Scan barcode
kleinekita's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.5
Finished reading: June 18th 2023
"Love means constantly saying you're sorry, and then doing better."
There has been such a hype around Happy Place, and I honestly can't believe it has already got over 200.000! ratings on Goodreads. I mean, Happy Place has only been published for two months or so... Anyhow, I can't deny that I've been looking forward to read this one, because I really enjoyed my time with her previous books. I loved the sound of the blurb with the group of friends getting together and the Main cottage setting, and I had high hopes for it. Now that I've read it, I'm not sure if those expectations were actually met though... I'm not saying that it's a bad read and I initially did love my time with this story. There was something about this close group of friends that made me want to spend time with them. The main focus is on Wyn and Harriet of course, and they have the biggest character growth as a result, but I feel that the rest of them are still quite complex as well. I wish more time would have been spent in the present though, because the many flashbacks could get a bit tedious. The miscommunication trope ended up being a bit too much for me as well, because it was just too present not only in Wyn and Harriet, but in the group in general. It distracted from the other issues and only started to make me feel frustrated by the whole situation. Especially when it was not clear why they broke up in the first place and is was way too obvious they still love each other. That said, it was the last 20% or so of Happy Place that really let me down. Not only did I find this particular outcome to be highly unbelievable, but not satisfying at all either. I just couldn't believe that Harriet would make such a big decision on the fly, after only a week in Maine and without considering all her options. A slower build up would have made her decision a bit more credible, but still... This was NOT how I hoped this story would end. I can't deny that there were parts of the story that I loved, but Happy Place also ended up having more issues for me than expected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Abandonment, Drug use, Mental illness, Death, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Medical content, Vomit, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders
rd77's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Overall, this book was really great and Emily Henry did a fantastic job with scene setting and making the characters feel real and loveable.
The positives: I really loved the friend group dynamic! It felt very realistic in the way that they all made mistakes and fought at times, but they all deeply loved each other. I also really liked the scene setting and descriptions of the scenery - it made the cottage in Maine come to life and made me nostalgic for a place I’ve never been. I also really liked the alternating between the past and the present, so we could see the story of how Wyn and Harriet ended up together interspersed in the current story.
The negative: I did feel like the last few chapters were rushed and that the resolution was also a bit rushed. Now, I’m definitely biased when I say this since I am a medical student, but I wasn’t a huge fan of Harriet quitting her residency - or rather, the way it happened. I do think her reasoning was sound in that she felt that she had just gone into medicine to please other people. However, I didn’t really realize that she hated her job until she said it out loud. Sure, it was said that she struggled a lot since they moved to San Francisco, but it was implied that that was mainly because of her and Wyn’s relationship falling apart (and anyone who knows anything about medical residency could attribute the rest to the fact that residency is really, really, really difficult especially in the first year). So if this was the path the author was leading to the whole time, then I would have liked to actually get more clues that Harriet wasn’t enjoying the job itself rather than that Hank’s passing and Wyn was complicating everything. Without those clues, it makes it seem like she DID quit her residency because of Wyn, since that’s all that the problem seemed to be until she suddenly said she didn’t like her job in the last few chapters. And that is something I can’t support at all, since I fully agree with her mother that she shouldn’t give anything up for a man, especially not a career she’s invested a ridiculous amount of time and money into (and that she never mentioned disliking until a reconciliation with Wyn came into the picture). Also, the whole quitting residency thing was kind of glossed over, especially when it came to the loans. Harriet planned to « chip away » at them, which is kind of a ridiculous comment considering she likely has over $250,000 in loans that are continuing to accrue interest and that a pottery instructor could in no way ever repay. It just made it feel less realistic and cheapened how big of a decision it really was for her. Basically, I just felt like this came as a surprise (which made it feel like this decision was made because of Wyn even though the author tries to say it wasn’t) and that it wasn’t very realistic. I did love that relationships with family and friends and personal happiness were what Harriet realized she wanted to focus on, but I just think this conclusion could have come about in a better way.
All in all, still an incredible book and one that definitely feels so real because of the incredible imagery and character development.
The positives: I really loved the friend group dynamic! It felt very realistic in the way that they all made mistakes and fought at times, but they all deeply loved each other. I also really liked the scene setting and descriptions of the scenery - it made the cottage in Maine come to life and made me nostalgic for a place I’ve never been. I also really liked the alternating between the past and the present, so we could see the story of how Wyn and Harriet ended up together interspersed in the current story.
The negative: I did feel like the last few chapters were rushed and that the resolution was also a bit rushed.
All in all, still an incredible book and one that definitely feels so real because of the incredible imagery and character development.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Mental illness
erkietheturkey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, and Grief
Minor: Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
deluna'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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
justsmileandread's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy
ayoderable's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.25
Spicer than normal for Emily Henry in a good way. Pretty funny as well. Good character development with real problems. Didn't LOVE the ending- felt a little bit hand wavy with main characters depression but it was still pretty good
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
moonlitreading_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
4.0
“In every universe, it’s you for me. Even if it’s not me for you.”
This is a story of friendship and how they survive the test of time and distance. Of personal growth, on finally choosing what makes You happy, not other people. Of love, whether you end up together or not, somewhere at some point someone was your person and you were theirs. This is a story about the pain of growing up and growing apart, and sometimes it was so raw that I had a hard time breathing.
I think among all the Emily Henry books I’ve read this is the one I liked the most. For a book called Happy Place this sure crushed my heart in so many different ways.
This is a story of friendship and how they survive the test of time and distance. Of personal growth, on finally choosing what makes You happy, not other people. Of love, whether you end up together or not, somewhere at some point someone was your person and you were theirs. This is a story about the pain of growing up and growing apart, and sometimes it was so raw that I had a hard time breathing.
I think among all the Emily Henry books I’ve read this is the one I liked the most. For a book called Happy Place this sure crushed my heart in so many different ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcohol, Grief, Drug use, and Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Chronic illness
Minor: Pregnancy
majakrmer's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders
merlesstorys's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
This book had everything. The sad parts, the happy parts, the sappy ones and everything was just kinda funny.
This was my first Emily Henry book and honestly because the e-book was on sale, and I very much loved it. I liked the chemistry of Harriet and Wyn, their friend group and everything.
It was very easy to read and the journeys of Harriet and Wyn each and together were inspiring.
Also, gotta give love for Cleo and Kim being a functional sapphic couple whose history in this book didn’t include homophobia because I wouldn’t have been able to survive that as well. I was already crying on the train ride home because of this book.
This was my first Emily Henry book and honestly because the e-book was on sale, and I very much loved it. I liked the chemistry of Harriet and Wyn, their friend group and everything.
It was very easy to read and the journeys of Harriet and Wyn each and together were inspiring.
Also, gotta give love for Cleo and Kim being a functional sapphic couple whose history in this book didn’t include homophobia because I wouldn’t have been able to survive that as well. I was already crying on the train ride home because of this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
Terminal Illness means Parkinson, and Wyn’s mother has it.