Book Review: Happy Place.

It would be fair to say I was eagerly awaiting this book – so much so I saved the voucher I received at Easter so I could buy it (in hardback no less).

It definitely has a different feel to it than Emily Henry’s others. The cover makes it seem like a bouncy rom com but, if that’s what you’re after, I’d pick something else. It might be a Happy Place but it mostly wasn’t a happy book. 

Here’s the blurb:

Two exes. One pact.
Could this holiday change everything?

Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple – they go together like bread and butter, gin and tonic, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.

Every year, they take a holiday from their lives to drink far too much wine with their favourite people in the world.

Except this year, they are lying through their teeth, because Harriet and Wyn broke up six months ago. And they still haven’t told anyone.

But the cottage is for sale so this is the last time they’ll all be here together. They can’t bear to break their best friends’ hearts so they’ll fake it for one more week.

But how can you pretend to be in love – and get away with it – in front of the people who know you best?

There’s something compelling about Wyn and Harriet’s story. I read it very quickly as I really wanted to know why they split when it was clear there were still feelings on both sides but it is also quite drawn out and there was never a good point to stop.

One of the things I think Emily Henry does so well is explore all sorts of (complex) relationships in a realistic way, especially how they ebb and flow over the years. I have to say though, I wasn’t very enamoured with some of Harriet and Wyn’s friendship group, especially Sabrina and Parth. 

What I was enamoured with was her style of writing, which, as always, was almost lyrical. The dialogue was sharp and clever. It reminded me of a programme I loved, Dawson’s Creek (as did the location).

However, this is the first time I have really felt like a book is aimed at a different generation to me (Millennials and beyond). It’s a very odd feeling. I was reading it like a parental observer rather than being at the heart of it, as with other books. As EH is a huge hit on Tik Tok (#booktok) and 80% of users are aged between 16-34, maybe I am not just not meant to relate to it?

Overall, I liked it but I didn’t love it.