Happy Place by. Emily Henry | Book Review – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 4/25/23

Categories: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary, Chick-Lit, Romance

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 six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest 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, blue 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. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Content Warning: grief, depression

I usually love Emily Henry books and I was excited for this one but maybe I should have read more reviews about it? I didn’t feel this one at all – and I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t in the mood or I just didn’t love the second-chance romance that this story is centered on. Or I wasn’t connecting to the characters? Maybe it was a combination of all of it.

Harriet and Wyn have broken up but they didn’t tell their best friends and they all meet up at their “happy place” at a cottage in Maine for one last hurrah before the cottage gets sold.

I did like Harriet talking about “happy places” in the past – the past chapters start with the place description. I will say sometimes I was confused if I was reading past or present at first. I can relate to the good ‘ol days with my college friends. It’s such a special time when you make new friendships in college that continue after you graduate. And I did love seeing how tight everyone was, even Kimmy who is Cleo’s girlfriend and kind of the newish one to the group – but she fits in. They have lots of memories and you can feel the closeness between all of them.

I also did like how reality sets in for the friends and they acknowledge how maybe they haven’t done a good job at keeping up with one another (because of time differences, space, etc…) since they all live apart now. But this mostly happens at the end of the book. For the most part it’s about Harriet and Wyn. They were together for 8 years and something or lots of things broke them…but we only get all the information later in the book, and that frustrated me. I struggled to read this one.

Harriet and Wyn being together “one last time” maybe felt like this book was about closure, possibly? And I appreciated their truths when it was revealed but why did it take so long to actually say what they wanted or talk about the break-up and how it happened. The communication between these two was driving me crazy but I get it shows how sometimes or LOTS of times, communication is one of the hardest parts of being in a committed relationship. I also didn’t connect to Harriet and Wyn or any of the characters – maybe Chloe is who I liked the most but everyone else? Not really.

A lot of the problems between the couples and friendships were so real in this book which is great but I was maybe hoping for a more lighthearted story because it was called Happy Place! Spoiler, there is a “happy” ending but I wasn’t feeling happy by the end of this lol…just tired.

Tropes: one bed, second chance romance

My Final Thoughts:

There were some things in this book I liked: the college best friends, the realness about friendships that maybe fall apart a little after moving away from one another, and the importance of communication in any worthwhile relationships. Because we see what happens when the communication is stunted – relationships can strain, they can break. But miscommunication in a story can be so frustrating sometimes, and that’s what this book mostly made me feel. I was going to rate it a 2.5 but then bumped it to a three because there were a lot of real issues she brought up in the book that I like, but it just made me feel sad. This one is my least favorite Emily Henry book, but hopefully the next one is better for me.