Book Blog #330: Happy Place by Emily Henry

 

Title: Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry

# of Pages: 388 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Chick-lit, Romance

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: 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?

Review: If chick-lit is rated within its own category, this is definitely one of the better ones. If I rated this as a regular book (if I didn't realize it was a chick-lit, I'd give it three stars).  

 The good: 

- I was cheering for things to work out between Harriet and Wyn, so the characters were at least somewhat likable. 

- The time skipping works. Chapters of Harriet’s past are interlaced with the chapters of “real life” (present day) of Harriet at the cottage. It was pretty easy to figure out which chapters were present day or not, and slowly discovering the past events that led Harriet to be in the situation she finds herself in keeps the reader coming back for more. 

- The book doesn’t just focus on Harriet’s romantic relationship with Wyn. I appreciated that the author Henry threw in some components of friendship and family in there. 

 The bad: 

- Too much monologuing. A lot of chick lit authors fall into the trap of having their characters spell out their history, their feelings, what makes their characters unique, etc despite that being uncharacteristic for a slice of life story. 

- There’s some pretty lame lines (that actually made me laugh out loud? So maybe it’s a good thing). This is mostly from Wyn talking about how he’s hard often when in convo with Harriet. 

- Since chick lit is a usually a depiction of a woman’s fantasy (hard emphasis on fantasy, in terms of it being unrealistic), the messages of following your heart and doing what makes you happy didn’t resonate with me. Characters “learning” these lessons and turning a leaf so quickly and willingly with minimal struggle made me truly believe this is an overly optimistic novel trying too hard to be inspiration. 

Nonetheless, it’s a quick and enjoyable read (the ending soured my impression of it, but I enjoyed the earlier parts of the story). I would recommend it for those interested in chick-lit.