Happy Place
by Emily Henry
★ Top 25 book of 2023 · #16 on Best Books of 2023
Harriet and Wyn split six months ago but keep it secret, pretending to be a couple during one last week at their friends' beloved Maine cottage. Sharing a room, they struggle to hide how much they still want each other.
Best for: Readers who enjoy second-chance love stories set among close friends and coastal getaways
Happy Place is #16 on BookWard's Best Books of 2023, out of 34 2023 books that cleared our data bar.
What Happy Place is about
Harriet and Wyn fell for each other in college and stayed together for eight years. Six months ago they ended it, and they still haven't told the friends who think of them as a pair. So when the whole group heads back to the Maine cottage where they have spent a week every year for a decade, the two exes pretend nothing has changed. They even share a bedroom. The timing makes it harder: the cottage is up for sale, and this is the last week the group will have there.
The story moves between that final week and the early days of the relationship, so you see both how the couple came together and where things slipped. Harriet is a worn-out surgical resident who has started to doubt her future in medicine, and Wyn is facing career changes of his own. Bittersweet and often funny, it is a novel about friendship, second chances and what it takes to be honest with the people you love. Readers who like a warm romance with real feeling underneath will find a lot to enjoy. It won the Goodreads Choice Award for Romance Novel.
Happy Place on the Best Books of 2023
Happy Place came out in 2023. Of the 34 books first published in 2023 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #16 on our Best Books of 2023 list.
Why it made the list: 381 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (15 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2023 list
- One of Us Is Back Karen M. McManus, #14
- Divine Rivals Rebecca Ross, #15
- Yellowface R. F. Kuang, #17
- The Woman in Me Britney Spears, #18
See all Best Books of 2023 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2022 Best Books of 2024.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 338 want to read it, 17 are reading it now and 26 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.7 out of 5 from 15 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 59 | 55% |
| Reader love | 12 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 62 | 20% |
Questions about Happy Place
When was Happy Place published?
Happy Place by Emily Henry was first published in 2023.
Was Happy Place one of the best books of 2023?
Happy Place is #16 on BookWard's Best Books of 2023, out of 34 2023 books that cleared our data bar. 381 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (15 ratings).
Why is Happy Place on the Best Books of 2023 list?
381 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (15 ratings).
More of the best books of 2023
- Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros, #1
- King of Pride Ana Huang, #2
- Iron Flame Rebecca Yarros, #3
- Powerless Lauren Roberts, #4
- The Chalice of the Gods Rick Riordan, #5
- King of Greed Ana Huang, #6
See the full Best Books of 2023, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
Find your own best books
Add what you have read, rate it, and BookWard will recommend what to read next.
Free while in beta. No credit card needed.