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A review by bookshelfbella
Happy Place by Emily Henry
4.0
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 4/5 stars ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
"You are in all of my happiest of places."
some spoilers ahead!
When this book was announced, I knew I'd have to read it. I mean, pretty much anything Emily Henry touches, I'm going to read it. If you combine romance with a beach-town/island theme and release it in the summer, chances are I'm grabbing it the second I can get my hands on it. This book provided what I needed it to: a slow-burn, rekindling romance, a fun and funky friend group, and a rocky coastline on the Atlantic ocean.
I read this right after reading Book Lovers which may have contributed to the missing final star in my rating. In comparison, I found that the supporting characters in Happy Place did not hold as much depth as those in Book Lovers.
However, let's begin with our narrator: Harriet. She was a rounded enough character that I did not mind reading from her POV for almost 400 pages. Her pain was tangible. As a reader, you did not know her flaws until she knew them herself. It was the perfect example of a character that puts you into the story. There was more to learn about her with every page flip, and although you felt the most intimately close to her (as by nature of narration), there were still bits and pieces of herself that she kept tucked away from us (much like her friends). I believed she was lost, treading water for as long as she possibly could.
If you've ever been apart from your true love like this, I think it's fair to say that Emily Henry captured that desperation. The magnetism between soul mates, the inability to stay apart, and the uncontrollable desire to fall back in to the way things were: Harriet and Wyn were everything broken lovers needed to be. Their history was tied into every glance, word, and moment.
Wyn himself was the perfect foil for Harry. Their story definitely kept me invested, but what we were really reading was Harriet's journey to discovering herself and her future, as aided by Wyn's sudden departure, his and her insecurities, and the challenges that those who love us most put us through in order to come to our fullest and greatest selves.
As for the friend group? They were underwhelming to me. Don't get me wrong: I thought that they were fun (and funky!) and I really enjoyed a lot of the scenes that they were in. My disappointment stems from wanting MORE of them! From the beginning, I was excited to see how the entire dynamic played into the rest of the plot. I found that the most heart-warming moments with friends reared their head at the end of the book, post-explosive fight. The rest of the time they just felt like background actors in the main plot. There was a delicious opportunity to really flesh out some exciting supporting characters, but in the end I felt that their depth did not make the final cut. There was the underlying threat of Harriet and Wyn's troubles breaking up the group, but I as a reader hardly experienced this conflict as I do not feel I ever got to experience "the group" fully.
Overall, I thought this was an incredibly enjoyable read, albeit its flaws. In the end, it is a summer romance novel. I always consider these to be more so fun reads than critical. Emily Henry provides feel-goodness from cover to cover, and never fails to remind me why falling in love is such a beautiful and warm experience.
"You are in all of my happiest of places."
some spoilers ahead!
When this book was announced, I knew I'd have to read it. I mean, pretty much anything Emily Henry touches, I'm going to read it. If you combine romance with a beach-town/island theme and release it in the summer, chances are I'm grabbing it the second I can get my hands on it. This book provided what I needed it to: a slow-burn, rekindling romance, a fun and funky friend group, and a rocky coastline on the Atlantic ocean.
I read this right after reading Book Lovers which may have contributed to the missing final star in my rating. In comparison, I found that the supporting characters in Happy Place did not hold as much depth as those in Book Lovers.
However, let's begin with our narrator: Harriet. She was a rounded enough character that I did not mind reading from her POV for almost 400 pages. Her pain was tangible. As a reader, you did not know her flaws until she knew them herself. It was the perfect example of a character that puts you into the story. There was more to learn about her with every page flip, and although you felt the most intimately close to her (as by nature of narration), there were still bits and pieces of herself that she kept tucked away from us (much like her friends). I believed she was lost, treading water for as long as she possibly could.
If you've ever been apart from your true love like this, I think it's fair to say that Emily Henry captured that desperation. The magnetism between soul mates, the inability to stay apart, and the uncontrollable desire to fall back in to the way things were: Harriet and Wyn were everything broken lovers needed to be. Their history was tied into every glance, word, and moment.
Wyn himself was the perfect foil for Harry. Their story definitely kept me invested, but what we were really reading was Harriet's journey to discovering herself and her future, as aided by Wyn's sudden departure, his and her insecurities, and the challenges that those who love us most put us through in order to come to our fullest and greatest selves.
As for the friend group? They were underwhelming to me. Don't get me wrong: I thought that they were fun (and funky!) and I really enjoyed a lot of the scenes that they were in. My disappointment stems from wanting MORE of them! From the beginning, I was excited to see how the entire dynamic played into the rest of the plot. I found that the most heart-warming moments with friends reared their head at the end of the book, post-explosive fight. The rest of the time they just felt like background actors in the main plot. There was a delicious opportunity to really flesh out some exciting supporting characters, but in the end I felt that their depth did not make the final cut. There was the underlying threat of Harriet and Wyn's troubles breaking up the group, but I as a reader hardly experienced this conflict as I do not feel I ever got to experience "the group" fully.
Overall, I thought this was an incredibly enjoyable read, albeit its flaws. In the end, it is a summer romance novel. I always consider these to be more so fun reads than critical. Emily Henry provides feel-goodness from cover to cover, and never fails to remind me why falling in love is such a beautiful and warm experience.