This book is my favorite read of 2021 so far! I had so many emotions! I woke my husband up laughing around 11 pm and then around. 1 am he woke to find me in tears. Such a sweet story with characters I fell in love with right away from page 1. My heart felt like it was busting wide open when I closed the book. I read this over a 2 day period and that’s only because I had to go to work or else I would have finished in one sitting. I made the mistake of starting this late at night and could not stop myself from saying, “one more chapter”, over and over. I am an official fan of Emily Henry now and will read everything she writes!

There’s no question I’m a huge Emily Henry fan and People We Meet on Vacation did not disappoint.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how hard it must be for authors who have huge first books (not that Beach Read was a first, but it was Henry’s first adult book). The expectations for the second book are so high, and I imagine it must be impossible to meet all of them. So I’ll say up front that this is not Beach Read the sequel. It is, however, just as beautifully written with the same deft hand building amazing chemistry between the two main characters.

Poppy and Alex meet in college and their first impressions of each other aren’t great. But when her roommate says she has a friend who wants to do a ride share home over break, Poppy and Alex end up together again and forge a friendship built on witty repartee and the way their differences sort of complete each other. They go on vacation together every year, until one year something happens.

The story is told in flashbacks. The current timeline is when the friends are estranged and Poppy, a New York travel writer who’s feeling lost in her life, reaches out to Alex, a teacher back in their small hometown, to suggest they take a trip. The chapters alternate between now and previous vacations.

In some ways, this is a quieter book than Beach Read. There’s the mystery of what happened between them—but it’s not exactly a jaw dropping reveal. But there’s something magical about both characters, and the way Henry builds their backstory leaves you with these really complete pictures of two people I would love to meet on vacation. I loved watching buttoned up Alex open up for Poppy and I loved carefree Poppy try to be more careful with her best friend.

The author’s note mentions When Harry Met Sally was an inspiration and I completely see that in the very best way. This story is all about conversations between friends and history and the sum of these shared experiences adding up to so much more than the individual moments.

I loved this book, and for optimal enjoyment, I recommend going in without too many expectations.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry was an unexpected, but welcome delight! I wasn’t a big fan of last years hit Beach Read but adored The Love That Split the World so I wasn’t sure what I would feel for this one. It was unique, fresh, and rewarding. Alex and Poppy were such sweet, real, relatable characters and I adored them both. This deeply romantic books hit all the marks for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Last year I read and reviewed Emily Henry's Beach Reach (see my review here)and I loved it so much! I basically have been anticipating her next book since I read (and reread) that one so when I got a chance to be on the blog tour I hoped on that. 

PLOT: Poppy and Alex have been best friends since college. Life has taken them to different places, but every summer they take a trip together and it is the highlight of their year. However, two years ago something happened while on their trip and they have barely spoken since. After facing some burnout at work and remembering the nostalgic for the Poppy and Alex they used to be, she suggests they take another trip. Alex agrees and suddenly they are going to Palm Springs together.

I was hesitant about this one. I knew I loved Beach Read, but I went into that with super low expectations and then it became one of my top reads of 2020. I also knew this had flashbacks to their past vacations and was a friends to lovers romance, both of which are not my jam. But, I should’ve had more faith in Ms. Emily Henry because I READ THIS IN ONE SITTING AND LOVED IT SO MUCH.

I’ll be honest I’m not sure how I can put into words how much I loved this book. It spoke to me on so many levels. From the inability you have to controlling the future to how I see traveling and experiencing other places, it just hit me right in the feels.

WHAT I LOVED

First of all this book is FUNNY

Poppy is hilarious and some of the dialogue had me literally cackling

Her sense of humor doesn’t work for everyone in the book and I don't think it will work for all readers, but I loved it so much. 

They go to Palm Springs and I was there like two years ago so a lot of the places they go I’ve been or I’ve heard about

The way that Palm Springs just makes me think of La Quinta (Bachelorette Fans you know what’s up)

All the side characters totally stand out and on their own. Sometimes characters blend together, but not here!! I loved Rachel and Poppy’s mom

The Midwest vibes though!!

How the flashbacks only showed us what we needed to see. I am not a fan when flashbacks are super long and unnecessary, but here they are mostly short and only show the important parts.

I really liked the road trip part in the one of the flashbacks where they met. It was adorable and you can see the roots forming of who Poppy and Alex are going to be as friends. 

Alex!! I could relate to him so much and I just loved seeing an anxious person who wants to be in control of everything try to control his life.

Poppy! What a fun narrator! She is chaotic and a mess at times, but gosh I loved her humor and seeing the story through her eyes.

This novel made me want to travel again.

I will admit I am not the biggest fan of friends to lovers, but I really loved it here. For their journey to work and be as impactful as it was they had to be friends first and it really worked for me here. 

All the random people they meet. I mean it is called "People we meet on vacation" but this novel really focuses on that. 

WHAT I DID NOT LOVE
Their car doesn’t have AC and legit you will die if this is the case. My mom’s garage door remote MELTED once when we went to Palm Springs. Not that they drive a lot and this is a super petty thing, but STILL. 

Their reason for not getting together earlier seems dumb, but whatever I will let it slide. 


5/5 stars



*thanks to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Highly anticipated and worth the wait! Fantastic, five star romance. Friends to lovers, themes of drifting apart and reconciliation that is believable and relatable. Poppy and Alex have such great chemistry with their friendship and their eventual romance.  Well written and engaging. Perfect read for summer

At the outset of this story, Poppy and Alex seem like total opposites although they have been best friends since college because they are from the same small Ohio town and began sharing rides home. Poppy has moved on to bright lights and big city living in New York. Traveling has always been her catnip and so being paid by a high profile, lux life travel magazine to do just that and write about it seemed like her ultimate dream job. Every summer Poppy took Alex on a fabulous trip paid for by the company’s travel account. Their annual summer trips started when they were in college living on student odd jobs income so those trips were on a shoestring budget. Poppy and Alex always had great fun exploring new places with some quirky characters in the mix.

Two years ago, Poppy and Alex had a falling out and have not spoken since their last trip. Besides missing her best friend who is perhaps in reality something more, Poppy is desperately unhappy because everything she thought was essential for success, which she attained, has fallen flat. In finally reconnecting with Alex and convincing him to take another summer trip, Poppy hopes to find the magic she lost as well as the man who has always been there for her.

Alex’s life is the opposite of Poppy’s glam one; he teaches High School English in the same small town where they grew up surrounded by family as working with his ex-girlfriend. Poppy had such an odious experience in school that she never wants to live there again despite loving her oddball, loud, and raucous parents. Since her boss is not on board with this trip, Poppy recreates their early experiences of low budget travel with Alex connected to his brother’s wedding celebration in Palm Springs. Poppy is keeping more than a few secrets from Alex about this trip and her life. Alex is also less than forthcoming about his feelings on their many years long relationship.

Told in tandem of the trips past and with Poppy and Alex’s present one, this story develops slowly showing their dynamics of their previous travels together, and the ties that have bound them for twelve years. Poppy and Alex both have some serious self-esteem issues relating in part to their families who also ground them at the same time causing something of a dichotomy of emotions. Ms. Henry’s writing is always quite witty and often entertaining. The slow burn romance in this Women’s Fiction drags at times as well as the frustration level with the main characters who seem all but blind to their true feelings or at least, in big time denial. The multiplicity of flashbacks bogs the book down in places, but overall, it is an enjoyable read.

This book took me by surprise! It was one of those unputdownable books that I didn't want to stop reading to work/sleep/do real world things. I absolutely loved Poppy and Alex and thought they were super cute!! This book also really made me want to travel again. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a light, cute beach read.

I couldn’t help feeling smitten by this romance because it begins just as my sweetheart and I did, with friendship. When Poppy and Alex meet at a freshman mixer at the University of Chicago, she’s wearing a neon orange and pink floral jumpsuit, he’s dressed in khakis, and it’s immediately clear they have nothing in common except for growing up in neighboring small towns in Ohio. They don’t run into each other again till Alex turns out to be Poppy’s ride home for summer vacation, and on the long drive they confirm how truly different they are but have so much fun talking to each other they become friends and eventually best friends. Even when they land in different cities after college, even when they’re in relationships with other people, the highlight of the year for each of them is the Summer Trip they take together.

But at the beginning of the novel, told in the first person by ebullient, funny Poppy, she and Alex haven’t spoken in two years, and she misses him so much she convinces him to take another Summer Trip. Alex’s brother is getting married in Palm Springs, and though Poppy, who has become a successful travel writer, can’t convince her boss that a desert vacation in the middle of the summer would make a great feature, she meets him there determined to repair the rift between them. This story line is interspersed with chapters about all their previous Summer Trips and a growing attraction that Poppy does her best to ignore and tamp down because she knows they’re too different to make a romance work. Alex wants marriage and kids and a home, and she wants the freedom to take spontaneous trips, meet new people, and maybe never settle down. Can she save their friendship is by keeping it platonic?

What I loved about this novel is that it’s both sexy and deeply romantic, and it doesn’t hurt that Emily Henry brings Poppy and Alex to life with vivid, witty writing. Thanks to #netgalley for the complimentary e-galley, this is the summer read I’ll be recommending to all my friends!

Emily Henry's "Beach Read" was one of my absolute favorite books last year so I was so excited to read her new book, "People We Meet on Vacation," and although I did enjoy it as a breezy, fun read, it did not live up to my too high expectations.
The story follows two long-time best friends, Poppy and Alex, and jumps back and forth between their present day annual summer trip and past summer trips. I love a friends-to-loves and will-they-won't-they set up and Emily Henry does a great job building the tension between these two mismatched best friends. I had trouble liking or related to either character, which is why I think the book fell a little flat for me, whereas I adored January and Gus, the two main characters in "Beach Read."
Poppy is a travel writer and I liked reading about her trips and her deep love of these experiences: "I'm on vacation. Vacations always end. It's the very fact that it's finite that makes traveling special. You could move to any one of those destinations you loved in small doses, and it wouldn't be the spellbinding, life-altering seven days you spend there as a guest, letting a place into your heart fully, letting it change you."
Emily Henry's writing is sharp, funny, and insightful and I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoyed "Beach Read" (just don't go in with too high expectations like me). Readers who liked "One Day In December" by Josie Silver and "In Five Years" by Rebecca Serle will also enjoy "People We Meet on Vacation."

I looooved Beach Read and I've been dying to get my hands on this, so I ended up with two copies (one from the publisher and one from BOTM) - best case scenario! A few spicy scenes, lots of solid character development, and enough will-they-won't-they to keep me invested. It's not often that I love an author's second book as much as whatever I pick up first from them, so I felt a real breath of relief at how happy this one made me!

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the gifted book! {partner}

Genre: Romance
Trope: Friends to Lovers
Pub Date: 5.11.21
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5

“This is what I want for the rest of my life. To see new places. To meet new people. To try new things. I don’t feel lost or out of place here.. I’m anchored only to this moment.”

I don’t know about y’all but, this girl hasn’t been on a vacation in almost TWO years. So, reading a book about a globe-trotting-magazine-writer was just what I needed... to make me want to travel even more than I already do.

Beach Read by Emily Henry was hands down one of my favorite books of 2020 and People We Meet on Vacation is my favorite friends to lovers story. It was perfect!

Henry's way of writing this story kept my attention. As the author regaled us with what Alex and Poppy were currently doing, Henry also snuck in chapters featuring the vacations that the couple took over the last 10 years. Beginning with their very first adventure and showing the progression of how Poppy got her start and, also, how Alex and Poppy's friendship fizzled out.

I loved watching how each character fell in love with the other. It wasn't just one major moment but an accumulation of moments over time and, like so many romances, it didn't happen for both characters at the same time. It was the tried and true, 'will they? won't they?' that keeps the romance reader hooked.

Again, I haven't had a vacation in almost two years and I feel that ache to travel in my bones. I love my house but I need to see other parts of the world. While Poppy and Alex did travel to several epic destinations, none was quite as fun to follow as their trip to New Orleans.

My only complaint is that I think some sections could've been cut. Don't get me wrong, I loved the book but some parts were just a little too much for me. But, honestly? That's my only complaint!

To end on a high note. Because this is a romance, I don't feel as if I'm giving anything away when I say that the steamy moments between Poppy and Alex were perfect. Although I could've had a few more... Henry has a way of drawing the reader into the build-up between the fictional couple and making it feel real so that when the two finally come together... fireworks!

If you’re looking for the perfect summer read then this is the book for you! Make sure to grab yourself a copy when it’s published or make it your Book of the Month add-on.

Last year Emily Henry’s release adult targeted book, Beach Read, was a favorite summer read for me and you can see my review for it HERE. Written in a similar style People We Meet on Vacation is more optimistic than it’s predecessor Beach Read which while it was a contemporary romance, it dived into some darker territory.

In People We Meet on Vacation, Poppy and Alex have been friends since college. Though they’ve drifted apart they still take an annual summer vacation together, just the two of them. Except they haven’t taken a trip in two years, after their last trip left them needed space. But Poppy is missing her best friend and hopes this next trip will bring them back together.

Told between both present and past summer vacations, we get a sense of how their vacations started and eventually reveal what happened two summers ago to halt their friendship. I really enjoyed the alternating timeline since it provided quite a bit of character development. I also love traveling so it was fun to get to see where they went and what they did while on vacation.

Through out the story Poppy is basically suffering through her quarter of a life crisis, which let’s be real, we’ve all been there. The realistic thoughts she has about where she is career wise, and the hard choices she has to make on a professional level resonated with me, since I was in that exact same both a year or two ago.

I binged this book in a night, and the only negative thing I have to say is that I wish Poppy and Alex had just communicated with each other and this would have all been avoided. But then we also wouldn’t have such a quirky, funny, and lovable read!

Last year I gave Beach Read ★★★★ , and I loved this one so much more! I hope that all of Henry’s books keep getting better and highly recommend this read for anyone suffering through their own quarter of a century life crisis, if you enjoy contemporary romances, or need the perfect book to read while on your own vacation!


People We Meet on Vacation comes out May 11, 2021. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

You know that feeling when you get back from a trip and you're so happy to be home, in your own space with your people? This is a book about that feeling.

Poppy and Alex meet during freshman orientation and soon discover they're from the same small town. They have nothing in common and don't see each other again until they share a ride back home for the summer. They form a bond that holds even as life takes them in seemingly opposite directions, and once a year each summer they take a trip together. Until two years ago when they have a falling out. Poppy finds herself with a bout of "millennial enui" and realizes that the times she has been truly happy are during her summer trips with Alex. So she goes about trying to convince him to take one more trip to see if their friendship can be salvaged.

People We Meet on Vacation is told from Poppy's point of view, and goes back and forth between the current timeline and each of her ten summer trips with Alex. The narrative is so rich - within the same chapter, I was laughing out loud and wiping tears from my eyes because these characters are so well developed. Their friendship is the solid through-line of this book (and of their lives), and we see Poppy questioning whether it's worth putting everything on the line to be honest about how her feelings for Alex have evolved over the course of their summer trips.

This book is so sweet. It made me feel both that I was tagging along on Alex and Poppy's vacations and feeling the relief of coming home. I adored that each of their extended families play such a role in this story - it makes everything more layered and nuanced as we get to know both main characters. The romantic element added so much to the story, particularly for anyone with their own "friends to lovers" story (guilty as charged!).

Thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

I was really looking forward to this considering how much I loved Beach Read, and it didn't disappoint! It was wonderfully romantic, with great banter which was often laugh out loud funny. I loved both Poppy and Alex and really enjoyed seeing the buildup and backstory through the flashbacks (although I was hoping for something a bit more unpredictable to have happened in Croatia, especially considering the mysterious treatment it got within the narrative). The supporting characters were also excellently rendered - even the exes, or those who made brief appearances - and I loved the mini travelogues that came with the different sections. The resolution came a bit late in the game and felt just the tiniest bit rushed or convenient to me, but it did hone in on some of the more tender parts of the characters and narrative in a real and melancholy way. Overall a lovely read, and definitely one for fans of Beach Read, or Rainbow Rowell's Attachments.

Emily Henry’s sophomore release is RIDICULOUSLY good. I finished it in a single day because I could barely stand to put it down. It’s a romance and a travelogue too, but it’s so much more than those genres imply. People We Meet On Vacation is a wise and insightful exploration of life and love. It doesn’t shy away from the hard parts of life. It captures with aching precision how loneliness can dog our heels and how past pain can stay with us long after it first left its mark upon us. This book left me laughing, moved me nearly to tears, and left me in awe of love in its many beautiful forms.

Do you ever read a book & just know in your bones that you're going to have withdrawals after finishing it? That was "People We Meet on Vacation" for me. I couldn't love this book more if I tried & Emily Henry has literally crafted the most perfect example of opposites attract in Poppy & Alex.

I love a story that is filled with witty banter, humorous dialogue and chemistry that goes well-beyond rip-you-clothes-off-right-this-instant kind of lust. With the storyline alternating between present-day & flashes of vacations in the past, you can't help but root for Alex & Poppy to finally end up together. Honestly, I found myself saying "IF THEY DON'T KISS SOON, I'M GONNA LOSE IT."

Also...who doesn't love the tension sharing one bed creates. These writers know what the hell they are doing & I'm here for it!

I cannot recommend this book enough....basically I just think everything Emily Henry touches turns to gold & she can do no wrong!

LIKES: I LOVE EMILY HENRY. now that that’s out of the way lol, PWMOV is such a great follow up to beach read! I loved that EH kept the witty and relatable yet deep tone readers know and love, while still managing to create both a fresh romance plot and likable, unique characters. I somehow related to both unfiltered, untethered Poppy (“you have strong dog energy”😂) and nervous, stable Alex - which I think is a feat of character development considering they’re polar opposite!! The story was told in dual timelines, which definitely kept me on my toes, and it had so much fun travel imagery! I also loved the ending which felt so realistic (way more than beach read!)
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DISLIKES: At first the dual timelines were sort of jumpy, but then they fell into a pattern that was easy to follow. The “big reveal” that we were waiting for the entire book fell super flat for me and felt like it could have been bigger.
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VERDICT: PWMOV is such a fun, flirty friends-to-lovers romance with SO MUCH DEPTH plus relatable characters, transportive writing, and the signature EH flair! can’t recommend enough!

Thank you to netgalley for provided an e-galley for review. This was a slow burn rom-com that was perfectly plotted. I loved the back and forth between the summers before and the present time summer

I finished People We Meet on Vacation in two days (honestly would have read the whole thing in a day but I made myself slow down to savor it lol)

This book is WONDERFUL. Emily Henry books give me the same feeling as I get when Taylor Swift releases new music, or when I watch New Girl (again)- So. Much. Joy.

Poppy and Alex are an unlikely pair of best friends. Poppy is quirky and a little loud. Alex is quiet and reserved. But somehow the two balance each other out. Perfectly. Poppy and Alex start a tradition to take a vacation together every summer. When the tradition first starts out, they are broke college kids so they travel on a very tight budget. But the best part about the vacations isn’t the extravagance of it, it is getting to spend time together and getting to connect with new people along the way. As Poppy and Alex grow older, and Poppy lands a job with a fancy travel company, their vacations become a little more about work but at least they still get to spend time with each other each summer. After Poppy and Alex have a falling out in Croatia, they lose contact and they stop going on summer vacations together. Poppy throws herself into her work and Alex moves back to his hometown to become a teacher. Poppy still gets to travel for work but she soon realizes it’s just not as fun without Alex. She decides to reach out to Alex with a last ditch effort to save their friendship...one last summer vacation together. Alex agrees and the two head to Palm Springs.

But can Palm Springs recover Poppy and Alex’s friendship? Or will the 2 be forced to face their true feelings for each other?

The characters are loveable and witty (seriously laughed out loud... A LOT) and you will be rooting for them. So hard.

I loved Beach Read, so I couldn't wait to receive an ARC of People We Meet on Vacation.

This story is told in Poppy's POV, and the chapters alternate between past and present over twelve years.
It's a friends to lovers to enemies to friends opposites-attract romantic comedy.

Poppy and Alex meet at Freshman Orientation for the University of Chicago and based on their first conversation; they realize they have nothing in common.
At the end of Freshman year, when Poppy needs a ride home to her hometown, Alex happens to be her ride.
On the drive, they discover that all their differences can actually be kind of fun. They can be their true, authentic selves without worrying about impressing the other.
They just click with their effortless witty banter and sarcasm.

Poppy is an outgoing extrovert, and Alex, a reserved introvert.
Poppy wants excitement, travel, and metropolitan life.
Alex wants a steady small-town existence with little drama.

After college, as life keeps them apart geographically, Poppy works for a travel magazine, and Alex becomes a teacher in their hometown in Ohio.
Their only chance to reconnect in person is to take an annual summer trip together, but two years ago in Croatia, they had a falling out and haven't spoken since.
The last time in her life she realizes she was truly happy was with him, and now she wants one more trip to fix everything.

This story also had an element of my favorite movie, Love, Rosie -the RIGHT people at the WRONG time, EVERY TIME.
The witty effortless banter is my FAVORITE to read.
It was a slow burn with excellent character development.
It explored friendship, finding yourself, discovering what and who truly makes you happy.

After sheltering in place for 13 months, this was a well-needed escape of "traveling" worldwide with them while laughing all the way.