Review: People We Meet on Vacation

Hi and welcome to the reading world!

I’m so excited to share a review of an upcoming new summer contemporary romance, People We Meet on Vacation!

People We Meet on Vacation is a romance novel that follows Poppy, a young travel influencer based in NYC, and Alex, her best friend of many years who works as a teacher in their hometown. Poppy is currently unsatisfied with her life after achieving what she’s always wanted, and she’s lost for where to go next. She reaches out to reconnect to Alex, and the story goes from there.

I really enjoyed the characters in this story- they’re memorable, well developed, flawed, but also had so many heartwarming moments. I personally didn’t love the influencer references throughout because I wanted more emphasis on the characters and Poppy’s own self-reflection on what she wants after she’s not happy with what she has, but that wasn’t a major issue for me. I think both of the lead characters are imperfect but had great chemistry and I was really enjoying reading about them.

A lot of people have been talking about this book as a way to travel when we can’t, so I will say to me the travel scenery felt very much like a background to the story and wasn’t constantly emphasized but instead only highlighted at points throughout, such as in the flashbacks. I personally liked this decision because I wanted to focus on the characters and the stories unfolding there and I think that was handled really well, but I just wanted to note that in case you wanted a book more focused on all of the world building and didn’t really care about the romance.

This is a really cute and fun story that still has deep moments. It’s told in the present timeline, where Poppy is trying to reconnect with Alex, and also features chapters that explore moments of their past friendship and travel throughout the years. This was a great way to show and not tell the bond that Poppy and Alex shared, and I think the flashbacks and present narration were overall well balanced. It also explored the complexity of their dynamic over time, how it impacted them and others, and why they’re how they are in the present. However, there were some elements of these flashbacks that I didn’t always think were portrayed as best as they could have been or I thought had some issue in execution. I also think the ending was a little rushed and didn’t feel quite as strong to me as the rest of the book, given all of the build up and significance around the character development of both Poppy as an individual and Poppy and Alex. However, I still think the story itself was overall a great read.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading People We Meet on Vacation. It’s a fun summer romance that integrates backstory and character development in a fun way to show who the characters are as individuals and to each other. I think the story itself balanced the lighthearted and comedic moments with serious and heartfelt ones, even though there were some moments where I wasn’t a fan of how things were portrayed and thought the ending didn’t quite live up to all the book had built up across the story. If you’re looking for a summer romance that has some cute travel, a slow burn friends-to-lovers romance, and some incredible characters, I would recommend checking this one out!

Please note: as with any book I recommend, I would also suggest you check out a resource like The Storygraph to see a list of potential content or trigger warnings compiled by readers who’ve picked up the book.

Try this book if you liked: moments of levity with genuine growth and character depth in Anxious People, the slow burn friends-to-lovers romantic development from In a Holidaze, a story that features tech and social media influence in romances such as The Right Swipe

Thank you for stopping by! If you’ve read this one or any of the others I mentioned, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

-Rae