I'm not always the biggest Emily Henry fan, but I will absolutely always read it anyways.
Synopsis: This follows a friend group of six people. They're besties, have been for a long time, things are all great with them. Until they go on their yearly trip to a beach house only to find out it will be their last, the house is getting sold.
Goes between two timelines of the meeting and falling in love between two of the friends–Harriet and Wyn–and then this year's getaway weekend following their hidden breakup 8 years later.
Plot: I think Emily really knows how to create a nice plot and really immersive wonderful settings because the town and general vibes surrounding this are fantastic. Each one of her books that I've read, despite varying degrees of liking them, have all been really quick and consumable novels. I see a lot of people really hating on the title (which I do for all of her books...and funnily enough actually like this one) because this book is not happy. This book is the opposite of happy, as it covers really hard topics such as friendship breakups, partner breakups, and even parental relationships and examining trauma from witnessing those unhappy parents. I, a heartless cold bitch, even found myself getting choked up over emotional moments and Emily's insanely beautiful and descriptive writing. I think overall, I enjoyed the dual timelines but preferred the present a lot more than the past one as it took me out of the storyline a bit too much. Found family is one of my favorite tropes and this is filled to the brim of heart-warming friendship moments.
Characters: I really go back and forth with these characters a lot. Despite liking the plot and the way the characters move through the story, I didn't really love any of them all that much. The conflict between the two was realistic and understandable but for a giant group of friends that are SO CLOSE and SO LOVING, there was a whole lot of non-communication going on. It was frustrating to see them walk on tip-toes around each other constantly when a good-ol sit-down convo would have solved the majority of everyone's problems. That being said, plot is plot and I appreciated the conversation around friendships changing and people changing and having to learn to adapt to work at those relationships.
3.5 stars for a good time but a hell of a lot of miscommunication (or lack thereof).
Don't worry though, I will still pick up anything this woman writes because I'm a sucker for bright covers and a bestseller.
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