REVIEW: Happy Place by Emily Henry

In Happy Place by Emily Henry, When Harriet became fast friends with Sabrina and Cleo in college in
Vermont, she felt like she finally found the place she belonged. They formed a family of sorts while they were all figuring out their lives and future careers–a bond that carried well into adulthood, with the addition of Parth, Wyn, and Kimmy to their group over the years. When Harriet and Wyn began to date, no one was overly shocked. Their easy friendship led to an even easier romance. And it seemed they were on their way to a bright, shiny HEA…until it wasn’t quite so easy anymore. Real life kept butting in, even as Harriet achieved her dream of becoming a surgical resident, causing her and Wyn to move to San Francisco. After what seemed like both no time at all and a full century later, they unfortunately split up. And it left a Wyn-shaped hole in Harriet’s world. Something she’s not told Sabrina or Cleo about yet.

‘Go to your happy place, Harriet, I think desperately, only to realize I’m literally *in* my happy place, and he. Is. *Here*.
The very last person I expected to see.
The very last person I *want* to see.
Wyn Connor.
My fiancé.’

Planning to tell her besties about her and Wyn’s decade-long relationship imploding when she travels to Maine for their yearly retreat, Harriet is nervous but overjoyed to be heading to her Happy Place. The fancy cottage has been more of a home to her than her own family’s was her entire childhood. Possibly because her awesome group of friends being there each year. Harriet’s happiness is short-lived, though, when Wyn shows up for the week. As none of their friends know the truth still, she and Wyn come up with the idea to act like they’re still together until the week is over, not wanting to rock the boat, and enjoy what turns out to be the last week they’ll spend in Knott’s Harbor as the cottage has just been sold. But what ensues is utter chaos, for everyone involved. Each of them has something big going on in their lives. And no one is being up front about it. Harriet hopes before they leave the beautiful coast for the final time, they can all make amends as she’d hate to lose the most important people in her life.

‘But does it even matter that we belong to each other, when we can’t be with each other? Our lives are immovably separate. Everything may look different than it did ten minutes ago, but nothing’s changed. He’s mine, but I can’t have him.’

Hold onto your sunscreen! Happy Place was so much more than a fun beach read about a group of friends during their last hurrah at a beloved vacation getaway. Emily Henry touched upon everything from how our lives and relationships change over time, to what family truly means, grief and loss, when to let go–and most importantly, when to stay and fight for those we love.

‘It’s too easy to forget about the real world here, our circumstances, the things that broke us the first time. All the reasons there’s no finding our way back.’

Content Warning: View Spoiler »Mental health issues including depression, grief, anxiety. Drug references. « Hide Spoiler

Emily. Henry. Wow, does she pack a punch in her novels! I look forward to her every new release because I know it will be one heck of an emotional journey, but I also know that it will be filled with amazing characters who seem so real that they nearly leap off the pages. That held true for Happy Place, with the group of long-time friends we got to know: Harriet, Wyn, Sabrina, Parth, Cleo, and Kimmy. And where this was written in a dual timeline format (but strictly from Harriet’s POV), it really did feel like we got to see all of the nuances of not only each character–starting back when they first met in college–but also how their friendships morphed and changed over those years.

While I adored seeing the evolution of Harriet, Sabrina, and Cleo’s sisterhood, the bond they formed and how it became a safe place for them all, it was Wyn and Harriet’s romance that both made my heart soar and break several times over. I will warn that theirs is an angsty love story. Oh, the angst. But it fit their situation as well as their personalities, so it didn’t seem overdone. Nope, instead, it was very clear that even though Harriet and Wyn had broken up about six months prior to the vacation in Maine, there was still just as much love between them as ever.

As Wyn and Harriet’s history was slowly laid out for us, we come to realize why their relationship ended. And how much of a tragedy it was that so much of it was due to lack of communication. Realistic, for sure. But as Harriet and Wyn finally dealt with things from their childhood as well as recent loss and changes, I think readers will love seeing them reconnect every bit as much as I did. That paired up with what each of the other couples was going through personally (Sabrina & Parth, Cleo & Kimmy) pulled at my heartstrings and had me cheering them *all* on to, yes, find their own Happy Place in the world.

QOTD: Have you been on a group vacation with friends before?

Book Info:

Publication: April 25th, 2023 | Berkley |

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.

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?