Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Pessoas que Conhecemos nas Férias

... "𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

I never expected to like "People We Meet On Vacation," a book that, if you've spent any time at all in the #bookstagram or #booktube community, you know all about. I thought I knew all about it, too, and then I finally read it, and lo and behold, it became a five star read. I loved Alex and Poppy's dynamic; their banter, the tension between them, but also they both were so compelling as characters to me. I thought that their separate stories only strengthened the believability of their relationship. They each had family baggage, but still LOVE their family beyond words, and I love that detail so much. Their banter had me cracking up from the prologue all the way to the epilogue, and if I wasn't laughing, I was crying - and not just a little tear here and there. You know the kind of tears where you're hiccuping and you can't even see? Yeah, those kind. I don't remember the last time a book genuinely had me hugging a pillow and weeping, but somehow Emily Henry got it out of me. This chemistry just made me want to scream my head off and highlight on almost every page. Side note, at one point, Alex is reading a book by one of my favorite authors, Sarah Waters. This was destiny.

What else? Every time Poppy was sad, it felt like I was personally being stabbed and then having the knife twisted, so there's that, too!

I know that there are criticisms around this book because of its lack of diversity, and those are valid concerns, and concerns that I have, as well. I don't want anyone to walk away from this review thinking that I don't care about this issue: I do. Although I did give this book 5 stars for how strongly it effected me, I do think the book could've benefitted from a MAIN character who was queer or a person of color. Or both!

Content Warnings

sam_rami's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

(early plotline spoilers)
3.5 stars!
This book! I loved it! This goes through the relationship of two college best friends who had summer trips but then suddenly two years ago they stopped talking meaning their yearly summer trips no longer existed. Poppy, who works for a travel magazine is stuck in a rut and wants to get out of it invites her best friend Alex for one more trip, but the feelings about what happened on the trip they stopped talking starts to affect them. This is kind of a friends - enemies - lovers situation. It is beautiful I love this trope. The way Alex cares for Poppy is just so cute and I love it so much. I just wish the flashback chapters would be set up differently, that is just a personal preference because over time I got kind of confused on which summer we were on or what was happening. Their romance totally made up for it and Croatia... I completely recommend this book!

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emilysines's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Okay, don’t get me wrong, I adored this book! And Emily Henry’s writing style is beautiful, magical, chef’s kiss. I do think the story itself could have been shorter. Loved it overall though!

Content Warnings

kelseyfontaine's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I absolutely loved this book! I really identified with Poppy, since I love to travel and her R+R job is pretty much my dream job. I loved her as a character: quirky, witty, and independent. I also really related to Alex as a character: a bit more shy, reserved, and a perfectionist. You would never think to pair the two together, but this book proves that thought wrong. Reading the “current” plot line in the midst of past vacations the two of them took together really drew me in. I was able to piece together parts of their story in my own mind before the ending, so I felt really engaged throughout the entire narrative. Having a more light hearted, vacation oriented story with a mature, adult-like message really stuck out to me as a great combination that I don’t normally get to experience that often, since I usually go for deeper, more emotional books. I highly recommend checking this one out :)

Content Warnings

the_disreputable_dog's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

One sex scene in the book. It was a great sex scene, too, don't get me wrong, but just the one? Really? The characters were extremely well done, and I loved them a lot. They were sweet, and I found Grumpy Alex very relatable, and it made me enjoy their scene all the more, but only one? I feel like we got short changed. I'm gonna blame the publisher for keeping it down to one, because we did get plenty of time oogling Alex's hot body. I would recommend this book either way, because the actual romance and couple are done really well, and I found myself really rooting for them. I was so into it, I actually fell asleep reading and had to go back to where I remembered stuff the next day. (I read the audiobook of this. If anyone was wondering, based on that audiobook, it appears I slept for roughly half an hour with it going lol.)

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kathleentcarroll's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book lived up to all of the hype! The characters are lovable, the writing is snappy, and the comedic timing of the book is perfect. It had me laughing out loud and crying real tears.

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