People We Meet on Vacation Review
Genre📚
Fiction: Romance
Summary🗒
Two “friends'', Poppy and Alex, have been going on yearly summer trips to exotic locations around the world. Some time in between these ten years of traveling, they had a falling out. That is, until now. Poppy invites Alex to one last trip, attempting to rekindle what they had for the last decade.
Review🤔
Romances are weird. I'll be honest I’ve never seen the appeal of these types of stories, but I wanted to try at least one. The cover was cool and it had that summer vacation vibe I was seeking back in May, so I was like “sure, why not.”
And…this genre is not for me; I'll start with the positives:
The technical writing, for the most part, is excellent. Henry will find 50 different ways to describe small social interactions like matching your partner's tone in conversation, the indecisiveness of crafting the perfect text message, or even a simple hug. She uses a variety of vocabulary to push the emotion of any one idea making you feel involved in every interaction. The dialogue between the two characters of Poppy and Alex was fairly believable too, nothing feeling forced or out of reality. You can really see these two people actually existing and have some chemistry between each other. Oh, and also the vibe of the novel. Super relaxed like something you read at the beach, or (shockingly) while on vacation.
That's about where my compliments end. The biggest flaw with this book is the actual plot. The story flips between the ten years of Poppy and Alex’s vacations and their current trip. This back and forth storytelling is novel at first, but becomes a gimmick almost immediately. All of the previous trips (with the exception of one) that Henry gives you glimpses of, are almost exactly the same. Different locations, but the same general formula of Poppy and Alex not realizing their obvious attraction for each other.
And honestly this complaint exemplifies my whole feeling of the book: it runs out of new tricks way too quickly, becoming predictable and repetitive. The “will they won't they” dynamic between Poppy and Alex became so tedious; I was waiting for some other subplots in the novel to grip me, then I realized this is it. There are some occasional twists that the “current vacation” takes which are sometimes funny or even relatable. But they're pretty few and far between moments within the thirty-six never ending chapters.
It's not like I find romance elements in stories bland. My favorite novel, Crime and Punishment, has a romance and it actually really serves in supporting the message of redemption in that story. That said, People we meet on vacation reminds me of the terrible Minions movie, using a good element of one story and making it the entire narrative.
The novel is also criminally drawn out. There was a second where I became so bored that I glimpsed at the audible time remaining, only to depressingly see the number 4:30:24 staring back at me. Christ. I truly don’t know what justified this length to create the most simplistic friends to lovers arch. Oh but they’re on vacation…I see, never mind; I'll just pretend this is the next Lord of the Rings then, it's alright.
I was very shocked to discover this one of the best selling novels of the year. Because to me, it's truly one of the first books I’ve read for a while which has been difficult to finish.
But hey, like I said romances aren’t my thing. So maybe if you enjoy this type of stuff, it could be worth picking up.
Who is this for? 🤷🤷♀️
Teens
Psychopaths
Horny people
Top 3 Quotes💬
“But most of us are too scared to even ask what we want, in case we can't have it.”
“Like a good book or an incredible outfit, being on vacation transports you into another version of yourself.”
“For me, traveling is about wandering, meeting people you don’t expect, doing things you’ve never done.”
Reading Difficulty Level📊
Super straightforward, anyone can read this.
Book vs. Audiobook📖/🎧
The audiobook is good. I would go with that route if you are trying to read this because it makes the length feel shorter.
Final Score: 3/10😣
Would not recommend it.
