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kbowles24's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Minor: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Look, nothing I say here will be groundbreaking or revolutionary with the 47 gazillion other reviews already out there. But I finished this last night and I'm actually writing a review for it, so applaud me, please.
Happy Place is a second chance romance between Harriet and Wyn, who broke up five months ago, but no one knows. One of their best friends, Sabrina, organizes their annual friend vacation, so Harriet and Wyn are playing pretend for the week.
I hate the miscommunication trope. Despise it. And this book is full of it. Miscommunication, or rather, lack of communication at all, led to their downfall and they're clearly still in love with each other and STILL holding back.
That being said... I somehow still really enjoyed this book? Wyn and Harriet's banter was hilarious and exquisite. All of the friends' adult problems felt real and relatable. The writing was lovely without being overly flowery or pretentious. And despite being a little too long, it's a quick read.
I originally gave it 4, but some things did bug me, so maybe it's more like a 3.5. Do with that what you will. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Book Lovers is still my favorite EH so far! (Have not read Beach Read or Funny Story yet.)
Happy Place is a second chance romance between Harriet and Wyn, who broke up five months ago, but no one knows. One of their best friends, Sabrina, organizes their annual friend vacation, so Harriet and Wyn are playing pretend for the week.
I hate the miscommunication trope. Despise it. And this book is full of it. Miscommunication, or rather, lack of communication at all, led to their downfall and they're clearly still in love with each other and STILL holding back.
That being said... I somehow still really enjoyed this book? Wyn and Harriet's banter was hilarious and exquisite. All of the friends' adult problems felt real and relatable. The writing was lovely without being overly flowery or pretentious. And despite being a little too long, it's a quick read.
I originally gave it 4, but some things did bug me, so maybe it's more like a 3.5. Do with that what you will. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Book Lovers is still my favorite EH so far! (Have not read Beach Read or Funny Story yet.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
victoriascotta's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
_b0ok_l0v3r's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
aseel_reads'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was very sweet, a very cute romance, so much tension, loved it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
eligru's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Chronic illness and Sexual assault
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Car accident, and Pregnancy
jennlikesreading's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
3.0
It was a nice casual read, I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. It was really well written, I enjoyed the characters and the dialogue. I just don’t think rom coms are for me which is why it didn’t slap. I found myself skimming towards the end because I knew how it was going to wrap up. Overall, it’s a nice summer read if rom coms are your thing!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Death of parent
strawb3rrysugar's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
After liking Book Lovers more than I expected to, I asked some of my other bookish friends their opinion on Emily Henry's books. Almost all of them said their favorite story by hers was Happy Place, so I gave it a shot and borrowed it from the library.
In all truthfulness, I don't think I am this specific book's target audience. This book is the miscommunication trope times a thousand, except it's not miscommunication so much as it is "none of these characters know how to sit down and talk, even thought they're in their thirties." It still had that warm and fuzzy Emily Henry charm, and I felt that her storytelling was still earnest, but I wasn't as moved emotionally by this book. I got excited when there was finally a fight between the main characters, and I'm deeply conflict-avoidant. They're a decent batch of characters, too, though I felt that the development between all of them was disproportionate. I knew way more about some characters than others, and it kept me from feeling truly attached to them.
I think my true issue is that I just found this book boring and repetitive at times. While the reason for Harriet and Wyn's split isn't clear until the third act, some points of their backstory and emotional angst are brought up over and over again in place of any true emotional development or maturity between them. Their passionate, can't-resist-each-other love feels robotic, like there's no real motive behind their actions. Harriet and Wyn are relatable in many meaningful ways, for sure, but they're otherwise incredibly boring. It was immersive enough that I felt like I was at the lake house with everyone, but I couldn't wait to leave.
All of that said, this book is not deeply atrocious or offensive. If you like fake dating and miscommunication tropes, found family, lgbt+/poc representation in the main cast, and being jumpscared by the mention of Hannaford in a book that mostly uses made-up towns in Maine, you could still give this book a try. It simply wasn't for me.
One more thing though--setting the story in Maine and naming the male lead Wyndham (Windham is a real town in Maine) is extremely funny.
In all truthfulness, I don't think I am this specific book's target audience. This book is the miscommunication trope times a thousand, except it's not miscommunication so much as it is "none of these characters know how to sit down and talk, even thought they're in their thirties." It still had that warm and fuzzy Emily Henry charm, and I felt that her storytelling was still earnest, but I wasn't as moved emotionally by this book. I got excited when there was finally a fight between the main characters, and I'm deeply conflict-avoidant. They're a decent batch of characters, too, though I felt that the development between all of them was disproportionate. I knew way more about some characters than others, and it kept me from feeling truly attached to them.
I think my true issue is that I just found this book boring and repetitive at times. While the reason for Harriet and Wyn's split isn't clear until the third act, some points of their backstory and emotional angst are brought up over and over again in place of any true emotional development or maturity between them. Their passionate, can't-resist-each-other love feels robotic, like there's no real motive behind their actions. Harriet and Wyn are relatable in many meaningful ways, for sure, but they're otherwise incredibly boring. It was immersive enough that I felt like I was at the lake house with everyone, but I couldn't wait to leave.
All of that said, this book is not deeply atrocious or offensive. If you like fake dating and miscommunication tropes, found family, lgbt+/poc representation in the main cast, and being jumpscared by the mention of Hannaford in a book that mostly uses made-up towns in Maine, you could still give this book a try. It simply wasn't for me.
One more thing though--setting the story in Maine and naming the male lead Wyndham (Windham is a real town in Maine) is extremely funny.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Harriet throws up at least twice during their partying and drinking antics. Drinking and partying make up most of the first and part of the second act. There's one or two scenes of foreplay and one sex scene, but the actual sex scene is brief and isn't very descriptive.withlivjones's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I don’t know if it’s just recency bias, but every time I read an Emily Henry book, I think it’s better than all the ones I’ve read before. I absolutely adored this book - it’s beautifully written, with a real focus not just on romance but also friendship, family, and home. All the characters felt so real with their own issues, and finishing the book felt like saying goodbye to friends. Harriet in particular is such a relatable protagonist, and I loved that her and Wyn had multiple conflicts as individual characters outside of their relationship problems, it felt extremely real. I loved all the little in-jokes and motifs that kept returning throughout the book. I’ve never been much of a fan of second chance romances, but this might’ve single-handedly changed my mind about that, and while I still have one EmHen book left to read, but it’ll be pretty difficult to top this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
fanboyriot's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
♡ Second Chance
♡ Fake Relationship
♡ Summer Vacation
Seriously such a perfect summer read for sure. It had all the wholesome friendship vibes combined with such detailed background history. I loved the t-shirts the main character and her friends had in college, truly iconic.
The humor was 10/10, deadpan as ever and I’m here for it. The miscommunication trope did play into this book a bit and I actually didn’t mind it as much as I usually do. I liked how things worked out in the end. While there were a few sad moments this book was fairly lighthearted and enjoyable, plus it had a happy ending so that helped a lot too.
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (3/5)
Angst Level: đź’§ (1/5)
POV: First Person
Release Date: 25, April 2023
Rep: Lesbian (Side Characters)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship