A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends.
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.
They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?
“Will we still be friends after this, I’d whispered, and he’d smiled as he told me. You’ve never been just a friend to me.“
Happy Place is yet another charming stunner from Emily Henry. It is so swoon-worthy and everything you want in a vacationing, “fake-dating” romance.
Wyn and Harriet. Man, I just felt the draw between these two as soon as we see them on the page together. Their witty banter and slight prodding of each other just sold me 100%. However, I also can see how much they genuinely care for each other and want to sacrifice for the other. I was rooting for them the whole time. I do also like the group of friends that were weaved into the story as well – it honestly reminded me of my group of couples.
“So many of his details are slightly different, but my heart still sees him and whispers into my veins, You.“
More so, I feel like Emily really excels at flashbacks. She effortlessly weaves past relationships into present ones and I love when they finally collide. She’s also really good at writing real relationships. I don’t mean other book’s relationships are not “real”, however real relationships have struggles. They’re not perfect and don’t always have a HEA. I love Emily’s uncanny ability to show the struggles and overcoming them.
“In every universe, it’s you for me. Even if it’s not me for you.”
Overall, another stunner from Emily Henry. Happy Place is the relationship you root for all while set in a comfort place and it’s absolutely worth a read!
Jotted by Jena 