Here's Exactly How to Read Emily Henry’s Romance Books in Order
- - Here's Exactly How to Read Emily Henry’s Romance Books in Order
Rachel KingJanuary 12, 2026 at 1:00 AM
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How to Read Emily Henry’s Romance Books in Order Berkley Books
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Emily Henry has emerged as one of the most recognizable names in contemporary romance over the past few years, earning her a reputation among readers as the “Queen of Romance.” The author has published 10 standalone books to date, including four young adult novels and six adult romances, most recently Great Big Beautiful Life in April. A fun fact for Emily Henry fans: most of her other romance novels are already in development for TV shows or film. But there’s still time to catch up on reading them before they hit screens.
While each of these are a standalone, very sharp readers have been able to identify little Easter Eggs here and there that suggest the evolution of “an Emily Henry universe.” Sometimes main characters from one book aren’t even specifically named, but rather described in another, and a faithful reader will pick up on it. It’s not necessary to read that closely to enjoy these books, and it certainly isn’t as intricate or complicated as the Marvel Universe. Here, how to read all of Emily Henry’s romance novels, in order of publication year:
Beach Read
Everyone loves a grumpy-sunshine read. (Except maybe someone who is grumpy.) Augustus Everett, a literary novelist known for tragic endings, and January Andrews, a bestselling romance writer, find themselves neighbors in a Lake Michigan beach town for the summer. Both of them are afflicted with writer’s block. They make a deal to swap genres, with each pushing the other into unfamiliar creative territory. As their agreement unfolds, professional rivalry and unexpected chemistry complicate a plan meant to stay strictly about work.Production Plans? 20th Century Studios picked up the rights in 2023, but there hasn’t been much movement since. Rumors of Paul Mescal starring swirled at one point.
$8.99 at amazon.com
People We Meet on Vacation
Poppy and Alex have been close friends since college. Despite being opposites, the platonic friends have an annual tradition of going on a summer vacation together in a new destination each year, no matter how shoestring (and as they get older, flashy) the budget. But on one of these trips, *something* happens, and they stop speaking for two years. Told over two timelines (the present and all the trips leading up to two years ago), Poppy convinces Alex to take one final trip, hoping to repair the friendship and confront feelings left unspoken.Production Plans? The film adaptation premiered on Netflix on January 9, 2026.Watch Here
$10.54 at amazon.com
Book Lovers
If there is one thing true about romance writers, it is that they love writing about the publishing industry. They might not admit it, but they can never seem to avoid it. Literary agent Nora Stephens jumps from the big city to a small town at her sister’s urging. Instead of getting a fresh start, she keeps running into Charlie Lastra, a reserved editor she knows from New York, turning the trip into an unexpected, and initially undesired, reunion. As their paths cross repeatedly, professional rivalry gives way to something more personal, forcing both to rethink the stories they tell about themselves.Production Plans? Book Lovers, which was published in 2022, was optioned three years ago.
$8.99 at amazon.com
Happy Place
This one was a bit polarizing given its nonconformity. Romance readers love tropes but a couple already broken up at the beginning of the story is a rather new invention. Harriet and Wyn, once seen as the perfect couple, have secretly broken up but continue to pretend they are together during their friend group’s final summer trip to a beloved Maine cottage. Forced to share a bedroom, they maintain the façade to protect their friends during an emotional last week before the house is sold. As old feelings resurface, the effort to keep up appearances becomes increasingly difficult.Production Plans? Netflix optioned Happy Place, published in 2023, for Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican production company. In January 2026, Netflix announced it would be shifting this from a TV adaptation to a movie.
$7.99 at amazon.com
Funny Story
There’s nothing a rom-com that starts off with a heroine down her luck after fiancé leaves her, and immediately proceeds to get engaged to someone else. Here’s the kicker. Daphne (our heroine) needs a place to live, so she moves in with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex-boyfriend. Not complicated at all. And certainly no feelings will get involved at all... (This is also where Emily Henry universe fans should pay attention, especially to the bookstore location from Beach Read and the couple there, speculated by readers to be People We Meet on Vacation’s Poppy and Alex but with fake names. They like to do that sometimes.)Production Plans? Henry herself is adapting the screenplay for Funny Story. The project was announced in 2024. In January 2026, Netflix announced it would be picking up the project.“I genuinely couldn’t be more excited to work on the adaptations of Happy Place and Funny Story with Netflix,” Henry said in the announcement. “The entire team there has been so passionate about, dedicated to, and supportive of People We Meet on Vacation from the jump, and getting to do it all over again—this time writing the scripts myself—has been a thrill. I feel so lucky to have found this home for these films, among people who believe deeply in the necessity and power of this kind of story.”
$12.99 at amazon.com
Great Big Beautiful Life
In this rivals-to-lovers romance, Alice Scott is an optimistic writer seeking her break. She arrives on Little Crescent Island, where she is invited to compete for the chance to write the biography of Margaret Ives, a reclusive heiress with a complicated past. Her competition? Hayden Anderson, a Pulitzer Prize winner. Margaret invites both writers to stay for a month, sharing different parts of her story with each under strict NDAs, turning the assignment into a high-stakes professional rivalry. As Alice and Hayden circle each other as competitors, their growing attraction complicates the work and blurs the line between ambition, secrecy, and romance. Production Plans? There has been no public announcement about the TV or film rights to Great Big Beautiful Life, which was published in 2025.
$14.99 at amazon.com
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