Harriet Kilpatrick met her two best friends Sabrina and Cleo at a small Vermont college where she also met and fell in love with Wyn Connor, friend of Parth. Everything was perfect. Wyn and Harriet got engaged. Parth and Sabrina, both lawyers, became a couple. The close group of five expanded to six when Cleo and Kimmy met after college. Harriet, whose dreams of being a surgeon kept her working tirelessly at her residency in San Francisco, is caught off-guard when Wyn breaks their engagement. Months after the break-up, which Harriet was never given a reason for, it was time for the friends' annual summer vacation at Sabrina's family cottage in Maine, Harriet's "happy place." She believes that Wyn will not be going but is shocked when he shows up. They decide that it would be bad timing to tell their friends they've broken up, so they pretend they are together, and nothing has changed. The two clearly have deep love for one another but there are issues that have never been addressed between the two of them. Is there hope for Harriet and Wyn as they spend a week together?
This scenario may sound like the makings of a sweet, cheery rom-com but it isn't. Well, not entirely. Author Emily Henry, who continues to be a standout in the Contemporary Romance genre, once again sets herself apart with Happy Place. All the characters are engaging and interesting, and the dialogue is often very funny and clever. All the settings, including the idyllic cottage in Maine, are wonderfully described. As the reasons for Harriet and Wyn being apart come to light, I felt their pain and anxiety. And the reality of best friends growing apart as their lives move in different directions was so well done. And so real. It makes you think of what your own "happy place" is or was.
Rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.
Contemporary Romance.
Publication Date: April 25, 2023.
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