Hello friends! Hope you are all doing well, we’re already almost done iwth October, it feels surreal that 2026 is almost over, and we’re somehow done with the last quarter of the month. It makes me happy and emotional all the same. This year brought me so much, however this post is not here for a discussion about 2026, I’ll do it in another post when I feel better and ready to talk about everything. Today’s post is all about a soft romance book by Emily Henry, and considering that I’m eating this lady’s books like caramel popcorn, it is no shock that I loved You and Me on Vacation as well. Let’s get into the review now! ✨
I really liked this book. It was such a fun, warm and nostalgic romance, and I genuinely enjoyed reading it. The story follows Poppy and Alex, two best friends who have been going on a summer vacation together every year since they met in college. They couldn’t be more different from each other, with Poppy being much more spontaneous, adventurous and eager to experience everything life has to offer, while Alex is quieter, more reserved and much more comfortable with his predictable, peaceful life. They somehow become best friends despite being complete opposites, and after years of taking these vacations together, something happens between them that leaves their friendship broken for years.
The book then follows them as they try to reconnect and take one more vacation together, while we slowly get to see what happened between them through all of their previous trips. I really liked the way the story moved between the past and the present because it allowed us to see their relationship develop over time instead of simply telling us that they had always been close. We get to see their friendship grow, the little moments that bring them closer, and all the things they never actually say to each other. There is something really lovely about watching two people who have known each other for so long slowly realize that maybe their relationship has been something more than friendship for quite some time.
I definitely liked Alex more than Poppy, though. I understood Poppy and I enjoyed her character, but Alex was much easier for me to connect with. I liked his quieter personality and the fact that he seemed much more grounded, even though he was also struggling with figuring out what he actually wanted from his life. There was something very endearing about him being this reserved, bookish, slightly awkward person who had always been there for Poppy, even when she was constantly dragging him into situations that were completely outside of his comfort zone. I also liked seeing how much he cared about her, even when he didn’t know how to express it.
Poppy, on the other hand, was more difficult for me at times. I liked her, but I didn’t always understand some of her decisions, especially when it came to Alex. She is very much the person who wants to keep moving, keep experiencing new things and avoid staying in one place for too long, and I think that sometimes made her run away from things that actually mattered to her. I could understand where she was coming from, but there were definitely moments where I wanted to tell her to just stop overthinking everything and be honest with him.
And that brings me to the one thing that frustrated me throughout the book, which was the miscommunication. I know this is a very common trope in romance, and I can understand why it was used here because Poppy and Alex are both terrified of ruining their friendship, but there were so many moments where I just wanted them to actually sit down and talk. So much of their relationship is built around what they think the other person is feeling instead of what they actually say, and there were times when I found myself getting frustrated because I knew that one honest conversation could have solved so many of their problems. It didn’t ruin the book for me because I still really enjoyed the story and the characters, but it was definitely something that kept me from completely losing myself in the romance.
What I did really love was the friendship underneath everything. Poppy and Alex genuinely feel like best friends, and that made their romance much more enjoyable for me because there is so much history between them. They know each other’s families, habits, insecurities and little quirks, and there is this sense that they have become such an important part of each other’s lives without even realizing how much they depend on one another. Their vacations are almost like little snapshots of their lives together, and I liked seeing how the trips changed as they grew older and their priorities started changing.
I also really liked the theme of figuring out what actually makes you happy instead of what you think is supposed to make you happy. Poppy has this idea that she needs excitement and adventure to feel fulfilled, while Alex is much more comfortable with stability and routine, but as they grow older, both of them start questioning whether the lives they’ve created are actually what they want. I think that was one of the more relatable parts of the book because sometimes growing up means realizing that the version of yourself you thought you wanted to become isn’t necessarily the person you actually want to be.
Overall, I really enjoyed You and Me on Vacation. I loved the friendship, the nostalgia, the vacations and the slow realization that Poppy and Alex had been in love with each other in some form for much longer than either of them wanted to admit. I liked Alex more than Poppy, and the miscommunication definitely frustrated me at times, but I still thought their relationship was really sweet and I enjoyed watching them find their way back to each other. It was a warm, romantic and easy read, and even with the things that annoyed me, I finished it feeling very happy that I had read it.
Did you read You and Me on Vacation? Let me know of your thoughts. See you in my next review! 💕
