Emily Henry has been the queen of romance fiction for the past few years, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. If you have any of her other books on TBR right now, you’ll want to catch up on them ASAP as she gets ready to release her next novel, which will make you want to book a summer vacation with your pals, or even your Ex-fiance (yes, really).
While most of us will never be in that crazy situation, Emily Henry lets us see it all in her latest book, happy place, which will be released on April 25, 2023. The story follows an ex-couple who had to spend a whole week on vacation together. When they share a room, avoid all affection for each other, and keep a big secret from their closest friends, things get extra special when they remember that they will soon be saying goodbye to paradise in Maine fierce. But will they also say goodbye to each other?
If you’re feeling all the angst about it, get ready because the official description from Berkeley will make you even more excited:
More from Cosmopolitan
“A couple who broke up a few months ago pretend to still be with their best friends for their annual week-long vacation in this sparkling and wise new novel from #1 New York Times Bestselling author Emily Henry.
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met at university – they love salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now – for reasons they still haven’t discussed – they don’t.
They broke up five months ago. And that hasn’t been told to their best friend yet.
That’s how they found themselves sharing a bedroom in their Maine cabin, which has been an annual getaway for their group of friends for the past decade. Their annual hideaway, they leave behind their everyday routines for an energetic, blissful week; with copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soaking up the salty coastal air with the people who know them best.
Just this year, Harriet and Wen gnashed their teeth and lied, trying not to notice how badly they still wanted each other. Since the cottage is up for sale, this is their last week together at the place. They can’t bear to break a friend’s heart, so they play their part. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never picks a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s the perfect plan (if you’re looking through a pair of sunscreened sunglasses from far away). After years of being in a relationship, how hard is it to pretend for a week in front of the people who know you best? “
before you start pre-ordering happy place (and maybe even add Emily’s other books to your TBR) Don’t miss the exclusive excerpt below!
excerpt from happy place
by Emily Henry
Chapter 6
real life
on Monday
The “big bedroom” was a disaster. A beautiful, stunning, nightmarish disaster. The children’s rooms are at the front of the hallway and are therefore part of the original house. This is in the back, in the extension of the behemoth. There are no rickety doors that get stuck, no windows that you have to prop up with a book to open, and no floors that rattle even if no one touches them.
This room is pure luxury. The king size bed has 400 million thread count sheets. A set of double doors leads to a balcony overlooking the saltwater pool and the cliff beyond, with a massive stone bathtub and a double shower made of dark slate and glass.
However, if I could make one small interior design suggestion, it would be to put one or both of the aforementioned amenities behind the door. For now, they are public.
certainly, Toilet Hiding in a shameful little closet, but if I was going to change clothes anytime during the week, my options are: (1) accept that I will be doing so in front of an audience, namely my ex-fiancé; (2) put Shove yourself into the toilet and pray for balance; or (3) find a discreet way to sneak into the infamous outdoor shower next to the hotel.
All that said, I spent fifteen minutes “relaxing” private Shower when I can. Then I put on a pair of jeans and a clean white T-shirt. One of the few areas of overlap between me and me is that we have absolutely no personal style.
His job always requires him to be well-dressed, and most of his clothes wear out quickly, so it doesn’t make sense to buy clothes that are too fancy in the first place.
For me, though, relying too much on skinny Levi’s and T-shirts is more because I hate making decisions. It took me years to figure out what I like to wear, and now I’m stuck with it.
Another sun flare – bright memory: Gentle me laying in bed with the lights falling on us, his hair messy and a stubborn bun on his forehead. His mouth pressed against the curve of my belly, then the crease of my hip. He whispers into all my softest parts, perfect.
A shiver ran up my spine.
enough That.
I put my hair up on top of my head and trudged back downstairs.
Everyone moved to the wooden table in the backyard. The four foot long deli runs down the center of it and since Sabrina is Sabrina there are place cards making sure Cleo and Kimmy sit in front of the veggie offerings and I’ll be facing the Brie wheel so it’s big and can be in a pinch The key is fixed on the trolley.
Wen looked up from his phone as I walked onto the patio. I don’t know if the momentary anxiety on his face was my wishful thinking, because as soon as I clocked in, he put his phone away, grinned, put his arms around my waist, and pulled me to his side.
I sat stiffly in the wrought-iron chair next to him, and his arms rearranged loosely over my shoulders.
Sabrina stood up from her seat at the end of the table. “I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to view your itinerary. .”
“What’s that?” Cleo said. “I use it as a doorstop all the time.”
With two gherkins coming out of her mouth like walrus ivory, Kimmy added: “A lot of things have been redacted, I thought it was testimony.”
“These were just some surprises,” Sabrina said. “The rest of the week will be our usual fare.”
Wen bit into the carrot so hard that I shuddered. I couldn’t breathe properly if the hundreds of nerve endings in my ribs and chest were pressing against him, which meant I had very little oxygen.
“Market gladiator?” Kimmy screamed, and Cleo said hopefully, “Murder, did she read?”
“Yes, yes,” Sabrina said, confirming that we’d be doing two of our usual — and most diametrically opposite — Maine activities: a trip to the local bookstore (Cleo and my favorite bookstore) and a really ridiculous way of grocery shopping that Parth and Kimmy have been into since they teamed up three years ago and started their “streak” because people can “win” at grocery shopping .
Gentle I used to debate whether or not Sabrina made this game up because she was sick of the time we spent going to the market. There is a great bakery on one corner and a whole section of local snacks, between the six of us it was like shopping with a very clumsy, slightly drunk toddler, every time the rest of us When it was ready to go, one slipped away.
“But tonight I think we’ll have a swim, a picnic like we usually do and all that,” Sabrina said. “I just want to bask in solidarity.”
“For unity,” Paz yelled, beginning the fifth toast of the day. As soon as Wen let go of his arm around my shoulders, I moved my chair aside and pretended to fill my glass with an open prosecco.
“To the Grocery Gladiators,” Kimmy joins.
Drink your weight in wine and hope you wake up and realize it was all a dreamI think.
Across the table, Cleo looked at me thoughtfully, a small indent between her delicate brows. I forced a smile and held up the flute in her direction. “To Murder, the guy at She Read who still gives us the student discount.”
The corners of Cleo’s mouth turned up slightly, as if she wasn’t quite convinced by my performance yet, but she clinked her glass – water; Cleo quit drinking years ago because it irritated her stomach – anyway, for my stomach. “May we always be so lucky and so young.”
It breaks my heart to think of the perfect final week she had in store for us and the complete inability to enjoy it.
one day. Let them have a perfect day and tomorrow we will be clean.
Excerpted from HAPPY PLACE by Emily Henry, published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2023
happy place, By Emily Henry, out April 25, 2023. To pre-order the book, click on the retailer of your choice:
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