Well well well, hello new book I will NOT shut up about ✨
Thank you so much NetGalley & publisher for this early digital copy. This book comes out tomorrow (08/06) and I’m so happy I got to read this gem before it was officially published.

I absolutely loved this book and everything about it. I was so excited about the premise, and I was hooked right from the start. The writing was amazing, I felt so connected to all characters, not just the main ones, but all of them. I was giggling & crying and feeling all the feels. The chapters’ titles were also a huge yes, I was looking forward to each one of them just by reading the title.

I also really liked how the author approached such important topics as the BRCA gene & preventative mastectomy and the way they were discussed. Huge representation for women out there dealing with the same issue, and it was beautifully beautifully written.

“You’re a woman who loves lazy days on the couch with her friends. That’s who you are, and you’re the best.”

Sometimes, we all need a reminder not to lose sense of ourselves in the conquest of self-discovery. Lucky for Alison, she has several people helping her on the way. And when a grump unexpectedly joins her group of supportive friends and family, he would obviously become her new favourite person! We all love the grump, after all!

Thank you @bookedwiththeemilys for my advance copy. This was everything I expected and so much more; good friends, grumpy sassy banter, and all the trivia! Definitely looking forward to more from @elliepalmerwrites 💖

This book was a pretty fun read, with plenty of laughs, romance, and friendship.

The beginning of this book had an awkward start, and I wasn't entirely sure if I liked Alison OR Adam at first. It took a couple of chapters for me to really get into the story and start to root for Alison as a person. The people-pleasing side of me related to her thought process behind her decisions, so I definitely understood her actions to some extent. The story did get a lot more interesting once Alison and Adam interacted more toward the middle/end of the book. I liked the ending for the most part, although it did feel a little rushed.

I loved the way Adam opened up and was honest about his emotions. It really changed the way I viewed him as the main love interest. I loved the way things connected in the end, although it did feel like a lot was crammed into the ending and it kind of took away from the impact Adam's words would have had otherwise.

Before reading this book, I had not heard much about BRCA1. This book did a great job explaining it and showing the emotional and physical impact it can cause those that inherit it.

If you're looking for a book with a grumpy/sunshine trope, a Christmas-loving FMC, and a HEA, then I would definitely recommend this book!

3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

<blockquote>“You just have to make the choices that feel true to the life you want and hope like hell it will all work out.” </blockquote>

This was really sweet! A nice slow burn of kind of enemies to lovers? I’m not sure how to describe it but after the death of her recent ex-boyfriend, Alison is guilted into lying to the family that they were still together when he died and she’s subsequently roped into helping with boxing up her ex boyfriend’s apartment with his surly monosyllabic best friend, Adam. Over the course of four weekends, they get to know each other better and by forced proximity and grief in common, fall in love.

I liked the setup and premise for this and it didn’t seem all TOO outlandish for her to lie to the parents and to be nice and just have it snowball beyond your control. I also liked the backstory of Alison’s BRCA diagnosis and mastectomy and how that led her to meeting her ex Sam, who was a travel influencer. She was so set on being a ‘better person’ aka an outdoorsy adrenaline junkie because she felt like she cheated death with her mastectomy. Her constantly trying to hike and insist on going to Patagonia despite hating it and just insisting she will learn to like it and it will make her better got to be really annoying. Even after multiple people telling her to reconsider and asking her questions about why she was doing this. She was extremely stubborn about it and it took a very long time for her to have her epiphany. It was a really frustrating aspect of the storyline despite understanding it.
<blockquote>
“You don’t need to prove you deserve your life to me or anyone. You deserve it, because everyone does. When they die or get sick or have to get a mastectomy, it’s not because they deserve it. It’s not fair, and it’s random. There’s nothing we can do other than live how we want to live.” </blockquote>

I also found it kind of weird all the thoughts and chapter titles about like personifying her nipples and wondering what her nipples were doing right now. I mean I get she had them removed and has no sensation and maybe if I had my breasts removed I would feel similarly but having had a hysterectomy I can tell you I’ve never wondered about the whereabouts of my uterus now. It was just a strange aspect to the book although again I understand it.

Overall I had a good time and I liked the Twin Cities setting, the trivia tournament side story, Adam’s carpentry, and the book was pretty funny with good prose. I definitely would want to see the love stories of Ali’s friends play out in future books.

Thank you NetGalley, Ellie Palmer,
PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for access to the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this debut, but I loved the freshness of the blurb. Complex love stories can be some of the most impactful, and that was definitely the case here.

Alison attends her ex-boyfriend Sam's funeral only to discover that no one knows they broke up a few weeks prior. In an attempt to ease his mother's sadness, she volunteers to clean out Sam's apartment with the help of his grumpy best friend, Adam. The two of them meet over several weekends to box up Sam's belongings and fix up his apartment. The more time they spend together, the more conflicted their growing feelings for each other become.

This was a really solid rom-com debut. I loved the While You Were Sleeping vibes it gave off. Whenever the author mentioned Adam's jacket, hair, and carpentry job, I pictured Jack Callaghan. There were many emotional moments centered around Alison's BRCA 1 carrier status – how it affected her daily life and the strain it put on her relationship with her mother and friends. The loss of Sam was hard for both Alison and Adam to sort through. They were trying to grieve individually, and they also had assumptions about how close the other was to Sam without knowing the complete picture. My only issue was that I wanted to see their story drawn out more towards the end. Their ongoing arguments about each other's personal and professional lives were very valid but tied up too quickly for me. I'm excited to read more from Palmer in the future. I loved the banter in this and all the grumpy/sunshine moments, both in-person over their weekends together and during the weeks over text.

Thank you to author Ellie Palmer, publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for the eARC of Four Weekends and a Funeral in exchange for my review.

This tender, laugh-out-loud debut romance is about a woman who ends up in over her head after a little white lie … falling for the right guy at the dead wrong time.

Here's the blurb:

When thirty-year-old post-double-mastectomy BRCA 1 carrier and reluctant thrill-seeker Alison Mullally arrives at her ex-boyfriend Sam's funeral to find that no one knows he dumped her, she agrees to play the grieving girlfriend for the sake of the family and pack up Sam's apartment with his prickly best friend, Adam Berg. After all, it'll only take four weekends...

But Adam doesn't want Alison anywhere near him. Forced to spend long hours with the grump, and his monosyllabic demeanor, Alison decides she must put her people-pleasing abilities to the test. She will make him like her. And after awkward family affairs and packing up dilemmas, the two form a tenuous friendship ... if "friendship" means incredible chemistry and tension between them. Can Alison come clean and finally embrace the life and love she's always wanted? Or will her little white lie get in the way of her new, unexpected romance?

This book was a joy to read. There were moments that made me laugh out loud, made me cringe with awkwardness, gave me butterflies, and melted my heart. All of the characters come across as truly genuine and delightfully messy humans, which is so refreshing to read in a romance. I especially enjoyed the Alison's sidekicks, Mara and Chelsea, and I would be all about future books exploring their characters.

Beyond the romance, this is also a complex story about guilt, grief, and how to move forward to find happiness. Palmer handles some very tough topics with tenderness and authenticity. Content warnings include cancer, death, grief, and survivor's guilt.

Added bonus: The fantastic 90s references sprinkled throughout the book made my heart so happy.

I loved this debut and can't wait to see what Palmer comes up with next.

Many thanks to @bookedwiththeemilys @putnambooks @netgalley and @elliepalmerwrites for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance of its publication on August 6th.

Loved the slow pace of Adam and Allison relationship, how they started as strangers and she poked the grump until he opened up to her. As each weekend went by they got to know each other, their relationship progressed further and I was loving it. The added humor was a bonus, found myself laughing out loud and enjoying it.

I finished this and immediately texted an elevator pitch to my romance-reading best friends: Laughed. Cried. Loved.

Alison is a 30-year-old woman with the BRCA1 gene who got a preventative double mastectomy. As she’s coming to grips with what that means for her life, her adventure-seeking, travel influencer ex-boyfriend dies. When she attends the funeral everyone thinks they were still dating (even though he broke it off weeks before). Alison meets her ex’s best friend, a grumpy-on-the-surface homebody carpenter, and magic happens.

I loved the female friendships and the family dynamics that were explored. I appreciated that Hallmark movies are referenced, but every romantic-comedy trope that was used was mentioned a bit ironically. It's meta about tropes instead of cheesy. It was so steamy and swoon-worthy without being spicy; I find this to be a rare quality when a book is this funny and heartfelt and has such a mixture of comedy and emotion. The trivia nights and puns and banter between all of the characters was just my type. Most of all it was an ode to being enough as you are while still being open to more. Every time I thought I might have a critique, something in the plot would shift just enough to right it.

Five Stars. The most grin-worthy, laugh-out-loud, butterfly-inducing romance I’ve read in a while. So good I’m not sure if it will solve my romance genre burnout or ruin me for other titles. A trophy copy will be added to my BOTM club box soon. Rereading will ensue and I'll fall in love with Alison, Adam, and all their family and friends again.

4.5 ⭐️ - "You don't need to prove you deserve your life to me or anyone. You deserve it, because everyone does.
When they die or get sick or have to get a mastectomy, it's not because they deserve it. It's not fair, and it's random.
There's nothing we can do other than live how we want to live."

At its core, this is a story about guilt, grief, love, joy, and acceptance of that loss, love, and being enough. (Ok I took some of this from Abby Jimenez’s blurb).

Characters that are so easy to root for. Laugh out loud funny. But will also make you sob. I put off reading this for a while for personal reasons but given the release day is tomorrow, I said screw it & I am SOOOOO GLAD I did.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy of this e-book.

“How am I supposed to know if any time is a good time for anything? Does anyone? You just have to make the choices that feel true to the life you want and hope like hell it will all work out.”

Despite being absolutely full to bursting with heavy topics, the story here was achingly sweet and somehow funny with a unique twist on fake relationships.

I generally dislike when fiction books have lots of specific real-world references about a place or pop-culture. However, this author managed to immerse the reader in the midwest milieu in a way that felt almost like a recollection despite never having set foot in Minnesota even once in my life.

While this wasn’t technically a holiday book, the meat of it takes part during the winter holidays and I felt so cozy reading it that I think it will join my November/December holiday re-reads collection.

Spice: 0.5/5 - fade to black

CW: <spoiler> young adult death, grief, cancer, reconstructive surgery </spoiler>

Alison meets Adam at her ex boyfriend funeral, but no one seems to know they have broken up. How will she deal with things once she starts to call for Adam. Deals with some emotional topics around cancer and preventative surgery.

I just don’t think I was in the right mind set for reading this book right now. After just losing my mom to cancer a few weeks ago, this one was hitting too close to home. However, I think if the timing were different, I would have really loved this book. I appreciated the grumpy/sunshine aspect along with the internal struggles with the FMC.

Wow this was great! Not your typical “oops look at the situation life dragged us into tehehe” romance novel - lots of raw emotions and topics of conversation that made this book feel real to me. I was invested from the start! 4.5/5

Making a calendar alert for any future Ellie Palmer novels! ;)

Allison was an interesting character and reading about her struggles with BRCA1 but this was the only part of the book I found interesting. The rest of the book was mildly entertaining but I didn't enjoy the romance too much
3.5 Stars

Thank you to GPPutnam Son’s and NetGalley for the ARC!

Plot: Allison’s recently ex-boyfriend dies, and she goes to attend his funeral. Her ex’s boyfriend asks her to pretend like they didn’t broke up, to prevent further heartbreak for his family. His family asks her to help his best friend clean out his apartment, and there is a spark between the best friend and Allison.

Review: I liked this overall! The leads had great banter, and the story felt fresh, with a unique spin on common tropes. I did like the first half of the book better than the second - I started getting bored around the 65% mark. I also wished that it had felt more like the characters were grieving - it didn’t feel like anyone cared much that the ex boyfriend had died! I thought the author did a fantastic job at tackling the BRCA1 diagnosis and related issues. I really felt for Allison.

Overall, this was solid, but I don’t know that this will be one that sticks out in my mind long term. I am definitely excited to read more from this author!

4🌟

5 star debut romance from Ellie Palmer! Four Weekends and a Funeral was an adorable romance with depth and romcom movie vibes. Allison shows up to her ex-boyfriend's funeral only to learn that his family still believes that they were together when he passed (he had dumped her 6 weeks prior). In an attempt to lessen the burden on his family, she agrees to help pack up his apartment alongside her ex's best friend, Adam. Sparks ensue.

In addition to the romance, the author draws on her own experience as a carrier of BRCA1, which greatly increases the risk for breast and ovarian cancers, through the main character. Allison's story touches on undergoing a preventative mastectomy and thus feeling "unfeminine" and feeling like she "cheated" death. Allison also deals with a complicated relationship with her mother, who had breast cancer and is very concerned for Allison (almost overbearing).

This book will be a very memorable read for 2024 for me and I can't recommend enough.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group PUTNAM, and Ellie Palmer for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Four Weekends and a Funeral hits shelves tomorrow, August 6, 2024!

Overview: When Allison attends the funeral of her ex-boyfriend Sam, she is perturbed to realize that everyone thinks they were still dating, despite Sam dumping her weeks ago. When Sam’s sister begs her to pretend that she was still in a relationship with Sam at the time of his death for the sake of his grieving family, Allison reluctantly agrees, and finds herself even volunteering to help clear out Sam’s apartment, together with his surly best friend, Adam…

Thoughts: I was absolutely blown away by how good this book was! There were so many serious aspects of this book (particularly the unexpected death of a close friend and the trauma experienced by a women who has had to undergo a risk-reducing double mastectomy) but they were perfectly balanced out by the witty dialogue and Allison’s sunny personality. There was SO MUCH GUILT all throughout the book and yet it was never oppressive enough for me to put the book down. Also, this is a rare book with a flawless ending that actually brought tears to my eyes!!

Take home message: This is a skillfully written closed-door rom com about two people struggling in their own lives who meet and end up connecting while unexpectedly grieving over their friend. Tropes include: grumpy sunshine, forced proximity, and ex-boyfriend’s best friend. As a warning, this book features an unflinching portrayal of a woman who is a carrier of the BRCA mutation and must deal with the physical and psychological consequences of a preventative double mastectomy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely LOVED this one. What a masterful and bright debut celebrating sweet, small town holiday romance, and the importance of learning how to embrace yourself to find peace and contentment. There is so much creativity in the development of the plot, I'm really impressed because I have read a lot of romances, and this contemporary fated mates storyline is so fresh and unique.

I adore Alison and Adam, and Alison's friends Chelsea and Mara. All of the minor characters are also so well drawn that I felt like I knew every single one, Russell, the Lewises, Adam's family -- even HR Josh. An enthusiastic 5/5 for all of the author's characterizations and all of the dialogue. The sparkling humor perfectly balances out the heavier aspects of the story regarding loss and grief. I was laughing out loud and then clutching kleenex throughout the entire book.

I love the satisfaction of a slow burn and that delicious undercurrent of sexual tension, and this novel delivers in spades. Adam and Alison enjoy several sensual encounters, but intercourse is off-page so I feel comfortable recommending this one to all of my closed door romance followers.

The only thing that's strange to me is that this book is being released at the beginning of August. This is a holiday romance, and I think one of its most charming aspects is Alison's devotion to Hallmark movies and sappy HEAs. I think this book would have been best marketed during the fall, and I will be promoting this one to my followers for the holiday season.

Bravo to the author, and I cannot wait to read more from you.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer was such a fun romantic debut!
I was hooked from page one. I fell in love with her writing style, the characters and the story!
The characters are relatable and endearing. The writing is captivating and fun.
An adorable, swoony, just wonderfully entertaining read.

Thank You NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!