People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry is an endearing rom-com story about two best friends, Alex and Poppy, who have a tradition of taking a summer vacation together at least once a year. During one of these getaways, something happens between the two of them that causes tension to the friendship when they have not spoken ever since an incident happened. As time passes, Poppy thinks back on when she was truly happy in life since her dream job is not as satisfying anymore. The answer to Poppy's question is that she found herself at her happiest with Alex during their last vacation although they continue to move on with their lives while their dynamic is put on a pause; Poppy living in New York as a travel enthusiast and Alex living in their hometown, Ohio, as an educator. You can't help but appreciate their witty banter, humor, and admiration for one another as their emotional story unfolds. This book, among many others, is quite popular in the rom-com genre on Booktok (Tiktok book community) and Bookstagram (Instagram book community). I wanted to give this a try despite not reading too many books from this specific genre. This is the second rom-com I have read so far and I did enjoy this one enough to add more to my TBR list!
"I'm saying that purpose matters more than contentment."
Rom-coms are cute, fun, quirky reads. I enjoyed this one with many "aw" moments and laughs between Alex and Poppy. Only a few quotes in particular from Henry's writing stood out to me. Her writing is simple to understand this lovable story about friendship, adventure, and romantic relationships. I enjoy Poppy's character and found myself relating to certain things about her; the uncertainty of what one wants in life, her career of being a blog writer, and finding herself as well as what truly makes her happy. I did enjoy the present to past chapters, however, I think the big reveal of the entire story was slow, predictable, and it could have been done differently! I also wish the chapters could have been told from the perspectives of both characters instead of Poppy's narrative and time sequence chapters.
"I wish I could bottle this moment and wear it as a perfume. It would always be with me. Everywhere I went, he'd be there too, and so I'd always feel like myself."
The story caught my attention from the beginning but I felt completely invested when I got to 200 pages. Readers who like rom-coms, those who are looking to get into this genre for the first time, or to change your reading preferences like myself would enjoy this book.
Overall, this book speaks to me.
Emily Henry is also known for her other popular novel, Beach Read, which I will read to compare these two books.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Enjoy and happy reading!
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