A review by and_so_it_goes
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.5

I have mixed feelings on this. I loved the middle, especially the hints of serious topics like Poppy’s childhood and midlife crisis and Alex’s childhood, but the fairy tale conclusion disappointed me. They just went to therapy off page and had no conclusion about their different life goals. Saying “they are each other’s home” is not enough for the conflict. The conflict which was why they weren’t together at all. I expected Alex to have some sort of arc about actually not
wanting kids. He cries thinking about her dying in a miscarriage and also later mentions he could be a horrible father after he loses her. And Poppy just says that he still got up in the end with his mother, she wouldn’t be any different. Alex went to therapy but the only conclusion was him being with Poppy. Poppy quit her job due to her arc, which I did like, but he never had to re-evaluate any of his goals that stopped them from being together in his, besides his aversion to being happy.


I liked that Poppy and Alex aren’t the best people in this, especially with their exes. They are weird for each other, but I think the ending and the third act break up ruined this for me. A time skip was risky and they needed to actually talk more. What actually happened in Croatia was also not a
big deal from what it was setting up to be. I would’ve thought the pregnancy incident would be more impactful instead of a kiss.
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