Happy Place by Emily Henry

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 six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
 

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest 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, blue 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?
 

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

I’m stuck trying to figure out if I’m getting fatigue from reading three Emily Henry novels in just over a month or if it’s the novel’s character drama that wasn’t for me, but this one didn’t grab my interest and continued to stumble the further it progressed. Focusing a core trio of gal pals consisting of Harriet, Cleo and Sabrina with their plus one’s added over the years, Happy Place takes the fake dating trope and meshes it with a second chance at love at a small town, summer vacation retreat.

I suspect it has to do with the plot and concept of the novel, but I found myself inherently less invested in this tight-nit friend group compared to Emily Henry’s other novels that I read which are Book Lovers and Beach Read. Maybe it’s the lack of literary book elements that I loved or the girl-group friends for life theme that doesn’t appeal to me, but I felt like I was quite far from the target demographics of this book. Fake dating is a common and tired trope but Henry is well aware of this and fully commits to putting Harriet and her ex-fiancé Wyn through the ringer which are often hilarious. I also appreciate the focal theme of finding what makes yourself truly happy vs others expectations or impressions of it. Harriet’s use of “think of your happy place” early-on can feel a bit on the nose at first, but one’s “happy place” is eventually discovered at the book’s
(rather rushed) conclusion and draws nice connections to a lot of her issues in life.

One of the great things about Emily Henry’s novels is her ability to effortlessly weave hard-hitting personal issues and insecurities into an otherwise sarcastic and often hilarious romance novel.Unfortunately I had a lot of problems reading through the more serious character-focused drama elements in Happy Place. A great deal of the existing and ongoing conflict in the story (both in the flashback pre-breakup memories and in the present week-long vacation stay) is attributed to simple miscommunication which is one of my least favorite plot element. Nearly every single source of unhappiness for all six friends can be traced back to dishonesty or miscommunication which is tiring to read through.

Ordinarily this wouldn’t be deal-breaker if not for several of the characters having such weak reasons or motivations behind their actions. Harriet probably receives the best treatment with a lot of her insecurities and character flaws being traced back to her less than ideal upbringing (her uncomfortable family dynamics was one of the highlights for me that felt sadly underused). However some other characters such as Cleo’s reasons for detaching herself from her friends I found to be ridiculous in itself and how it was thrown out in a mere two pages or so. Sabrina’s conflict also climaxes a mere 30 pages before the ending which affords so little time for development. However Wyn is perhaps one of the most troubling as he also serves as the main (ex)-romantic interest. I found the explanation for his self-esteem issues to be quite lacking View Spoiler » and one of the main personal fixes for his problems being new anti-depressants feels not only lazy but also mildly insulting at how it appears to be a miracle quick-fix for all of one’s issues. Depression is different for everyone and from what I’ve experienced from watching others who have used anti-depressants, its quick and effective solution with none of the usual drawbacks or challenges is baffling. Emily Henry normally has so much attention to detail and research in her previous works, Wyn’s character arc and motivation felt mishandled. « Hide Spoiler

The other big issue I had with Happy Place lies in the core premise of the fake dating set-up. Harriet and Wyn had dated for 10 years, then broke up 5 months prior to events of the summer reunion vacation. The novel alternates between the summer reunion and from the past starting when Harriet met Wyn through their eventual breakup. Their meeting, flirting and romance is to be expected for this book’s genre, but to me it came off as inconsequential and quite dry compared to actual summer reunion. I’m inclined to believe this is due to how Harriet and Wyn’s relationship is portrayed as a love at first sight and a “everything about this person and relationship is perfect”. The rose-tinted chapters feel excessive and a waste of valuable word count for a 380 page book especially when I reached the actual breakup. Countless chapters cover their meeting and the growth of their relationship as they age but then a sudden tragedy, downward spiral and breakup is given a singular chapter treatment. For a book that has its entire plot hinging on their breakup, Harriet’s animosity towards Wyn during the reunion and her eventual conflicted feelings for him, this was just not enough to satisfy me. The conflict and friction between friends is also hinted on and slowly grows over the duration of the story, but it’s a bad sign when the climax of the conflict hits with only 50 pages left in the book. The resolutions across the board felt rushed and thrown together which is disappointing compared to how well paced and planned I thought Emily Henry’s other novels were.

There are a lot of positive elements though. Emily Henry always has witty banter and quality writing (despite how silly the conflict can be, it’s always a treat to read), Happy Place was at it’s best for me in its comedic moments and goofy dialogue. I also found Harriet to be a distinctive and interesting lead (a lot of these romance novel protagonists are all starting to blend together for me) and there’s great chemistry between her and Wyn. I just found the characters motivations and the plot’s progression to be lacking which becomes a bigger problem the more I read and despite Harriet having a decisive and satisfying character growth, just about every other character and issue felt disappointing. And unfortunately a book that’s technically competent but disappointing ending somehow leaves a worse impression than an a lesser but average book.