When do you decide that a 12 year friendship is either over or that you need to take it to the next level? Are you willing to risk that friendship? These are the things that Poppy is internally wrestling with when she asks her life friend, Alex to reignite their summer vacations. He agrees and they take off to Palm Springs for Alex’s brothers wedding and some time together beforehand. Through their initial meeting and their past vacations we learn about their friendship and what each means to each other.

This was a charming novel to read. I liked getting to know Poppy and Alex.

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry was an amazing read. I absolutely love this book and I’m guessing it will be one of my Top Reads for 2021.

After reading Beach Read, I was excited to dive into this one. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It captivating my attention immediately and with each chapter, I was pulled deeper and deeper into the story.

People We Meet on Vacation is a story about two friends who go on a vacation together each summer. Poppy, a travel blogger turned travel journalist and Alex, a literary arts teacher always enjoy each other’s company and have so much fun in their annual vacation. They’re really good friends, but could they be more? They want different things in life. Poppy was to travel and be free, while Alex wants to settle down.

I loved both Poppy and Alex as characters. I admired the personal growth Poppy experienced throughout the novel. And I thought Alex was pretty swoon-worthy.

I also really enjoyed how the story was told with dual timelines, bouncing between past vacations and the present. This narrative style really pulled me in deeper and deeper as the story progressed.

Overall, I thought this book was beautifully written. I loved every second of it beginning to end.

People We Meet on Vacation hooked me immediately. The tone and interplay between Alex and Poppy spoke to me immediately.

This book is friends-to-lovers, second chance, wedding weekend, only one bed, time jump goodness. Poppy had a hellish high school experience and couldn't wait to escape her hometown, becoming a travel writer. Alex was forced into the parent role for his younger siblings and is very serious and practical. With everyone except Poppy, who gets glimpses of who he is underneath the serious layer. We watch their relationship develop from the point of a (non-pandemic) present where they had a falling out two years ago, interspersed with flashbacks from summer vacations past.

I'll admit that, as I was reading, I was wondering if it was more women's fiction than romance. But it takes a strong turn into definitely romance in the last 30%. There's a sick bed scene (well, two actually!) which I always enjoy. I was mildly annoyed by the references to "what happened in Croatia" that kept them apart for two years not being revealed until quite late in the book, but it's not a deal breaker.

Here's the thing: The friendship is so good. Their banter and manner with each other is just wonderful. And as you see the love growing under the friendship, you wonder how these two held out so long.

Very good.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Okay, so I absolutely loved this book—like truly loved it. When I was reading it, my husband walked in and (like usual) asked me how my book was. I just grinned like an idiot at him and said (loudly and rather quickly), “I love it, it’s friends to lovers, but also estranged friends to lovers, and there’s only one bed, and there are time jumps, and I really want to know what happened in Croatia—” At that point, he was giving me a funny look, so I just hid behind the open pages and went, “I just love it, okay?” then promptly went back to reading until way later than an adult who has to wake up for an 8 am job should stay up reading.
People We Meet on Vacation follows Poppy and Alex: two friends who shouldn’t really be the best of friends. After an awkward first meeting at a college freshman orientation, they fade out of each other’s lives until a mutual friend gets them together to carpool back home for the summer. And despite being complete opposites, through banter and a game of “what do you hate,” they develop a friendship that lasts a decade. Poppy and Alex tell each other everything, they joke and make fun of each other, and once a year, they take a summer vacation together no matter where they’re living at the time. Until Croatia two years ago, when everything went south.
Now, Poppy is stuck. She has her dream job in her dream city, but for some reason, she’s miserable, and when she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy, she knows without a doubt that it was on her last vacation with Alex. So, she reaches back out and gets Alex to agree to one more vacation together—one more summer trip to go to his brother’s wedding in California—hoping that maybe she can find what she’s looking for, despite having no idea what it truly is.
From the first page, I was sucked in. The storytelling is captivating, alternating between flashbacks to previous summers and the current summer. Usually, I’m not a big fan of narratives that rely on this time-hopping style, but for this, it absolutely works. The way the flashbacks give a view of how loving their friendship was in the past contrasted against the strain in their friendship now is just haunting and makes you want to keep turning the page to find out where it all went wrong.
And that was my question throughout the whole book: what went wrong? Once I’d gotten that glimpse of their dynamic in the first scene, I was desperate to find out how two people who fit together so well and have a connection that is just pure and raw and full of love could just fall apart. I can’t answer that question without spoiling it, but let me just say that how Emily Henry got to that answer was just beautiful. She really explored the depths of Poppy and Alex’s friendship, looked at the messy bits and the fun bits, and took me on a rollercoaster until I got the whole picture. And while I don’t enjoy physical roller coasters, I loved this one. One moment I was laughing, and the next moment I just wanted to wrap Poppy and Alex up in a blanket to protect them from the world (and sometimes each other).
So, if you’re looking for a book that has witty banter, a beautiful friendship, just the right amount of steamy scenes, and that will give you travel envy, look no further than People We Meet on Vacation. Emily Henry’s writing is gorgeous, and I can’t wait to read her first adult romance Beach Read when I head to the beach this summer.

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley, for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted on www.cozycritiques.com on May 10.

Such a sweet romance! A friends to lovers romance where you learn about the characters through twelve years of summer vacations. It's a fluffy yet satisfying story. I read it in a day. Great book for your beach vacation.

I really enjoyed this book. For a while, I had a hard time rooting for them because Alex seemed like a jerk, but this ended up being explained and making sense later on. I loved the back and forth between past and present, and think it did a great job of explaining the present-day situation.

So I have a confession to make. My name is Janet and I didn’t love Beach Read.

I know, I know. Everyone loved it. It was THE-dare I say it- beach read of the summer. It just didn’t grab me the way it grabbed so many others.

Needless to say, I started reading People We Meet On Vacation with some trepidation. What if again I didn’t love it the way everyone else did, and if so, am I broken inside?

Well, I’m here to say not only did I like People We Meet on Vacation, I LOVED it. I’ll go one further and say it’s my favorite book of the year thus far. But enough about me and how I feel about the book, you’re here because you want to know more about the book itself.

People We Meet on Vacation is the story of the unlikely friendship between Alex and Poppy. Opposites in every way, they form an enviable bond that shouldn’t work, but inexplicably does.

Although they are opposites, one thing they have in common is their desire to travel which they do every year on a shoestring budget. For the rest of the year they live, in large part, separate lives- keeping in touch via text and phone calls.

The book tells their story through rehashes of their past and current vacations. Two years prior their relationship took a hit that the reader doesn’t learn the specifics of til later on on the book. As a result, the present day vacation, and also Alex’s brother’s wedding, serves as a short window to get things right in more ways than one.

I loved Alex and Poppy’s relationship. The back and forth between past and present is a commonly used literary device, but Henry does it so well here. Not only do I feel like I’m getting to know them better with each trip, I’m also invested in the locations they are visiting.

People We Meet on Vacation serves as an example of what happens when a contemporary romance is done right. It also has a TON of laugh out loud moments and sarcastic moments that filled this sarcastic reader’s heart with glee. At this point I feel like I’m fangirling too much, so I’ll just wrap it up by saying this is one book every reader should take on vacation with them.

I'm going to need to come back and write a more thorough review at some point, but right now I have way too many feels lol. I loved the journey this book took me in, and Poppy and Alex were such amazing characters. So well rounded and relatable. I'm so happy for their HEA, but I'm also exceptionally happy that they worked on themselves separately first, and then got to the point where they could feel like they were living a healthier and happier life together.

Wow this book just wow. I absolutely adored this book. From the back and forth in time to the feeling all the feelings. This book was about love and loss and love again. The ways and ways not to do love. The yes and what if’s. There is nothing I love more than the maybe so. I had my heart in this book, the only thing I would have loved a little more was if it was told from two POVs. I would have loved to have Alex’s side of things. I loved the two timelines but I needed more from him. I will continue to get and read Emily Henry’s books because they are so good!!

Emily Henry has once again tricked me into reading an introspective novel under the guise that I would be delivered a romance. And I was delivered a romance, don't get me wrong - a delicious, heart-wrenching romance - but she also handed me Poppy Wright, someone who helped me to realize, at a point in my life where I feel overwhelmingly out of control, that "millennial ennui" is not the individualized experience I've thought it was for the past three years.

So let's break it down.

Poppy and Alex Nilsen are best friends. Or they were. Until one fateful trip to Croatia two years prior to the start of People We Meet on Vacation, the details of which Poppy skirts around for roughly 85% of the book. And then Poppy concocts a trip with Alex to try to understand where they fell off, and whether they can get back to where they were before everything went awry.

Fun times ensue, and we learn more about Poppy, Alex, their relationship, and all of the summer trips they used to take. And slowly, over the course of the book, more about who they are and what they mean to one another is revealed until we're left with the full, raw understanding of it all - that Poppy and Alex were always meant to be more than friends.

Would I recommend People We Meet on Vacation? Without a doubt, absolutely, yes. If I didn't have a full-time job, I would have finished this book in a single day. It was impossible to put down (though I did occasionally have to). All I wanted to know was whether or not everything would work out in the end. If you loved The Hating Game, consider this your next obsession. It's a beautiful friends-to-lovers romance, with a splash of existentialism.

After Beach Read and now , I've officially decided to induct Emily Henry into my Hall of Auto-Buy Authors. Welcome to the gang, Emily.

Review's note: the amount of times I accidentally typed "Poopy" while writing this review is absurd and I'd like to think that would make both Poppy and Alex laugh hysterically. Too many wine, I guess.

When Poppy and Alex meet on a ride share home from their first year of university. They shouldn’t work together, they’re just too different, but somehow they fit. Their friendship grows and every year they promise each other one thing: the Summer Trip. Every summer they’ll spend a vacation together.

So, when they drift apart and two years go by without a Summer Trip, Poppy knows they have to give it another shot. They have one week to fix their friendship, but when the feelings they’ve always had for each other return full-force, will they risk their friendship for something more?

I really loved this. I enjoyed the flashbacks, the friends to lovers. Even the angst was just the right amount of angst. Everyone needs love like Poppy and Alex.

The banter was top-notch. I loved their sense of humour and it really felt like I was part of Poppy and Alex’s friend group with all of their inside jokes. Highly recommend

Alex and Poppy couldn’t be any more different, but what started their friendship was being commuter buddies in college. Their traditional summer trip has been their thing—the thing they look forward to the most. Meeting people. Visiting new places on a budget. Experiencing it together. Until one summer, things got weird, leading them to silence for two whole years. Until Poppy decides on recreating a summer like before just like old times. Will she be able to salvage her long lost friendship?

ALL THE STARS. ALL THE FEELS. I loved this more than Beach Read, and I didn’t even think that was possibly. Henry infused so much life in Poppy’s and Alex’s characters that Poppy’s narration was absolutely perfect. The flip flop between present and past summers were great, and I personally liked that touch the most. The chemistry, the romantic development. Everything was not at all forced, and the feelings behind their actions were so real and relatable. What a fantastic opposites attract, best friends to lovers story!

Poppy and Alex have been friends since college; no matter where life takes them, they always come together for a magical best friends trip in the summertime. And then some unnamed super dramatic thing happens in Croatia (Poppy grows up to be a travel reporter with a corporate credit card) and they fall out of touch for a while. Poppy hatches a grand plan to put together the ultimate summer vacation to get their friendship back on track - romance and hilarity ensues.

.PWMOV has all of the fun, light-hearted summer reading vibes I crave this time of year. Poppy is cute and quirky and hyper-self aware; Alex is smart and moody and snarky (is he my first literary crush?!!?). Together, they are a delightful (ok, and predictable) friends-to-lovers dream. You're going to want to read this at the beach/lake/pool. Don't resist!

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

I adored Beach Read and could not wait to read this one and it did not disappoint. Wish me luck on trying to make this any way coherent.

CW: death of a parent in childbirth (past), grief, bullying (past), anxiety

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f friends to lovers
-opposites attract
-grump/sunshine
-only one bed
-kissing in the rain
-sick/hurt comfort
-sloooooow burrrrn
-so much pining it hurts

This book has wrecked me. Emily Henry is so talented at conveying human emotion in this perfect and relatable way that I wondered at times if she was just articulating thoughts from my own brain and saying them better. This is a book about finding your home, being scared to love, and finding your person and it scaring the crap out of you. Love is messy and Alex and Poppy are two messy people who on paper shouldn't work, but are perfect for each other. I adored their banter, their playfulness, how they just got the other one and gave the other person the room to just be themselves.

Poppy was chaotic and wonderful. A free-falling escapist I loved her internal monologue and she was a wonderful narrator. Sometimes I wanted to just give her a hug. But Alex, ooomph. Sweet, tall, jacked Alex. Secretly pinning, putting himself out there in subtle ways and just always stepping up for Poppy in the ways she needed. Honestly, where is this man I will marry him tomorrow.

I adored the flashbacks, everything was drawn out with the right amount of ughh you know it's coming and these sweet idiots how do they not see it. This is a love letter to friendship, home, travel, and just finding your place in this world and your person. Sit down, curl up with a blanket and just prepare yourself for the ride.

Rating: 5
Steam: 3

One of the books I was most excited to read this year and it did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed Beach Read last year and was so excited to get this ARC to review. I am a sucker for friends turning into something else... stories. Very reminiscent of one of my favorite movies You’ve Got Mail. I also got a kick out of the travel stories. Since international travel is on hold for the time being- I loved getting a vicarious look at some of these wonderful travel stories and hearing about locations I hope to visit or revisit. Great dialogue and chemistry. I felt so connected to these characters. Plowed through this one quickly because it was so enjoyable. Will be a huge hit this summer.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Five Star Read!! I loved everything about this book.

The characters are complex and relatable. They are true opposites. Poppy is a wild free-spirit from a loving family. Alex is a conservative, strong and silent type. His family is broken because they lost his mother at a young age.

I loved this book not only for the characters, but also their hilarious banter and one-liners. Poppy and Alex ooze chemistry. But it is a mystery why after 10 years of friendship and travel, they haven’t taken their relationship further than friendship.

I really liked the way the story was laid out, told in chapters featuring each of their vacations alternating with present day. The reader knows something big happened on one of the trips that changed their relationship, but it is a mystery as to what it could be. As the story unfolded I fell more in love with Alex and Poppy.

I encourage you to pick up this romantic comedy that is much more than a basic romcom.

Poppy and Alex. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since. Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees. Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong? review: Last year I read Beach Read and had mixed feelings on it, but decided to give Emily Henry’s newest book a shot! I can say that without a doubt I liked this one a lot more than Beach Read! I really enjoyed getting to know Poppy and Alex. They are both complex characters and are at crossroads in their lives where they are vulnerable. Their vulnerability and imperfections paired with their banter made this friends to lovers trope even more enjoyable to me as we got to know them and their relationship with one another. I do wish we had gotten more of their relationship in the book though. It was endearing at first that they were skirting around telling each other how they felt, but it got a bit old the further into the book it went! That said, my other gripe is with the way she titles her books. Beach Read had nothing to do with the beach and this book really didn’t make sense until the last 20 pages! I had a few people share the same sentiment with me when I chatted about it on instagram! If you’re looking for a book to add to your spring list, give this one a shot. rating: 3.5 out of 5 ⭐️

This was fun and sweet. I liked the on/off relationship and the focus on travel. I felt the slow burn of the friendship turned romance!

I loved this book. I'm in the middle of finals week, and I still couldn't put it down! It was just what I needed. This romance is exactly what you expect after reading the blurbs and first few chapters, yet it's also so much more. Henry created really complex, interesting characters in Alex and Poppy - something that most in this genre lack.

Although I knew where the plot was headed, I was really drawn into the unique history and personalities of the characters. I felt like they were real people. Often when I read romances, I think of how cheesy it is that the two individuals could fall in love so easily and quickly, but Henry painted a picture of a deep knowledge of the other person through a shared history. It felt true.

I'll be buying this for the library and recommending it as a perfect summer read - light, but with surprising depth.

HJ Recommended Read!

Be ready to be swept away to locations across the globe and to root on an opposites-attract couple who start as the best of friends--and who become so very much more--in Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation.

I had a whole lot of fun reading Emily Henry's latest novel. It bounced back and forth between the present day, with Poppy and Alex having not seen or talked to each other for about two years, to flashback chapters starting with how they met at college twelve years ago and worked its way forward from there. I got a little lost in the timeline a couple of times and had to backtrack to the beginning of the chapter. But overall I enjoyed the way Emily Henry showed the tension and attraction between Alex and Poppy that built oh so slowly over the years. And I think it's something that was realistic. They didn't want to ruin the friendship that meant everything to them. So of course neither wanted to act on it. Instead, they ignored their chemistry and kept it as platonic as possible.

Poppy and Alex were truly opposites in almost every way, so their conversations were ridiculously fun. That is one of the areas in which Emily Henry always shines, in my humble opinion, with the dialogue she creates. Poppy was outspoken and loved to wear clothes as colorful as her namesake. She grew up in a lively household, the youngest who always felt like she didn't belong at school. Alex was a rather introverted, very studious and intelligent man--a beta hero, swoon!--who was the eldest sibling that kept the family running. But somehow Poppy and Alex balanced each other out. There was always something to debate or talk about considering their differing opinions and experiences which was highly entertaining.

I do have to admit, though, that up until about the last quarter of the book, I wasn't wholly rooting for Poppy. I liked her. It's just that she came across as a wee bit on the selfish side. Like she wanted Alex to constantly be there for her and talk about her personal/professional problems but she didn't always seem to support him. Once their entire history was laid out for us and Poppy had some epiphanies, it was much easier to cheer her and Alex on.

People We Meet on Vacation will be a wonderfully quirky beach read for romance fans. With its slow burn, friends to lovers storyline and hilarious characters you'll want to hang out with, Emily Henry charmed me all over again with her witty writing voice.