Scan barcode
A review by chloe_liese
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
5.0
Thank you to Berkley, NetGalley and Emily Henry for the free review copy (further disclaimer: the author & I are represented by the same literary agency)—in no way does this influence my opinion; all thoughts are my own!
This book was wonderfully complex, real and three-dimensional. Emily has a gift for writing people whose lives and layers are so deeply, tenderly accessible, and PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION was no exception. PWMOV was funny, perfectly-paced, and achingly good. If you love Normal People and Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating (yes, these are the most oddly-matched pair of comp titles but like Alex and Poppy, somehow they make sense) then this will speak to you as much as it did to me. Full of soul-searching and millennial what-do-I-do musings, long term friends to lovers angst, and Emily’s signature banter, this was such a fulfilling read.
Like BEACH READ, PWMOV is to me first and foremost excellent fiction with a beautifully developed romantic through-line. I appreciated releasing the expectation for all the beats of a traditional romance to be hit, and instead simply savoring this book as a journey about journeys, about coming home to yourself and leaning into rather than running from the thrill, the risk, the reward of love—for yourself as much as for the one whose heart finds its home in yours.
This book was wonderfully complex, real and three-dimensional. Emily has a gift for writing people whose lives and layers are so deeply, tenderly accessible, and PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION was no exception. PWMOV was funny, perfectly-paced, and achingly good. If you love Normal People and Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating (yes, these are the most oddly-matched pair of comp titles but like Alex and Poppy, somehow they make sense) then this will speak to you as much as it did to me. Full of soul-searching and millennial what-do-I-do musings, long term friends to lovers angst, and Emily’s signature banter, this was such a fulfilling read.
Like BEACH READ, PWMOV is to me first and foremost excellent fiction with a beautifully developed romantic through-line. I appreciated releasing the expectation for all the beats of a traditional romance to be hit, and instead simply savoring this book as a journey about journeys, about coming home to yourself and leaning into rather than running from the thrill, the risk, the reward of love—for yourself as much as for the one whose heart finds its home in yours.