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People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

This book was so lovely and gave me the biggest wanderlust. I loved exploring the world with Alex and Poppy in this slow burn friends to lovers troupe. I loved the quirkiness of their adventures- seeking out dive bars, used bookstores, and interesting people on their annual “summer trip.” I imagine we’ve all been feeling a little restless since the quarantine- this book was an easy cure for me!

Alex and Poppy meet their freshman year at the University of Chicago and have such a realistic friendship- easy banter and affection but also real fears, insecurities, and past traumas that keep them from being honest in their feelings for each other (can you tell I’m a social worker?! 😂).

While I adored this quirky romance, I did find myself saying “why aren’t they just together already?!” about 50 times while reading. The ‘will they won’t they’ was beginning to drive me crazy toward the end.

Please read this book to give yourself a fun getaway of two cute adventurers who get their big happy ending.

4.5/5 stars

I loved this book! People We Meet On Vacation is a contemporary romance/romantic comedy that will make you both laugh and cry.

The narrator is 30 year old Poppy (1st person POV). She is a travel journalist who lives in New York City. She works at one of the top travel magazines.

Poppy met Alex when she was in college. And every Summer they take a trip together.

The book alternates between the past and the present. The present is the main time period. But we get to go back to previous vacations to see how Poppy and Alex ended up where they are now. The past storyline is mostly told from 12 Summers ago moving forward year by year.

I loved this book right from the first chapter. I really liked Poppy's job and her friends. And I was super curious to find out more about the past vacations. Also we find out that something major happened during their last vacation. And I was dying to find out exactly what that was all about.

We don't get Alex's POV. So throughout the book I had no idea what he was thinking or feeling. This definitely added to the drama. I don't normally like past/present storylines. But the past vacations were really interesting.

I really felt like I got to know these two characters over the course of this book. It was amazing to get to know them simply through their vacations. It was definitely an interesting way to tell a story.

The book had some surprises for me. There were definitely things that I was not expecting.

Overall, this story was heartbreaking and emotional and I loved it so much!

A sweet and sentimental romance with so much heart and humor. This is one of those books that I wanted to devour whole, but also wanted to savor because I didn’t want it to end.

Emily Henry has once again written a love story full of amazing banter and great characters that come alive in the book. People We Meet on Vacation has a great friends to lovers trope, and an achingly slow burn romance with a great payoff.

Not to mention it is a love letter to travel and as I have basically been stuck at home for a year, the wanderlust is real. Every place they went felt amazing and magical. But it was so much more than where, it was also about who you are with. Because this book is really about finding your person.

I absolutely loved this book. It was funny, sweet, romantic and so incredibly readable. The perfect summer read if you are looking for a book to take to the beach or on vacation. Or even if you are staying home, pick this up and fall in love.

When I finished reading People We Meet on Vacation, all I could think is... I think I might have just read my favorite book of the year. Emily Henry wrote one of my favorite books of 2020, 'Beach Read', so I was a bit nervous about going into this one. I mean, what are the odds that she could do it again? Well, she did. I loved this just as much as 'Beach Read'.

Poppy and Alex meet their freshman year of college and become the most unlikely of friends. These two couldn't be more different. Alex is straight-laced, has plans to finish college, move home and eventually marry and start a family. Poppy is a bit of a free spirit, and wants to spend her years traveling the world. When they find out they're from the same town in Ohio and drive home together for summer break, they plan a trip together.

This summer trip turns into an annual thing and every year, no matter where they are in their lives, they take this trip together. This book is told in the present, but also goes back to many of those trips. This is one of the best friends to lovers/opposites attract books I've ever read. These two have such a connection, but the problem is, no matter how much these two care for each other, they both want a different things. Things that aren't necessarily easy to compromise on.

What I loved about this book most is that as different as Poppy and Alex were, they both felt so relatable to me in different ways. Poppy was such a fun character and I loved watching her grow and find out what she wanted from her life. And Alex... buttery, warm, and perfect Alex. I couldn't have loved these two and their journey more.

And fun but random fact... these two are from a town in Ohio called 'Linfield' (which doesn't exist) but is about 40 minutes north of Cincinnati. I live in a town called Fairfield, 35 minutes north of Cincinnati and the next town north of me is Lindenwald. Put those two together and you get 'Linfield'... coincidence, I think not LOL.

Emily Henry writes some of the best romances out there. She is solidifying herself as one of my favorite authors with each new book she writes. The People We Meet on Vacation is such a special book. It's a story of friendship, family, love, and finding yourself and what you really want out of life. It was swoony, made me smile, and made me feel so much. I loved it to pieces and can't recommend it enough!

Slow burn romance full of snarky humor, opposites attract friendship, and a trope of mutual pining that has to deal with a single bed?! UMMM YESSS PLEASE! This was an immediate winner! I absolutely adored Poppy and Alex, the way their personalities contradicted but equally complimented each other was a shot full of love right to my heart! I loved getting the flashbacks of their previous vacations together that showed how their precious relationship blossomed. Their struggles were raw and relatable and hit home a couple times, but that just made it all that much more amazing because it felt true and that just made me love it even more!

Henry knocks this book out Of book field. In People We Meet on Vacation Poppy and Alex have been friends for years. An estrangement has cooled that relationship until Poppy reaches out and they share one more vacation. The relaxing trip turns out to be anything but and they realize quite a bit avoid each other. I do adore these best friends-denying their true feelings for each other plots. I loved that Alex would go to a bar and read a book on his phone. I like that Poppy has traveled widely. I did think that it was a bit extreme and odd for Alex,to have done something that he confesses to Poppy, although he wants kids. There were ,any tender moments in the book so showing emotion is no trouble. Why meet new people in vacation when you’re traveling with you’re favorite already?

4.5 / 5

After falling in love with Henry’s Beach Read, I’m so thankful for @berkleypub and @netgalley allowing me to read People We Meet on Vacation. Emily Henry is fast becoming one of my favorite rom-com authors. She writes couples that instantly grab your heart with fresh dialogue and a perfect balance of humor and heartache.

Poppy and Alex met in college. They couldn’t be more different, but that’s what made them such good friends. That’s right, friends. After college, Poppy, now a travel writer in New York, and Alex, a teacher in small-town Ohio, both make time for one fabulous vacation together each year.

The story flashes back over the vacations Poppy and Alex have been on, all the interesting people they’ve met, and all the feelings left unsaid. Then something happens, and these friends barely speak for two years. Poppy, desperate to make things right, reaches out to Alex, suggesting one more vacation.

A delightful friends- to- lovers, opposites attract story that will be available May 11, 2021.

I don't know how Emily Henry has managed it with two books in a row. Beach Read was one of my favorite books of 2020 and I did not think there was any way her follow up could possibly compete. In fact there is a chance that I love this one more but I love them both so much that it hardly matters. There is so much to adore about this friends to lovers tale with two best friends who are almost complete opposites and only get see each other for an annual trip. A slow burn romance with characters who deeply care about each other, travel, and writing that will have you snort laughing one minute and trying not to cry the next. At one point in reading this book I set my ereader aside and literally said aloud,"Oh the swoon!" Looks like Emily Henry will make my Best Of list two years in a row,

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book exceeded my expectations, which is saying a lot because the hype is so strong! I liked Beach Read but I loved People We Meet On Vacation and all of the characters. Poppy and Alex are so funny, like I wish I were as funny as Poppy, and I loved everything about their banter. I read this one slowly but felt like I was really savoring it. The vibe reminded me a little of The Vacationers, which I also love, but this one had more depth and character development. This is one I’ll definitely reread! A summer beach bag essential.

This book fulfils a specific niche in my heart--the all-too competent, gifted, sad, modest guy who's been friends with the bubbly, spontaneous, genuine gal for years until both of them do something that will affect their friendship moving forward.

Fortunately, Henry's book isn't as angsty as I'm making it sound. There's some depth to the story as she explicates the relationship between Alex and Poppy; the flashbacks to their various vacations together aren't detours to the past but, rather, function to flesh out the present. I was so invested in their story, in their relationship, that I devoured this--other than sleeping, reading, and working, it feels like I haven't stopped reading this.

Lukewarm on Beach Read? That's okay; this one might be more your speed (as it was for me).

I thought this book was good! I had a bit of a hard time with the alternating timelines and felt like their hook-up could have been revealed to the reading earlier on to build more tension. I enjoyed both main characters and felt that they were fully developed. All in all, a good read and one I'll be recommending to people who love travel and enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope!

This is a sweet, funny, friends-to-lovers romance. The story takes place across two timelines, with the contemporary story alternating with chapters showing the development of the friendship between Poppy and Alex over many years. I really liked getting to see the way this friendship evolved over time, and I enjoyed the many, many holidays they took together, especially the supremely awful ones. It satisfied some of my current pent up wanderlust!
Unfortunately, the last section of the book didn't quite work for me - the black moment and the journey back from it both felt slightly off for me emotionally. I liked where they ended up, but I wasn't quite sure about the last little leg of how they got there.
I also sometimes felt as though Poppy's teasing teetered on the edge of being cruel, and that the stories she made up with Alex were not entirely kind to those around them.
Having said that, I really did like the central relationship a lot. I also liked the thoughtful way in which this story looks at friendship and romantic love and what falling in love actually means. And I think this really is the ultimate friends-to-lovers romance, so if that's your jam, I think you'll enjoy this a lot.

Emily Henry is still my hero.

You know that fear you have after loving a book so much that the next one won’t be quite as good? Emily Henry isn’t an author you need to worry about for that. Beach Read was one of my favorite books last summer so I was very excited for People We Meet on Vacation.

This friends to lovers trope alternates timelines for the last ten+ years as Alex and Poppy get to know each other. I usually don’t love the missed chances or drawn out stories, but this one was so so good.

I loved Poppy’s quirky and funny character, and how she could still get serious and introspective. Alex was such a good balance with Poppy that it felt like the story clicked into place.

Poppy and Alex couldn’t be more different. She wears floral jumpsuits; he wears khakis. She’s a travel writer; he’s a teacher in their small hometown. But ever since a fateful car share home from college after their freshman year (a la When Harry Met Sally), they are the best of friends. But despite their closeness, taking their relationship to something more is nowhere on their radar. Until it very much is. This book alternates between their yearly summer trips and present day, where Poppy plans one last summer trip as a last ditch effort to fix their friendship, which was ruined during their last trip to Croatia. Can she pull of the ultimate vacation and get their relationship back on track?

I think I’m one of the 5 people left who hasn’t read Emily Henry’s Beach Read, and boy what am I thinking? I LOVED this book. Emily’s writing is just incredible and 100% relatable. It’s funny, it’s heartfelt, its cultural references are on point. I also thought her characters were so *real*. Poppy and Alex’s friendship was perfection; from their inside jokes to their adventures together to the hard times when they were always there for each other. And while their journey from friends to lovers was obvious from the beginning (who else loves a friends to lovers book?🙋🏻‍♀️), I still, obviously, enjoyed every single page of it.

I said this with Beach Read, but it feels equally if not moreso appropriate to say it here too: Emily Henry writes the achiest romances I’ve ever read, but achey in a good way, the kind where you feel all the longing and pining that exists between two people (sometimes without them even realizing it themselves) and it’s impossible to picture anything but a HEA happening because if there isn’t one you’ll be DEVASTATED. I personally loved the jumping around with timelines; I felt it was a great way to learn the history and significance of Poppy and Alex’s relationship while they worked to try and piece back together what they used to have — only to realize the new thing was just as good if not better. Fabulous, fabulous romance that will make you long for vacations and trips but also the significance of travel with loved ones and memories that can be carved out from the biggest hardships and unlikeliest places.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 beautiful stars for this escapist romance read!

Although this one definitely felt more light hearted and "rom-comy" than Beach Read, I still just love the writing style of Emily Henry and her likeable/relatable characters she portrays. The traveling aspect of this one was a major plus and taking this one on my actual vacation to read was just perfection. Even though I was just on a lake for my vacation, Henry transported me around the world with Poppy and Alex. It was so fun to experience the memories of their past trips and the drama of the new trip they were embarking on together.

All in all I can't recommend this book enough to take with you on vacation or just to read for a little escape from home! Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for my e-arc and I have purchased my own copy and will most likely always auto-buy Emily Henry's books from now on!

This was such an amazing book! Simply a perfect rom-com!!! Poppy and Alex meet in college. Both really think their first meeting was enough but life truly doesn't work that way. Over the years, they become best friends and each year take a vacation to exotic places just the two of them. One year the vacation in Croatia, something happens and they don't speak for 2 years. When Poppy feels like she is in a rut and just truly unhappy she thinks back to when she was truly happy, being with Alex. She starts texting him and they continue talking and Poppy asks Alex to go on another vacation with her. Can Poppy and Alex figure out what makes them happy is each other and make things work? I laughed and I cried. This book has everything- humor, emotional real feelings, and absolutely real and amazing characters. I just finished reading the book last night and I already miss Poppy and Alex! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review People We Meet on Vacation. This book was everything I'd hoped for after Beach Read.

WOW. This was AMAZING! All I want to do is scream about this book from the rooftops because I loved it. This is a story about friendship, love, travel, all the good things and I cannot recommend it enough. I'll start by saying I'm not a big friends-to-lovers trope person just because I tend to think they were better off as friends or the relationship misses something or the transition from friends to more is not quite romantic, but this book took all that and threw it down the drain. This was the perfect friends-to-lovers book and one of my new favorite books of the year. The character development was similarly incredible, Poppy and Alex were both so realistic and lovable and I think in part it's because we kinda grow up with them over the past summer vacations. Speaking of which, typically flashbacks like the ones in this book aren't my favorite and I don't understand why they're necessary, but again, this book blew it out of the water and I enjoyed the flashbacks just as much as the present-day story. Wow, just wow, I'm in love.

Just finished reading People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry and I have to say that I absolutely loved the story of Poppy and Alex. I loved how the story built up over the years with the time shifting back and forth from the present to the past. Of course, I was rooting for the both of them the whole time. I'm always a sucker for books with a HEA. Cute, romantic story and I would definitely read more from Emily Henry!!