NETGALLEY ARC review. Loved the story, but it felt a little incomplete. I wish this had been written with both perspectives - I really really would have loved to know what Adam is thinking since it seemed he was feeling more at times than Allison- so I felt I would have more “feels” from his perspective than I got from Allison. I felt like there were starts, slow downs, speed ups, stops… story wasn’t even and found myself skipping pages at a time or wondering “wait a minute- this came out of nowhere” . All in all I liked the story and would try another book by this author.

3.5/5 stars!!! Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the earc!

This book was exactly what I was looking for after reading so many series and other stand-alone’s that weren’t doing it for me.

This book was funny, heart breaking, and had me cheering for the main characters all through out. Alison and Adam were an amazing match and how they connected was so sweet. I adored Alison’s friends as well and they brought the story to life even more!

I also LOVED that this story takes place in the Midwest (Minnesota to be exact) and how Culver’s is mentioned (we do love our Culver’s here!).

But if you’re looking for a quick, fun, romantic comedy read, this is the book to read! It’ll be available on August 6th! 💕🥰

I really loved this book. Great characters, developed wonderfully. There was tension, laughing, wit, and romance.
Thank you Net Galley.

I thought this was a really good little book. it was easy to read and easy to get through. I loved the fact that the storyline had little "easter eggs" for Sam urging A'dam and Alison to be together. A tiny bit relieved that it was a closed door romance as well. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a happy, Emily Henry type meet cute.

4.5 stars

A knock-out quick read by a debut author. I was immediately interested in the premise and the sunshine/grumpy trope. It was super easy to read with chapters that felt feasible. The author is able to sprinkle in some humor when dealing with serious topics of death and cancer. It was very raw and real while not being too sappy or underwhelming. I read it in pretty much two solid sittings and wanted to know how everything was going to be wrapped up.


I cannot wait to see what else this author writes in the future. It will be an immediate buy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for this ARC!

I was hooked at the premise of "pretending to date a dead guy"!
I loved the rom-com of it all - with strong female characters, supportive secondary characters, and an unexpected love story filled with witty banter, steamy chemistry, and an incredibly unlikely way to meet!
Highly recommend this read for those who love a romantic comedy - but also enjoy the realistic role that families can play in relationships.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G. P. Putnam’s Sons for a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest opinions!

In my opinion you can never go wrong with a Grumpy/Sunshine trope, but it still ultimately comes down to how the author writes their characters to determine the quality of the Rom Com. Ellie Palmer did a fantastic job. Adam is the perfect grumpy to Alison’s sunshine.

When Alison has to play grieving girlfriend for her ex-boyfriend’s family she sets out to help the family while they are mourning the loss of their son. However, she somehow winds-up committing to help prepare his condo to be sold with his prickly best friend. Over the course of Four Weekends Adam and Alison learn more about themselves, grief and love then either would have expected.

You’ll fall in love with the characters and there is a sweet touch at the end that gave me bittersweet tears. It’s a great story with a deeper plot than your everyday grumpy/sunshine rom com, so I’d definitely recommend.

Trigger Warning for anyone who has sensitivity to cancer. That being said I really enjoyed the cancer storyline and perspective Ellie brought to her story. I think it made it even more meaningful as she carries the BRACA1 Gene herself.

Thank you to Ellie Palmer, NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read this advanced readers copy and to share my unbiased opinions.

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for an advanced copy of this e-arc!

Follow me here…

You meet a guy. You start dating. He breaks up with you. Then, sadly he tragically passes away.

Hold on now…

You attend his funeral. His family approaches you and thinks you’re still dating. Now you’re known as “his girlfriend”.

You meet his best friend. You feel this electric attraction between the two of you, but know it’s wrong. You both deny it until….

When Allison started dating Sam, she didn’t see their relationship ending quite the way it did. Not only did he dump her, but he also died leaving Allison feeling slightly incomplete. Dealing with her own daily woes, the last thing Allison thought could happen was falling for her dead boyfriend's rude best friend Adam. While forced together for what feels like forever, she must decide whether to pursue Adam or continue her fake relationship with Sam. Which will she choose? Find out in Four Weekends and a Funeral on 8.6.2024.

What did I think of this book? See below for my Final Sip:

For those who don't know me, my name is Chanel and I'm everyone's favorite self-proclaimed Book Tea Spiller.

This is the first book I was able to read in a really long time. Overall, I give this book a 2.9 out of 5. It was. a pretty slow read and while the synopsis was enticing to me, the book as a hold did not hold my attention. This read is for my Tea Sippers who love a light-hearted, yet gut wrenching beach read. If you enjoyed, Happy Place by Emily Henry, this may be a great choice for you!

Happy Sipping!

This was such a joyful, heartfelt, and funny read, hitting my personal sweet spot with a blend of Big Feels romance and a strong central character arc for a heroine at a crossroads in her life. After a serious medical diagnosis, she’s trying to “earn” her right to keep living, immersed in comparative grief for what she is and isn’t undergoing. She cheated death. Shouldn’t she make every minute count? Of course, making every minute count is different for everyone, but that’s not always easy to see in the middle of family, work, medical, and other life pressures. Thankfully, Palmer gives her heroine a loving family, two fabulous best friends who are primed for their own books (seeds of their stories and romances are planted here) and a hot, introverted carpenter love interest who’s crazy about her from their first awkward meeting. The two meet at a funeral for his friend and her ex, where they end up taking on the project of sorting out the deceased personal goods and readying his condo for sale. It’s a beautiful set-up for both to work through their grief and rethink what really matters in life, and Palmer does a stellar job blending the emotional weight of the story with sharp, wry humor, some seriously competitive trivia nights, a joyful celebration of Minnesota culture, and, of course, a swoony romance between two people so obviously right for each other, it’s impossible not to cheer when they finally embrace their connection, and all it could mean for the lives they want to lead.

Four Weekends and a Funeral successfully managed to find the perfect balance of dealing with serious issues (BRCA, parental cancer, death of a friend) and laugh out loud moments. There is also a strong female friend group who support each other unconditionally. The romance developed at a perfect pace. I hope the author writes books about the main character's best friends as they had some of the best humorous lines and scenes.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

This book was very enjoyable! I adore the enemies to lovers trope and this one did not disappoint! The plot was creative and unlike any other romance book I’ve read.

A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am very excited to be reading this book! My full review to follow.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐⭐⭐
Expected publication August 6, 2024

When a Rom-Com takes deep dives into subjects such as grief and health, you have a mix up that hits on all the emotions. Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer does exactly that.

What I enjoyed about this book was Palmer's ability to make Sam, the deceased ex, feel like an active part of the story. I also enjoyed the witty exchanges between Ali and Adam, along with the humor sprinkled throughout their conversations and in texts with friends.

Although I appreciated the author's writing style, I never truly engaged with 'Four Weekends and a Funeral.' Overall, the book had a Hallmark movie feel, which can be enjoyable at the right place and time, but this wasn't it for me. The pacing seemed uneven, and there wasn't a compelling hook to draw me back in.

As a debut novel, Four Weekends and a Funeral has Ellie Palmer on my radar for future releases.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are authentically my own.

I'm not crying, you're crying. Okay we are all crying. Minnesota Hallmark movie for sure.

Thank you NetGalley for my E-ARC.

Four Weekends and a Funeral - by Ellie Palmer

What it’s about:

Alison goes to her ex-boyfriend’s funeral to find that no one knows they’ve broken up, and she’s asked to play the grieving girlfriend for the sake of the family. She agrees to help her ex’s grumpy best friend Adam pack up his belongings, which they expect to finish over the course of four weekends. As Alison tries to chip away at Adam’s surly demeanor, tension and chemistry build between the two, but will Ali’s lie about her relationship status come back to bite her?

What I liked:

While this book handled some very sensitive topics (trigger warnings: cancer genes, death of a boyfriend), it was overall a low angst story. Maybe I am personally triggered right now by these topics, so I appreciated the light-hearted natured through which they were addressed. If the story fell into heavier territory, it might’ve been tough for me to personally stomach, but I really liked watching Ali’s quirky personality break down Adam’s walls. Lots of fun 90’s/millennial banter - some might find it annoying or not get the references, but I WAS HERE FOR IT!

I also loved how it tackled the idea of what to do with second chances… do you accept who you truly are or constantly seek self-improvement? This all felt very realistic and true to the human experience.

Stars: 4/5
Spice: 1/5

Read if you like:
Grumpy/Sunshine
Slow Burn
Closed Door
90’s rom-com vibes


Ellie, this was a great debut and I can’t wait to read from you in the future! Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

It’s giving Emily Henry, this needs to be turned into a rom-com ASAP! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, all the emotions and a great book.

This book was made for me. As a girlie in my early 30s I loved the pop culture references. The banter had me laughing, and I found myself not wanting to put the book down. Even though it's a romantic comedy, this book touches on so much more than that. The FMC was so easy to relate to, it made me as the reader feel like a part of the story. Granted, I was left with some questions..... but it's fine. I would still throw this book in my beach bag and share it with my friends.

Thank you @NetGalley and Ellie Palmer for this truly well written un-putdownable romance that had me HOOKED. This ranks in my top ARCs I’ve received, and I cannot wait to buy the print copy when it releases so I can read it again and have this masterpiece on my shelf!

The plot: Alison goes to her ex-boyfriend’s (more of a fling) funeral, only to find out that his family believes they were still together when he died because he never told them that they broke up. His sister asks Alison to play along, and before she knows it she’s agreed to help clear out his apartment with his grumpy best friend to help out his parents. Falling in love with said best friend ensues.

I loved everything about this book! I loved the characters sooo much. The banter was so good, I was cackling. I also just LOVE Adam. He was sweet, and funny, and so dreamy I cannot.

Alison was such a nuanced character. I felt so seen by some of her body issues in related to her health/surgeries and how it feels to be in a different body, especially in terms of intimacy. Trigger warning for talks of cancer, and of course grief.

Her desire to be a different person was so loaded and there was a lot to unpack, but she felt so real.

I just loved the side characters too. Even though Sam was dead, he was still so present in the story? It was really impressive the way the author made Sam as much of a living breathing side character as the others.

The romance was my favorite part, obviously. Some quotes that had me gagging:

“Because I was asleep—in this walking, talking, waking coma. And now I’m awake. You woke me up.”

“I imagine your every detail. Constantly. God, imagine the things I could accomplish if I could think about anything other than you: my favorite person.”

He looks at me in a way I feel in my toes before he lifts one finger and traces the corner of my lip. Then he asks, his voice so low I almost miss it, “Why do you think I want to hear that?” (Knowing the context makes this so much more squeal worthy I promise)

“There’s nothing between us. No one between us. Just Adam and me. Nothing has ever felt so much like mine.”

***

I HIGHLY recommend putting this on your TBR! It will definitely rank one of my top romances of the year.

Ellie Palmer, I will be visiting everything you’ve ever written. But if you could answer just one thing for me:

HOW DID HE DIE???

Have you ever met someone and thought, "Wow, this timing is terrible?" That's exactly what happens when Alison meets Adam at a funeral. Too bad Adam doesn't feel the same way. Or does he?

Ellie Palmer pulls no punches as she tackles the tough topic of "cheating cancer," meeting new people, figuring out what you want in life and who you want in it. I was hooked from the very first page, wondering how this was going to end and who was going to be hurt in the process. Through friendship and bar trivia, this story developed into one of my favorite kinds of books: the ones where the story has romance and not the other way around.

I highly recommend this book!

I was intrigued by the premise of this novel. Alison attends her ex-boyfriend’, Sam’s funeral, only to find out he never told anyone (except his sister) that they broke up. So to everyone at the funeral, she is still the current girlfriend. Sam’s sister asks Alison to go along with it, so as not to cause any more heartbreak especially to their parents, who reveled in the idea Sam was finally settling down. Alison is soon tasked with going through her ex’s apartment and packing his belongings up, with his best friend. These two were riding a fine line with their feelings and journey so it took me a little bit to get into the story, but I like how the author ended the book.
Overall, a great read. I enjoyed the chapter titles and loved the punny trivia night group names. Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Group Penguin for the ARC of this novel.