Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐.5/5 stars

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction

People We Meet on Vacation was my first glimpse into Emily Henry’s world back in 2021, and I absolutely devoured it. I immediately picked up Beach Read afterward, but at the time, People We Meet on Vacation was still my ride-or-die. Turns out, I was just 21.

People We Meet on Vacation (or PWMOV) follows bubbly free spirit Poppy and neurotic, nerdy Alex across nearly a decade of friendship and travel. The story alternates between the present, where Poppy and Alex haven’t spoken in two years following a fallout, and flashbacks to each year of their friendship. Most of which centered around the summer trips they took together.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like the book. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, and it does all the things a good romance should do. It still makes me feel, and it’s well written. What I struggle with now is Poppy’s characterization.

I think I loved the book when I was younger because I related to her. Rereading it as I’ve gotten older, Poppy often feels too old to be behaving the way she does. She’s inconsiderate, condescending, and constantly pushes boundaries. In the flashbacks, she’s downright awful, but she’s also nineteen, so that tracks. In the present-day storyline, she’s still insufferable at times, but you can at least see her trying, and there is real character growth there.

I have many opinions about respect and their communication, but no one has time for all of that. This is exactly why I need a book club. My biggest gripe, though, is the ending. It straight-up sucks.

ALSO I have no qualms about spoilers; this book has been out forever. This serves as your warning…

She flies all the way back to Ohio, a place she hates, for him. She gives this huge speech about how HE IS HER HOME, and I am CRYING. And then he rejects her. He basically says she’s too big of a risk because she never knows what she wants, and it makes me livid.

She does finally know what she wants. Yes, it all happens fast, but for once she’s actually thinking things through. He takes that as a personal attack and walks away, which feels wildly unfair. I understand the characterization. I get that she needed space to grow and that this moment is part of her arc. From a literary standpoint, it works. I still hate it.

I hate that she’s hyperventilating alone in a parking lot after he says no. I hate that he comes back, and she just… forgives him. She deserved time to be angry. He deserved to grovel.

Honestly? None of these books have a good grovel anymore.

It’s a good book, if you haven’t read it and still want to after I spoiled the ending, I still recommend it. I like it, but compared to all of Emily Henry’s repertoire, it is not my favorite.

I will be doing full reviews of all of EH’s books and ranking them at the end, so stay tuned!