Emily Henry (aka EmHen, aka the queen of romcoms) came across my radar about the time I was having a reading renaissance during the pandemic. I had never heard of her books before but went ahead and requested Beach Read from my library. Fast forward to 2023 and I’m driving to Costco, toddler in tow, the day Happy Place is released to get a copy. Needless to say, Henry has become an auto-buy author for me.
What Makes Emily Henry so Popular?
Henry’s success is a combination of factors. First, we all love a great love story, and she delivers. The chemistry, tension, and love between characters is hard to beat.
Second, the books are well-written. Her writing is witty, well-paced, and emotional (in the best of ways). She excels at characterization. Her stories typically feature strong-willed and smart female leads alongside thoughtful, caring, intelligent men. The dialogue and banter in the books is realistic and clever. And the settings! Excuse me while I fly off to Maine. Finally, while these are romances, they have depth as they focus on topics such as grief, career choices, and family to name a few.
With all of this combined, you’ll be thinking about these characters long after you turn the last page of her books.
Emily Henry Books
Henry does have 3 books that she wrote pre-2020 that are all YA; however, I have not read these and will be focusing on her adult romances.
All of Henry’s books are stand-alones and can be read in any order. I read them in the order they were published because I was buying them as they were published, but any order is completely fine!
Here are Henry’s 4 adult romances in the order they were written.
1. Beach Read (4.02 on Goodreads)
After the death of her father, January, a romance writer, moves to her father’s beach house on Lake Michigan in order to pen her next novel. The only problem is, she is having trouble writing her next happily ever after in the aftermath of her father’s death. And living next door? Her college rival Gus, a literary fiction writer also struggling with writer’s block. The two decide to help each other with their writing struggles by writing in each other’s respective genres and going on excursions to research for the new books.
Tropes: opposites attract, forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers,
2. People We Meet on Vacation (3.9 on Goodreads)
Poppy and Alex have been friends since college. For ten years the two went on annual vacations together all over the world. But on their tenth trip, things go awry. Now, the pair hasn’t spoken for two years. Poppy tries her best to move on. But when she realizes the last time she was happy was on her trip with Alex, she reaches out to him and convinces him to go on one more trip. The two will have to face what happened on their last trip and figure out what they really want from each other.
Tropes: friends-to-lovers, one bed, opposites attract, second chance romance
3. Book Lovers (4.16 on Goodreads)
Nora is a fast-paced New Yorker, crushing her goals as a literary agent. Her younger sister Libby wants to do a summer sisters trip: Nora reluctantly agrees. When they arrive in the sleepy city of Sunshine Falls, Nora is shocked to see Charlie Lastra, a book editor who is not a fan of Nora. Charlie and Nora get thrown together over and over again, and the two of them can’t deny their chemistry, but Nora has to learn to let go her control and to trust in those around her.
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, small town romance, forced proximity
4. Happy Place (4.11 on Goodreads)
Sabrina, Harriet, and Cleo have always taken yearly trips to Sabrina’s family home in Maine. When Harriet arrives for this year’s trip, she is shocked by two facts: 1. this will be their last trip because Sabrina’s family is selling the cottage; and 2. Harriet’s ex-fiancé Wyn is there. Even though Harriet and Wyn broke up 5 months ago, they never told their friends. And so, the two must pretend to still be together for the sake of the group and their final vacation at the cottage.
Tropes: second chance romance, friends-to-lovers, fake dating, one bed
See my review of Happy Place here.
Is there Spice?
Yes. These books are open door and do contain spicy scenes, so know this going in.
Final Thoughts
Personally, my favorite of the four is Happy Place followed by Beach Read. Book Lovers has a fierce following, but it fell a little flat for me. Fans of friends-to-lovers will enjoy PWMOV. In my opinion, they are all worth reading and oh-so-enjoyable. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go pre-order Funny Story coming out in April 2024!
Have you read any Emily Henry books? Which one is your favorite?