katiemack's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
4.5
I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is a nice mix of Emily Henry's previous books; there's melancholy and emotional depth, but the banter feels light and cheesy in a lovely way that made me want to immerse myself in that charming, cozy Maine town and the lives of those tight-knit friends. As a couple, Harriet and Wyn feel a little fated-mates to me, but I appreciate how Henry explores the flaws in their relationship and the other factors that lead to their inevitable relationship status. It was also refreshing to read about friendships growing and changing even as those involved resist such change; it feels visceral and relatable.
With everything happening in the world (and, on a personal note, impending changes happening in my life), it was nice to read a reliably good Emily Henry romance. If you've enjoyed her other books, you'll enjoy this one too.
This is a nice mix of Emily Henry's previous books; there's melancholy and emotional depth, but the banter feels light and cheesy in a lovely way that made me want to immerse myself in that charming, cozy Maine town and the lives of those tight-knit friends. As a couple, Harriet and Wyn feel a little fated-mates to me, but I appreciate how Henry explores the flaws in their relationship and the other factors that lead to their inevitable relationship status. It was also refreshing to read about friendships growing and changing even as those involved resist such change; it feels visceral and relatable.
With everything happening in the world (and, on a personal note, impending changes happening in my life), it was nice to read a reliably good Emily Henry romance. If you've enjoyed her other books, you'll enjoy this one too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity and Mental illness
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Angst isn't my thing, but if it's your thing, you can kindly ignore my relatively mediocre rating for an Emily Henry book. If you also enjoy a strong friend group, a summer-in-Maine vacation setting (complete with a lobster fest), good-humored bit-style banter, opposites attract, forced proximity, only one bed, altruistic idiots, mental health rep, realistic life challenges, the excavation of the effects of childhood family dynamics, grown up "gifted" kids, personal emotional growth, people learning how to communicate with each other, and a slow-burn bit of steam — assume you can add another full star to my rating and dive right in for a beautiful, emotional romance read. More suited to Henry fans who preferred People We Meet on Vacation rather than those who preferred Book Lovers. And if you like this one AND Henry's more bookish books, definitely check out The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing and Drug use
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Pregnancy
uranaishi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Death, Classism, Confinement, and Chronic illness
Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Vomit, and Mental illness
watson_my_shelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
I’ve had mixed feelings about Emily’s books in the past, so when I started this and was annoyed by the miscommunication/lying premise in the first 20 pages, I assumed I wouldn’t like this one. But I ended up LOVING it!
I fell in love with the friend group & main character despite their flaws. This book does such a good job of showing how friendships evolve and change as we get older and enter into different stages of life. And the complicated romance in this book gave me all the feels.
Happy Place contains discussions of grief, depression, and other mental health topics. These topics were handled well in my opinion, and felt so real and raw.
The story is told in the present with flashbacks mixed in. I think this really added to the story!! I definitely got emotional reading this.
So glad the author included queer and POC side characters. We definitely didn’t need another mostly/all white and cis-het book from Emily.
I fell in love with the friend group & main character despite their flaws. This book does such a good job of showing how friendships evolve and change as we get older and enter into different stages of life. And the complicated romance in this book gave me all the feels.
Happy Place contains discussions of grief, depression, and other mental health topics. These topics were handled well in my opinion, and felt so real and raw.
The story is told in the present with flashbacks mixed in. I think this really added to the story!! I definitely got emotional reading this.
So glad the author included queer and POC side characters. We definitely didn’t need another mostly/all white and cis-het book from Emily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
rereadsromance's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-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
I am a big fan of Emily Henry’s writing, it always makes me feel all the feels; both good and bad. Happy Place made me cry and made me sad for about 90% of the story.
Wyn and Harriet’s story was about loss, grief and second chances. Their story was told in flashes between the past and the present; a present in which they have been broken up for months. Watching them pretend, for the sake of their friends, that they’re still together while broken-hearted over their breakup was painful to read.
I understand the reasons that led to the end of their relationship, but I still didn’t really understand them. Wyn suffered a loss that overwhelmed him emotionally and Harriet, in an effort not to burden him further with her own fears and insecurities, somehow only pushed him away.
Wyn and Harriet’s love for one another was very obvious to me as a reader which made their push and pull all the more frustrating. Their happy ending seemed insufficient in my opinion, I needed a bit more after all the angst. Emily Henry continues to write compelling stories that make me feel a lot and Happy Place definitely made me feel a lot, even if not happy.
Wyn and Harriet’s story was about loss, grief and second chances. Their story was told in flashes between the past and the present; a present in which they have been broken up for months. Watching them pretend, for the sake of their friends, that they’re still together while broken-hearted over their breakup was painful to read.
I understand the reasons that led to the end of their relationship, but I still didn’t really understand them. Wyn suffered a loss that overwhelmed him emotionally and Harriet, in an effort not to burden him further with her own fears and insecurities, somehow only pushed him away.
Wyn and Harriet’s love for one another was very obvious to me as a reader which made their push and pull all the more frustrating. Their happy ending seemed insufficient in my opinion, I needed a bit more after all the angst. Emily Henry continues to write compelling stories that make me feel a lot and Happy Place definitely made me feel a lot, even if not happy.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Mental illness
jelavision's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
4.5
What a melancholic and touching book. A lot of the book is miscommunication. How not having the ability to communication your feelings can stunt your relationships with significant others and friends. How the pressures of managing expectations of yourself and others causes people create a facade to deal with the stress. How people change over time and the effort of others to adapt to those changes. I found the book to be very poignant.
As a reader, the back and forth between the present and past was challenging at times. I felt like I was thrust into it before I was fully invested in the relationship between Harriet and Wyn. And some of the past chapters felt rushed. It tended to do a lot of telling instead of showing. I did love the banter between Harriet and Wyn. The slowburn between them keeps you invested, especially as you go on the journey of them rekindling their relationship. The tension (sexual and angst-ridden) between them? *chef's kiss*. And the tension culminates in such sweet and sexy steamy scenes between them.
While there was drama at times, I really did enjoy the friendship between all the characters. There were moments with them that made me smile, made laugh and made me cry. This is a book about the found family of Harriet, Cleo, Sabrina, Parth, Wyn and Kimmy as much as it is about Harriet and Wyn's relationship.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
As a reader, the back and forth between the present and past was challenging at times. I felt like I was thrust into it before I was fully invested in the relationship between Harriet and Wyn. And some of the past chapters felt rushed. It tended to do a lot of telling instead of showing. I did love the banter between Harriet and Wyn. The slowburn between them keeps you invested, especially as you go on the journey of them rekindling their relationship. The tension (sexual and angst-ridden) between them? *chef's kiss*. And the tension culminates in such sweet and sexy steamy scenes between them.
While there was drama at times, I really did enjoy the friendship between all the characters. There were moments with them that made me smile, made laugh and made me cry. This is a book about the found family of Harriet, Cleo, Sabrina, Parth, Wyn and Kimmy as much as it is about Harriet and Wyn's relationship.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Medical content, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent
alijoy94's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
I was going to say Emily Henry has done it again, bringing us another beautifully charming and emotional story, but in reality she just keeps getting better!
Happy Place follows Harriet, her college friends, and her (unbeknownst to the others) ex-fiance Wyn, through two timelines - the past, A.K.A. Harry's Happy Place, and the present, also known as Real Life, where everything seems to be falling apart. Over a week of kept secrets, forced proximity and second chances, our two timelines eventually converge to form a happy reality - though not necessarily in the way Harry expects.
This was an easy 4.5 star read for me!
Thankyou to Netgally and Penguin Random House for the digital ARC (as well as the physical copy I received through work)
Happy Place follows Harriet, her college friends, and her (unbeknownst to the others) ex-fiance Wyn, through two timelines - the past, A.K.A. Harry's Happy Place, and the present, also known as Real Life, where everything seems to be falling apart. Over a week of kept secrets, forced proximity and second chances, our two timelines eventually converge to form a happy reality - though not necessarily in the way Harry expects.
This was an easy 4.5 star read for me!
Thankyou to Netgally and Penguin Random House for the digital ARC (as well as the physical copy I received through work)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy, Medical content, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
decklededgess's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
trigger warnings: grief, death of parent, anxiety and depression, pregnancy mention, alcohol, sexual content, sexual assault, infidelity, parkinsons, chronic illness
As per usual, you can expect this Emily Henry novel to gut you emotionally. A second chance romance of two people who have grown apart in an eight year long relationship due to a myriad of reasons that the book reveals in the most gut wrenching yet cathartic way.
The book explores found family in a tender and reverential way, cherishing long years of companionship in proximity and distance, appreciating the growth and love and support that is provided by the people you choose to keep around you. It is twined in with Wyn and Harriet's relationship troubles as they try to protect the friendship and figure out whether distance or a second chance is what they need to prioritize.
Of course, in typical Emily Henry fashion, the story subverts traditional romance tropes and story structure in a refreshing and introspective way. You feel the pain, the joy, the love, the melancholy, and more.
Truly a stunning fourth book.
As per usual, you can expect this Emily Henry novel to gut you emotionally. A second chance romance of two people who have grown apart in an eight year long relationship due to a myriad of reasons that the book reveals in the most gut wrenching yet cathartic way.
The book explores found family in a tender and reverential way, cherishing long years of companionship in proximity and distance, appreciating the growth and love and support that is provided by the people you choose to keep around you. It is twined in with Wyn and Harriet's relationship troubles as they try to protect the friendship and figure out whether distance or a second chance is what they need to prioritize.
Of course, in typical Emily Henry fashion, the story subverts traditional romance tropes and story structure in a refreshing and introspective way. You feel the pain, the joy, the love, the melancholy, and more.
Truly a stunning fourth book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Infidelity, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
headinthepages's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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 love Emily Henry books and this was no exception. The characters are brilliant, the dialogue is witty and just as good as her other books.
The plot itself is engaging and fast paced.
I loved it all.
The plot itself is engaging and fast paced.
I loved it all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Mental illness, and Vomit
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