Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Happy Place

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Happy Place by Emily Henry

18 reviews

percervall's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

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jo_22's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was a bit slow-going for me at first (relative to other Emily Henry books) in how it took me farther into the story to really connect with the characters. They were enjoyable characters but frustrating at times when they didn’t communicate; and I think the I wasn’t as engaged in the plot til probs 50% of the way through. Listened to it on a 9 hour solo drive and despite my early frustrations, it was the perfect book to immerse in!
And the last 20%…oof <3 had great (albeit very rushed) character development, and relatable POVs/elements. (Career, life, love, boundaries, happiness, generational trauma, friendship, how to argue, secure attachment, growing up & adulting).

It was slightly triggering for me at some points which is reason for 4.25 stars instead of 5 stars.

Overall feelings are:
• omg this was enjoyable
• I want to talk to others about this book
• thanks han for pushing me to read it and putting me on EH
• the timeliness of me reading this is wild
• Harriet was frustrating in how she didn’t communicate or made assumptions / didn’t do relationships well. However I could relate at times so it didn’t bother me as much as other novels with this trope.
• I didn’t like Wyn in ways I liked other EH male romantic interests
• I like how much this focused on healthy relationships & friendships in particular way more than her other novels - it added a new dynamic & I enjoyed that variety. The characters didn’t often portray healthy relationships but I liked how EH explored that
• I NEED to own the paperback so I can reread and highlight impactful parts / quotes (There were so many moments where I paused the book to process or hype or reflect on)

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leandrathetbrzero's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

My first 1 star of the year…

Harriet and Wyn were the perfect couple until Wyn ended their engagement over an excruciating 4-minute phone call. Fast forward six months, and the two find themselves on their annual friends vacation…pretending to still be engaged. During the longest week of her life, Harriet must address her own people-pleasing tendencies, how she feels about Wyn’s proximity, and why their love didn’t last.

Wow, did I hate this book. It had every unhealthy relationship, from romantic to platonic. My biggest problems with Happy Place centered around the actions of Wyn and Sabrina, especially how they abused Harriet’s need to people-please and her tendency to blame herself. Both characters knew she grew up in a home with a loveless marriage, and that she struggles to set boundaries and speak up for what she wants, so I was shocked by how often her ex-fiance and (supposedly) best friend manipulated her and violated her trust.

SPOILERS

After being the one who broke up with her, Wyn constantly crossed the line telling her how much he misses touching her and being near her. Meanwhile, he continues to withhold his true thoughts and feelings from her until their friendcation is nearly over…he clearly hasn’t grown enough in their five months apart. They were just an unhealthy couple with co-dependency issues and a higher physical relationship than an emotional one. Sabrina did a genuinely horrible thing, placing the two in the master suite when she KNEW they were no longer together. She knowingly caused Harriet emotional trauma, AND when all comes out, she has the nerve to blame Harriet for her breakup with Wyn.

The only way this narrative could have been redeemed is if Harriet left everyone behind (besides Cleo and Kimmy, they were cool) and prioritized herself and her happiness. But alas, that did not happen, and this ended up being such a depressing book. #JusticeForHarriet

For those interested, I have a full review posted on my booktube: Leandra the TBR Zero. If you adored this book, then I recommend you take inventory and decide whether or not it is a good idea to watch!

Booktube Review: https://youtu.be/RrXYUYSNfAI

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saliwali's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

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noceur's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

this was an okay read for me. i don't like second chance romances and i hate miscommunication but i decided to try reading it cuz it's Emily Henry. tbh i didn't feel the romance between the "main couple" because in the present our fmc has all these negative feelings about him and even though there are flashbacks it did not feel like love just maybe two people attracted to each other ? idk . and the miscommunication my god they were stupid sometimes but i also kinda get them. character wise i didn't like wyn he felt flat because the pov is from our fmc who has all these negative feelings about him but also she wants to jump his bones however i liked harriet even though she had her moments i realted to her in some parts but i didn't liked her ending, it felt rushed to me

u really want me to believe even though she had all these anxiety about how things were going to being cured and dropping her job for pottery ?

and the otehr friends also felt kinda flat but overall there were some good scenes and i wasn't bored or anything so it was an okay read

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miggyfool's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

3.75

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booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

3.5

This was my first Emily Henry book and it was not what I was excepting. To me Happy place is and is not a romance. This was so emotional both romantically and within the friendships of the book. The friendships Henry crafted in the book are very raw and real as well as the relationships. I do love that there was a sapphic side couple. But it felt like there was a bit too much emotional turmoil happening all at once. Plus I don’t particularly like the miscommunication troupe. I think many people will be torn between liking and not knowing how they feel about this book.

Cw
Gaslighting
Sexual content
Emotional abuse
Toxic friendship

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tsked_off's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.0

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