People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry | AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
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TWO FRIENDS
TEN SUMMER TRIPS
THEIR LAST CHANCE TO FALL IN LOVE12 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 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.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry | AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION BY EMILY HENRY
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
This is going to be a longer intro, because I actually DNFed this book when I got it as an ARC at the beginning of the year. I even told myself that I was done with this author since I didn’t see the hype about BEACH READ either. But then my old library hold came in and since I had nothing else to listen to, I gave it a go.
First revelation: The book was narrated by one of my most favorite narrators of all time Julia Whelan. I really should write a blog post about all the books I adore because of her.
Second revelation: I was INSTANTLY hooked, and captivated by the story. A story that could barely hold my attention the last time. Now I was listening to the audiobook non-stop.
Third revelation: I’m going to listen to all of her books from now on, especially if they are narrated by J.W.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Now after I read the book, I feel that the UK title You and Me on Vacation matches the story so much better, because in the end the book is all about Poppy and Alex’s friendship. From when they met in college, all the way to present time. A epic friendship, that eventually turns into an amazing love story.
Although, I would describe this book as women’s fiction and not purely a romance.
Anyway, here are the things I ADORED about this book:
Their friendship: Honestly, their friendship is one of a kind. His dry wit and humor, to her witty comebacks – I smiled so much when I listened to them volley back and forth. Especially Alex’s humor was so up my alley. Again, thanks to Julia Whelan for bringing these two characters so splendidly and in such an endearing and charming way to life.
The characters: Both were just so down to earth as well as relatable. Easy to root for with all their doubts and hopes, because in the end there wasn’t really anyone else who knew these two better than they did each other. There were a couple scenes when they opened up to each other, most of all Alex, when my heart skipped a beat listening to his true feelings.
The camaraderie and banter: I’m a huge fan of great banter, and although Alex and Poppy were different in many ways, they knew each other in and out, and the back and forth had me laughing out loud. The teasing and pushing buttons brought to the forefront how well they knew each other. Many authors mention how well characters know each other without ever showing it. Emily Henry SHOWED it in every chapter!!!!
The slow burn romance: Over 10 years and 10 vacations it slowly unfurled and became sharper and harder to ignore. There was definitive a feel of will-they-won’t-they and it had me glued to my phone, because Poppy, Alex and I needed a HEA so badly. Which we all got, just saying. š
Travel journalism: I’ve ALWAYS loved dreaming up vacations, devoured travel magazines, and imagined my life as a digital nomad, traveling an entire year all over the world. It will never happen, but the topic has always been fascinating to me. But besides all that, the budget traveling was still my most favoirte part of it all.
So, in the end, the book turned out to be a huge hit. And I’m actually looking forward to her next book, the audiobook that’s it!
The biggest lesson of all…
It just shows that giving a book a second or third chance is not a bad idea. And it also proves again how much a great narration can do for a book. The characters come to live and the entire feel of a book changes. Whereas I had trouble being interested in the plot the first time around, this time I couldn’t stop listening. I’ve always been saying that some narrations make a book even better.
FOUR STARS
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People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry | You and Me on Vacation
Oh wow. I was not going to read this basically because of how I felt about the marketing of Beach Read. I wasn’t sure about how this one was marketed and if I’d be in for the same. To hear you DNF’d it and then had such success listening to it has me thinking maybe I should try that. I do like that narrator as well. Great review!
Oh boy do not start with Beach Read – I will start ranting. BUT I will recommend the audiobook of People We Meet on Vacation, and would love to hear your thoughts. š
Haha! I feel the same with that one!
I listened to the audiobook of this one as well and enjoyed it Corina. I agree, a narrator can make or break a book and Julia Whelan is one of my favourites too. Wonderful post, I liked your thinking.