4.5 Stars

I adored Emily Henry’s first novel, Beach Read, and finished it over the course of a single day earlier this year. You and Me on Vacation proved to be no different and Henry has cemented herself as an instant-buy author in my books.

You and Me on Vacation follows the story of Poppy and Alex, and their unlikely friendship over the past 12 years. Whilst Poppy is an extroverted free-spirit, Alex is much more the quiet, bookish type. After a road trip back home during summer break at college, Poppy and Alex make a pact to take a trip together every summer. However, after a disastrous trip to Croatia two years ago, Poppy and Alex have barely spoken to each other since. The story alternates between the present-day, which sees Poppy reuniting with Alex for what could be their last ever summer trip together, and flashbacks to previous trips the pair have taken over the years.

Perhaps my favourite aspect of this book was all the different travel destinations that were described in it. From Nashville to San Francisco, Canada to Croatia, Palm Springs, and everything in between - I loved every single one. Whilst I doubt that Henry wrote this book directly in relation to travel restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, You and Me on Vacation was nevertheless a calming balm that soothed my travel-bug itch. I was able to travel vicariously through these characters, and now I have several new Pinterest boards dedicated to travel destinations.

Henry’s writing in this book was so easy to sink into. Whilst I didn’t necessarily relate to Poppy all that much, and would have preferred some more content from Alex’s point of view, I nevertheless became immensely invested in these characters and their story. Henry’s prose was emotional, without being too heavy, and descriptive, without being too flowery or info-dump-y. This made for such an easy, yet all-consuming read. I completely lost track of time whilst reading this book and did not want to leave this fictional world.

The romance in this book was also spectacularly written. It had some great tropes: friends-to-lovers, “there’s only one bed,” etc. It was great to watch Poppy and Alex’s friendship deepen, and then potentially evolve into something more, over the course of a decade. And the slow-burn was insane - almost maddening. After the two reconnect in Palm Springs, you know it’s just a matter of time before the pair give in to their chemistry, but even then, I still found the wait near-torturous.

I will say that I thought the story lost its way a little just after the Palm Springs trip. A lot of the hurdles that Poppy and Alex faced could have been easily rectified had they just communicated better, and had Poppy been a bit more self-aware. Similarly, there is a lot of build-up to the disastrous Croatia trip that ruined it all. But, once it is revealed what really happened on that trip, I was a bit underwhelmed. At both these stages, the story felt like it dithered a bit with no clear-cut direction, and I found that I wasn’t quite as invested in the characters and their story as I had been throughout the rest of the book. By the end, however, I was satisfied with how and where the characters both ended up.

It is a well-known fact that an author’s second book will most likely be the hardest story they ever write, particularly so if their debut novel was a smash-hit. Happily, Emily Henry seems to have completely hit it out of the park. In my opinion, You and Me on Vacation was just as good as, if not better than, Beach Read. I loved so many aspects of this book: the slow-burn romance, the easy-to-read writing style, the idyllic descriptions of travel destinations. Whilst the story was not without its small hiccups, I devoured this book. Emily Henry is fast becoming one of my favourite romance authors.

[Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review]