I rarely write about the plot of a book in my reviews. 3 reasons. First and foremost, I feel like y’all can get the blurb from the book. Or from goodreads. And you probably did before coming to my review. Second, what a book is about seems so unimportant. Third, If I tell you what it’s about, and it differs from the blurb, aren’t I editorializing and just giving you my feelings on what the book is about? Which is sort of a review disguised as a recap. And it is outside my comfort zone.
I digress. The second reason mentioned above is, for me, the most important. I know that there are readers that love genres. That love “tropes.” I know that in conversation a friend will say “what is the book about?” And every time i freeze. Bc really - what is the book about? (Have you ever tried to tell someone what Owen Meany is about? The voice? War? Love? I always tell the questioner that it’s a book about spirituality - because for me that’s what it is - a book about God.)
And had you given me a synopsis of this book there’d have been nary an interested spark. Millennials? Yuck. Traveling? Loathe it. Friends to lovers? Boring.
I am a reader for the writing. I want the big feelings - deftly evoked. (Did y’all know I gave Gone Girl 5 stars solely because I’m still so angry over it years later? I loathe that book.) I want to be a little breathless during a read. I want to lose myself. I want to look up and realize I’m beaming or crying or shaking my head. I am a reader for the writers. For the ones that take me there. The writers like Emily Henry.
This is, here in April, a shoe-in for my Book of the Year. I am so thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this story and offer my unvarnished opinion.

I am reeling after reading this. How am I supposed to go on just not reading this book that was so perfect and engrossing? I can’t even express how much I loved it. I love these two characters, I loved the settings and the story, I just can’t get enough!! The way the tension was built was perfect! I cannot recommend it enough.

Adored this friends to lovers romance about enjoying vacation but even more, enjoying the important people in our lives. Poppy and Alex go on a summer trip together every year we friends.... after many years they both start to wonder if there’s more to their friendship. They opposites but have the funniest friendship and compliment each other to perfection! This book takes you on a journey to amazing places but the best part is the romance and the friendship! This author continues to impress me and is an absolute auto buy author for me now! I laughed, cried, swooned and laughed some more. This is a summer read you don’t want to miss!

Emily Henry has done it again. I adore unlikely-friendships-turned-romantic, and Alex + Poppy are exactly that. Their relationship felt very genuine. I will recommend to romance lovers in my library.

🌴 Guys: get thee a copy of this book! If we aren't gonna be jet setting like we're used to, we can read about it, amirite?!

I usually roll my eyes at the light hearted predictable rom-coms. But this book!! Is so so good. I laughed out loud more than once, smiled several times, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, you know what's gonna happen but the journey there is oh so worth it. 💕

A friends-to-lovers story where you like the people, feel safe (such a thing for me), and have fun! I really don't know what more you could ask for. And I kind of had me a little book crush on Alex. Whatta guy. 🥰

I loved the characters, their dynamic, their experiences, all of it. I am so thankful to @netgalley for the advanced copy and I am already imploring my friends who got the advance release from @bookofthemonth to start reading it asap. Take this book with you to the beach this spring break/summer because it's a gem! Available May 11! 🌴

My heart 🥺 EMILY, YOU DID IT AGAIN. You really had to go after my all-time favorite trope of second chance romance and create one of my new favorite books, didn’t you? You did. Thank god.

I love Alex Nilson. I love Poppy Wright. Polar opposites, nothing in common, and yet the most dynamic duo right from the start. I loved following these two across the twelve years of their friendship and watching them slowly but surely fall in love with each other. I loved watching Poppy sort our her childhood trauma of bullying, make tough career choices, and the positive, healthy portrayal of going to therapy. I loved seeing healthy communication between two individuals who plucked up the courage to say how they felt and not apologize for it. I loved their humor. I loved watching them travel the world and meet so many unique souls, all with different stories. I loved I loved I loved.

5 stars, obviously. I was already an Emily Henry stan after Beach Read, but now I guess I’m just reading everything she publishes. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for a review. 🤍

First, I want to thank Netgalley, Berkeley Publishing, & Emily Henry for an advanced copy of this hilariously adorable rom-com in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, don’t shame me, but this is my first Emily Henry. I’ve had Beach Read in my tbr for SO long and I honestly don’t know why. Because this was SO CUTE. UGH. Poppy and Alex. You get ALL of the heart eye emojis. And can we just talk about Poppy’s job? I “aspire” to get a job like that one day (IYKYK).

Poppy is a wild child, full of personality and charisma. Alex wears khakis and is extremely quiet. They’re the best of friends and have been since college. They even take annual summer trips together, just the 2 of them, no matter what they’re doing in life. Until 2 years ago when they ruined everything & haven’t spoken since. Poppy, attempting to mend her friendship with Alex and pull herself out of a rut, takes a leap of faith and plans another trip with Alex. This one might be one for the books.

Who here loves friends to lovers tropes?! THIS GIRL. Give me all of them. I love me some undeniable chemistry and awkward almost kiss moments. Poppy and Alex’s dynamic had me cracking up and completely cheesing the whole time. It reminded me a lot of my husband & myself (the shy, quiet, awkward guy & the loud, obnoxious girl) with their quick one liners to one another and sense of humor. This one was a slow burn, but the build up was totally worth it. I really loved People We Meet On Vacation!

Check it out on its pub date 5/11! ✨

Poppy and Andrew have been best friends since college. Every summer they take a vacation together and have done so for over a decade, until one summer "something" happens that breaks their relationship apart. Two years after the event, Poppy is determined to reconnect with Andrew and restore their relationship to what it was before.

I really liked this book! Poppy is quirky and funny and would be a blast to vacation with. Andrew is the perfect compliment to Poppy, as well as a sweet, thoughtful, and sexy introverted type. This friends-to-lovers romance is fun and frothy, but also heartfelt. The sense of longing and confusion and true affection carries throughout the story, and even though we know they have to end up together, the journey to get there is fun.

It's pretty steamy, too!

TYSM to NetGalley and Berkley for my copy of this incredible novel.

Ever since I read Emily Henry's "Beach Read" last year, I knew that every book by EH would be immediately added to my TBR, and wow, "People We Meet on Vacation" did not disappoint.

Almost immediately I fell in love with both Poppy and Alex, both and individuals and also the magic they created when they were together. My heart was aching when they were hurting, and I was laughing along when they were being silly and goofy together. They warmed my heart, broke my heart, and had me thinking about the relationships in my life in a new and unique way.

This one exceeded all my expectations and I'm going to be thinking about it forever. It has definitely secured a spot on my favorite books of 2021 list.

People We Meet on Vacation was one of my most anticipated Spring books! I was so excited to get a netgalley copy and was even more excited to see it was a Book of the Month option! I dove right into this book and came up feeling like I needed more.

I enjoyed the book, thought it was cute. It had a little romance, there were some funny moments. Poppy and Alex were both quirky characters, that were unique.

I’m going to be honest and say it’s a good book, but I wasn’t WOWED by it. I was left feeling like it’s missing something. I think this is one that didn’t live up to the hype surrounding it.

Overall it’s a good read. I would recommend it.

I loved this so much. People We Meet on Vacation is such a cozy and comforting read about friendship and home and I could not put it down. Poppy and Alex have such a deep and entangled relationship that my heart filled with joy and broke alongside them as they grew closer and drifted apart over the years. I loved their differences and how much they respected each other and how they acted with each other. One of my favorite scenes in the book was when they go to David's wedding, after just getting together and are holding hands (even though Alex isn't the biggest fan of PDA). Alex drops Poppy's hand when his dad starts to walk over to them, and she isn't upset or hurt by it. She's proud of him for talking care of himself and prioritizing his comfort and it was one of the purest displays of love I've ever seen and showed how much they truly understood each other. Though you can see how at times they are co-dependent and how that may harm their other relationships. But I loved seeing the growth of their friendship and I thought the alternating timelines was effective and helped propel me to read quicker because I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Truly a fantastic story of finding your person and how that relationship can change over time, but never diminish in meaning.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

WOW this book is so good!! Beach Read was one of my favorite books last year, so I was super excited to see that Emily Henry was coming out with another book this year! This book is FUN and cute and sweet and heartwarming! I just loved Poppy and Alex so much and I thought they were such likable characters! It was so fun to "travel" through this book since we have sadly not been able to travel in real life during this pandemic. This is such an enjoyable book and I lost track of time every time I picked it up! It was fun going back and forth in time to all the previous trips Poppy and Alex took, and gosh all their adventures had me smiling so big and wishing I had an "Alex" to travel with all these years! This is such a bingeable book and will be perfect to read in the summer! It will have you laughing, crying (maybe just me), and wishing you could be on an amazing trip with your favorite person! Gosh DO NOT miss this book!!

Told in snippets of Summer Vacations past and present this is the story of Poppy and Alex, friends since the first year of University and "Summer Trip" buddies. However everything changed on the trip two years ago to Croatia and they haven't really spoken since. When Poppy convinces Alex to take one last vacation together she has one more chance to make everything right again, but can one trip fix everything?

This book was sweet, emotional, and took me on such a journey of these friends. I loved how it went back and forth from This Summer to summer's past and how you slowly had the past filled in for you. I liked both Poppy and Alex and how different they were from each other and how they grew apart and together again.

This was such a fun read as we head into summer and is light and deep at the same time.

The story of a long courtship between best friends. A fun read despite the predictable outcome. Perfect for the beach or a long plane ride.

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

People We Meet on Vacation ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Swipe for synopsis)

Pub date 05/11/21

Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for the arc.

This is my first Emily Henry book and it definitely will not be my last. I have never read a book that made me laugh out loud as much as this one did - absolutely hilarious and has been added to my list of all time favorite books.

People We Meet on Vacation is a fast, heartwarming read. The timeline alternates between the present day and the past - starting from the year Poppy and Alex met to each subsequent year as they plan and go on, their annual summer trips. We follow their friendship as they grow from college students, into working adults, and through their various romantic relationships and heartaches. You can't help but fall in love with both characters and root for their happy ever after. I even loved their families!

Funny, romantic, loveable characters,slow burn, friends to lovers - I already want to read it again.

Thank you @bookmarked.by.becky for laughing along with me through this book 😂

QOTD: what’s your favorite friends to lovers book?

Emily Henry does it again! BUT EVEN BETTER!Is that even possible?! YOU BET YOUR BIPPY!
What’s to love about this gem of a book? Poppy & Alex! Talk about relatable, funny, awkwardly witty characters! All of their experiences together made my heart sing & jump for joy all at once! I was totally invested from page 1! The travel! I’m all for wanderlust through reading! NOLA & Tuscany were my fave destinations! The alternating timelines worked perfectly for Alex & Poppy’s story! There was such a heartwarming underlying theme of finding where & who you consider to be your home. Perfect steam meter rating! Not too much, but not left craving more either! This was the best friends to lovers trope I’ve read in a long time! But all of the LOL moments throughout the book!? Who doesn’t love to laugh until they cry?! I’ll be recommending this book for years to come!


Full review on Instagram came be found at—
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNlcF7QroHi/?hl=en

Emily Henry’s Beach Read was one of my favorite books of 2020, so I had very high expectations for People We Meet on Vacation. While I’m not sure it will make my 2021 Favorites list, I still definitely enjoyed it.

I absolutely loved the relationship between Poppy and Alex. They had amazing banter and it was obvious how much they cared about each other. So many of their scenes just put a big smile on my face. The chapters jump around between the present and the past, where we see many of their summer trips, going back from when they first met twelve years ago. I enjoyed both timelines and being able to see the evolution of their friendship.

While I loved the humor and the romance, there were a few things that brought the story down for me. There was some subtle bashing of religion, which I found a little offensive. There was also a lot of build up to the big Croatia trip that ruined their friendship two years ago and it ended up being pretty anticlimactic to me. It was a short chapter and I expected a bit more than what actually happened. I also was a little confused about how impactful to Poppy’s life she kept saying the people she met on her travels were, when there were very few examples of that in the actual story. I can only think of a couple of examples and they left no lasting impact to me.

Overall, People We Meet on Vacation was a very cute story. It had terrific banter and several adorably romantic scenes. The characters were likable and I loved their friendship. I felt like it was a little messy at the end, though. What happened in Croatia and the fall out didn’t feel like it lived up to all the build up about it. I also felt like too much was crammed into the final chapters. Trying to make the theme of the title so important at the end when there was very little about it in the rest of the story was a little jarring. Despite that, though, this is a book that I see myself re-reading in the future.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

Thanks a million Berkley for letting me read this arc!

Have you ever read a book that was so heartwarming and lovely, you ended up hugging it after you finish it? — I did, for this book! I got an eARC so I hugged my kindle. Don’t judge ok?!

Alex and Poppy have been friends since college. Although Poppy quit college and became a travel blogger and Alex became a high school teacher after college their friendship has been there! They have so much fun together, they both promised they’ll spend every summer break together travelling.

The story alters between past and present spanning for 12 whole summers including the vacations they took together. We also get to see occasions of their friendship, they relativeness and the fairness Alex & Poppy have for each other. Alex is near perfect being. I haven’t met anyone like him.. he is so pure! And Poppy is a next door girl — I saw so much of myself on Poppy!! I’ve never read a Friends-to-Lovers romance this good before. I was patiently waiting for them to get together instead of telling them to get it over with. Flawless friendship that makes more sense when it turns into love.

Honestly if I didn’t like People we meet on vacation more than Beach Read, I wouldn’t have given this a whole 5⭐️. Good god Emily!! You made me happy cry. Especially when Alex expresses his feelings. Loved every moment of this book. Finally, a book that lived up to my expectations and didn’t disappoint even for a single moment.

I’m not a cryer. I read romance because it’s fun and it makes me happy to see people fall in love. However, recently the happily-ever-after has felt like a real hurdle for me as a reader. It is a heavy lift for an author to create a sense that there are real stakes in a relationship, but Henry delivers this beautifully. So beautifully that I cried just a teeny tiny bit. She does a great job getting at emotional depth, while also being funny and sexy. Plus, friends to lovers is a hard trope to execute well, but I was with the characters each step. Finally, I love how Henry subverts reader expectations in the titles of her books. You go into them thinking they will be fluffy “vacation” material, but really very little goes according to plan in her books and we instead get imperfect, complicated characters trying to reach each other. And, yes, ultimately succeeding in their efforts.

What a wonderful read! I loved Beach Read and this was an equally wonderful read. Quick and lovely with very well-rounded characters. Fun and sexy and also thought=provoking on choosing your own life. Recommend!