and as a person who is not the biggest enthusiast of second chance romances I was a bit scared, but I knew I trusted Emily Henry enough to get myself into it. Let me tell you, I was blown away of how much she made the romance believable to me, we actually root for these characters, Harriet and Wyn, to find their way back to each other, we actually believe how much they care for one another, I fell in love with them as characters and as a couple, it was a joy to read this slow burn and to discover how we ended in this place and how to move forward.

As usual, Emily Henry writes characters we could actually find in our own lives, we all know a Wyn or an Harriet, we all had a group of friends like the one in this novel, they even feel like family at the end of the book, it is a beautiful story about love wether it is friendship, romance or found family.

This book is a roller coaster of emotions, and gives us many definitions of a happy place.

Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple - aside from the fact they aren't actually together anymore. Ever since college, they've been the power couple everyone has aspired to be; sweet, supportive, successful.

But as Harriets yearly trip with her best friends draws closer, they still haven't talked about the real reason they broke up, or even told anyone. They're not ready to break their friends hearts, or their own, so when Wyn is unexpectedly invited to their trip, they give themselves this last week of sunshine and sea before their lives change for good.

They just need to make it through a few more days and they can stop pretending - but they've both been pretending for a lot longer than they'd like to admit, and now it's time to get real.

"I know this place, even if I can't name it. I know that I'm safe, that I belong."

Witty, wise and wonderful - Emily Henry does it again with this charmingly beautiful and heartfelt story about love in all its messy, painful and amazing glory for this second-chance romance.

Harriet and Wyn were enchanting - so evocative and relatable, invoking so many feelings about how love can shape our lives even after it ends. Harriet was an anxious but determined surgical resident who's more of a 'slow release' kind of hot, and even though Wyn is almost her opposite as a smooth and suave ranch boy, they compliment each other. As we learn about their relationship today, and in the past, we watch as they grow together but also grow as their own people - but we're left waiting to learn about the one moment in their relationship they won't talk about - the end. I felt so invested in them, wondering whether the end of the story would be the end of them, or the start of something new. This book made me think about the endings I've experienced, the good and the bad, and the bittersweet ones that paved the way for a beginning.

The supporting characters in this story were delightful - strong, individual, so very real women who spoke their minds, made mistakes, set boundaries without apologies - Harriets best friends made me glow with warmth and I loved seeing the open love and affection between them. These relationships were shown as just as important as any romantic one, and they grow and change just like Harriet and Wyn.

The setting was absolutely stunning - I felt the sea breeze on my face and the sun on my skin and felt transported to my own happy place. This entire book felt personal and cosy, flowing seamlessly from chapter to chapter, switching between the past and present to give us a picture of the past, but also to help us figure out what the future might hold.

Full of utterly brilliant mishaps and mistakes that can only happen in a romcom, thoughtful reflections on love and a dose of playful humour; this book was a lot of laughs and quite a few years. As always, this reminded me that reading a beautiful story is my own happy place.

Wow oh wow! this was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023 and it did not disappoint! Emily Henry, you are a queen. Not only did this book make me laugh out loud but it also made me sob. I am in love with the characters and all the side characters, feel like I need novellas of the besties just to fill my heart even more! This is going to be the top book of the year, I can feel it!!

‘I’m saying,” he murmurs softly, “it’s not home unless you’re there.”

Harriet and Wyn were the perfect couple living the American dream, until the moment they weren’t. Now they are living a lie. They broke up six months ago and still havnt told their best friends.

Harriet has been looking forward to her friends annual week away and finally coming clean when Wyn appears at the cottage and they find themselves pretending they are still together, normally in the single beds room they decide they can do it, until they end up in the largest room with one big bed.

They all try to have the best time, sticking to routine but somethings different this year. Harriet is unhappier than ever, job baring too much and the normally quiet persona begins to show cracks. With one crack comes more and quickly the holiday starts to crumble around them.

A story of love, laughs, friendships, struggles and growing apart. Life changes and so do people, but it’s about sticking around for the people that matter and making time for them.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this one early. I loved it, it has that unique Henry storyline with characters and friendships you simply adore. Once I started I couldn’t put it down.

Another great book by Emily Henry. I loved the created family. I enjoyed the woven love story interwoven with the friends weekend.

My God I love Emily Henry. Every book of hers I absolutely race through, even though I want to savour every page. The most glorious, happy making novel. I loved it. I hope Emily keeps writing a book a year FOREVER.

I LOVE Emily Henry. Honestly she is one of my automatic purchase authors. I didn't even know what this book was about before I preordered it. I have endless faith in her writing and she has never disappointed. This book was absolutely beautiful. I sat down and read the entire thing in one sitting. It was such a heart warming story. I was so worried that these two characters weren't going to find their way back to one another after everything they had been through. The loveable band of characters that make up the found family are also brilliant. I loved how different they all were while perfectly fitting together. It was exactly the kind of story I needed. I will be recommending this book to everyone that asks for reading suggestions. Outstanding.

Emily Henry has done it again! I absolutely adored this, raced through it in two days. As with all her other books, Henry has a knack for getting you hooked from the first page. I thought the relationship between Wyn and Harriet had more depth, and darker sides, than her earlier novels which I really enjoyed, and I thought the supporting characters were strong too. This is going to be a big hit i'm sure.

Emily Henry has done it again! New year, new romance trope fulfilled with expertise in the pen of Henry! Love this ex-lovers to lovers trope, and really liked the Summer setting! An amazing read to transport me to Summer instead of the Winter in the UK.

Emily Henry does not miss.
I LOVED this book. It’s the perfect combination of a fun summer read that manages to explore some tense themes that make it so enjoyable to read.

Henry explores grief, heartbreak, and the complications that come with growing apart from old friends. Under the disguise of a romance novel, this is a a guide book for achieving self-acceptance and ultimately self-love. I really, really enjoyed this and I’m so grateful to NetGalley for the arc.

I’m a huge Emily Henry fan but it felt like this book was a step up, even for her. I was a bit apprehensive because I don’t love a second-chance romance trope but here it was handled beautifully- you still got all the heat, all the slow-burn but also a depth of feeling that made this something special. The romance element was wonderful, but I think the exploration of friendship was even better. I adored the setting and the nostalgia, it was giving me Judy Blume Summer Sisters vibes which is the highest compliment! I laughed, I cried, my heart was warmed. The perfect escape from reality.

At its core, ‘Happy Place’ is a story about found family. The people that make you feel that little bit braver, who make you feel like your insides are made of glitter. The people you can sit with, with no pretence, the people who see all of you and make you better for it. This book made me feel full in a way that exceeds the word wholesome. It was bursting with life and love in all its complexities.

The setting was gorgeous and the characters were loveable, rich, and complex. The dynamics of this friendship group should be studied, and I am processing my paperwork to join this group in their cottage as we speak.

All of Henry’s books have a distinct feel to them, this was no different with its amalgamation of melancholy and warmth. Though this time around the distance between the two felt wider and making 'Happy Place' feel deeper than her other bodies of work. I had such a profound feeling of hopefulness and serenity after finishing this book and I truly wanted the best for all of these characters, the resolution was fantastic!

In the words of Gus Everrett, Henry manages to “make[s] the world seem brighter, and the people in it a little braver.” I have a sneaky suspicion that this book will be even better upon a reread and am very much looking forward to April 25th.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another great Emily Henry novel! I was immediately invested in all of the characters and their beautiful lives together! The imagery was really vivid. I felt myself wishing I could be in the places they were in! I highly recommend!