Thursday, May 13, 2021

Blog Tour: People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry


People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Berkley Books
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read, a sparkling new novel that will leave you with the warm, hazy afterglow usually reserved for the best vacations.
REVIEW

For over a decade, Alex and Poppy had taken their Summer Trip together, at least until two years ago. When challenged to remember the last time Poppy was really happy, all she could think of was Alex and that last Summer Trip. In an attempt to recapture the magic and restore their friendship, she plans a trip-on-a-budget in a nod to those early excursions, and in hopes that it can reunite them. 

I will describe this book using one word: PERFECTION. I have always found Henry's books brilliant and entertaining, but this was a masterpiece for me. Let me list the ways. 
  • Friends-to-Lovers is my favorite trope, and it was done so well in this book. I loved flipping back and forth on the timeline and seeing this friendship take root and blossom. It was tough watching Poppy resist her feelings in fear of losing her best friend, but I knew it would be worth the pain. 
  • The Summer Trips were so great even when they were disasters. There is nothing I enjoy more than going on a trip, and I got to go on one every summer with these two. Like their friendship, these trips evolved. They gradually went from super budget to lush and lavish. Regardless, they were all fantastic to read about, and they temporarily sated my wanderlust. 
  • The story spans years. It's such a treat to get the opportunity to see people grow and change over long periods of time. I knew so much about Poppy and Alex, that by the end of this book, they felt like friends to me. Delving into their history, sharing their failures and successes, being there for big and small events in their lives made this a truly rich experience for me. 
  • Henry is the queen of banter. I thought this as I read Beach Read, and I am saying it again. She writes some of best dialog I have ever read. I absolutely adored the humor and wit as I savored every line in this book.  
  • This was a slow burn that worked for me. I am not necessarily a patient woman, but everything in this book was done so well, I had no problem waiting for this thing to happen. It didn't hurt that so many fantastic tropes were employed during this tale as well, and that there was lots of pining and tension and "almost" moments to feed my needs. 
  • The When Harry Met Sally vibes were so strong. This was wholly its own story, but those vibes were there, and I welcomed them with open arms. 
  • Poppy and Alex were fantastic. Due to all the years I spent with these two, my love ran deep for them. I liked how they were polar opposites, yet perfect together. I loved their loyalty to their families and each other. I felt so much for them and was one thousand percent invested in their relationship. 
I think I could go on for days talking about People We Meet on Vacation, and everyone can expect me to be pushing this book big-time. It was everything I could have asked for and more. The story filled me up with feels, fulfilled my heart's desires, and left me basking in the warm-fuzzies for days. 

* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Henry writes stories about love and family for both teens and adults. She studied creative writing at Hope College and the New York Center for Art & Media Studies, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.












If you had unlimited funds, where would you vacation?
Let us know in the comments!

30 comments:

  1. Your review makes me want to read this book even more!

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    1. Angela, it was SOOO good! I hope you read it and love it and you smile a lot from it.

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  2. Wow, it's obvious how much you loved this one! I love a good friends to lovers trope and the When Harry Met Sally comparison is certainly a mark in its favor! So glad this was such a hit for you!

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    1. The When Harry Met Sally vibes were really strong during the flashback, when they were making that trip from college back home. Such a hit!

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  3. I was already sooo excited for this book, but you just rose my excitement level a few more notches! It looks like my hold will come through as soon as tomorrow. Can't wait!!

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    1. WHOO HOOO! I can't wait to hear what you think.

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  4. Wow! Such high praise! I'm still deciding whether I want to read this one, but your review has me leaning towards yes.

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    1. Did you read Beach Read? This was even better, because I felt like it was more about the romance. Both are spectacular.

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  5. So glad to hear you loved this one. I'm a sucker for some good characters and dialogue/banter, so yay! I have Beach Read to still read but I hope to do so soon and then I can get to this one.

    Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. The writing in all Henry's books are great, but this one was better than Beach Read for me, because it was more romance than her previous book.

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  6. I'm reading this right now and I'm loving it. I'm getting a strong Josh & Hazel vibe - meaning the book is light and sweet but FEELINGS!

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    1. I could see that. And, YES, so many feelings.

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  7. I am just finishing this one and it is so fantastic! It is the perfect summer read and I really love Poppy and Alex. They are so perfect together and you are absolutely right about the When Harry Met Sally connection.

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    1. Wasn't it so good! I am glad to hear you enjoyed it too

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  8. Okay, I bought this book and was already excited about it but now I am even more excited. I can't wait to find the time to read it.

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  9. I completely agree about the slow burn. Usually I'm way too impatient to enjoy slow burns, but this one just really worked well for me. I'll second your PERFECTION for this book. :)

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    1. WHOO HOO! I am loving all the great reviews for this book, because it really deserves it

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  10. I can see how much you loved this book. I never heard of the author before, but based on your review it seems I need to check out her work.

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    1. I am a fan of her YA books, but I have to say, her two adult offers may be my favorites now

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  11. This book is popping up everywhere! I can't wait to read it for myself. :) I've heard it's like Beach Read, but better.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. Don't get me wrong, Beach Read was a great book, but this is more of a romance, and it's not as heavy. I would say both were great for me though.

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  12. There's too many great vacations to dream of, but we've always wanted to take off and visit every Disney park in the world. Now that it seems COVID is finally coming under control, a vacation seems much more feasible. Until then, books like this one will have to do.

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    1. I have only been to three of the Disney Parks, and I fell like the three in Asia are out of my price range, but I can dream. I hope you get to visit them all

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  13. Gahhh yes I need this book in my life like, yesterday! I quite like Emily Henry, so this is one I need to read ASAP. I am so glad you loved it! Gosh, where would I go on vacation? Anywhere? Bwhah. Um, probably somewhere in South America. Like a whole South American voyage. Which would ultimately lead to penguins for the kids heh. I did send my parents the info on the Disney excursions, and have been irritating them ever since so maybe we'll end up going somewhere, someday!

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    1. I have to say, Henry's adult books are amazing. I want to go south of the equator to be able to see the other side of the sky (I'm weird, I know). Those excursions are not cheap, but they are high quality. I think they have an Ecuador one, which could be a good one for seeing flora and fauna.

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  14. Replies
    1. EXACTLY! I will hype those books that bring me happiness until my last breath.

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