Emily Henry’s move from bestselling romance author to Hollywood adaptation mainstay is accelerating. With Phoebe Dynevor cast in “Beach Read,” the 2020 novel that launched Henry’s adult rom-com breakthrough, her screen era has arrived. 

But long before “Beach Read” became a staple of summer reading lists and BookTok recommendations, Henry was building something very different.

Her debut novel, “The Love That Split the World” (2016), was a young adult contemporary novel with a lot of magical realism thrown in. The story followed a teenage girl navigating parallel realities, fate and first love—slightly surreal with more of a fantasy tone than the realistic contemporary romances that would later define her brand.

She followed with “A Million Junes” (2017), which also leaned into magical realism and was inspired by “Romeo & Juliet,” and “When the Sky Fell on Splendor” (2019), a sci-fi novel which blended paranormal elements with grief and mystery. She also co-authored “Hello Girls” (2019) with Brittany Cavallaro, a YA contemporary road-trip novel.

These early works showed Henry experimenting with genre while establishing the emotional depth that would carry into her adult fiction.

Then came 2020.

“Beach Read” marked a  sharp pivot into adult contemporary romance. The novel centers January, a romance writer, and Gus, a literary fiction author, both struggling with different kinds of loss. The rivals swap genres for the summer while living in neighboring beach houses. Built around enemies-to-lovers tension and a forced-proximity setup, the story became a breakout hit and established Henry as a star in modern rom-com fiction.

She followed with “People We Meet on Vacation” (2021), following the decade-long friendship between impulsive travel writer Poppy and her serious best friend, Alex. Told across alternating timelines of shared trips and present-day distance, the novel leans into friends-to-lovers and slow-burn romance tropes. The adaptation debuted on Netflix in January 2026, drawing 17.2 million views in its debut week and landing at No. 1 on the platform’s Global Top 10 English Film list. Within 18 days, it reached roughly 50 million total views, showing once again that Henry draws audiences. 

“Book Lovers” (2022) introduced Nora, a snarky literary agent, and Charlie, a brooding editor, in a small-town North Carolina setting. The novel plays with enemies-to-lovers and workplace rivalry tropes while subverting the traditional “city girl finds love in a quaint town” formula, offering a self-aware commentary on romance conventions.

“Happy Place” (2023) followed Harriet and Wyn, former college sweethearts who pretend to still be together during an annual friends’ getaway. Leaning into second-chance romance and fake-dating tropes, the novel explores long-term compatibility and the pressures of adulthood within a tight-knit friend group.

“Funny Story” (2024) centers on Daphne, a children’s librarian, and Miles, whose girlfriend leaves him for Daphne’s ex-fiancé. Forced into a roommate arrangement, the pair navigate heartbreak and unexpected attraction. The story combines forced proximity, opposites-attract and rebound romance dynamics while grounding the relationship in emotional vulnerability. It is known as Henry’s “spiciest” novel.

Most recently, Henry released “Great Big Beautiful Life” (2025), which follows two writers, Alice and Hayden, competing to tell the life story of a reclusive former heiress who is also the widow of a famous singer. Blending rivals-to-lovers tension with a dual-narrative mystery structure, the novel expands Henry’s interest in ambition, identity and storytelling itself.

As her readership grew, so did Hollywood’s interest.

Beginning in 2022, multiple studios secured screen rights to Henry’s novels. At least five titles have been optioned for film or television, with directors, writers and production companies attached. Industry strikes in 2023 slowed public updates, but development continued behind the scenes.

“Beach Read” is being adapted at 20th Century Studios, with Yulin Kuang set to write and direct. “Book Lovers” has Sarah Heyward (“Girls”) attached as screenwriter. “Happy Place,” initially conceived as a television series under Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions at Netflix, shifted in January 2026 to a feature film, with Henry adapting her own novel. Henry is also writing the screenplay for “Funny Story,” which is in development with Lyrical Media and Ryder Pictures Company.

With “People We Meet on Vacation” proving its streaming appeal and “Beach Read” moving toward production, Henry’s adaptations are firmly in motion. Multiple studios now hold pieces of her catalog, and the author herself is increasingly involved in shaping how her stories translate to screen.

For a writer who began in YA magical realism and became one of contemporary romance’s most well-known voices, her next chapter is now unfolding on screen.  

About the writer
S. Lynn Bonanno has read all of Emily Henry’s adult romance novels. Her favorites are “Book Lovers” and “Funny Story.” She is currently reading “The Love That Split the World,” which is scratching her fantasy, time-shifting itch.