I didn’t anticipate that this book was going to rock me the way that this one did! This was so well written and will touch you deep in your bones! The roller coaster of emotions this one will give you between the humor, laughs, cries and everything in between! It was so real and the banter was the best! Super fun read that you’ll be able to read in one sitting!

I have read and enjoyed books from Lauren before, but this is my new favorite she's written. This is the kind of book that will stick with me for a very long time, and I already can't wait to go back and reread it.

P.S. I Hate You deals with sadness and grief in a heartbreaking and honest way. There is great character growth and I loved Dom and Maddie so much. Often I prefer dual POV, but this story truly needed to be told solely by Maddie. She's snarky, sometimes difficult, and hurting more than even she realizes, but she's also relatable, likeable, and someone so many of us can see ourselves in.

I was hooked from the very first chapter and I loved every minute of reading it. I cannot recommend this book enough!

Lauren Connolly’s PS I Hate You is an emotional, laugh-out-loud, and deeply moving romantic comedy that delivers everything you could want from an enemies-to-lovers and second-chance romance wrapped in a poignant journey of love, grief, and healing.

Maddie Sanderson never expected her late brother’s final request to include teaming up with the one man who broke her heart—Dominic Perry, her brother’s lifelong best friend and her personal enemy. But Josh’s dying wish demands that the two embark on a cross-country road trip to scatter his ashes at the places he never got to visit. Forced into proximity, Maddie and Dom navigate old wounds, undeniable chemistry, and a whole lot of unresolved history.

💕 What Makes This Book Stand Out:
✔ Enemies-to-Lovers with Second Chances – The tension between Maddie and Dom is palpable—every interaction crackles with a mix of frustration, longing, and the ache of unfinished business.
✔ A Grief-Fueled Road Trip – The unique premise adds depth, giving both characters time to grow, reflect, and confront their past while discovering new places.
✔ Josh’s Presence as a Matchmaker from the Afterlife – The way his love for both of them lingers throughout the story makes it all the more bittersweet.
✔ Forced Proximity & Tension-Filled Moments – A snowstorm, a shared bed, and all the feels—yes, please!
✔ Emotional but Uplifting – While grief is central to the story, the humor, banter, and sizzling chemistry keep it from being overly heavy.

This book hurts in all the best ways. It’s raw, romantic, and full of moments that will make you tear up, laugh, and swoon. If you love road trip romances, forced proximity, and a second-chance love story with depth, PS I Hate You is an absolute must-read.

A solid road trip with the enemy story, but I really felt like had the two of them just had a real conversation....this whole thing could have been avoided. I was fine with Maddie being angry, hurt, embarrassed, etc. But again, it went on for so long that it made me it hard to continue sympathizing with her when Dom was being so kind and clearly going through something. Not to mention, her avoidance of him and the way she would hold things from him felt so petty and unforgivable at times.

Dom is also kind of a dummy and really he should have forced a conversation much sooner, especially considering why he married someone else after their moment.

I enjoyed this, but I was frustrated. Now the really elaborate trips to spread the ashes of the brother was so good, and I liked learning all the destinations and the significance of them. But again, sometimes the Maddie/Dom arguing and pettiness kind of took away from the sweet moments or the idea of experiencing that grief with someone else who felt Josh was one of the most important people in their life.

I would definitely read another book by Lauren Connolly though, because I do think overall, I liked this and there were so many great moments of humor or sadness that hit me.

4.75⭐, 2🌶️

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I definitely took me some time to warm up to it, but once I was in, I WAS IN! Because I binged this book in one day. I've read this kind of book several times (someone dies and sends their loved one on a mission) but dang was this the best adaptation of it. I didn't relate much to Maddie, but I loved her as much as I do characters I do relate to. She was just heartbreaking and I loved her. And then DOM?! I'm convinced I will no matter what always love a character named Dom, but dang was he so frustratingly swooooony! *sigh* I think this story also is now the motivation I have for planning US based vacations - yes I wanna take my current 11 month old onto an iceberg.

Also, I gotta say as this book was wrapping up, I knew I liked it. But the last 50 pages? Made me love it. The surprise character details were so good (even though I really wish we learned this stuff earlier because I wanted more of the story with Josh and it felt rushed and incomplete to me)

❤️Brothers Best Friend
💛Forced Proximity
✈️Shared Loss & Grief
💛Second Chance Romance
❤️Asthma Representation

I listened to the audiobook through my Library's Libby App, and I think one of the reasons I loved this book was Karissa Vacker's narration. I just love her voice and would listen to her read a target receipt, non the less a beautiful story of grieve and a second chance on love.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unpaid review!

I saw a review comparing this to Emily Henry and I just knew I had to bump this to the top of my TBR! The comparison was definitely justified and I immensely enjoyed this! It also reminded me of You, With a View. The characters were complex and the storyline was interesting and emotional - I think the author wrote about grief and abandonment really well. Highly recommend if you enjoy second chance romance that will pull at your heartstrings!

I absolutely ADORED PS I Hate You! What a gem of a romance! I laughed, I cried, this book made my heart ache in ways I was not prepared for. I love a road trip romance and the way that these two complex grieving characters were forced together elevated that even more. 10 stars!! One of my absolute favorites of the year so far.

Maddie is grief-stricken over the loss of her older brother, Josh. She is not surprised that he asked her to scatter his ashes. She is shocked that Josh asked his best friend, Dominic, to go with her. Now Maddie must spread his ashes in eight destinations with the one person who broke her heart. Dom has the notes and the instructions to ensure that everything will be completed the way Josh wants.

Trigger Warnings: Loss of a brother

Why Jackie loves it:

This is such a wonderful book about dealing with grief and finding love! The trips that Maddie and Dom have to take are sad and healing at the same time. I love the adventures that they take in this book. They learn how to navigate tremendous loss together. It was such a great love story.

Maddie is wrecked. Her brother, Josh, the person she loved most in the world, has died. At his funeral, which he never wanted, her childhood crush and brother's best friend, Dom, tells her he is the executor of the will. Josh has left Dom and Maddie a series of 8 letters, each detailing a place where he wants them to visit and scatter his ashes. Maddie is apprehensive - how can she do this with Dom, a man who left her after one night of passion and married his high school sweetheart?
In this romance, many serious issues are presented - fear of abandonment, death, miscarriage, and more. I enjoyed it.

This one hit hard! I was crying like a baby multiple times but also laughing and rooting for Dom & Maddie. This is a second chance/brother’s best friend romance but SO MUCH MORE. Maddie’s brother & Dom’s best friend Josh has just passed away and left strict instructions for them to scatter his ashes together in 8 different states with a letter for them in each place. Everything about this story felt authentic. I found Maddie’s grief, sense of humor, and trust issues so relatable. I also related to Dom a lot. Their love story is so beautiful and I just can’t put into words how much I loved it!

“If I have one day left, or thousands, I want you to be in every one of them.” 🩷

4.5⭐️ Talk about the perfect balance of comedy & grief.

This is definitely not a light fluffy read, as grief is a major theme of this book. However, the romance really helped to lighten the load and the FMC in my opinion was hilarious. I had multiple laugh out loud moments.

Add this book to your to read list, I promise you won’t regret it! & then let me know what you thought!

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#kindleunlimited

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author, Lauren Connolly for an ARC copy of this book. It was such a good read and I cannot wait to give my review below on this book.

To begin, there are definitely heavier subject matters that take place in this book such as grief, death, talks of cancer and death from cancer, and abuse.

PS: I Hate You follow Maddie and Dom as they go on an adventure at the hands of their deceased best friend and brother. Josh, Maddie's brother and Dom's best friend sadly passed away from cancer, and after his death, he wanted Maddie and Dom to travel to places he had not got the chance to see and spread his ashes. Of course, leaving them notes for every place they visit. But, it should be noted that Maddie and Dom have a somewhat strained relationship to be traveling to random sates and towns together. They had a one night stand that did not end well and Maddie resents Dom because of this. However, they take the trips together as planned by Josh and thing between them intensify along the way. Maddie still have definite feelings for Dom and it seems as if the feelings Dom had for her never went away as well. With Dom being newly divorced, they do become romantically involved with one another on their adventures to fulfill Josh's wishes.

I thought the tone of this book was perfect and seemed so well thought out. It made me laugh and it made me swoon. It also made me immensely sad at some points, thinking about times in my life I might have dealt with grief or the way that Maddie and Dom were feeling. I really found myself just wanting to continue reading this book until I got to the very end! The chemistry between Maddie and Dom was undeniable and sexy. This was such a good read to start off my 2025 book challenge. A SOLID 4 stars.

I was really enjoying this book up until the third act breakup. It was a little bizarre and out of character for the FMC in my opinion, especially given the timeline of the plot. The romance was slowburn for sure and the love the FMC has for her brother definitely had me crying.

4.5 stars

BRB, gonna make this book my entire personality. Just kidding (but seriously).

This kinda reminded me of You, With A View by Jessica Joyce in all the best ways. When an author can truly touch on grief in a heart wrenching and visceral way, it stops me in my tracks. This delivered in just that. Breathtaking storytelling and beautiful romance. Didn’t even know this author had an entire backlist until I looked her up and now I need to read her backlist. Anyway, I need to protect Maddie at all costs. She is precious and perfect and deserve the world!

⭐️ 4.5/5
🌶️ 3/5

I am so glad this book was selected as the Booked with Babes January pick! It brought up such great discussion on the different ways people handle grief. The way it was portrayed in PS: I Hate You was so heartbreaking and so REAL. The author did a great job!

My heart went with Maddie and Dom as they traveled together to the states Josh never had the chance to visit. With each letter they opened, I laughed and let my heart break by their sides.

I loved to see the relationship between Maddie and Dom grow and start to repair with each adventure they went on, but found myself frustrated when their past miscommunications came to light.

All in all, this was a beautiful and moving romance starring two people learning to cope with the loss of a brother and a best friend. It was wholly and completely devastating, but I really loved every moment. I can’t wait to read more from Lauren Connolly!

Thank you @berkleyromance for the advanced copy!

As a longtime Lauren Connolly fan I am so happy for her big traditional publishing debut. This book didn't disappoint and was filled with the heart and joy that I get from reading my favorite Folk Haven books.
While this is a bit darker in nature than some of her other books, Connolly does a magnificent job of balancing the real handling of grief and all its tender and raw feelings with the humor and joy that I want from a romance novel. Someone called it RomCom with a side of emotional damage and that is 100% the best way to sum up this book (and subgenre) - a book that will make you FEEL A LOT.
Maddie and Dom both brough such depth and character to this book that they seemed to leap out of the book and demand your attention. The banter between the two was next level fun and between that and both characters growth this book has so much more to offer than just the blurb.
I highly recommend to anyone who likes their romances to make them laugh AND cry.

5 STARS!!

"PS: I Hate You" by Lauren Connolly is one of the best books of 2024. It is absolutely one of the most gut-wrenching and simultaneously life-affirming stories I have ever read. It is emotional, loving, caring, painfully funny, tender, and sad as heck, but equally cathartic and humbling and raw and brilliant. The characters are spectacularly written and feel realistic and lived-in. I adored Maddie and Dom so, so much. I even loved Josh from the grave with his meddling and scheming. The banter is tremendous, some of the best I've ever read. The situations, the traveling, the tension, the fights, the make-ups, the concept... every single thing about this book is sheer perfection. One of the most beautiful reads I've had the pleasure of picking up. Please, please, PLEASE read this book, especially if you have lost someone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Connolly, and Berkley Publishing Group for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Do you love the movie P.S. I Love You? Do you enjoy your Rom Coms with a side of emotional damage? Did Abby Jimenez's Just For The Summer hit all of your favorite contemporary romance beats?

Then this book is 100% for you.

This book really is so amazing. I feel like the cover art does not do this powerful book justice, so if that is turning you off from giving it a chance, I'd recommend reading it anyway. Yes, there is a lot of fun in this book, but the journey that these characters go through together really is so beautiful.

I love that the FMC has asthma and that it is represented so well in the story. It made me feel seen as a lifelong asthmatic. The MMC is so mindful of her asthma as well, and I feel like that was just all really well done.

This road trip with her deceased brother's best friend was well done too. I loved that it took place over more than two years, start to finish. I loved the FMC's journeys towards trust, self love, embracing her own power, and accepting others into her life and learning to open up to them and let them in. I loved the supportive MMC. I felt he was dynamic and played a more active role than the love interest takes in the story sometimes.

Just an overall wonderful book of hard I truly recommend with my whole heart.

Content: language, childhood trauma (neglect, verbal abuse), explicit s*x, morbid humor

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own

I was not expecting to be this emotional! This story really tugs at your ehartstrings - it's so much more than a typical romance.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!