I so loved Beach Read. I had high hopes for People We Meet on Vacation. It is not that this book is not good, it is that it is not as magical as Beach Read. Beach Read had me walking around a little more in love with my husband, a little more likely to break into song and a little more likely to smile at a stranger. This was a sweeter story, read if you are looking for a lighter humorous romance. I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley, thank you to them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emily Henry is definitely one of my favorite romance authors. Everything she writes makes me laugh, cry, and swoon.

This book gives me wanderlust. The characters are so well-developed you cannot help but fall in love with them as they are falling in love with each other.

This book is Beach Read's younger sister and not as heart-wrenching. This is more of a beach read (Ha! See what I did there?) We all love a good friends-to-lovers storyline, and this book is no exception.

Do yourself a favor and pick this book up ASAP!

Shout out to NetGalley, Emily Henry, and Berkley Publishing for the chance to read this early!

Poppy and Alex have been best friends since college, where they bonded over how little they have in common, other than their small hometown and how much they enjoy each other's company. Poppy has landed her dream job at a prestigious travel magazine, while Alex is back home teaching high school English. They might not see each other often, except for their annual Summer Trip. Once a year, they spend a few days traveling together, catching up, and seeing the world. At least, they did until two years ago, when something happened on the Summer Trip, and they haven't spoken since.

Poppy is determined that her current unhappiness stems from that fateful trip, so she convinces Alex to join her for one more Summer Trip, a chance to remind both of them how important their friendship was. But of course everything goes horribly, hilariously wrong.

Another charming second chance romance from Emily Henry, whose Beach Read was one of my favorite books of 2020. Poppy narrates the story with a wonderfully comic, heartfelt voice. I loved both of these characters and their families and friends.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

As an ABSOLUTE fan of Emily Henry's Beach Read, I had extremely (unrealistic?) high hopes for her newest book. And while her writing absolutely did not disappoint, it's quite unfair to compare one of my all-time faves to anything. Regardless of the suuuuper slight disappointment that this was not as perfect as Beach Read, People We Meet On Vacation had the same totally relatable, smart and sexy writing I adored about Beach Read. ALSO, as someone who has not traveled for over a year (thanks, COVID) I completely appreciate this book taking me across the world from Palm Springs to Croatia.

An incredible love story about two friends learning to find what matters most in their lives.

When Poppy met Alex as a freshman in college, she couldn't believe such a straight-laced, serious guy existed in an 18 year old body. Meanwhile, Alex was sure this vintage clothes wearing hurricane of a girl could in no way be a real person. However, a forced road trip to their shared hometown led them into a decades long friendship. Every year since college, through moves, job changes, and relationships, they took one summer trip together.

Until it all came crashing down two years ago. Poppy knows she has one chance to reignite their vacations and get her friend back. Will this last summer trip be enough to convince her best friend to become a part of her life again?

The story of Alex and Poppy's friendship is told in alternating timelines, between their current summer trip and all their previous vacations. I adored both the tension of current day and discovering their history at the same time. Although these polar opposites don't make sense, from the beginning you could feel how much they relied on each other and felt completely themselves when they were together.

They truly brought out the best in each other and as a reader I could easily feel their connection. Plus, the 5%-15% range of attraction was such a fun undercurrent throughout their trips.

The friends to lovers trope is easily one of my favorites and this whole relationship did not disappoint. They truly learned from each other and grew together as they realized what they wanted. I appreciated how real the ending felt, rather than a rushed, lucky happenstance or sudden burst of intense communication that fixes everything!

People You Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry is a standalone, friends to lovers novel. Poppy, our heroine, has a successful career in New York, writing about inspirational trips. Every year, Poppy invites her best friend Alex, to take their summer week long trip to somewhere different each year. They rarely see each other the rest of the year, as Alex lives far away in their old home town, Linfield. Poppy and Alex are very different; she is bubbly, wild, gregarious, fun and a wanderer; he is reserved and an introvert, who prefers to stay home and read.

The story switches back and forth between the past 12 summers and the present. Two years ago, something happened in their last trip, with Poppy and Alex not talking to each other since then. Poppy realizes that something is missing in her life, as she is not happy, and knows it is Alex she misses. She is determined to fix things, and texts him to go on a summer trip to right things between them.

As we follow each of their previous trips, the witty banter between Poppy and Alex creates wild crazy, at times exciting adventures; as well as each sharing their own romantic conquests, which never stay the same. This is a slow burn friends to lover romance, which becomes more apparent in the present day, while they take their expected last trip together. Though some of the trips were funny, I did find some of it a bit slow, pushing more to the present. I did love the last 1/3 of the book, which was in the present, but for the most part, I did not feel the bond between them through most of the book.

The People You Meet on Vacation was a fun friend to lover trope, which had some humorous moments, as well as very good characters. This was well written by Emily Henry.

I really love Emily Henry's writing! The premise of this book felt fresh and original, and I liked how the reader was taken back and forth between the present summer trip and all the ones in the past. The sweet and poignant friendship between Poppy and Alex was a delight, and made the reader root for them all the more. I also loved how funny they were! This is a perfect summer read, check it out now!

another amazing book by emily henry! i love how the author is able to combine serious elements into her romances all the while keeping the whole thing fun.

OMG this book! I absolutely loved it! I have never been as engrossed in a friends to lovers trope as I was with the one in The People We Meet on Vacation. My heart literally ached for these characters and the pining...oh the pining! I am quite literally floored by this book. I fell so in love with both Poppy and Alex as characters, and I was so sad to see the story end. Emily Henry has a way of expressing my feelings in her writing, and it just makes me feel so seen! I loved that the friendship in this book ran so deep, and the writing just kept me engrossed from start to finish. Get this book on your pre-order list, folks, because you are going to want it! Thank you so much to the publisher and author for an advanced copy of The People We Meet on Vacation.

An absolute delight from start to finish. Henry manages to create characters that are funny and flawed and yet undeniably appealing. Readers will find it impossible not to fall in love with both Poppy and Alex, even though they're so different from one another. The whip-smart dialogue, charisma that leaps off the page, and absolute escapism that this novel about travel allows its readers even in the throes of a pandemic make it irresistible. I wish I could read it for the first time again - that's how much fun this one is.

This is not only an adorable RomCom but also a story about communication and how vital it is in all of our relationships. Emily Henry once again swept me away with real, and deep characters and issues (like loneliness) that many face in silence. I loved the progression of Alex and Jess while simultaneously learning how they fell apart. This is a wonderful book and I look forward to recommending it!

To put it simply, I love the way Emily Henry writes. Within pages you're completely drawn into the world of her characters and fully invested in their story. As someone who reads a lot (A LOT) of romance, this is a rare gift.

People We Meet on Vacation is a story about missed opportunities, getting in your own way, friends to lovers, and just really great.

Please, Emily, may I have some more?

I feared that there was no way that People We Meet on Vacation would live up to her incredible debut, Beach Read, from last year, but thankfully I was sooooo wrong! I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! Henry solidifies herself as the modern queen of the beach read!!! She’s amazingly talented and has a way of writing like you’re talking to a friend.

Told in flashbacks between current day summer trip and flashbacks of the last 15 years, Henry builds the chemistry between Poppy and Alex to the point that I was desperate for them to be together. Here’s what I loved!

🌴Friends to lovers, Opposites attract with unrequited love. It’s been loosely compared to When Harry Met Sally and I couldn’t agree more! It might be my new favorite friends to lovers romance 😱
🌴I want to be a travel writer in my next life. Why did I not think of this sooner?!?! I loved all of the trips they took and the quirky fun they had doing it for cheap!
🌴I laughed a lot. And cried a lot. It’s not a “sad” book, but man was it emotional at times. I felt so strongly for these characters and their happiness. Poppy is so much FUN and watching Alex come out of his shell when with her made my heart swell.

People We Meet on Vacation is a BOTM choice so prepare yourselves to see it everywhere - and I can honestly say it deserves every bit of hype it going to get!!! You better believe my copy is on it’s way!! Thank you to @berkleyromance for the ebook in exchange for my honest review!

When I saw Emily Henry had another book coming out this year, I knew I had to check it out! I really enjoyed Beach Read, so was expecting to love this one as well. I did like the overall storyline and romance plot, but it was such a slow burn for me. I ended up feeling bored for a good chunk in the middle, which was a bummer! I liked how it wrapped up at the end, and the alternating timelines between the present and years past, each documenting another trip Poppy and her best friend Alex take together. There was a little mystery surrounding why at the beginning of the book, in the present, they hadn't spoken for 2 years, which I enjoyed, but what was revealed as the reasoning didn't really add up to me.

Overall I liked this but it wasn't my favorite of Henry's books. I will continue reading her other books, though, and would recommend my friends check this out!

I usually enjoy Emily Henry stories and I did enjoy this one too....but it took so long for these two to recognize their love for one another that the story started to get a bit boring for me. Twelve years of oscillating between past and present. This was a slooooowwww burn.

Thank you to Berkley, Netgalley and Emily Henry for letting me read this book early. This one will be published on May 11.

This book could not have come into my life at a more perfect time. After over a year of no traveling Emily Henry took me to so many places in this book! People We Meet on Vacation is such a perfect escape. Not only did this book give me warm fuzzy memories of places I've been lucky enough to travel to, it also made me laugh out loud and reading about people falling in love is the ultimate getaway.

I don’t read a lot of rom com type books but I adored Beach Read and this new book satisfied almost the same way. There was a lot of set up and this story felt a little torturous with the length of time and mishaps involved. The flashbacks and long descriptions were interesting but sometimes felt like they were unnecessary. However, these characters are complex and likable which made it all so worth it. I will miss them!

This book started slow for me. There was a lot of angst and tension in the beginning and I didn't enjoy it until about half way through when improbable best friends Alex and Poppy go to Palm Springs and nothing seems to go right with the vacation but they discover that place doesn't matter, people do. At this point, I couldn't wait to see what happened and I raced to the end. I'm glad I stuck with this story and very much enjoyed it in the end. I give it 4 1/2 stars.

Oh my goodness I adored this book! I loved it just as much as Beach Read, which was one of my favorites last year. Everything about it, from the beautiful writing to the believable characters--ah! Perfection.

This is one of those stories that is jam packed with emotion. I usually don't give recaps in my reviews, but Poppy and Alex are such a unique take on best friends to lovers with so many of my favorite tropes (there's only one bed, grump + sunshine, etc). Though I wouldn't really call Alex a grump. He's just a soft, quiet boy. Better yet, I loved being able to go on all of their past vacations with them alongside the present. The way the story was told reminded me a little bit of Love and Other Words - one of my all time favorite romances, where we don't find out why the main couple stopped being friends until the very end.

I loved how much personality Poppy had, and how even though Alex was the quieter sort, he never shamed her or made her feel bad for her exuberance. I think I kept expecting him to guilt her or decide that she's too much, but he never did. He loved her fiercely throughout the whole book, and I never questioned his feelings for her aside from the very beginning. It was actually really refreshing how gentle and loving he was.

Anyway, this is an easy five out of five stars, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for not only a pleasant, feel good escape, but with plenty of feels and depth to go alongside of it!

Do you ever read a book and feel this crushing, awful joy because you got to experience it and yet you'll never be as good a writer as its author? That's how I feel whenever I read Emily Henry. People We Meet on Vacation is a slow burn — like a decade's long slow burn — and I often felt impatient for Poppy and Alex to just shut up and kiss. I don't know that I needed to hear about every vacation they'd ever taken together during their friendship. But what a delightful pair, and what a wonderful payoff. When these two did finally collide (during a rainstorm!! Emily Henry how could you do this to me??) I swooned out loud. Henry builds tension, attraction and character growth with the finesse of a true master.

I loved Emily Henry’s, Beach Read. Unfortunately, this one just fell short. I even put it down for a few weeks & tried again. It was a light-hearted read & will definitely give you some major vacation fever. However, the entire book was the same story over & over again about their friendship/relationship; no good subplots or characters. Also, it seemed more YA than a story about 30 somethings!