Happy Place – Emily Henry

Harriet, a surgical resident in San Francisco, arrives in Maine for her annual reunion with her college friends planning to tell them about the end of her engagement.  Instead, she finds her former fiancé waiting for her, convinced into coming as this will be their last summer together in the family cottage and a surprise wedding.  Harriet tries to work through her feelings, for her ex, her job, and everything else, before the week comes to an end.

I had initially skipped over Emily Henry’s Happy Place when I saw that it had won the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance, as that isn’t really my genre.  When I came across it again on the list of best books of the year from the Chicago Public Library, I decided to give it a shot.  Despite the fairly obvious ending (of course they are getting back together!), it was an enjoyable read.  I don’t know how much I will dip my toes back into the romance pool going forward, but this trip, at least, was worth the ride.