6 Romance Books, a Masterclass in Yearning Across Love and Longing
Friends, Feelings and Vacations
In Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation, Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen are longtime friends with opposite personalities. They began taking annual summer trips after driving to their hometown during a college break, and each vacation brought them to a different place.
The story moves between those trips and the present, when the pair have not spoken for two years after an unexplained falling out. Poppy, a travel writer, invites Alex on another vacation and plans to attend his brother’s wedding as his date. Their feelings have grown over time, even as they have tried to protect their friendship.
A Secret Among the Stars
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere is a historical romance set in the 1980s. It opens in December 1984, with astronaut Joan Goodwin on the ground helping guide a damaged NASA shuttle toward safety. Three crew members have died, one is unconscious, and Vanessa Ford is the only astronaut able to work with Joan.
The story then returns to 1980, when Joan joins NASA’s Space Shuttle program and meets Vanessa. Joan realizes she is in love with her about a year later. Because the women could lose their jobs if their relationship became known, they keep it secret while longing for a life together in public.
A Third Title Begins
Red, White & Royal Blue is introduced as a popular romance novel adapted into a Prime Video rom-com. The account ends before describing its characters or plot, so no further details about the book are available here.
The two fully described novels present different forms of yearning: Poppy and Alex’s feelings develop across years of friendship, while Joan and Vanessa are already together but must conceal their relationship. Both stories place emotional longing alongside obstacles to being together.
Key points
- People We Meet on Vacation follows longtime friends Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen across annual trips and a strained reunion.
- Atmosphere centers on Joan Goodwin and Vanessa Ford, whose secret relationship risks their NASA careers.
- Atmosphere opens with Joan trying to guide a damaged shuttle home after three astronauts die.
- Red, White & Royal Blue is named, but its plot is not described.