★★★★☆
Emily Henry has become one of my favorite romance writers, and Happy Place doesn’t disappoint. In Happy Place, college sweethearts Harriet and Wyn are headed to a cottage in Maine to participate in a decades-long beach week tradition with their best pals. One problem: they broke off their engagement six months ago but haven’t confessed the news to their tripmates. The two are forced to keep up the charade of still being engaged to the people who are supposed to know them best.
Alternating between past and present, this story is told from Harriet’s perspective as she and Wyn attempt to keep their break-up hidden from their best friends. There’s not quite as much witty banter in this book as in Henry’s previous works, which is appropriate because the book tackles some hefty subjects. Despite exploring deeper topics than Henry’s typical rom/com stories, there is plenty of comic relief and swoon-worthy lines about love and desire. One line I took note of: “Want is kind of thief. It’s a door in your heart, and once you know it’s there, you’ll spend your life longing for whatever’s behind it.”
This book will resonate with those who can relate to losing themselves in the pursuit of fulfilling dreams other people had for them. Those who were accustomed to measuring their self-worth by how well they did in school will also see themselves in Harriet, especially when she wonders “What was school if not a chance to earn your worth? To prove, again and again, that you were measurably good.”
“Want is kind of thief. It’s a door in your heart, and once you know it’s there, you’ll spend your life longing for whatever’s behind it.”
While the story relied too heavily on the miscommunication trope, in my opinion, I enjoyed the book. I was rooting for Harriet and Wyn from beginning to end. Their chemistry lept off the page. I also appreciated that Henry let us see them both grow during the course of the story.
I would place Happy Place third among the four Emily Henry novels I read, behind People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read and ahead of Book Lovers. I’m looking forward to her newest read to see if it shifts the order around.
