Book Review: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

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I've been absent for awhile for a couple of reasons. I read a non-fiction self-help type of book that my doctor recommended which I didn't really like so I opted not to review it. And this book took a while to read. My review will tell you why. ~~ Poppy and Alex have nothing in common. She's a wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart - she's in New York City and he's in their small hometown - but every summer for a decade they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven't spoken since. Poppy has everything she should want, but she's stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows without a doubt that it was on that ill-fated final trip with Alex. And so she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together - lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees. Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. ~~~~ This story is told in alternating timelines from "this summer" to "eleven summers ago" to "this summer" to "ten summers ago" etc. This backstory is important but I felt it made the story drag. It made for a long read. I did enjoy the "Friends to Lovers" trope. It's one of my favourites. I enjoyed the sexual tension and slow build to romance. It is well written, a good story, but slow to read for me. This book has received lots of hype which I why I read it. I am not disappointed with the story itself, or the dual timelines, or the characters. The witty banter between Alex and Poppy is fun. But 364 pages is a bit long for a romcom. Goodreads does not allow for half star ratings. Because of this I gave it 3 stars out of 5, but everywhere else I gave it 3.5 stars.