I honestly can't remember the last time I read a book in a day. Until now.

Emily Henry has this insane ability to absorb you into her stories, to unravel your head and heart.
The characters, their relationships, the settings, the intense emotions- SO WELL WRITTEN!

This follows Harriet, her friends and her ex Wyn, who all reunite for a farewell trip. A farewell to their Happy Place, their old selves and a whole load of unsurfaced feelings. The twist? Their friends don't know Wyn and Harriet aren't together.

As they fake it for a week, they live in the past, confront their present, and turn their worlds upside down. My heart burst with the
Fun. Laughter. Reminiscing.
And a fair amount of tears.

For the record, it is SO MUCH more than a fake dating trope.

I adored every second.

P.s this will be the best film/series

For me, Emily Henry will always be a certainty. Happy Place is honestly the romance of my dreams. It follows a kind of exes to lovers situation, Wyn and Harriet broke up some months ago, but they have to fake being still together for the sake of a vacation with their best friends.

The premise honestly really called out to me, and to be honest the novel lived up to my expectations. I always say that Emily Henry is my Taylor Swift in romance novels, and that's because these two women really know the way to my heart.
Book Lovers, to be completely honest was not my favourite novel ever by Henry, so I didn't know what to expect for this one, but it was honestly so good.

I really love how Henry, in her books, has the ability to make you care so much not only about the romance between the main couple, but also the characters as individuals, and also the side characters.

This book has a strong element of found family, and I honestly was head over heels about this. I felt like at the end of the novel I really cared about each one of the characters, and the way they acted around each other, like they were actually family was just the cutest thing ever, and it warmed my heart.

The relationship between Harriet and Wyn was just so believable, I really rooted for them, and while at a point I really didn't know how Henry could resolve some of the more practical aspect of their relationship, in the end I was really satisfied about how things turned out.

Also, I really enjoy how up to this point of all Henry's romance novels have a strong summer vibes to them, it's just a cute little thing that makes me happy (even though I would LOVE to see a book set in Winter).

In the end, I really loved this book, I really hope you pick it up when it will be released (in just a few days), because it really is worth it!

This book was a breath of fresh air for me – very different to the sorts of novels I normally read. The style is very much about the characters rather than the storyline – at times, I must admit that my short attention span started to get a bit itchy for more ‘things to happen’, but – by the time I got about three-quarters of the way through – I realised that wasn’t the point. And that I was completely invested in the lives of Harriet and Wyn and their happiness! The extremely in-depth character development was so stunning, I felt like I knew these characters, particularly Harriet and Wyn, personally and that they were genuinely real people. I cannot stress enough how impressed I was with Emily Henry’s skill for creating characters with backstories and memories and banter so real and lifelike that I can’t believe these people don’t exist in real life!

Anyway, the premise! Harriet is a junior doctor working in San Francisco and is going on her yearly trip to stay with her college friends at Sabrina’s dad’s cottage in Maine. It is the very last time they will get to stay here, in their Happy Place, as it is about to be sold. The friends are now 30 and a lot has changed since they first met in college – and some of those changes are about to hit the group hard. How they deal with the changes is what makes the group such strong friends and the story so profound and touching.

One of the changes is that Harriet and Wyn have split up. And no one else knows. Wyn wasn’t supposed to be on the trip – but here he is. And the two have no real choice other than to pretend for the duration of the holiday to avoid causing upset on this special trip. But they are clearly not over each other and have a lot of miscommunication to sort out.

The book is so evocative, and I felt such intense feelings of nostalgia, mournfulness and sadness for the characters. I did have a couple of cries! I don’t want to give anything away but I really enjoyed the way the story worked out and my heart genuinely went on a journey with Harriet!

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏. 𝑲𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓."

This was my first Emily Henry book, and it certainly won't be my last! The banter had me laughing the whole way through, except for the parts when I was crying, and even then, it was sometimes a mix.

We encounter Harriet on her way to her friend's holiday home in Maine, where her group meets every year for the lobster festival. We soon find out that she was not expecting her ex-fiance, Wyn, to be there, and yet, there he is. Only they haven't broken the break-up news to their friends yet, and now, with the news of this week being their last ever in Maine, they can't bear to hurt everyone or make it awkward, so they agree to a truce.

This story made me wish I had a friendship group like this! It wasn't perfect, but they were the perfect found family for each other. Each of them was different and flawed, and I loved that. Not everything was as perfect as it seemed, but it made the ending that much sweeter. I also enjoyed the flashbacks to show what went on with Harriet and Wyn, how they fell in love, and how everything went down. This story just gave me all the feels.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ebook in exchange for an honest review. I loved it.

If anyone asks for a romance book recommendation, one of the first authors I mention is Emily Henry and it is for a good reason. I’ve loved every single one of her books that I have read and her latest, Happy Place, is my new favourite book by her. It is spectacular, heart-warming and one of my favourite books I’ve read this year. I cannot recommend it enough.

Harriet and Wyn have been a perfect couple since they met in college, except now they don’t. They broke up six months ago and still haven’t told their best friends. That is why they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Main cottage that has been the home of their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual trip is the place where they can leave behind their daily lives and enjoy time with the people who understand them most. This issue is, this year Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth whilst trying not to notice how much they still want each other. Can they keep up the act for the week?

Happy Place has everything I wanted and so much more. It made me laugh, and cry and I immediately wanted to re-read it. It has a few of my favourite tropes, fake dating, friends-to-lovers and second-chance romance. I know some people may feel these have been overdone recently but that is definitely not the case with this book. It brings a new perspective to each trope and I loved how it all played out

This book is told from Harriet’s perspective and I loved getting to know her. Throughout the book, we get to know her thoughts, fears and all her vulnerabilities. This is done in such an honest and raw way and I found myself wanting nothing but the best for Harriet throughout the book. We see her struggles and how she learns from the situations she is in which made me like her even more.

I adored Wyn and he has easily become one of my favourite male characters ever. He is not without his flaws but they are part of what made him so loveable. He is vulnerable, and caring and is just one of the sweetest male characters I’ve ever read.

Harriet and Wyn are my favourite couple that Emily Henry has written for so many reasons. If someone asked me about soulmates, I would mention Harriet and Wyn. Their story tugged at all my heartstrings and I felt every emotion with them. They aren’t perfect but that is what made them feel so real.

The group of friends Happy Place centres around is amazing. I wanted to be a part of the friendship group myself. I’m always a fan of found family and this one may be my favourite. We get to see how their friendship grows and changes over the years, from their successes, to the worst moments and all the things in between.

I loved that this book is told from two different time periods, Happy Place being the past and Real Life being the present. We get to see the big moments in Harriet’s life thanks to this; when she met her best friends, when she meets Wyn and so many other amazing moments. This helped to give me more perspective on the characters and what they had all been through over the years.

Emily Henry continues to be one of my favourite authors and an author I know I can rely on her for a book that will make me sob and then have me happy crying by the end of the book. The way she explores life, growing up and relationships is extraordinary and helps to make her character so real and honest.

Overall, I cannot recommend Happy Place enough! It is extraordinary and heart-warming and its characters have my heart. It made me laugh, cry and sent me on a real rollercoaster of emotions. It is beautiful and I will be recommending it non-stop this year I’m sure.

Its Emily Henry - she knows how to write a killer rom com with just the right level of 'will they, wont they' to keep you hooked! In 'Happy Place' Harriet and Wyn, who were together for 6 years, broke up but havent told their friends. Can they keep the pretence going for a final friends' holiday?
We know where the story's going to go, but the journey there was fabulously executed and beautifully told.
I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written fun to read romcom
5 stars from me

“No one else’s happiness is yours to grant. You need to find yours.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THIS BOOK.

THIS BOOK.

It’s taken me a couple of days to write my thoughts down because I just loved it SO much. This has definitely taken top spot on my favourite Emily Henry books list. Am I shocked? Not at all.

The premise sounded like everything I would love. A couple who have to pretend to be engaged whilst on holiday with their best friends so that they don’t ruin the holiday and upcoming wedding by talking everyone that they’re no longer together? Yes please.

Emily Henry just has this way of writing books in the way that Taylor Swift writes lyrics… I don’t know if that makes sense but there’s always this poetic, beautiful style to her writing that sucks you in and makes you want to keep reading, just like Taylor’s lyrics make you want to keep listening.

I adored Wyn, usually I don’t relate to the MMC, but I really related to his self deprecating way of speaking, sometimes it hit a little too close to home and it felt like I was reading conversations I’d had myself with people in the past… I definitely shed a few too many tears.

As much as I love fake dating, it can be very hit or miss, but this was done so well. Paired with the second chance romance trope, this was the perfect book. The tension between Harriet and Wyn was palpable, and the found family aspect was an absolutely beautiful addition.

This is the perfect summer read. I recommend it to all of the romance lovers out there.

Read if you love:
💙 Fake dating
💙 Found family
💙 Close friendships
💙 Small/seaside town
💙 Dual timeline
💙 Second chance romance

(Thank you so much to Viking Books UK for kindly sending me a copy of this beauty!)

💙

Thank you Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business, Viking and Netgalley for this wonderful surprise arc. I just could not belive my luck.
How can I not love this book. A book that made me feel on the edge all the way. I had also a friend to buddy read Jennifer. We felt so lost and so hopeful together. It is hard to explain. I guess it was just so well done. Growing of the characters was really something I was anxious and wondered about. All the thoughts I had about it was just so deep and tender and angry, all together. There was a wonderful love growing in all directions. I have to mention the friendship that was something we would all want to have and give. I would say is a good reflection of love and what we need in love for real. What is important and what is not.

Very very thankful to have been given early reader access to Happy Place. Like all of Emily Henry’s work, it was amazing and I loved every second of this book!

4.5 stars
I cried so much while reading the last 30% of this book that I gave myself a headache. It's definitely a very emotional read that focuses heavily on heartbreak and on the meaning of happiness. Harriet was a very likeable main character and I couldn't help but empathize with everything she went through. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 full stars was because I didn't get enough happy moments. I would have loved to see more of happy Wyn and Har to balance out all that sadness in the rest of the book. Still, I loved the writing, the characters and the setting; and I thought this was a beautiful book.

With still a couple of weeks to go before it’s offical publication day this book has already gone viral over social media and with good reason as Emily Henry has done it again. She has written yet another novel readers is going to go nuts over.

Worth all the STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for kindly gifting me an advanced ecopy of this book.

Way back when I very first saw this book, I immediately requested. Having loved Book lovers I didn't hesitate at another Emily Henry book, (they are good for the soul) until I read the blurb and I instantly panicked at the second chance/ex lover romance trope. I then procrastinated for quite a while super concerned that I wouldn't get into it but when I did pick it up I had to give myself a good hard kick for ever mistrusting this author because MAN did she make it work!

This book was tugging on my emotions the whole way through. I absolutely love the almost mystery element in the history of the romance between the characters, the story is intricately woven to reveal vulnerabilities and events of the couples past with things happening in the present day and I am here for it. I don't think I have ever come across a book that makes me feel cosy one moment and wanting to sad sob the next.

If you love a book driven by characters you will adore this book. We have a small group of friends and dynamic to explore and each bring something brilliant to the atmosphere of the story, from Sabrina's organised and domineering temperament to Kimmy's party girls persona each character is unique and worthy of their part to play in the book.

I love the writing style, the atmosphere and feel of the book, the character arcs and the emotions that were explored and I'm so pleased that I didn't let what is usually a trope that falls flat for me, get in the way of this book.
Emily Henry proved to me that the ex/second chance love trope can actually be just as fulfilling as my beloved enemies to loves, what a time to be alive!!

Massive thank you for the eArc

Happy Place - Emily Henry

I was so excited to get started on this book, Emily Henry is a must read author for me now, I have loved all her previous books and this one is no exception. A fantastic ride of a story, which I found very difficult to put down. I adored Wyn so so much, and found Parth a very entertaining character. I enjoyed the background characters of the families and their history and stories, I thought this added so much more to the reading experience. I cannot wait for her next book....bring it on! Many thanks Netgalley and Penguin General UK for the advanced copy in return for my opinions.

This is a lovely book to read - and hard to review without giving away one of the initial twists - but just think about a longstanding group of friends, all of whom have fallen into couples. You meet every year, you love getting together - but one of the couples splits.
This is the situation Harriet finds herself in - and what's worse, she hasn't managed to tell her friends about the break up. Add in the fact that this is going to be the last time they can get together in their Happy Place in quite the same way, and you have the ingredients for a difficult week.
Well worth reading - perfect for a journey or holiday read.

4.5 stars!
This book had me feeling all the feels friends. I loved it so much. I have never cheered on for a book couple like I have Wyn & Harriet.

We have a past & present timeline here and usually with past timelines I can get a bit bored and just want to skip them to get back to the present but this was actually really well written I loved these chapters. They were Harriet’s “Happy Place” her favourite memories, they were just wholesome.

ONE BED! We love this trope and forced proximity 👏🏼 I also loved how much this story touched on mental health issues and not just from the FMC but from the MMC too.

I WISH this was a duel POV. If we had Wyns pov here we would of learnt so much more of his struggles and why he did what he did, I feel like this would of rounded out the story to a 5 star read for me.

MY HEART 🥹 the dynamic of the friendship group here really had me choking up at the end, This isn’t just about Harriet & Wyn it’s about the group. The bond they have. How they’re all growing individually & finding a way to stay together & not drift apart.

Happy Place is now my favourite Emily Henry book🤍
.

Emily Henry can do absolutely no wrong for me when it comes to this genre. The true Queen of Romance has another hot on her hands.

I could not have loved this book more. Emily Henry has such a unique way of looking right into my soul. I laughed, I cried, and adored every page

To see that I was approved by netgalley for a book written by Emily Henry was insane, I'm so thankful for this opportunity. Happy Place was such a fun summery read, where our main character Harry meets up with her old bestfriends in their 'happy place' which was somewhere they had spent alot of time together growing up. However, she has to pretend she's still happily engaged with her ex fiance Wyn. I really enjoyed reading this, the characters were well planned and excellently executed. The friendship dynamics were brilliant and the last chapter brought tears to my eyes. The chapters were short and the pace was relatively fast, but that is completely fine as the timeline is quite short. I highly recommend reading this in the summer!!

Emily Henry’s stories are always emotional rollercoasters and this did not disappoint. I could not put this down. Felt myself emotionally swinging between the joy at the beautiful love and friendship of these characters and near on blubbing at the angst and pain of their relationships. This was a story about friendship and found family as much as anything else. Harriet, Cleo and Sabrina’s bond ran throughout this story. The author did a great job of showing that as much as things change and people grow in different directions real and true friendship endures. The trio and the whole friendship group that formed around it with the additions of Parth, Wyn and Kimmy made me happy. The descriptions of the “last trip” really made me want to go on a trip to Maine!!

As for the main plot of Harriet and Wyn. That took me through the emotional wringer. As they fell for each other I fell for them and in between the blubbing I was raging as to why they weren’t together. Loved them, was frustrated with them for not communicating their pain, loneliness and insecurities to each other despite their vast love, and was desperate for them both to be happy in the end in whatever form that would take. One of my favourite reads this year 5 ⭐️.

Happy Place by Emily Henry is an emotional book about growing up, finding yourself, found family and of course true love.
Three couples who have been friends since their college days get together every Summer to spend a week drinking wine, chilling out and catching up in a Maine cottage owned by one of their parents. No matter how busy they are or what is going on in their lives, this time is special and sacred , and this week is more special than ever because it will be the last one at the cottage, which is being put up for sale.
Harriet is dreading coming clean to her friends , but she and Wyn, one of their sextet, have actually broken up, and haven't been together for six month. At least this way she can tell everyone at once and not have put herself through the heartbreak over and over again. The last thing she expected was to find Wyn at the cabin, and when their friends Sabrina and Parth confess that they plan to get married at the cabin at the end of the week, both she and Wyn agree that they will have to keep their secret for just a little longer. Fooling these people who have known them for years will not be easy , and Wyn and Harriet soon find themselves in all sorts of compromising and awkward situations.
While the love story between Wyn and Harriet is at the heart of this story, there is also a real focus on friendship. We see how the friendship between three such different characters as Harriet, Sabrina and Cleo began by chance but becomes stronger over time and expands to include Parth, Wyn and Cleo's partner Kimmy. We also see how time changes the friendships as the characters grow older and grow apart in certain ways while remaining close in all the ways that really matter. The real strength of this book is how wonderfully Henry has created and developed her characters, making them relatable and believable. The second chance romance between Wyn and Harriet is nuanced and dynamic, with ups and downs that really take the reader on a journey before we get our happy ending,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher ,all opinions are my own,