“Sometimes, even when you start with the last page and you think you know everything, a book finds a way to surprise you.”
Emily Henry is one of the world’s most famous romance writers, renowned for whisking readers off on cutesy escapist adventures with a loveable range of characters to root for. Her books are known for subverting a lot of archetypal tropes involved with traditional ‘Chick Lit’ fiction with inventive and fun premises that just leave readers feeling good. With her latest release, Happy Place unveiled and scheduled for a release early this year, check out What We Reading as we run you through the best Emily Henry books every romance fan needs to read!
Who Is Emily Henry?
Emily Henry is a #1 New York Times bestselling romance and young adult author. Having attended high school in Cincinnati, she completed a writing residency at the New York Center for Art & Media Studies and completed a creative writing scholarship at Hope College.
Henry’s first romance novel, Beach Read, was first published in 2020 to huge acclaim. She has sold over 2.4 million copies of her books, been featured in everything from Buzzfeed, The Skimm to The Oprah Magazine, and plans for three of her books to be adapted into films have already been announced.
Books Lovers (2022)
Kicking off our list of the best Emily Henry books is her 2022 Goodreads winner, Book Lovers. Nora Stephens’ life revolves around books. She’s read them all and serves her clients dutifully as a cut-throat literary agent. When she agrees to a trip to Sunshine Falls in North Carolina one summer, she’s expecting the sort of small-town transformation she’s seen so often in novels, not a run-in with brooding editor Charlie Lastra.
But, whilst their previous meetings have never been cutesy, these two soon discover through a series of overly-cliched real-life coincidences that they may be ideal for discovering their true selves. Witty and imaginative, Book Lovers is the perfect Emily Henry book for subverting typical romance tropes with realistic challenges and a strong heroine lead.
People We Meet On Vacation (2021)
Another one of Henry’s Goodreads-winning romance novels, People We Meet on Vacation is a 2021 second-chance love story featuring Poppy and Alex. The two of them are complete opposites. She has insatiable wanderlust, he prefers to stay at home with a book. Yet, these two best friends have managed to commit to the same yearly tradition for the past decade – a week-long vacation trip.
Until two years ago when they both ruined things, and haven’t spoken since. Eager to make amends and rediscover happiness in her life, Poppy convinces Alex for one final vacation together. Thankfully for her, he agrees. With just a week to mend their broken friendship, Poppy also has one big question that always dominated their previously perfect dynamic she can’t get off her mind.
Beach Read (2020)
One of the best Emily Henry books and escapist summer reads, Beach Read is the tale of two polar opposite writers who embark on an unusual challenge to try and break their creative blocks.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed literary writer, whilst January Andrews is a bestselling romance author. The only thing they have in common is the fact they’re spending the next three months living next to each other in their beach huts, bogged down and broke. Until one hazy evening when they come up with the idea of switching places for the summer. With Augustus writing something happier than he’s used to and January penning the next great American novel, what will these two writers learn about themselves, and each other?
Check Out The Best Books Like Beach Read
Happy Place (2023)
One of the best romance books from 2023, Happy Place is the story of Harriet and Wyn. Ever since getting together in college, they have been the perfect couple. Except, for the past six months, they have been spit up. And they still haven’t told their friends.
The reason? An annual tradition amongst their friendship group where they leave their hectic lives in the city behind, escape to a quaint cottage and indulge themselves with cheese, wine and the company of people who know them better than anyone. Harriet and Wyn make a pact to continue playing the part of starcrossed lovers for the week – after all these years, how hard can it be to fake it, even if it is in front of the people who know them best? Henry’s Happy Place is another fun and inventive romance read that taps into the power of close connections and the power of second chances.
Funny Story (2024)
Slated for an April 2024 release, Funny Story is the hotly-anticipated next book by Emily Henry. In a steamy forced proximity and opposites-attract tale, readers follow Daphne and Miles, two people who are brought together by the unfortunate breakdowns of their previous relationships.
Daphne has moved to Waning Bay, Michigan without any friends or family but with the job of a lifetime working as a children’s librarian (though it hardly pays the bills). To save money, she proposes to become roommates with the one person who can understand her: Miles, her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex. One evening they hatch a plan to post a series of misleading photos about their summer together, striking up a tenuous friendship in the process. But there’s no way such a plan could ever lead to anything more between the pair, right?
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
