Reviews with content warning for Grief - People We Meet on Vacation

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

People We Meet on Vacation, by Emily Henry

131 reviews

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed Book Lovers. When I read Book Lovers first, everyone was saying it was much better than her previous work and I thought they were being cryptic . . . but they were right – this book was missing a spark.

This book is based on Poppy Wright. Every year for 12 years she has spent her summers with her best friend Alex Nielsen. When they met 12 years ago, they hated each other and were pretty confident they’ll never speak again. 11 years ago, they are 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 years ago, Poppy discovers that Alex has a fear of flying on the way to Vancouver and Poppy holds his hand the whole way. 7 years ago, they get far too drunk and narrowly avoid getting matching tattoos in New Orleans. 2 years ago, it all goes wrong. This year, Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. A trip that will determine the rest of their lives.

I liked the idea of this story, and I liked the main characters, but I just felt like it was missing something. I think it’s something to do with friends to lovers I've never seen it done well except for Final Offer by Lauren Asher. I find myself skimming through this book especially towards the end, as I can’t stand 3rd part breakups. And I felt like the 2 summers ago big event was so much of a build up for it to be a little hill and not that big of a deal. The only one who really saved this book was Alex. He was so funny and sweet and awkward and the whole time I just wanted to hug him.

I liked the writing of this book, I just didn’t personally connect to it. I didn’t really vibe with Poppy and with her being the main character and main voice during the novel, I was just skimming a lot of it.

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nicolescottwv's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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musingsbynitika's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

4.0

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stardustandrockets's review against another edition

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4.5

I may or may not write a full review for this one, but I see a lot of myself in both Poppy and Alex. Also, idk if it's just me, but Alex definitely reads as autistic.

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rickireadss's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this was good yet not my favorite. i was honestly having a pretty great time up until the end. i hated the like last 10-15%. i liked the past and present storytelling. LOVED the sick / comfort scene. i liked alex yet felt like he was such a flat character sometimes??? idk. i think i liked this more than beach read but still didn’t make emily a like “must read” author for me 🫠

⚠️: death of parent, grief, bullying, drug use, injury/injury detail

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izzieisaloser's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad 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

4.5

SPOILERS

I love Alex a whole lot tbh (except for chapter 35 did not love him then, genuinely teared up a lot) But loved him immediately again on chapter 36.

But I love their dynamic and how you can tell Alex is in love with her during the flashbacks (and current time) but she’s just ignorant to it the ENTIRE time. Annoying af but very funny at the same time. Sarah pissed me off a lot. Love David.

I read books and just wish I could be in one sometimes where all my problems get solved relatively quickly, writing this on a book where a problem that happened two years ago isn’t solved for the whole two years is a little not correct but it’s okay.

Any way loved everyone (but Sarah)

Stacey and Bob are definitely some of my top 10 favorite fictional people ever.

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rosamund4096's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

Loved it! I was looking for a romance novel that would make me cry, in the vein of ‘every summer after’ and I got it!

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now_booking's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

Wow. What an emotional rollercoaster. I ill-advisedly started this after midnight as a bedtime read. And have been unable to go to sleep until I finish. It is soooo compelling, so laugh-out-loud funny, so weirdly brilliant in parts that even though I’m not the hugest fan of the haphazard timeline in telling the story, I’ve been unable to put this down.

The premise is that Poppy and Alex are long-time friends from university who made a pact to go on vacation every year but who fell out over a much vaunted incident two years ago. Now, Poppy, missing her best friend with whom there’s always been a “frisson,” reaches out for one last chance to save their friendship, which unfortunately turns out to be a disaster vacation.

I liked this slow burn. Poppy and Alex as characters were witty and likeable and the author developed them with an authenticity and humanity that really made them multidimensional and imperfect but eminently likeable. Yes, Poppy has a hint of manic pixie dream girl about her but not to an extreme degree and she is eminently self-aware and would be the first to call herself out over it. Alex on the other hand is the straight shooter to Poppy’s free spirit but even he, is silly and funny and wise. The best thing about this book is the character development and the build up of the chemistry and tension and the romantic love between Alex and Poppy. It is absolutely adorable and sexy and really beautiful to watch develop across various periods in their history together. The epilogue is the most glorious thing. The descriptions of love and relationships and Alex and Poppy’s feelings for each other, gorgeous. I mean you read the last 10% of this book clutching at your heart because it’s so beautiful.

That said, for me, the haphazard piecing together of their story meant that certain elements linked to their getting together felt a bit abrupt in the present time. It kind of felt like the story didn’t really get started till about 70% in and that prior to that, all we had were scenes of context… nicely written context, but context nonetheless. There were also a lot of very contrived-feeling miscommunications to scupper the relationship in the final act that just felt out-of-place and a little silly in the context of how well these characters knew and understood each other. I think the author brought it back full circle and it was good to see seeking mental healthcare play a role in this story. I also found that the best part of this book, the “will-they/won’t-they” tension, is also the worst part of this book- in that as a reader, I admit to getting a little impatient with the constant hinting and alluding to events two years prior without much actual movement in the plot. And then when the events two years prior are finally revealed near the end, they were easily guessed and not as dramatic as matters arising. I guess I loved the story and the characters, but the format of the storytelling wasn’t my favourite and I feel like it made some of the really meaningful portions of this book feel a little throwaway and random and somewhat abrupt.

Overall, I enjoyed this. It felt like an eminently millennial book in a way. The struggle of being mid-career and having achieved some career goals but kind of going through the crisis of finding your purpose and meaning and pursuing contentment and challenge yet feeling stuck. As someone in that demographic, I definitely related to that struggle and I think this author did too as she wrote about it and wrote these characters with a great deal of empathy. This is my second book by this author after Beach Read, and I’m blown away by how good it is. I can’t recommend it enough!

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blanditee's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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bri__'s review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of the major plot conflict being miscommunication. While, I enjoyed the male love interest Alex Nilsen, I found our main character, Poppy Wright to be a little annoying at times with her lack of thoughts and consideration towards the relationship. The romance itself was cute and bubbly, especially the last few pages. The first 200 pages felt very repetitious with the vacations and it confused me sometimes with the back-to-back timelines between the past and present. The writing itself was pretty easy to read and I was engaged in where the couple were headed. However, I definitely would not recommend this book to someone that dislikes the miscommunication trope as heavily as I do.

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