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kkpines's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
4.25
For a book called 'Happy Place,' I spent most of it in shambles.
As a people-pleasing daughter, this felt almost too real.
There is so much grief in this book: from holding onto post-graduate friendships for dear life to realizing you can outgrow yourself. It left me feeling homesick for a place I’ve never been to, and a person I’ve never known.
As a people-pleasing daughter, this felt almost too real.
There is so much grief in this book: from holding onto post-graduate friendships for dear life to realizing you can outgrow yourself. It left me feeling homesick for a place I’ve never been to, and a person I’ve never known.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Vomit, Infidelity, Medical content, and Pregnancy
lahars_little_library's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Toxic friendship and Medical content
hmwoodward's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Emily Henry delivers with her usual humor, chemistry, and banter with this one. I always feel like I'm there beside the characters in her books from the way she describes everything. I'm seriously craving the smell and feel of sunscreen and ocean water and the smell and taste of buttery lobster thanks to this read!
While not dissimilar to her other books, this one is a second chance romance and has a different feel and tension to it because of that dynamic. Harriet and Wyn are stuck together because of the group vacation and because the years of their relationship have led to a friend group that's venn diagram is just a circle. They are navigating the ramifications of their breakup for themselves and how it complicates things for everyone around them. All this while an old group of friends tries to live out their glory days for the last trip to their go-to spot ever and are all dealing with their own separate issues.
This book realistically address the challenges of a relationship where you grow up together and friendships where you grow up together. If you aren't careful, you can grow apart entirely.
I also really felt for the main character in her struggles with her career and her future - I have certainly been there before myself. It was just another relatable and realistic aspect in this one.
While not dissimilar to her other books, this one is a second chance romance and has a different feel and tension to it because of that dynamic. Harriet and Wyn are stuck together because of the group vacation and because the years of their relationship have led to a friend group that's venn diagram is just a circle. They are navigating the ramifications of their breakup for themselves and how it complicates things for everyone around them. All this while an old group of friends tries to live out their glory days for the last trip to their go-to spot ever and are all dealing with their own separate issues.
This book realistically address the challenges of a relationship where you grow up together and friendships where you grow up together. If you aren't careful, you can grow apart entirely.
I also really felt for the main character in her struggles with her career and her future - I have certainly been there before myself. It was just another relatable and realistic aspect in this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Drug use, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy and Infidelity
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing and Drug use
Minor: Medical content
alexelli's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Chronic illness
Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
immovabletype's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
I laughed, I cried, I swooned; I did all three at the same time and ended up choking on my own spit. Emily Henry is my happy place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Cursing, Drug use, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Medical content, Vomit, Chronic illness, and Infidelity
bumblemee's review against another edition
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
4.0
Oh well, these self-deprecating little losers got a place in my heart now <3
I'm always a sucker for the found family trope, which immediately made me like this book. The characters are such a well thought out friend group, who love each other so much that it'll warm your heart in no time. Their relationships with each other felt very real, which helped making the characters themselves feel real. All of them just .. made sense in a way. I also thought most of them had their time to shine and become a complex person in the eye of the reader, which I think was nice, because I worry sometimes that side characters don't get enough depth, since they're not the couple the story focuses on. But in this case I got a clear sense for all of them, which makes sense since while this is a romance book, it takes its time to explore friendship as well.
I really loved Harriet - probably bc I related to her a lot. Maybe you find her annoying if you can't see aspects of yourself in her and would just like to shake her sometimes and tell her that she's way too much in her head without finding someone to do a reality check with. She struggles a lot with listening to her own needs and the negative consequences this can have, even if her goal is to do the opposite: make everyone happy.
I thought it was very interesting how Harriet and Wyn were written - both with low self-esteem for different reasons and in a way that makes it hard for them to communicate effectively when they'd need it most. It's sometimes hard to read this kind of story, where there's a lack of communication, which you as the reader can see clearly. But in this case it felt very natural, you could understand why they can't get their shit together sooner. (Not gonna lie though, I was a little frustrated at times, but it was okay.)
The tone of this book was a little bittersweet in my opinion, especially because we spend a lot of time exploring the relationships between characters before the events of the book (the good and he bad), but also get to see the complicated situation they're in at the moment. A lot of people on here say that this book is "lighthearted" and I see why, but to me it wasn't. Maybe that's a matter of the state you're in when reading this and how the topics resonate with you. It my case, this book didn't drag me down or anything, but it made me (a little) sad more often than not to be honest, so I can't say I thought of it as lighthearted.
I'm always a sucker for the found family trope, which immediately made me like this book. The characters are such a well thought out friend group, who love each other so much that it'll warm your heart in no time. Their relationships with each other felt very real, which helped making the characters themselves feel real. All of them just .. made sense in a way. I also thought most of them had their time to shine and become a complex person in the eye of the reader, which I think was nice, because I worry sometimes that side characters don't get enough depth, since they're not the couple the story focuses on. But in this case I got a clear sense for all of them, which makes sense since while this is a romance book, it takes its time to explore friendship as well.
I really loved Harriet - probably bc I related to her a lot. Maybe you find her annoying if you can't see aspects of yourself in her and would just like to shake her sometimes and tell her that she's way too much in her head without finding someone to do a reality check with. She struggles a lot with listening to her own needs and the negative consequences this can have, even if her goal is to do the opposite: make everyone happy.
I thought it was very interesting how Harriet and Wyn were written - both with low self-esteem for different reasons and in a way that makes it hard for them to communicate effectively when they'd need it most. It's sometimes hard to read this kind of story, where there's a lack of communication, which you as the reader can see clearly. But in this case it felt very natural, you could understand why they can't get their shit together sooner. (Not gonna lie though, I was a little frustrated at times, but it was okay.)
The tone of this book was a little bittersweet in my opinion, especially because we spend a lot of time exploring the relationships between characters before the events of the book (the good and he bad), but also get to see the complicated situation they're in at the moment. A lot of people on here say that this book is "lighthearted" and I see why, but to me it wasn't. Maybe that's a matter of the state you're in when reading this and how the topics resonate with you. It my case, this book didn't drag me down or anything, but it made me (a little) sad more often than not to be honest, so I can't say I thought of it as lighthearted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Chronic illness
dkgreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.75
Dear Emily Henry, I kinda hate you while absolutely loving you at the same time. This book made my chest ACHE. Like, I had very real anxiety about the fate of not at all real characters’ lives. Send help.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Medical content
positivenoodles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved it being set in Maine but a fictional town. It felt like Maine without having to be like "I don't think that is a place in that town". It felt true to Maine without pulling me out of the story. They did mention a place at Acadia national park that has amazing popovers and that is a real place that I go to when visiting the area.
The characters felt real to me and how I would banter with my friends. The fact that they were all so different but they loved each other like family. The found family is Soo well done in here.
The romance was done well but there were times that I was YELLING out loud hey just kiss!
I recommend this book and it is a perfect summer smut read.
The characters felt real to me and how I would banter with my friends. The fact that they were all so different but they loved each other like family. The found family is Soo well done in here.
The romance was done well but there were times that I was YELLING out loud hey just kiss!
I recommend this book and it is a perfect summer smut read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual harassment
rayreyes's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Delightful. Definitely some breakup, trouble, parent-child relationships, strained sibling relationship and dead dad stuff. Angsty and slow.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Medical trauma and Medical content