Happy Place by Emily Henry. Best second chance romance.

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?

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.

Audiobook Review

6 stars

Would you read a book if a review told you : “This book was perfection and every romance lover should read it!”?

No? You’d need more?

Because in a nutshell that’s what I want to tell you after listening to Julia Whelan narrating that story who had me go through every emotion possible!

OK what if I said that:

-This is one of the , if not THE,  best second chance stories I have ever read? And second chance is one of my favorite tropes! Going between past “happy place” days and present “in real life” day we’ll see the love story of Harriet and Wyn. How they clicked right away, how they met through their respective friends, how they fell in love and how now, they have been separated for six months without telling any of their friends.

And for one week, they’ll have to pretend that everything is fine because they are all reunited for one last hurrah vacation with Sabrina, Cleo, Kimmie and Parth?

–Or if I said that it features amazing friendships? From college where Harriet, Cleo and Sabrina simply found their new family in each other to their other halves included in the mix. We are talking about knowing everyone’s taste, likes and dislikes and calling when you haven’t heard about them (Sabrina) or letting the other love you despite your flaws and making the others feel special because of said flaws (Harriet). You’ll walk down memory lane more than once. And you’ll want to be friends with these fictional characters!

-Maybe you love sarcasm? Because if you love banter and sarcasm like I do, you’d be in for a treat! Harriet has the best sweet-sarcastic comebacks!

-If you love to laugh one moment, swoon the next and cry right after then you MUST read that book!

-Or what if I said that Wyn is sexy but so insecure about his intelligence, his ability to make something out of his life? And that Harriet has always achieved excellence because when she’ll have a respected job, earning a lot of money then she’ll be able to buy her parents debt, to make them proud and that everyone will be happy! Even if deep down, it’s not a job as fulfilling as she thought? These characters are flawed, they hurt, they question their future. They’ d rather hurt themselves than hurt the others. They SUFFER and they had me suffering right alongside. I just wanted to hug them!

Or even better, what if I said that the love Wyn had for Harriet is so strong that when he says I love you, he says things like:

“In every universe, it’s you for me. Even if it’s not me for you.”

Or when he learns that instead of boysband posters Harriet had the periodic table plastered on her walls as a teenager, he says:

“You are my periodic table”.

Did I convince you now to read that book?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie