Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross

I’ll admit it—I messed up and watched the movie first 😅. But honestly? That didn’t ruin the book at all. If anything, I really liked already knowing the basics of Alex and Poppy’s story because the novel filled in so many emotional gaps and details that the movie couldn’t fully capture.

What I enjoyed most was how the book unfolded their love story through summers past while jumping back to the current summer. That structure worked really well, slowly revealing how their friendship evolved and where things went wrong. Each flashback added more depth and made their connection feel earned rather than rushed.

The banter was fun, the friendship-to-lovers tension was strong, and I loved getting inside their heads in a way only a book can do. While it didn’t completely blow me away, it was a comforting, engaging read that made me appreciate their relationship even more.

NO SPOILERS

This is my first Emily Henry book. I wanted to read it before watching the movie out on Netflix. Question? WHY did I not read this before or read more of her stuff? Omg, it’s so good. I love Poppy so much, I love Alex (he’s so cute). Their relationship is homey, sweet, so funny, and complicated all at the same time. It’s such a good read. I laughed so hard at so many things that Poppy said because girl has no filter. Lol. I got all the good feels from this book and would definitely recommend to someone in need of a quick and just overall great read. I binged it in 2 days between life and it was amazing.

“Tomorrow we will love each other a little more, and the next day, and the next day. And even on those days when one or both of us is having a hard time, we’ll be here, where we are completely known, completely accepted, by the person whose every side we love wholeheartedly.”

This is my second time through People We Meet on Vacation and I found it as charming and funny as the first time around. A friends to lovers trope to be sure but Poppy is hilarious and chaotic and Alex plays the dry and witty straight man perfectly. The secondary characters are well written and contribute context to the story. And while the plot may be a bit predictable, it is wholly enjoyable.

I’m not usually a huge friends to lovers fan, but I enjoyed Poppy and Alex’s story, a lot!

Poppy Wright is a travel blogger living in the Big Apple. After falling out with her best friend, Alex, she is determined to revive the summer trip of her younger years. She misses him more than anything and a trip to Palm Springs is gonna fix it.

Alex Nilsen is an ordinary man, he teaches highschool literature and lives in his grandmas home in his home town. After years of taking care of his family, he’s never known true happiness. All he’s ever wanted was Poppy Wright, his best friend who he’s secretly in love with. After two years of silence, when she reaches out to revive the summer trip, he goes for it.

Read People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry! The film comes out on Netflix 1/9/26!

Book Lovers was my first Emily Henry book, and I thought it was great. People We Meet on Vacation was my second, and it had everything I didn’t know was missing from Book Lovers. Totally loved this book and gobbled it up. Poppy did feel a little un relatable to me at first and seemingly way too quirky (her name is Poppy? Could that be more on the nose?), but she grew on me.