Reread: You are reading correctly. I did a reread of this via audio because I needed to know if this held up from back when I read it in January. Turns out it does. Of course Julie Wehlan kicks butt with the audio nailing down both Wyn & Harriet.

I also did this reread to help pinpoint my order of Emily Henry books. And it is clear, I just love them all. Emily Henry just writes the book boyfriends of my dreams and equally writes the best female characters to spar with.

I am sure I will revisit Wyn and Harriet again <3
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The screaming, crying and throwing up have subsided after the initial shock of being one of the many who received an advance copy of this beautiful book! It took me a minute after I finish to sit down to write this because I was still digesting what I read.

Thank you so much to Emily Henry, Berkley Romance & NetGalley for this opportunity to read an advance copy of this book!

I slacked on my Emily Henry reads but quickly caught myself up in 2022 and was ready to go for this book even prior to having access and I didn't think she could top herself but she continuously do so.

I'll be honest when I started reading this, I wasn't sure how I was feeling? The beginnings of books are usually rough for me as it is setting the stage and getting use to the format. And that was the case but after a few chapters - I was all in and couldn't get enough.

The format of this is both past and present. Harriet & Wyn who broke up after ten years together are now forced to be on vacation together for their annual summer trip with their friends. They haven't seen each other in months. But no one knows that they broke up & they are forced to pretend that they are still together. The chapters displaying the past are deemed Happy Place, indicating happier times in her life. We see how Harriet's relationship with Wyn begins and how it develops throughout the book. The present is appropriately titled Real Life. 

"There's no one else."

There has not been an Emily Henry book boyfriend that I haven't loved. And Wyn Connor is no exception. He also may have taken the place of Charlie who was the one on top after reading Book Lovers. His love for Harriet  was so strong. I can't even begin to describe how many times I put my book down and shook my head at the swooniest that Wyn oozed off the pages. He was not perfect and that is what made him even better.

"My best friends taught me a new kind of quiet, the peaceful stillness of knowing each other so well you don't need to fill the space. And a new kind of loud; noise as a celebration, as the overflow of joy at being alive, here, now."

While this relationship takes up a bulk of the book, the other piece of this is the importance of friendship and the hardship that friends go through as they age. When we meet our friends at one age and then 10 plus years go by, you are not the same person as you were at the start and your friends are also not the same person. I love how Emily tested Harriet, Cleo and Sabrina's friendship and made them communicate when that clearly was not happening in the recent years. I also felt really connected to Sabrina towards the end. I am usually the planner amongst my friends and I do think, if I am not the one who is suggesting to get together, would they? Am I the only one who cares? 

"I'd do anything to go back to that happy place, outside of time, where nothing from real life can touch us."

Words have escaped me to sum up my thoughts but I will say that Emily Henry will continue to be an auto buy, must read and the bar she has set is so high. She has a way to not only to write romance but also real life scenarios such as parental death, friendships, aging parents.  I am looking forward to doing a re-read of this via audio in the spring. 

I think fans of Henry will love this book and fall in love with all the characters.