I loved Emily Henry’s last book – Beach Read – and so when I was offered an ARC of her new book, I jumped at the chance!

Here’s the blurb:

“*From the bestselling author of Beach Read comes a new sparkling novel sure to leave you with that post-holiday glow, also known as People We Meet On Vacation*
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.””

The book follows the present day – when Poppy and Alex have been estranged for a couple of years, but end up going on a trip together – and then flips back in time to the first summer they meant and their subsequent annual trips.

The present day trip is to Palm Springs (which I only know is where John Barrowman and his husband live #randomfact) – whilst the historic trips are all over the place – so there are plenty of different settings for the book. You know that something ‘bad’ happened 2 years ago – but it’s quite late on in the book before you discover what that was (and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed with that part of the storyline).

Poppy is quite outgoing and up for anything – whereas Alex is a lot more restrained – and the story uses these traits, and when they act out from their ‘normal’ behaviour really well.

I liked the descriptions of Poppy’s childhood home and her parents – who clearly loved her very much, even if she was slightly embarrassed about them (but isn’t that the role of parents of teenagers to be embarrassing?!)

It is a fairly predictable ‘will friends become lovers?’ story – but with enough twists and turns to keep you interested and intrigued. Perfect as a simple holiday read with a cocktail in hand at the same time.

Overall I didn’t love it quite as much as ‘Beach Read’ but it was still a very enjoyable book. Thank you to the publisher for my ARC – but I’m a few weeks behind the times, so if you fancy the sound of it, it’s already available to buy.