Obsessed. I’m absolutely OBSESSED with this book and story! Is it too early to say this is likely my favorite Rom-Com read of 2021!? The Best friends to lovers trope can be so hard to pull off naturally but the story of Poppy and Alex was so perfectly executed I felt like a puddle of feelings by the last page! READ THIS BOOK, trust me!

Before I get started I want to mention that Emily Henry is absolutely a must-buy author for me. Beach Read was one of my favorites of 2020 and is the book that got me into reading Romance. People We Meet on Vacation (PWMOV) didn't quite stand up to Beach Read for me but I still really enjoyed it and am looking forward to future books by Henry. I think the main (minor) issue I had was with the pacing... I wanted Alex and Poppy to be together much earlier in the story but it definitely took a slow-burn approach (which I am personally not the biggest fan of but I know many people LOVE). The characters themselves, however, were very strong and I really got a sense of who they were throughout their friendship. What I loved about Beach Read was that the romance had depth and wit which can sometimes be missing in other books within the genre, and PWMOV delivered here as well. Overall, it was a great novel but I enjoyed Henry's debut a bit more.

Thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

HUGE thank you to @netgalley ,@berkleypub and @berkleyromance for this ARC! People We Meet on Vacation releases 5/11 and you are going to want to snag a copy! ☀️🧡

I was so freakin excited to hear about this book because I loved Beach Read by this author, @ so much!

Review for People We Meet on Vacation -

4/5 ✰

This story follows Poppy and Alex, two polar opposites who became best friends eventually, after meeting at college one day. The story jumps from past vacations they have taken together to the present time, 12 years of friendship. It’s definitely a slow burn but in the best way possible! The banter in this book was everything, I always appreciate a book that makes me smile from ear to ear. There were a couple times I laughed out loud as well. I also loved how this was the perfect story to read for escapism, with all the traveling and different settings. I’m already excited for Henry’s next novel. This one made me want to read more bestfriends to lovers! Definitely recommend this book.

✨ARC REVIEW✨

𝗣𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗪𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗢𝗡 𝗩𝗔𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗛𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗬

I was super excited to receive this ARC of @emilyhenrywrites new novel because I was a huge fan of “Beach Read” when I read it last summer!

This story follows Alex and Poppy, two best friends who meet up every summer for an extravagant vacation as they live most of the year living in separate cities. Until two years ago, when one of their vacations ruined everything and they haven’t spoken since. The story flashes back and forth between the present and their past adventures. ✈️🏝☀️

I have to be honest- The first half of the story dragged for me. I enjoyed learning the history of the friendship and their close bond, but I didn’t really get into the story until about 60% of the way through 🤷🏼‍♀️

Overall, I did love the dynamic between the characters. The second half of the book, which really turned the review around for me, was full of the drama, love, and heartbreak that you want from a fun summer romance read! I definitely want to book a flight for a vacation and have a spontaneous adventure now! ☀️🕶

I didn’t love this one as much as “Beach Read” because it did start off slower for me, but I would definitely recommend for those who enjoyed it or are looking for a light, fun summer read!🧡

Thanks to @netgalley & @berkleypub for this ARC in exchange for my honest review🤗✨This fun read comes out May 11th!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫



https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVwitxr_dV/?igshid=vrt7dwzu0t02

Read if you’re in the mood for...
- a sweet, fun, and not-too-steamy romcom
- armchair travel
- dual timelines

Emily Henry’s follow-up to her fabulous 2020 release Beach Read is another charming romance full of vacation vibes.

Travel writer Poppy and high school teacher/writer Alex have been best friends since college and their annual summer trip is the yearly highlight for both of them. They have polar opposite personalities but they bring out the best in each other.

Poppy is sarcastic and witty and outgoing, Alex is kind and reserved and particular, and I just adored both of them. They also adore each other — but both are determined not to let the possibility of a romance destroy their friendship. Except, when the story opens, we learn something did destroy their friendship and they haven’t talked in two years.

This was a light story that touches on a few more serious topics (though not as much as Beach Read did), but it was mostly fun and funny and sweet, and it was a blast to armchair travel around the world with this duo. I loved their dynamic and their antics, and I cheered when they finally confronted their feelings for each other as well as issues they were both dealing with from their pasts. I also appreciated the plug for therapy and self-care.

I think I liked Beach Read just a tad better, but People We Meet on Vacation was a delight to read and it should definitely be in your beach bag this summer!

Thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for a free review copy!

I so loved Beach Read. I had high hopes for People We Meet on Vacation. It is not that this book is not good, it is that it is not as magical as Beach Read. Beach Read had me walking around a little more in love with my husband, a little more likely to break into song and a little more likely to smile at a stranger. This was a sweeter story, read if you are looking for a lighter humorous romance. I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley, thank you to them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emily Henry is definitely one of my favorite romance authors. Everything she writes makes me laugh, cry, and swoon.

This book gives me wanderlust. The characters are so well-developed you cannot help but fall in love with them as they are falling in love with each other.

This book is Beach Read's younger sister and not as heart-wrenching. This is more of a beach read (Ha! See what I did there?) We all love a good friends-to-lovers storyline, and this book is no exception.

Do yourself a favor and pick this book up ASAP!

Shout out to NetGalley, Emily Henry, and Berkley Publishing for the chance to read this early!

Poppy and Alex have been best friends since college, where they bonded over how little they have in common, other than their small hometown and how much they enjoy each other's company. Poppy has landed her dream job at a prestigious travel magazine, while Alex is back home teaching high school English. They might not see each other often, except for their annual Summer Trip. Once a year, they spend a few days traveling together, catching up, and seeing the world. At least, they did until two years ago, when something happened on the Summer Trip, and they haven't spoken since.

Poppy is determined that her current unhappiness stems from that fateful trip, so she convinces Alex to join her for one more Summer Trip, a chance to remind both of them how important their friendship was. But of course everything goes horribly, hilariously wrong.

Another charming second chance romance from Emily Henry, whose Beach Read was one of my favorite books of 2020. Poppy narrates the story with a wonderfully comic, heartfelt voice. I loved both of these characters and their families and friends.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

As an ABSOLUTE fan of Emily Henry's Beach Read, I had extremely (unrealistic?) high hopes for her newest book. And while her writing absolutely did not disappoint, it's quite unfair to compare one of my all-time faves to anything. Regardless of the suuuuper slight disappointment that this was not as perfect as Beach Read, People We Meet On Vacation had the same totally relatable, smart and sexy writing I adored about Beach Read. ALSO, as someone who has not traveled for over a year (thanks, COVID) I completely appreciate this book taking me across the world from Palm Springs to Croatia.

An incredible love story about two friends learning to find what matters most in their lives.

When Poppy met Alex as a freshman in college, she couldn't believe such a straight-laced, serious guy existed in an 18 year old body. Meanwhile, Alex was sure this vintage clothes wearing hurricane of a girl could in no way be a real person. However, a forced road trip to their shared hometown led them into a decades long friendship. Every year since college, through moves, job changes, and relationships, they took one summer trip together.

Until it all came crashing down two years ago. Poppy knows she has one chance to reignite their vacations and get her friend back. Will this last summer trip be enough to convince her best friend to become a part of her life again?

The story of Alex and Poppy's friendship is told in alternating timelines, between their current summer trip and all their previous vacations. I adored both the tension of current day and discovering their history at the same time. Although these polar opposites don't make sense, from the beginning you could feel how much they relied on each other and felt completely themselves when they were together.

They truly brought out the best in each other and as a reader I could easily feel their connection. Plus, the 5%-15% range of attraction was such a fun undercurrent throughout their trips.

The friends to lovers trope is easily one of my favorites and this whole relationship did not disappoint. They truly learned from each other and grew together as they realized what they wanted. I appreciated how real the ending felt, rather than a rushed, lucky happenstance or sudden burst of intense communication that fixes everything!

People You Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry is a standalone, friends to lovers novel. Poppy, our heroine, has a successful career in New York, writing about inspirational trips. Every year, Poppy invites her best friend Alex, to take their summer week long trip to somewhere different each year. They rarely see each other the rest of the year, as Alex lives far away in their old home town, Linfield. Poppy and Alex are very different; she is bubbly, wild, gregarious, fun and a wanderer; he is reserved and an introvert, who prefers to stay home and read.

The story switches back and forth between the past 12 summers and the present. Two years ago, something happened in their last trip, with Poppy and Alex not talking to each other since then. Poppy realizes that something is missing in her life, as she is not happy, and knows it is Alex she misses. She is determined to fix things, and texts him to go on a summer trip to right things between them.

As we follow each of their previous trips, the witty banter between Poppy and Alex creates wild crazy, at times exciting adventures; as well as each sharing their own romantic conquests, which never stay the same. This is a slow burn friends to lover romance, which becomes more apparent in the present day, while they take their expected last trip together. Though some of the trips were funny, I did find some of it a bit slow, pushing more to the present. I did love the last 1/3 of the book, which was in the present, but for the most part, I did not feel the bond between them through most of the book.

The People You Meet on Vacation was a fun friend to lover trope, which had some humorous moments, as well as very good characters. This was well written by Emily Henry.

I really love Emily Henry's writing! The premise of this book felt fresh and original, and I liked how the reader was taken back and forth between the present summer trip and all the ones in the past. The sweet and poignant friendship between Poppy and Alex was a delight, and made the reader root for them all the more. I also loved how funny they were! This is a perfect summer read, check it out now!

another amazing book by emily henry! i love how the author is able to combine serious elements into her romances all the while keeping the whole thing fun.

OMG this book! I absolutely loved it! I have never been as engrossed in a friends to lovers trope as I was with the one in The People We Meet on Vacation. My heart literally ached for these characters and the pining...oh the pining! I am quite literally floored by this book. I fell so in love with both Poppy and Alex as characters, and I was so sad to see the story end. Emily Henry has a way of expressing my feelings in her writing, and it just makes me feel so seen! I loved that the friendship in this book ran so deep, and the writing just kept me engrossed from start to finish. Get this book on your pre-order list, folks, because you are going to want it! Thank you so much to the publisher and author for an advanced copy of The People We Meet on Vacation.

An absolute delight from start to finish. Henry manages to create characters that are funny and flawed and yet undeniably appealing. Readers will find it impossible not to fall in love with both Poppy and Alex, even though they're so different from one another. The whip-smart dialogue, charisma that leaps off the page, and absolute escapism that this novel about travel allows its readers even in the throes of a pandemic make it irresistible. I wish I could read it for the first time again - that's how much fun this one is.

This is not only an adorable RomCom but also a story about communication and how vital it is in all of our relationships. Emily Henry once again swept me away with real, and deep characters and issues (like loneliness) that many face in silence. I loved the progression of Alex and Jess while simultaneously learning how they fell apart. This is a wonderful book and I look forward to recommending it!

To put it simply, I love the way Emily Henry writes. Within pages you're completely drawn into the world of her characters and fully invested in their story. As someone who reads a lot (A LOT) of romance, this is a rare gift.

People We Meet on Vacation is a story about missed opportunities, getting in your own way, friends to lovers, and just really great.

Please, Emily, may I have some more?

I feared that there was no way that People We Meet on Vacation would live up to her incredible debut, Beach Read, from last year, but thankfully I was sooooo wrong! I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! Henry solidifies herself as the modern queen of the beach read!!! She’s amazingly talented and has a way of writing like you’re talking to a friend.

Told in flashbacks between current day summer trip and flashbacks of the last 15 years, Henry builds the chemistry between Poppy and Alex to the point that I was desperate for them to be together. Here’s what I loved!

🌴Friends to lovers, Opposites attract with unrequited love. It’s been loosely compared to When Harry Met Sally and I couldn’t agree more! It might be my new favorite friends to lovers romance 😱
🌴I want to be a travel writer in my next life. Why did I not think of this sooner?!?! I loved all of the trips they took and the quirky fun they had doing it for cheap!
🌴I laughed a lot. And cried a lot. It’s not a “sad” book, but man was it emotional at times. I felt so strongly for these characters and their happiness. Poppy is so much FUN and watching Alex come out of his shell when with her made my heart swell.

People We Meet on Vacation is a BOTM choice so prepare yourselves to see it everywhere - and I can honestly say it deserves every bit of hype it going to get!!! You better believe my copy is on it’s way!! Thank you to @berkleyromance for the ebook in exchange for my honest review!

When I saw Emily Henry had another book coming out this year, I knew I had to check it out! I really enjoyed Beach Read, so was expecting to love this one as well. I did like the overall storyline and romance plot, but it was such a slow burn for me. I ended up feeling bored for a good chunk in the middle, which was a bummer! I liked how it wrapped up at the end, and the alternating timelines between the present and years past, each documenting another trip Poppy and her best friend Alex take together. There was a little mystery surrounding why at the beginning of the book, in the present, they hadn't spoken for 2 years, which I enjoyed, but what was revealed as the reasoning didn't really add up to me.

Overall I liked this but it wasn't my favorite of Henry's books. I will continue reading her other books, though, and would recommend my friends check this out!

I usually enjoy Emily Henry stories and I did enjoy this one too....but it took so long for these two to recognize their love for one another that the story started to get a bit boring for me. Twelve years of oscillating between past and present. This was a slooooowwww burn.