Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Happy Place

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Happy Place by Emily Henry

155 reviews

isacarvalho91's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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emfass's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I struggled a whole lot with (small spoiler) how much the main characters are being dishonest to their close friends (and each other! and themselves) in the first two thirds or so of the book. The unraveling and the resolution at the end was beautifully done, but I was so so uncomfortable getting through the first part of it with lying being such a linchpin to the plot.

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bringmybooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

you’re either gonna love it or hate it and idk what to tell you

B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

I honestly & truly don’t think this book is going to be for everyone, and I honestly & truly don’t think all of Emily Henry is for everyone (4 starred her first two, lukewarm on them in retrospect, DNFed Book Lovers, don’t @ me). All of that being said, I honestly & truly loved this book.

(Also, did I finally break down and decide to read this because the MC loves Murder She Wrote? no comment)

There are some books that I think have universal appeal, and others that hit harder because of the life you’ve lived and the experiences you’ve had, and I think that was a huge part of why this hit so well for me. I can totally understand why people would look at this and go “miscommunication trope at it’s finest, yawn” but (as someone who’s not typically a fan of this trope) I felt this was a super realistic portrayal of trying to figure out who you are and what you want as you grow older, especially as you try to do it in a relationship with someone you love who is growing up alongside you.

One of my gripes with some of EH’s work is that it’s too … quippy. Nobody can be “on” 24/7, zinging barbs back and forth with whomever they come across from the moment they open their eyes until the moment they go to bed. Sometimes even the quippiest person just calls their partner and says, “Hey, do we need milk?” without there being a joke attached to it, you know?

That being said, I felt that that the characters in this book were way more realistic, and I actually believed in them, which made it a lot easier to stay invested in the story & in their relationships. It’s got so much heart in the way that growing up in a friend group is described, especially as we start to want different things that don’t align with how our friends or partners are growing up.

tl;dr this one brought me back to EH and I’ll be giving her next one a read!

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st4rchaser's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

nothing about that book was happy

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mari1532's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was the first book of Henry's that I have read (although I own two of her other books). Although this was my first trip on the Emily Henry bandwagon I can firmly say that I get what all the fuss was about. Her writing has a way of drawing you in and I found Harriet relatable in so many ways that in several instances throughout the book, it hurt how much I connected with her. I think that is why I gave this book such a high rating. Harriet's re-evaluation of some of her life choices is something that I can deeply relate to as a recent doctoral graduate.

I will say that I did find the friendship dynamics the most interesting relationships discussed in the book and the climax of that part of the story and its resolution were both really satisfying to me. Henry found a way to capture how friendships evolve over time and expand and grow to accommodate the people within them.

Part of the reason the friendship dynamic was so much more appealing to me in this book is that I actively hate the miscommunication trope in so many ways even if it is a shortlived part of the plot. If this had been a physical book I may have thrown it across the room several times because I was just so frustrated that Harriet REFUSED to say things that she was thinking so loudly in her head.

I enjoyed the writing and human dynamics discussed in this book and would recommend it if you enjoy romance novels or books that discuss found families.

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_alyssar_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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m4rtt4's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

now I've read every novel of Emily Henry's (that's been published so far) and this was my first 4 star experience — I guess it was worth not giving up despite feeling like her other works were not my cuppa tea. I would have binge-read this in one sitting had I not started reading at 12am — I slept in the middle and then finished the book first thing when I woke up. Sooo I would recommend the book, the pining was especially well done :)

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