Happy Place
Ratings496
Average rating3.8
This book was meh for me. I didn't hate it but didn't love it. The writing was alright but I found the story sometimes boring. That's it, not much else going on here!!!!
I was mostly on board with this book until the end when this bitch chose pottery.
I just finished Happy Place by Emily Henry and here are my thoughts.
Harriet and Wyn were the benchmark for friends becoming lovers and making it work. Then one day Wyn ends it all and for 6 months neither of them tell anyone. Not their family and not their closest friends.
So when their friends invite them to a get together, they both show up, having no choice. Now they find themselves sharing a bedroom and some very uncomfortable silences.
The need for each other didn't disappear and this is the first time they have seen each other in 6 months. They don't want to upset their friends with the knowledge that it's over and pretend they are still madly in love but who are they really to convince?
I had been waiting to read this one for so long. It was a bit slower than I was hoping for and I am not a fan of miscommunication in books but I found the whole book quite good all in all. I loved the friend group. I wish I had friends like these.
I liked the plot for the most part and the small town is my kind of setting. Emily Henry is a really solid writing and this book was definitely worth the wait. I found it funny, charming and I love witty characters.
4.5 stars
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I wouldn't say that this is a bad book, but I wouldn't necessarily call it good or great.
If you're looking for a predictable story that's well written, it's a comfy one.
I enjoyed this book but felt that the tension pay off was underwhelming. I was literally giggling kicking my feet in the beginning but when they finally talked, they just made it wayyyyy to complicated. I just think I should stop reading romance books halfway through and ill like them more
Emily Henry has done it again.
Book Lovers is technically the only other book by her I've read and while I enjoyed that one, I REALLY enjoyed this one. I can see why so many people say it was one of their best reads of 2023. The emotion and depth in this book really just digs right down to your heart. There's always a special place in my heart for books that make me cry, and this one got me right at the end. There's just so much love in this book, platonic and familial and romantic. To get to the ending and have it be so hopeful and also wistful and to feel like we really earned the happiness is so special.
Leaving off with my favorite quote that hit me like a gut punch halfway through the book:
‘“Is there one that looks like us?” he asks. They all do, I think. You are in all my happiest places. You are where my mind goes when it needs to be soothed.'
3.5, I think?
having loved book lovers, this was one of m most anticipated books of last year, but between some real life happenings and frequent book slumps i keep postponing it. i wanted to love this and while it was a quick, enjoyable read there were a lot of elements in this book that didn't quite hit the mark for me unfortunately
Disclaimer This is a review after listening to the audiobook and 2.2-speed.ps i tend to rate them higher.
This was a combination of heartwarming and heartwrenching making me swing from feeling like crying to punching someone and wanting to be at the cottage to have my own friends' holiday.
I can understand why this won the Goodreads Choice awards
why the fuck do I keep crying over books where characters realize that they hate their job and want to do something else with their lives??? hits too close to home... i envy them so much that they eventually realize their true passion, could never be me
considering how most of my friends and generally people online were bawling over the book, I expected a heartbreaking ending. Like heart wrenching. And it was a complete opposite instead. Felt underwhelming.
Now I wanna admit that Emily Henry's writing hits and never misses and this book was not an exception. Harriet was relatable to many people navigating in their 20s (me included) I really felt for her ESPECIALLY when she decided to go back and opened up to her parents etc.
But for me personally it was a 3.5/5 because I don't think I got attached to any of the characters + I'm still bugged about how the couple broke up in the first place and how it could have been solved with proper communication. (And I know relationships are not that easy and there is always more to it so take this with a grain of salt)
I did enjoy the book overall tho and low-key was envious of the friend groups relationship and dynamic; pure and real
I'm not the biggest fan of breakup romcoms but it was compelling and there was definite attraction and sexual tension throughout. It bounces from the present to the past, which is also not my favorite structure, but she handled it well.
I was on the edge of tears for 75% of this book and the other 25% was just straight up crying. This book is PAINFUL, like... in that good way, where the angst is earned and the emotions are real and visceral. These characters are lovable and yet frustratingly flawed, like real people are, and it was such a journey to see them come apart and together as a friend group (and Harriet and Wyn as a couple).
I might update the star rating to 4... for now, this is 3.5 - it was fun and I finished it in one day but I cannot stand the lack of communication from this group of adults. How are they this bad at keeping in touch and discussing their problems after 10 years together?
I also normally HATE second chance stories, but I'll give an exception to this one because it seems like these two barely actually broke up - the fact that they didn't tell anyone for 6 months is ?????? If there is one thing I hate more than second chances, it's a poor communication trope and oh my lord, it's on level 1000 in this one.
All of these couples need couple therapy and probably some individual therapy too. How are all these people couples and still not married? What do you all have against marriage? They're all a mess and insanely immature.
That all being said, I love the dynamic between the characters, the romance felt well-evolved and real and I personally thought the flashbacks were well done. I liked Book Lovers more just because the characters were at least a bit more mature - but I really wish these characters were in college rather than their late 20's to early 30's.
Not my genre, found it in a BnB while on vacation and finished it. Easy read, especially if you want to take your mind off of things or you need to occupy your time
ahahaha noooo don???t hit a little bit too hard and get a little bit too real ur a romance novel???.
Loved it. All 400 pages. More page really, since I read the large print version.
What really struck me was how much I grew to love all the characters in this tale. Initially, I thought it would be full of self-involved people who hung out in college and never let go of those days. And in some ways, like the never-letting-go part, they were. However, they also all had a certain tenderness to them.
Of course the book mostly focuses on Harriet and her now ex, Wyn. Ten years has passed since they first hooked up and like a lot of couples, they found they couldn't live with or without each other.
I enjoyed that their jobs were actually a significant part of their lives. Some books it seems the characters don't have to earn a living. However, jobs were also part of the reason they broke up which is so realistic. I like Wyn's growth, for admitting he needed to work on himself. I liked Harriet's growth for examining her own motivations for pursuing medical school.
Like all of Emily Henry's novels, her dialogue was spot on. You felt as if you were listening in on the reunion of good friends who don't see each other enough. Also, the author was able to show the strains on friendship that crop up as people mature. As much as we all want to stay connected to our old friends, life and work get in the way.
Harriet's crew of friends were lucky to meet up once a year at an idyllic cottage in Maine. However, that cottage is being sold, and I did wonder how/if the friends would continue to connect. I could definitely imagine a sequel to this book. The characters are great and their continued evolution would be intriguing. Fingers crossed! I'd definitely read the next phase of the story.
So worth the hype. The ending left me so satisfied, and I couldn't have asked for better.
I felt everything Harriet felt, all the angst and anxiety. This was a wonderful story!!
What a great group of friends, overcoming big changes and adulthood, and next chapters. Found family.
4.5/5 - To chyba najpoważniejsza książka Emily i kocham za nią tę autorkę jeszcze bardziej niż do tej pory, mimo że nie strąciła „Ludzi...” z pierwszego miejsca na moim prywatnym podium. Uderza w czułe punkty i, jak dla mnie, ucieka z półki “plażowych czytadeł”, na której zgodnie ustawiliśmy poprzednie powieści tej autorki. Jeszcze do niej wrócę
