BookLife Review: Happy Place by Emily Henry

Maine, thwarted romance, romance novel, friendship, secrets, professional identity crisis, marriage, LGBTQ+ characters, Montana

Emily Henry’s Happy Place is a romance novel, pleasant-ish beach read, with decent final quarter finish. The book has a bright and sunny colored cover, which sort of telegraphs the guessable happy ending. Set in Maine (New England locations are becoming a theme-or is it just me?), this is a somewhat saccharine multi-couple, friends-since-college story. As my fellow-book lover, said, “I’m not a huge fan of books where the conflict could be solved by page 3 just by having a conversation.” This is one of those—the dashed love story, a broken engagement at the center of the story, is two people still clearly in love, rendered asunder by circumstances of geography and poor communication.

There is an annual Maine reunion of a group of six, five college friends (two-coupled) plus a newcomer. The Maine house which is the gathering spot is being sold, so this year’s trip is billed as a last hurray. Unbeknownst to the group, our core twosome, Wyn and Harriet, have broken their engagement and attend the gathering only to appease the host, who has compelled attendance with her own surprises (house for sale and her own intimate wedding).

When a book begins with beautiful people fighting against their underlying true love, I do an eye roll. I stuck with it and settled in. It didn’t magically become a literary masterpiece, but I found myself wanting to know what possibly could have caused these kismet lovers to break up in the first place. The secondary characters and highly orchestrated weekend activity of for-the-last-time activities were not all that riveting. The story line of the core couple’s past (alternating present and past) was more interesting. The final fourth or so of the book got a bit more compelling, with an estranged parent-child reunion/repair of sorts, and a dramatic professional course correction by the protagonist.

If you are a happy-ending romance reader, this is for you. Keep your expectations modest and you can enjoy this between naps on your blanket in the sand.