“I still have a lot to figure out, but the one thing I know is, wherever you are, that’s where I belong. I’ll never belong anywhere like I belong with you.”

Dear diary,

This book was all about yearning, risking it all, and being all in. It’s a cozy best friend to lovers trope book, but with just the right amount of waiting in a way that doesn’t make it feel stretched.

Alex and Poppy have nothing in common. She’s wild, energetic, and colorful, while he’s quiet, shy, and wears khakis. He prefers to stay home and read a book; she has insatiable wanderlust. Yet somehow, ever since a fateful car ride home from college, they have been the best of friends. They live far apart, Poppy in New York City and Alex in their small hometown—Linfield. But for the last ten years, every summer has held one golden week of vacation reserved just for the two of them.

Until two years ago, when everything went wrong, and they haven’t spoken ever since.

Poppy has everything she wants, but she’s not truly happy, and she’s stuck in a rut. Work doesn’t feel as exciting as it used to, and nor does traveling. The moment she thinks of real happiness, her mind drifts back, unshakably, to that ill-fated last journey with Alex. 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.

She has one week to set everything right—to bury that lingering 5% of feelings that refuse to stay hidden and to restore things to the way they once were.

I love how the book uses a non-linear timeline. It keeps shifting between the present and the past—starting from 12 summers ago, then 11, and so on—before returning to the current day. This back-and-forth builds suspense, and it’s only near the end, when the story reaches “2 summers ago,” that the truth about what really happened is finally revealed.

This book gives such “When Harry Met Sally” vibes, and honestly, I am all for it. I love how, despite whatever relationship Alex and Poppy are in, their first priority is always each other. The amount they love and care for each other is the definition of soulmates. The big question is, could wanting different things from life stop them from yearning for each other?

read-o-meter rating: 4.5/5

Age rating: 14+

Until next time… dear reader of my book diary:)