This was a super cute story. I loved it! I would rate it 3 1/2 stars. It's better than her first book, Beach Read. I loved this When Harry Met Sally story of best friends who fall in love over several years of mishaps, failed relationships, etc. I think readers will really enjoy this one.

People We Meet on Vacation is delightful and officially made Emily Henry one of my favorite authors.

Friends to lovers is a wonderful trope when it's done well, and I'm happy to say Emily Henry knocked it out of the park. Alex and Poppy were fantastically mismatched as friends, but they worked so well together that I could completely believe the slow build to more. And even though I'm not normally of alternating past and present storytelling, it really worked this time to show Alex and Poppy's building friendship and the hints of something more along the way.

My only niggle with this book was the buildup to Croatia and the reveal of what actually happened, but it's a minor issue and didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the story.

Overall, I highly enjoyed People We Meet on Vacation and can't wait to recommend it to everyone I know once it's released.

Emily Henry is officially on my auto-buy list! Friends-to-lovers is not often a trope I enjoy as I usually find it unrealistic that feelings and attraction would suddenly develop between two people who've known each other for so long. And then Emily Henry goes an proves me wrong! Alex and Poppy are MADE for each other, but there is some serious denial at work.

The "then" and "now" dual timelines is a risky writing technique, as readers inevitably care about one timeline more than the other. But, in this case, both timelines are imperative to the development of the relationship and the payoff at the end is SO worth all the buildup.

Where Emily's writing shines is in the details, the totally convincing intimacies of two people who know each other better than anyone else in the world. People We Meet On Vacation gave me allllll the warm and fuzzies and was deeply sad to reach the end of Alex and Poppy's story.

Oh goodness. This was such a charming book. It had a wonderful nostalgic tone to it and made me want to go on a road trip. I loved that this spanned several years so we could see how these characters evolved and stayed the same. What a joy to read.

Emily Henry is going to cause me to have an identity crisis. I read fantasy. That's kind of my thing. When we talk about what our favorite genres are at work, I'm the fantasy girl. The dragons, swords, magic, maybe throw in some pirates for good measure, fantasy girl. I maybe read the occasional contemporary, but it really has to catch my attention. Mostly by having a bookish main character or some kind of fat rep. And rarely do these books get 5 stars. For context, I read Beach Read earlier this year for obvious reasons: writer main characters who swap genres. And the title had the word "read" in it. That was a no-brainer. My best friend and I both devoured it, gave it 5 stars, and recommended it to everyone in sight. When Jordan told me that Emily had announced a new book, we both immediately requested it on Netgalley, just for funzies. It was supposed to be just for funzies. Well, now I've given two of Emily Henry's contemporaries 5 stars, and I follow her on Instagram for updates. I'm beginning to think that I would read anything she put into my hands. Star-crossed lovers on the French riviera by Emily Henry? Give it to me. Competitive athlete love triangle with lots of intense sports game matches by Emily Henry? Sign me up. WHO AM I? In short, I loved this book. And I think that even if you don't normally like contemporary, you will, too. It made me cry actual tears out of my eyes and laugh out loud. I love Alex MORE than I love Gus, if that's even possible. I also love Poppy on a deep spiritual level, even though she is nothing like me and I usually don't get down with the manic pixie dreamgirl trope. Emily Henry just has a knack for writing incredibly specific personality types, and somehow making those characters insanely relatable. Also PHEW that girl can write a sex scene, lemme tell you what! And this coming from someone who prefers fade-to-black. Emily Henry, what are you doing to me???

Another great rom-com by Emily Henry. I read BEACH READ and thoroughly enjoyed that book. However, I have to say that PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION is even better. I read this over the course of a weekend and got so wrapped up in Poppy and Alex's story, that I could not put it down. I look forward to reading more from Emily Henry in the future. Maybe a sequel to this book on what happens to the couple?? Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I feel like I just got home from an intense therapy session and I’m eating the best bowl of ice cream I’ve ever had. There might also be Christmas lights on, snow falling, and the warm glow of all things comforting and cozy all around me. You know, the aura a good book leaves you in? This lovely story made me laugh out loud, cry, stay up past my bedtime, and send a prayer of thanks to writers everywhere for modern romance. I’m talking modern romance where it’s real, inclusive, thoughtful, and just happy. I love Emily Henry’s writing and her ability to fit in real meaningful and hard topics that make the romance even more lasting. After this book and Beach Read, books by Emily Henry automatically have room at the top of my TBR list.

I am a Beach Read acolyte. I have recommended it several dozen times to several dozen people-- maybe more. I will not stop recommending it. I have a reputation. Recommending Beach Read is my brand.

But pretty soon, recommending People We Meet on Vacation is going to be my brand, for reasons that will become clear to very shortly.

Poppy and Alex are friends, best friends, since an initially awkward rideshare back to their hometown after freshman year of college. They're an odd couple; where Poppy is wide open, Alex is buttoned up. Poppy is quirky (but not in a PeNgU1N oF d00m, spork holding kind of way) and her family is out there. Alex is her foil: stoic and reticent and proud and private. And while they're different, together they feel complete. They're more of themselves, more naked (in fact, Poppy even describes the real Alex as Naked Alex and sometimes Weird Alex), more open and comfortable and honest. It's almost like they're a puzzle with two pieces, complete when they're together.

Since college they've been taking trips together. They call it the Summer Trip. Something they plan all year and pull together on a shoestring budget and experience with almost no inhibition with both each other and the people they meet on vacation.

Now that Poppy is a travel writer for a fancy magazine, the Summer Trips are no longer the same. Something happened in Croatia during their last trip, causing Poppy and Alex to stop traveling and stop talking altogether. It's now two years later and Poppy, bereft of inspiration and missing her best friend, manages to convince Alex to join her for another Summer Trip-- her last chance to find happiness and fix things between them.

The friends to lovers trope is criminally underrated and Emily Henry proves it with People We Meet on Vacation. Friendship is a kind of crush and, much as she did in Beach Read, Henry shows us that. She develops the growing connection between Alex and Poppy in such a way that captures that initial magical frenzy, where the friendship glitters, where every moment is spent together, everything is fun, everything is funny, everything is better with that other person around. That feeling of not believing your perfect luck in finding this wonderful person. That feeling of completion when the other person is around.

She tells us the story in two timeframes, alternating between Summer Trip of the present and Summer Trips of the past. And so as we watch Poppy and Alex get to know each other for the first time and build their lasting and uncommon friendship, we also get to watch them relearn each other and how to be friends again in the wake of the mishap in Croatia (whatever that may be, Henry waits forever to tell us) during the present Summer Trip. And so the two Alexes and Poppys develop alongside each other, past and present, creating this complete picture of their friendship and connection and dedication to each other. It's an effective conceit and serves to slowly raise the stakes between Alex and Poppy before finally reaching the story's climax (pun intended) and the eventual unraveling of the knot between them.

These characters are honest and open with each other. Alex is refreshingly emotional when he is with Poppy. Though he tends toward stoicism publicly, there are several moments in the book where he is brought to tears by his own pain and potential loss. Though they had their falling out after Croatia, Alex tells Poppy the truth -- in Tofino, in Vale, in New Orleans. And when the black moment of this novel comes, he still speaks honestly-- not shying away from the potential heartbreak they face. And while Poppy may not reveal the entirety of her feelings, she doesn't lie to Alex. There is no deceit here. And so the conflict between them is organic and realistic and borne of falling in love with your best friend, which is a potential boon and disaster all at once.

Henry's skill in writing banter shines in People We Meet on Vacation, much as it did in Beach Read.
Her comedic timing is just right and she cleanly integrates humor into both the general narrative and the dialogue between the characters. The banter and jokes between Alex and Poppy are not only clever and authentic, they are outright funny. In fact, Henry is still the only romance writer to date who has managed to make me genuinely laugh aloud, and multiple times at that.

This is a five star book, without a doubt. And though I've compared this book to Beach Read too many times already, readers should know that while People We Meet on Vacation is just as good as its predecessor, it stands on its own merit, independent in its charm and quality.

In fact, in some ways it's better.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for this eARC!

A lovely followup to Beach Read. Emily Henry is so good at writing romance, honestly. This book takes place in the present with flashbacks to past trips that Poppy and Alex, our main characters and best friends, take every year. This could have felt like filler or something from a less-skilled writer, but it worked, and let us peel back the layers of their relationship slowly

The introspection as Poppy figures herself out was good for pandemic reading, but this book WILL give you itchy feet to go somewhere new and see someone new.

Loved it, and will read any of Emily Henry's future books.

What a strong follow-up novel to Beach Read! People We Meet On Vacation was equally as engaging and charming. It struck the right balance of banter, heart, and chemistry. I loved spending my weekend with Poppy and Alex; I was sad it came to an end.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

This slow burn romantic comedy is full of wit and tender moments. The characters are hilarious and have wonderful chemistry. Emily Henry has become one of my new go-to's for romance.

I loved this book. I read it over the weekend and had to force myself to put it down and leave the house. I read Beach Read last year and enjoyed that one so much and I was so excited when I got approved for this one.

Poppy and Alex have been friends since college and they go on an annual trip each summer, that Poppy now writes about for her job as a travel writer. They have had a falling out and haven't really spoken in 2 years because of something that happened on their last vacation together. The book explores their relationship over the last 12 years, relying heavily on flashbacks, which I was very unsure about to begin with. They are not usually my favorite. They won me over eventually and really worked to get to know the characters and all they've been through together. It's an opposites attracts, friends to lovers romace with a bit of bed sharing thrown in for good measure. It was well written and well paced and it's probably one of the best romance books I've read this year. Highly recommend!!!!