A Completely Biased Ranking of Emily Henry’s Romance Books

While it is important to note that the lowest-ranking Emily Henry romance novel is often leagues above its competitors, Book Lovers is an unfortunate case of a book’s potential outpacing its actual deliverables. Set in the dreamy town of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, the heroine of this romantic romp comes in the form of one Nora Stephens — a literary agent from New York known for her take-no-prisoners approach to publishing. When Nora visits her sister Libby for a month-long vacation, the already dreaded trip becomes one of frustration when she learns her professional nemesis, book editor Charlie Lastra is also in town — and Nora cannot stand the man. Compared to the inventive settings Henry is known for, Book Lovers feels like an effort in inevitability, with its Hallmark touchstones clueing readers into exactly where the story will go net. Nora and Charlie’s journey to love is there, but by the end of the book, there’s nothing in the town of Sunshine Falls that feels new. Good thing there’s plenty more Emily Henry books to choose from. 

Poppy and Alex are best friends, and like so many tight-knit relationships, they have little in common — except for their fondness for each other and their annual vacation. At least that was the case until two years ago, when their annual trip ended with a massive blow up. They haven’t spoken since. But after trying and failing to put her life back together, Poppy realizes that the only thing her life is missing is her best friend. She convinces Alex to take one last trip, and gives herself the private mission to win him back as a friend, and also possibly confess her feelings for him. Best friends to lovers will always be a fan-favorite setup, but in People We Meet on Vacation, Henry forces these two former friends into the silliest, stickiest, and sweatiest situations possible to get their feelings to come out. It’s like a pressure cooker with pages, and a fantastic vacation read. The only issue is that confessions of these two lovers can’t sell its happily ever after particularly well. Much of the conflict between Alex and Poppy (once they confess their feelings, that is) is that Alex wants a family in a small town and Poppy isn’t sure that stability, and the loss of her traveling ways, is what she wants. The book does a great job at convincing readers that the two desperately want to be together, but the ending doesn’t feel like a compromise. It feels like Alex wins. 

Beach Read is the Emily Henry romance that started it all, which is why it’s the perfect intro for readers who want to start Henry’s books but don’t know where to begin. Author January Andrews is known for her bestselling romances, but her new manuscript is  past due, and all she has to show for herself are a few scattered words and a mind reeling from news of her late father’s adultery. Her solution? Spending the last of her cash holed up in her dad’s beach cottage desperate to save her career. When her neighbor Augustus Everett reveals he’s also an author struggling to put pen to paper, the two come up with a plan to switch genres — and hopefully end the summer with two finished manuscripts to show for it. It’s the perfect premise for a summer-themed novel, but Beach Read takes its self-explanatory title and instead delivers a shockingly intimate look at how grief and childhood memories interact in adulthood —  which makes this book easy to return to again and again.

Emily Henry’s new book Funny Story has every fan favorite trope imaginable, like roommates who become lovers, and casual acquaintances who are forced to fake relationships. But these descriptors aren’t enough to capture just how much spark and depth Henry fits into her newest novel. Buttoned-up Daphne loves her relationship with her fiancé Peter. Peter loves Daphne until he realizes that he’s actually in love with his best friend Petra. In a move that’s a testament to always keeping your apartment, Daphne finds herself in Peter’s hometown without the man who brought her there, and forced to live with the only person in Waning Bay, Michigan who knows what she’s going through: Her new roommate, Petra’s ex Miles. With two people who have everything in common and very little to lose, fake dating is an obvious end result. But in between the humorous description of an awkward pair trying to share a minuscule space, Henry combines some of the best aspects of each of her past novels to present a new gem. 

In Happy Place, fiancees Harriet and Wyn are a perfect, devoted match, and a power couple among their six-person friend group (alongside couples Kimmy and Cleo, and Sabrina and Parth). But what their friends don’t know is that Harriet and Wyn broke up months ago — and just haven’t figured out a way to tell everyone. So when their friend group’s annual Maine getaway turns into a last hurrah — Sabrina’s family is selling their beloved vacation home — the two work together to try and not ruin this last trip for their friends. But pretending to be together is easier said than done, and they must try to keep the vacation energy up while ignoring the fact their soulmate is slipping away. Romance-novel main characters, usually women, are often defined by a striking lack of career savvy. In Happy Place, Harriet is struggling, but not because of skill. She simply doesn’t like her job as a neurosurgeon. But she doesn’t see a way out of a career that she’s spent years of school working toward. Harper worries about her student loans in every direction, and the emotional pressure of finances and livelihoods, things that romance books often gloss over, make the story that much more realistic. Harriet’s relationships with her best friends aren’t idealistic — they’re grounded, tense, and manage to fit in all of the anxieties, annoyances, and quirks that come with years-long friendships. Happy Place is a bird’s eye view of growing up and falling in love with friends, not just romance, which is what makes it Henry’s best book to date.