Ranking of Emily Henry’s Books
I LOVE Emily Henry. Her writing, characters, and character banter are unmatched in my opinion. I love each and every one of her books, but it was still fun to rank them in the order that I personally enjoyed them. I did not include her YA novels or her novel she co-wrote called Hello Girls, quite frankly because they sounded sad, and I just don’t currently have the bandwidth for that. So, this is ranking of her adult romance books!
I feel like this one gets rated more harshly than it deserves, but I think that’s just because Emily Henry is so talented that fans have a really high standard. However, it is also the bottom of my list simply because the other books brought me more joy. But I still enjoyed this one! It’s delightful! Love Alex and Poppy as people. Emily Henry's writing style makes you root for her imperfect but relatable and likable characters. I think what makes it less enjoyable for me is the super silly miscommunication between the main characters that derails everything.. if they literally just talked about it they would have been fine and there would have been far less drama.
#4 Happy Place
Harriet and Wyn are both so relatable! Their anxieties and doubts in themselves and people pleasing tendencies were so well written and I felt SEEN! What keeps this from being higher on my list is that it is a bit moodier than her others and there are a lot of flashbacks which I don’t love. Harriet and Wyn have been together since college and are in the same friend group which makes it complicated when their best friends plan a trip to Maine to celebrate another couple within the group’s engagement… only issue is that Harriet and Wyn have broken up but don’t want to take away from the celebration so.. naturally they just pretend they’re still together to keep the peace.
#3 Beach Read
First Emily Henry book! It is exactly what it says it is- a beach read. January and Augustus are so much fun. I love that it's a romance but also has more complex storylines: grief, forgiveness, depression, and trust. January and Gus were college writing rivals but have wound up in vacation rentals next to each other and are both battling writer’s block. They slowly thaw with one another with neighborly interactions and decide to help each other get back on track with writing- by swapping staple genres with one another! January decides to write horror, which Gus usually writes. And Gus aims to write a romance, which is typically what January writes. I was very torn between whether to put this or Funny Story at #2, but I think I decided to put this one at #3 because I enjoyed the main characters in Funny Story, and they brought me slightly more joy even though I adore this one.
#2 Funny Story
Even as a fan of Emily Henry’s books, I didn’t think I would like this one. I’m so pleasantly surprised that I’m now wondering if this is actually my favorite of her books! I now want to re-read her other ones. This was such a fun and cute story where Miles and Daphne’s partners, Peter and Petra, leave them for each other. While it’s shitty, it turns out they actually did them a huge favor. Peter is an opportunist and couldn’t turn down his hot best friend when she shared her romantic feelings and Petra took the treasure that is Miles Nowak completely for granted! I think this worked so well for me because I loved Miles and Daphne as people and was rooting for them the whole time. They had chemistry that was so romantic and strong because their friendship felt so authentic. They’re both genuinely kind and they had appreciated the small moments together and didn’t sweat the small stuff. They really appreciated each others differences and didn’t want to change each other. I loved Daphne’s love of books and Miles's appreciation for food and taste of things in general. They weren’t flashy or melodramatic. They’re two kindhearted people who appreciate even life’s smallest joys and that radiated to me as a reader.
#1 Book Lovers
This made me laugh out loud and feel like I was being hugged at the same time. Best of Emily Henry, in my opinion. This takes the Hallmark movie blueprint but flips it on its head. Nora is the typical villain in a Hallmark movie, she’s career driven and does not run her family’s quaint inn in her hometown. When her boyfriend breaks up with her for another woman who is the typical heroine in a Hallmark movie, Nora and her sister take a trip to a town called Sunshine Falls. There, they help run a bookstore and have sisterly bonding… annndd Nora’s nemesis book editor is also staying in the same town and they keep running into each other. The banter between Nora and Charlie made me laugh out loud and also warmed my heart.
