Book Review: You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

TWO FRIENDS
TEN SUMMER TRIPS
THEIR LAST CHANCE TO FALL IN LOVE

12 SUMMERS AGO: Poppy and Alex meet. They hate each other, and are pretty confident they’ll never speak again.

11 SUMMERS AGO: They’re forced to share a ride home from college and by the end of it a friendship is formed. And a pact: every year, one vacation together.

10 SUMMERS AGO: Alex discovers his fear of flying on the way to Vancouver.
Poppy holds his hand the whole way.

7 SUMMERS AGO: They get far too drunk and narrowly avoid getting matching tattoos in New Orleans.

2 SUMMERS AGO: It all goes wrong.

THIS SUMMER: Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. A trip that will determine the rest of their lives.

You and Me on Vacation is a New York Times bestselling love story for fans of When Harry Met Sally and One Day. Get ready to travel the world, snort with laughter and – most of all – lose your heart to Poppy and Alex.

Poppy and Alex met at Art College and have been taking holidays together ever since. They just seem to click. Then Croatia happens and it may mean the end of their friendship. Can more more vacation bring them back together?

I had read Emily’s previous novel, Beach Read and loved it so I jumped at the chance to be part of the blog tour for You and Me on Vacation and couldn’t wait to get started.

I loved Poppy and Alex immediately. They are lovely together so obviously, I wanted them to be a couple. If only they could get out of their own way.

The premise of the plot was great. It reminded me of a cross between One Day by David Nicholls and Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern (two books I loved.) It had a similar optimism and warmth to it.

Told from Poppy’s point of view, it goes between flashbacks to the previous summers and present day. It gave me a real chance to get to know these wonderful characters. I would love to read it from Alex’s point of view too. I think that would be as interesting and a totally different perspective on their story. Anything to be able to revisit Poppy and Alex.

I know I always say this but I am not sure what else I can say without giving too much away. What I will say is that I both laughed and cried my way through it. There were also times where I wanted to reach in and either give them both a big hug or a frustrating talking to. Haha.

This novel has a bit of everything. It deals with love, friendships, family, heartbreak and grief and does so with compassion and humour.

You and Me on Vacation is a wonderful novel which I totally enjoyed escaping into and thoroughly recommend. I am off to deal with my book hangover. Emily Henry, in case you’ve not realised already, is becoming one of my favourite authors. Happy publication day to you.

About Emily Henry:

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read, as well as several young adult novels. She lives and writes in the Cincinnati and the part of Kentucky just beneath it.

Her books have been featured in Buzzfeed, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, The Skimm, Shondaland, Betches, Bustle, and more.

Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites or via her website – https://www.emilyhenrybooks.com

You and Me on Vacation was released on 22nd July 2021 by Penguin. Click to view on Amazon UK

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.