I've been super excited to read one of Emily Henry's books for a long time. I own a few (Beach Read, A Million Junes) that I still need to read, and finishing this book made me immediately put a hold on all the others at my library. I enjoyed this one that much.

I only had a vague idea of what this book was about when I went into it, since I had read the synopsis a while back and didn't necessarily feel the need to check it again before starting this. In the end, I'm kinda glad I didn't, because I just went with the flow of the story instead of being driven by expectations built off the synopsis (which may not have perfectly aligned with the book).

My favorite romance books are ones where it's mainly the MC and the love interest (or both MCs) spending time together, especially when it's just the two of them. This book is honestly 95% interactions between the two MCs, and their banter is fantastic. It made the book such a joy to read (and also a breeze to get through), and I found myself smiling almost the entire time. Many romance books get tied up in a million subplots, which often then detracts from the main romance, but that just didn't happen at all here. Yes, these characters had backgrounds and other issues in their life beyond each other, but the focus was consistently on their relationship, with little distraction. I loved it so much.

I also enjoyed this book all the way through. A lot of romance books toss in that third-act breakup to cause tension between the two characters and a lot of stress for the reader, and depending on how that's done, I can lose interest in the romance because I find certain things unforgivable in terms of their relationship, or find the breakup flimsy/thrown in just for extra drama. This book does still have that third-act breakup (what romance book doesn't though, honestly), but it felt real and was overall well-done. I believed it, and yet neither character was so much in the wrong that I didn't want to support their relationship anymore. It broke my heart just as much as it did theirs, and made me even more invested in their reconciliation.

There are also some heavier aspects to the story, that while they don't dominate the storyline (the romance is still always the focus), it adds layers to the friendship between Poppy and Alex, and I really enjoyed the discussions they had throughout the book, and the growth you could see happening in both of them. The main focus is on Poppy being heavily bullied in her school years, and how she's been made to be embarrassed about her family, even though she deeply loves them and doesn't want to be. Alex is mainly struggling with loss of his mother at a young age and the impact that had on his family (and how he had to step up as eldest sibling when his father became distant), and learning how to choose happiness for himself. These complex issues lend a lot of depth to the characters, and make their growth throughout the book even more compelling.

I also really enjoyed the back and forth storytelling this book employed, alternating between the now and past vacations Alex and Poppy shared, so we can see where they ended up as we're learning how they got there. It gave us plenty of background to the relationship while still giving the resolution to their conflict plenty of time to happen. If the book had simply tried to explain the background, we wouldn't have understood their relationship as much, from friendship to romance. If the book had started at the beginning and told everything linearly, we probably would have spent way too much time in the background, with a shorter, and less satisfying, resolution. It was the perfect balance for me.

Honestly, I'm not necessarily a friends to lovers person when it comes to book/romance tropes, but I loved this! I loved every aspect of the relationship between Alex and Poppy, platonic or romantic, and I can't wait to read more of Emily's works!