My letter “H” pick for this year’s A To Z Reading Challenge was HAPPY PLACE by Emily Henry. I will admit, this is my first Emily Henry book, but it will definitely not be the last. Damn, was this good! She was absolutely masterful creating this slow burn second-chance story, and I can see this will be a cherished re-read for many years to come.

The story centers around Harriet and her group of college friends, now ten years past graduation, doing their annual meet-up at a cottage in Maine owned by the family of Sabrina, one of the friends. Upon arrival, Harriet is gut punched by the news that Sabrina’s family is putting the cottage up for sale and this will be their last visit. The friends are already drifting apart as age and distance and life in general wear away at the bonds, so this is a rough way to start a holiday. Then she’s utterly devastated to find her recently ex-fiancé, Wyn (also one of the group), at the cottage as well. They’ve been put into a room together because neither of them have had the courage to tell the group that they ended their eight year relationship five months ago.

This is your typical “fake relationship” and “Oh no, there’s only one bed” trope sort of romance, but nothing about this story feels like a flitty, fun, basic romance read. There’s some real weight here behind their breakup, and some real heartache over two very different lives where the other just can’t fit in without losing something valuable within themselves. And around all the simmering heat and painfully apparent lingering love of Harriet and Wyn, there’s the friendship and history of these six wonderful people that wraps around you like a big, fuzzy, often hilarious blanket.

I won’t give away any spoilers, but I feel like I just came off a week with my very best friends and got to actively watch love in every kind of form. Five blazing stars on this one. What a great read.