You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry Book Review

Poppy and Alex have been best friends ever since college. Despite being polar opposites of each other (Poppy is free spirited, loves adventure and travels for a living. Alex is more stable, has a job as a teacher and knows he wants to settle down in life), the two really get each other and are probably the most relaxed and honest versions of themselves when they are together. Every year they've gone on some epic summer trip, except they haven't spoken in 2 years after falling out. When Poppy gets a chance to plan another trip for them to Palm Springs, she's hoping it's just what they need to heal their friendship. Or maybe she should just start being honest that her feelings for Alex are more than just friendship?

This is a cute opposites attract, friends-to-lovers story. I liked seeing their friendship evolves over time and adapt to their new lives and new partners. We get the present storyline of them in Palm Springs where the first days are a holiday and the last few days are dedicated to the wedding of Alex's brother. We also get flashbacks from when they met and each holiday they had over the years. The flashbacks are what make this a fun summer read, as you get to explore these new locations with the Poppy and Alex and as there's not a lot of travelling being done at the moment, it's pure escapism. Vancouver Island, New Orleans, Nashville, Italy, San Francisco to name a few of the locations.

I was rooting for Poppy and Alex throughout the novel, it's hard not to. But I did find the book to be a bit slow moving at times. Part of the reason for this is the number of flashbacks. They met 11 years ago and we see a snippet from nearly all of those summers. While it's interesting to see their friendship and see how their feelings over the years change, to actually reach the point of them acting on this happens after we're at 2/3s off the way through the book. Which is a bit late for me, as there's not a lot of time to see them enjoy this realisation. I think if you don't mind a longer build up, you may enjoy this book more than I did. Overall I did like the book, it was a fun summer read, it's perfect to read lying in the sun!