Happy Happy Place

I’m back, friends! I had to take a surprise hiatus last month due to a concussion that made me unable to read or look at my computer screen for a month. But now I’m back in action and it’s been so nice being able to read and get back to my normal lifestyle again. That being said, there obviously hasn’t been much improvement on my reading goals for this year, but I am still ahead of schedule to reach my goals regardless! Because of everything that’s been going on with me, I decided to choose a light, beach read for this month. So, I’ll be reviewing Emily Henry’s latest novel Happy Place. And to accompany this review, I made a Happy Happy cocktail.

Happy Happy Recipe

2oz Vodka

1oz Triple Sec

3oz Orange Juice

1 handful Blueberries*

*This is an optional ingredient.

In a cocktail shaker without ice, add blueberries and muddle. Add ice, vodka, triple sec, and orange juice then shake for approximately 10 seconds. Strain into a highball glass and garnish with some more blueberries or an orange wheel!

OK, I’ll be honest this isn’t my best work. I had a hard time picking a special ingredient for this one. I had a lot of ideas, but nothing seemed right for the cocktail. So, I opted to go with something mentioned only two times in the novel—blueberries. It was either that or a cocktail with a garnish of weed edibles, and this felt like a better, more Teghann’s Grammie approved, option. The blueberries don’t overly change the taste of this drink, which is honestly really just a vodka orange juice. So, I don’t have much to say about this one other than it was good, refreshing, and easy to make! I’ll do better next month, I promise!

Happy Place Synopsis

(from book cover)

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?

Review

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

Y’all! I was surprised by how much I liked this one. I don’t necessarily dislike rom-coms, but they aren’t typically my favourite reads. But this one was so well done. And more surprisingly, it’s whole premise is a second-chance romance trope and I am notoriously the queen of never giving second chances! But, as a wise stranger once told me in my high school library, “A girl can never go wrong with a book with a pink cover.” And, while that does seem a touch problematic and sexist, she wasn’t wrong in this case. So, let’s get into it.

The writing is fantastic. Henry has the perfect voice and tone for the types of stories she tells. It’s fresh, fun, relatable, and very millennial in a way. The dialogue felt natural, believable, and witty, and it was mixed nicely with the amount of detail and inner dialogue. This perfect mix of detail and dialogue worked to paint a picture of the world and what was happening without being too explanative. Henry has definitely mastered the skill of showing and not telling. Happy Place is the first Emily Henry book I’ve read and I completely understand why people rave about her romcoms because the writing is just exactly what you want from the genre.

I also was extremely refreshed that this novel didn’t feel forced. In my last review, I was disappointed by just how forced the writing and dialogue were, so I was pleased to have this flowy, almost effortless, feeling read. Beyond that, Happy Place didn’t feel like a typical romcom. It felt more focused on the characters as individuals, mental health, and relationships both romantic and friendly. This is actually a really big reason why I enjoyed this book. And don’t get me wrong it was obviously heavily focused on the romantic relationship between Harriet and Wyn, but it was also deeper than that. I’ve heard this is a common trait of Emily Henry novels, so that’s also good to know for future reading.

The characters were another standout point for this novel. Mainly because they didn’t feel like the typical romcom characters. Sure, Harriet was a more traditional leading lady, but Wyn was absolutely not a typical leading man. It was great to see the intricacies of mental health in both protagonists, and it was especially nice to see a male character who struggled with mental health as I haven’t seen that handled in this particular way much before. And even though Harriet felt like a more traditional romcom character, I still really liked her. She was relatable and cute, and what more do you really need from a romcom.

The side characters, however, were less fleshed out than Wyn and Harriet, especially Parth and Kimmy. I do wish that Cleo and Sabrina also had a little more depth to them, but their characters still drew me in. They did feel slightly stereotypical in the friend group, though. As we’ve got Harriet, the smart and quiet one, Cleo, the eccentric artist, and Sabrina, the rich, bossy one. This didn’t necessarily take anything away from this novel, but it was something I noted. Overall, I liked the main characters who were, and should be, the focus in 99% of the novel, but I also would’ve been happy to have these side characters spotlighted a little more.

Now, I’m going to get into the negatives and there are a few, unfortunately. First, this is yet another novel with a beautiful emerald engagement ring. And at this point, I’m just starting to feel like these authors are trying to tell me I’m not special. But jokes aside, I do have real negatives. And this first one is going to sound surprisingly prudish for someone who teaches pole dancing for a living, but the PDA was just too much. Sure, I liked Harriet and Wyn, but I would never be friends with these people in real life. Any 25+ adult who thinks it’s OK to aggressively make out in front of all your friends is just weird. Now, this didn’t actually lower my rating for Happy Place, but it bothered me enough to mention.

My biggest real negative that did lower my rating of this novel was the miscommunication. If you’ve read my blog before, you know that I really dislike this trope. And, unfortunately, this was a huge trope in this novel. I was screaming in my head “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER” far too frequently. I truly hate when problems could be solved if people just honestly communicated with each other. However, the lack of communication did make sense for the characters’ personalities and mental health struggles. So, while it’s my biggest problem with the book it didn’t ruin the novel for me as it did work in the story.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Interestingly, aside from the miscommunication trope the most common complaint I’ve seen online for Happy Place is about the ending. And I get where these people are coming from, but I feel that it doesn’t matter if she spent years and money on school to become a neurosurgeon and decided not to do it. Because I didn’t get the feeling in the novel that she gave up her career for a man, but rather that she gave it up because she hated it and was severely unhappy. And as someone who went through years of university and got a degree in something only to drastically change their life plans to pursue what made them happy I know that it was the right decision for me. So, I respected seeing this decision in literature especially to this degree.

Prior to learning she hated her job and was depressed, I was also torn between wanting her to be with Wyn and wanting her to be a strong independent woman. But once I learned about the unhappiness I immediately was all for quitting her job to live a happier life. Do I think it was cheesy that she decided to do pottery instead? Obviously, yes. But it was implied that she’s just doing that as a hobby until she finds a career that makes her happy, so I’m not overly mad about it.

*SPOILERS OVER*

Overall, I really enjoyed Happy Place. It was a fun, cute, and perfect beach read for the summer that had more depth than I expected. It wasn’t the most amazing novel I’ve ever read, but I didn’t have any glaring horrible negatives with it either. And, honestly, I am going to go out and buy some more Emily Henry books after this, so that’s saying a lot. Anyway, if you are also in the mood for a light, easy read then I definitely recommend this one! And, if you want a simple, can’t-go-wrong, moderately tasty (if plain) drink then try the Happy Happy as well.

My Rating:

Thanks for reading! And, if you read the book or try the cocktail let me know in a comment or on Instagram. Also, if you haven’t yet read my previous reviews, I recommend reading Blue Finlay Donovan is Killing It, The Christmas Wish-key Sour, and The Invisible Husband of Long Frick Island if you liked this one!

Teghann

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