NetGalley ARC | Beach Read was one of my favorite books last year. Although I didn't enjoy People We Meet On Vacation as much, travel writers and rom-com lovers might appreciate this one. The story is sweet and fun with some intense moments. I'd recommend this one for beachy summer reading.

My favorite parts: The AC situation in Palm Springs was hilarious, all of the vacations had me wanderlusting, Poppy's boss, and Alex's loyalty and love for Poppy.

My not-so-favorite parts: The 'big mistake' not really being that mind-blowing or earth-shattering and the count down to the final vacation. It seemed a bit tedious.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with a free advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Find a full review on The Uncorked Librarian here: https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/may-2021-book-releases/

I love the fact that the heroine is a mess in progress. I could have lived without the constant flashbacks, it made the story feel forced as we learn more about the background.

Poppy and Alex became unlikely best friends on their road trip home after their freshman year at UChicago. She's loud, flamboyant, and a wannabe globetrotter. He’s reserved, conservative, and likes to stay home. Over the next decade, Poppy and Alex take an annual weeklong summer vacation together. It’s the highlight of both their year until one vacation where everything falls apart. In those two years, they haven’t spoken, much less vacationed together. Now, Poppy, unhappy with her life, decides to rekindle the magical vacation moments with her best friend. Can you ever get back what you had without facing the unspeakable events which happened two years ago?

I love this story! A pure magical story on how true friendship can be buried so deep in your bones that you ache when things aren’t right. You simply can’t imagine life without this person. I love opposites attract, friends to lovers trope. Henry’s writing style of witty banter had me laughing out loud. Thanks to @brandy_reads for the buddy read - sliding 😂 or 🤣 or “dying” into my DMs. I believe I can speak for Brandy and say we thoroughly enjoyed Poppy and Alex’s journey. And I secretly fell in love with Alex! Will you marry me?

After Beach Read and now People We Meet On Vacation, Emily Henry is now an auto-buy author for me! I’ll read anything she writes, including grocery lists and post-it notes. Please send them over!

The release date for People We Meet On Vacation is May 11, 2021. Include this book in your beach bag this summer! You won’t be disappointed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Henry has a special place in my heart because she got me into romances with her book BEACH READ.
I hate to say I didn't enjoy this title as much as the other I've read of her.
Her novels are long and have a slow burn romance, which normally I enjoy because you get invested and aggravated by the characters (in a good way.)
This story was a bit odd because you know the entire time these two are meant to be together.
Their own fears and shortsightedness have prevented them from admitting they are in love with one another for YEARS! At a certain point, I was like, let's just do this already.

The travel aspect of the book was really cool and I wish there was more time spend on that. For it being nearly a 400 page book I could done with less playful banter and more description of the cities and people in the luxurious destinations.
It is funny to me that the book is called PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION because there was really only one trip where their stranger connections were utilized. I loved the idea of meeting someone in one place, then looking them or a friend they mentioned up and finding a familiar face in an unfamiliar location. There is something magical in that human interaction and I could have read way more of that too.

Overall, this story was very cute and the characters were funny (fi a bit over the top.)
I do enjoy how Emily Henry builds angst and real problems/issues her characters deal with.
I thought the plot dragged on way too long and this book did not need to be 400 pages.
It was a unique and different set up with the alternating chapters from THIS SUMMER to summers they vacations together years ago, but sometimes it just didn't deliver for me.

We will be discussing this book on April 29th via Zoom if you would like to join!

Emily Henry can WRITE, man. I don't usually go in for friends-to-lovers but she got me good with Poppy and Alex! I loved the flashback structure of the book, filling in their last trips and showing us their years of friendship as they get back together for another vacation after a hiatus. I felt like the final conflict was a little rushed but I was very pleased with the character journeys each of them took and where things ended up.

I rarely write about the plot of a book in my reviews. 3 reasons. First and foremost, I feel like y’all can get the blurb from the book. Or from goodreads. And you probably did before coming to my review. Second, what a book is about seems so unimportant. Third, If I tell you what it’s about, and it differs from the blurb, aren’t I editorializing and just giving you my feelings on what the book is about? Which is sort of a review disguised as a recap. And it is outside my comfort zone.
I digress. The second reason mentioned above is, for me, the most important. I know that there are readers that love genres. That love “tropes.” I know that in conversation a friend will say “what is the book about?” And every time i freeze. Bc really - what is the book about? (Have you ever tried to tell someone what Owen Meany is about? The voice? War? Love? I always tell the questioner that it’s a book about spirituality - because for me that’s what it is - a book about God.)
And had you given me a synopsis of this book there’d have been nary an interested spark. Millennials? Yuck. Traveling? Loathe it. Friends to lovers? Boring.
I am a reader for the writing. I want the big feelings - deftly evoked. (Did y’all know I gave Gone Girl 5 stars solely because I’m still so angry over it years later? I loathe that book.) I want to be a little breathless during a read. I want to lose myself. I want to look up and realize I’m beaming or crying or shaking my head. I am a reader for the writers. For the ones that take me there. The writers like Emily Henry.
This is, here in April, a shoe-in for my Book of the Year. I am so thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this story and offer my unvarnished opinion.

I am reeling after reading this. How am I supposed to go on just not reading this book that was so perfect and engrossing? I can’t even express how much I loved it. I love these two characters, I loved the settings and the story, I just can’t get enough!! The way the tension was built was perfect! I cannot recommend it enough.

Adored this friends to lovers romance about enjoying vacation but even more, enjoying the important people in our lives. Poppy and Alex go on a summer trip together every year we friends.... after many years they both start to wonder if there’s more to their friendship. They opposites but have the funniest friendship and compliment each other to perfection! This book takes you on a journey to amazing places but the best part is the romance and the friendship! This author continues to impress me and is an absolute auto buy author for me now! I laughed, cried, swooned and laughed some more. This is a summer read you don’t want to miss!

Emily Henry has done it again. I adore unlikely-friendships-turned-romantic, and Alex + Poppy are exactly that. Their relationship felt very genuine. I will recommend to romance lovers in my library.

🌴 Guys: get thee a copy of this book! If we aren't gonna be jet setting like we're used to, we can read about it, amirite?!

I usually roll my eyes at the light hearted predictable rom-coms. But this book!! Is so so good. I laughed out loud more than once, smiled several times, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, you know what's gonna happen but the journey there is oh so worth it. 💕

A friends-to-lovers story where you like the people, feel safe (such a thing for me), and have fun! I really don't know what more you could ask for. And I kind of had me a little book crush on Alex. Whatta guy. 🥰

I loved the characters, their dynamic, their experiences, all of it. I am so thankful to @netgalley for the advanced copy and I am already imploring my friends who got the advance release from @bookofthemonth to start reading it asap. Take this book with you to the beach this spring break/summer because it's a gem! Available May 11! 🌴

My heart 🥺 EMILY, YOU DID IT AGAIN. You really had to go after my all-time favorite trope of second chance romance and create one of my new favorite books, didn’t you? You did. Thank god.

I love Alex Nilson. I love Poppy Wright. Polar opposites, nothing in common, and yet the most dynamic duo right from the start. I loved following these two across the twelve years of their friendship and watching them slowly but surely fall in love with each other. I loved watching Poppy sort our her childhood trauma of bullying, make tough career choices, and the positive, healthy portrayal of going to therapy. I loved seeing healthy communication between two individuals who plucked up the courage to say how they felt and not apologize for it. I loved their humor. I loved watching them travel the world and meet so many unique souls, all with different stories. I loved I loved I loved.

5 stars, obviously. I was already an Emily Henry stan after Beach Read, but now I guess I’m just reading everything she publishes. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for a review. 🤍

First, I want to thank Netgalley, Berkeley Publishing, & Emily Henry for an advanced copy of this hilariously adorable rom-com in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, don’t shame me, but this is my first Emily Henry. I’ve had Beach Read in my tbr for SO long and I honestly don’t know why. Because this was SO CUTE. UGH. Poppy and Alex. You get ALL of the heart eye emojis. And can we just talk about Poppy’s job? I “aspire” to get a job like that one day (IYKYK).

Poppy is a wild child, full of personality and charisma. Alex wears khakis and is extremely quiet. They’re the best of friends and have been since college. They even take annual summer trips together, just the 2 of them, no matter what they’re doing in life. Until 2 years ago when they ruined everything & haven’t spoken since. Poppy, attempting to mend her friendship with Alex and pull herself out of a rut, takes a leap of faith and plans another trip with Alex. This one might be one for the books.

Who here loves friends to lovers tropes?! THIS GIRL. Give me all of them. I love me some undeniable chemistry and awkward almost kiss moments. Poppy and Alex’s dynamic had me cracking up and completely cheesing the whole time. It reminded me a lot of my husband & myself (the shy, quiet, awkward guy & the loud, obnoxious girl) with their quick one liners to one another and sense of humor. This one was a slow burn, but the build up was totally worth it. I really loved People We Meet On Vacation!

Check it out on its pub date 5/11! ✨

Poppy and Andrew have been best friends since college. Every summer they take a vacation together and have done so for over a decade, until one summer "something" happens that breaks their relationship apart. Two years after the event, Poppy is determined to reconnect with Andrew and restore their relationship to what it was before.

I really liked this book! Poppy is quirky and funny and would be a blast to vacation with. Andrew is the perfect compliment to Poppy, as well as a sweet, thoughtful, and sexy introverted type. This friends-to-lovers romance is fun and frothy, but also heartfelt. The sense of longing and confusion and true affection carries throughout the story, and even though we know they have to end up together, the journey to get there is fun.

It's pretty steamy, too!

TYSM to NetGalley and Berkley for my copy of this incredible novel.

Ever since I read Emily Henry's "Beach Read" last year, I knew that every book by EH would be immediately added to my TBR, and wow, "People We Meet on Vacation" did not disappoint.

Almost immediately I fell in love with both Poppy and Alex, both and individuals and also the magic they created when they were together. My heart was aching when they were hurting, and I was laughing along when they were being silly and goofy together. They warmed my heart, broke my heart, and had me thinking about the relationships in my life in a new and unique way.

This one exceeded all my expectations and I'm going to be thinking about it forever. It has definitely secured a spot on my favorite books of 2021 list.

People We Meet on Vacation was one of my most anticipated Spring books! I was so excited to get a netgalley copy and was even more excited to see it was a Book of the Month option! I dove right into this book and came up feeling like I needed more.

I enjoyed the book, thought it was cute. It had a little romance, there were some funny moments. Poppy and Alex were both quirky characters, that were unique.

I’m going to be honest and say it’s a good book, but I wasn’t WOWED by it. I was left feeling like it’s missing something. I think this is one that didn’t live up to the hype surrounding it.

Overall it’s a good read. I would recommend it.

I loved this so much. People We Meet on Vacation is such a cozy and comforting read about friendship and home and I could not put it down. Poppy and Alex have such a deep and entangled relationship that my heart filled with joy and broke alongside them as they grew closer and drifted apart over the years. I loved their differences and how much they respected each other and how they acted with each other. One of my favorite scenes in the book was when they go to David's wedding, after just getting together and are holding hands (even though Alex isn't the biggest fan of PDA). Alex drops Poppy's hand when his dad starts to walk over to them, and she isn't upset or hurt by it. She's proud of him for talking care of himself and prioritizing his comfort and it was one of the purest displays of love I've ever seen and showed how much they truly understood each other. Though you can see how at times they are co-dependent and how that may harm their other relationships. But I loved seeing the growth of their friendship and I thought the alternating timelines was effective and helped propel me to read quicker because I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Truly a fantastic story of finding your person and how that relationship can change over time, but never diminish in meaning.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

WOW this book is so good!! Beach Read was one of my favorite books last year, so I was super excited to see that Emily Henry was coming out with another book this year! This book is FUN and cute and sweet and heartwarming! I just loved Poppy and Alex so much and I thought they were such likable characters! It was so fun to "travel" through this book since we have sadly not been able to travel in real life during this pandemic. This is such an enjoyable book and I lost track of time every time I picked it up! It was fun going back and forth in time to all the previous trips Poppy and Alex took, and gosh all their adventures had me smiling so big and wishing I had an "Alex" to travel with all these years! This is such a bingeable book and will be perfect to read in the summer! It will have you laughing, crying (maybe just me), and wishing you could be on an amazing trip with your favorite person! Gosh DO NOT miss this book!!

Told in snippets of Summer Vacations past and present this is the story of Poppy and Alex, friends since the first year of University and "Summer Trip" buddies. However everything changed on the trip two years ago to Croatia and they haven't really spoken since. When Poppy convinces Alex to take one last vacation together she has one more chance to make everything right again, but can one trip fix everything?

This book was sweet, emotional, and took me on such a journey of these friends. I loved how it went back and forth from This Summer to summer's past and how you slowly had the past filled in for you. I liked both Poppy and Alex and how different they were from each other and how they grew apart and together again.

This was such a fun read as we head into summer and is light and deep at the same time.

The story of a long courtship between best friends. A fun read despite the predictable outcome. Perfect for the beach or a long plane ride.

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

People We Meet on Vacation ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Swipe for synopsis)

Pub date 05/11/21

Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for the arc.

This is my first Emily Henry book and it definitely will not be my last. I have never read a book that made me laugh out loud as much as this one did - absolutely hilarious and has been added to my list of all time favorite books.

People We Meet on Vacation is a fast, heartwarming read. The timeline alternates between the present day and the past - starting from the year Poppy and Alex met to each subsequent year as they plan and go on, their annual summer trips. We follow their friendship as they grow from college students, into working adults, and through their various romantic relationships and heartaches. You can't help but fall in love with both characters and root for their happy ever after. I even loved their families!

Funny, romantic, loveable characters,slow burn, friends to lovers - I already want to read it again.

Thank you @bookmarked.by.becky for laughing along with me through this book 😂

QOTD: what’s your favorite friends to lovers book?