I like my romances light and full of tropes. This one was a bit too low for me. Didn’t finish this one.

FOUR WEEKENDS has some high highs and low lows. I think the book explores interesting and resonating ideas about life, but, unfortunately, it does so in the most unconvincing, silly way— I couldn't get past the absurdity of the main character's mindset. Still, there are some hilarious and sweet moments that make it worth the read.

I wanted to read this book because of the synopsis.. I am a daughter of a mother who had triple negative breast cancer, and thought about testing for the BRCA gene but thankfully she tested negative for it and is now cancer free for 7 years. She got a double mastectomy no questions or thoughts about it just went for it like our MFC.

Al & this whole situation with having to deal with her ex boyfriends funeral, his family not knowing & volunteering to clean out his apartment with his friend she doesn't know was a very interesting take on a forced proximity, grumpy sunshine trope. It's swoon worthy and for any romance loving book reader for sure!

I just finished my first Ellie Palmer book, and wow, what a great read! Palmer effortlessly blends rom-com charm with some deeper themes that really hit home. And yes, while the romance was swoon-worthy (we love grumpy MMC), but what got me in my feels was the inner struggle of the FMC. I found Alison's actions and the way she was feeling incredibly relatable. Even if I haven’t gone through anything near similar to having a preventative double mastectomy, I do share some of Alison’s thoughts during this story, feeling as though she HAS to do certain things because of her situation.

Just incredibly wholesome and beautiful. I strongly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC!

When Alison's ex-boyfriend suddenly passes away, no one really knows they had already broken up. She maintains the ruse at the request of the deceased's sister and ends up clearing out the ex's apartment with his best friend Adam. After a few weekends of working together, it becomes pretty clear that there's a spark between them, made complicated by a whole host of factors including both of them running from their true selves, the complexities of losing one of their friends, and living in separate cities.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🚪closed door

This book was unique and delved into some heavy topics while still being pretty funny. The FMC is struggling to find her true self when she is given a fresh outlook on life after she has a preventative double mastectomy. The book handles grief very carefully as well. This is a true grumpy sunshine read and our MMC is quite the adorable, stoic, grumpy carpenter. I love love loved that the FMC's job was a super niche engineering role.

The editing and pacing in this one was superb at times and jumpy at others. I didn't love the grand gesture at the end (I think I have a thing about the grand gesture confession being public, I feel like that ruins them). Some of the metaphors throughout the book felt a little forced and/or were hard to follow.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. This book publishes on August 6, 2024.

This was predictable but an enjoyable read. It is worth a summer beach read and readers can look for it in August for a diversion

Okay, I LOVED this. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it based solely off the description - I wasn't sure how much I wanted to read about BRCA, cancer, death, etc. - but it was done <i>so</i> well. Ellie Palmer wrote this all so tastefully and realistically, without taking away from the characters' charm and chemistry. The best part about it, though, was that each of the MCs was charming and lovable, while still having flaws that made sense. I'll be looking forward to anything Palmer publishes from now on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC!

👫 forced proximity
⛅ grumpy/sunshine
🧵 invisible string

My heart!!! This was great and I had a fantastic time reading this. I’ve read similar stories, but this has been one of my favorite versions of the story.

Please let me start this book review by saying Ellie Palmer is an incredibly talented writer & I'm very much looking forward to reading more stories from her soon.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book on #NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own, but do yourself a favor & put this on your TBR list. Four Weekends and a Funeral is Ellie Palmer's debut romance book. The story is cute & gets a little deep as many of the book's characters work through their grief so they can begin to heal & move on with their lives.
Even with lots of emotions throughout the story, there are also some hilarious one-liners and quirky characters that make this story pretty amazing.
Being a fellow Minnesotan makes this story even better. Quite a few geographical locations in our state are written into the story and personally that makes it even better when you read about a location in a story & you can go, "Yep, been there!"
Overall, I really enjoyed Four Weekends and a Funeral. Romance, friendship, passion, guilt, grief, family, & healing are all written into this wonderful story by Ellie Palmer.

thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I enjoyed this unique twist on a romance.The underlying message of “Be yourself, not someone you think you’re supposed to be” resonated. I liked the characters but felt i didn’t relate well, but that’s probably due to age. overall, i enjoyed the story and the writing

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! This book was very slow in some parts; I also thought the main characters were slightly annoying.
I just think that I had higher hopes for this book; overall, not for me.

What I loved about this book:
- The chemistry & banter were near perfection. Adam & Ali were absolutely made for each other.
- Adam in general. Swoon. This is my type of guy: quiet, a little gruff, dry sense of humor, but caring and sensitive underneath it all.
- This is such a small thing, but I love when MC’s have realistic career choices. (It’s tiring, reading about so many hockey players and bakers.)
- The handling of tough topics, such as Allison’s BRCA 1 journey, grief, and guilt are all handled well
- Love all of the side characters, especially Allison’s friends
- 90’s rom-com, While You Were Sleeping vibes
- The ending was one of my recent faves 😍 Adam & Ali were always meant to be.

What didn’t quite work:
- Only one complaint, and that’s my frustration at Allison for taking so long to realize she’s forcing herself to be someone she’s not

⭐️ - 4.5 (rounded to 5)
🌶️ - 2.5

Forced Proximity, Enemies (to Friends) to Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine

Thanks to NetGalley for supplying this advanced reader copy. I look forward to buying the book when it comes out.

Very cute and funny story. It deals with somewhat heavy themes, but with lightness, it talks
about premature death, mourning, cancer, but despite the challenging themes, the love story stands out and makes you melt.
Adam and Ali meet in a decidedly unusual way, at a funeral. But it's not just any funeral, it's the funeral of Sam,
Ali's ex-boyfriend and Adam's best friend.
Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for giving me the chance to preview this book.

Four Weekends and a Funeral is a classic grumpy-sunshine romance with one of my favorite tropes: forced proximity. Alison attends the funeral of her ex-boyfriend turned friend only to learn that he never told his family and friends that they broke up. Playing the part of the grieving girlfriend, Alison offers to help Adam, her ex-boyfriend’s best friend, clean out the apartment and get it ready to sell. Alison and Adam are pushed together through their decluttering, packing, painting, and more, and their chemistry cannot be denied.

These two are a classic opposites attract pair, even beyond their grumpiness and sunshine. Alison talks nonstop and wants her life to be a Hallmark movie - she loves all things Christmas. Adam can barely string two words together, and finds Alison’s listening to Christmas music in November to be offensive. But, of course, they realize that they’re right for each other in all the necessary ways.

One of the things that I felt was very well done in this book was Alison’s grappling with her BRCA1 diagnosis and subsequent preventative double mastectomy. I learned in the author’s bio that she herself has the BRCA1 mutation, which is perhaps why Alison’s emotions over her own diagnosis came across as so real. This entire situation, especially the guilt that Alison feels at having “cheated” cancer, was perfectly conveyed - and so utterly heartbreaking and yet relatable even for someone who hasn’t been through this.

Overall, I really liked Four Weekends and a Funeral, but I never really got lost in it. I kept being pulled out of the world for some reason - repetitive word choice, irritation with Alison’s inability to recognize that you can’t force yourself to like something just because you think you should, or having to look up a reference I didn’t connect. However, I did find it to be a very enjoyable read. I would absolutely recommend Four Weekends and a Funeral to fans of grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, or 90s era rom-coms.

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

This book was simply amazing.

Alison is dealing with having a second chance at living life after a mastectomy since she tested positive for the BRCA gene. She recently broke up with her boyfriend, who ends up passing not long after. His family is unaware of the breakup, so she plays the role of the grieving girlfriend to help them get through this difficult time. She agrees to help clean out his apartment with his grumpy best friend. The bond that these two characters is simply amazing. The witty banter and undeniable chemistry makes this book such an easy and great read.

I loved how this book touched on so many real life health issues in realistic ways. The way Alison faces all of her issues with grace and positivity was so refreshing.

This was my first Ellie Palmer book and definitely wont be my last! I definitely recommend picking this up once it releases!


Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced copy of this book!

this was okay but nothing extraordinary. look, as someone who is a romanstasy reader first, contemporary romance reader second, i can sometimes struggle with the plots in contemporary romance books. romanstasy books generally have lots of plot and romance to balance each other out so that it doesnt reach a lull in the story like contemporary romance novels can. unfortunately, i feel like there was not enough romantic tension and excitement that i find necessary in a romance book. sure, the plot focused on our main characters’ growth and we did get to see that, but it all fell a little flat for me. i think the concept of this book is interesting and it was relatively good, but it did not wow me. for those who are perhaps fans more of contemporary romance and less drawn to the fantasy realm, this book would likely tick more boxes for you. i do think my personal preferences make it harder for me to enjoy contemporary romances for what they are. also, of note, there is no smut or anything which is fine but again, i did not feel like there was enough tension and relationship chemistry to justify that choice. i think some smut can help bring the romance to a climax (pun intended) and help pick it up if it is lacking in other areas of romance.

thank you to netgalley and putnam for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review! while this wasn’t totally my cup of tea, i do think this book would appeal to lots of readers.

review posted on goodreads!

4.5/5 stars

"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 . . .

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought it was an amazing debut novel. It is a romance book but it wayyy more than that. It is filled with grief, heartbreak, finding yourself, overcoming fears and standing up for who you truly are.

The enemies to lovers, forced proximity, friendship to lovers and mutual grief over a friend and ex-boyfriend.

I fell in love with Adam's character and the way he opened up to Ali and the line that gets me is 'I'm seeing a therapist.' As someone who is a huge advocate for mental health, I loved the representation in this book and how they both had to grow as people before they could continue their relationship.

The banter, the MN references, character growth, chemistry, family dynamics, trivia nights and the side characters made this book one I will remember for a long time. I can not wait to read what Ellie Palmer reads next. I'd highly recommend this book and have the tissues ready for the emotions and be ready to laugh with the banter!!

This book was too many themes and side plots in one story and ultimately it just dragged for me. The themes of grief/cancer and then the side plots of friends trivia group, it just never came together for me. There wasn’t any feeling of angst or longing between the two protagonists-more like just have a conversation and figure it out. I did enjoy the meaningful discussion about making a life worth living for yourself and not what you think it should look like for everyone else but even that point was so dragged out it almost got lost in the subplots.

I was sold on this book from the moment the deal was announced! The premise is so fresh and hook-y, and I am a total sucker for anything with 90s rom-com/WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING vibes. From its incredible first line to its sweet epilogue, I enjoyed the ride with Alison, whose nervous babbling and people pleasing felt so relatable, and Adam, the North Shore Grump (who is actually an adorable softie). Prominent themes of grief, self-discovery, and self-acceptance add lovely depth to this very funny, very charming romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC!

Finding love in an unlikely situation gets me every time. I flew through this rom com and loved each character and their quirks. I found myself smiling at the witty banter and rooting for the couple. Trigger warning- breast cancer, hereditary breast cancer. Breast cancer isn’t the story but it’s discussed frequently.)