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

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

4.5

 If you liked Beach Read, Where Rainbows End, and/or In a Holidaze, you’re going to LOVE this one. 
 
Emily Henry does it again! So many perfect tropes! Opposites attract, friends to lovers, one bed 👏🏻 
 
Like Beach Read, this is a fresh, adorable, feel-good romance. 
 
This time around, we have Poppy (loud, colorful travel writer) and Alex (reserved, disciplined English teacher) who met in college, unexpectedly became best friends, and take one Summer Trip each year together. Well, they did... until Croatia. 
 
Outside of this budding romance, the title says it all: people we meet on vacation. This book is filled with the very many strangers we come across when we travel and how a short 2-minute conversation can have a lasting impact. For many of us, when we go to a brand new place, it can immediately feel like home. We instantly blend into wherever we are and all of those worries of work, fitting in, societal roles, whatever it is, seem to fade away. 
 
I loved how this book was set up—the chapters alternated between the present and through the 12 summers they have spent together. I don’t always enjoy when a book spends so much time in the past, but this was done so well. Each chapter added revealed bit-by-bit how special this relationship is. I truly fell in love with Poppy and Alex. 
 
I adore couples like this. Looking at them, they don’t make sense. You wonder how they even became friends or why they went on a date or how it even works. But it does work, and it’s so, so rare. They are definitely a new favorite fictional couple. I want to be friends with them so badly... 
 
The plot also covers some tough issues of anxiety, loneliness, where you belong in the world, and coping with grief (TW!). 
 
I will stop rambling, but if you’re in the mood for some romance, this will be perfect for you. 
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