You and Me on Vacation: The ultimate friends to lovers romance from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Beach Read

I absolutely adore all Emily Henry books. This book is another great addition to her collection filled with love and humour throughout

"It's fascinating. How much of love is who you are with someone."You and Me on Vacation is a warm, witty, slow-burning romance that is perfect to read on a hot summer’s day.The story follows the familiar best friends to lovers trope, exploring the trepidation, fear and complications that can arise when you fall in love with your closest friend. While it was often predictable, this wasn’t a bad thing, and the author injected some additional mystery and tension with the inclusion of an unknown event two years earlier that had led to them not speaking since. I liked this as it made the book more than a simple ‘will they or won’t they' story and I felt like their tentative steps to rebuilding their friendship made me root for them from the start. There were times it felt like it was a little too drawn out, but the author soon picked up the pace and it was an entertaining read overall.I liked Poppy and Alex both individually and as a pair. They had a great dynamic and the spark was clear even before Poppy admitted her feelings. There were some great background characters too and I enjoyed how the author wrote little descriptions when introducing a new character that gives the reader an instant picture of what they are like.Being centred around a travel writer and the vacations she takes with her best friend gave this book a vibe of pure escapism and I loved being able to travel to the various destinations from my back garden during a pandemic. But the current situation also made the book feel wistful and it felt like I was reading about another life. It really made me miss the days where we could just hop on a plane and go somewhere new without a second thought. *Sigh*If you’re looking for a book to escape with and a good way to wile away a few hours in the sun, then this entertaining romance is the book for you.

You and Me on Vacation tells the story of Poppy and Alex over the course of twelve years, with chapters alternating between the present day and back through the years from when they first met, focusing in particular on all their summer vacations together. Though they don't initially hit it off to a great start, Poppy and Alex are soon the best of friends, despite how different they are, their summer trips together legendary. That is until 2 years ago, when something happened and they haven't really spoken since. Now Poppy is desperate to get their friendship back on track by taking another vacation together.My first book from Emily Henry, this made for an easy summer read. I tend to like the 'best friends to lovers' trope, with all the complications it can bring and exploring that idea of whether a relationship is just platonic or something more. That being said, I don't think this story added anything new to this trope, and I've seen it done much better, for instance One Day, which had so much more of an emotional connect.You and Me on Vacation is very much a slow-burn romance. I did generally like the central characters, who both came across warmly, if perhaps a little stereotyped. Alex is sweet and shy, Poppy loud and fun, both rather quirky in their different ways. They probably shouldn't work together, yet they do, bringing out the best in each other.I quite liked the idea of Poppy as this travel writer, initially blogger and so-called social media-influencer as it just seemed very much on trend, and not something I've come across before in a book. Her career was explored quite a lot in the book, and I was particularly fascinated by that concept of someone having these ambitious goals driving them, but then when they achieve them they are left feeling somewhat empty. I did think that perhaps the social-media side of things could have been explored a bit more though, in terms of the drawbacks of being such a profile figure.Whilst I did like the back and forth of the timeline, I have to say overall I thought the book was too dragged out. We go on endless vacations with Poppy and Alex, and whilst there were some fun anecdotes and obviously relationship building between the two, it did get somewhat repetitive, with not much actually happening for a lot of the book other than following the pair on holiday after holiday.In the current time-line there is some awkwardness between them as they try to rebuild their friendship, and we are left wondering as to what went wrong two years ago, not finding out till pretty late in the book. Given how much this was teased, I have to say I was disappointed by the eventual reveal, as it was just very anticlimactic. I get that a lot of these types of stories rely on the miscommunication trope, but even so it is usually better done than this.I also think I might have liked the book better if it was told from both Poppy and Alex's point of views, rather than just Poppy's, as it might have varied the tone a bit. Whilst I did like Poppy, for me she was the more annoying out of the pair, and she could grate on my nerves somewhat at times with how she acted or things she did e.g. why lie to Alex in the first place about their holiday being funded by R&R, for me there was just no need. Also I didn't quite get why she always felt like such an outsider, and felt this was an aspect that the writer was more just trying to shoe-horn in so as to psycho-analyse some of her behaviour at the end, rather than something that felt genuine.Overall this was a very average read for me, lacking that special spark, such that it never had me excited to return to its pages.

Friends to lovers is hands down one of my favourite tropes and i think it’s done so well in this booklooking back over past summers, seeing the heart ache if one was in a relationship/not telling the other their true feelingsit was fun, slightly sad in parts but overall a really good summer read

I really liked the characters of Poppy and Alex and enjoyed their journey towards their final destination. There were also some really funny moments which DID make me laugh out loud. Certain phrases used by the pair were really comical and it was easy to see why they got along so well; some great characterisation by the author. However, it was always inherently clear what that destination would be and, when it was (eventually) realised at the end of the novel, it felt a little bit drawn out and I started to get a little bit irritated by them both ignoring what was clear and obvious to everyone else in the novel -and the reader - for no apparent or good reason. I don’t get why, for characters who had been written as so confident and self-assured throughout - they turned into soppy and sentimental ditherers at the end, even when confronted with the truth of each other’s feelings. It felt like the scene in the airport was constructed to hit the stereotypical “rom-com” story arc that Poppy kept referring to and posed a needless “dilemma” for the characters to work through even though the rest of their relationship had been anything but stereotypical. I felt Alex reacted needlessly aggressively to what Poppy said when there was no need for him to. Just felt a little cliche at the resolution. But apart from that, I enjoyed the overall story, funny moments and loveable characters.

Don’t make the same mistake I did - this is the same book as “The People We Meet On Vacation”. For some reason there are two different titles for the same book!!Excellent book but annoying that this happened.

A very pleasant read to have with you while on vacation.

After much deliberation I finally purchased this book. I read every single sample of every single available Emily Henry book to get to this point. Mostly because I couldn't decide which sample annoyed me the least (I tend to find the kinds of characters Emily writes about rather insufferable). In the end, it was this one that both appealed to me most and bugged me the least. I give it a solid 3.5 and rounded it up for Amazon. It's overall a fun read. Quick. Done and dusted in two sittings. Henry's strength lies in her dialogue. You get a very good feel for the characters in how they interact with each other. It doesn't surprise me why her work is well-loved.

j’ai adoré je recommande cette histoire

Like any romance, you begin the book in anticipation that the leads will end together. They do.But in any slow burn romance, how they end up together is what matters. And in Emily Henry's capable hands, the story makes you curious about what happens next, while also making you laugh, and making your heart flutter.I would buy this and the Beach Read, and whatever Emily writes next!