Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Happy Place by Emily Henry

498 reviews

caramblank's review

Go to review page

5.0

I feel like I fell in love with these characters more than once. This book handled grief and its effects on those around you so beautifully. Wyn and Harriet are so real that it hurts. 

I saw so much of myself in Harriet, fighting to be okay and to make everyone else okay, instead of admitting that you aren’t. This book was beautifully heartbreaking and healing. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

theabee's review

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

edietz22's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

katiemanos's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gabriellesimpson's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kiwichill's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Nice light read about love, friendship, family, belonging.  Sometimes our family is people we've chosen, who understand our true selves and love us no matter what
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

isfantasi's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

shelbylynnn's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so unexpectedly lovely and everything I could ever want out of a romance.  I honestly was not expecting this to be a 5 star read but it ended up hitting me really hard. Idk if others would agree with my rating but I already know this one will have a special place in my heart for a long time. I genuinely think I read 90% of this with tears in my eyes. It was beautifully written and the characters were lovable and funny and felt like a real group of friends. I also always love an angsty slow burn romance and this one hurt!!

I didn't read the synopsis before starting this, it was just an impulse pick when I saw it was available and knew it was an author I wanted to try out. I immediately loved the writing but I was skeptical in the first few chapters because the pretending-to-be-a-couple trope felt like it could get cheesy very quickly. Instead it turned into a really beautiful story about meaningful friendships and what it's like to grow and change with people you love. 

So many aspects of this story resonated with me-realizing you've unintentionally drifted apart from your best friends as you've gotten older, struggling to find a career path and purpose in life, learning how to make yourself happy instead of relying on other people. This book really just hit me hard in the best way possible, (and also made me miss my friends SO much!!!) Def recommend for anyone who wants an emotional and touching story about love and friendship!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

dakotaw59's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ariana3's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I've been debating reading this for so long and just kept putting it off, thinking it would be some cheesy, predictably annoying beach read. It is somewhat predictable and it is a beach read, but it was so much better than I expected!!! It's a will-they-won't-they story for sure, but there was so much emotion behind the book. It was so much deeper than I anticipated, exploring relationships with friends, family, friends that truly are family, and romantic ones also. The big underlying feature that felt specifically relevant for me was the relationship of one's self and their identity and happiness being intertwined with their job. Woof that was all too relevant and a doozy to see reflected back to you on paper 😮‍💨
Plot summary:
A group of 3 friends (Harriet, Sabrina, and Cleo) all meet each other while living together in a dorm in college and instantly become family. They become inseparable and eventually add 2 guys to their group, Wyn and Parth. They take yearly vacations to Sabrina's ridiculously huge and nice family "cottage" in Maine and it becomes Harriet's "happy place." Harriet and Wyn begin dating and it's an instant connection. They fall in love and he eventually moves out with her to San Francisco where she's completing a grueling residency for neurosurgery. The grow apart, fight (or lack thereof), and just arent communicating effectively, so Wyn abruptly ends it, leaving Harriet in the dark and with no closure. 5 months later, Sabrina invites them for one last trip to the cottage before her dad sells it. Harriet doesn't know Wyn is there until she shows up...they haven't told anyone that they've ended their engagement and are no longer together (turns out Sabrina knew the entire time but she didn't tell them and concocted an entire plan to get them back together). So they fake being together, there's chemistry, confusion, they talk it out, etc. Already long story short, the friends fight then come back together because they know they're family. Wyn and Harriet don't get back together because Harriet needs to figure out what she truly wants and to not just do what other people tell her she should do. At the airport on her way back to SF, she realizes she hates her job and she was only doing it to please her parents. In the process, she's pushed away everyone she loves, including the love of her life. So she decides to run out of the airport to leave, only to see Wyn running into the airport 🥹 she says that she wants to be with him where she's happy, she withdraws from her residency and moves to Montana with him and his mom, and she works at a pottery studio doing what she loves!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings