Staff Writer: Leah
Published Date: May 11, 2021
Number of pages: 400 pages
Format (physical book/e-book/audiobook): physical book
Genre: romance
Tags: friends to lovers, summer read, chick lit
Cardigan rating: 4 out of 5
Thoughts:
As of right now, this is the first and only Emily Henry book I have read which is funny considering People We Meet on Vacation is widely considered her worst book, and yet I loved it. Two polar opposite people unexpectedly become best friends and despite their very different lives, they spend one week every summer going on an exuberant vacation.
In the reader’s guide to the book, Emily Henry says that she didn’t set out to write an homage to one of her favorite romantic comedies, When Harry Met Sally, but in her efforts to write two characters that have no reason to like each other and yet fall in love, pay homage she did. Maybe this is why I found myself so pulled into this book because I too love When Harry Met Sally, but Poppy and Alex are very much their own unique characters. When the book begins, we meet Poppy who is a travel blogger that spends her life going on spectacular trips and writing about them. We go back in time where Poppy first met Alex in college and see their friendship develop as they create a pact to take a yearly summer vacation together no matter where they are in the world or their lives. However, flash forward 8 years and something happened on their annual vacation 2 years ago that has caused Poppy and Alex to stop speaking to one another. As we go through the years and their trips, it becomes clear that Poppy and Alex could be more than friends and the only thing stopping them is themselves, which is where the frustrating callback to When Harry Met Sally appears as readers obviously know they are meant to be together and yet these two cannot seem to be on the same page at the same time. But since this is a romance book after all, I’m sure you can draw some conclusions about how it ends.
As some people may already know, this book was recently adapted into a movie and was released on Netflix this January. I am always a strong believer that the book is better than the movie, and that remains the case here but I still really enjoyed the movie. There were some characterization points and details that were missing in the movie, as there always are, but that didn’t take away from the movie for me; although, that could have just been the incredible casting that was Emily Bader and Tom Blyth who embodied Poppy and Alex perfectly. If you’re looking for a cute, romantic beach read (wink wink) or a new romcom to watch, I think this could be the pick for you. If this is the worst Emily Henry book, I have high expectations for when I pick up another one of her books.