I looooved Beach Read and I've been dying to get my hands on this, so I ended up with two copies (one from the publisher and one from BOTM) - best case scenario! A few spicy scenes, lots of solid character development, and enough will-they-won't-they to keep me invested. It's not often that I love an author's second book as much as whatever I pick up first from them, so I felt a real breath of relief at how happy this one made me!

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the gifted book! {partner}

Genre: Romance
Trope: Friends to Lovers
Pub Date: 5.11.21
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5

“This is what I want for the rest of my life. To see new places. To meet new people. To try new things. I don’t feel lost or out of place here.. I’m anchored only to this moment.”

I don’t know about y’all but, this girl hasn’t been on a vacation in almost TWO years. So, reading a book about a globe-trotting-magazine-writer was just what I needed... to make me want to travel even more than I already do.

Beach Read by Emily Henry was hands down one of my favorite books of 2020 and People We Meet on Vacation is my favorite friends to lovers story. It was perfect!

Henry's way of writing this story kept my attention. As the author regaled us with what Alex and Poppy were currently doing, Henry also snuck in chapters featuring the vacations that the couple took over the last 10 years. Beginning with their very first adventure and showing the progression of how Poppy got her start and, also, how Alex and Poppy's friendship fizzled out.

I loved watching how each character fell in love with the other. It wasn't just one major moment but an accumulation of moments over time and, like so many romances, it didn't happen for both characters at the same time. It was the tried and true, 'will they? won't they?' that keeps the romance reader hooked.

Again, I haven't had a vacation in almost two years and I feel that ache to travel in my bones. I love my house but I need to see other parts of the world. While Poppy and Alex did travel to several epic destinations, none was quite as fun to follow as their trip to New Orleans.

My only complaint is that I think some sections could've been cut. Don't get me wrong, I loved the book but some parts were just a little too much for me. But, honestly? That's my only complaint!

To end on a high note. Because this is a romance, I don't feel as if I'm giving anything away when I say that the steamy moments between Poppy and Alex were perfect. Although I could've had a few more... Henry has a way of drawing the reader into the build-up between the fictional couple and making it feel real so that when the two finally come together... fireworks!

If you’re looking for the perfect summer read then this is the book for you! Make sure to grab yourself a copy when it’s published or make it your Book of the Month add-on.

Last year Emily Henry’s release adult targeted book, Beach Read, was a favorite summer read for me and you can see my review for it HERE. Written in a similar style People We Meet on Vacation is more optimistic than it’s predecessor Beach Read which while it was a contemporary romance, it dived into some darker territory.

In People We Meet on Vacation, Poppy and Alex have been friends since college. Though they’ve drifted apart they still take an annual summer vacation together, just the two of them. Except they haven’t taken a trip in two years, after their last trip left them needed space. But Poppy is missing her best friend and hopes this next trip will bring them back together.

Told between both present and past summer vacations, we get a sense of how their vacations started and eventually reveal what happened two summers ago to halt their friendship. I really enjoyed the alternating timeline since it provided quite a bit of character development. I also love traveling so it was fun to get to see where they went and what they did while on vacation.

Through out the story Poppy is basically suffering through her quarter of a life crisis, which let’s be real, we’ve all been there. The realistic thoughts she has about where she is career wise, and the hard choices she has to make on a professional level resonated with me, since I was in that exact same both a year or two ago.

I binged this book in a night, and the only negative thing I have to say is that I wish Poppy and Alex had just communicated with each other and this would have all been avoided. But then we also wouldn’t have such a quirky, funny, and lovable read!

Last year I gave Beach Read ★★★★ , and I loved this one so much more! I hope that all of Henry’s books keep getting better and highly recommend this read for anyone suffering through their own quarter of a century life crisis, if you enjoy contemporary romances, or need the perfect book to read while on your own vacation!


People We Meet on Vacation comes out May 11, 2021. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

You know that feeling when you get back from a trip and you're so happy to be home, in your own space with your people? This is a book about that feeling.

Poppy and Alex meet during freshman orientation and soon discover they're from the same small town. They have nothing in common and don't see each other again until they share a ride back home for the summer. They form a bond that holds even as life takes them in seemingly opposite directions, and once a year each summer they take a trip together. Until two years ago when they have a falling out. Poppy finds herself with a bout of "millennial enui" and realizes that the times she has been truly happy are during her summer trips with Alex. So she goes about trying to convince him to take one more trip to see if their friendship can be salvaged.

People We Meet on Vacation is told from Poppy's point of view, and goes back and forth between the current timeline and each of her ten summer trips with Alex. The narrative is so rich - within the same chapter, I was laughing out loud and wiping tears from my eyes because these characters are so well developed. Their friendship is the solid through-line of this book (and of their lives), and we see Poppy questioning whether it's worth putting everything on the line to be honest about how her feelings for Alex have evolved over the course of their summer trips.

This book is so sweet. It made me feel both that I was tagging along on Alex and Poppy's vacations and feeling the relief of coming home. I adored that each of their extended families play such a role in this story - it makes everything more layered and nuanced as we get to know both main characters. The romantic element added so much to the story, particularly for anyone with their own "friends to lovers" story (guilty as charged!).

Thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

I was really looking forward to this considering how much I loved Beach Read, and it didn't disappoint! It was wonderfully romantic, with great banter which was often laugh out loud funny. I loved both Poppy and Alex and really enjoyed seeing the buildup and backstory through the flashbacks (although I was hoping for something a bit more unpredictable to have happened in Croatia, especially considering the mysterious treatment it got within the narrative). The supporting characters were also excellently rendered - even the exes, or those who made brief appearances - and I loved the mini travelogues that came with the different sections. The resolution came a bit late in the game and felt just the tiniest bit rushed or convenient to me, but it did hone in on some of the more tender parts of the characters and narrative in a real and melancholy way. Overall a lovely read, and definitely one for fans of Beach Read, or Rainbow Rowell's Attachments.

Emily Henry’s sophomore release is RIDICULOUSLY good. I finished it in a single day because I could barely stand to put it down. It’s a romance and a travelogue too, but it’s so much more than those genres imply. People We Meet On Vacation is a wise and insightful exploration of life and love. It doesn’t shy away from the hard parts of life. It captures with aching precision how loneliness can dog our heels and how past pain can stay with us long after it first left its mark upon us. This book left me laughing, moved me nearly to tears, and left me in awe of love in its many beautiful forms.

Do you ever read a book & just know in your bones that you're going to have withdrawals after finishing it? That was "People We Meet on Vacation" for me. I couldn't love this book more if I tried & Emily Henry has literally crafted the most perfect example of opposites attract in Poppy & Alex.

I love a story that is filled with witty banter, humorous dialogue and chemistry that goes well-beyond rip-you-clothes-off-right-this-instant kind of lust. With the storyline alternating between present-day & flashes of vacations in the past, you can't help but root for Alex & Poppy to finally end up together. Honestly, I found myself saying "IF THEY DON'T KISS SOON, I'M GONNA LOSE IT."

Also...who doesn't love the tension sharing one bed creates. These writers know what the hell they are doing & I'm here for it!

I cannot recommend this book enough....basically I just think everything Emily Henry touches turns to gold & she can do no wrong!

LIKES: I LOVE EMILY HENRY. now that that’s out of the way lol, PWMOV is such a great follow up to beach read! I loved that EH kept the witty and relatable yet deep tone readers know and love, while still managing to create both a fresh romance plot and likable, unique characters. I somehow related to both unfiltered, untethered Poppy (“you have strong dog energy”😂) and nervous, stable Alex - which I think is a feat of character development considering they’re polar opposite!! The story was told in dual timelines, which definitely kept me on my toes, and it had so much fun travel imagery! I also loved the ending which felt so realistic (way more than beach read!)
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DISLIKES: At first the dual timelines were sort of jumpy, but then they fell into a pattern that was easy to follow. The “big reveal” that we were waiting for the entire book fell super flat for me and felt like it could have been bigger.
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VERDICT: PWMOV is such a fun, flirty friends-to-lovers romance with SO MUCH DEPTH plus relatable characters, transportive writing, and the signature EH flair! can’t recommend enough!

Thank you to netgalley for provided an e-galley for review. This was a slow burn rom-com that was perfectly plotted. I loved the back and forth between the summers before and the present time summer

I finished People We Meet on Vacation in two days (honestly would have read the whole thing in a day but I made myself slow down to savor it lol)

This book is WONDERFUL. Emily Henry books give me the same feeling as I get when Taylor Swift releases new music, or when I watch New Girl (again)- So. Much. Joy.

Poppy and Alex are an unlikely pair of best friends. Poppy is quirky and a little loud. Alex is quiet and reserved. But somehow the two balance each other out. Perfectly. Poppy and Alex start a tradition to take a vacation together every summer. When the tradition first starts out, they are broke college kids so they travel on a very tight budget. But the best part about the vacations isn’t the extravagance of it, it is getting to spend time together and getting to connect with new people along the way. As Poppy and Alex grow older, and Poppy lands a job with a fancy travel company, their vacations become a little more about work but at least they still get to spend time with each other each summer. After Poppy and Alex have a falling out in Croatia, they lose contact and they stop going on summer vacations together. Poppy throws herself into her work and Alex moves back to his hometown to become a teacher. Poppy still gets to travel for work but she soon realizes it’s just not as fun without Alex. She decides to reach out to Alex with a last ditch effort to save their friendship...one last summer vacation together. Alex agrees and the two head to Palm Springs.

But can Palm Springs recover Poppy and Alex’s friendship? Or will the 2 be forced to face their true feelings for each other?

The characters are loveable and witty (seriously laughed out loud... A LOT) and you will be rooting for them. So hard.

I loved Beach Read, so I couldn't wait to receive an ARC of People We Meet on Vacation.

This story is told in Poppy's POV, and the chapters alternate between past and present over twelve years.
It's a friends to lovers to enemies to friends opposites-attract romantic comedy.

Poppy and Alex meet at Freshman Orientation for the University of Chicago and based on their first conversation; they realize they have nothing in common.
At the end of Freshman year, when Poppy needs a ride home to her hometown, Alex happens to be her ride.
On the drive, they discover that all their differences can actually be kind of fun. They can be their true, authentic selves without worrying about impressing the other.
They just click with their effortless witty banter and sarcasm.

Poppy is an outgoing extrovert, and Alex, a reserved introvert.
Poppy wants excitement, travel, and metropolitan life.
Alex wants a steady small-town existence with little drama.

After college, as life keeps them apart geographically, Poppy works for a travel magazine, and Alex becomes a teacher in their hometown in Ohio.
Their only chance to reconnect in person is to take an annual summer trip together, but two years ago in Croatia, they had a falling out and haven't spoken since.
The last time in her life she realizes she was truly happy was with him, and now she wants one more trip to fix everything.

This story also had an element of my favorite movie, Love, Rosie -the RIGHT people at the WRONG time, EVERY TIME.
The witty effortless banter is my FAVORITE to read.
It was a slow burn with excellent character development.
It explored friendship, finding yourself, discovering what and who truly makes you happy.

After sheltering in place for 13 months, this was a well-needed escape of "traveling" worldwide with them while laughing all the way.

Adored the friendship, adored the travel and I adored the romance. The part that made me really love this book though is Poppy’s relationship with and conflicted feelings about her family and hometown. I almost cried at how she defended her parents and home at all turns because lots of people out there just SUCK and don’t realize that every family and home is different and appearances and quirkiness don’t deserve judgement. Loved this one even more than Beach Read and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

I quickly fell in love with Alex and Poppy and their story. I could not put this book down and want more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Henry, and Berkley Publishing for sharing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is my first time reading Emily Henry and now I can't wait to get my hands on "Beach Read". This might be one of my favorite reads of 2021. I laughed. I cried. It was just that good.

Alex and Poppy first meet in college when he offers to drive her back home to Linfield, Ohio. After that first meeting, they become best friends. Alex is a homebody and Poppy lives to travel. Every summer, they take one trip together for a week. They go to places like Tuscany, Croatia, Colorado, where Poppy, who is now a travel writer, gets everything comped. They are polar opposites, but their relationship is strong and powerful.

They want different things in life. Poppy doesn't want to settle down. She loves her job as a travel writer and her home in NYC. Alex loves their hometown and teaching high school. When the book opens, Poppy hasn't seen Alex in two years. Something happened on their Croatia trip that has put a dent in their friendship and they haven't spoken since. She misses him enough to reach out one more time and see if he wants to take a summer trip, and he accepts. They head to Palm Springs where Alex's brother, David, will get married. What could go wrong? On this trip - everything. There is no air conditioning in the airb&b. Alex throws out his back. Their car breaks down. But through it all, they rediscover the resilience of their friendship and love for each other.

This is a wonderful book about friendship and love, with bursts of laughter throughout. The banter is priceless and as the reader; I loved going on all the adventures they had.

This was a very enjoyable book. The is humor and heart throughout. The characters are relatable and the love story feels real. The author smartly alternates chapters between present day and the past. The nonlinear narratives ratchets up the tension and keeps the reader engaged to see what things happened the way they happened. Patrons are going to love this book. I read a lot of romance titles and this is one of the better ones out there.

What an adorable summer read! I enjoyed this one much more than Henry's last novel I read, Beach Read. I connected with the characters a lot more and didn't find them to be annoying whatsoever (unlike Beach Read). I enjoyed reading about all of the places Poppy and Alex traveled as we are not really able to travel right now. I also enjoyed the love connection between the two and the steaminess of the book.

It’s official, I’m obsessed with Emily Henry. I’ve been more into the friends to lovers trope lately and this was just such a perfectly paced version of it with well-crafted characters whose 95% platonic, 5% romantic shift to full blown romantic feelings I actually bought.

Per usual, Henry writes such good banter for her characters without going over the top and the way she writes just completely sucks me in. Blew through this one in one sitting which is a miracle for me lately. LOVED.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the ARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Going into this I did everything I could not to have expectations. I absolutely adored Beach Read and have been anticipating this book since I heard about it. There will be a much more in depth post that goes up on my blog on release day, but this lived up to and exceeded my love for Beach Read. I am such a sucker for friends to lovers and this perfectly fit the bill.

I totally understood everything Poppy was going through because I’ve felt in a rut with work (I’ve also always had a crush on a guy I’ve known and was friends with forever but that’s besides the point). Her need to find what makes her happy and get her best friend back was magical. Henry really picked you up and transported you into their lives like you were a fly on the wall. Her writing was superb. The flashbacks mixed into the current time made it so much more interesting and gave another layer to both Poppy and Alex. I’m usually not one to root for characters from page one, but they seemed so great and it was all I wanted.

This was such a page turner! I couldn’t put it down. It was everything and so much more. It was fun. It was funny. It was romantic. It was sweet. It gave me so many feels that even hours later I’m still thinking about that ending! If you loved Beach Read- you will absolutely not want to miss this!

I aspire to read this book until the end of time. This book surpassed every preconceived idea I had in my head and blew all my expectations out of the water. People We Meet on Vacation is “desert island” quality, the one you could take if you were stranded on an island and had to read it for the rest of your life because it is amazing.

There is something magical about this author's writing style. It’s captivating from the first sentence and doesn’t let go where I crave each sentence. It pulls me in to where I was completely invested, yearning to know more about Alex and Poppy. The author magically combines laugh out loud humor scenes with these emotional moments that just grip at your heart. You fall for these characters and are completely invested in this story, in their lives, and their outcomes. I found myself lost in the pages that this author created and not wanting to leave.

Alex and Poppy are the quintessential partnering. They are the perfect yin and yang where they complement each other while also bringing out the best qualities in another. There is a realism and honesty to Poppy and Alex that I haven’t seen in other books. Their emotions are felt because they are written with authenticity. Though this is a single POV narrative, Alex's thoughts and emotions shine through his actions. I felt this story was just as much about his journey as it was Poppy’s. The author captures what it’s like to be human by showcasing emotions and thoughts that I have felt but are too scared at times to confront myself.

This book speaks to me 😂. It captures the reality of love and not some over exaggerating version of it. It’s the “years of undying love, occasional jealousy, missed opportunities, bad timing, other relationships, building sexual tension, a fight and the silence afterward, and the pain of living life without” one another. Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC and most importantly to Emily for this book that stole my heart because above all, theme matters 🤣!

After reading "Beach Read," I was exited to read more from Emily Henry. I love her style of first person writing--it's humorous, snappy, and flows perfectly. While I found "Beach Read" to angle more toward the cheesy ending, I was satisfied with this ending. It is still a familiar story: girl-and-guy-best-friends- will-they-won't-they, but the added elements of travel kept me turning the pages. I also like that Henry says this book is sort of an homage to "When Harry Met Sally," but with a better Harry. Alex is a guy I would want to be friends with, totally better than Harry. Overall, a great vacation read, something to reset the mind, and make me believe in true love again!