Poppy and Alex's story was utterly wonderful! It was full of laughter, sun, sea, sand and friendship. It was the perfect book to curl up with and read whilst we were locked down (sigh).

These two characters are so perfectly written, from their little inside jokes, to the quirks only each other understand, their friendship was so completely believable and everyone can relate to a friendship, or relationship in their life which is simple. At no point did I not believe in them as both friends or as a romantic prospect.

This was one of my favourite reads of the year, and it's likely I'll be reading again over the summer, so I can pretend that I'm also going on a vacation.

5/5 stars and a top 2021 book for me.

This was an angst-filled Friends to lovers to we don’t talk anymore BACK TO LOVERS, and honestly, I was here whole the whole ride.
Poppy and Alex have known each other for 12 years. A spontaneous trip between them turns into over a decade of summer holidays, as tension between them mounts without any real action until two summers ago. Now Poppy is desperate to get some form of Alex back, and invites him for one last trip, the trip that will make or break their friendship.
Emily Henry has an ability to write these beautiful sad stories that still make you laugh on almost every page. But what she writes best is the longing, and You and Me on Vacation has it by the buckets. The two main characters are so drawn to each other, and have been for such a long time. The culmination of all that longing explodes on the page, and was so emotional and raw it brought me to tears.
Henry is also absolutely amazing at setting a scene, it’s remarkable. The little flat they spend their holiday in is painted so real, it’s remarkably easy to imagine our characters there. This means we can focus on their story, letting their emotions, their actions really shine.
(Also hello, balcony scene, you were beautiful!)
I raced through this in a day, desperate to get to their conclusion, and I’ve barely been able to stop thinking about it since. I loved Beach Read, but You and Me on Vacation has really cemented Emily Henry as one of my new favourite authors!

An Honest Review of Emily Henry's You and Me on Vacation (FLAURA)

Emily Henry has found her way to our hearts for a second time. Her previous New York Times bestseller Beach Read recounted an unlikely pair of writers on vacation. Following on from Beach Read’s success, we yet again find an unlikely friendship on vacation – although only one is a writer this time. Henry’s latest novel You and Me on Vacation (or People We Meet on Vacation in the US) has also, rightfully, earned a place on the New York Times bestseller list, and it should earn a place on your summer reading list too.

Unlikely friends turned (spoiler) lovers is a well-trodden plotline, but it’s clearly an area where Emily Henry thrives. Inspired by the classic When Harry met Sally, Poppy and Alex meet at college orientation week and become friends after they end up sharing a ride back to their hometown. Despite the pair’s clashing personalities, they spark a surprisingly close friendship.

Poppy is erratic, free-spirited, and illogical; Alex is organised, academic, and entirely logical. As Poppy drops out of college to pursue a successful career as a travel writer, Alex excels in his studies. Alex’s logical nature makes him the perfect travel partner for Poppy, and they make it a tradition to go on a yearly trip, but a falling out in Croatia has them not speaking to each other for two years. When Poppy is asked the last time she was happy, she instantly casts her mind back to her friendship with Alex, and what follows is an intense and wobbly reconnection and rebuilding of their relationship.

Emily Henry’s writing is funny, gripping, and heartbreaking as we follow Poppy and Alex’s relationship through a series of flashbacks. Each chapter swaps between the present day, where the pair are reunited at Alex’s brother’s wedding, and back to the beginning of their friendship. As the flashbacks catch up with the present, we really get into the context of their relationship and their complex, yet heart-warming backstory. The flicking back and forth between chapters is not as confusing as it sounds, and it’s easy to jump back into the rhythm of the novel.

The rom-com A side of this book is complemented by the adventurous B side. As we travel from cities to beaches all over the globe with Poppy and her best friend Alex, this base of the novel makes for dreamy beach reading. It gets better and better each year as their holidays grow from student-budget-friendly getaways to work vacations with all-expenses-paid as Poppy flourishes in her career in travel. Even still, Henry keeps the narrative relatable throughout the book as Poppy untangles issues such as career and family difficulties and forgiving the bullies from her childhood.

Both Poppy and Alex are extremely loveable characters with their own unique quirks and endearing traits. I believe, as humans, when we see two best friends of the opposite sex, we can’t help but wonder why they won’t get together. So, this novel follows a rather satisfying journey unpicking their friendship and Poppy’s intense and confused feelings towards Alex. It is everything a rom-com needs to be: a perfect and beautiful read for this summer.

Pre-order your own copy of You and Me on Vacation here.

I had so many expectations from You and Me on Vacation because I heard a lot about it.

The tropes it has are ones I love—best friends to lovers, slow burn (literally 12 years)—and the main character is a blogger. I was quite sure I'll like it, even though I didn't like the author's previous book, Beach Read.

But unfortunately, I just couldn't like this book enough. It was better than Beach Read but it wasn't great for me either.

The writing style made it so hard for me to get into it. I had zero anticipation for reading ahead. In fact, this book took me almost a week whereas I generally read romance books in 1-2 days. I simply did not want to pick it up. And it almost put me into a slump.

The characters were.. alright. But I couldn't connect with them. They had some depth and multiple facets but I somehow just couldn't CARE about them individually.

The friends-to-lovers romance was very slow burn and while I could totally see them being perfect together, I could feel no chemistry between them for most of the book! Even after they started being together. There were flashes of good chemistry a couple times near the end but that's it. And I couldn't care less about the smut. The steamy scenes were just.. not it for me.

When I finished the book, I was underwhelmed. It felt too long for the substance I actually got.

So with this book, I'll say that Emily Henry's books are not for me. Two consecutive hyped books by her were subpar for me. I won't try again 😬

If you want to steal my heart, blurb a book as one for the fans of One Day and create an incredible chemistry between the characters that rivals the original. You’ve got me Emily Henry, I’ll continue to read anything you write from now on.

You and Me on Vacation follows Poppy and Alex, two friends that met in school and weren’t biggest fans of each other. Except, somehow, they made it a yearly tradition to go on holiday together.

I say this often, but it really is refreshing to read a book that doesn’t carry an unnecessary amount of cringe. Y&MOV is full of great banter, sexual tension and a *wonderful* friendship. It’s obvious in the way that Emily Henry writes, that she draws inspiration from real people, their romantic relationships and their friendships. I personally saw a lot of my relationship reflected in those characters.
The ending of this book made me tear up and the only way to describe why is to say that it felt like a warm hug. That ‘long time coming’ feeling that fills your heart with joy. I adored Poppy and Alex’s relationship and I loved that it was not simple, it felt real.

*I've received this arc copy in exchange of an honest review*

So, first of all thanks again to @prhinternational and #@netgalley for the free book, that was, of course, one of my most anticipated release of the entire 2021!

This book kept me hanging until the very end!
Last year I fell in love with Beach Read and since then I knew Emily Henry would become one of my favorite contemporary authors. I was right, because "You and me on vacation", (I'm honest, I prefer the "People We Meet on Vacation" 's title) is even more amazing.

I was a little bit nervous to read it due to my high expectations, but like when you find the right pair of shoes for you, all it took were just few pages to be immediately tangled in this new story.
If I adore Augustus and January, I have to admit Poppy and Alexander stole my entire heart, Poppy with her sparkling joy and Alexander with his kindness and steadiness, quiet but with a witty humor I find so lovely. In fact, they are both lovable and so supportive with each other I wanted to hug them most of the time.

The story follows them through two lines: we have the present situation, where we don't know what happened two years ago to divide them, and Poppy is trying to find a way to be newly inspired in her work and to be happy again, thing that seems to be related to Alexander's absence in her life. So, she plans a vacation not sponsored by her work (without telling Alex) and, taking advantage of one of his brother's wedding, she invites him to join her, so she can remind him the old times she misses so much and she hopes he hadn't completely forgotten. The other line follows flashbacks that take the readers in the past, from the first day they met to every single vacation they had together, in an intricate network of beautiful places, people met randomly, laughs, pillow talks and moments so full of emotional tension that I hold my breath more than once. As such, you see the present situation and gradually understand better their backgrounds as individual and together. The flashbacks are little flashes, of course, but they show the important moments of every occasion and, in a certain sense, they easily become a memory the reader will cherish too.

Besides the entertaining way this author has to write a story, I think the key of this book is the way we can see and even feel how Alex and Poppy's love for each other grows and takes root during all those years, even if they live in different places and have made different life's choices. That love is so full that fills the readers too (and moved me more than once), but it doesn't seem enough to make that jump to change things between them, blocked by different fears Alex and Poppy consciously and unconsciously have.
Bad timing, other people in their lives, wrong ideas about what the other may or not feel in return.. all reflects how sometimes life could be easier and without so many turns and twists if we just could be able to make that right step, to say and explain what we think or feel, so we can prevent misunderstandings and hurt. However, life doesn't flow like this, in an idyllic and perfect way. Sometimes we need more time, sometimes we make mistakes, we fix them, it's human. Sometimes, we need really to understand ourselves before being capable to be honest with the others, even with the people we love or care the most.

This story is a reminder that even if we can do or say something wrong, sometimes the solution is not going back before that, but change the prospective and understand what the real problem is.
More than that, to quote Alex and Poppy, this book "speaks to me!" I totally understand the loneliness that characterizes them: the feeling to be alone even in a group of people, where you can't find a real connection because, no matter how hard you try, they still consider you different (or laugh at you behind your back) and, at the same time, the necessity to always behave good and responsible because that's what other people expects you to do, expectations that make you stuck in a figure that in a certain way describes you, but not entirely fits with your person. It's something that hurts, a lot, but that doesn't mean you have something wrong. Even more, it doesn't have to stop you to find your happiness and it doesn't mean that, out there, there isn't someone that will love and appreciate you entirely, someone you can be yourself with, without fears or restrictions about what they could think. Maybe it needs time, but we have just to jump and take the risks, if they're worth, so we can find our true "home".

So, I think I'll talk endlessly about this book (and if you have read it, PLEASE, write me because I would love to chat about it!!), but the simple truth is that at the beginning of the book Emily said "This book is for you", and it really is.
If you ever read this little review, thank you, Emily. I've laughed, I was moved and I became so much affectionate to those characters because they're so concrete I can figure them in real life with their strength and weaknesses, and just as they are, they don't deserve anything but happiness.

I absolutely adored Beach Read by Emily Henry, so I had extremely high hopes for this book and wow 👏🏼 EMILY 👏🏼 HENRY 👏🏼 CAN 👏🏼 DO 👏🏼 NO 👏🏼 WRONG!!

I absolutely loved this book!
Emily Henry writes characters that will stay with you for a long time
Poppy and Alex were absolute sweethearts and watching their love story in alternating time lines was really enjoyable.

3.5⭐

I guess after *Beach Read* my expectations were a bit too high for this one 😅

The protagonists are cute and I did pull for them but I don't think this story is going to stay with me for long. The whole friends to lovers plot might have worked better for me if it was told in chronological order, instead of flashbacks, to have a bit more build up. In particular, it feels unnecessary to drag the "reveal" of what drove them apart for so long when it's fairly obvious to the reader from the very start.

It's still a solid romance though, I'm sure a lot of people will love it and I'll continue picking up any romance Emily Henry comes up with!

You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry is the perfect vacation read, I can just imagine sitting poolside with a cocktail or two and devouring this delightful story.
Alex and Poppy have been best friends since college, despite something of a rocky introduction , and every summer they go on a trip together. From the early days when they were on a strict budget to more recently where Poppy's job as a writer for a travel magazine has provided some perks the highlight of the year for both of them has been their annual trip. Even when things go wrong, being together makes it all okay. Two summers ago it all went wrong on a trip to Croatia and the best friends haven't spoken since.
Poppy reaches out to Alex , hoping that one last trip might salvage their friendship and also give her some much needed perspective and direction in her life , both personal and professional, and so they head to Florida in the height of the Summer heat where Poppy has one week to convince Alex to give their friendship another chance.
I really enjoyed so much about this book, the characters are fantastic, the dialogue sparkles and the author is not afraid to sprinkle some really emotional moments throughout. I thought the dual timeline worked really well, giving a full history of how the pair became such close friends, and eventually how that friendship disintegrated. It is that history which makes the reader so invested in the current storyline. The book hits a lot of romance tropes like second chance love, friends to lovers and opposites attract , and does it remarkably well. It is impossible not to root for these characters , though at times it may feel like you want to shake them when they appear oblivious to how the other is feeling,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I am a fussy romance reader. I begin reading them very willing to give up quickly, so as not to invest time in them that I can't get back. Things I have stopped reading for include: the female main character taking Doritos and other junk food out of the trolley of her unexpected room mate who she had just met - this seemed like a sign that this character was going to rub me the wrong way. Another time, in a different book, a guy sat at an unoccupied table in a New York cafe, but this was the table the main character was going to sit at. She then told him it was her table. Again, I abandoned the story at that point because I honestly couldn't deal with her point of view on this scenario.

When I first tried to read Beach Read, Emily Henry's previous novel I was a bit put off at first but never enough to make me abandon it entirely, I pushed through the initial reaction and ended up really enjoying it. So much so, I was a bit worried that this title wouldn't live up to it. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed You And Me on Vacation from the start.

The story of two people who have been friends for a long time and how their feelings of friendship at certain times have given way to a potential for more. Until their ill-fated Croatia trip where it all went wrong two years earlier.

Told with chapters set in the current summer, and interspersed with chapters set on former summer trips, we get the history and the present status of their friendship. I enjoyed this framing device and think it helped with both building characters and giving the narrative a solid shape to work with.

For a lot of the story I thought I preferred it to Beach Read, but I do think the ending of You and Me on Vacation wasn't as well executed, and that maybe we were kept waiting a bit too long to find out about Croatia.

Ultimately, this made me laugh a lot, and I enjoyed it. I will definitely continue to read Emily Henry. My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for my copy if this book, it was just what i needed after the last few months, Poppy is a travel writer and every year takes a trip with her best friend. The book swtiches between the present and a snippet of each of their previous trips.
I found myself really liking the main characters and it was easy to read - perfect summer read

Rating: 5 million stars

Let me start off by saying that this has become my all time favourite book, so if that doesn’t make you want to read it, then I hope my review will persuade you.

Poppy and Alex are best friends, they’re inseparable and yet so different. Every year since meeting at college they go on a cheap vacation together. Poppy, the wild spirit that she is, loves an adventure, while Alex, a tough on the outside but soft on the inside guy, is more reserved. Together they make a great pair and enjoy the holidays they take together, each year exploring a different part of the world or their own country. Until one year, it all goes wrong…

It takes them 2 years to get back in touch. Poppy has moved to NYC from small-town Ohio and is enjoying her life as a travel journalist and blogger, whilst Alex remains in Linfield and continues teaching. Each of them have their own lives, but they want different things. And yet, there’s this strong connection that they just can’t shake off. Finally, they decide to take one last trip together. It will either make them or break them for good. Will they finally find a way to be together despite the differences and wanting to take different paths in life..?

Y’all. The chemistry between these two is one that I haven’t seen in a book since The Simple Wild. I can’t remember a book that did the friends to lovers trope SO WELL. I’m usually all for enemies to lovers (duh) but this one made me cry and laugh and gasp and just want to push Poppy and Alex together and just UGHHH.

Go preorder the paperback or get the ebook, whatever you fancy. But for the love of god please read this book.

You and Me on Vacation is a wonderful heartwarming friends-to-lovers romance and I adored it from beginning to end. Poppy and Alex meet on their first day of university. They don’t hit it off immediately but after sharing a car ride Poppy draws out Alex’s fun and humorous side and they end up forming a special friendship. Complete opposites in personality and what they want from life made this relationship unique and interesting. I loved following them on their different holiday destinations and the fun and laughter they had, despite sometimes having very little money on a budget holiday. From the onset it is clear where it is headed, however it was still lovely to follow their journey getting there, the highs and lows of their friendship and then watching their feelings grow. I was rooting for both of them every step of the way.

The construction of the story is fabulous, there are two alternating timelines the past summers and the ‘This Summer’ narrative which then seamlessly coalesce towards the end. It’s really well written and the tender and gentle way in which some heavy topics are discussed brought a lump to my throat. A compelling read particularly with the lingering suspense of what happened between Alex and Poppy in Croatia, culminating in their two year silence.

There is excellent character development throughout and the perfect pacing and background history allows the reader time to get to know and love the characters. The chemistry between Poppy and Alex becomes intoxicating and I liked that the author beautifully describes their moments of passion and desire without the need to be smutty or explicit.

I enjoyed both of this author’s books immensely, but she certainly showcases her talent for romance writing in this one. I didn’t want it to end and I would quite happily read it all over again without hesitation. An uplifting and beautifully written summer read with warm and relatable characters. My favourite romance so far this year and I look forward to reading more of her books.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC, the proof copy <<heart>> and for inviting me on the Instagram tour.

I absolutely loved this book! Friends to lovers is my fave so this was right up my street :) So much of this book was relatable and I loved hearing about their past. My only gripe is that sometimes the kind of split timeline felt a bit disjointed! Would thoroughly recommend to all who like het friends to lovers romance novels <3

(Gifted by the publisher (Penguin), through NetGalley! Thank you so much xx)

Review coming to my bookstagram page on 13/06/21 (link below x)

Firstly. Thank you so much to the guys at @vikingbooksuk for sending this great package across to me and the guys at @kocktail.co.uk

If you love a cocktail - check out their page. The cocktails are amazing! I also have a special discount code. So let me know if you want to take advantage of that ♥️

12 SUMMERS AGO: Poppy and Alex meet. They hate each other, and are pretty confident they'll never speak again.

11 SUMMERS AGO: They're forced to share a ride home from college and by the end of it a friendship is formed. And a pact: every year, one vacation together.

10 SUMMERS AGO: Alex discovers his fear of flying on the way to Vancouver.
Poppy holds his hand the whole way.

7 SUMMERS AGO: They get far too drunk and narrowly avoid getting matching tattoos in New Orleans.

2 SUMMERS AGO: It all goes wrong.

THIS SUMMER: Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. A trip that will determine the rest of their lives.

This book flips between three different times, three different summers.

This book was a perfect read for a lovely summers evening, whilst having a few drinks. It got me right in the mood to go on holiday myself

Despite the book being predictable, it was beautifully written with so much chemistry! 🔥

I think this book would be a perfect escape for anyone who is dreaming of that summer holiday and romance and to live vicariously through poppy and Alex until we can get away ourselves!!

This was definitely one of my most favourite reads this year. Alex and Poppy were extremely cute. Their connection and love for each other made this book wonderful. The way they cared for one another and loved each other in secret almost made me cry. Also they had the best tropes that there are. I could really relate to Poppy's trouble and was so happy that she could overcome them. I definetely recommend to read this book.

Very good. It had me hooked from the very first page as the characters were well written and also the vacation spots were so detailed that I felt like I was there. Lovely romantic story between two unlikely characters which made me want to discover what happens between them.

This was a cute friends to lovers romance. I appreciated the alternating chapters that showed their vacations over the years and the current situation. It really gave great insight into them as individuals, them together and how their relationship evolved. I did feel like the big thing that happened in Croatia was dragged out a bit too long but overall I liked it.

I did really like the fact that these two are truly opposites but they're each other's person. Even throughout their romantic relationships with other people and break ups they were always there for each other until, the moment that caused them to drift apart. But they eventually rekindled their friendship and that attraction that they've both been trying to ignore just flares right up!

After finishing, and loving Beach Read, I knew I just had to read You and Me on Vacation. I went in with high expectations and was not disappointed. I loved this book. It was the perfect summer read and I did not want to put it down.

‘Sometimes it feels like I didn’t even exist before that. Like you invented me.’

Poppy and Alex were best friends that met in their first year of university. It was not until they carpooled home together that their friendship really begun. This book follows the present timeline of Poppy and Alex reuniting to go on one last holiday to save their friendship, whilst having flashback chapters of previous years. Every summer since they first met, Poppy and Alex have gone on vacation together, up until two years prior when they stopped talking to each other. I was desperate to find out the reason behind this so did not put this book down.

‘You’re home to me, Alex. And I think I’m that for you too.’

There was so much tension between these two main characters, who were obviously made for each other. I think the comparison with One Day is perfect as they keep seeming to miss one another, or not realise their feelings for each other until the very last moment. There were so many cute scenes and I could not get enough of their relationship. It made me reconsider whether enemies to lovers is my favourite trope, or whether it’s friends to lovers! This has honestly been one of my favourite romance books this year, and it may even take the top spot. It is a definite reread, and I cannot recommend enough! I don’t think my review can do this book justice, as I can’t seem to find the words to say how much I loved it!

I absolutely loved Beach Read so I knew I'd have to read this and I just hoped I loved it as much.

Whilst this is a completely different book to Beach Read it's hard not to make comparisons - there is a man and a woman on holiday with a will they/won't they relationship. Although with that being said didn't feel as though I was rereading the same book.

I fell in love with Poppy and Alex and found myself racing through the book partly to get more of their relationship and partly to find out why they had fallen out two years ago.

I can't fault this book - another winner by Emily Henry for me!