This book is like reading a Hallmark movie that knows it's a Hallmark movie, but there is no camp. Allison loves Christmas and Hallmark movies; she constantly references both. You'd think she'd be more self-aware that she's basically living in one (honestly, a self-aware character in a Hallmark movie would make a great horror film). I liked this book because it was like a fun rom-com, something you could read on a beach and giggle with. However, it was hard to tell what the tone of the book was. There was so much plot for a romance novel. Also, this is a closed-door romance, no spice if that's your thing.

Allison's ex-boyfriend, travel influencer Sam, dies in a car accident at the end of October. When she attends the funeral, she discovers no one knows they broke up even though it's been 6 weeks. In order to help the grieving family, she agrees to help pack up his condo with the help of his grump friend Adam. As they clean the condo, Allison and Adam get closer, you can see where the story is heading from here.

A big part of the story is Allison's super conscious of her breasts because of her reconstruction surgery. I thought this was thoughtfully done, and it was nice to see a person take charge of their future like that. She makes a very hard choice and has to deal with the after effects. I loved this storyline and how she coped with the loss of part of her body. However, I thought this, coupled with the loss of an ex and forced proximity with a hot new dude, was kind of a lot.

There were pacing and plot issues for me, but if you're looking for a quick beach read, this is a cute story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

3.5 stars
The premise of the story was neat- having to pretend to be the girlfriend of a dead man then fall in love with his best friend. However, several themes were over-played throughout the story. It kind of felt like the story was on repeat. I did find the author tackled guilt and grief well.

A delightful read that I probably would have enjoyed more if I had had more time to read and devote to the book, but life gets in the way and I had to take many breaks between reading which ultimately negatively impacted my enjoyment of the book. The writing was really well done and I even enjoyed some tropes that I don’t always love.

So much guilt. Made me realize that I also feel this way some times. Makes me wonder what my friends and family think about it. Hmm. So yes, I did enjoy reading, Four Weekends and a Funeral. Alison keeps talking about wishing her life were a Hallmark movie. Reality is way better. she decided. But her love for Christmas is contagious.

An engaging romance. It was interesting to try to understand the feelings of the individuals and why they were reacting the way they did. Good growth and development while getting to their happily ever after. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

From the first page this book is gripping in the way your new favorite scripted comedy is. I wanted to follow the characters and I needed to know what would happen next. Ellie has as great way of creating relatable characters and scenarios. I could see this whole book play out like a movie! Which by the way, this would be a great movie!

I loved Alison’s character, she is so relatable and funny! I love the way she’s written, it feels like I’m friends with her. The story wasn’t just about her ex-boyfriend’s death and the aftermath of now pretending to be his girlfriend still, but about her own internal and physical change. The heartbreaking in we dialogue of her double mastectomy and the change to her body was so relatable and beautiful.

There is so much heart in this book. From the diverse characters both main and mentioned, to the experiences that they have. Ellie did a wonderful job of creating a real story around this love story, it was more than just two people falling in love. This story was not predictable and didn’t not follow the structure of other romance novels. There was character development dealing with grief and loss as well as self discovery and love. There was so much more to this book than just a romance. We read people grow and explore themselves in adulthood and through adversity, I loved it!

I am excited because I will be having this author as a guest on my podcast in the fall to discuss the book !

Thank you for the chance to read this early for a honest review.
Alison has a double mastectomy after her mother battles breast cancer (and Alison learns she’s carrier of BRCA gene). She decides to go to her recently ex-boyfriend, Sam’s, funeral where she is ackwardly considered the current girlfriend. Sam’s sister begs her to play along for the sake of the family. A people-pleaser, Alison agrees. Enter Adam, Sam’s best friend. He agrees to fix up Sam’s condo so his family can sell it. They are too sad to pack up the condo, so Alison agrees to Brooklyn and they accept. Through many weekends of working on the condo, Adam and Alison start to become friends and maybe more. I enjoyed the chemistry between Alison and Adam and Alison’s character progression away from being a people-pleaser.

This was so good. I’m jealous of everyone who will get to read this for the first time in August. This was such a believable, realistic, and hopeful love story. Ellie Palmer deals deftly and sensitively with the insecurity, fear, and stress of BRCA1 all while telling a swoon worthy romance. Highly recommend this and can’t wait to read what she does next!

Wow I loved this one. It's a stay-up-late-have-to-keep-reading kind of book. Alison and Adam. Such great characters. So many lines I wanted to keep. So many references to Hallmark movies. Alison feels like I would be friends with her. I'm hoping there are more books written for Mara and Chelsea, because I'm definitely not ready to leave this friend group!!

3.75 🌟

Omph, this book was heavier than I expected.

I went into this book expecting a typical romance and it was not that. With Alison's diagnosis of the BRCA 1 gene mutation, she was faced with some heavy decisions. However, a majority of the book focused on her decision to hike or not to hike. I would have liked more on her decision to remove her fallopian tubes or not. Also, the way her mom handled it was frustrating. But, as a fellow Minnesotan, I loved the setting of this book.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

With all of Allison's inner dialoguing and the misconceptions she allowed to go on, this book just got very annoying.

I do admit that Allison's medical issue/s was an unusual concept for romance ( BRCA1 is a gene mutation, a predisposition for breast cancer that is inherited). I felt it was handled fairly well. I did get a little tired of her inner- dialogue about her nipples or, rather, lack thereof, though!

Adam was a wimp-period.

No, I was unable to immerse myself in this story, and I did not manage to find out if Adam and Allison finally did the deed. I'm sure it was romantic in some way, but like I said, I couldn't force myself to finish this ARC.

Please make sure you read all of the reviews that extoll the wonderfulness of this novel. They must have seen something I didn't, or perhaps it's just my age, and you need to be in the younger generation to 'get' this book.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons, the author, and NetGalley.

WHAT. A. DEBUT. 👏👏👏

Short Synopsis:
Alison is mourning her ex-boyfriend-turned-friend at his funeral, when she learns that Sam never told his family they broke up. She agrees to pretend to still be his girlfriend at his death to lessen the family’s burden…..which leads to her cleaning out his apartment…with his grumpy best friend.

My Thoughts:
This book is just *chefs kiss* perfection and had me in a chokehold! Nothing gets me as much as funny mixed with deep and sad and this had it in spades.

And that last chapter got me in the feels. 🥹

And to make it even better? Karissa Vacker is the narrator on this one and she’s my favorite. Her male voi WHAT. A. DEBUT. 👏👏👏

Short Synopsis:
Alison is mourning her ex-boyfriend-turned-friend at his funeral, when she learns that Sam never told his family they broke up. She agrees to pretend to still be his girlfriend at his death to lessen the family’s burden…..which leads to her cleaning out his apartment…with his grumpy best friend.

My Thoughts:
This book is just *chefs kiss* perfection and had me in a chokehold! Nothing gets me as much as funny mixed with deep and sad and this had it in spades.

And that last chapter got me in the feels. 🥹

I could just continue to gush, but just do yourself a favor and read.

What You’ll Find:
🏠Forced proximity
☀️Grumpy Sunshine
❓Trivia
💕Adorable romance
👯‍♀️Amazing supporting characters
🤭The best romcom

"Four Weekends and a Funeral" by Ellie Palmer is a delightful romantic comedy that follows the story of a young woman navigating love, loss, and self-discovery over the course of four weekends. The characters are charming and relatable, and the plot is engaging with plenty of humor and heartwarming moments. Palmer's writing is witty and engaging, making this a fun and enjoyable read. Overall, "Four Weekends and a Funeral" is a heartwarming and entertaining novel that will leave readers smiling and satisfied.

Four Weekends and a Funeral is such a good read! It has a very original premise combined with all the delightful elements of a successful rom com.

Alison shows up at her ex-boyfriend’s funeral and discovers he didn’t tell anyone they had recently broken up. She then agrees to go along with pretending she is the grieving girlfriend and to packing up his apartment with his best friend, Adam. Both Alison, who recently preventative double mastectomy and Adam, who is nicked named "the Northshore Grump" are well written, multidimensional characters.

I would absolutely recommend this book to any lover of rom com novels.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

This was another cute romance that reminded me of Abbie Jimenez stories. Cute romance between Ali, a double mastectomy BRCA gene carrier, and Adam, an at first grumpy best friend of Ali's ex. After her ex Sam dies, his family thinks they had still been a couple, even though they hadn't been for 6 weeks. Ali goes along with the ruse at the request of Sam's sister and for the seeming benefit of Sam's family. Conflicts arise, emotions are sifted through,
and the book flows nicely. Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC! Publishing August 6, 2024! #FourWeekendsandaFuneral #NetGalley

DNFd at 20%. Flat one dimensional characters. I couldn’t find myself being interested in or caring at all what was happening to them or where the story was going. It’s not engaging the reader at all and reads like someone talking at you instead of to you. Too much telling you the story and not enough showing you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Ok, so where do I begin?

If you are a lover of the following tropes, add this book to your TBR:


✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Grumpy x Sunshine
✨ “Fake” Dating
✨ Enemies to Lovers



Four Weekends and a Funeral starts off with FMC - Alison who is diagnosed with a BRCA-1 gene mutation after her mom developed cancer. As a result, Alison undergoes a preventative double mastectomy and throughout the book we learn about her struggles in dealing with this diagnosis. Alison arrives at her ex boyfriend, Sam’s funeral and is surprised to find out that Sam did not tell anyone about their breakup 6 weeks earlier. Sam’s sister, Rachael ask Alison if she can continue to play the part of girlfriend for the sake of the family and their friends. Alison volunteers to clean out Sam’s condo with his best friend Adam, the grump and the story goes from there. Will the grump continue to “dislike” Alison, or will there be a happy ending?



I honestly enjoyed the development of the characters throughout as it felt realistic instead of something that was rushed. Four Weekends and a Funeral is not simply a rom-com, it also portrays grief, people-pleasing tendencies from the FMC and a journey to find oneself. Alison’s friend group is also so supportive, which is something I enjoyed seeing.



In efforts to not spoil it for anyone I will end this review right here.



Thank you NetGalley, Putnam and Ellie Palmer for the opportunity at obtaining an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded up to 4
Thanks Netgalley for the early review copy!!
There's a lot going on in this book The characters do a lot of growing and figuring things out. I loved the MMC,
There was a good amount of drama, but not romantic drama, more like personal-growth drama.
I would still categorize it as a RomCom, but a bit more emotional (survivor's guilt, grief, cancer....)

First, thanks to Penguin for this ARC! It's always a pleasure to read a debut novel, and especially cool to get to read it before most of the world does.

I'll start with my first gripe with this book - which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it - which is that there are ... no weddings??? I thought the title was a nod to "Four WEDDINGS and a Funeral" - no? Though it was fun to experience a sort of "ohhhh" moment as I neared page 200 and began to realize there would not, indeed, be a wedding, I do feel somewhat cheated as a reader? But I guess I just assumed incorrectly.

My second big gripe is that it does lean a bit on the Hallmark-y side of romance. I, for some reason, wasn't expecting that. I mean ... it goes full Christmas. That's not really my jam most of the time, but if that's what you're looking for, this definitely has the emotional, cozy, warm fuzzy, chai-tea-by-the-fireplace feels you could ever want in a rom-com book.

In spite of the Hallmark-ness, there's definitely a depth and sense of drive in this book that I found compelling. I never *really* worried how things would end up, but there are some unexpectedly satisfying resolutions to conflict. Obviously, this book deals with heavier themes. Sometimes, it grapples with them in depth, but I did long for a bit more closure and exploration on certain things. But, from a plot and storyline POV, things mostly happen in a believable way.

The characters are memorable enough, though they do very much overtly resemble the Grumpy / Sunshine trope. Notably, the main character has a BRCA1 and has had a double mastectomy. Her experience is portrayed in a way that is more than just to check a representation box and truly adds to the story.

So, all in all... not my favorite read. But, a bit out of the box of what I normally pick up and I'm content to have spent time reading it. It comes out in August, I believe ... would recommend it to the right audience (anyone seeking a Hallmark-y Christmas-y book).

Bonus points for a creative and Swiftie-friendly Taylor Swift reference.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for allowing me to read an ARC of Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer, in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the witty banter and the individual character foibles! I loved Alison's growth and self-realization, and that she has such amazing and supportive friends. This book was also quite informative about breast cancer without being overwhelming.

I definitely recommend it and look forward to reading more by Ellie Palmer.