I am typing this as my tears are drying and that’s always the best way to start a review. When I first started reading this I thought the writing was good and the story was sweet but there’s wasn’t anything wow about it. There’s a lot of travelling back in time to help you understand how they got there and the dynamics. The story follows found family and how time has changed their paths and how they keep ahold of one another. As I got further into the story the emotions really started to get intense. The story got so much better and the way it was told was beautiful. The story is told from Harriet’s perspective but through her relationship with wyn we get to see different forms of insecurity and attachment from both of them. The way childhood affected each of them in different ways and how it led them to make the decisions that they did and how they learn to grow beyond that. Learning to not only accept themselves but hold on to each other including their other friends and their own challenges. With beautiful writing and lots of tears and laughter it a 4.5 stars from me. The beginning is what pulled it down just that little bit. But otherwise another must have book from Emily Henry’s backlist. Happy reading 🥰

A group of friends on an island. A yearly summer holiday that will be the last of an era. a couple who have been broken up for a half year, but have not told their friends.

Wyn and Harriet have been the perfect couple since they have been together. However, life happened and now they broke up. They have not talked about it to each other or their friends. When they find themselves on a group holiday, there are many reasons to not tell their friends about their break-up. It is hard though, to keep pretending. Especially, since they are still definitely in love with each other. Will they be able to let go of each other, to make the other happy? And what will happen in the group diring this holiday?

I loved this book, Emily Henry captures the difficulties of life that came in between Wyn and Harriet perfectly. She kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to keep reading until I finished the book. The characters were great and the setting was perfect. I loved all the references and inside jokes that were in the book. I wish I could just re-read this like it is the first time.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for letting me read this as an ARC. #HappyPlace #NetGalley

“Everything good?” she asks. “Of course it is,” I insist, snuggling closer. “I’m in my happy place.”

I was excited to read Emily Henry’s upcoming, Happy Place thinking it would be fun, light and romantic. I am happy to report that it was that and so much more. Emily’s fourth novel where she takes on the second chance romance trope is a definite winner and for many more reasons than readers might immediately think.

‘What can you feel? Sunlight, everywhere. Not just on my bare shoulders or the crown of my head, but inside me too, the irresistible warmth that comes only from being in the exact right place with the exact right people.’

On the surface, Happy Place is the story of Harriet and Wyn who have to pretend they are still together so they don’t ruin their last holiday with their group of best friends. How this plays out will obviously prove eventful, however, dig a little deeper and there is a great deal more going on here. The tale goes between past and present but there is a real depth of emotion on both an individual, dual and group level that definitely sets this Emily Henry book apart from her earlier works.

‘He’s become my best friend, the way the others did, bit by bit, sand passing through an hourglass, so slowly it’s impossible to pin down the moment it happens. When suddenly more of my heart belongs to him than doesn’t, and I know I’ll never get a single grain back.’

Yes, this book has all the expected charm with fun and light encounters but this time around there is an added layer of real character development. There is a sense of melancholy as other reviewers have noted that makes it less rom-com with a focus more on the slow burn. With deeper understandings and revelations as characters explore their individual and collective arcs and how navigating life and love - both romantic, family and friendships - is front and centre.

‘The place I go when I feel trapped inside myself. When I’m terrified that all my happiest moments belong to the past.’

This, I found to be, one of the most appealing aspects of this book. Whether it be the individual's growth, the romantic growth and family/friendship growth - Emily Henry takes it to the next level. I found the theme of friends and family and what that looked like and how that impacted them to be just as powerful as the romantic themes - perhaps even more so.

‘Time doesn’t move the same way when we’re there. Things change, but we stretch and grow and make room for each other. Our love is a place we can always come back to, and it will be waiting, the same as it ever was.’

Emily Henry’s Happy Place, is quite possibly her best yet as it has everything you have come to expect and so much more. Her writing is truly evolving with readers sure to love her latest offering. The romance is incredible but so too are the other themes and life lessons.

‘Everything is changing. It has to. You can’t stop time. All you can do is point yourself in a direction and hope the wind will let you get there.’










This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

🐚 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🐚

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: one bed, second chance, found family, fake dating, friends to lovers

𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: past miscommunication, depression, death of a parent

I had mixed feelings about this book, and for a few moments I was scared that I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

I have read books written by Emily Henry before, but I felt different about this book. It seems to me that Happy Place deals with a lot of suffering on the part of the female character, and I understand it, because all this was caused by a lack of communication on the part of her and her partner.

In the course of the story, there are also some scenes from the past of Harriet and Wyn so that you can better understand why they broke up. I really liked the flashbacks, and even at one point I wanted more flashbacks than the moments in the present.

Emiliy's writing style and how she portrayed the suffering of the characters was very beautiful, and the epilogue was happy and emotional.

There were also some funny moments, and the secondary characters seemed to me to be the perfect friends you can have. What I didn't really like was the fact that almost every character had something to hide, which made it a little hard to connect with them.

Overall I really liked it.

Thank you Emily Henry, Pinguin General Uk and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Emily Henry's latest amazing book. I still need some time to process this, but I can say for now that it was fun, exciting, romantic, and, in true Emily Henry style, UNPUTDOWNABLE. I will definitely add a more detailed review once the book hangover it caused will pass and I can view it a bit more objectively. 5 stars!.

Harriet and Wyn have been together since college. However, six months ago they broke up but haven't told their friends. Their friendship group has been together since college and when they are invited to stay at their friend's house they have to pretend to be together still.

My actual rating for this is 3.5 rounded up to 4. I really loved Book Lovers but sadly this one was not as good. This one started out quite slow and it took me a while to get into this story. This one is told in two timelines; past and present. I didn't particularly enjoy the flashbacks and preferred the scenes happening in the present day. I liked the friendship group but I didn't love the romance. I didn't find that I was rooting for the characters to get back together.

Overall I liked this but it is not my favourite from this author. I do think that this is going to be very popular and there are a lot of elements that people will enjoy. This one has very summery vibes.

Wow, what a read this was!
Having only read Book Lovers, which I really enjoyed, I was thrilled to be invited to read an ARC of Emily Henry's latest novel Happy Place.
This was a complete surprise. This book touched me in ways I had not experienced with Book Lovers, which to me felt a little straightforward.
Happy Place tackles friendships and life events far more than I had envisioned. The characters' relationships were put to the test in their adult life, and Henry does a superb job of keeping the characters identitities through the book.
The emotion, the understanding, the character development, are perfectly written with a plot that pulls on your heart strings with every page.
Fantastic.

Sachant que l'autrice allait être prochainement publiée en France, j'avais envie de découvrir sa plume avec son prochain titre VO. Malheureusement pour moi, je n'ai pas réussi à me plonger dans cette histoire et à m'attacher aux personnages.

Harriet Kilpatrick est notre héroïne et depuis cinq mois, elle s'est séparée de son compagnon. Elle ne l'a dit à personne et elle va se retrouver dans une situation délicate car ses amies l'ont invité pour leur ultime retrouvaille dans cette maison où elle a vécu plein de moments heureux. Après une annonce romantique et inattendue de Sabrina, elle n'aura donc pas d'autres choix que de s'enfoncer dans le mensonge et les fausses apparences. Si au départ les flashbacks nous permettent d'en savoir plus sur la naissance de leur histoire, j'ai trouvé qu'ils alourdissaient le récit et je me suis donc par moments ennuyée. Les tensions seront donc là mais toute l'alchimie n'est pas morte. On va finir par comprendre pourquoi ils se sont séparés mais même à ce moment là, je n'ai rien ressenti.

Les amies de notre héroïne sont donc Sabrina qui va épouser Parth et à qui appartenait cette maison aux superbes souvenirs. Elle est clairement le ciment entre nos trois héroïnes et j'ai vu qu'elle était souvent à l'origine des appels, des rencontres et donc de ce dernier moment ensemble. Elle est un exemple d'amour heureux et cela pourrait donc être un cinglant rappel de ce qu'elle a perdu mais jamais Sabrina n'est mesquine ou enfonce le couteau dans la plaie. Quant à Cléo, elle est en couple avec Kimmy et elle semble plus discrète. Pourtant, elle saura hausser le ton quand il le faudra.

Wyn Connor est donc le héros et on sent très vite qu'il a besoin de s'expliquer avec Harry. Ils ont laissé les choses en suspens et n'ont pas encore tourné la page. Il y aura pas mal de non dits et un manque de communication. Wyn est un héros que j'ai bien aimé mais qui n'a pas non plus été transcendant. En effet, pourquoi attendre aussi longtemps et accepter de rentrer dans le jeu de cette rencontre surprise s'il n'a pas encore des sentiments;

Bref, vous l'avez compris, j'ai lu ce livre mais il ne m'a pas emportée. Je laisserai toutefois sa chance à l'autrice en découvrant d'autres titres avant de porter un jugement définitif sur une plume qui pourrait ne pas me plaire.

I don't read a whole lot of contemporary romance, and apart from Emily Henry the only other author whose novels appeal to me from the genre is Mhairi McFarlane. So it was a no-brainer to request Henry's latest offering... but I am sad to report that it was my least favourite of her novels so far.

I loved Beach Read for its believable romance narrative and fun plot and setting. Book Lovers was probably my next favourite as I enjoyed the premise and book-themed plot. You and Me on Vacation was admittedly not the best (I almost always hate the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers plot in a novel), but I found things to enjoy in the book. So what went wrong with Happy Place?

The "cast of friends reliving their youth" narrative felt a bit tired and it was honestly flat out boring to read about a load of friends getting drunk (repeatedly) before they could be honest about their feelings. The fact that a few things in the plot (no spoilers!) were based on people lying so as not to upset other people in the friendship group felt totally contrived too. The romance arc was also just a bit dull.

It's a shame that this didn't work for me, but if you've enjoyed Henry's other recent romance offerings I'd still suggest picking it up - you might find something that works for you here. I'd still pick up her next book, but am just left feeling a bit bummed that this didn't work for me or take me to my "happy place" (sorry!).

This is a very different take on the ‘fake dating’ trope. Harry and Wyn broke up six months ago, but they haven’t told their close knit group of college friends yet. Now, they’re going on their annual trip to the cottage, where they will see their friends, and each other, for the first time since the break up. Harry intends on gathering them together and telling them, but soon after they arrive Sabrina announces that her father is selling the cottage, making this their last time staying at their ‘happy place’. She has decided that her and boyfriend Parth will get married there at the end of the week, with only their four best friends as witnesses. How can Harry and Wyn spring their devastating news on them now? They decide to stick the week out, pretending that they are still a couple, so as not to put a damper on the celebrations. It’s harder than they thought it would be though. (Pun very much intended)...

I didn’t think I’d enjoy this romance between exes, but Emily Henry has surprised me again. ‘Book Lovers’ is still superior for me. The chemistry between those characters was off the charts. This is still a great read though. There is one part that will always stick with me (and it’s not a steamy bit). Near the end of the book Wyn compares depression to asthma, and (I won’t quote it here) it was one of the best descriptions of what depression and discovering anti-depressants can feel like. I had to screenshot.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have tears in my eyes because that ending was just beautiful perfection. The whole book actually. As much as I wanted to get to the hea part I also wanted to burrow into this book and never leave. It’s apart of my soul now.

Swapping from past to present helped make things seem not so heart breaking. I loved seeing Wyn and Harriet’s love build, and how they reconcile made my heart all warm and feel the feels. They were gut wrenchingly perfect for each other.

This wasn’t just about their love though but their found family’s love too. And I loved all the ups and downs and how real it was.

I loved everything about this book. I don’t know what else to say beyond that except that I’m super sad it’s over. It was everything that I never realised I needed.

A lovely beach read for me with characters you really root for. I loved the friendship here between the three main female characters. The main couple are the will they/won’t they pair, and you really want to knock their heads together. This feeling is total proof of how invested you are in a story! The setting is amazing, I would love to go to Maine and try a lobster roll.

Spring. Happy Place reminds me of Spring. Stick with me here — I’ll make the point, I promise.

You wouldn’t believe it, by looking at the date of this review, that Happy Place was my first read of the year. I read it right at the beginning of January. It has taken me four months (four!) to try and put in to my words my feelings about this book, and yet I still don’t feel I’m able to do it properly.

I love this book, wholeheartedly: from the top of my head, to the tips of my toes.

This book made me feel seen, it came at such the right time in my life when I needed it, and I think, for that, this book will always hold great meaning. I imagine, as well, as I get older this book will continue to impress me and find things for me to resonate with. Timeless.

Let’s just start off with saying: the title is deceptive. I spent most of this book not happy. But that’s not to say there isn’t happiness in this book, just that it was well earned and well placed. This book just has a wonderful mixture of banter, angst and love.

There’s also just so much yearning (clenches fist), heartbreak and grief. It’s a book about loss, about growing up and growing apart. It explores grief, all types: loss of a parent, loss of a romantic relationship, loss of a friendship, loss of a sense of self.

We find these characters in a time of their life where there is just so much change. They’re forced to confront mortality, and their futures in a way they never had to before when they were young. Forced to confront each other in ways they never had to. Because this is the reality, life hurts — it pulls and it picks at you, but in the words of the great Dr. Taylor Swift, if you never bleed you’re never going to grow.

Happy Place handles this all well — the showing of growing pains of people moving in to their next phase of their life. And this looks different to everyone: for some, it’s starting a family with children, for others it’s a marriage. Sometimes, your life may look exactly the same, but it’s you that feels totally different — out of place with yourself and those around you. It’s hard, but again, it’s so real.

I like how this book showed how friendships grow and change and snap and heal with time. How growing older can mean growing apart, people are in different parts of their lives, and that’s okay. But it’s reckoning with that, mourning that loss of how things used to be that’s hard. But this book shows that just because one thing ends, doesn’t mean it can’t be a new beginning of something else. You can still mourn and grieve for something in the past, it’s a massive change/loss, but you can look forward to the future.

I think that really captures the experience of growing up. So much changes, we change, our relationships change, the way we view them changes. And there’s also a sense of loss and grief, looking back at the “good times” and missing how things how used to be. It’s an experience many of us go through. Again, I like how this book presented that these relationships take on new life, but I appreciate how it didn’t try to solve this, or give an answer that’s like “well you just got to get over it!” If anything, this book said: feel your feelings, I’ll be right there beside you feeling them too.

This is why Happy Place reminds me so much of Spring. It’s a time where things renew, new life flourishes in the face of the old. It’s a cycle. And to me, Happy Place reflects that.

Overall, I loved this book. I loved how it was written, with the past and present narratives. I loved the characters, even — no, especially — when they annoyed me. These characters were perfect because they weren’t perfect, they were flawed and complicated and messed up and had stuff to apologise for, and a lot to not apologise for and I loved it. They were human. Every time I cried or I laughed I really felt it.

And, of course, I loved the romance. Like I said above, I loved the banter and the angst and I enjoyed how this story ended.

This is 5/5 stars, obviously. How could I give it any less?

Oh, Em... I was waiting for this book for so long and it was truly a masterpiece!

How to describe it? Simple. Fake it till make it. Harriet and Wyn broke up 6 months ago. They havent told anyone - friends and family have used to seeing them toghether despite their differences than they rather expected an engagement news than information about breaking up.

But, there is a small problem... They have invitation from their friends to spend holiday together. Sooo, they decided to just go, pretend that nothing happend and just enjoy themselves in place they both love. Sounds ridiciouls, right?

But still, I love it! I adore the spark between them, the emotions hidden deep, small rituals that keeps going no matter what they're trying to do or hide. Emotions does not disappear, they are changing, but sometimes we just need time to realise it.

I adore Emily and especially her two latest books. She's definitely heading into the right direction.

Okay. So. I read this book in a day. I started, I was hooked, and I cried at some scenes. Now, my problem is the ending, it is something that happens to me with this second chance trope. I can promise you that I try because I do enjoy everything about this trope, except the ending.

Now, it does not mean it is a bad book. It is my favourite of the author, I do think this is her best work so far regarding the characters, tension, setting, themes. It is simply that the way these stories end is just not for me. I will not talk about this specific ending because spoilers, but I will try to explain why it does not work for me.

There are two possible outcomes: either they solve their problems (either going back together or not) or not being able to solve it. Now, the issues are usually big enough to justify breaking up, so it has to be hard to solve it throughout the book for them to be together at the end. Sometimes, one of them has to give something up, which is a trope that I hate. It feels toxic to me, because love is not about giving things up for another person, it is about sharing those things and finding ways of doing it without having to give things up. Is it just me that feels this way?

Now, if they do not solve their problems is not as bad, it is life after all. But I have been reading a book that is trying to sell this relationship, the idea that there is something there, for nothing? I mean, all of this tension, romantic gestures, stolen looks and so much more, for this to just go nowhere. I don't like it. I just don't.

Which is why I like to read this trope: I'm looking for an ending that could work for me, because I love everything else about this trope, I really do.

Now, this book. I loved it, it was amazing. It talks about mental health, female friendship, family, communication. It has diversity: they do not have to suffer at any point about their sexuality, nor they have a tragic ending (thank you for this, it's so good). So, yes, it is a great book. Easy to read, easy to enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for providing me with an ARC.

Wow, Emily Henry has done it again and I think her writing could be getting even better!

I think I said the same when I read Book Lovers but man I am so obsessed with Emily Henry's writing. She just knows how to create these characters that you just can't help but fall in love with. Harriet and Wyn were no exception and I loved Harriet from the first page. I just love while of course the book focuses on our protagonist, Harriet, we also get to know her friends and grow with them too. This book covered the romance exceptionally well - loved getting to flash back to Harriet and Wyn meeting and watching their relationship progress- we meet them in a very different time in their relationship. But it also covered her friendships so well that you get a chance to know and love these side characters too. Henry does this so well that it doesn't distract from the main story and characters, it just elevates the story even more.

I made the huge mistake of reading this on a weekday and not saving it for the weekend. I am one sleepy librarian today after staying up late to finish this book! Totally worth it!!

Can't wait to see what Emily writes next and I think it's time to go back and re-read to keep my fix going.

Happy Place is exactly the feel good book I needed to read ! I couldn't put it down and read it in almost one sitting - and throughout the book I only had one thought : Emily Henry never disappoints, it's like each book is better than the last one !! I can't wait to read her next one !!

This is the cosiest Emily Henry book yet. But it is also her slowest burning. She has mastered the art of romantic tension, which makes Happy Place completely immersive and impossible to put down. Each sentence leaves the reader yearning for more. Her characters are varied but lovable, each with distinct personalities that never fade into the background. It grounds the book and paints a fuller picture of a friends' trip with easy banter and gripping conversation. The development of each of the characters, not just the protagonists, is a highlight for me. Additionally, her choice of location, as always, is perfect for a love story.

Choosing my favourite Emily Henry book is an insurmountable challenge. But if I were to pick one to start reading from the beginning the minute I reach the end, it would be Happy Place.

I don't think Emily Henry knows how to write a non-hitter. Every time I have the pleasure of reading her books, I'm almost certain that I'll enjoy them. And this one was no different.

Emily Henry pulled at our heartstrings with an amazing story about love and friendship. I loved the enemies to lovers trope that tied seamlessly into the second chance romance. I loved not only Harriet and Wyn, but the whole crew. I loved watching them navigate the intricacies of adult friendships and chosen families.

Unlike Henry's other books, I read this one slowly. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because I wanted to take it all in and feel all the feelings.

Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Harriet has headed to Maine for her annual getaway with her college besties, Sabrina and Cleo, and their partners. She is surprised to find her ex Wyn there too and now they are sharing a bedroom. Because Harriet and Wyn haven’t told their friends that they broke up months ago, and that their engagement is off.
Everyone just thinks that Wyn has been back in Montana caring for his mother who has Parkinson’s and Harriet has been hectic with her surgical residency at a San Franciscan hospital.
Now with her family’s summer cottage being sold, Sabrina plans to mark the occasion by getting married there first. So Harriet doesn’t want to ruin the moment by announcing her own separation. So can Harriet and Wyn act like they are still together?
The present story is punctuated with episodes where Harriet recalls some of her happy places, shared with her friends and Wyn. It was a nifty way to reveal how the main characters fell in love and the trajectory of their relationship. I initially found the back and forth a bit disjointed but stick with it for a melancholic romance. For those who find reading an Emily Henry book is their happy place, I’m sure you’ll love it.