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sam_rami's review
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Car accident, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, Bullying, and Drug use
tiffanysmith's review against another edition
challenging
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
4.5
As someone who doesn’t normally read this genre, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This novel is about two best friends, Alex and Poppy, who go on a summer vacation every year, only to find that as they go through relationships, careers, and life feeling as if they’re missing out on something big inside themselves. As the protagonist explores the crevices of her own wants and desires deep within, she realizes that her happiest moments are with Alex, even though she’s sworn him off to love romantically.
At first, I truly thought this was going to be a cheesy rom-com but it was much deeper than this. I sincerely connected with Poppy and Alex and found myself rooting for them the entire time, knowing that they were both denying themselves the love they deserved.
As well as being endearing and charming, this book is hilarious. Poppy and Alex say the most hilarious things, even in the most intense climaxes of the read.
Read this for:
- The slow-burn romance.
- Wholesome friendship.
- True discovery of character.
- Some beautifully spicy scenes. They’re worth waiting for.
- Friends turn possible lovers trope.
- FEELINGS.
At first, I truly thought this was going to be a cheesy rom-com but it was much deeper than this. I sincerely connected with Poppy and Alex and found myself rooting for them the entire time, knowing that they were both denying themselves the love they deserved.
As well as being endearing and charming, this book is hilarious. Poppy and Alex say the most hilarious things, even in the most intense climaxes of the read.
Read this for:
- The slow-burn romance.
- Wholesome friendship.
- True discovery of character.
- Some beautifully spicy scenes. They’re worth waiting for.
- Friends turn possible lovers trope.
- FEELINGS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
To be honest, I'm not really sure what to rate this book. While I enjoyed it quite a bit for some of the characters, there were a couple parts that bugged me. I'm generally not a huge fan of friende-to-lovers - I do think this was done a lot better than most I have read. I loved the character of Alex but I did struggle a bit with Poppy sometimes. And there were some scenes that were infuriating 😅 and some lines were just so strange!
I did enjoy the snippets of stories about the trips that Alex and Poppy had taken - honestly I would have preferred more of that! I remember watching some booktubes where they said the title of this book doesn't truly reflect what it's about and I kind of agree. I will admit that I adored the fact that one of the trips was in Victoria because I love it there!
Anyways, it was a good read! I think it just didn't totally work for me personally but I did enjoy it mostly!
I did enjoy the snippets of stories about the trips that Alex and Poppy had taken - honestly I would have preferred more of that! I remember watching some booktubes where they said the title of this book doesn't truly reflect what it's about and I kind of agree. I will admit that I adored the fact that one of the trips was in Victoria because I love it there!
Anyways, it was a good read! I think it just didn't totally work for me personally but I did enjoy it mostly!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Animal death
sammymilfort's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book reminded me why I love friends to lovers so much. It was so honest and raw.
Poppy and Alex have such a beautiful connection and this book definitely represents right person wrong time. Miscommunication trope is a thing in this book but it worked so well because the reader doesn’t know what actually moments are until it all connects in the past chapters and it was so well done and weaved together perfectly. It was not overused or done in a repetitive way, but more in a sense of being afraid to say anything due to the fear of losing each other
I loved Poppy as a character and Alex has set my expectations higher for the level of care and love in a relationship.
This is definitely one of my top books of the year and I cannot wait to read Emily Henry’s other books!!
TW: Frequent Mention of Death of a Parent and Grief, Depression
Poppy and Alex have such a beautiful connection and this book definitely represents right person wrong time. Miscommunication trope is a thing in this book but it worked so well because the reader doesn’t know what actually moments are until it all connects in the past chapters and it was so well done and weaved together perfectly. It was not overused or done in a repetitive way, but more in a sense of being afraid to say anything due to the fear of losing each other
I loved Poppy as a character and Alex has set my expectations higher for the level of care and love in a relationship.
This is definitely one of my top books of the year and I cannot wait to read Emily Henry’s other books!!
TW: Frequent Mention of Death of a Parent and Grief, Depression
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Grief
Minor: Death of parent, Bullying, and Cursing
kibbles15's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really don't understand why this book is so popular. While the actual writing is okay, I found the book to be a very slow read and to be honest a little boring. Going back to previous vacations 12 times got a little old since they had a lot of the same kinds of things on each vacation. I don't know how it could have been done differently, but each previous vacation felt a bit "been there done that...realize that you love each other already." I couldn't relate to either character. I also feel that that the intimate scenes in the book could have been toned down a lot. There is a lot of talk about sex and a couple actual descriptions of the character's intimacy that I felt were unnecessary to the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Bullying, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
cnohero's review
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
3.75
Too steamy for my comfort, but a fun story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Sexual assault
cwallace1005's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
2023
This was my 2nd read of PWMOV and I loved it. I was literally smiling, giggling, kicking my feet as I read Alex and Poppy's banter. So cute! Just like my first read, I don't really like the ending. It goes back and forth one or two times too many. And during my first read, I remember feeling anxious about their situation (claustorphobic apartment, stifling heat, everything going wrong), but I didn't feel that as much this read. The travel aspect is really fun to read about and of course the wedding festivities were fantastic, I just wish there was more of it!
2021
I really enjoyed (most of) this book! I liked the characters Poppy and Alex and I thought their personalities were really fun together and interesting to read about. I also liked Poppy's friend Rachel, but I was disappointed that she was in the beginning and then only briefly mentioned a couple times for the rest of the book.
I'm not a huge fan of the "miscommunication" trope, so that was frustrating sometimes. However, most of the miscommunication was understandable and relatable. Although I will say that my least favorite thing about the book is how the end comes together, and the part that miscommunication plays in the end sequence. I thought the ending was a little rushed and a bit of a letdown. And a little corny, but that's what we love about these books :)
All in all, this was a super fun read and I would definitely read it again!
This was my 2nd read of PWMOV and I loved it. I was literally smiling, giggling, kicking my feet as I read Alex and Poppy's banter. So cute! Just like my first read, I don't really like the ending. It goes back and forth one or two times too many. And during my first read, I remember feeling anxious about their situation (claustorphobic apartment, stifling heat, everything going wrong), but I didn't feel that as much this read. The travel aspect is really fun to read about and of course the wedding festivities were fantastic, I just wish there was more of it!
2021
I really enjoyed (most of) this book! I liked the characters Poppy and Alex and I thought their personalities were really fun together and interesting to read about. I also liked Poppy's friend Rachel, but I was disappointed that she was in the beginning and then only briefly mentioned a couple times for the rest of the book.
I'm not a huge fan of the "miscommunication" trope, so that was frustrating sometimes. However, most of the miscommunication was understandable and relatable. Although I will say that my least favorite thing about the book is how the end comes together, and the part that miscommunication plays in the end sequence. I thought the ending was a little rushed and a bit of a letdown. And a little corny, but that's what we love about these books :)
All in all, this was a super fun read and I would definitely read it again!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
_maygen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
the balcony scene. alex nielsen.
that’s all. 5⭐️
that’s all. 5⭐️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
carleyhall's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really wanted to love this book as much as I loved Beach Read, but it just didn’t do it for me. I genuinely love the friends to lovers trope so much, but something here was just missing. In my opinion, Poppy was a wonderful character and I loved her. But Alex… I wasn’t sold. Perhaps the problem was in that the reader only gets Poppy’s perspective, but nothing in the whole novel convinced me that Alex was in love with Poppy the entire time, like nothing… at all. I felt like with Poppy, there were very obvious hints and at some points, she straight up admitted to herself that she was in love with him. So then, at the airport for Alex to act like she decided to love him on whim and he had loved her all along drove me absolutely crazy. I didn’t feel their chemistry at all and the explicit scene was completely ruined by the vasectomy conversation… like what was the point of that, it read as creepy quite honestly. In the end this book felt to me like Poppy and Alex ended up together by circumstance, not because they were really perfect for each other or even just good for each other in the slightest, it truly felt like an obligation for the both of them. Poppy’s emotional journey apart from Alex, though granted he did have a part in helping her realize it, was the only saving grace for me. The pacing of this book also drove my completely crazy and made it quite hard to get through. Anyways, I loved Henry’s work on Beach Read and am hopeful for her next novel despite my distaste towards this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Gaslighting
Minor: Pregnancy