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A review by jpitts
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Reread: January 2023
I actually liked this quite a bit better the second time! My major complaint last time was that I was so invested in the friendship between the characters and not so invested in the romance. This time, I actually thought the transition was done pretty well. Maybe it was because I had different expectations having already read it. Beach Read is still my absolute favorite, but this is a really good book.
I think my one nitpick this time was that But overall this is good shit.
Original review: April 2022
I'm super late reviewing this but I had a really hard time nailing down my exact feelings on it. I think I was as much in love with it as everyone else for the first 2/3 of the book. I love Emily Henry's writing style and the way she fleshes out her individual characters so incredibly well. The trips that Poppy and Alex took were hilarious and exciting and fun to read about. And oh my god was I invested in their friendship. It just did things to my heart. It made me so happy.
(very mild spoilers below, if you want to go in totally blind)
But I was happy enough with the rest of the book that I can still rate it very highly! It's genuinely very, very good, and I'm so excited for Emily Henry's next book.
I actually liked this quite a bit better the second time! My major complaint last time was that I was so invested in the friendship between the characters and not so invested in the romance. This time, I actually thought the transition was done pretty well. Maybe it was because I had different expectations having already read it. Beach Read is still my absolute favorite, but this is a really good book.
I think my one nitpick this time was that
Spoiler
Poppy's conclusion in her big climactic speech that the thing she loved most about traveling was the people she got to meet didn't feel like it was supported by the rest of the text. None of the people they ran into while on vacation were particularly memorable.Original review: April 2022
I'm super late reviewing this but I had a really hard time nailing down my exact feelings on it. I think I was as much in love with it as everyone else for the first 2/3 of the book. I love Emily Henry's writing style and the way she fleshes out her individual characters so incredibly well. The trips that Poppy and Alex took were hilarious and exciting and fun to read about. And oh my god was I invested in their friendship. It just did things to my heart. It made me so happy.
(very mild spoilers below, if you want to go in totally blind)
Spoiler
Where it lost me, sadly, was the 'lovers' part of this friends-to-lovers story. It just didn't work for me. Granted, it's a hard thing to pull off. When two people are such close friends for that long and haven't gotten together, there are usually some good reasons, right? And it's hard to establish those reasons firmly and then figure out a way for the characters to get together anyway. But the conclusion to this book felt messy and unsatisfying to me and kept me from giving it the glowing 5 stars I wanted to give it.But I was happy enough with the rest of the book that I can still rate it very highly! It's genuinely very, very good, and I'm so excited for Emily Henry's next book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent