I didn’t love any of these books, but, I liked them enough to want to read them and see what happened with the characters, so take that as you will!
[23] Happy Place by Emily Henry
Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, read because I will read any Emily Henry, read on Kindle
Synopsis: Harriet spends the majority of the year looking forward to spending a week with friends at their happy place – an extravagant house in Maine that belongs to one of the friend’s fathers. This year has been especially tough, and she can’t get to her happy place fast enough, but when she arrives, she’s immediately blindsided by her ex-fiancé Wyn being there. Harriet hasn’t told their close-knit group of friends they’re separated yet, and she and Wyn decide not to for the week – which means they have to fake being together.
Review: Like I said, I will read any Emily Henry, but right off the bat, I didn’t love this one as much as the last two. The premise that Harriet and Wyn despise each other now and have to hide it for a week was not for me. It was annoying to slooooowly get their backstory over the chapters. Them not communicating with each other was annoying. Henry’s writing was witty and the banter was fun and the pop culture on point, so that kept me going, but I mostly found this set up, you guessed it, annoying. I finished it just to figure out what drew them apart (and to see how they’d get back together).
(But as I mentioned, I totally get the “happy place” and time with friends vibes. I have a happy place like that – Guttenberg, Iowa – and friends I share it with.)
Recommend? If the setup and premise doesn’t sound like it will annoy you, then yes, because I really do enjoy Henry’s writing
[24] It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, recommended by Val, read on Kindle
Trigger Warning: abuse
Synopsis: Lily comes from an abusive home, where she’s heard (and sometimes seen) her father beat her mother for years. The only bright spot of her childhood was her brief relationship with Atlas, a homeless boy that turned out to be her first true love, but moved away before their relationship could truly blossom. Years later, she’s made a life for herself in Boston, and is interested in a neurosurgeon she met named Ryle, but when Atlas reappears, it complicates things.
Review: I don’t know how to describe this book. My synopsis makes it sound like a love triangle, but that’s not the right description. It’s really someone in a current relationship thinking about a relationship they had in the past. Anyway.
This book. I read it really fast and wanted to know what happened to these characters – enough to read part 2! – but I didn’t LOVE it. The characters fell flat for me. They don’t feel very developed. The writing is a bit meh. Totally readable, but hard to transition to after an Emily Henry book. There was just something missing.
Recommend? Not really?
[25] It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, part 2 of It Ends with Us, read on Kindle
Synopsis: This picks up right where It Ends with Us left off. Hoover never intended to write a part 2 for book, but it picked up popularity on TikTok and so she did, years later.
Review: So in the first book, Lily is obsessed with the Ellen Degeneres Show (and Finding Nemo, which plays somewhat of a role in the book) and writes all these letters (that she never mails) to Ellen about what’s going on at home and her relationship with Atlas. It’s cheesy, but it’s how the tell her backstory – by her rereading the letters as an adult. The second book brought some of the exact same letters back – so I totally skipped those sections. And it had Atlas writing letters too – also skipped, even though I hadn’t previously read those. It just felt cheesy and I wasn’t in the mood. But yet, I finished it. So…
It’s nice to see what happens to these characters, because honestly, the first book doesn’t give total closure. But it’s also just all so ridiculous. I can see why people love these two books, but they aren’t for me.
Recommend? No
I just recently read the two books by Colleen Howard and I felt very similar to you – I was glad there was a follow up to find out what happened to the characters, but yep, ridiculous! I skipped all the letters in the second book, they definitely felt cheesy! I think what bothered me the most about both books was the way such a serious theme was woven into a story that sometimes tried to be funny or hip? And Atlas was way too much of a saint – especially in the second book, he just seemed like a Ken doll version of a real person.
The best book I have read so far this year has been “Birnam Wood” by Eleanor Catton – I could not put it down. Dense, exciting plot and great characters.
OMG YES TO ALL THIS AMY. You put it so much more eloquently than I did. That really bothered me about the book too – it’s touted as romance but it’s about abuse. Light books can feature serious topics but it just was not done great here. And yes Atlas is, lol. He kind of makes me roll my eyes.
I am going to look that up! Thank you for the rec!
My SIL owns a small business in Guttenberg! She was just talking about how revitalized the area has become in recent years. I love to hear that it’s your happy place.
Oh how cool! Which one does she own?
Oh, she owns a dental practice. Hopefully you’ll never have to patronize her business while you’re on vacation!
Ahh cool! I hope not! I wonder if my grandma ever used her when she lived there.
I think I read that first Colleen Hoover book years ago. My book club loved her before she exploded all over TikTok and became so popular. We’ve kinda fizzled out on her now, though. I don’t know how I would feel if I read one of her books now!
Oh it’s interesting for me to read you may rethink her now because I read your review before reading the book and you liked it, so I was wondering what you would think of my review.
I read It Ends With Us last year and didn’t like it. I felt like the trauma/abuse was taken lightly and almost romanticized.
Yes! This! That’s a perfect way to describe it!