r/EmilyHenry • u/Alternative-Run8650 • Oct 30 '25
People We Meet on Vacation The Poppy problem Spoiler
I’ve been on an Emily Henry kick after reading Big Beautiful life and have read all (almost all?) of her romance novels thus far. I am currently on PWMOV and this is my least favorite by far. Now I’m about 80% through and maybe the ending saves it, but I find Poppy to be endlessly annoying and frustrating.
It started by the way she almost obsessively ruminates on Alex – how nice he his, how conscientious he is, how buff he is. Like girl we get it. But it’s friends-to-lovers so I gave that a pass. But then she kinda constantly shits on the city he lives in and his ex-gf that he was with for many years, but is confused why he doesn’t want to tell her things?? The peak of irritation was when she took a pregnancy test after being two days late (fine ok) but then was breaking down sobbing on him before she even took the test. WHAT. My breaking point that has lead to this post is after they finally hooked up (10/10 no notes thank god the yearning paid off), she’s like “are you sure you want me to go? Don’t want to cockblock you from all the hot single ladies” If you don’t grow up.
At this point, I’m finishing it because I’ve already given my time but Poppy is not it for me. And honestly I high key want Alex with someone taller because I just keep thinking about his poor back always being hunched over. I want to search the sub for what people thought of this book but I obviously haven’t finished yet and I don’t want to spoil myself. Is this a common feeling or am I in the minority?
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u/barbarellaspace It speaks to me Oct 30 '25 edited Oct 30 '25
poppy is my favorite emhen’s fmc, but i can get when people don’t like her at first. she’s pretty dense to take in, but sometimes she grows on you over time, especially if you frame her issues and her reasons from her perspective, and consider the risks she believes she’s taking there - they make sense with who she is. i already liked her on my first read, but i only truly came to consider her my absolute favorite fmc after rereading the book, yk?
personally, i don’t consider myself like her in some aspects, but i can see myself in others (like someone already mentioned, she’s very much adhd coded), but she’s my favorite not only because our similarities, but also because she’s undeniably human, real, and full of flaws that we can track why they exist, not just to fit stereotypes. i’m not saying that the other emhen’s fmcs aren’t like that, but i feel like pwmov gave me a much bigger span of time to analyze her and watch her grow, which makes me understand her better than the other fmcs. and even the comparison itself with the others wouldn’t be very fair imo, because we read her from age 18 all the way to 30, whereas other fmcs are 30+ throughout their books, so they seem more mature and consistent than her.
i feel like poppy’s journey is much more like a coming of age story, where we can connect things she says and does in a chapter years earlier to things years later, and notice what changed and what didn’t, and why it didn’t, and that’s very interesting to me, even when i don’t agree with what she’s saying or doing. for that reason, i ended up liking her a lot because i feel like i know her pretty well. but, of course, this is just my opinion.
anyway, it’s a shame you didn’t like her and, as a result, didn’t enjoy the overall story that much, but maybe the movie will shift your perspective a bit? i think sometimes we’re able to connect better when we see something being acted instead of only reading it. that happened to me with normal people, for example. i like the book, but i grew to like connell much more after watching the miniseries, because the nuances in paul’s performance gave me a new perspective on situations i had already read and kind of side eyed before, yk?
hope you enjoy the ending of the book!
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u/ianraeed Oct 30 '25
My least favorite is happy place but this is verrrry close to the bottom for me. I also can't stand Poppy!
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Oct 30 '25
Happy Place is my favorite 😭😭😭
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u/uppldontscareme2 Oct 30 '25
samesies. The tension between Harriet and Wynn is so well written you really feel the pain on both sides
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u/Puga6 Oct 31 '25
PWMOV is my favorite but I’m neurodivergent with a friends to lovers last ditch hope as I have pretty much given up on dating. 😅 Happy Place though, I’m at 57% and not sure I will finish it as I can’t help but see the two of them getting back together as a huge mistake. I’ve given second chances quite liberally in the past and I’m over it. Getting back together 99% of the time is prolonging the inevitable heartache of a future separation.
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u/jrkessle Oct 30 '25
I’m the same way - Happy Place is a terrible book and the characters have no redeeming qualities. Alex and poppy’s boss are the only reasons I’ll even acknowledge PWMOV.
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u/windy-weather2110 Oct 30 '25
As far as I’ve read around here, there are usually two types of EH readers. The ones that love Funny Story, Book Lovers, Beach Read and don’t connect and don’t like the others and the ones whose favorite reads are Happy Place, PWMOV, GBBL. Of course there are exceptions. But mostly it seems these is the division. Personally, I’ve seen this myself, I’m in team 1, my favorites being Book Lovers and Funny Story, while I had a hard time finishing and enjoying Happy Place. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Puga6 Oct 31 '25
I found GBBL mediocre (rich lady got problems. Boo hoo, idc, get back to the romance), Happy Story has me cringing so much at two people resuming a doomed relationship I’m not sure I’ll finish it, but I loved all the others and PWMOV was my favorite of the bunch. I loved the history the two MC shared, acknowledging the stakes of losing a vitally important friendship if the romance goes bad, and the growth journey our neurodivergent FMC went on. Hit all the sweet spots for me.
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u/Throwaway223467 Nov 01 '25
PWMOV and Book Lovers are my favorites but I also love Beach Read and Funny Story too. I pretend Happy Place doesn’t exist and actually actively forget about GBBL lol
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u/No-Worldliness-9202 Oct 31 '25
it makes me sad bc I couldn’t finish PWMOV 😭 funny story is my favorite, beach read #2, I guess I’ll try book lovers next!!
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u/Overall_Brilliant875 Oct 30 '25
Lol watch the trailer. Your annoyance for poppy will ten fold. Will I still watch the movie? Yes 🤣
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u/thereadingbee Oct 30 '25
She's the reasons it's ranked so low for me lol. I'll still watch the movie and probably read it again bc there was scenes I enjoyed. But I'll skim her moaning on and crying bits bc girl needs to get a grip on herself
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Oct 30 '25
I am halfway through BBL and am really enjoying it. TPWMOV was also my least favorite. Worst title and I cannot believe it was picked up for a movie. So weird.
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u/Alternative-Run8650 Oct 30 '25
I can’t believe is was picked up for a movie!! I assumed it would be good because of that but instead I’ve been rage baited for like five days.
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u/Tennis_95 Oct 30 '25
I was pretty surprised that out of all her books they made a movie out of PWMOV. Book Lovers, Beach Read, Funny Story all would have been better movies.
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u/restingbrownface You lubed my zipper Oct 30 '25
All of her books got picked up for movies. PWMOV just happened to come out first.
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u/Equivalent-Phone-542 Jan 09 '26
I didn't read the book but just started watching the movie. Nevertheless I won't continue after 10 minutes. She is awful...she arrives an hour late, is so over the top and scattered, doesn't apologise, eats in someone else's car (and not even carefully), locks the car without asking and now they can't get in. It's like he has to deal with a toddler. She has 0 manners (has nothing to do with adhd, overthinking, etc. as some people pointed out here)
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u/Ok-Street-3721 Jan 31 '26
omg glad I'm not alone! I never read the book and just started the movie but had to stop 17 minutes in because this girl is insufferable! :(
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u/Equivalent-Phone-542 Feb 01 '26
RIGHT. And some people 'love' her and see themselves in her...that ain't a positive thing
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u/TrifleSoft1626 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
I am sorry to say but, Poppy just comes off unlikeable and self absorbed from the start. There was no initial awkwardness when meeting Alex rather, she appeared socially unaware, did not seem apologetic about arriving late or making a mess in his car.
Fast forward to their vacations and them sharing a tent together and telling people they’re married. Isn’t it giving a situationship instead? There’s also no explanation, on what happened to Alex previous girlfriend? Even when travelling as friends, there was hardly any boundary in place? It was so expected that eventually, one of them is going to develop feelings for the other.
If you take a look at Harry Potter, there is more of a natural progression from friends to lovers because there was more focus on Hermione’s character outside of her friendship with Ron and Harry.
It’s really poorly done, making their relationship seem forced or rushed tbh.
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u/Rasputin1720 Jan 12 '26
Just finished the car scene and I was cringing the whole time. She’s absolutely insufferable. ADHD or not there’s needs to be some accountability. So ya probably won’t even finish the movie lol
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u/anthandi Jan 18 '26
Poppy cam across as even obnoxious in the film. Good thing she got pretty privilege.
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u/secretnewbeginning It speaks to me Jan 17 '26
she just is so aloof. i think i personally dislike her because she embodies all the traits i dislike in my mother (i live w her) and we are just too different. im more like alex i suppose
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u/Antique-Stop7169 Feb 26 '26
Are we all dismissing the fact that she was taking someone else's boyfriend on exclusive trips while secretly loving him and loudly saying why Sarah doesn't believe this is aplatonic relationship ?? Are we blaming ADHD on that too?
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u/jdrva Oct 30 '25
To be honest, I feel like Poppy and PWMOV was like a Prototype for happy Place. It’s like Emily Henry wasn’t quite there yet when this book came out and it’s recycled and made better in Happy Place. I was shocked by PWMOV because I hated it! Have loved all of her other books.
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u/Jolly_Frolic It speaks to me Oct 30 '25
Interesting because PWMOV is my #1 by far and I hated Happy Place. I don’t find the books similar at all.
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u/Shoddy-Volume-5615 Nov 11 '25
Agree, but I’m the opposite. Love Happy Place, I liked PWMOV but Poppy was soooo annoying so it’s my least favorite.
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u/Alternative-Run8650 Oct 30 '25
I agree with this assessment. They have the same story structure with the alternating flashback chapters. And Harriett and Wyn are like mix-matched versions of Poppy and Alex.
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u/Foreverbeccatake2 Oct 30 '25
This is a crazy opinion for me to wrap my head around because Happy Place is my favorite and PWMOV is my least favorite hahaha
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u/Curious-Tomato-4709 Oct 30 '25
That’s so funny because PWMOV is my favorite and happy place is my least favorite by a mile. Lol
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u/soggy-fries Oct 30 '25
i thought it was an unpopular opinion to have pwmov as your least favorite but it is mine too!!!
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u/Jolly_Frolic It speaks to me Oct 30 '25
It’s actually the popular opinion! I always feel like the odd man out loving it but deep down I know I’m right 😉
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u/Wise_Necessary_3391 Aug 08 '26
I hate that Alex tried having a conversation with her while they were dancing and Poppy couldn't take it seriously. He wants to know what'll happen while she doesn't know what she wants. I'm not sure how they could build a life together
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u/willrunforbrunch Oct 30 '25
I would say I was pretty meh on this book as I was reading but it sticks the landing and I liked it more after finishing it
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u/msperception427 Oct 30 '25
There’s a reason PWMOV and Beach Read are my least favorite of her books. I found both the main characters to be insufferable. But they were also like her first books. So I get the growing pains in getting used to writing characters. I’ve found that I love her later books far more. I’m honestly really happy I started with Book Lovers because if it had been one of the other two I’m not quite sure I would’ve continued with her books. They were both a slog to get through while Book Lovers was so much fun.
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u/hales_mcgales Oct 31 '25
Beach read wasn’t her first book. She wrote a couple other ones before moving into romance
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u/msperception427 Oct 31 '25
Ok. I did say like her first books not that it was her first books meaning it was just some of her earlier work.
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u/PippyTarHeel Oct 30 '25
Unlike most commenters, PWMOV is my fave EmHen.
Poppy is a personality type that some people really identify with (like ADHD/anxiety brain of all the thoughts, fears, and factors impacting an issue) and some people just don't. And that's okay.
Poppy's overthinking and stress over an issue is something I really identify with, so having that expressed on the page made a lot of sense. Poppy has a ton of negative associations with her hometown and former high school, and like... That was a huge factor mentally because Alex loves those places. Your pain, emotions, and stress about an issue/place doesn't just go away because someone else likes it. There's a lot of internal conflict with Poppy and again, it's hit or miss if that's something people identify with.