This reminded me so much of when Harry met Sally. That’s one of my all time favorite movies, so I knew I’d love this one. I loved their banter and their genuine love for eachother. I loved this one so much! I already recommended it to several people.
It was a great read to go into spring with.

~ People We Meet on Vacation was the easy (slight - but lower - angst) read I didn't know I needed.

~ I loved following Poppy and Alex throughout the years (through present tense and flashbacks) from their first meeting and on each and every (platonic) vacation together since. Drinks and good food were had, hilarity ensued, deep conversations unraveled. Other loves came and went but their friendship endured - until it didn't.

~ THE BIG SECRET plots don't usually work for me. It takes so long to build up to the truth of what happened that the pay off is rarely worth it. The secret is always...seriously?? That's it?

Something happened on Poppy and Alex's last vacation. Something bad enough to tear them apart after a decade of friendship and vacations and led them not speak for two years.

Without spoiling, I'll say it might have been a tad anti-climatic in scope but it felt true to their personalities to me and somehow worked. For me.

~ Poppy and Alex's chemistry is 🔥🔥 but they are also quite believable as best friends and I loved how the author allowed them have other meaningful relationships and grow on their own before coming back together and sealing the deal.

Overall: I was reading another book at the time that was so dark and depressing so this book was like a breath of fresh air. Like having a vacation and new friends for the summer!

I absolutely loved this friends-to-lovers romance. Watching the two leads grow and fall more and more in love with each other over the span of a decade has you rooting alongside them for their H.E.A.!

This book is delicious perfection! Emily Henry's writing has this effortless flow about it that just engulfed me from the beginning. I loved it so much and wanted to devour it, but forced myself to slow down because I wanted to savor every moment. This is most definitely one of my favorite reads of the year. So funny, so warm, so real! Loved every second of it!

This book was phenomenal, friends to lovers excellence if you will. In this story we follow two best friends, Alex and Poppy, who always take an annual summer vacation together. After a mysterious incident two years ago the two have drifted apart but Poppy proposes one last trip to save they’re friendship.

This book was full of mutuals pining, inside jokes and amazing chemistry. The romantic tension between Alex and Poppy was just so well done I was sold on them as a couple almost immediately. I felt like they knew and understood each other so intimately and it honestly was so swoon worthy. The mortifying ordeal of being known is so worth it! This was really gripping, loved the writing, the humor, the banter, the angst! It was just so great 🥰 I read it in under 24hrs because I couldn’t put it down

A great summery contemporary romance that also hits on a deeper level.
I'm grateful to have a quintessential summer read to recommend that also has some substance! "Millenial ennui" expressed in an emotionally relevant way that is sure to tug on many heartstrings. That feeling of wanting but also knowing we should be reaching for contentment. So many feelings in this book!

I should not have read this book right away. I should not have read this book so fast. I should not have lent this book to a friend... Now I have to wait for another book from Emily Henry and I need to wait to re-read it!

Emily Henry does it again! I adored Beach Read and knew that I had to read People We Meet on Vacation ASAP. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The sexual tension between the two main characters was undeniable. I was rooting for them the entire time. Their snarky comments back and forth had me cracking up. If you're looking for an amazing friends to lovers read then this one is for you.

Review will be posted on 5/20/21

Poppy and Alex met in college and while they are vastly different, they work well as best friends. Opposites attract, right? Alex is more conservative, bookish, preppy, and is extremely good looking, but doesn't know it. Poppy, on the other hand, is more outgoing, wears eccentric clothing, and can't wait to get out of her hometown. Fast forward many years of friendship and Poppy is in New York City as a travel writer. She has the dream job of traveling the world and writing about it. Alex is a high school English teacher in their hometown living a more suburban life. One thing they love to do together is travel. They take one trip together each summer and although Poppy feels herself getting close to him, she knows it's in a platonic way, because she would never want to risk the best friendship she has ever had. Or does she? After years go by they see other people and even take them on vacation together, but after one upsetting night, Alex and Poppy stop talking to one another. Things start to fall apart for Poppy. Her amazing job isn't so amazing after all. She is feeling down in the dumps and starts to wonder when was she last happy? Alex immediately comes to mind. She reconnects with him and asks him to come on vacation with her. It's been two years since they last talked, but maybe she can salvage their friendship? One thing is sure, she must confront her true feelings about Alex and in order to move on with her life, she needs to let him know how she feels. People We Meet on Vacation is the epitome of a good beach read. There's amazing vacation destinations, a friends-to-something-more romance, and major laugh-out-loud moments.

Poppy is such a memorable character in People We Meet on Vacation. I thought she was very well developed and relatable at times. I loved how Henry shows us that even with her dream job in NYC, she is still feeling unfulfilled, because she won't address her true feelings and still harbors some angst from childhood. Once she is able to address these repressed feelings, she can start to live her life more authentically. It goes without saying that I absolutely adored Poppy and Alex's relationship. I love how Henry provided us flashbacks to college and to previous trips they took. It really showed us how their relationship developed and addressed the big question of how did they end up not speaking?

Alex is a swoon-worthy book boyfriend if I ever met one. Not only is he literary and an all-around good guy, he is good looking and in great shape. Henry really created an amazing character who seems almost too perfect at times. However, Henry did develop the character of Alex and explain his "different" childhood and shared with us some of his struggles as well. This helped shape him a bit more. Needless to say, I adored him in People We Meet on Vacation.

You guys know I am a sucker for a good friends-to-something-more romance and Alex and Poppy's was one was one of the best. Henry really was able to make it seem fresh even though a lot of the things that happen in People We Meet on Vacation have been done before. One way that helped this was the way the story is told through flashbacks and present day. Also, people are comparing Alex and Poppy's relationship to a modern Harry and Sally from When Harry Met Sally and I can say I wholeheartedly agree. That may be why I like this novel so much since that's one of my favorite movies.

People We Meet on Vacation lives up to all the hype for sure. It's one of my favorite beach reads of the summer and I highly recommend it. It will have you laughing at the witty banter one minute and swooning at Alex the next. So, let me know if this book is on your TBR list or if you already read it. Did you read Henry's Beach Read as well? Let me know in the comments below.

I'm pretty sure Emily Henry can do no wrong! I loved Beach Read and when I saw People We Meet on Vacation, I had to have it! I even grabbed it in my BOTM box! I absolutely adored Poppy and Alex! The banter between them was top notch! The alternating timelines really contributed to the storyline and kept me flipping the pages! Definitely can't wait to see what else Henry has in store for us!

LET’S GET IT ON with People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry

First Impressions
Obviously this cover is super cute and designed to pair well with Henry’s previous adult romance Beach Read. But maybe it’s (don’t hate me) TOO much like Beach Read? I know this is being nitpicky, but these two books are different and I thought People We Meet On Vacation deserved something a bit more unique. Same style, sure, but maybe suitcases might’ve been better since Poppy and Alex are in the desert this go-round, and not all of their vacations have been beachy.

What’s Your Type?
Friends-to-Lovers, hotel with one bed, flashbacks, close proximity, opposites attract, vacations

Dating Profile:

Poppy, a travel writer, and Alex, a teacher, have been best friends since college. Every year, they go on a summer vacation together—the last few years those trips have been funded by the magazine Poppy works for, making them extra special and bougie But two summers ago, something went down while Poppy and Alex were in Croatia, and they haven’t spoken since. Now, Poppy finds herself having a bit of a life crisis. She’s not happy at her job, she’s not happy with her life in NYC, she’s just not happy. And she has a feeling that not having Alex in her life may be a contributing factor. So she breaks their silence in an attempt to convince him to go on one last summer vacation with her. But without the travel magazine funds, Poppy’s plans start to derail quickly and her idea for a perfect trip turns out far from perfect. She has one disastrous week in Palm Springs to convince Alex that they CAN be friends again. Best friends. JUST friends…right?

Meet Cute:
During a quick introduction at college orientation, Poppy and Alex realize they’re from the same hometown. After orientation, they go their separate ways and sort of forget about each other. So when a friend helps Poppy find a ride home to Ohio for holiday break, she’s shocked to find Alex waiting for her. The next few hours in the car together oscillate between awkward and fun, with Poppy and Alex realizing that despite being total opposites, they have a pretty good time together and more than a few things in common. They make a deal to hang out over the holidays, and suddenly, a best friendship is sealed.

I loved this meet cute because it felt like such a strong foundation for a friendship that would end up spanning a decade. There was no instant crush, no kismet or romantic soulmates. Just a mutual respect and sincere enjoyment of the other person’s company that turned out to be the most important part of Poppy-and-Alex.

The Lean:
What makes People We Meet On Vacation so sexy is the longing. The charged touches. The close contact. The heat of an Airbnb with only one bed and no air conditioning. But that longing isn’t only of a romantic nature. These are two best friends who care deeply for each other, who haven’t spoken in nearly two years, and who really, really miss each other. They’re longing for days of yore when there was no weirdness between them, but you know how when you’re on a diet and shouldn’t think about food, THE ONLY THING YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS FOOD? Whatever happened between Poppy and Alex two years ago is the thing they can’t stop thinking about. The reader is left in the dark, but you still feel it with every glance and half smile and inside joke they share. They are longing to have their best friend back, and tiptoeing around the elephant in the room, but now that they’ve had a taste…it’s hard to ignore the craving.


Dirty Talk:
It’s pretty clear from the get-go that whatever happened on Poppy and Alex’s fated last trip that nearly ended their friendship was of a more-than-friends nature. As readers, we don’t know the details—a hookup? Professed feelings by one or both parties? Extreme jealousy of another partner? The not knowing amps up tension throughout, but because the flashbacks are told in order from their first trip until the most recent, and mixed in with the present day trip in which Poppy is trying to save their friendship, sex isn’t really happening until you get closer to the end of both stories. The tension between Poppy and Alex crackles like electricity on the page, building toward a thunderstorm (literal and metaphorical) of sexiness that is absolutely worth the wait.

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose:
“God, how are you so good at this,” I say, and his laugh grates against my ear as he kisses behind it.
“Because I know you,” he says tenderly, “and I remember what you sound like when you like something.”
Everything in me pulls taut in waves. Every move of his hands, every thrust threatens to unravel me.

We Need to Talk:
Full disclosure: I am a VERY PICKY contemporary romance reader. A badly written contemporary romance can give me SO MUCH second-hand embarrassment. It’s why I prefer historical romance – much harder to be cheesy when everyone’s talking like they’re in a Jane Austen novel. But Emily Henry’s characters are always complex and flawed and cool, their relationships imperfect, and their environments realistic. Her writing never fails to sparkle. A badly written contemporary romance novel can feel like a shot of well tequila – they get the job done even if they make me cringe a little. But Emily Henry romances are a top shelf reposado, something I want to slowly sip and savor, chaser not required.

I loved the non-linear storytelling—getting to see Poppy and Alex’s friendship form, grow, deepen, then ultimately get very complicated as they took their annual trips. They have other relationships, and even attempted one trip with their significant others, which I especially appreciated because no amount of “we’re just friends”-ing is going to fly when two hot people in relationships with other people want to go to Italy with each other.

As always, the jokes are laugh out loud funny, the teasing is sexy, and the amount of unspoken STUFF between these two people had me so full of feelings I sometimes forgot to breathe.

Was It Good For You?
This book had me up alllll night. *wink* Despite it being such a popular trope, I actually think best friends-to-lovers is a really hard one to pull off. More often than not, it feels like one of the friends is CLEARLY head over heels while the other is ANNOYINGLY oblivious to it. Finding a balance of actual, real, two-sided friendship and authentic more-than-friends feelings that grow slowly over time between both parties is a fine line, but Henry manages to walk it like Simone Biles on an Olympic balance beam.

Oh, this BOOK. It is just so damn good.

PEOPLE WE MEET IN VACATION is a super sweet, Friends To Lovers romance that unfolds in present time, as Poppy plans a vacation, and past vacations she took with her best friend, Alex.

The way Emily Henry lats out this story is clever and engaging from start to finish. I loved Poppy and her carefree spirit. Her friendship with buttoned-up, by-the-book Alex is funny and wonderful and so endearing.

We get to see these best friends support each other through the many ups and downs of youth and adulthood. There friendship is deep. Their chemistry is undeniable. And their story is one you will love and remember long after you finish the book.

The author tackles a few hard topics and does so with care and authenticity. I loved this story!

3.5/5 stars
Imagine growing up in such a small town that everyone knows you and when they see you the first thing they think about is that embarrassing thing you did in 8th grade. You'd want to erase that event from everyone's mind, which is impossible (in a rom/com, but in sci/fi? maybe). The next best thing would be to reinvent yourself, which Poppy, our MC, does as she travels the world and meets the locals.

This works for a while to fill that need for community and connections with people, until her professional trips remove her from meeting the locals and opens that void of loneliness. Cue sadness, and her realization that she's madly in love with her best friend.

This story is a love story of opposites attract, reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally, including the love of place (NYC). Closed door romance.

Readers Advisory: For those looking for a cute, easy beach read. Fun, witty banter between MCs.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Don't let the colorful cover & summer setting fool you; this book is full of heart, humor and depth. More importantly, it introduced me to the term 'millennial ennui' which was suddenly like a puzzle piece fitting a hole inside of me I didn't know existed. If you are a millennial, you will relate to this book and these characters viscerally. Bonus points if you have a pet named after a deceased literary figure.

I won't sum up the entire relationship of Poppy & Alex but if you've seen When Harry Met Sally, you get the idea. I lost count of how many times I wanted to shout, "Just kiss each other already!" It was so much fun watching these two as their friendship blossomed and then there's the mystery of trying to put the pieces together as to what incident caused them to grow apart. You will root for them, yell at them (well, Poppy. Mostly you will yell at Poppy), and in these times of COVID-19, get to travel vicariously to Palm Springs, Croatia & Vancouver with them and you couldn't ask for better travel companions.

What a treat this story is. A delightful and engrossing gem of a book that will leave you smiling ear to ear.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC.

Loved it! Great rom com with a real and complicated relationship. I loved the travel aspect of it too! Perfect summer read.

This was wonderful! Even better than Beach Read, which is the pinnacle, in my opinion. Highly recommend, the perfect summer book!

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry follows two best friends, Poppy and Alex, who could not be any more different. Poppy is bubbly and free spirited, Alex is shy and a bit quiet. Yet somehow, they become the best of friends in college. Until one fateful trip to Croatia that pulls them apart, and takes a (hot) trip to Palm Springs two years later to reconcile and deal with the aftermath of their feelings.

Taking place over twelve summers of vacations, mishaps, and emotions, PMWOV tells the story of their friendship, missed connections, and the events that eventually drove them apart in the first place. It is a story about discovering what you really want, and what HOME actually means.

This book had me laughing out loud multiple times, but this is not always a lighthearted, easy read. It is emotional, and a little frustrating as both Poppy and Alex bury their feelings. Fear holds them back from choosing each other, summer after summer, and can’t quite take the final leap of faith to allow themselves to 100% in love.

I really liked this book; I didn’t have the same emotional connection as I did with Beach Read, but it was bingeable and kept a smile on my face. I think Emily Henry is a fantastic writer, and I truly enjoyed both the characters and the plot. Add this to your beach bag ASAP - It is the perfect beach read read for summer 2021.

I adored People We Meet on Vacation!
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I'm a huge fan of slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance and Emily Henry really delivers on this! I loved how the story unfolds with flashbacks to Alex and Poppy's past while building anticipation towards their rift and current situation. ⁣
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Poppy and Alex have amazing chemistry, great banter and sexual tension in spades. Their friendship was so charming and produced plenty of laugh-out-loud and heart melting moments and I couldn’t get enough of these two - I was hooked from the start!⁣
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It was so much fun armchair travelling with Alex and Poppy to glorious destinations and this was just the escape that I needed.⁣
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Huge thanks to Berkley Publishing for providing this eARC for review⁣

Thank you Berkley for the gifted copy of this book.

You guys. I have a new favorite rom com. This book is EVERYTHING I love wrapped up in a book shaped package. Poppy and Alex are the CUTEST, and their banter is totally on point. I loved the writing, the plot, the characters. I loved how Very Fancy is capitalized. I love the little inside jokes that Poppy and Alex have on their trips. And the chemistry between them - wow. It's a bit predictable in that I knew when they talked about what happened in Croatia, it was at least a kiss...but that's okay, because it worked.

This is the perfect read to bring on vacation, to the beach, to read on a rainy day, to brighten your mood. Just read it.

Pardon me while I just totally and completely gush over this book. I didn't think I could love a book the way I loved Beach Read, but oh man, was I wrong.

I LOVED Poppy and Alex!! The friends to lovers trope is one that NEVER gets old. Poppy and Alex have been friends since college, for twelve years. They started a tradition of going on a great summer trip every year. Even when they graduate and live in different parts of the country and even when they are seeing other people, they still maintain the tradition. But two years ago, something happened between them that hurt the friendship terribly and they haven't spoken since that trip. But now, Poppy wants to reignite the friendship so she asks Alex to take another summer trip with her.

The book goes between the present and the current summer to the past and each of their trips and it was awesome seeing their relationship evolve and seeing how their trips evolved and all the different places they visited. I loved getting to know these characters! And the obstacle between them was so realistic and understandable. Poppy loves to travel (so much so that she made it her job) and doesn't ever want to settle down in one place, while Alex really wants the whole marriage and kids thing. I was dying to know how they were going to work through it. And okay, that monologue Poppy gave at the end was AMAZING and made me cry! I loved the book so, so much. I didn't want it to end and yet I couldn't wait to see how their story would unfold. Awesome read!