Laura Molloy discusses Emily Henry, her works, and her impact on the reading community.
Emily Henry is an American author known for her best selling adult romance novels. Despite having released several young adult romance books since 2016, it was not until 2020 she reached wide success for her novel Beach Read. This was followed by You and Me on Vacation (2021), Book Lovers (2022), Happy Place (2023), Funny Story (2024), and Great Big Beautiful Life (2025).
Her books have gained significant attention among online reading communities on BookTok, and BookTube. It has been said that the popularity of Henry’s works is a factor in the increase in young people reading, and the popularity of reading overall. Let us take a look at each novel to understand Henry’s success.
Beach Read
January is a hopeless romantic who narrates her life like she’s the lead in a blockbuster movie. Gus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairy tale. But they have more in common than you’d expect: they’re both broke, both stuck in crippling writer’s block, and both desperate to write bestsellers before summer ends. The pair make a bet to swap genres and see who gets published first.
Beach Read features the classic enemies to lovers trope with Gus and January having been college rivals. As they come together to work on their writing, things begin to heat up between them, despite their troubled past chasing them.
You and Me on Vacation
Poppy and Alex met 12 summers ago, and immediately hated each other. They are pretty confident they’ll never speak again. But 11 summers ago, they’re forced to share a ride home from college and, by the end of it, a pact is formed: every year, one vacation together. This summer, Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. Could this trip make them realise they’re not ‘just friends’ after all?
If you’ve been crushing on your life long best friend, this is the book for you. Perfect for fans of slow-burn romance, lingering “what ifs,” or vacation flings, Poppy and Alex’s story is one you won’t want to put down.
This is the perfect romance for those who fall in love through sharp wit, banter, and a mutual love of literature.
Book Lovers
Nora is a cut-throat literary agent at the top of her game. Books are her whole life. Charlie is an editor with a gift for creating bestsellers - and he’s Nora’s work nemesis. Nora has been through enough break-ups to know she’s the one men date before finding their happily-ever-after. To prevent another dating dud, Nora’s sister persuades her to swap her city desk for a month’s holiday in Sunshine Falls.
But in Sunshine Falls, Nora keeps running into Charlie… because fate apparently has a sense of humor.
This is the perfect romance for those who fall in love through sharp wit, banter, and a mutual love of literature. Nora and Charlie aren’t quite enemies, but also not friends. They’re two people willing to prove the other is capable of great love.
Happy Place
Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple. They go together like bread and butter, gin and tonic, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Every year, they take a holiday from their lives to drink far too much wine with their favourite people in the world. Except this year, they are lying through their teeth, because Harriet and Wyn broke up six months ago. And they still haven’t told anyone.
However, the cottage is for sale, making this the last time they’ll all be here together. They can’t bear to break their best friends’ hearts, so they’ll fake it for one more week.
If you’re pining over an ex, or waiting for someone to return this is the next romance read for you.
Funny Story
Daphne always loved the way Peter told their story. That is until it became the prologue to his actual love story with his childhood bestie, Petra - which is how Daphne ends up rooming with her total opposite and the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra's ex, Miles. As expected, it’s not a match made in heaven. That is until one night, while tossing back tequilas, they form a plan. And if it involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course.
Shuffling around exes isn’t usually the best start to a love story, but if you love the idea of falling in love with the most unexpected person, this book could be for you.
Shuffling around exes isn’t usually the best start to a love story, but if you love the idea of falling in love with the most unexpected person, this book could be for you.
Great Big Beautiful Life
When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it: her big break. And even more rare: a chance to impress her family with a Serious Publication. The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, is sure of the same thing.
The proposal? A one-month trial period to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th Century, after which she’ll choose who’ll tell her story. The problem? Margaret is only giving each of them tantalising pieces. Pieces they can’t put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.
Less centered on romance than Henry’s other books, this one is still a must-read.
In good news for Emily Henry fans, each of her adult romance books (not Great Big Beautiful Life) are being adapted into movies. The first adaptation, People We Meet on Vacation (US title of You and Me on Vacation) was released on January 9 on Netflix. The movie has scored an impressive 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.