cakey ~.~'s Reviews > Happy Place

reread it two years later, and it still hits the same.

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5 happy, heartbroken, happily heartbroken stars

Is it too clichéd for me to say that this cute, seemingly harmless pink book is my site of ruin but also, quite indefatigably, my little happy place?

I guess there’s something about soulmates—the ones grounded in reality, not the fantasy version that’s usually a disguise for superficial attraction, which this one isn’t—that makes my heart swell with emotion. Harriet and Wyn are soulmates, in every sense of the word, and you believe their love, believe what they’re going through. But most importantly, you feel it, too.

I’ve read all of Emily Henry’s contemporary romances, and I’ve noticed she likes having these small-big reveals towards the end, twists that are simple in nature but also exactly because of their simplicity feel so vast. She takes a premise, turns it on its head, and makes the story all the richer for it. And I think she sticks the landing in the best way possible in this one.

Unlike my complaint with her release last year, the writing here is stronger—less telling, more showing. More piercing, visceral feeling. It’s like Henry took a piece of her heart and put it at the center of the story. Which is to say, this has so much heart. So much life. So much sincerity.

I read in one of her interviews that she wrote Harriet to be a people pleaser, much like she is, and Cleo, one of Harriet’s best friends, as someone who says no because she doesn’t want to do whatever’s being asked of her, much like Henry’s own best friend. And I think that adds to the sincerity of the narrative, because Harriet and Cleo, and Sabrina and Wyn and Kimmy and Parth, all feel like real people.

On that note, while this is a romance, it’s also equally about friendship. And Henry manages the ensemble cast with skill and talent, truly selling the relationship dynamics and making you care for each one of them, written with a relatability that allows you to think of your own set of friends—how are you handling your relationship with them? Do you talk enough? When you do, do you say what you really mean? What you really feel?

As for the romance: Harriet and Wyn’s love story is so simple yet so full. The story is structured in alternating present and past chapters, and as the past catches up with the present, you’re in it, in every single moment, only to realize you’ve been holding your breath the whole time. Because it’s painful. Because it’s beautiful. Because it’s painfully beautiful and beautifully painful.

I don’t know Henry in real life, or at all apart from her books, but based on all four of hers I’ve read so far, Happy Place feels the most sincere. It’s got the biggest heart and the strongest emotions—and the best structure and flow.

I can finally say it: Happy Place has hereby officially unseated and dethroned her romance debut as my favorite contemporary romance ever written on this planet in this timeline. Across all timelines.

Clichéd or not, this is my Happy Place.



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pre-review

yes, this is my happy place