Oooo this book was a good time. First off, Ellie Palmer is here bringing back chapter titles and I'm INTO IT. As a Minnesotan AND Lowertown resident, it was a) fun to have a clear picture of the setting of the book and b) read an accurate depiction.

Palmer's characters were very likable and relatable, and I love that they are adults. She did a beautiful job of depicting real scenarios in authentic ways. She addressed many topics that everyday people encounter and deal with. Her ability to do so in fiction was lovely. She blended forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, and "enemies" to lovers well. Palmer created believable growth for her characters. The care Palmer put into the story is evident.

I love a romance, and I love a romance with depth. This one was so good. Alison tested positive for the BRCA-1 gene a few years ago and had a preventative mastectomy before the book starts. This has impacted her perception of herself, her relationship with her body, and relationship with her mom, just to name a few things. Both Alison and Adam are dealing with the grief of losing a friend. They had great tension and chemistry and you could really feel the development of their feelings throughout the story. Alison did get frustrating with her focusing so much on who she should be instead of who she is and what makes her happy. I just adored this story and thought it had a great message.

This book really pulled on my heartstrings. I felt so connected to the main character and honestly believed in her feelings regarding herself. It felt like some imposter syndrome was going on, and that's relatable. I enjoyed the relationship between the main characters and all of the side characters. I felt they were portrayed realistically. And Adam was just so swoon-worthy.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the early review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the folks at NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

Allison’s adventurous boyfriend, Sam, unexpectedly passed weeks after he broke up with her. She felt compelled to attend his funeral, where she finds out that he never told his family about their separation, and in order to make things easier for his grieving family she reluctantly steps into the role of girlfriend again. She ends up volunteering to help clean out his apartment to get it ready to sell when the task seems too overwhelming for Sam’s parents. Which is how she ends up with Adam, the grumpy best friend of the dearly departed. And I bet you can guess what happens next…

This book was a sweet journey through grief, but not always in the way you would expect. Of course there is the very obvious grief journey with losing Sam, Allison’s short term but sweet boyfriend. But also a life you expected to live, and one you feel you need to uphold. Allison has the BRCA genetic mutation, which means that getting cancer is almost a guarantee. In order to almost eliminate her risk she has a mastectomy. Of course she thinks she is fine and over it and processed everything, but her friends would argue her refusal to live the quiet life she so obviously craves to try and be a mountain climbing, hiking, outdoor lover would suggest otherwise.

Allison is so fun. She made me laugh out loud several times! Her feelings on fall, Christmas music, peppermint mochas, thin mints, and even with the poor circulation in her little toe, made me feel very seen. Her friendships with Mara and Chelsea are also so sweet, and I can’t help but wonder if we’ll get some stories about them someday! (Please, Ellie Palmer?)

And Adam Berg, AKA The North Shore Grump - what a man. I mean, I love a grumpy soft man so that’s all that really needs said!

Overall I really loved this story, the messages on “finding yourself”, and the romance! I did find that it drug just a bit in the middle, some of the dialogue felt a little out there, and the conflict literally made me want to grab everyone and tell them to “GET YOUR SH*T TOGETHER PLEASE!” But I enjoyed this debut and will be on the lookout for what this author puts out next!

The book also has several Henley spottings, IYKYK.

Overall I rated 4 stars! This book is out now, and would highly suggest for you November TBR! It gives major holiday season cozy hallmark vibes. Thank me later!

Alison is a homebody, really enjoys being inside but she cheated death. So she wants to find a new adventure, go crazy. So she met Sam. Sam was perfect, adventurous, not locked down, looking for the next thrill. Sam realized that Alison was not the one and they broke up but remained friends. But then Sam died, and Alison went to the funeral. She founds out, Sam never told his family they broke up. So now she has to act like the grieving girlfriend but she is also extremely attracted to Adam, Sam’s best friend….Adam also seems to find her extremely attractive.

This book was sweet. Alison and Adam fell fast but in a beautiful way and the end was gorgeous. Alison and Adam had a lot of obstacles in their way but it made them perfect for the other person

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and Ellie Palmer for the ARC

The A's have it...

Alison is thirty (but still new adulting). Her former boyfriend, Sam dumped her six weeks ago. Then he died and his family all thinks they were still dating and she agrees to go along with the fake. She's boring, had a double mastectomy and is cleaning out Sam's place over four weekend.

Adam is an introvert, the opposite of Sam. But Alison has a jones for him, while still pretending she's the grieving girlfriend.

As much as this book is very sad it truly makes you look at life and think what's the best plan of action for me? Alison's friends are delightful and the romance with Adam is very sweet.

"Because I was asleep - in this walking, talking, waking coma. And now I'm awake. You woke me up."

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this #gifted arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Alison arrives at her ex-boyfriend Sam's funeral, only to discover that none of his family or friends know about the "ex" part. Some miscommunication and a sense of obligation leads to Alison agreeing to spend four weekends helping Sam's best friend Adam pack and fix up Sam's condo. Can a relationship blossom between these two when it's such a complicated start?

Mood Reader Guide: for when you crave romance, HGTV, friendships, pub trivia, breast cancer realities, and Minnesota moments.

Thoughts: This contemporary romance is a really beautiful mix of humor, heart, and some heavy topics. Main character Alison has undergone a full mastectomy because she tested for the BRCA-1 gene (indicating she is likely to get breast cancer), and much of the book is focused on her emotions, including a complicated relationship with her mother. Not having any personal connection to that health challenge, I thought it was very interesting to learn about.

It took a while before I started to get the flow of the author's writing; it was very funny at times, but felt both long-winded and snappy. Once I got farther in though, the characters really started to shine, and I became more invested in trying to figure out where the story was going to go.

Definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys emotional, raw, real-life romances.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer.

Despite this book having the underlying them of death, hence a funeral, I found this book to be a fairly light, easily read. And there’s nothing better than a forced proximity romance. Alison dates Sam briefly, Adam is Sam’s long time best friend, Adam and Alison have a vague awareness of one another but never met. Until the funeral and then of course when they both agree (or maybe get roped into) cleaning out Sam’s apartment. Many underlying pieces to how Alison and Adam get to this point and maybe they always were meant to be exactly where they are, whether or not Sam had died. Overall, a very enjoyable book that kept me reading to see how things went between these two characters.

This was so hyped and unfortunately just didn't hit for me. I prefer characters to be funny and not just situations, slap stick or otherwise, to be what is supposed to be funny. The proposed MMC is so closed off and one dimensional for so long. They are supposed to fall in the span of a month but they can barely even speak to each other the first weekend just for an example.

And here's the thing it is totally understandable why he's closed off!! His best friend just died!! And it is treated like such a joke. I thought at first it was going to be handled with respect, the descriptions of the FMC's deceased ex's parents were painfully accurate in their grief. But then after instead of what I expected, the main characters finding breadcrumbs of his life packing up his apartment and bonding over the shared experience of knowing him, it was side quests and jokes about his death that just fell so flat to me in my opinion.

Also, I agree with other reviewers that there was nothing wrong with the FMC trying new things like learning how to hike or signing up for a race, etc. I felt like a major moral of this story was finding your niche/stereotype and accepting yourself within it, instead of just allowing people to have nuance (including this sad deceased ex who can't even speak for himself). Way too much repetitive internal rumination about this topic as well.

I'm happy to have given it a try and thank you to Penguin GP Putnam for the eARC.

Four Weekends and a Funeral was a perfect read, I had never read anything with a plot like this one! This book starts out with Allison paying her respects at her ex-boyfriends funeral, what she does not know is that in the eyes of his family she is still his one-true love. While she wants to confess that they ended their relationship before he passed away, Sam's sister has another idea. I really loved the witty-banter within this book and all of the side characters!

Four Weekends and A Funeral is a cute and cozy romance balanced with some deeper themes throughout the novel! The premise immediately grabbed my attention, and I was eager to read and see how things unfolded.

Overall I really enjoyed both of the main characters, and the endearing side characters were an added bonus! I also think the author took great care in discussing grief, physical & mental health, and complex relationships (romantic, familial, & friendship).
However, I didn’t completely fall for the romance - it felt like it went from 0 to 100, and I would’ve liked a bit more of a build up to really feel their connection.

Special thanks to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
0.5🌶️

I adore books where the heroine learns that it's 100% ok to just be herself, and this book totally fits that bill. Sure, it's technically a romance, but Alison's journey to self acceptance was so nice to read. Adam the grumpy, hot, bearded carpenter was also there. He was exactly what you would expect, in the best way.

Featuring:
*Fake dating (a dead guy)
*Model trains
*Excellent trivia team names
*Minnesota

Thanks to netgalley and Penguin Group for the ARC

Many thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc!

SOOOO OMG. I stayed up until 2 in the morning finishing this book (I started that night at 36% and 10PM). This was so incredibly good. I loved everything. I loved Alison and Adam so much. And like so much steam and tension for a book with no on page smut scenes?? Literal chef's kiss, will not be taking any criticisms of this book.

This was such a cute romance! I really enjoyed the BRCA mutation and breast cancer rep. I loved reading Alison grow, grieve, and fall in love. Adam was such a relatable character for me - as I would probably classify as a grump. Watching them both realize that they have major internal problems that needed therapy was a breath of fresh air. They both worked on addressing their individual problems in the most healthy way and I really applaud the author for doing this. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this and think it’s definitely a rom-com that should get more recognition.

Thank you to Putnam’s, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!

Alison Mullally is attending her ex-boyfriend's funeral when she finds out that he never told anyone that he dumped her. So she finds herself playing the part of Sam's girlfriend for the day. Then she finds herself agreeing to help Sam's grumpy best friend, Adam, pack up Sam's apartment so his parents can sell it. No matter how hard Alison tries to break the tension between her and Adam, Adam doesn't seem to want anything to do with her. He answers her with one word, and he's just plain old grumpy. After spending four weekends together, they finally form a friendship that's fueled by lots of chemistry. Yet Alison is still holding back and not being true to herself. Can Alison finally find happiness?

This book was a blast to read. Alison and Adam were complete opposites. Alison was a people pleaser. She was determined to make everyone happy, and that's how she got stuck playing Sam's girlfriend at his funeral and helping pack up his apartment. Adam is grumpy as can be, and Alison is determined to break down his walls. Once she does, they have the best banter. They also have some of the greatest chemistry ever. I love that deep down Adam is this great big softie despite his grumpy facade. This was such a great romance!

This was such a special book and I loved it so much. I loved the characters and romance in this one, but most of all I loved that these characters had depth. This was such a fun rom-com that had me laughing out loud, but the vulnerability of these characters also had me crying. I hope we get more books from these characters because Alisons friends Mara and Chelsea were so fun.

Thanks so much for the review copy. I wish I had chose this for my BOTM book. I loved I look forward to reading more books by Palmer. I adore Alison and Adam.

Absolutely loved this story! The author does an amazing job adding in part of her personal life story and creating a piece where so many people will be able to connect with at least one of the characters and the emotions they go through out the book. For this to be her first book to publish, she definitely set the bar high for her next release. The writing is easy to follow and is not rushed at all. Plus, I love how you don’t have to guess how the main character is feeling about certain situations. You can feel her happiness, anger, sadness, confusion, tiredness as you read.

I am seriously in awe with this book.

A romcom about a postmastectomy woman who arrives at her ex’s funeral to find that no one knows he dumped her and agrees to play the grieving girlfriend only to fall for his grumpy best friend. The concept of this book, incredible. The way every domino fell into place, beautiful, and the invisible string was stringing. I loved, I cried, I worried, I laughed with Alison and Adam.

Alison truly has to be one of my favorite fmc characters I have read. The way I related to her thought process, ugh, heartbreak. How she didn't think she was enough, that she avoided death so she should live her live louder and to the fullest, and because she wasn't, it wasn't fair to live. Comparing herself to her ex-boyfriend who passed away, Sam, because he lived his life in the short years he had, it truly puts you to think. We're here today, but tomorrow we don't know, so do what makes you happy.

Adam was such a teddy bear, goodness. Him being afraid to take risks, because there's never a solid point where you know exactly what's going to happen in the future. Being afraid to take that jump, hit me very hard especially with where I am at with life right now. I loved seeing how quick Adam was to want to be with Alison, it was beautiful. To want to build her whatever her heart desires.

Alison's friend group is also one I wanted to touch lightly on. A girl group that understands you and doesn't want you to change to who you think you need to be, will always be my favorite. I am so glad we got to see such healthy balance with Alison's friend group, and the growth between all the characters.

Alison and Adam separately were beautiful characters, together, they were magical. Their love is comfort, it's peace, it's knowing each other like the back of your hand, and it's understanding.

"I wasn't here."
"You're here now."

*Be sure to check TW's as it does deal with death, cancer, BRCA1 representation, survivor's guilt, and mental health!

Thank you, times, a million, NetGalley, Putnam, and Ellie for the arc of Four Weekends and a Funeral! <3