BOOK REVIEW: Happy Place by Emily Henry
A fun story of friendship, love and second chances...
Ok, friends. What, or I should say where, is your happy place? Mine is by the water. My absolute favorite water locations include Nag Heads, NC, Lake Havasu, AZ, and Encinitas, CA. Water is just soothing to my soul. I could literally sit there and just stare at the water or watch the boats for hours. I don’t know what I’d do if I learned that I would never be able to go to my happy place again!
The point of this little anecdote is that it is clearly a huge aspect of Emily Henry’s new release. Quick Synopsis: College friends reunite once a year for a week at the summer home in Maine that is owned by Sabrina’s father. This year things are a little different. 1) Harriett has just broken up with her long time boyfriend, now ex-fiancé, who also happens to be one of the best friends in this group. 2) Harriett and Wyn haven’t told their friends they broke up and now have to spend the week pretending to be happily in love and 3) Sabrina drops the bombshell that her father is selling the house so this will be their last summer.
On a side note before I get too far into this, when it comes to Henry’s books, this was my tie breaker. I read The People We Meet on Vacation and didn’t think it lived up to the hype. Then I gave her a second chance and read Book Lovers, and guess what? I LOVED it. So, this brings us to the tie breaker, and my opinion? I liked Happy Place. I really enjoyed it. I don’t think it was as good as Book Lovers, but it was light years better than People We Meet on Vacation. And, I should probably mention that this is a character driven story, which also earned some brownie points.
My favorite thing is that it has that second chance love trope which has been slowly creeping up as one of my favorite romance tropes. Clearly, you know how this is going to end simply because of the type of book it is, but it is a super fun ride to get there while learning, I mean really learning, the history of Harriett and Wyn’s relationship, and the foundations of the friendship between these six people. Even though the story is told exclusively from Harriett’s point of view, through the incorporation of flashback chapters, we can see how they all meet meet, how the relationships developed and evolved and ultimately what led to the demise of Harriett and Wyn’s relationship. As we learn about it, the characters themselves are forced to be together 24/7 and are forced to face everything that went wrong…and right. Including all their current secrets they are keeping from each other.
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.
They say hindsight is 20/20, and I really appreciated this structural element of the story. It made them all more real and really highlighted Harriett and Wyn as complex characters with complex emotions, not just two silly love sick characters that are thrown together in a fictional world and everything is magical. (Clearly, this is one of my biggest issues with romance). It’s just so fun to see these two characters plus the shenanigans of their friends, Sabrina, Perth, Cleo and Kimmie developed over time.
This cast of characters is amazing, but holy moly do some of them have baggage!! One idea I took away from this book was that as parents, we have some pretty dramatic and long lasting effects on our children that impact the decisions they make in their adult lives. These characters are not perfect and experiences of their youth and what they see in their own parents directly influence how they view their own romantic relationships, from fears and hesitations to hopes and dreams. It just reminds me how much children pick up through observation even when we don’t think they know what is going on. They don’t want to end up like their parents or make the same mistakes.
I love that at the end of the day, this is a book about friendship and love and second chances and learning to be your own person and self-discovery. Even our long lasting friendships change as we get older. And while Sabrina really struggled with this idea, it takes her friends to show her that change doesn’t have to be bad and doesn’t signify the end of their friendship. There is an element of relearning who each other is in their new stages of life. There are several secrets that multiple characters have but all are hiding because they don’t want anything “to change.” It then just becomes easier to not say anything.
From the very first moments of the story, I fell in love with the fun banter and the impressiveness of their quick wit. I have friends that are so quick with their comebacks. It’s like whiplash, and then I have that moment of pure hatred and jealousy because I wish I was that quick thinking and funny. These characters are like that. I love how they just have these witty conversations with straight faces and can throw a comeback without missing a stride. Plus, they are all so diverse. I really do love them all. I would go on a weeklong vacation with them.
The book scene highlight reel for me includes the following moments:
Salem’s Lot
The Lobster Fest and Carnival
Cake Shopping
Outdoor Shower Confessions
There were some many fun moments, all as Sabrina tries to re-enact everything that they have done in their years as friends, and personalized experiences for each of them. Frantically trying to hold onto the past. Together, they help each other learn to embrace the changes and new opportunities while recognizing that there are new exciting memories to make in the future.
Everyone fights with the people they love, Harriett…what matters is how you do it.
Where does this land on my bookshelf?
I did debate with myself on this one, but I finally decided to put it on the top shelf. I really enjoyed the book and made it through the audio quickly. It is an easy read and hooks you as you just become part of the circle of friends. I loved their personalities and how different they are. I love how they showcased that the careers you pursue in life need to be focused around what makes you happy and no one else. Life is too short to live in fear of disappointing others or spending 40+ hours a week doing something you don’t enjoy. As the Emily Henry tie breaking book, it was a success. I think that I will continue to read her books. I am still debating on whether or not I will go back and read Beach Read. However, if you are in the market for a great beach read as we are moving into the hot months of summer, definitely add this to your TBR list.
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