I've been super excited to read one of Emily Henry's books for a long time. I own a few (Beach Read, A Million Junes) that I still need to read, and finishing this book made me immediately put a hold on all the others at my library. I enjoyed this one that much.

I only had a vague idea of what this book was about when I went into it, since I had read the synopsis a while back and didn't necessarily feel the need to check it again before starting this. In the end, I'm kinda glad I didn't, because I just went with the flow of the story instead of being driven by expectations built off the synopsis (which may not have perfectly aligned with the book).

My favorite romance books are ones where it's mainly the MC and the love interest (or both MCs) spending time together, especially when it's just the two of them. This book is honestly 95% interactions between the two MCs, and their banter is fantastic. It made the book such a joy to read (and also a breeze to get through), and I found myself smiling almost the entire time. Many romance books get tied up in a million subplots, which often then detracts from the main romance, but that just didn't happen at all here. Yes, these characters had backgrounds and other issues in their life beyond each other, but the focus was consistently on their relationship, with little distraction. I loved it so much.

I also enjoyed this book all the way through. A lot of romance books toss in that third-act breakup to cause tension between the two characters and a lot of stress for the reader, and depending on how that's done, I can lose interest in the romance because I find certain things unforgivable in terms of their relationship, or find the breakup flimsy/thrown in just for extra drama. This book does still have that third-act breakup (what romance book doesn't though, honestly), but it felt real and was overall well-done. I believed it, and yet neither character was so much in the wrong that I didn't want to support their relationship anymore. It broke my heart just as much as it did theirs, and made me even more invested in their reconciliation.

There are also some heavier aspects to the story, that while they don't dominate the storyline (the romance is still always the focus), it adds layers to the friendship between Poppy and Alex, and I really enjoyed the discussions they had throughout the book, and the growth you could see happening in both of them. The main focus is on Poppy being heavily bullied in her school years, and how she's been made to be embarrassed about her family, even though she deeply loves them and doesn't want to be. Alex is mainly struggling with loss of his mother at a young age and the impact that had on his family (and how he had to step up as eldest sibling when his father became distant), and learning how to choose happiness for himself. These complex issues lend a lot of depth to the characters, and make their growth throughout the book even more compelling.

I also really enjoyed the back and forth storytelling this book employed, alternating between the now and past vacations Alex and Poppy shared, so we can see where they ended up as we're learning how they got there. It gave us plenty of background to the relationship while still giving the resolution to their conflict plenty of time to happen. If the book had simply tried to explain the background, we wouldn't have understood their relationship as much, from friendship to romance. If the book had started at the beginning and told everything linearly, we probably would have spent way too much time in the background, with a shorter, and less satisfying, resolution. It was the perfect balance for me.

Honestly, I'm not necessarily a friends to lovers person when it comes to book/romance tropes, but I loved this! I loved every aspect of the relationship between Alex and Poppy, platonic or romantic, and I can't wait to read more of Emily's works!

So heartwarming! I loved Beach Read so I was so so excited to get my hands on Emily Henry's next rom com. I felt like I was on vacation with Poppy and Alex. I felt like I knew them because of the ten years of vacations we got to experience with them and I loved their dynamic. I'll be honest, after a lot of build up I felt that the tipping point wasn't as dramatic as I would have liked but overall, a perfect poolside read.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had been interested in reading Henry's other book so when I saw this arc pop up I knew I had to try for it. I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoyed this novel. It was really cute. I was just smiling while reading. I loved the character development that was created in the novel. Alex and Poppy felt really flushed out. I believed in their friendship, I rooted for them. Alex, especially his struggle as an oldest child being put into a position of having to raise his brothers, really hit close to home for me. I also felt his fear about the women in his life and pregnancy after his mothers death. It was a great realistic representation of that kind of trauma. It made him feel more real to me and completely understood why and how his personality developed as it did.

I liked the shifting time lines on this book as well. I was a great storytelling choice. I never once felt the story lag. I also thought it was funny. The writing was also great and more in depth than I've normally read in a romance. There were some cheesy things, but that just added to the fun. I'm definitely going to be picking up Beach Read soon and can't wait to see what Henry comes up with next.

This was such an enjoyable book. I enjoyed reading about Poppy and Alex’s friendship and seeing it unfold through their yearly vacations.

Alex e Poppy não são parecidos em absolutamente nada. Ele gosta de livros e ficar em casa com sua gata; ela prefere rodar o mundo e conhecer pessoas e culturas diferentes. E ainda assim, os dois são amigos. Todo verão os dois se encontram para uma viagem, porém coisas acontecem e o que tudo muda. Por dois anos os dois não trocam uma palavra sequer, até que uma noite Poppy resolve tentar reviver a amizade com mais uma viagem. O que ela não esperava era Alex aceitar seu convite.

Poppy, uma mulher de espírito livre e que alcançou todos seus sonhos, está completamente sem rumo. O que fazer quando você alcança todos seus objetivos e mesmo assim continua infeliz? E o que fazer quando a parte que está faltando em sua vida é aquele amigo que se afastou completamente de você? É assim que encontramos Poppy no começo do livro, cheia de questões porém sem nenhuma resposta.

A dinâmica entre Poppy e Alex é uma da melhores coisas da história, mesmo nas partes onde tudo começa a dar errado. Em algumas partes do livro eu me identifiquei muito com tudo que Poppy está passando, e ao mesmo tempo também me vi em coisas ditas pelo Alex. Emily Henry se tornou uma das minhas autoras favoritas, fiuei feliz com o desfecho que ela deu a história e aos personagens. Se eu pudesse resumir esse livro em uma música, com toda certeza do mundo seria Cruel Summer de Taylor Swift.

Two words. Read it.

I loved this book so dang much! It’s a new favorite for me. Such a perfect summer read! I cried happy tears for Poppy and Alex. Poppy has my dream job and I loved watching them travel all over throughout the novel. The dual time lines was such a fun way to discover what happened between them in the past. This was such a beautiful love story. Emily Henry has become an auto-buy author for me.

Emily Henry has gone above and beyond her last book. It blew Beach Read right out of the water, which I really enjoyed but I didn't love it. At least not as much as A Million Junes, which was fantastical and beautiful and one of my absolute favorite YA books. People We Meet On Vacation pulls you in immediately. Two best friends, Poppy and Alex, have been friends for what feel like ever. Every year, they go on a vacation together somewhere exotic. Some of them because of her job and others, because it's tradition. That is up until 2 years ago when something happened that pulled them apart and they haven't really spoken since. Poppy realizes she hasn't been happy since then so she devises a plan to reconnect and get Alex to go on another trip with her. Then she can use that time to fix their fractured friendship.
This book starts out funny from the start. You're immediately invested in Poppy and Alex's friendship and they feel like genuine best friends. They are polar opposites with Poppy because the outgoing one and Alex being the withdrawn one who brings a book to a bar. Yet, they work together. Poppy brings personality out of Alex that others can't and she takes him places he would never go on his own. Their friendship is so wonderful and well-rounded that it actually feels like you've known these two for twelves years instead of 12 pages. The book jumps from the present to covering their other vacations throughout the years in a seamless way that it doesn't feel jarring. It very very slowly counts down to that vacation 2 years prior where you are itching to learn what tore them apart. It is clear that their feelings for each other run deeper than friendship and you are yelling at them to just kiss already not even halfway through the book. Alex's family past is heartbreaking and the way he deals with the people close to him is even more so. You just want to reach into the pages and give him a hug. Poppy's parents are hilariously embarrassing and even though they only pop up a handful of times, you can see why Poppy is the way she is. Their current vacation to Palm Springs sounds absolutely miserable but it makes for more entertainment and you're simply waiting for the boiling point where their feelings and the truth will eventually come out. The love scene is sooo much better in this book than Beach Read and you can feel the love emanating from the pages. The conflict makes you want to yell 'nooooo!' out loud as you read along. The climax is so heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I just loved this book and loved these characters. I could have used even more from the climax and the epilogue but I'm still satisfied. This is going to be one of my favorite books of the year for sure and I highly recommend it to any romcom readers.

I’ll say that it took me longer than it normally does to get into a book. It’s not that it was slow, I was just trying to do too many things at once and I kept putting this book down in the very beginning. That being said:

It’s been along time since I’ve 100% related to a character like I did with Poppy. From her family, her childhood, all the way to her millennial ennui. I mean, what is life during a global pandemic if nothing but existential dread and wondering. Alex’s struggles with anxiety were also huge for me. It was honest and real.

Was anyone else mildly thrilled by the Augustus Everett name drop? Just me??

This book is everything your heart desires from a romcom. Poppy and Alex are simply everything together. Their chemistry is screaming through the entire story. The banter is warm and wonderful.

So many parts of this book had me either blushing, yelling, or laughing-out-loud. I don’t know how to articulately tell you that you have to read this book, but I’m serious, you have to read this book! I’m not a book tabbing person, but I bought book tabs and tabbed so much of this books because I couldn’t get over how much I loved it.

There’s a part of me that wants to dive into a critical analysis of all of the wonderful themes within this book (anxiety, grief, difficult family dynamics, etc.), but there’s also the part of me that just wants to beg you to PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!

I definitely wasn't in love with this book, but I read the whole thing so...

The thing I liked the most about this book was the characters. Our two main characters, Alex and Poppy, were so quirky and original. Henry did an incredible job on creating them. They reacted in their own unique way to things. They were just very distinct and well developed characters. I felt like I actually knew them as people by the end of this book (even though I was always surprised by their responses to situations). Also, Poppy was hilarious. I'm so glad this book was from her POV.

I wasn't really a fan of all the flashbacks to their previous summer vacations. I know it was helpful in getting to know and in understanding what went wrong between them, but I found them kinda uninteresting. Not boring, per say; I just didn't really care about them. I kinda started scanning them towards the end.

Also, I was happy for the positive therapy promotion.

Overall, this book was fine. I enjoyed it, but I probably won't read it again. And it won't be the first book that comes to mind when people ask for romance recs. But I didn't hate it.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Overall: A grumpy and a sunshine throughout their time together to find development? Yes, please.

Pros:
Character development. You get one last shot and it’s relying on the development so which way does it go.
Grumpy and Sunshine. Okay, yes these are the character types, but it was even more than that.
Alternating timelines. I like how this discussed the decade of the vacations they have gone on so that we get the backstory splashed in.

Cons:
One POV. Okay, yall know how I have been feeling about the one POV in a romance when there is a “something ruined everything” plotline…because I am nosey and want to know everything including both sides.

People We Meet on Vacation is one of those books that I will be telling people about all summer when they ask me what books they should put in their beach bags. I absolutely loved the characters of Poppy and Alex and their long-term friendship with more than a few sparks. I was rooting for them every step of the way, laughing along with their less-than-perfect vacations and cheering when they finally gave into their mutual attraction. After loving Emily Henry's Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation definitely lived up to my expectations!

Alex and Poppy are complete opposites, and yet for some reason they've always gotten along. Living away from each other, their time together has almost exclusively been on their yearly weeklong vacation together. At least, that's what they used to do, before the last vacation that ended a decade-long spree of shared fun. It's been two years, and they haven't talked, but Poppy realizes the last time she was happy was with Alex. She asks him to take one trip together, if only to piece things back together and repair their friendship. One week to regain happiness, that's Poppy's plan, but that also means confronting the truth that tore them apart to begin with. Will they be able to do it?

This was such a lovely, incredible book about friends complementing each other despite their contrary traits, and dealing with a rift in their friendship that helps them grow together! Alex is an adorable introvert who, just like me, loves books and would rather spend time with them than be the life of the party. Poppy, on the other hand, wants to get out, explore, see the world, and do all the things. How could these two possibly get along? Yet, somehow, they do, and road trips are their calling card.

The road trip aspect reminded me of When Harry Met Sally, and I'm so glad we got to see all the amazing road trips they took together before the rift in their friendship, because they visited some beautiful places and made awesome memories together! Many stories similar to this don't bring into the picture just why the two characters became close in the first place, but I'm so glad we got to see that with Alex and Poppy. Alternating between past and present, it was a nice tone shift between tension in the present and pure fun in the past.

One thing I liked about Poppy's character is her self-reflection and drive. She accomplished what she wanted to, and then upon feeling a sense of ennui, she chose to reach for what she knew and remembered made her happy. More of us would do well to reconnect with what brings us joy. People We Meet on Vacation is the friends-to-enemies-to-something-else (no spoilers, now!) story I didn't know I needed, but I definitely loved! Highly recommended for all readers who have friends who aren't quite like them, but who they always have fun with, whether at home or on vacation. Also recommended for any readers who want a fun read about two people connecting because they have a genuinely good time together.

4.5 ⭐ rounded to 5 ⭐

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for a e-book in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts: I liked Beach Read but I was not obsessed with it as some other people I noticed were and the same thing happened here. I spent the majority of the book asking myself “when is something going to happen?” There was just a lot of nonsense dialogue and not much plot going on. I loved Alex, he was a quirky adorable character perfect for Poppy and I just wanted to snap Poppy out of it and tell her to say something! I think I am a little bias because friends to lovers is not one of my favorite tropes I tend to avoid picking those up altogether but I loved the ending of this story.

I finished People We Meet on Vacation a few days ago. I went into this book wanting to love it since I loved Beach Read so much! Unfortunately, this one didn’t work as well for me. ⁣
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For me, it’s important that I connect with the characters when I’m reading a book. In this case, that was the biggest missing piece. Alex and Poppy were good characters, but I just couldn’t make the connection to them. ⁣
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I did enjoy the back and forth from the present to their past summer trips and reading about some of their destinations was interesting. ⁣
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⭐️⭐️⭐️/5⁣
🔥🔥🔥/5⁣

ADORED this book! From the first chapter I was hooked and couldn't read it fast enough. The sexual chemistry between the two characters, the will they/wont they had me hanging on! I also loved that it was set in palm springs, really put me in the mood for a holiday there. 10/10 great beach read! Wish I had read it laying on a lounger next to the pool in palm springs.

This was an absolutely delightful read. I loved all the fun places they went and the story was lovely.

This reminded me so much of when Harry met Sally. That’s one of my all time favorite movies, so I knew I’d love this one. I loved their banter and their genuine love for eachother. I loved this one so much! I already recommended it to several people.
It was a great read to go into spring with.

~ People We Meet on Vacation was the easy (slight - but lower - angst) read I didn't know I needed.

~ I loved following Poppy and Alex throughout the years (through present tense and flashbacks) from their first meeting and on each and every (platonic) vacation together since. Drinks and good food were had, hilarity ensued, deep conversations unraveled. Other loves came and went but their friendship endured - until it didn't.

~ THE BIG SECRET plots don't usually work for me. It takes so long to build up to the truth of what happened that the pay off is rarely worth it. The secret is always...seriously?? That's it?

Something happened on Poppy and Alex's last vacation. Something bad enough to tear them apart after a decade of friendship and vacations and led them not speak for two years.

Without spoiling, I'll say it might have been a tad anti-climatic in scope but it felt true to their personalities to me and somehow worked. For me.

~ Poppy and Alex's chemistry is 🔥🔥 but they are also quite believable as best friends and I loved how the author allowed them have other meaningful relationships and grow on their own before coming back together and sealing the deal.

Overall: I was reading another book at the time that was so dark and depressing so this book was like a breath of fresh air. Like having a vacation and new friends for the summer!

I absolutely loved this friends-to-lovers romance. Watching the two leads grow and fall more and more in love with each other over the span of a decade has you rooting alongside them for their H.E.A.!

This book is delicious perfection! Emily Henry's writing has this effortless flow about it that just engulfed me from the beginning. I loved it so much and wanted to devour it, but forced myself to slow down because I wanted to savor every moment. This is most definitely one of my favorite reads of the year. So funny, so warm, so real! Loved every second of it!