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?

Emily Henry does it again! BUT EVEN BETTER!Is that even possible?! YOU BET YOUR BIPPY!
What’s to love about this gem of a book? Poppy & Alex! Talk about relatable, funny, awkwardly witty characters! All of their experiences together made my heart sing & jump for joy all at once! I was totally invested from page 1! The travel! I’m all for wanderlust through reading! NOLA & Tuscany were my fave destinations! The alternating timelines worked perfectly for Alex & Poppy’s story! There was such a heartwarming underlying theme of finding where & who you consider to be your home. Perfect steam meter rating! Not too much, but not left craving more either! This was the best friends to lovers trope I’ve read in a long time! But all of the LOL moments throughout the book!? Who doesn’t love to laugh until they cry?! I’ll be recommending this book for years to come!


Full review on Instagram came be found at—
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNlcF7QroHi/?hl=en

Emily Henry’s Beach Read was one of my favorite books of 2020, so I had very high expectations for People We Meet on Vacation. While I’m not sure it will make my 2021 Favorites list, I still definitely enjoyed it.

I absolutely loved the relationship between Poppy and Alex. They had amazing banter and it was obvious how much they cared about each other. So many of their scenes just put a big smile on my face. The chapters jump around between the present and the past, where we see many of their summer trips, going back from when they first met twelve years ago. I enjoyed both timelines and being able to see the evolution of their friendship.

While I loved the humor and the romance, there were a few things that brought the story down for me. There was some subtle bashing of religion, which I found a little offensive. There was also a lot of build up to the big Croatia trip that ruined their friendship two years ago and it ended up being pretty anticlimactic to me. It was a short chapter and I expected a bit more than what actually happened. I also was a little confused about how impactful to Poppy’s life she kept saying the people she met on her travels were, when there were very few examples of that in the actual story. I can only think of a couple of examples and they left no lasting impact to me.

Overall, People We Meet on Vacation was a very cute story. It had terrific banter and several adorably romantic scenes. The characters were likable and I loved their friendship. I felt like it was a little messy at the end, though. What happened in Croatia and the fall out didn’t feel like it lived up to all the build up about it. I also felt like too much was crammed into the final chapters. Trying to make the theme of the title so important at the end when there was very little about it in the rest of the story was a little jarring. Despite that, though, this is a book that I see myself re-reading in the future.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

Thanks a million Berkley for letting me read this arc!

Have you ever read a book that was so heartwarming and lovely, you ended up hugging it after you finish it? — I did, for this book! I got an eARC so I hugged my kindle. Don’t judge ok?!

Alex and Poppy have been friends since college. Although Poppy quit college and became a travel blogger and Alex became a high school teacher after college their friendship has been there! They have so much fun together, they both promised they’ll spend every summer break together travelling.

The story alters between past and present spanning for 12 whole summers including the vacations they took together. We also get to see occasions of their friendship, they relativeness and the fairness Alex & Poppy have for each other. Alex is near perfect being. I haven’t met anyone like him.. he is so pure! And Poppy is a next door girl — I saw so much of myself on Poppy!! I’ve never read a Friends-to-Lovers romance this good before. I was patiently waiting for them to get together instead of telling them to get it over with. Flawless friendship that makes more sense when it turns into love.

Honestly if I didn’t like People we meet on vacation more than Beach Read, I wouldn’t have given this a whole 5⭐️. Good god Emily!! You made me happy cry. Especially when Alex expresses his feelings. Loved every moment of this book. Finally, a book that lived up to my expectations and didn’t disappoint even for a single moment.

I’m not a cryer. I read romance because it’s fun and it makes me happy to see people fall in love. However, recently the happily-ever-after has felt like a real hurdle for me as a reader. It is a heavy lift for an author to create a sense that there are real stakes in a relationship, but Henry delivers this beautifully. So beautifully that I cried just a teeny tiny bit. She does a great job getting at emotional depth, while also being funny and sexy. Plus, friends to lovers is a hard trope to execute well, but I was with the characters each step. Finally, I love how Henry subverts reader expectations in the titles of her books. You go into them thinking they will be fluffy “vacation” material, but really very little goes according to plan in her books and we instead get imperfect, complicated characters trying to reach each other. And, yes, ultimately succeeding in their efforts.

What a wonderful read! I loved Beach Read and this was an equally wonderful read. Quick and lovely with very well-rounded characters. Fun and sexy and also thought=provoking on choosing your own life. Recommend!

I absolutely loved this book! I enjoyed the characters, storyline and the vacation settings. A truly wonderful adventure.

People We Meet on Vacation was like a cold slice of watermelon on a warm summer’s day. A coke and cherry slushy with just the right 50/50 balance of flavors. A book series that is all the same size and cover designs. You get the picture?

Poppy and Alex are polar opposites. Their friendship shouldn’t work. They shouldn’t love each other as much as they do. Yet, their love and friendship completely and utterly makes sense. They balance each other, but they don’t try to change the other for any reason. They each pay attention to their needs and wants and actively work toward them, never pushing the other to do anything that they don’t want to. Their attentiveness, their pure desire to completely know and support each other, makes their friendship a dream.

PWMOV was the perfect summer read, or read to get you ready for summer. It made me nostalgic for a time when we could freely travel and see people and places in other parts of the world. It’s the most beautiful escape from the pandemic-filled time that we are still living in. Even though I wanted to know what happened in Croatia to separate them for two years, I still loved the constant flashbacks and seeing the development of not only their summer trips but also their friendship over twelve years. It was worth waiting to find out what happened.

With Beach Reads being one of my favorite romances of last year, I eagerly anticipated Emily Henry’s newest work and it did not disappoint. This engaging, emotional, fun and funny escape was beautifully done and achingly good.
Poppy and Alex meet during orientation week at University. With seemingly nothing in common, they first discover they’re from the same town when Alex offers to share a ride home to a friend (Poppy) of a friend. A connection is made on that drive, and a strong friendship develops. Over the course of 12 years they meet annually for a summer trip. On the last trip something happens and they don’t talk for 2 years. Reunited for one more vacation Poppy is determined to make everything right again.
Filled with humor and witty banter, conversations between Alex and Poppy are a definite highlight. The characters are well conceived and developed and relatable. Although polar opposites, they have a unique chemistry that engages the reader. In addition to the romance there are touching elements exploring self discovery and what makes a home. Incredibly well written, this story was the perfect blend of humorous dialogue, romance and emotional depth. Adored this one, highly recommend.

Ah, where to start with how much I love Emily Henry's books! After reading, and loving, <i>Beach Read</i> last year I was really looking forward to her new book, <i>People We Meet on Vacation</i>. And after reading it, I have to say that I loved it even more than I loved her first book!

Poppy and Alex meet in college, an unlikely pair, and become best friends. They establish an annual tradition of a Summer Trip, in which they go on vacation together each summer, and the story follows along from present-day through the flashbacks of all their previous summer trips. Significant others come and go, life changes happen, but through it all Poppy and Alex always end up staying connected.

I love the love story was very sweet and I absolutely loved all the travel! After a year+ of staying home because of COVID, this was a true escapist read. I think I forgot how wonderful going on vacation is? But this book made me remember and then allowed me to travel vicariously through the characters.

Henry writes really relatable characters and Poppy and Alex are no exception. They came alive on the page for me and I was cheering them on the whole time. And I found Poppy to be so hilarious.

Highly recommend this one for a wonderful, funny, warm, charming read!

Emily Henry is now one of my favorite authors. While the covers suggest light rom-coms, and there are those elements, Henry has a remarkable ability to create profoundly moving characters and avoid the cliches of so many love stories. Like her previous adult novel, Beach Read, this book is impossible to put down and impossible to stop thinking about after you've closed the covers.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me! I’m so bummed that I couldn’t connect with the story the way I wanted to.

I’m a huge fan of a friends to lovers romance. It’s my all time favorite trope. Sadly, this one didn’t live up to my expectations. The chemistry between Alex & Poppy came and went. It was really difficult for me to see them as a couple at times. Even in the end, it wasn’t all that believable to me.

Toward the middle of the book I started to get a little bored. I kept waiting and waiting for the reveal to happen. I was so eager to find out what exactly happened in Croatia that caused Alex & Poppy’s friendship to crumble. Once I learned what it was, I was disappointed. It was such a trivial thing and I didn’t care for it.

Even though I didn’t quite like People We Meet on Vacation, I do think that other readers will. I am definitely going to be an outlier here and that’s okay!

❤️Perfect beach/pool read❤️Fun, quirky side characters❤️Friends to lovers trope

Can Emily Henry write books forever? How do you have two back to back romance books that knock it out of the park!? I loved this book, the way the story is told and the friendship between the two characters. There was enough left unknown to keep me turning the pages and oh my gosh when will they finally kiss!!?  Loved this one!

Poppy and Alex have been best friends since college, traveling together on budget vacations each summer and staying connected between trips by constant emails and texts even when living in different cities or dating other people. Straitlaced Alex has been the perfect traveling companion for impulsive Poppy...until she isn’t. They haven’t traveled together, or spoken, for two years and Poppy is at a crossroads. Unhappy in her work and her life, she decides to rekindle their friendship in one more (last?) trip.

As Alex and Poppy navigate traveling together again (and dealing with mishaps such as having no AC in sweltering Palm Springs), Poppy remembers previous trips visiting different locales and through various periods of friendship strain (AKA other relationships). Poppy knows her feelings for Alex aren’t quite platonic anymore, but does she dare risk their friendship on the possibility of it becoming more?

I was a huge fan of Henry’s previous novel, BEACH READ and love this just as much. While I have read other novels within this general “best friends to maybe lovers” story line, this didn’t feel repetitive or predictable. Poppy, Alex, their friends and family all contribute to how Alex and Poppy are formed as people and how they respond to the possibility of love in their lives. Poppy is hilarious, Alex is charming and above all we want them to be happy, but does that mean we want them to be together? Either way, you’ll love them both enough to not want this story to end.