Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - People We Meet on Vacation

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Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

13 reviews

666ofswords's review

lighthearted fast-paced

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

I put a bunch of emily henry books on hold because everyone was reading them and keep slogging through even though they are Not For Me. the characters feel indistinguishable from each other and each book reads so wildly manic pixie that i have to scream sometimes. emily henry can write compelling fast reads that feel good going down; those just aren’t usually what i enjoy.

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angelfireeast24's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-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

5.0

This is my favorite book by Emily Hebry so far.

very spicy book. The character's journey is a moving one. You want to scream to get it together but when characters finally go through self reflection and theapy I found myself feeling it was prefect. Poppy needed to confront herself and find herself. Alex needed to confront his fears. I lovethe open future for them. They are together but where they will live is undecided.

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thereadinghammock's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.75

You know when the right book finds you at the right time and it feels like kismet? This was one of those books for me. I felt Poppy's struggle of finding her "home," of finding where she belonged, where she fit in. Feeling like you never quite fit in or not wanting the world to see how much things hurt. And finding her person, but not realizing it until it was almost smacking her in the face--until she almost lost him! Big "Girl, same." energy here.

I both loved and hated the jumps from this summer and summer trips of the past. I loved watching her and Alex's relationship develop, grow, and all the crazy adventures they went on together. But when half the This Summer chapters kept mentioning the Croatia trip, but not giving any hints to what actually happened in Croatia were driving me nuts by the halfway point!! I was DYING to get to the Croatia trip by the time we got there!!

And it turned out to just be a kiss??? I was expecting it to be so much more. Though when they finally did come together in Palm Springs, it was glorious.

Seeing how much Alex cared for Poppy, but how stifled his emotional upbringing ended up making him was heartbreaking. He was throwing her all the signs he possibly could in the only way he knew how, but they had such wildly different life experiences growing up that it was like they were speaking completely different love languages by the time they met as adults.

My heart literally broke for him in Tuscany with Poppy's pregnancy scare and the panic spiral that sent him into right then and there, let alone the actions he took when he got home--getting a vasectomy without even thinking about it--to have that kind of love is remarkable.

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akswhy's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

This book is fine. The plot is minimal and the dual timeline reveal of what went wrong two years ago is extremely anticlimactic. The stakes are too low to make it compelling, but the characters are detailed in the best way.

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now_booking's review

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

Wow. What an emotional rollercoaster. I ill-advisedly started this after midnight as a bedtime read. And have been unable to go to sleep until I finish. It is soooo compelling, so laugh-out-loud funny, so weirdly brilliant in parts that even though I’m not the hugest fan of the haphazard timeline in telling the story, I’ve been unable to put this down.

The premise is that Poppy and Alex are long-time friends from university who made a pact to go on vacation every year but who fell out over a much vaunted incident two years ago. Now, Poppy, missing her best friend with whom there’s always been a “frisson,” reaches out for one last chance to save their friendship, which unfortunately turns out to be a disaster vacation.

I liked this slow burn. Poppy and Alex as characters were witty and likeable and the author developed them with an authenticity and humanity that really made them multidimensional and imperfect but eminently likeable. Yes, Poppy has a hint of manic pixie dream girl about her but not to an extreme degree and she is eminently self-aware and would be the first to call herself out over it. Alex on the other hand is the straight shooter to Poppy’s free spirit but even he, is silly and funny and wise. The best thing about this book is the character development and the build up of the chemistry and tension and the romantic love between Alex and Poppy. It is absolutely adorable and sexy and really beautiful to watch develop across various periods in their history together. The epilogue is the most glorious thing. The descriptions of love and relationships and Alex and Poppy’s feelings for each other, gorgeous. I mean you read the last 10% of this book clutching at your heart because it’s so beautiful.

That said, for me, the haphazard piecing together of their story meant that certain elements linked to their getting together felt a bit abrupt in the present time. It kind of felt like the story didn’t really get started till about 70% in and that prior to that, all we had were scenes of context… nicely written context, but context nonetheless. There were also a lot of very contrived-feeling miscommunications to scupper the relationship in the final act that just felt out-of-place and a little silly in the context of how well these characters knew and understood each other. I think the author brought it back full circle and it was good to see seeking mental healthcare play a role in this story. I also found that the best part of this book, the “will-they/won’t-they” tension, is also the worst part of this book- in that as a reader, I admit to getting a little impatient with the constant hinting and alluding to events two years prior without much actual movement in the plot. And then when the events two years prior are finally revealed near the end, they were easily guessed and not as dramatic as matters arising. I guess I loved the story and the characters, but the format of the storytelling wasn’t my favourite and I feel like it made some of the really meaningful portions of this book feel a little throwaway and random and somewhat abrupt.

Overall, I enjoyed this. It felt like an eminently millennial book in a way. The struggle of being mid-career and having achieved some career goals but kind of going through the crisis of finding your purpose and meaning and pursuing contentment and challenge yet feeling stuck. As someone in that demographic, I definitely related to that struggle and I think this author did too as she wrote about it and wrote these characters with a great deal of empathy. This is my second book by this author after Beach Read, and I’m blown away by how good it is. I can’t recommend it enough!

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jdf1027's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense 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

4.0

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eib_21's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

2.5

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lisa_m's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is extraordinary. So offen when reading romance books I say in my review that they are "good but nothing special." That usually means most people will find some way to enjoy it in my opinion.

With this book however I don't think it's for everyone. It definitely is NOT a cute quick romance book.
This felt more like a contemporary book about two people who happen to be in love with each other.

That being said I absolutely love this book. I enjoyed every minute of the audiobook and I definitely want to reread it and buy a physical copy!

This book makes me wonder why I ever thought enemies-to-lovers is the best type of romance. I still love it but mostly in fantasy settings.
Bestfriends-to-lovers however - wow! I absolutely loved Poppy and Alex's dynamic. The way they could truly be themselves around each other and how they adored each other is just something so special.

What I also loved about this book is how real and human it felt. There are still a few romancy tropes but all in all the stories and the feelings are something I could relate to so much.

I feel like this just made it's way into my favourite books of all times list.

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blackveilbeccy's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

After a slow start, I really adored this. I think that’s almost entirely due to the male love interest who is utterly swoonworthy. It’s worth reading just for him.

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emilysines's review

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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!

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