Thoughts on : People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Stand alone
About the Book :
Poppy and Alex have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. What could possibly go wrong?
I read Beach Read last year and, like many other readers, really enjoyed it. It wasn’t a favorite, but I had a good time reading it and enjoyed Emily Henry’s writing, so I was looking forward to her new book.
Sadly, People We Meet on Vacation failed to meet my expectations. I’m once again the odd one out, because people seem to absolutely love it, yet I struggled a bit to finish it.
There were some parts I really enjoyed. I thought Poppy and Alex had some good banter and I liked how their personalities contrasted. Alex was different (less alpha, quieter) from most male main characters I usually encounter in romance novels, which was a welcome change. And Emily Henry’s writing was still good.
But the back and forth between the present and past vacations really didn’t work for me. The past vacations felt repetitive and didn’t grab me. I would have preferred it if the author included some anecdotes and stories within the narration in the present. I wished their current vacation would have lasted a couple more days, so that I could get to know them better now.
I also had a hard time connecting with Poppy. To me, it felt as though she barely grew up between the past and present. I understand feeling lost even as an adult, unsure of where you’re going; but I wish she’d shown a bit more maturity.
The tension was good though. I like a slow burn, and this worked fine for me. I just wish I could have been as enamoured with this book as other readers. Maybe the next one?
It’s on my wish list because I enjoyed Beach Read so much but lately I’ve read very mixed reviews. I still plan to read but I’m glad to read your take.