Scan barcode
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
theliteraryhooker's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
Emily Henry never fails to write romances where the surrounding characters are just as instrumental to the story as the main couple, and I truly appreciate that. I adored the friend group in this story, probably more than the actual couple. Harriet and Wyn grew on me as the plot went on, but the standout was definitely Harriet's friendship with Sabrina and Cleo. Not my favourite of her novels, but of course still a wonderful and emotional read as I've come to expect from all of her books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Vomit, and Alcohol
kailiyahknight's review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, and Mental illness
Minor: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Vomit, and Pregnancy
lisettemarie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
_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
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love the banter and tension!! The chemistry between Wyn and Harriet was 🥵
I related to both Wyn and Harriet a lot of times! I loved all the characters, getting to know them and watch them grow through the novel. I laughed, smiled, and cried but I think this is the first of Henry’s (so far) that’ll be rated under 5 stars 🙊
Around the 230 page mark I was so sick of the lack of communication!! This is essentially down to miscommunication being a main plot pointm, which I didn’t mind at first but eventually got so annoyed about it 😭
You’re in your 30s and had been together for nearly a decade!!!! YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TALK FOR 5 MINUTES AND HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS?! I understood to an extent given their characters backgrounds but still if you’re dating and ENGAGED to someone for that long, you should be able to communicate and share your feelings and if you can’t then maybe you shouldn’t be together 😫
By the end, I kind of understood the miscommunication, given the background and character traits of both Harriet and Wyn. Also I think it frustrated me so much because I recognized myself and my past issues in their issues. I also liked the author reader guide to explain the choices because then it made more sense but I was still annoyed and think it went on longer than it should’ve.
I didn’t cry at the end like I normally do, I still marked a lot of passages and loved the characters but I didn’t have the same emotions quite like the other books I’ve read so far 😞 It was fun and easy to read with top tier banter as always but because of the miscommunication (that lasted waaay too long) it’s going to rank last for now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
ju_harue's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.5
Demorou um pouco pra engatar na leitura, mas ao chegar no final, atribuo esse sentimento por conta do nível de assuntos pesados do livro. Ela é mais densa, mais demorada, foi mais difícil, era um sentimento de "querer ver o que ia acontecer" com o "não consigo mais estar" nessa história.
Embora talvez não tenha me apegado aos personagens, como foi em outros livros da autora, a história mexeu mais, ver o desenrolar da vida acontecendo, das suposições que fazemos e como as atitudes e conversas que fazemos (ou não), impactam e geram consequências.
Embora talvez não tenha me apegado aos personagens, como foi em outros livros da autora, a história mexeu mais, ver o desenrolar da vida acontecendo, das suposições que fazemos e como as atitudes e conversas que fazemos (ou não), impactam e geram consequências.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic
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.