It feels like I just finished a Ross and Rachel AU.

It's interesting because I was actually recently discussing that I am really not a fan of friends to lovers dynamic where they're secretly in love and joining for each other for essentially the entire "friendship". For me, it's two people that are simply being dishonest with their own feelings.

This book works, just not for me.

"You and Me on Vacation" (or People You Meet on Vacation) follows Poppy and Alex's friendship. They try and figure out their relationship while also going on fantastic holidays. I think this book will be great for people who enjoy that friends to lovers dynamic generally, but it's just not my cup of tea. Especially as I found that I actually preferred Poppy and Alex as friends rather than as lovers, They really did remind me of Ross and Rachel from friends (much better execution, I really do have to stress). The dynamic there seemed to exist here as well, and I just didn't vibe with it.

Besides the fact that this plot was just not entirely my cup of tea, I felt like the books' timing and the pacing were off. It started off great and really strong, but about a third way into the book, the story began to feel slightly drawn out. For one, I felt like these grown adults should just bloody talk to each other properly. I also felt the big reveal falls so flat because of its place in the plot; there's all this build-up, and it sort of just fizzles away.

Is this a bad book? Definitely not, and there are definitely people I would recommend this book to, but it just wasn't for me.

A 2.5 rounded up.

(Netgalley ARC)

I was both excited and trepidatious to read this book after adoring Beach Read last year, but I needn't have worried, I may have even adored this one more

This book follows Poppy and Alex who have been best friends for ten years...until something happened on holiday two years ago which may have ruined everything, especially their chance at romance

From the prologue the connection and hashtag banter between Poppy and Alex had me completely hooked. I was instantly invested in their friendship and shared history and couldn't wait to find out everything about them

I loved both of them but related to Alex a lot, the poor anxious, routine loving, "boring" bean. His insecurities and goals were so relatable, and the fact that he doesn't have lofty goals of leaving his home town particularly. I'm sure it also doesn't hurt for Poppy that he's ripped

I loved how this book was written between timelines. We mainly get present day with alternating chapters of their holidays together over the years, from meeting in college to the trip that, it's hinted at, ruined everything between them

I'd highly recommend this book to everyone tbh. But especially adult contemporary and romance readers, and people who loved Beach Read

This was a wonderful read, perfect for those who are unable to travel and can cope with reading about travel writers and their holidays, the good and the bad.
It was fun, enjoyable, a will they won’t they, what did happen in croatia teaser of a book. As with her previous book this should be the perfect beach read, if visiting beaches and pools are allowed again.
Highly recommend. Thank you

I couldn't believe my luck when I was accepted for an E-ARC of You & Me on Vacation via NetGalley. I requested the book after reading Beach Read as our fortnightly pick for Behind The Blurb book club. Beach Read made me fall in love with Emily's writing and this book only furthered that.

You & Me on Vacation follows the journey of two best friends through college and the years that come after. They both encounter challenging times & some of these seem to have lasting effects on their friendship, however they stick to their promise of one vacation together a year.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and without a doubt would give it five stars. It offered the perfect form of escapism (in a time where none of us are able to escape to anywhere else), easy to follow with a few twists and turns along the way meaning I wasn't ever bored by the content. I enjoyed how the book flicked between current and past tense, allowing our idea and knowledge of the characters & their struggles to develop as we delved further into their back stories. This book has left me wishing Emily would write a sequel as I'm not finished with the characters!

This book screams beachy read, it has a friends to lovers trope, drama, summer vacations and drinks! Poppy and Alex met at college and have been BFF since, they are polar opposites, and travels together every summer. The story is told in Poppy’s POV, rotating from present day and the past twelve years.
Until one summer vacation where something drastic happens and they stop talking. Two years go by, Poppy is missing Alex so she reaches out and offers one last vacation to see where it leads them! This book made me laugh, cry, & root for romance and I adore Poppy & Alex, they are so relatable and likable! Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK, and the author for a gifted copy.

This book was mentioned in a very popular online bookclub as a must read if you’re looking for a romance to sweep you off your feet. Sadly it didn’t live up to that expectation, but it was an easy read with a relationship that felt realistic. Sadly it was also very predictable and the grand reveal of the reason why Poppy and Alex’s relationship is strained turned out to be a damp squib. Funny on occasion, and with several on point observations, sadly this book just didn’t sing for me. I wanted to love it, I really did but in the end it’s hovering around a 3/3.5.

Perfect pandemic reading.

I really enjoyed watching Poppy and Alex's relationship grow throughout the story. They are both well-rounded likeable, and authentic characters. I particularly liked their inside jokes. Definitely how my friends and I are with each other. The flashbacks to previous summer trips were also a lovely touch. Not only do you understand Poppy and Alex better as characters, but you get to be their travel buddies through Emily's vivid writing. This definitely filled a holiday-shaped hole for me. So, if you are in need of a fun, escapist read full of armchair travel. Pick this up immediately!

I adored this friends to lovers contemporary romance. It gave me all the warm fuzzies without ever crossing the line into cheesy. Poppy and Alex’s relationship is explored and expanded in a way that feels more realistic than most other friends to lovers stories I’ve read. They truly were friends and lived their lives without one of them secretly pining for the other until their relationship grew into something more. They definitely always loved one another but it was an enduring love that was such a joy to read.

And if you can’t tell by the cover and title, this will be a wonderful book to read over the summer.

I raced through this in one day and was itching to get back to it whenever I had to put it down. You and Me on Vacation is the story of Poppy and Alex’s friendship since college that is largely maintained through an annual summer vacation together. Poppy is a travel writer based in New York and Alex is a teacher in Ohio. The timeline of the story is split between their present summer vacation in Palm Springs and previous vacations they have been on as Poppy tries to decipher her true feelings for Alex. Their friendship is so genuine and believable it is a joy to read and you feel like you truly get to know them both. This will make a superb holiday read when we are out of lockdown. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC - I thoroughly enjoyed it!

You and Me on Vacation exceeded all expectations. Henry said at the start: 'This one’s for you' and I don’t know what I did to get SO SPOILT. Honestly, it was perfect.

It is about a boy and a girl who get up to all sorts of mischief together. It spans twelve years where they take vacations, exploring the world and as these things go—for every thing that goes right something also goes wrong.

I mentioned being spoilt and this had ALL the tropes. Poppy is a bright, free-spirited, hilarious wanderer and Alex is this academic, clean slash control freak with a heart of gold. If you like opposites attract this is for you, Regardless of their differences, they are so perfectly matched—their dialogue is a witty, game of table tennis you can barely keep up with.

They had a long history of friendship—it was a little bit One day (for women written by a woman). This is my kind of story, because I love people with HISTORY—there is just no way this kind of emotion can exist in a book where the leads meet there and then. This was past and present and we were barrelling towards a big event on their last trip that had caused a two year rift between Poppy and Alex.

They both had some personal hurdles and you couldn’t help but root for them individually. They had soft and precious souls, and strong family values. This had lots of important life messages, which can sometimes be corny, but here just made you think and contemplate it all.

I just don’t know how my review can do justice to the chemistry and love and happiness and connection I felt this book created. The way Poppy described her feelings was exactly how I was feeling reading it. I dreamed of it ending with all these wild declarations and it was exceptional. I was blown away, tears falling NOT READY IN ANY WAY TO LET THEM GO.

Brilliant will-they, won’t-they tale spread over a many-year friendship, The story covers many holidays in multiple countries as the two friends meet up, all while skirting round their true feelings. A family wedding and disastrous accommodation brings everything to a head.

I received an e-ARC of this book on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

You and Me on Vacation can only be described as my new favourite romance trope. It's not friends-to-lovers; it's idiot-to-lovers.

Poppy and Alex's story starts out with some serious When Harry Met Sally vibes, which I love. They meet at Freshman Week in Chicago and find out they're from the same small town in Ohio, but they went to different schools, so they never met. Alex is a neurotic nerd and gym rat, whilst Poppy is an eclectic loner who was bullied a lot in school and looking for a fresh start.

The two absolutely do not hit it off and part with nothing more than a "Good luck" until the end of the year when Poppy needs a drive home to Ohio and her roommates "knows a guy from Ohio." Re-enter Alex and a friendship that goes on for the next decade with so many ups, downs and angst.

The story is told entirely from the perspective of Poppy, alternating between the present day, where Poppy and Alex have not spoken for two years until her loneliness convinces Poppy to reach out and plan a summer vacation together, and the ten preceding summers.

I have so much love for Poppy and Alex and felt their past hurts and joys; their crush riddled angst and fear of "ruining a friendship" that led to them not communicating their true feelings.

This book was a joy to read, and I can't wait to read it again on the beach this summer.

The perfect book to take on your holidays (when we can finally get on a plane anyway!!)

This is a friends to lovers romance and one that is written beautifully between two time lines which are easy to follow with the helpful chapter headings!

Emily is one of my go to authors for a quick feel good read and one I’ll always pick up!

Poppy and Alex come from the same small town in America but don't meet up until they are in college. A friendship develops and they agree to spend summer holidays together. They are total opposites. Poppy has itchy feet and wants to see the world, Alex goes back to settle in his home town.
It's obvious that they will get together beyond friendship.
I found this a satisfying read, a good holiday romance. It was well developed with the clear chapter headings for past and present trips. Although not a challenging book it was interesting enough to satisfy a poolside session or two.

4,5 stars
The more I´ve advanced in the story, the more I´ve liked it. I´ve just adore the way the relationship between Poppy and Alex develops through all these years. When they met, they didn´t get on well, they didn´t have so much in common but a trip changed everything. During all their shared holidays, we see how their relation starts to change, they are the best Friends but things can change, can´t they? The story is full of chemistry and witty dialogues. I´ve missed Alex point of view, but I really really liked the story.

I adored this book! An uplifting story about friendship, overcoming adversity and finding love. Highly recommended!

Rating: Strong 4.5

Well! I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did.... did I say like? I meant Love!!!! Wow! I couldn't put it down and it even made me cry!!! Can you believe that? who cries over a contemporary romance book?.

This is the story of two young people: Poppy and Alex, who met in colleague and for the past 10 years have maintained their friendship by taking summer trips around the world. Of course, this is a romance book.. so basically it is a best-mates-to-lovers kind of book but it is soo more than that.

It is told from two different timelines, one in the present when Poppy is trying to reconnect with Alex and fix their friendship after what happened two years ago in Croatia... and from each of the past ten summers in which we get to know their friendship and get to fall in love with both characters.

Why is it not a 5 star? First.. the first steamy scene happens at 70%!!!!! For a while, I actually thought maybe this was a Young Adult Romance with no real steam in it! Second, I kept thinking that I have read or watched this storyline before... It reads very similar to One Day (the movie with Anna Hathaway) and I think there is a rom-com with Ryan Reynolds... can't remember.. anyway... I just think that with a simple but honest conversation the story would have had only 3 chapters.. hahah

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for providing me with an e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.... like always! #YouandMeonVacation #NetGalley

PS. I really don't like the US title of this book... People we meet on vacation.... that doesn't sound right...right?

PS2. I did not enjoy Beach Read (her previous book) but I'm back on board on the Emily Henry fan train!

This book about traveling and discovering the world as you connect with people is strangely such a perfect story during these uncertain and isolating times. It would seem like salt in the wound when we have spent a year of isolation with little or no travel, but it actually felt like just what I needed right now. I was transported to Poppy and Alex's adventures, and as the story progressed from humor to introspection, from travel to finding a sense of belonging, and from friendship to love, I laughed and I sighed and I felt deeply for Alex and Poppy and felt deeply for the parts of myself that identified with parts of them. A wonderful book that I will be rereading.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh what a gorgeous book this was. The chemistry between Poppy and Alex was fantastic and their friendship was perfection. This is one of those books that you just want to hug, whose characters find a way to nestle into your heart. I was so absorbed in these two and their story, and the way it all came together in the end was enough to warm even the coldest of hearts. Friends to lovers is not my favourite romance trope but oh goodness it was done so well here. Henry really allows the reader to see how Poppy and Alex’s relationship develops over time and how they slowly but surely fall in love. It’s witty, clever and engaging, and the travel stories will go a long way towards satisfying your wanderlust while stuck in lockdown. Be prepared to fall head over heels for these two 😍
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Highly recommend this one! It’s the perfect read for all you romantics out there, especially anyone who has ever hoped for a second chance. I loved it so much 💖

I think this book is exactly what I needed right now.

I loved Poppy and Alex right from the start. The will-they-won't-they drama hit just right. By the end, I had that full, slightly painful, happy heart feeling. That's when you know you've found a good book. It had some really funny moments too. Poppy and Alex were so charming individually, but the way they were together, and the way they felt about each other, made it for me.

When I got to the last page, I felt a little bereft. This may be dramatic, but I'm sad I can never experience this book for the first time again.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.