This was my first Emily Henry book and I really enjoyed it — it was the perfect summer read! My full review is posted online and I've attached a link to it below. Thanks for sharing this advance copy with me!

*4.5 stars

Oh my heart! I loved People We Meet On Vacation. This is the perfect summer read and really made me miss traveling and seeing the world through my husband’s eyes. The core truth of this story is it doesn’t matter where you live, home is wherever your soulmate/partner/BFF is. I absolutely adored Poppy and Alex, even if Poppy constantly overthought every little thing it seemed. She just overanalyzed everything. But they are now one of my favorite romance couples! I like to think that in the future they get married and adopt a few babies. Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. Emily Henry, your story telling just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to see what you come out with next. I’ll be recommending this one to everyone looking for the perfect summer/beach read!

I absolutely loved this friends-to-lovers story. Even the way it was structured, going between past and present brought the story together. I loved the characters, banter, and plot.

It's a must-read for the summer.

As much as I enjoyed Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation is definitely my favorite book from Emily Henry (so far!). I just adored the premise of these two completely opposite best friends, Poppy and Alex, who have 10 years worth of summer trips together to look back on, and are finally facing the rather obvious fact that they're in love with one another. Except, they haven't spoken in two years. Not since a "moment" happens that seemingly ruins everything. Now after all this radio silence, Poppy feels stuck and she knows with certainty that the last time she felt happy was on a trip with Alex. So she reaches out and convinces him to take one more vacation together with the hopes of putting it all out there.

I thought the author did a great job of balancing their past and present. The flashbacks to their previous trips gave us a much-needed look into their history, their relationship, and every important moment that led up to the present. I just adored their relationship. They made me laugh and swoon and want to reach into the book and give them both good, hard shake. Because chemistry like theirs shouldn't be ignored! And of course, the present was filled with angst, steamy moments, and a second chance (all things I love in a romance!). Even though I don't have much in common with either character (aside from Poppy's love of travel), I connected to both and very much rooted for them to get their happily ever after.

Thanks to @netgalley & @berkleyromance for this e-arc of People we Meet on Vacation in exchange for my honest review! As one of the few who have not read Beach Read yet, I went into this book with no expectations and I really liked it! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
People we Meet on Vacation centers around Poppy and Alex, who have been good friends ever since they were unknowingly carpooling back to their hometown together (When Harry met Sally vibes anyone?) Despite being super different (Poppy is an adventurer who loves doing new things, while Alex is a content creature of habit) the pair form an unlikely friendship that also results in them taking an annual summer trip together. The trip becomes the highlight of both of their years. The question is, if they look forward to this trip more than anything else going on in their lives, what does that really mean? Is it the vacation? The escape from daily life? Or is it being with each other?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Poppy and Alex are both quirky in their own ways and I appreciated that they felt like real people and not just caricatures of real people. They were heartfelt and messy and incredibly awkward at times, yet they were endearing and their love for one another is some of the most genuine I've read. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I think a big pro for me was the history that this pair shared. I struggle sometimes in romance to understand the connection that the characters develop so quickly and appreciated this mixup of a long haul romance that was built over a decade. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
At times the pace of this book felt just a bit slow, but overall I loved this one. For a friends to lovers romance spanning years and filled with travel and witty dialogue, I think you’d enjoy People we Meet on Vacation!

This started off slow and I got confused with the back and forth timeline. 12 years of being friends, not talking, then lovers, then not, then realizing they were meant for each other. Not sure most people would wait that long for this type of romance.

4.5 stars!

I'm one of the few people left on the planet who hasn't read Beach Read yet, (it's something I own and will read), but this was one I wanted to make sure I took the time to get to. I'm so glad I did, because I absolutely adored it. This was a super fun read, with very flawed, yet likeable characters and I enjoyed their every move. Some book friends didn't care for the past narrative that much, but I found both narratives (past & present) wonderful. Once I got the pattern of how the book was laid out down, I couldn't wait to pick it up each time I was forced to put it down (unfortunately, we all need to sleep!).

I felt Poppy was extremely relatable, charming, funny and honest. I thought Alex was a great compliment to all the craziness that was Poppy and enjoyed reading about their friendship. Their time together kind of reminded me of my college days and that also helped me enjoy the book immensely. Ultimately, this is a summer read with heart and substance and I could not recommend it enough.

Thanks to Berkley Books, Emily Henry and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.

Publication Date: 05/11/2021
Review Date: 06/28/2021

As a lover of Beach Read, I could not stop myself from requesting this book.

Meet Poppy, the protagonist. When she was a teenager she was bullied and when she was old enough she never stopped running. She left Ohio not wanting to ever return except to see her parents. As an adult, she is daring, adventurous, humorous, and with a desire to travel all over the world. At first, during her college years at the cheapest way she could afford it and currently in a much more plush way thanks to her current job.

In college, she meets Alex. At first glance, they had nothing in common and they disregard each other without a backward glance.

The second time they meet, they are forced to take a car ride together and during their time alone they share many pieces of themselves and a friendship ensues.

Poppy has always wanted to travel the world and having a friend like Alex is a blessing. They start taking trips together every year. They call it their Summer Trip.

Their friendship is a good one despite the people who come into their lives. For Alex there is Sarah. A woman who is in and out of his life. While for Poppy, she has a few serious male candidates.

Then the Croatia trip happens. After it, they won't really see each other for two years until Poppy realizes she wants to fix things with Alex. A trip to Palm Springs might be the antidote she is looking for their dying friendship.

I like Poppy she was full of life but she also had her pretty big insecurities. Alex was the serious one. A book-lover (yay), khaki-wearing guy. He was ready to settle down in a small town and have a family.

There were some parts of this book that tugged at my heartstrings. During those, I found myself smiling or crying depending on the scenario.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkely via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read Beach Read last year and it was just okay for me. I was not expecting to be blown away by this book but I was! Poppy and Alex's friendship is so unique and I loved reading about all of their adventures and ultimately their relationship (or lack thereof) with one another. Popy and Alex are friends from college who go on a Summer Trip every year, without fail. How cool is that! It gave me such vacation vibes and made me want to jetset anywhere but here! I really loved Alex's character and how unapologetically himself he was. Poppy was the same way but I really liked Alex. I loved how there were multiple time periods in the book. I thought it could have easily gotten confusing because of the back and forth between many summers ago and the current summer but it fit together seamlessly.

This was cute! I am still more of a fan of Beach Read as this dragged a bit for me in the middle and was a bit anticlimactic at times. Still a fun book to read.

Poppy and Alex are absolute opposites and have been best buddies for more than a decade. She enjoys travelling and even goes ahead creating a job out of her passion. Her quirky style is fun to read while Alex is the kind who prefers staying home with a book but goes on a vacation with Poppy every year until something happens in their Croatia trip. How their friendship changes, do they really want to stay platonic friends? After a decade, they are finally in a situation where they might want to open up with their true feelings.

This made me absolutely jealous with all the vacations Poppy gets to go in this book. It was a heartwarming read and though there were unbelievable situations, I was rooting for them all the way. It was predictable but still managed to keep me engaged and was absolutely a delightful read!

This book has been highly rated and raved about in the past few weeks. I was a little nervous about picking this up, because I tried to read Beach Read by Emily Henry and couldn’t get into it. Beach Read was also highly rated and raved about. I wanted to give this author another shot and this book sounded so fun! Unfortunately, it wasn’t the book for me, even though I can see why people love it. I liked some parts of this book, but I didn’t love any of it. Told over the span of many summers, and alternating perspectives of then and now, we see our two main characters on vacation. All until something went wrong a few years back. But they’re back and willing to give vacation another shot, and the rest is history. I loved Poppy’s job working for a magazine and the fact that she was able to travel to places all over. But that’s about it for me. While it was kind of a flop for me, I it’s worth others checking it out.

I really enjoyed Emily Henry’s Beach Read, so I was super excited to dive into her new book in the adult romance genre! I knew this one would be a bit different because it utilized the friends-to-lovers trope, admittedly not a favorite of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of books with the trope, but I still prefer some hate in the beginning of my romance.

People We Meet on Vacation is a hard book for me to rate. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the chapters with Alex and Poppy in the present, and I was on the edge of my seat with the amount of chemistry they had. I couldn’t wait for them to finally get together, and the will they won’t they back and forth was so fun to read. On the other hand, the past chapters were hard to get through for me. I think it was the amount of miscommunication that drove them apart that bothered me. Miscommunication can be done well in books (Christina Lauren’s Love and Other Words does it really well), but this book didn’t convince me that they could have been on different pages for so many years. The big fight that led them to not talking for 2 years was so silly and unbelievable. Poppy as a character was also hard to connect with at times. I think the “quirky weird main character” is so overdone in romance, and Poppy wasn’t anything unique. I did like her for the most part, but then she would do something so odd— trying to be quirky— that I’d get annoyed.

Overall, I think I’ll stick with a 3 star rating, as some parts were a 5 star fir me while others could have been 1 star. I did really love parts of this book, and I’ll continue to pick up everything Emily Henry writes in the future.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry is a When Harry Met Sally inspired contemporary that is packed with lots of humour and romance. The characters are well-written and easy to relate to as well. This is a perfect book for your beach bag.

It has been a long time since I have seen When Harry Met Sally, but the story has somehow been able to stick in my brain. The friends to lovers trope is always one that I enjoy and Henry has created a fantastic story that goes back and forth from past to present and really shows how the relationship between Poppy and Alex evolved.

❀ POPPY IS EASY TO ROOT FOR

Poppy is an easy character to root for and her ability to take risks and enjoy life is infectious. On the other hand, Alex is straight laced and quiet in demeanour. The opposites attract theme plays another large role in the plot, as the two personalities clash frequently. This is where many of the laugh-out-loud moments stem from in the story and it is so amusing to read.

❀ LOTS OF EMOTION AND WIT

Written from Poppy’s point of view, the book has lots of emotion and wit. Even though Alex is presented to us through Poppy’s lens, it is easy to see things from Alex’s perspective. The writing is superb and the banter between these two characters just flows right off the page,

❀ A MUST-READ

If you are looking for a great rom-com to spice up your summer TBR, People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry is one to add. The tropes, characters, and witty dialogue make this a must-read book for contemporary fans. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

This was delightfully cute. As was clearly Emily Henry's intention, this evoked the same nostalgic and longing feelings as a 90s rom-com. I have never been a huge friends-to-lovers fan, but in here it works because of the time jumps truly allowing us to explore the relationship. Often I find that the trope relies on "telling" instead of "showing" why the characters should be together. Emily Henry has proven that I can like the trope if executed correctly.

PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION is a solid FIVE-STAR read for me as the main story touches upon the beauty and magic of childhood-friends-turn-lovers, which is my all-time-favorite trope.

Alex and Poppy’s down to earth personality is easy to resonate with and their annual summer trips are what I look forward to experiencing throughout the book. I also appreciate that both characters explore more of themselves in those journeys. The entire plot is incredibly uplifting and will bring a smile to your face.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND People We Meet on Vacation AND Beach Read by the same author! They’ll definitely spice up your summer.

***Thanks Penguin Random House International for the review opportunity via NetGalley.***

A Virtual Vacation

“On vacation, you can be anyone you want.”

After a brief yet memorable encounter at college freshmen orientation, Poppy and Alex don’t meet again until they carpool home the summer after. Their disdain for one another soon turns to like, and the two develop a deep and lasting friendship that spans over 10 years. Their yearly summer vacations together both solidifies and destroys their friendship as the vacations bring to light Alex and Poppy’s true feelings for one another and force them to come to terms with their relationship. Will they choose love, or is the risk of ruining their friendship too great?

One shouldn’t read this for the plot. Modeled as a modern retelling of When Harry Met Sally , it is obvious how things will play out. (view spoiler)

The reader experiences the dynamics of their friendship through Poppy’s POV. The narrative switches back and forth between the present and past vacations. Their vacations are not told in order, which was sometimes frustrating. There is a lot of buildup to the vacation that ruined it all, and when all is finally revealed, I was a little underwhelmed.

I loved both Alex and Poppy’s characters. They are relatable characters, but there were times when I wanted to shake both of them. More than a romance, a good chunk of the book revolves around identity and acceptance.

Emily Henry is quickly becoming a favorite. She doesn’t do sap and cheese, which often takes me out of romance novels. This book is filled with drama, tension, humor, and wit. Most importantly, this book allowed me to “travel” during the pandemic. I highly recommend for a good summer escape!

A big Thank You to Elisha Katz from Berkley Publishing, who provided me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

If I could give this more than five stars I absolutely would. The romance genre is pretty hit and miss for my typically as I find myself rolling my eyes a lot or finding a lot of stories cliche or so plainly predictable that I don't find them that enjoyable usually. But with all that being said this book I think is up in the rankings of being one of my all time not only favorite romances, but books in general. I am also not a usually emotional reader in the sense that it takes a lot for me to really connect to a book or feel the emotions of the characters.... but for me this book was different. Honestly there's not much I wouldn't do to be able to read this book again for the first time. I know all this may sound dramatic, but this is just one of those books that from the first couple of chapters I knew it was going to have a high ranking. I think this is partly due to the fact that Emily did such a good job at portraying what it feels like to have a girl guy friendship and the pain that can be associated when it comes to one or the other person getting into a relationship with someone outside the friendship. This book truly spoke to me, as I feel like Emily was able to put into words and a story something that even I who lives a life almost parallel to certain aspects of this story could not. From the character development, to the writing, and just the story itself... I can honestly say that I will be purchasing my own physical copy as I do not want to live a life apart from this book. I would kill to see this adapted into a movie. Its rare a book comes around where I cant find something wrong with it, but this was one of those books. Its a book that is not only the perfect summer read but a read that I think has become a comfort read for me as well. I am actually super excited to post a review on this book on instagram and tell all my friends and family about it. It truly makes my soul so happy and there is no other way to describe how much I adore this book. It is everything and more.

People We Meet on Vacation follows the story of two best friends from college, Poppy and Alex, who are total opposites, who meet up every summer to take a week-long summer vacation together, no matter how much or how little they’ve talked over the year.

2.5 out of 3 stars - rounded up to 3!

This book was a bit of a letdown for me. Perhaps it's because it was so hyped on Goodreads and bookstagram? I liked the witty banter and highlighted a lot of passages, but didn't care for either main character and thought there was just too much going on.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQL8NHvLyuJ/

After roughly a year and a half in Covid quarantine, People We Meet on Vacation was such a wonderful, romantic escape. Detailing the reunion of estranged best friends Poppy and Alex, People We Meet on Vacation flawlessly alternates between present and past timelines, showcasing amazing vacations while also building an authentic, riveting, heartbreaking relationship and legitimately exploring the often mocked “millennial ennui.”

I read Beach Read last year and thought it was pretty good, but People We Meet on Vacation truly tugged on my heartstrings. Poppy and Alex’s story was lyrical yet bold, and Henry simultaneously works backwards, starting off the plot with an estranged Poppy and Alex tentatively starting to chat again after a two year long silence interspersed with chapters that cover their different “summer trips” they’ve had every summer for the past twelve years. The balance of the past and present was perfect, and the flashback chapters provided the perfect color at the perfect time to shed more light and context as to the tension, chemistry and actions taking place during Poppy and Alex’s current, less than ideal Palm Springs vacation. I enjoyed getting to slowly and subtly learn the nuances and dynamics of Alex and Poppy’s decade-plus spanning friendship and it’s one of the best written relationships I’ve ever read.

I think one of the things that set this story apart for me is that Alex is not your typical love interest. He’s not bold or daring or dashing or sassy. He’s calm, stable, resilient, and quiet. He’s the type of love interest you’d be so bored with in high school but then realize is all you want in a partner in your 30s. I love that this story is normalizing that you don’t have to have an extroverted, dark, dangerous, etc love interest to still have tension, passion and drama. It’s the little things between Alex and Poppy that make readers yearn for their connection, rather than grand gestures or swoon-worthy scenes. It’s the perfect inside jokes (“It speaks to me) and the non-judgemental acceptance of each other’s family flaws. It’s the being able to have a great time even when the AC’s broken and all there is to do is watch old movies on your laptop. It’s being ask sick as you’ve ever been and knowing you can count on that person to bring you Tylenol and monitor your fever.

Overall: The yearning for each other, the unrequited love on both sides…the years of tension and build up…it was all chef’s kiss! Also love that Alex was NOT your stereotypical romance novel love interest and he was SO interesting and I LOVED him. This story is truly the perfect “opposites attract” novel and I can’t recommend it enough- it will truly make you want to go and hug your significant other.