Two best friends, ten summer trips, one last chance to fall in love — the friends-to-lovers rom-com that made a generation of Emily Henry fans, narrated by Julia Whelan.
Poppy and Alex have nothing in common. She's a wanderlust-driven travel writer in New York; he's a buttoned-up homebody teaching in their small hometown. But ever since a fateful car ride home from college, they've been best friends — and for one glorious week every summer, they take a vacation together. Until two years ago, when something happened that ruined everything, and they stopped speaking. Now Poppy, successful but quietly miserable, becomes convinced that the last time she was truly happy was on those trips. So she talks Alex into one more vacation, hoping to fix what broke. Told across alternating timelines — ten summers of trips and the present-day reunion — it's a warm, funny, surprisingly tender story about the line between friendship and love.
Julia Whelan narrates nearly all of Emily Henry's bestsellers, and this is the one that converted a lot of listeners into devoted fans. The book lives and dies on banter, and Whelan's comic timing makes every exchange snap; just as importantly, she gives Poppy a manic, vibrant charm and Alex a dry, careful warmth, so you always know who's speaking and feel the years of history between them. The dual timeline could be confusing in lesser hands, but she keeps it crystal clear. It's the kind of performance that makes a feel-good story feel even better — easy to start, hard to pause.
Rom-com and beach-read lovers, fans of the friends-to-lovers and slow-burn tropes, and anyone who wants a warm, witty, low-stakes listen for a commute, a flight, or an actual vacation. It's comfort listening done extremely well.
If the "why won't they just talk to each other" tension drives you up the wall, this leans on it. And if you want high-stakes drama or a darker story, this is sunnier, gentler fare.
Listen to it. Whelan's narration is the definitive way to experience Emily Henry — the banter simply lands better out loud. Start here, then go straight to Happy Place.