This review contains affiliate links, which earn me a small commission when you click and purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business and allowing me to continue providing you a reliable resource for clean book ratings.
Harriet and her friends from college have been meeting every summer at a gorgeous home in Maine for a decade. It’s just expected that they all take a week to be in their “happy place” together.
This year is going to be tough, however, because one of those friends, Wyn, is now Harry’s ex. They broke up six months ago and still haven’t told their friends. Now, they’re being forced to pretend they’re still together so they don’t ruin this visit — they find out the house is for sale and it’s the last week they’ll have there.
Harry is angry at Wyn for how he broke up with her after years together; Wyn seems resentful at certain things too. But none of it makes any sense to Harry. Their time together seems mostly like torture. And anything they say or do is being observed by their longtime friends. As the week goes by, they have little moments to get honest with each other. They were the perfect couple — is it possible they can be again?
Happy Place is another sweet book by Emily Henry, who is now firmly established as a popular-romance queen. This one has a lot of feelings: anger, frustration, confusion, sadness. The characters are facing some situations that feel impossible. Henry is skilled at navigating them through these tough things in ways that feel natural and compassionate. I don’t know if I loved this story as much as some of the previous ones, like maybe People We Meet on Vacation — maybe because it starts off with a lot of hurt rather than hope. But it’s still good and shows how well she can write characters that feel real.
Rated: High. Profanity includes 40 uses of strong language, 55 instances of moderate profanity, 10 uses of mild language, and 20 instances of the name of Deity in vain. There are several sex scenes of moderate to high detail.
