Review: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

The People We Meet on Vacation
By: Emily Henry
Publisher: Berkley

I have to admit: I’m a sucker for a story about a romance that slowly builds over time, both in movies and in books. People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry hooked me in by just reading the summary. Two best friends from college. One last trip to save a fractured friendship. Reliving the past ten years of trips. Some unnoticed love in the air.

Sign me up and take my money!

Emily Henry has written another great book. I loved Beach Read so much, and I especially loved People We Meet on Vacation. In People We Meet on Vacation, we get to know Poppy and Alex. They are totally different people. Poppy is a free spirit who would travel anywhere at the flip of a coin. Alex, in his khakis, would head straight to a quiet corner to read (nothing bad about that!). Opposites attract right? Well, years ago Poppy and Alex took a road trip from college back to their hometown in Ohio. At the start of the trip, they barely knew each other. By the end of the drive, they had become besties and made a pact to take a yearly trip together. No matter what.

In present day, Poppy’s a travel writer for a ritzy travel magazine that pays her to traverse the world. Over a decade ago, Poppy was just blogging about frugal travel with Alex. A trip they took every single summer. As Poppy became well known (first as an influencer, now as travel writer), the trips became fancier! With Poppy in NY and Alex back home in Ohio, their summers are a time to relive the best memories of their life. It’s also a time for them to reconnect and catch up now that they’re living totally different lives.

Well, two years ago the trips stopped, and Alex and Poppy haven’t spoken since. Now, Poppy’s having a little bit of an existential crisis, ant the last time she was truly happy was when she traveled with Alex. She talks him into going on one more trip in hopes of making everything better. You know what happens next: It doesn’t go according to plan.

Emily Henry is funny. Her characters are absolutely believable, and I especially loved the dialogue between Poppy and Alex. Henry is a magician at making the conversations come alive in front of your eyes. In movies, we say two characters have “on screen chemistry.” The chemistry between Alex & Poppy is extraordinary. Go ahead and pick up the book, you won’t be disappointed.