Definitely enjoyed the 2nd book from Emily Henry. The travel theme was welcome after a year at home and the characters were very engaging. Big fan of Alex and Poppy!

I am completely speechless. This book may just be my new favorite romance of all time. Friends to not friends to friends to lovers? The best trope and emily Henry did it SO WELL! The emotions she made Alex and poppy feel and the timelines telling the story? I loved it. I went into this thinking wow this will be hard to top beach read but wow this one blew away any expectations that I had!! I can’t even convey my thoughts about how much I loved it. I am a sucker for romances and this checked every single box. I read it in about 6 hours and could not put it down! I can’t wait for everyone to be reading this book and hopefully loving it like I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Emily Henry does it again! God, I think I'll have to come back to this review because I just finished reading this book a few hours ago and I'm having serious book hangover. I had enjoyed Beach Read last year but this one definitely hit a different high with me. I was biting my nails for old friends, Alex and Poppy, to get together. In their quest, they deliver some amazing monologues which ruined me with how honest and vulnerable they were. At a time when I've been questioning if I'll ever find love, reading about these characters find each other was very life-affirming.

It’s been two years since Poppy and Alex have spoken. Though Poppy has everything she wanted, she begins to feel like she is missing something, and knows she needs another summer trip with Alex to find out what she needs. Only problem is that they ruined everything two years ago. Can they find their way back to each other in just one week?

After seeing so many rave reviews for this book, I had to say screw my schedule and read it right away. I had a busy week when I picked it up, which meant I read a bit slower than normal, but it also meant I was able to savor every page of this delicious novel. I loved Beach Read last year so I had high hopes for this one, and Emily Henry did not disappoint! I loved the jumps in timeline taking you through each “summer trip” Alex and Poppy took throughout the book, and I just adored them both so dang much. My favorite romance trope is always best friends to lovers, so I think I loved this book extra just for that! This is one of those stories I wish I could forget so I could read it again! I have my preorder in for my physical copy of this one, and I am here to tell you that you should 100% do the same!

This best-friends-to lovers story is the best thing you’ll read all year. Alex and Poppy have known each other for more than a decade, taking trips around the world every summer. After an awkward encounter leads to two years without speaking, Poppy meets Alex in California for one last trip to salvage their friendship. Their love for each other radiates off of the page, and it was delightful to watch their friendship and feelings bloom. Do your heart a favor and read this book!

I loved these characters, and I loved the entire concept of this book. Two complete opposite best friends find the time every year to go on a vacation and reconnect, and chaos ensues. I enjoyed having the past chapters intertwined with the present day chapters--the backstory on these two was so important, and I really appreciated how the decisions they made on their trip seven or five years ago dictated how they reacted to present day situations. Alex was my type of nerdy, and Poppy was so quirky. Plus, I loved their banter. It was the tiniest bit slow in the first few chapters as I tried to gain my footing in their relationship, but at about 35% I was hooked. Sometimes when characters call each other their home it just seems... out of place. But these two-- their connection was radiating off the page. Their chemistry was palpable. Loved it. If you enjoyed Beach Read, this is a no-brainer. If you love vacation romances, or best friends becoming something more, it's also a no-brainer.

I loved this book even more than Beach Read, which is a tall order! I related to Poppy and her messiness and need to constantly be going somewhere new but also finding home in a person rather than a place. Reading this was the closest to being on vacation that I've been in over a year and it was a delight to recognize the places I've been and add new places to my future travel list. I will be pushing this title on everyone I know!

After reading and adoring Beach Read last year, I was so ecstatic for Emily Henry's newest romance novel (and it did not disappoint)! I appreciate how intentional her storytelling is, with flawed characters trying to navigate a relationship that is both raw and tangible. I think People We Meet On Vacation will be perfect for fans books and movies like When Harry Met Sally, highlighting the best friends to lovers trope,

Emily Henry does it again! I devoured Beach Read last summer (and again this winter), so I was only too excited to get my hands on People We Meet on Vacation. The romance in Henry's latest novel is a similar friends-to-lovers tale, filled with growing sexual tension and fun banter that will have you wishing for a summer romance of your own. While the plot can me a little melodramatic and frustrating at times, the characters and charming enough to have you wishing for more. I'd definitely go on vacation with Emily Henry again.

This is the perfect vacation read from the author of Beach Read. Emily Henry is the master of modern romance.

She creates two unforgettable characters who are absolute opposites in every way, yet they become best friends. Poppy likes loud clothes, crowded bars and traveling the world. Alex likes khakis, school and his hometown. After college, they both want completely different things, but he promises Poppy that he’ll travel with her every summer.

Poppy has everything she wants on paper - a job writing for a travel magazine, a fancy NYC apartment and an influencer best friend. But she’s still not happy. She decides the last time she was happy, she was traveling with Alex.

But after an incident on a trip to Croatia, Alex and Poppy haven’t spoken in two years, and Poppy feels a gigantic hole in her life. She invites Alex on one last, week-long trip to Palm Springs to see if they can make their friendship work again. Poppy’s determined to keep it in the friends zone, but of course, the Airbnb she books turns out to have only one bed.

This is a best friends to lovers story told in a nonlinear narrative. We get to tag along on all Poppy and Alex’s trips, learn their inside jokes and see the depth of their friendship, as they date others but still think the other feels like “home.”

This is one I’ll return to again and again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Poppy and Alex’s annual Summer Trip has been the highlight of their year for over a decade. But two years ago something went wrong and now they barely speak to each other. Poppy is convinced if they just take one last trip together they can salvage their friendship and keep taking trips together forever. But is friendship really what either of them want? 📚 I can’t believe it but Emily Henry’s follow up to Beach Read is just as good, if not better. Poppy and Alex both felt like people I might know in real life, and their relationship with each other reminded me of all my best friendships...just with an added layer of very hot sexual tension (the chemistry between these two is as hot as their desert apartment with a broken AC). An exceptional friends to lovers story that felt real and funny and romantic and sexy as hell, all on the same page. Don’t miss this one.

This book was... just go get it please. The perfect blend of romantic comedy and wanderlust.

Poppy and Alex, best friends for years, haven't spoken in two years because of ... something that happened. And well, Poppy aims to correct that. Because you see Alex is her best friend. They're going to take another trip together to erase all the awkwardness of the last one, and well, what could go wrong?

I love love love Poppy and Alex. Alex who is hard working and sweet and dorky. Poppy who is lively and brave and adventerous. Somehow, they work. They meet in the middle. They bring out the best and worst from each other. The novel switches back and forth between present day, their present trip, to the last eight trips they had, counting down to their last one where everything went wrong. It's hard not to root for them as they are so clearly perfect for each other in a will they, won't they kind of way. And their conversations.... I laughed out loud a bunch of times. Good thing I'm at home and the only person looking at me like I lost my mind was my husband. And the rabbit. But you know what? They're used to it.

I like how Poppy has moved away from Ohio and ventured out into the world, but is feeling kinda stuck and unsure of herself. There's so much honesty there, trying to get out of her small town and go on to do bigger things. I like how she's achieved her goals and now, well, she maybe wants to reevaluate. I know so many people, like SO many, who this happens to. It's almost a new way of life now... second careers, different jobs in different industries, re-learning or going back to school. I liked Poppy because she felt like an honest and real portrayal of a lot of young women out there. A lot asking the question - now what?

I like how Alex knows all about Poppy's crazy home life and loving parents and accepts her as she is. Alex is solid, a rock, a good guy and he has his own issues too but it's easy to see how he gravitates towards Poppy and what she means to him. I love how sturdy he is, even and safe. It's not a bad thing at all. He's sexy and dependable and everything you could want in a best friend... and maybe a partner?

I can't say enough good things about this book. It's my favorite Emily Henry book so far and I'm sad because I don't get to go back in time and read it for the first time again.

Oh well. Re-reading it will have to do. :)

I didn't think Emily Henry could top Beach Read. Well, she did.... People We Meet on Vacation is charming, quirky, witty, and of course, steamy.

Poppy and Alex are best friends, have been since their Freshman year of college. More than just each other's halves, they've always felt that they only felt their truest and best selves when they were with each other. What begins as a summer trip during college, becomes their annual Summer Trip and eventually inspires Poppy to seek out travel and travel writing as her full time job. As relationships and moves across the country force them to drift apart physically, the two are forced to come to terms with their feelings over one last summer trip that could make or break them forever.

I adored Emily Henry's latest. I loved Poppy and Alex's relationship and how genuinely the two cared for each other despite their many differences. I especially enjoyed the backdrop of their many trips together and how resilient they were as young college students saving every penny just to travel away from their small Ohio town. Heartfelt and sexy, I wanted MORE of Poppy and Alex's story and was sad when the book came to its conclusion.

Light-hearted and fun, this book is almost a 180 from her previous book. But that's what makes her interesting. I loved the characters and their interactions. Makes me want to travel each summer as the characters did!

It's hard to follow up a book that was as good as Beach Read, yet Emily Henry has done it again! She really knows how to suck you in with her characters and get emotionally involved. If you enjoy the opposites attract, friends to lover and slow burn romance, you will definitely enjoy this!

*ARC review via NetGalley.*

When Poppy and Alex meet during freshman orientation at the University of Chicago it is quickly determined that they have nothing in common. Not even the fact that they are from neighboring towns in Ohio stimulates any good will and after a brief and awkward conversation they part ways, never to meet again...until a mutual friend sets them up for a summer carpool. Over many hours they move beyond stilted conversation to grudging respect and friendship kindled on travel is born. The polar opposites of their personality even make things easier in some ways. Poppy loosens Alex up, Alex tethers Poppy down and a romantic relationship is absolutely out of the question because it would just be too weird. For the next ten years, these two best friends whether thick and thin together and can always look towards their annual "Summer Trip" as a way to reconnect and recharge for the jobs and relationships that await them the rest of the year. But then in year ten something weird happened and Poppy and Alex don't talk for two years. As her friend diagnosis her with "millennial ennui," Poppy tries to remember the last time she was really happy. Unfortunately it's not that hard, it was the last time she travel with Alex. When a chance comes for the two to vacation together one more time Poppy jumps at the chance to fix their friendship...but before she can do that she has to be willing to confront the one truth between them neither Alex or Poppy has ever addressed.
VERDICT is that this is the traveling romance read I needed to take me away on adventure and inspire some hope during our pandemic times. I really enjoyed the set-up of the book as the author switched between present day Poppy and flashbacks to all of our duo's Summer Trips. We see a friends to lovers tale (with a sprinkle of enemy or at the very lease gross discomfort) between Poppy and Alex. I sometimes feel like the friends to lovers trope can lack a little tension, but not in this one! We have two thirty-ish year old friends who've (almost) always managed to keep that nagging little "what-if we kissed" voice at bay for a decade. Their opposite personalities work in their friendship, but there is some real fear at play when it comes to considering if it is sustainable as something more. There is some great give and take in this relationship, but I also really appreciated how each character learns they must also take care of their own baggage before sharing a suitcase for life.

3.5 stars. I really wanted to love and connect with this book but I couldn't. I found Poppy to be a bit too much of the "manic pixie dream girl" trope. But, truly my biggest struggle was if I put the book down mid chapter, I could never figure out right away if I was in a flashback or not, which made it feel unnecessary and like their wasn't much growth throughout the years. While everything wrapped up nicely, the biggest question, and what usually ends relationships, was left unanswered.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love the fact that this is a friends to lovers book! Piper and Alex are complete opposites and they have different life goals. Piper detests Linfield and Khakis; which are Alex's favorite things. Piper is bubbly, loud, and energetic. Alex has a calmer demeanor. He's an avid reader and he likes to be in control. Alex prefers to stick to a routine, whereas Piper likes to be a little more spontaneous. If you loved Emily's first book, Beach Read, you're going to love this one!! Full disclaimer: I'm a sucker for the friends to lovers trope so I already knew that based off the premise this was going to be one of my favorite books of 2021.

I first discovered Emily Henry with “Beach Read,” which was absolutely fantastic btw. Somehow, Emily Henry has written a book BETTER than “Beach Read.”

Poppy and Alex have been best friends since college, and take an annual Summer Trip together. After 10 years, something happens in Croatia in which they don’t speak for two years. Poppy takes Alex on a trip to Palm Springs, where his brother is also getting married, and attempts to rekindle their friendship. Will they admit their feelings for each other? Or will their differences keep them apart?

Poppy is a loveable, hilarious character, while Alex is more subdued; the complete opposite of Poppy. You can’t help but root for the two of them from day 1. They have a friendship like no other, and frankly, I’m jealous. I want a friend like Alex! Actually, give me Poppy! The character development was fantastic, and I felt that I intimately knew both Poppy and Alex, and even the supporting characters throughout the book. I could not put this one down, and I eagerly look forward to publishing day in May!

I was generously given an e-arc of the book by Berkeley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you!

People We Meet on Vacation is now one of my favorite friends-to-lovers romance novels. I read this book in a few hours all within the same day. I hated having to put it down and I was determined to finish this book before I went to bed.

Alex and Poppy met their first year in college even though they grew up in the same town. It's not until they carpool home at the end of their freshman year that they get to know each other. Soon after that car ride, they become best friends, even though they are an unlikely pair. Alex is uptight and square like an old man. Poppy is a vibrant and quirky woman who says yes to all the new experiences life throws at her. As incompatible as they may seem, their relationship is a deep connection that they both treasure. Up until two years ago, they have taken a vacation together every summer. Their last vacation seemed to end their decade long friendship and Poppy is now brave enough to reach out to Alex after two years of no contact. She convinces him to join her on a vacation and she hopes that this vacation will help them get back to where they were before two summers ago.

You know how when you read a book, there are small parts that you pick apart and wish were different? I didn't have any moments like that while reading this book. This book was PERFECT! Each time I thought I knew I wanted where the story should go, Emily Henry surprised me with a scene that I never knew I wanted. Henry pulls out all the stops on this one to tug on your heartstrings. I found myself so overwhelmed with some of the emotionally charged scenes that I was on the verge of tears. Emily Henry's writing in this book is superb - she is clever and I can't get over her use of figure of speech in this book. There were moments when I thought, "Ah! Yes, exactly!".

The character development in this book was amazing. From Poppy and Alex, to all of the supporting characters - Henry took the time to set up each character and breathe life into them. Poppy and Alex were so funny and cute together. Their incessant teasing of one another had me laughing out loud. My husband and I tease each other a lot too, but we are nowhere nearly as funny. :)

I know we are only six weeks into 2021, but I already know that this book is going to go on my top reads of the year!

Steam level: 🔥🔥½
⚠️ bullying, loss of parent.