To many readers, BookTokers and Michigan Daily Arts writers, Emily Henry is the unquestionable queen of romance. With her complex characters and deep storylines, she masterfully weaves together romance novels that entertain readers and set romantic expectations very high.
Her upcoming novel “Happy Place” is one of the most anticipated books of 2023, which is no surprise after the success of her past three novels — the most recent of which won the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards for the romance genre.
“Happy Place” is a second-chance romance, where protagonist Harriet and her love interest Wyn are reunited at their friend’s summer house shortly after breaking off their engagement. Their friends are unaware of their breakup, and after receiving upsetting news from their friend group, Harriet and Wyn agree to maintain the facade of their engagement for the course of their vacation so as not to disappoint their friends further. What does that mean? It means that they undertake the classic fake relationship trope. Unsurprisingly, the book follows them as they find their way back to one another.
Similar to her second novel, “People We Meet on Vacation,” “Happy Place” has a dual timeline — we read chapters of Harriet in her “happy place” (moments of time in the past when she and Wyn are happy together) and chapters of “real life” (present day, where Harriet, Wyn and their friends are all struggling with various secrets). This format keeps readers eager to continue reading; in particular, we get little hints here and there about why Harriet and Wyn break up, but it takes reading both past and present storylines to get the full picture and understand just what went down between the two characters.
In a departure from her previous novels, “Happy Place” features far more side characters than readers might typically expect from a Henry novel. “Beach Read” was very insular, focusing primarily on January and Gus, and “People We Meet on Vacation” had a few side characters, but none of them were very important. “Book Lovers” featured a primary character beyond the main couple (Nora’s sister Libby), but “Happy Place” has an entire friend group that frequently appears on the page. The inclusion of a friend group was ingenious — it allowed readers to get a deeper understanding of the characters and the evolution of all their relationships with one another. As a result, we immediately feel more connected to the characters — Harriet in particular. Harriet’s relationship with her best friends Sabrina and Cleo especially adds to her own characterization; she becomes so much more than just another romantic lead when we understand her past and why her friends are like her family.
In terms of the romance, Harriet and Wyn are complicated. Wyn is unlike most of Henry’s literary love interests. He holds a lot of responsibility for their breakup, and that can make it difficult to feel sympathy or forgiveness toward him. In fact, he has a lot to make up for. When reading, I was wholly on Harriet’s side, unsure whether Wyn’s actions would make up for the heartbreak she’s feeling. That being said, in true Henry fashion, both characters make sacrifices for one another and learn more about themselves and each other on the road to repairing their relationship.
In many ways, even if romance isn’t always your preferred genre, Henry’s “Happy Place” should still capture your attention. Her focus on creating detailed characters and pure, platonic friendships contributes to a feel-good book. And if you do like romance, “Happy Place” will certainly be another Henry story that goes down in history.
Daily Arts Writer Sabriya Imami can be reached at simami@umich.edu.