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A review by schneehutte
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ironically, I read this during my vacation. Should I read "Beach Read" when I go to the beach?
I am not the biggest fan of romance books, but sometimes I allow myself to indulge in them and enjoy the somewhat unrealistic plots. This book has, after all, my favorite tropes in romance: slow burn, and friends-to-lovers... But I got my remarks, especially about the main character, Poppy (after Blood and Ash, I already developed a dislike towards this name, and this book is not helping).
Since it is vacation and this book is supposed to meet this vibe, I will go for a very simple and "chill" bullet-pointed review for this one. I think it makes my thoughts clearer. Since I don't want to end this on a bad note, let's start with my nitpicks. Then I will move on to the things that I liked about this book.
Dislikes:
- Look, I know slow burn is supposed to be slow - but well, 12 years of dramatic and sexual tension is a very long time. Most of Alex' and Poppy's problems could have been resolved with honest, heart-to-heart conversations about their feelings, like adults. Instead of being cute, the slowness became extremely annoying (which I think justifies some users saying that the last chapters of the book were what saved the plot. Because the other chapters sure haven't).
- The fact that they are... barely purely friends. I think Poppy mentions it at one point, but since the beginning of their relationship, they already act like boyfriend and girlfriend - being touchy, banter, saying "I love you" all the time - and brush everything off as a really good friendship. This can be cute in some situations (the "oh-we-are-not-dating" trope), but in the way it was written, it made things so pathetically obvious to everyone, and even more unbelievable that they kept it like this for 12 years. And they take it to an extreme too: I don't think sharing beds, sleeping together, hugging and kissing foreheads are things that friends (even if you are at a will-it-be-more-than-friendship-one-day state) do and brush off so easily.
- Poppy. I know the last chapters touch on this (so I am tempted to forgive some parts), but GODDAMN is this girl childish. I am sorry, I know we are supposed to feel sympathy for her after what happened in her childhood, but this woman is supposed to be 28. She dates any other guy just not to say her feelings for Alex for... no reason? She is exactly like the "girl-best friend" who doesn't allow her male friends to see anyone because she needs to be the center of attention while giving them false hope and picturing the girlfriend as a monster, because "how dare she take him away from me". . In this entire thing, I just felt bad for Sarah.
- This might come off as a personal nitpick, but I don't like the "opposites attract" trope. Having different interests is one thing, but being the complete opposite of each other is another. I know that Poppy and Alex have several interests in common, but in real life, their lifestyles aren't compatible. I am glad they made it work believably at the end - so that's forgiven - but at the beginning, I was quite skeptical.
- I honestly think this book would be so much better without their break-up stories. Let's be honest: Poppy and Alex were cheating on their partners. Cheating doesn't need to be physical, in my opinion. They essentially played with other people (especially Poppy) while expecting to be with someone else and expecting their partners to be okay with that. Again, I feel bad for Sarah. Sarah breaking up with Alex by saying an awful thing was a way for the author to make us not sympathize with her and picture Poppy as the hero. Felt fake and like a plot device.
Now let's go for likes!
- The writing positively surprised me. I liked Emily Henry's style: it is simple, clear, and sometimes gives thoughtful insights - which very much fits the summer vacation vibe. Some millennials cringe here and there, sure, but amidst the good writing parts, I will overlook it. I think the plot structure with the flashbacks could be annoying for some, but I liked it. I felt it guided the story pretty well and made me invested.
- The background stories. An important part, at least in my opinion, about the "opposites attract" trope is how their personalities came to be - and why. This is mostly overlooked in books, but not on this one. I loved hearing about Alex's backstory and his brothers, and Poppy and how she feels protective of her family. It justifies some parts of their behavior and does a good job of making me feel connected to their characters. I wish we could get more of this.
- The end. By reading the book cover, you can already predict how 90% of the book is gonna go, so I would suppose the big difference is what happens in the end. I must say, it was somehow a satisfying conclusion. I liked Alex's final words and telling Poppy his mind, I liked her searching for therapy to solve her problems, and I liked the fact that they finally (FINALLY!) were able to talk like adults just for once. I liked the conversation with Jason Stanley and Poppy facing her fears, and overcoming academic burnout. That (as opposed to the 12-year slow burn) was very, very real. I think just the final paragraphs were enough to bump a solid 0,5 star to my original 3-star review of this.
- Alex. My time to be cheesy, but I fall hard for gentlemen. I won't elaborate more.
- If I said that the slow burn dragged and annoyed me at the beginning of the book, what happens at around 75% overruns it. Once the slow burn, well, burns, I got a very cute couple with very cute dialogue.
I think I will be trying more of Emily Henry. As long as there are no more third-party break-ups, I think I found another author on my list!
I am not the biggest fan of romance books, but sometimes I allow myself to indulge in them and enjoy the somewhat unrealistic plots. This book has, after all, my favorite tropes in romance: slow burn, and friends-to-lovers... But I got my remarks, especially about the main character, Poppy (after Blood and Ash, I already developed a dislike towards this name, and this book is not helping).
Since it is vacation and this book is supposed to meet this vibe, I will go for a very simple and "chill" bullet-pointed review for this one. I think it makes my thoughts clearer. Since I don't want to end this on a bad note, let's start with my nitpicks. Then I will move on to the things that I liked about this book.
Dislikes:
- Look, I know slow burn is supposed to be slow - but well, 12 years of dramatic and sexual tension is a very long time. Most of Alex' and Poppy's problems could have been resolved with honest, heart-to-heart conversations about their feelings, like adults. Instead of being cute, the slowness became extremely annoying (which I think justifies some users saying that the last chapters of the book were what saved the plot. Because the other chapters sure haven't).
- The fact that they are... barely purely friends. I think Poppy mentions it at one point, but since the beginning of their relationship, they already act like boyfriend and girlfriend - being touchy, banter, saying "I love you" all the time - and brush everything off as a really good friendship. This can be cute in some situations (the "oh-we-are-not-dating" trope), but in the way it was written, it made things so pathetically obvious to everyone, and even more unbelievable that they kept it like this for 12 years. And they take it to an extreme too: I don't think sharing beds, sleeping together, hugging and kissing foreheads are things that friends (even if you are at a will-it-be-more-than-friendship-one-day state) do and brush off so easily.
- Poppy.
- This might come off as a personal nitpick, but I don't like the "opposites attract" trope. Having different interests is one thing, but being the complete opposite of each other is another. I know that Poppy and Alex have several interests in common, but in real life, their lifestyles aren't compatible. I am glad they made it work believably at the end - so that's forgiven - but at the beginning, I was quite skeptical.
- I honestly think this book would be so much better without their break-up stories. Let's be honest: Poppy and Alex were cheating on their partners. Cheating doesn't need to be physical, in my opinion. They essentially played with other people (especially Poppy) while expecting to be with someone else and expecting their partners to be okay with that. Again, I feel bad for Sarah.
Now let's go for likes!
- The writing positively surprised me. I liked Emily Henry's style: it is simple, clear, and sometimes gives thoughtful insights - which very much fits the summer vacation vibe. Some millennials cringe here and there, sure, but amidst the good writing parts, I will overlook it. I think the plot structure with the flashbacks could be annoying for some, but I liked it. I felt it guided the story pretty well and made me invested.
- The background stories. An important part, at least in my opinion, about the "opposites attract" trope is how their personalities came to be - and why. This is mostly overlooked in books, but not on this one. I loved hearing about Alex's backstory and his brothers, and Poppy and how she feels protective of her family. It justifies some parts of their behavior and does a good job of making me feel connected to their characters. I wish we could get more of this.
- The end.
- Alex. My time to be cheesy, but I fall hard for gentlemen. I won't elaborate more.
- If I said that the slow burn dragged and annoyed me at the beginning of the book, what happens at around 75% overruns it. Once the slow burn, well, burns, I got a very cute couple with very cute dialogue.
I think I will be trying more of Emily Henry. As long as there are no more third-party break-ups, I think I found another author on my list!