A review by oliviasbooktalk
Happy Place by Emily Henry

5.0

I truly loved this book. I found Harriet and Wyn’s relationship to be very honest, and an excellent look at how grief affects, not just an individual, but a long-term, serious relationship. A present timeline with a fake-dating second-chance romance, mixed with the past timeline of ‘how it used to be’ flashbacks, had me falling hard for their love. It created a palpable tension that refused to let me put the book down—I had to know what was going to happen. And not only was I all-in on the romance, but of course, I also fell in love with their friend group and related all too well to the growing pains and dynamic changes they were experiencing.

In defense of this novel: negative reviews of this book tend to hyperfixate on the miscommunication between Harriet and Wyn, and yes, while they do miscommunicate, it was never used as a ‘trope’. Miscommunication in this situation is explored through the lens of grief (which even ends marriages), so to boil this book down to how can they not talk after being in a relationship for 10 years?! is grossly inaccurate. Also, Harriet is almost a complete foil to me, but I never faulted her for not handling things how I would.