And the award for my all-time-favorite romance novel goes to the absolute MASTERPIECE that is Happy Place! I would give it a million stars if I could!!!

I cannot thank Emily Henry, NetGalley, and the publisher enough for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! This book is one of my most anticipated releases of the year, so to be able to review it on Valentine’s Day of all days, is incredible!

Happy Place made me laugh, made my heart swell about 10 sizes, and made me cry more times than I can count on both my hands. In short, it was nothing short of PERFECT!!

I loved everything from the simultaneously sugary sweet and scaldingly hot chemistry between Harriet and Wyn, to the incredible exploration of mental health struggles and family relationships. I loved the dual timeline and following their relationship across a decade, but more than anything I loved the element of found family!

While this is a romance novel, and it leans into many of the classic romance tropes (it’s somehow got both friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, and fake dating!), it’s also so much more than that!!! The incredible friendships portrayed never takes a back seat to the romance, and I cannot express how deeply I feel about all six of these characters! They all hold such dear places in my heart!

What surprised me most bout this novel, was how real it felt. It felt like getting advice from an older sister, about the things I didn’t know I needed at this point in my life: About not knowing where life will take you, fearing how your friendships might change, and trying to understand the ways in which our parents do and don’t shape us. 

It’s a book about loss. And finding ourselves. And growing together. And while it touches on so many topics, it handles all of them with care and so so so much love!!!

I will think about this book for days and months and years to come, and I know I’ll turn to it when life gets tough, or when I just need a good cry and a lot of laughs!!