Is ‘Happy Place’ by Emily Henry worth the hype?

Happy Place by Emily Henry has been on my TBR for too long! I have eventually gotten the chance to read it, whilst I was on holiday, and it did NOT disappoint!

P.s There will be a spoiler free review at the beginning and a spoiler version at the end!

Rating: 5 ⭐️

Brief summary:

Harriet and Wyn met in college, and have been together ever since. Going through life together they were perfect for each other… until they weren’t.

They broke up six months ago, and haven’t told their best friends yet. The worst part of it is, they have to spend a week at the cottage they and their friends have been going to for years, and pretend they are still together.

The cottage is up for sale, and therefore is the last week all of them can spend at the cottage together, so they don’t want to ruin it for their friends by telling everyone they have broken up.

The whole week they are trying to ignore how much they still want each other, but will they be able to overcome the reason they broke up?

Although this is a romance, I do want to preface the lovely friendships in this book. If you aren’t a romance lover, I would still recommend reading this book solely for the friendships.

You have the two main characters the romance is centred on, Harriet and Wyn, alongside their best friends, Cleo, Sabrina, Kimmy and Parth.

Controversial opinion…

I usually don’t gravitate towards Emily Henry’s books. There, I said it (sorry everyone).

I have read a few of her books before, including ‘People we meet on vacation’, ‘Book lovers’ and ‘Beach read’. Whilst I did think they were good, it took me a while to really get into the book. Throughout the book, up until the middle point, I find myself usually forcing myself to continue reading.

However, this didn’t happen with Happy Place.

Happy Place hooked me from the very start, and I didn’t want to put it down!

The setting

Emily Henry describes the setting incredibly well in this book, more so than any other book of hers I have read.

The main setting of the book is in a cottage in Maine, a place where Harriet and her friends have been going for years.

Emily Henry describes everything from smells, scenery, sounds and more! It feels like you are there with her!!

It genuinely does feel like you are in your Happy Place.

The main character Harriet

I absolutely loved Harriet!

I struggle with having negative or anxious thoughts, and the way Harriet calms herself down by thinking about her happy place, is actually really beneficial to do in real life.

You can really relate to Harriet and why she is the way that she is.

Sometimes main characters can be insufferable, but I found myself liking her more and more as the book went on, as well as agreeing with a lot of choices she made!

The friendships

Alongside this book being a romance, the friendships in this book were so enjoyable to read.

I can safely say that I liked every person in the friendship group which is usually very hard!

The whole friendship book was so normal. Because we get some past and present in this book, we see friendships blossom from college, all the way to their 30s, and I think it is a really good representation of how friendships are in real life.

Spoilers

This section is going to be me unleashing all of my unsolicited opinions about some of the characters, and what happens in the book. So if you haven’t read the book, then don’t go past this point! You have been warned.

Wyn…

At the start of the book, I didn’t like him if I’m being honest with you.

Because we heard he ended the relationship by sending all of Harriet’s stuff to her in a box, made me feel negatively towards him from the beginning.

However, as the book continues, I started to like him more and more. Especially when there was flashbacks to their relationship, I understood the hype around Wyn, and their relationship.

He is a golden retriever boyfriend, and I love that about him!

I absolutely loved the simplicity of their relationship. Emily Henry really normalises having to sacrifice things, not being able to see someone as much if you are busy with college or work, as well as putting yourself first if you aren’t happy.

I do love how Wyn put his, as well as Harriet’s, happiness first, by ending the relationship.

Although that is heartbreaking, and there would have been a hole in my heart if they didn’t end up together in the end. I loved how he kept his promise to end the relationship if they aren’t happy anymore.

I love his character development. Throughout the book, you can see how much he puts himself down and isn’t confident in himself. Towards the end of the book, you can see how much confidence he gains, and how much he finds himself!

Harriet’s need for academic validation

A lot of people can probably relate to the need to have academic validation.

Throughout the book, I could sense that she wasn’t happy in her job, as she never spoke about how passionate she was about it, only how much she wanted to make her parents proud.

I am so happy that she chose to change her career path, and work towards something that actually makes her happy!

It is so refreshing, and comforting to see someone, who has spend 10+ years studying something, only to change it.

We can’t know what we want to do at such young ages, and there is so much pressure to figure out what we want to do for the rest of our lives. So seeing Harriet find that passion for something when she is in her 30s, makes me feel like there is still time, and everything will be okay.

I felt extremely sorry for her throughout the book, in regards to her thinking her birth is a huge regret of her parents. That is such a heartbreaking thing, and I am so glad that at the end, she realised that her whole life doesn’t have to be making up to her parents for being born!

Let’s talk about Sabrina…

When I found out that she and Parth knew about Harriet and Wyn’s break up, I gasped.

At first it really put me off them, because I thought, you would know how much Harriet and Wyn would be struggling with a break up after so many years together, so she should have been there for them.

Rather than telling them that she knew and she wanted to hear it from Harriet, because apparently they don’t tell Sabrina anything anymore.

I just thought, this isn’t about you Sabrina. Harriet and Wyn are struggling, and you are using that to blame why your friendship is drifting apart.

However, I did understand why she wanted to get them together because firstly, she obviously loved them together (I think we all do), and secondly, I think she knew that Harriet had to sort out her priorities and thirdly, I just don’t think Sabrina was ready for any dynamic to change in the friendship group.

Coming from Sabrina’s point of view, I understand why she was getting upset with Harriet and Cleo.

From Sabrina’s perspective, it was like Cleo and Kimmy were just trying to avoid her, and Harriet was keeping the break up from her, making her possibly think they don’t want to be as close to her anymore.

The key take away from this part of the book, is that friendships, and friendship dynamics, do change as you get older. Nothing stays the same from when you are in your teens to when you are in your 30s. (Not that I am in my 30s yet, but even being a few years out from my teens, everything is different, including my mindset).

My favourite parts about the book

I loved the whole vibe on Wyn’s family.

Literally, that’s how my family is, and that’s how I want to be when I eventually have a family.

They are so warm, welcoming, supportive, and just genuine.

It makes me so happy that Wyn went back home, and healed himself, by being with his family more.

I feel like that’s where he blossoms and thrives the most, and I’m glad he chose to make himself happier by moving back there.

A moment of appreciation for Hank.

I was SO upset when Hank died, and even more upset thinking about the fact that Wyn would feel like he should have been there for him more.

Honestly, the family in this book is just everything, and makes me love Wyn even more.

I absolutely love at the end how Harriet moves in with Wyn’s family and is staying in Wyn’s childhood room. There is something so healing about that.

Thank you for reading <3

I hope you enjoyed this book review of Happy Place by Emily Henry, as much as I enjoyed writing and reliving some of the moments!

I would 100% recommend this book, it’s such a lovely read.

It’s not too deep, but still has emotion. It’s a great book to read in the summer!

This book is actually very helpful and educational. In the sense that it has real life problems and issues, that could be really beneficial to read about.

Rating: 5 ⭐️

P.s. the amazon link is an affiliate link, and if you purchase with that link, I will get a small commission, with no extra charge to you. Thank you!