I was so excited for this one, after reading and thoroughly enjoying 'Beach Read'. I have never considered myself to be a big fan of contemporary romances or rom-coms, but Henry is really changing my mind about that. Her books are just so FUN to read.

Poppy and Alex are unlikely best friends. On the surface, they have little in common. He wears khakis and teaches high school English in the small town they grew up in. She left home the first chance she got, and is a travel writer for an upscale magazine. She is a wild child; he is calm and focused. And yet, they reunite every summer to take a trip and enjoy each other's company. Then one summer something happens, and they stop speaking to each other. What happened to come between these two best friends?

Told in chapters alternating between present-day and their past summer trips, we slowly get to know Poppy and Alex. We root for them to mend their broken friendship, and maybe? find out that they are really meant to be together. But can they really make each other happy? Or is it better to put their friendship behind them and move on?

I was rooting for Poppy and Alex the whole time I was reading this. Just realize you are attracted to each other! Stop pretending you are only friends! This was such a sweet book, and such a sweet friendship between these two. Every bit as good as Beach Read--maybe even better. Highly recommended.

This was a great book to escape the problems the world has right now. I was able to escape to a funny romantic world. I love the way this author writes. I recommend this to anyone that wants an easy romantic read.

I thought for sure Beach Read would be hard to top, but Henry has done it. This book had me riveted to the pages and I can't wait to put this one on my real shelves. This is an absolute must read for everyone! Thank you for the chance to read it early!

Beach Read was one of my favorite reads of 2020, so I was really looking forward to People We Meet on Vacation. While I think it will appeal to a lot of readers, especially fans of Christina Lauren, it wasn't for me. I didn't like to going back and forth in time and the BIG MYSTERY of what went wrong in their relationship. I personally would have enjoyed more focus on the present.

I read this book almost in one sitting. I wanted to savor it, but I couldn’t stop. People We Meet on Vacation is about two best friends, Poppy and Alex, who have taken a summer trip together every year for 10 years. When the book opens they haven’t spoken for two years because of what happened on their last trip together. The story alternates between the past and the present, building up to the year that may have ruined their relationship. It’s a delicious slow build where we get to see their relationship develop from the time they met. At times I laughed out loud because their banter was so funny, but what I loved about it was that they always felt like real people. Witty and hilarious, but real. I loved this book because it’s smart, sweet, funny, and romantic. The characters are well developed, and the dialogue is spot on. Frankly, I wish that I hadn’t read it yet so that I could go read it again for the first time right now. Fans of Beach Read will be thrilled. I also think it’s one to hand to fans of Rainbow Rowell.

"How could Emily Henry ever top Beach Read?" was the question a lot of readers probably asked as they opened People We Meet on Vacation but none ever should have doubted. She's a romance genius, that's how.

Personally, I was just as excited for this book as I'd been for Beach Read and not an iota disappointed. Poppy and Alex are characters I'd read as they read a cereal box together but instead I got to go with them on adventures around the globe.

I won't give anything away, and will only say that this romance is a 2021 must-read.

Poppy and Alex are longtime best friends and travel buddies who had a falling out 2 years ago. They reunite for another go at their annual trip and are forced to reckon with their relationship. The novel chapters alternates between their current trip and their annual trips of the past, tracing their friendship and getting closer to that fateful trip 2 years ago.
Emily Henry is a beautiful writer and a keen observer of everyday humanity. Her characters feel so true; their thoughts, their ways of speaking and moving, their interactions with each other and the world. This story is beautiful but even more than that, I just want to spend time with these characters.

I love a multi-year love story! Beach areas was fantastic and this book made me fall in love with Emily Henry even more. Poppy and Alex are such a strange couple of friends but their friendship prevails and I love how their relationship blossoms. This will be a great summer read!

I know that Beach Read was received with mixed reviews. Some, like myself, enjoyed it. Others adored it. And still others are of the belief that it isn't technically a romance novel. I'm not here to debate the author's previous work, however, I just want it acknowledged that I found Beach Read to be enjoyable (though not quite dirty enough for my liking.)

I was absolutely astounded by how much I adored People We Met On Vacation. I fell in love with it from the very first word, cried a little bit in the middle, and mourned when my eyes scrawled across the end of the last page. It was an emotional rollercoaster and I loved every up and down, even as my heart got ripped out of my chest, stomped on, and revived a handful of times until I was clutching the book with white knuckles and muttering under my breath.

People We Meet On Vacation doesn't just flip back and forth between two timelines... it flips back and forth between like seven. Normally I hate flashbacks because my mind prefers to experience the relationship firmly in the present, but I cannot imagine this book written in any other way. It was an absolute gift that we were able to see the relationship between Poppy and Alex develop from the moment they meet, to the moment they realize they can be friends, to each of their annual trips and the present timeline. Henry's writing talent is evident in the way she manages to not only write it in such a way that the reader doesn't struggle to keep things straight and also in the way the character's relationship so clearly develops over the various timelines.

Poppy is a delightfully quirky heroine without being manic-pixie-dream-girl about it which was such a relief. You could tell that Henry just had a picture of her character in her mind and was writing it as she was seeing it rather than trying to stuff Poppy into society's vision of a not-like-other-girls heroine (which I know we are all so sick of). Alex is the uptight, stuffy hero that we all live for as romance readers. Though Alex isn't a total Grumpy McGrumpster, I'd still place this book in the grumpy/sunshine trope because no one is a better grump than our adorable, sick-cat-loving, high school teacher who had to grow up too fast too soon following the death of his mother.

You don't have to fabricate any chemistry between Alex and Poppy. It truly leaps off the page. I believed they were meant to be together from the very first interaction and I held on to that belief as the pages turned and the angst doubled down. It's a slow burn--you don't even get any action at all until about 70% of the way through--but god, as much as I dislike slow burns, the pain of the wait was soooo worth it. And I loved every step to their finally coming together. It was like a beautifully choreographed dance.

If you thought Beach Read was heart-wrenching you better grab some tissues and clear your schedule because you're going to be water work central. I clutched this book to my chest at the end and then immediately flipped back and reread my favorite scene. One of the reviews I read mentioned that this was the book that broke their reading slump and I cannot agree with that statement more. I was feeling a little blah about my TBR lately, but after reading People We Meet On Vacation I ended up flying to my bookshelf and reading a number of books that had been long awaiting my attention.

Stayed up til 6am to finish this book and I regret NOTHING.

Alex & Poppy have been best friends for 10yrs, always vacationing together. From the moment they first met, they just clicked. Alex is reserved and your typical nerdy guy, while Poppy is loud and has all these dream travel itineraries. No matter how completely opposite the two of them are, their friendship works and is something they've kept and valued for years and years...until their trip to Croatia, where everything started to change.

They haven't seen each other in two years; have lost all forms of communication. But Poppy is desperate to bring the old them back and salvage whatever is left of their friendship, so she invites Alex for one last trip together...

Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. Not all the time are they done well, though. But this, this was chef's kiss. I loved that Alex & Poppy were so fun to read. So many times I just wanted them to kiss already. The tension was THICK. And the alternating past and present chapters helped build up their chemistry and learn more about their history and how they fell apart. I found myself tearing up at the vulnerable parts, where they both were so exposed to each other, all their truths bared.

This book has the YEARNING I so love. The relatable inner struggles and monologues. Choices we're offered in life and individual differences. Look out for this one next year! Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the earc! ❤

This is just what I needed right now. Sometimes you just need an adorable romcom to make you smile. The characters were likeable, and from the beginning I was rooting for them.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was equal parts excited and scared to read this novel because Beach Read was my favorite novel of 2020 and quite honestly my favorite book I've read in a really long time. But this really just proved how great of an author Henry is. I'm not sure how, but she writes characters that are so incredibly raw and relatable and I quite honestly never related to characters more than I do in her novels. This was just so lovely to read and I can't wait for it to come out so I can sell it like crazy to anyone who will take it.

Emily Henry has done it again and made a truly magical, swoon-worthy romance. I loved Poppy and Alex and watching how they fell in love across summer vacations juxtaposed with the vacation that just can't go right. The "will they finally or won't they" was breaking me in the best way possible. There's a magic that Emily Henry puts in her romances that is addicting and heartbreaking in all the best ways. Pick this one up and you won't regret it at all.

This book is an absolute delight. Poppy and Alex are so wonderful together and the way the story is told pulls you into their world and relationship in such a completely immersive way you can't help but root for them to get together and stay together.

I loved this book every bit as much as BEACH READ. Highly recommend

Not since Sally Thorne's The Hating Game, have I enjoyed a book more. The characters are funny, smart, and relatable. I wanted to be friends with both of them by the end of the novel and I was rooting for them to end up together from their first awkward meeting. This book was an all around delight and pleasure to read. Emily Henry managed to create two polar opposite characters that are somehow perfect for each other. I highly recommend this title to anyone who enjoys funny, steamy, and heartwarming stories.

People We Meet on Vacation is especially fun to read when no one is going on trips right now. It made me happy to remember vacations. The two main characters were frustrating in that rom-com way where you know they're perfect for each other but for whatever reason they stubbornly remain blind to the facts for a super long time. Like, these two people met in college and a full ten years later are still playing themselves and refuse to see what's in front of them. How often is this truly happening in real life?!

The idea to play off of being different people on vacations together so that neither one knows if their real relationship is *enough* for the other one was mildly intriguing but nothing groundbreaking is happening here. This won't rock anyone world, but it is a nice read for thinking about places other than the five mile radius that most people have been confined to this year and rooting for the inevitable romantic ending that's a balm to our withered souls.

Emily Henry's first book, Beach Read, caught me a bit off-guard. From the title, I was expecting something a little lighter but was pleasantly surprised by the somewhat heftier tone. So I went into People We Meet on Vacation with high expectations, which were exceeded! Henry continues to write well-written romances with compelling, complicated characters. I loved spending time with the central character here; I loved the friends-to-lovers trope but also enjoyed how Henry upended it with a flashback-heavy structure. The most perfect romance I read in 2020!

I really enjoyed this book! I could not put it down. I love the main character Poppy, and seeing her go through both the past and the present of her life and relationships. The humor in this is one of the best ive read in a long time. This was the perfect read for relaxing and enjoying the rain/snow. I highly recommend this book.

I love the way Emily Henry writes and tells a story. She adds a lot of layers and background to each character that makes them feel more real and relatable. I loved the relationship between Poppy and Alex, and the vacations and the adventures the two of them had made me incredibly sad that we are in quarantine!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this one early!

Poppy and Alex meet at college orientation and have little in common except being from the same small town. They don't see each other until the end of the year when they carpool home. Despite how different they are, they slowly become best friends and spend the next year in college inseparable. As they grow up and move away from each other, they take a summer vacation each year until 2 years ago when something happened and they haven't spoken since. In alternating chapters, we learn about their summer trips and what Poppy's life is currently like. She has everything she dreamed of, a job traveling and writing for a magazine and an apartment in New York City but realizes she isn't happy without Alex. Can one last trip save their friendship? And could there be more to that friendship?