irene's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy and Drug use
pumpkinbread02's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
there was a lot i liked from this book but overall it reads like the characters are much younger, i was shocked when they mentioned they were 30.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Sexual content, and Alcohol
juliamakena's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
amesreads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Death of parent
kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Title: Happy Place
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: April 25, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Summery • Heartfelt • Lackluster
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college — they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now — for reasons they’re still not discussing — they don’t.
They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Well, well, well it looks like I am in the minority... yet again when it comes to an Emily Henry book. After finishing this one I actually sat and contemplated why I just don't love her books like everyone else seems to. Happy Place to me was just okay, nothing absolutely amazing.
I will start out by repeating myself, that Emily writes banter unlike anyone else. And she also does supporting characters very well. I loved the friendship aspect and the idea of an annual friends getaway. But that also left me wanting more of supporting characters' stories (which I kind got in the third act conflict). Another thing this book did incredibly well? Make me want to visit coastal Maine. The descriptions - sights, smells, food, beauty - all of it made me want to road trip.
And yet, I just didn't buy what Harriet and Wyn were selling. The romance didn't seem believable. In the beginning I preferred the past timeline way more than the present day, and halfway in that switched. It's quite possible my expectations are always way to high going in, but it felt forgettable.
After reading all of Emily Henry's adult romance novels and not fully understanding the hype, I think I am finally convinced her stories are just not for me. And yet, here I am already having added her 2024 release to my TBR, so the marketing team is definitely doing something right. Don't let my experience deter you from picking this up, because this book has certainly garnered its fair share of love.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the second chance romance trope
• Emily Henry die hards
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Everything is changing. It has to. You can't stop time."
"Like even when something beautiful breaks, the making of it still matters."
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: April 25, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Summery • Heartfelt • Lackluster
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college — they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now — for reasons they’re still not discussing — they don’t.
They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Well, well, well it looks like I am in the minority... yet again when it comes to an Emily Henry book. After finishing this one I actually sat and contemplated why I just don't love her books like everyone else seems to. Happy Place to me was just okay, nothing absolutely amazing.
I will start out by repeating myself, that Emily writes banter unlike anyone else. And she also does supporting characters very well. I loved the friendship aspect and the idea of an annual friends getaway. But that also left me wanting more of supporting characters' stories (which I kind got in the third act conflict). Another thing this book did incredibly well? Make me want to visit coastal Maine. The descriptions - sights, smells, food, beauty - all of it made me want to road trip.
And yet, I just didn't buy what Harriet and Wyn were selling. The romance didn't seem believable. In the beginning I preferred the past timeline way more than the present day, and halfway in that switched. It's quite possible my expectations are always way to high going in, but it felt forgettable.
After reading all of Emily Henry's adult romance novels and not fully understanding the hype, I think I am finally convinced her stories are just not for me. And yet, here I am already having added her 2024 release to my TBR, so the marketing team is definitely doing something right. Don't let my experience deter you from picking this up, because this book has certainly garnered its fair share of love.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the second chance romance trope
• Emily Henry die hards
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Everything is changing. It has to. You can't stop time."
"Like even when something beautiful breaks, the making of it still matters."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Chronic illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Death, and Death of parent
zoeblair17's review
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.75
I reserve 5 stars for books that I couldn’t put down even for a moment to eat or shower and this wasn’t that, but it was still perfect.
All the things you love about a rom com holiday read but with some juicy friends & family relationships to dig into along with challenges with “adulting”.
I laughed, I cried, I cringed and it really made me miss Maine. This is EH’s best one yet!
All the things you love about a rom com holiday read but with some juicy friends & family relationships to dig into along with challenges with “adulting”.
I laughed, I cried, I cringed and it really made me miss Maine. This is EH’s best one yet!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Sexual content, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug use and Vomit
amsu's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very lovely friend group and summer vibes.
If you do not like the miscommunication trope, I don't think this book is for you. That being said, I understand why the characters behaved the way they did.
If you do not like the miscommunication trope, I don't think this book is for you. That being said, I understand why the characters behaved the way they did.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pregnancy and Mental illness
tillie__'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy
sadie_g's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
5.0
Literally don’t even know how to describe this book, but I was on the edge of my seat while reading, there were tears, and smiles, and a lot of reflective thinking (cause damn Harriet really thinks just like me). This book just felt so comforting to me, and it really made me think about my idea of a happy place.
The characters have such great dynamics together, and they all have believable motivations and ways of thinking. There is some miscommunication or rather lack of communication throughout the book, which is a trope I usually hate, but it was done in a good way that made sense for the book and characters and it didn’t make me feel so annoyed while reading it. Other tropes include forced proximity, one bed, fake dating, and second chance romance.
I feel like this is less of a romance book than other Emily Henry books. The romance is there but the main focus is on the friend group and Harriet’s inner thoughts and the issues she’s dealing with.
The characters have such great dynamics together, and they all have believable motivations and ways of thinking. There is some miscommunication or rather lack of communication throughout the book, which is a trope I usually hate, but it was done in a good way that made sense for the book and characters and it didn’t make me feel so annoyed while reading it. Other tropes include forced proximity, one bed, fake dating, and second chance romance.
I feel like this is less of a romance book than other Emily Henry books. The romance is there but the main focus is on the friend group and Harriet’s inner thoughts and the issues she’s dealing with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
Minor: Pregnancy
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
Just gotta wipe the tears away before I can even fathom writing my review.
I really, really loved this book. The second half, in particular, gave me so many feelings. It was so heartbreaking to see the relationship come together and then fall apart in the flashbacks, whilst Harriet was trying to navigate seeing Wyn again and how that played into her friendships in the present timeline.
Honestly, the shining star of this book was Harriet and her friendships. Whilst I did come to be invested in her relationship with Wyn, the friendships and the exploration of friends to lovers and how this impacts friendship groups was wonderful and really resonated with me.
This was almost a perfect book for me, but I did have a desire partway through to have more context as to why Wyn and Harriet made a good couple together, as I felt we had seen a lot of them coming together and falling apart, but not as much in between. In saying this, this part of the story was further developed in the second half and by the end I did feel invested in their relationship.
Emily Henry has a way of making me so invested in the world of her characters that I literally cannot stop thinking about them whilst I'm not reading the book, and this was no different. I absolutely loved it, and would recommend if you love novels with a bit of angst and a bit of sweetness mixed together.
I really, really loved this book. The second half, in particular, gave me so many feelings. It was so heartbreaking to see the relationship come together and then fall apart in the flashbacks, whilst Harriet was trying to navigate seeing Wyn again and how that played into her friendships in the present timeline.
Honestly, the shining star of this book was Harriet and her friendships. Whilst I did come to be invested in her relationship with Wyn, the friendships and the exploration of friends to lovers and how this impacts friendship groups was wonderful and really resonated with me.
This was almost a perfect book for me, but I did have a desire partway through to have more context as to why Wyn and Harriet made a good couple together, as I felt we had seen a lot of them coming together and falling apart, but not as much in between. In saying this, this part of the story was further developed in the second half and by the end I did feel invested in their relationship.
Emily Henry has a way of making me so invested in the world of her characters that I literally cannot stop thinking about them whilst I'm not reading the book, and this was no different. I absolutely loved it, and would recommend if you love novels with a bit of angst and a bit of sweetness mixed together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Sexual content