one order of friends to lovers, please

I've been rereading a lot of older books near and dear to my heart this holiday season, as I often find myself doing with my extra down time from school and a certain urge for coziness on late December nights. But this is a new read! I listened to the audiobook version (which I'm fairly certain is narrated by the same reader used for Happy Place), and think Emily Henry's books can be most enjoyed this way. You get to hear how the reader chooses to interpret certain lines and express the witty dialogue Henry really is so good at writing. I'm still struck by Henry's ability and affinity for jumping around in different timelines in her books. Happy Place certainly did this, while Funny Story and Book Lovers not as much. The way it's done adds even more great depth to what I think are complex and human characters I enjoy learning about in every timeline. In the case of this book, multiple timelines and glimpses into different seasons of Poppy and Alex's lives and friendship is key to becoming invested in their "friends to lovers" arc (this book's example of this arc is what I mean when I say I want a "friends to lovers" kind of relationship). While Poppy and Alex's friendship and dynamic (opposites really do attract here) is super fun to see develop and read about, I also just really enjoyed this book for its emphasis on the anomaly that is traveling. I love how Poppy adores traveling, explains the intoxicating boldness I think most people have experienced while on vacation, and the certain kind of freedom it brings (like her views on the beauty of airports), but I also love how she ends up viewing traveling and the definition of home as a way to understand what she truly wants for her life and what she is and isn't willing to give up when it comes to the life she wants with Alex. My only gripe with this book isn't even that big of a deal, but at times it's so painfully obvious that these two people are meant for each other, and they know it, and I as the reader know it, and yet they take forever to choose to be happy with each other. I get that that reflects reality: meaningful friendships risk complete destruction when the line separating platonic from romantic is toed. So, truthfully, I find the way Henry wrote their relationship to be realistic. But the inner romantic in me rolled her eyes from time to time, impatient to see hero and heroine kiss already. In that same vein, I thought Poppy's near-constant references to "what happened in Croatia" set up the reveal to be rather anticlimactic, since the past and present storylines kind of intersect at this summer Croatia trip, so it's a long while before readers get to even learn what happened on this trip. I really can't say much else in opposition to this book---it was cute and summery and Alex Nelson is kind of my dream man: literature nerd, high school teacher, fit, shy and quietly hilarious---I mean, c'mon. Book Lovers and Funny Story still rank higher on my Emily Henry totem pole, but I don't think anything's going to top Book Lovers if I'm being honest. I still recommend this charming read all the same!



Some of my favorite quotes from People We Meet on Vacation:

"It hurts to want it all, so many things that can't coexist within the same life."

"Maybe things can always get better between people who want to do a good job loving each other. Maybe that’s all it takes."

"It’s fascinating. How so much of love is about who you are with someone."

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