Happy Place (Review)

“My best friends taught me a new kind of quiet, the peaceful stillness of knowing one another so well you don’t need to fill the space. And a new kind of loud: noise as a celebration, as the overflow of joy at being alive, here, now.”

― Emily Henry, Happy Place

The vibes

Consider this your packing list for your next trip with your besties.

book / swimsuit / set / hat / shades / sandals / float / towel

The review

For years, Harriet and her group of college friends have spent some time at a beloved beach house in Maine. Waves crashing, seagulls cawing, the smell of seawater — it’s her happy place she imagines at her times of intense stress, of which there are many as a resident surgeon. But Harriet’s stress of late has been outside the hospital she works at. Wyn, her now ex-fiance, was supposedly the love of her life and he recently broke off their engagement. Healing from that relationship has been challenging but it’s about to get a whole lot harder when she walks into her happy place to see… him. The non-couple is forced to pretend all is well to spare the other two couples at the house for the duration of the trip.

I just adore Emily Henry’s writing so her books — while not all have the perfect combination of dreamy love interest, well-constructed plots, and three-dimensional main characters — they all bring me immense joy. This one goes so beyond that, in my opinion. Gosh does she tackle some REAL ADULT FEELINGS!!!!!™ in this book. I love love loved it.

First of all, the fake dating trope is just so much better when the fake relationship was once a real one. The steaminess — whew! Tension aplenty. I just loved Wyn and Harriet’s connection — logistically they don’t really make sense. She’s going to be a surgeon and he designs furniture, but their love is what makes them make sense, even if it’s gone through several months of growing pains.

I just love how this book gave us more than just romance. Found family and lifelong friendships — we love to see that, even with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Much like romantic relationships, long-term friendships need cultivation too.

The audiobook is a gem, of course narrated by Julia Whelan, a GOAT. I did prefer reading mostly, but it was nice to have both. Unfortunately for readers (but v fortunately for Emily Henry) but this book came out in hardcover as opposed to paperback like her others. We hate unmatching books, but it is what it is!