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A review by abooknomad
Happy Place by Emily Henry
2.5
To me personally, this is an amalgamation of Emily Henry’s previous works, and though Wyn and Harriet’s second-chance romance is different from January and Gus’ journey to vulnerability, Poppy and Alex’s friends-to-lovers travelling shenanigans, and Nora and Charlie’s magnetism, the rest (i.e. themes) didn’t add anything to her bibliography, nor made me personally connect on a deep level to the story as her previous works did.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
- The cast of friends, especially Cleo – she’s my favourite side character Emily Henry has written, my spirit animal, I need more of her.
- Vulnerability: EH never fails in this department, especially when it comes to the male characters.
- Wyn and Harriet’s tender and soft romance.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞:
- Too much romance back and forth: I know, I just said I liked the romance. But I have my limits and those are extra cheesiness. Maybe I’m just dead inside? Or perhaps second-chance romance is not my thing after all? This is the funniest thing because Emily Henry’s books are often criticised on social media for being more women’s fiction than romance and consequently leading romance readers astray.
In my opinion, this is the closest book to a “traditional” romance EH has written. We spend SO much time with Wyn and Harriet. So many repetitive scenes, recycled inner monologues and reused dramatic quotes happen throughout. In the beginning, I was charmed, but about 40% into the book it started to grate on me. Especially knowing there’s a whole cast of characters, four friends making up the other half of the found family, intrinsic to the plot, begging to be developed.
- Development: worthwhile conversations surrounding mental health, friendship and huge life choices were tackled too quickly. I wish this book had more substance: a little bit more time spent on showing and developing the interpersonal relationships within the group of friends, rather than just telling. Harriet’s character also fell a little flat and though her people-pleasing tendencies are a theme worth discussing, I’m not sure I liked the execution in this first read.
- Duped by early reviews: ... that sold this book as the most painful and angsty piece of fiction ever written. Maybe I’ve been reading too much fantasy and lit fic (or again, maybe I’m just dead inside) because I don’t get it... I think the problem for me was not knowing initially why Harriet and Wyn split after 8 years of being together and said reason becoming increasingly more predictable as the book went on, and consequently unconvincing. The stakes were simply not high enough for me to feel invested to the point of experiencing heartache.
Note to self: never read early reviews for highly anticipated releases ever again.
Nora and Charlie are still mother and father. Poppy and Alex are still my children. Not sure where Beach Read fits in, I’ll have to reread it to do a proper ranking.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
- The cast of friends, especially Cleo – she’s my favourite side character Emily Henry has written, my spirit animal, I need more of her.
- Vulnerability: EH never fails in this department, especially when it comes to the male characters.
- Wyn and Harriet’s tender and soft romance.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞:
- Too much romance back and forth: I know, I just said I liked the romance. But I have my limits and those are extra cheesiness. Maybe I’m just dead inside? Or perhaps second-chance romance is not my thing after all? This is the funniest thing because Emily Henry’s books are often criticised on social media for being more women’s fiction than romance and consequently leading romance readers astray.
In my opinion, this is the closest book to a “traditional” romance EH has written. We spend SO much time with Wyn and Harriet. So many repetitive scenes, recycled inner monologues and reused dramatic quotes happen throughout. In the beginning, I was charmed, but about 40% into the book it started to grate on me. Especially knowing there’s a whole cast of characters, four friends making up the other half of the found family, intrinsic to the plot, begging to be developed.
- Development: worthwhile conversations surrounding mental health, friendship and huge life choices were tackled too quickly. I wish this book had more substance: a little bit more time spent on showing and developing the interpersonal relationships within the group of friends, rather than just telling. Harriet’s character also fell a little flat and though her people-pleasing tendencies are a theme worth discussing, I’m not sure I liked the execution in this first read.
- Duped by early reviews: ... that sold this book as the most painful and angsty piece of fiction ever written. Maybe I’ve been reading too much fantasy and lit fic (or again, maybe I’m just dead inside) because I don’t get it... I think the problem for me was not knowing initially why Harriet and Wyn split after 8 years of being together and said reason becoming increasingly more predictable as the book went on, and consequently unconvincing. The stakes were simply not high enough for me to feel invested to the point of experiencing heartache.
Note to self: never read early reviews for highly anticipated releases ever again.
Nora and Charlie are still mother and father. Poppy and Alex are still my children. Not sure where Beach Read fits in, I’ll have to reread it to do a proper ranking.