This book was amazing. Funny and thoughtful and relevant. It made me laugh out loud multiple times and I teared up too (both at the story and the acknowledgments). Loved Adam and Alison, both together and separately. We’ve got a Billy Crystal a la WHMS AND a Mark Darcy reference! No notes!

I absolutely loved this book! The character growth for both Alison and Adam was perfect. Alison being a BRCA 1 carrier really hit home for me! I am fortunately negative for the gene and haven’t had to go through all the things Alison did but it is still scary nonetheless! I think Ellie did a fantastic job describing Alison’s feelings about her mother only wanting to talk or care about her having the gene! I went through a similar situation with people only acted like my mother was her diagnosis. I loved the way she wrote about grief and how it kind of gets you out of nowhere!

Congratulations to Ellie Palmer on this amazing debut and on being a BOTM add-on! So well deserved!!
This well-done tender romance is a bit of a rom-com with some serious undertones. A fake dating trope, however, Allison is fake dating her ex who has died! Allison and Sam broke up, but were rebuilding their friendship. When he passed suddenly, and she attends his funeral, Allison discovers he hasn’t told anyone about their break-up! Not wanting to break his mother’s heart all over again, Allison goes along with the assumption that she’s still Sam’s girlfriend. It’s only one day, right? Not exactly. When she gets roped into helping Sam’s best friend clean out his condo, her relationship with Adam, the North Shore Grump gets complicated very quickly.
Fun, romantic, fake dating, “enemies” to lovers, slow burn, grumpy/sunshine are all part of the fun romance side. Grief, survivor’s guilt, mental health and being a BRCA1 carrier are part of the very raw and more serious issues. Woven into the story and explored openly, but not in too heavy of a way that it took away from the light romantic feel of the book. Add in quirky friends that are everything make for the net that catches Allison when she needs one.
The banter is great in this one – love the wit! Adam - the subtle things he does that will melt your heart. And the ending…well swoon.

Alison Mullally is unaware that she’s still dating her ex-boyfriend, Sam Lewis, until she’s attending his funeral. Alison and Sam broke up months before his untimely death, but he never told his parents, and his sister asks Alison to go along with it since they were so happy he might be ready to “settle down”. Alison agrees, only wanting to help. Things get more complicated from there, as Sam’s parents as Sam’s best friend Adam and Alison to help pack up his condo and prepare it for sale. With Alison and Adam both moving through different types of grief, there’s a lot of room for miscommunication and mixed feelings.

While I was initially not sold on a romance stemming from a funeral, I was wrong! I loved this book. It was well-written and the characters were developed beautifully. Their emotions are ones you would expect and I loved how realistic and true the story felt. Not only is Alison grieving the loss of a friend, she’s also grieving the loss of part of her body and womanhood after it’s determined that she’s a BRCA gene carrier. Adam has to deal with his own complicated feelings after losing the one friend he felt truly pushed him out of his comfort zone and cared about him. There’s a lot going on in this book, but it’s all handled so well. I can’t believe this is a debut novel and I am excited to read whatever is next.

4.5 stars rounded up. Fade to black romance.

This book surprised me in the best way possible! I was intrigued when I heard this was a “fake dating story” but she is fake dating her ex who passed away, but I was also a little skeptical. It worked so well! This idea of breaking up with a guy, wanting to stay friends, abut then he passes and when you go to his funeral you realize he didn’t tell anyone you broke up was hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times. This book was also heavier than I had expected.

This book also perfectly highlights what it’s like to be a people pleaser to the degree that you agree to back up your ex’s condo and pretend you were dating when he passed because you don’t want to upset his parents.

The beginning of this book was really the highlight. I loved Alison and Adam’s tension and chemistry. The second half was still great, but it just didn’t have the same magic that the first half did. I also wasn’t super fond of the third act conflict, but I understood it and it didn’t ruin the book for me.

Four Weekends and a Funeral is such a fun debut! The premise is so unique, and Palmer's voice is fresh and witty. Adam and Allison were such a sweet couple, and I loved how their relationship evolved and they worked to overcome the obstacles in their personal lives and relationship. Also the ending was ADORABLE!!

As much as this is a rom-com (and there are some seriously funny moments and side characters), I’d almost categorize it as women’s fiction. Alison goes on such a journey, dealing with her grief and guilt and unworthiness. Her romance with Adam can’t really take off until she’s dealt with that. However, Adam has a fair share of his own to work on, too. All said, this book was surprisingly enjoyable.

Thanks to @bookedwiththeemilys @elliepalmerwrites @putnambooks for the #gifted copy of this book.

Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer follows Alison Mullally as she packs up her ex-boyfriend's apartment with his best friend, Adam. At Alison's ex-boyfriend Sam's funeral, Sam's family thinks Alison and Sam were still dating when he passed, so they ask her to help pack up his apartment. What happens as Alison and Adam have to work together to pack up the apartment over four weekends? Go get this book and find out!

Four Weekends and a Funeral is a must-read for romance readers. With strong, interesting characters and the unbeatable Minnesotan setting, this book captured me from the beginning. While I can't fully relate to being a BRCA mutation carrier, I understand some of that grief from my chronic illnesses and genetic conditions and endless surgeries because of them. I love that this book dove into some very difficult subjects with multiple types of grief, yet it wasn't so heavy that it took away from the romance. Adam and Allison are a new favorite book couple of mine. The small, thoughtful, everyday way that love showed up in this book was so sweet and realistic, which I loved. I can't wait to read more of Ellie Palmer's writing in the future!!

FOUR WEEKENDS AND A FUNERAL
Ellie Palmer

Thank you @bookedwiththeemilys, GP Putnam, and Ellie Palmer for the #gifted review copy.

I absolutely loved this book!! I was smiling, teared up, and laughed while reading, (which says a lot for a book that handles both death and cancer.) Ellie Palmer handled the tough topic of BRCA1 and the worry that comes with being a child of a breast cancer survivor (or victim) with a gentle hand. Alison’s thoughts and emotions were beautifully written. The grief that Adam felt for the loss of a friend that was once so important in his life but had drifted apart was so real.

Along with that, the romcom element is perfection. It had the feels of the very best classic romcom movies. Alison’s situation was hysterical and Adam was the perfect dead pan partner.

I would read ten more books with these two!! Don’t miss this one! (And it is a BOTM add on this month so go grab it!)

Four Weekends and a Funeral is a tender, funny story of enemies-to-lovers, and forced proximity. Allison is mourning the unexpected loss of her ex-boyfriend, except his family&friends do not know that they had recently broken up. So she is now tasked to clean out his apartment with her ex's best childhood friend Adam. What follows is a wonderful story of learning to be authentic with those around you and with yourself as you make peace with hard curve balls of genetics, lost dreams, and turning thirty. The banter and chemistry between Adam and Allison built in a slow and very believable way. The supporting characters add wonderful depth to the story; especially Allison's two close friends.

I always enjoy a romance that touches on more serious topics, and Four Weekends and a Funeral does just that. It's a funny and insightful story, which focuses on issues of grief, health, identity, and self-confidence in addition to romance. It's a great debut in the genre for this author.

A huge thanks to NetGalley, Ellie Palmer & G.P. Putnam's Sons for the eARC of Four Weekends and a Funeral in exchange for an honest review. Reading the premise immediately intrigued me and I was excited to embark on this journey with Ellie's characters. Four Weekend and a Funeral starts off at the funeral of Sam Lewis, Alison Mullally's ex boyfriend. Unfortunately for Alison, no one in Sam's inner circle was aware that he had dumped her 6 weeks prior to his death, and, as a favor to Sam's sister, she leans into the role. She ends up volunteering to clear out Sam's residence with his best friend, Adam, a seemingly grumpy carpenter who seems to want nothing to do with her but over the four weekends sparks fly,

This book was such a refreshing read. I related so much to both main characters, their struggles, their doubts and their grit. I don't want to spoil anything, but I just loved the way Ellie Palmer handled so many aspects of this book. I found myself nodding in agreement with some of the hard conversations, tearing up with the sorrows and giddy with the romance. Such a great book for anyone that is looking for inspiration, to learn to believe in themselves and fight for their passions. I am definitely a fan of Ellie Palmer now, and will be looking forward to any future books she will write.

I didn’t expect this book to have some heavy topics. Allison talks about what she went through and I have a similar story with a family member so I appreciated the writing and openess of those feelings making them seem valid.

I loved every second of this. Ellie Palmer has such a fresh fun voice that is guaranteed to suck readers in and leave them coming back for more. The story, the romance, the characters…everything is so well written. I cannot wait to see what comes next!

It's a funny and sweet romance about a young woman dealing with her double mastectomy after she finds out she is a BRCA-1 carrier. Allison’s old boyfriend, Sam, who dumped her six months previously, dies unexpectedly, and she is mistaken for his current girlfriend at his funeral. She and Sam’s best friend, Adam, agree to clean out Sam’s apartment as a gesture of kindness to his parents. And what happens in four weekends is life-changing for both Allison and Adam.

Allison thinks she needs to become more adventurous, as she has been given the gift of being cancer-free, but she keeps trying to make herself into someone she thinks she should be and not someone she wants to be. She feels guilty for who she is… a homebody who enjoys trivia nights with her friends, Christmas, and Hallmark movies!

There is a lot to unpack in this novel, and the author does it so well. I look forward to seeing what Ellie Palmer has to offer next.

I do think this is a book that perhaps skirts the line between women's fic and romance a bit more than I'm used to for something labeled romance. I didn't hate it but I really didn't love it - I didn't really get much chemistry or swoon from the relationship; The characters also never felt fully fleshed out for me either - like I feel like I couldn't tell you much about either of them, they felt very surface level and it felt like there was a lot of telling versus showing. Ultimately a book that wasn't for me - I rated it 3.5 stars but rounded up
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Ellie Palmer delights in debut novel, Four Weekends and a Funeral.

Alison is in a pickle: her ex-boyfriend's family believes she's still his girlfriend. A situation she could, perhaps easily, get out of it it weren't for the fact that this all comes out at his funeral. She agrees to play the role of his girlfriend to save his image. But what she quickly doesn't realize is this also means she has to help Adam, Sam's best friend, pack up and clean Sam's apartment. They've got four weekends to tie up loose ends. Four weekends that fly by fast and turn into something Alison would have never expected to happen.

Four Weekends and a Funeral is a book that'll live in my mind for a long period of time because of the way Palmer wrote Alison's BRCA1 surgery and overall journey in life. As a spouse of someone with cancer, I typically try to avoid books that have anything to do with the "c" word however; I immediately knew I would be safe emotionally reading Palmer's debut. She doesn't shy away from any of the main character's feelings, while also packing in the drama and sexual tension. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop as I needed to know how Alison and Adam's storyline continued and blossomed. Filled with a fun friend group (hello sports trivia), pop cultural references and low level spicy scenes, this book will be a hit with anyone wanting a quick-paced, romance read.

this was really fun, i like reading stories about lives i have never (and in some cases will never) live and this fell into that category for me, as a 23 year old (with mildly okay health) i was drawn into alison’s story because i didn’t understand it, i loved her bond with adam, overall this was missing a little something for me but considering im probably not the target demographic that makes sense

thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this in exchange for my honest review :)

I absolutely loved this forced-proximity grumpy-sunshine romance. Alison - who is BRCA1-positive - has "avoided" cancer via a preventative mastectomy and is determined to live her best life, even if it makes her miserable. Adam is a grouchy carpenter who can't quite get past his quarter-life crisis. I was rooting for this couple from the first page, and I loved watching them find their way to each other as well as to happier versions of themselves.

There was a lot of deeply somber material in Four Weekends and a Funeral. The funeral, in the first chapter, is Alison's ex-boyfriend's, and the tragedy of his sudden death reverberates throughout the book. Alison's diagnosis and its consequences for her future also carry a lot of weight. And there is a lot of unexplored conflict and sadness, especially in the story's male characters. But I didn't find it at all a difficult or depressing read. The sad things in the story were also important elements of the plot, and the narration handled them deftly, giving the book deep emotional vibes reminiscent of Emily Henry's Beach Read or Rachel Lynn Solomon's Weather Girl.

Other strengths: the Minnesota setting, Alison's loving but conflicted relationship with her mother, her two best friends. Plus, she loves trains, which is not a passion that I've ever seen in a female character, and I love that such a unique characteristic was an important part of the story without dominating the character's personality.

Weaknesses: Alison's friends clearly need sequels and they do not exist. (Yet??)

This is a clean rom-com. Even though the main two characters meet at a funeral, and one of the two has the gene for breast cancer, it still manages to be a light read.

The book follows Alison who feels that by "escaping" cancer, she needs to live a fuller life. However, to her this means being someone other than herself. With help from her friends and a "grump" she finds that she can live a full life while staying true to herself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Release date August 6, 2024