ARC Review: Happy Place by 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?

• Title: Happy Place
• Author:  Emily Henry
• Publisher: Berkley
• Publication Date: April 25, 2023
• Genre: Contemporary Romance
• Source: Digital ARC received via NetGalley
• Targeted Age Range: Adult
• Content Warnings: grief, death of a parent, infidelity, estranged parents 
• Rating: ★★★★★

By now, all my friends know that when I get an Emily Henry book in my hands, I’m essentially unreachable. It’s rare that I’m unreachable; my phone is almost always on, I get notifications through my Apple Watch — most of the time, I’ll respond within the hour. But whenever I get a new Emily Henry read, my phone is off, and unless it’s an emergency, everyone knows not to bother me. In all honesty, I would read anything Emily Henry writes — whether that’s her grocery list (which is coincidentally, the name of her newsletter), or anything at all. So it’s no surprise that I absolutely adored Happy Place. After all, Emily Henry magic, meets fake dating, meets second chance romance (my favorite trope)? What more could a girl ask for? 

Happy Place follows a tight-knit group of friends on their yearly trip to a cottage in Maine. although this trip isn’t just quite as picture perfect as it used to be. While the yearly trip was originally just a group of friends, it morphed over the years to be a couples trip: Harriet & Wyn, Sabrina & Parth, and Cleo & Kimmy. But no one knows that Harriet and Wyn split up six months ago, and they’re determined to keep the peace. Especially since the cottage is being sold, and this will be their last year there. Harriet will continue to play the role of driven and exhaustedly aloof surgical resident, and Wyn will be the charming, golden boy who’s been living at home to take care of his mother. After years of being madly in love with each other, surely they’ll be able to fake it for just one week.

I’m often in awe of how personal Emily Henry books can feel. No matter what, I always find myself relating to some aspect of the characters — in the way that we all look for glimpses of ourselves in art & try to resonate with things in order to create a personal connection. Going into Happy Place, I knew that Emily Henry had compared Harriet to Taylor Swift’s mirrorball, and associated Dancing with Our Hands Tied and Maroon for the book as a whole. I didn’t expect to relate so heavily to Harriet, but I did. In hindsight, I should’ve known. Happy Place begs a question: what does it mean to be happy?

By now, I think themes of millennial ennui and grief go hand-in-hand for what to expect for an Emily Henry book. In a way, Harriet reminds me of Poppy Wright from People We Meet on Vacation; the idea of reaching some merit of success — who even defines success? — and then not knowing what to do from there. What do you do when you’ve peaked? When everything you’ve worked your entire life for is suddenly not something that brings you joy? What then? While Happy Place is a romance between Harriet and Wyn, it’s as much a story about Harriet’s journey to realizing what makes her happy, and what her own definition of success is. For Harriet, so much of her life has been living other people’s dreams as a way of keeping the peace. My heart fell every time I read more and more about Harriet’s people pleasing tendencies, and the bargains she’d make — if I reach this level of success, then this will go okay. It was painful and just so deeply relatable in the way that only Emily Henry’s writing can make me look up therapists near me. 

I absolutely adored Harriet and Wyn as a couple. The tension and yearning was palpable, and I think I spent half the book just screaming at them to get it together. I wasn’t surprised by their original breakup, nor was I surprised at most of the events that unfolded in the book, but I didn’t mind at all. That’s the power of Emily Henry, I think — so much of it is completely predictable, yet I couldn’t care less. The root of their conflict is partially miscommunication, but also in part that they loved each other too much. 

Something new about Happy Place is that there’s more of a friend group. Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, and Book Lovers are very honed in on the main characters, their families, and usually one other friend or two. Emily Henry shines at creating tangible characters and witty banter. I genuinely loved the friend group here, although it’s no surprise that Sabrina was my favorite. I’d gladly read a spin off about Sabrina and Parth — or Cleo and Kimmy. It’s undeniable how much each character cares for the others, even when there are disagreements or when they’re hiding things from each other. At the end of the day, they’re family. As much as Happy Place explores the concept of ‘happiness’, it also explores the idea of staying. What does it mean to stay when things get hard? At what point do you give up? What do you want to fight for? Is letting go a selfish act, or a selfless one? We see these themes presented in not just Harriet and Wyn’s relationship, but in the friend groups’ as a whole. 

I really don’t have the words to explain how much I loved Happy Place. I couldn’t recommend it more highly, and I just know that I’ll be rereading it as soon as I get my physical copy on publication day. 

Links for Happy Place: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop