Happy Place | Emily Henry | Book Review

PLOT: 5/5
CHARACTERS: 5/5
ENTERTAINMENT: 5/5
OVERALL: 5/5

“He’s a golden boy. I’m a girl whose life has been drawn in shades of gray.”

–       Emily Henry, Happy Place

Emily Henry is an American author who has gained a loyal fanbase for her heartwarming contemporary romance novels. Her works are known for their unique blend of romance and banter. One of her latest releases, Happy Place, has been highly anticipated by readers and critics alike.

As an auto-buy author for many readers including myself, Emily Henry needs no introduction. Her latest novel, Happy Place, was my most anticipated summer read and it did not disappoint.

I found myself unable to put the book down, reading late into the night to find out what happens next. To sum it up in short, I devoured the book.

The plot summary of Happy Place

Harriet and Wyn met thanks to their closest friends Sabrina, Parth, Kimmy, and Cleo. Their friendship turned into love, leading to an engagement that lasted for a long time until they broke up about 6 months ago. But the catch here is that they still haven’t told their closest friends; the ones who set them up.

Now, all of them have decided to go one last time to the Maine cottage which had been their group’s yearly getaway whenever they are together. It is that one week they would leave everything behind in their daily lives and be at the Maine cottage and live their best life together as friends.

But for Harriet and Wyn, things won’t be the same as they are pretending to be a couple for their friends. They didn’t want to break their friends’ hearts as one couple amongst them has decided to get married at the place.

This surely matters more to them as they have always been more like family than friends, and there’s no way Harriet and Wyn are spoiling it for them on their special week. So, they continue to pretend but they can’t seem to forget what they felt for each other.

Can Wyn and Harriet fake their relationship for only a week in front of their best friends who seem to know more about each other than themselves?

“Like when something beautiful breaks, the making of it still matters.”

My thoughts

Ok, so this is officially my best book by Emily Henry and it deserves all the love and hype!

Emily’s writing, especially her dialogues – man, they are fantastic. They are sure to transport you to the heart of the story and you will feel yourself going through all those emotions, deeply feeling them and yet unable to do anything.

In this book, the setting as a Maine cottage with the entire lobster fest worked very well for the characters in the story. Happy Place as a book is certainly more character-driven, and hats off to Emily for writing and developing characters with their minutest emotions, vulnerabilities, and insecurities in full unapologetic display.

First up was Harriet – I related most with her. She is a person who avoids conflicts at all costs and has this inherent desire to please everyone, is good to everyone, but often at the cost of her happiness.

The loneliness she feels when at her darkest deepest point with no one to call is all too relatable as well. While reading, I acutely felt her loneliness as somewhere even I have felt these emotions so she resonated the most with me.

On the other hand, Wyn has always been an average kinda guy and has this ability to divert focus from himself by making some funny jokes, but still deep within he feels that he is not good enough. 

Cleo, Kimmy, Parth, and Sabrina too added a good mix to their friendly group dynamics.

Coming to the romance part, with all the second chances given and taken, the romance in this one too was good. There was enough angst, pain, and longing.

How the sight of each other especially in a place that holds so many memories can make you go weak in your knees and can weaken your resolve is aptly portrayed. And the reader could see that both Harriet and Wyn were struggling in this department.

The miscommunication that occurs by just assuming what the other feels or wants or what’s best for them is another thing that everyone is guilty of and has once again been wonderfully portrayed by Emily.

This book is more about friendship. A friendship that is even stronger than family. Friends who seem to know more about you than yourself, and are there to support you or give you a solid kick in the butt as you deserve it.

Here a special mention of Sabrina’s character is needed. Sabrina, who is a planner to the T, and who gets everyone together, makes and executes all the plans and yet is sometimes considered bossy, arrogant, and ungrateful. We all have one such person in our group, and we all can very well relate to the same.

I also love how Emily highlights that as you grow older, you will end up doing different things at different phases in your life, and people will change, and that is ok, but when you do get back together even if it’s for a short time it’s like just the way it was, as you essentially love that person despite the changes in their life.

I could go on and on about this beautiful book. I would definitely recommend everyone to read it as it not only highlights romance, but it’s also big on friendship, or in this case, found family.

A definite favourite for me!

Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of Happy Place by Emily Henry using the link below.