The best Emily Henry books to read now that you've watched People We Meet On Vacation.

Emily Henry is the name on every book lover's lips as her first movie adaptation, People We Meet On Vacation, sits in the global Top 10 on Netflix.

The author first appeared on BookTok when fans needed her most: during the pandemic, when we were bored as hell. Her 2020 novel Beach Read became an instant hit, introducing many fans to the romance genre for the very first time.

She then dropped one book per year in quick succession, each to the overwhelming delight of fans, landing with six rom-coms in just as many years.

Her books are so good, in fact, that five out of six are currently set for the screen. One just dropped on Netflix, with another adaptation rumoured to be eyeing Superman's David Corenswet. All my internet obsessions, together at last. 

If you're new to the world of Emily Henry and you're wondering where to start, here's what you need to know about her books (and the upcoming adaptations).

1. Beach Read.

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This is easily the favourite amongst Henry Heads — that's not a real fandom name, but I think it should be. And I also think Beach Read is a sensational book. Beach Read is an iconic rom-com, set in a beach town. As you'd expect.

January Andrews writes bestselling romance novels, but she no longer believes in love. Augustus 'Gus' Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction, who is stuck in a rut.

Finding themselves living in neighbouring beachside properties for the summer, the pair agree to put their years-long animosity aside and work together to pull themselves out of their writing slumps. Oh, yes, they know each other from college and they were definitely not besties. Who doesn't love an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers journey?

This one is being adapted for the big screen by Yulin Kuang, with details still to come. But fans think Ayo Edebiri and Paul Mescal may be tapped for these roles, after a suspicious Instagram post by Kuang and Henry. Intrigue!

In a March 2024 Variety interview, Henry called Kuang's first draft of the Beach Read script "fantastic" and said her take on the story "feels really different and special."

Kuang recently told The Hollywood Reporter of the pressure on adapting one of Henry's books.

"It was daunting to see the number of comments on the [film] announcement. I was on Instagram and thinking, 'Oh, people are paying attention.' You get hit with this tidal wave of how much people care, and it's impossible not to feel it," she said.

2. Book Lovers.

Surprise, Henry Heads! I have deemed Book Lovers the very best of Emily Henry's novels.

Maybe it's because the introduction tackles one of my favourite rom-com tropes: the big city guy who moves to a small town and ditches his cold, icy ex-girlfriend in favour of the delightful small-town beauty he stumbled into. Together they save an ice-cream shop or something, while his jilted ex hangs out in the big city wondering what is going on.

The twist here is that our leading lady Nora Stephens is the classic cold-blooded ex. And as a high-profile literary agent, she's all too aware she's not the one that gets picked when the leading man makes his choice. But then, she takes a vacation with her sister to the small town of Sunshine Falls — where she stumbles across her publishing nemesis, Charlie Lastra.

Nora knows she's not the ideal heroine, and Charlie knows he's nobody's hero, but as they are thrown together again and again, their routine bickering transforms into something more.

Sarah Heyward, who has worked as a writer for Modern Love and Girls, is attached to adapt Book Lovers for the screen. Yes! We're talking a cinematic release!!!

No cast has been revealed just yet, but I for one am submitting Dev Patel for the role of Charlie. And Rebecca Rittenhouse for the role of Nora. Superman star David Corenswet was a fan-favourite option amongst the Booktok community — and Emily Henry said she would gladly give her seal of approval to the actor if he was interested.

3. Happy Place.

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The first time I read this book, when it was released in 2023, I couldn't finish it. Perhaps I was in a weird place! Because trying again in 2026 made me see what a delightful novel it is, and I fell head over heels for the characters in this story. And I cried several times.

Happy Place follows Harriet and Wyn, who have been the picture-perfect couple since they struck up a romance within their friendship group in college. Eight years later, they've struggled through a painful and confusing break up and they're on the verge of dropping the news to their friends, when they find themselves stuck on a group vacation in Maine. Forced to keep the secret, this plot sets the scene for an emotionally raw story as we're treated to some flashbacks of their early days of falling in love.

Between bonfires, drunken nights, and beach day activities, the former couple continue to awkwardly dance around their split and the many feelings they haven't shared. Like Normal People if it was a bit less depressing and took place on the US east coast. Can nobody communicate anymore? Apparently not. But it makes for a fun book and will likely be an even better movie.

Happy Place has been optioned by Jennifer Lopez's Nuyorican Productions. The original plan was to create a television series, which I think was the correct choice for a story that spans so many years. However, it's recently been announced that this will be a film and Emily Henry herself will write the screenplay. Leila Cohan, who co-executive produces Bridgerton, is also on board.

4. Funny Story.

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As part of a multi-year deal, it was announced in January 2026 that the film adaptation of Funny Story would also find its home on Netflix.

Funny Story is a roommates-to-lovers tale — a classic rom-com trope if ever there was one.

Children's librarian Daphne Vincent has just been dumped by her fancy fiancé Peter, who quickly moved on with his childhood best friend, Petra. Ain't that always the way? The girl who they tell you is "just a friend"? But, I digress.

In urgent need of a place to live after being booted out of what was meant to be her marital home, Daphne moves in with Petra's ex-boyfriend, Miles Nowak. As they both recover from their shared heartbreaks, they hatch a 'fake-dating' plan to get back at their cruel exes.

Our romantic male lead here is a bit of a mess, sure, but he's also a hot wine connoisseur, so we're all okay with that.

Emily Henry herself will be working on the screen adaptation of this one, which was originally set to be a cinematic release. We're crossing all of our fingers and toes that Netflix will still do a cinematic drop like they did for recent films Frankenstein and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

5. People We Meet On Vacation.

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This is the talk of the town following its Netflix debut.

People We Meet on Vacation follows former best friends Alex and Poppy, who once travelled the globe together every summer. But now, their friendship is fraught with tension thanks to a mysterious trip gone wrong.

Poppy decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together and lay all her feelings out on the table. He agrees, for some unknown reason, and so they set off for Palm Springs. The book flits between then and now, offering us glimpses into their friendship and what went wrong as we carry on through the story.

Writers Yulin Kuang, Amos Vernon and Nunzio Randazzo were all tasked with writing the screenplay, which brought their wholesome relationship to life via gorgeous actors Tom Blyth and Emily Bader. Read my full review of the movie here.

6. A Great Big Beautiful Life

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This is the only Em-Hen romance novel that's yet to be optioned for the screen. Coincidentally, it is my least favourite, but! That doesn't make it bad. We all have our preferences. I still devoured this book when it came out and enjoyed it exponentially.

A Great Big Beautiful Life leans less into the rom-com of it all and more into the narrative story of a bygone era of media. Like there's a very, very light touch of Succession thrown into the midst of a romance.

Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites optimistic an wholesome journalist Alice Scott to her residence on Little Crescent Island for the possibility of writing a biography on the Ives family story. But there's a catch. Margaret has also invited the Pulitzer-prize winning "human thundercloud" Hayden Anderson to the Island.

She proposes a one-month trial in which the duo can piece together some semblance of a story to pitch themselves as the ultimate biographer.

The timeline flashes between the present, with our writers and the mysterious Margaret, and flashbacks to the scandal-plagued family drama that saw her retreat from the spotlight. Given how much ground there is to cover, there's less focus on the actual romance of these two leading characters — but it's certainly still a charming love story.

It's fun, romantic, quick to pull you in, and would easily make another great movie. Time will tell if this one also makes its way to our screens!

Feature Image: Goodreads.