I really liked this enemies to lovers romance - one of my favorite tropes! And then you add in the road trip and fun travel aspect and I couldn't get enough of this story!

I liked the way that Connolly wove the grief into the story and that she allowed the main character to really focus on herself toward the end, before officially committing to the romance. There was some miscommunication, but I still loved the way this one played out!

This book made me feel all of the feels! Definitely one of the best romances I’ve read in a long time and one I can’t stop thinking about.

When Maddie’s brother Josh dies she doesn’t anticipate that his dying wish will be for her to spread his ashes with the one man she can’t stand. Dominic was like a brother to Josh and for one summer he was close to Maddie as well. Now all these years later, Maddie can’t help but still feel betrayed by Dom, but there is no way she’s not going to let him spread Josh’s ashes on his own. Maddie and Dom travel to eight different spots that Josh laid out for them, and as they say goodbye to the brother they loved, Maddie and Dom work out their own issues from the past.

I don’t always love second chance romances, but this one was done so well. Maddie’s grief over losing her brother and the anger at having to see Dom again at the beginning is so palpable it hurts to read. Since they are forced together not once or twice, but eight times we really get to see them begin to communicate better and work on opening up to each other. I really loved both main characters and how different they seemed. Maddie is rather goofy and snarky, but Dom is just so serious. He really lightened up around her and they brought out the best in eachother. I can’t wait to read from this author again!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a review copy.

Maddie has always had a thing for her brother Josh's friend, Dom. When Josh dies of cancer and leaves Maddie and Dom instructions on how they must come together to spread his ashes, they are both forced to confront their feelings about the past and their pain over losing Josh.
Despite the cutesy cover, this book deals with some heavy subject matter and deals with grief and loss in a very realistic way, just don't expect a lighthearted beach read. The banter between the two main characters is great and I loved the road trip aspect of the story so you're taken along for the ride as Maddie & Dom explore America and fulfill Josh's wish.

Many thanks to Berkley & Netgalley for the ARC.

OH MY GOSH, this book was absolute perfection. I LOVED the characters, the witty banter, the "hate filled" LOVE. It was so deeply moving, and resonated with me so much as I also lost a brother to lymphoma, It made me laugh and cry.

Thank you netgalley and berkleypub for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, this was a wonderful love and loss story that touched my heart. Connelly created a story that was at times humorous, touching, and heartwarming by skillfully balancing romance, loss, and humor. I totally liked this one-of-a-kind and beautiful story.

So bummed to say despite all the buzz this was not my favorite! I wasn’t a fan of the FMC and I know grief hits everyone differently but her attitude was so frustrating. Early reviewers have been absolutely gushing about this so I was determined to finish but it took me over a month to read and I really should’ve called it quits, especially because I was so annoyed by the finale!

Would definitely read another book by this author in the future! This one might’ve just hit a bit too close to home!

Way too explicit. The plot has possibilities, but it was a DNF for me.. I appreciate the advanced reader copy.

When her brother Josh dies, Maddie is forced to spread his ashes with Josh's best friend and the man who broke her heart, Dominick. Along the way, they learn some things about Josh and themselves as they honor Josh's last wishes, heal, and fall in love.

This BOOK! From the very beginning, I knew I was going to have a good time. This story was had multiple road trips, a bit of unfinished business between Maddie and Dom, and a TON of emotions. I felt everything as I read this book, and I loved every second of it.

I feel like some readers may not give Maddie a chance because she can seem kind of harsh, but people - there are reasons. She wore her humor and sarcasm as a shield which she needed to combat her massive abandonment issues. One must understand that she lost the only person in the universe who didn't abandon her and this broke my heart.

After everything transpired with Dom, Maddie fled. She never really got answers or closure. This was her chance for both. I impatiently waited to get some answers. I will say that I guessed at a few of the reveals but not at all of them, and heck, it all hit me hard in the feels.

There was just so much history between Maddie, Dom, and his family. She lost a lot when they fell out with Dom as his family was the only real, kind, and loving family she had ever known. I was sad her brother died but I was grateful that Maddie had this chance to reconnect with some very important people in her life. It was kind of beautiful that Josh was still looking out for her, making sure she would not have to grieve on her own.

And let me tell you, if you do any sort of state base reading challenge (like I do), this book is a bonanza for some of those hard-to-check-off states. The story takes us to Dom's home state of Pennsylvania, Maddie's home state of Washington, as well as Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Alabama, Arizona, and Kansas which are all part of the farewell tour. Not only did Maddie and Dom visit those states, but they did something interesting in each one. I loved that I had a sort of unique experience with each stop as I have not personally visited most of those states.

Overall, this was a beautiful story of love and loss which touched my heart. Connelly did an incredible job balancing grief, romance, and humor to produce a tale that was part heartbreaking, part heartwarming, and at times, hilarious. I am so grateful I had the chance to accompany Maddie and Dom as they said goodbye to Josh and found their way back to each other.

🧩P.S. I Hate You🧩
Pub Date: 3/3/24

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow…this book gives you all the emotions 🥹I laughed and cried so many times throughout this beautifully written story.
Maddie loses her brother but is determined to keep his last wishes to spread his ashes over 8 different destinations, even if it is with his best friend Dominic Perry. Maddie and Dominic have a complicated past so she is not happy to have him along for this ride.
I loved learning of Maddie’s past and how it affected her life. This was sad and had so much grief yet brought so much light and I enjoyed the witty banter while Maddie and Dom continued on this journey. I cried every time they read Josh’s letters 🥹 This was such a unique and beautiful story that I absolutely loved 🥰

Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

Loved this one! The book is a second chance romance. I was not expecting to feel so emotional! I was emotional from the start! But the book is heartwarming and full of such great life lessons. The Hero and heroine had such amazing banter - that really made the story for me. I'm a huge fan of strong FMCs and the FMC in the book was headstrong, independent, and sassy! Highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much, Berkley Romance, for the complementary book in exchange for my honest review! 4.5⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Heartwarming Journey of Grief and Healing

"PS: I Hate You" captivated me to the point of an all-nighter – a rare feat for me! This poignant story beautifully explores the themes of grief and finding love amidst loss.
Following the tragic loss of their beloved brother, Josh, to cancer, Maddie and his lifelong best friend, Dom, embark on a cross-country journey to scatter his ashes across eight states he yearned to visit. This unexpected adventure forces them to confront their past, heal old wounds, and ultimately discover a newfound connection.

Lauren Connolly masterfully portrays the complexities of grief, capturing the raw vulnerability and the unexpected moments of joy that arise from honoring a lost loved one. Maddie and Dom are realistically flawed characters grappling with their own personal struggles while navigating this challenging journey together. Their interactions are a captivating blend of humor, tension, and undeniable chemistry, making their evolving relationship both heartwarming and believable.

"PS: I Hate You" is a poignant and uplifting read for those who enjoy stories of second chances, found families, and the power of human connection. It's a reminder that even in the face of immense sadness, love and hope can always find a way to shine through.

⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #berkleypub #berkleyromance #berkleybuddyreads #berkelywritesstrongwomen #psihateyou #laurenconnolly #botm #bookofthemonth

lauren connolly you will pay for your crimes. I sobbed for hours over this. maddie's beloved, adventurous older brother josh's dying wish was for her and his best friend to scatter his ashes in 8 places he never got the chance to see and he writes them letters for each trip that rip my heart out and also her brother's best friend broke her heart when she was 19 so she hates him but he's so stoic and serious but also so sickeningly sweet and loves so deeply and she's so broken and damaged and he loves her anyways and I need everyone to read this book

After Maddie’s brother dies, she finds that he’s left her a list of 8 places he’s never gotten to go that he wants her to visit and leave his ashes. Alongside his best friend, Maddie’s childhood crush, and the man that once broke her heart. As they visit these 8 states together, the feelings Maddie has always held come rushing back no matter how hard she tries to control them.

I loved this book. The premise, while heartbreaking, was incredibly sweet and I loved getting to travel with Maddie and Dom. Getting glimpses into Josh’s character with the letters they read at each location was truly special, and there was a slight twist in the end that I wasn’t expecting.

Maddie had a lot of baggage she brought into her life with enormous feelings of not being worthy enough and at times I found her a bit annoying, but at the same time, understood her feelings and actions. This love story, filled with grief, hope, and found family, was one that I won’t soon forget.

This title jumped out at me because of my love for PS: I Love You. It definitely did not disappoint. Lauren Connolly brought a novel that measures up in all the best ways. Maddie Sanderson and Dominic Perry are forced to go on an eight state tour after her brother Josh dies from cancer. Josh wanted the two of them to have a preplanned adventure in each state and spread some of his ashes in each place. The problem is that Maddie and Dom had a past. Will they be able to work through that past and accomplish the goal. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced digital copy of the book.

somewhere between 4-4.5 stars! ⭐️

I love a romance book that packs an emotional punch!! This was such a bittersweet and beautiful story! I had so much love for both Maddie & Dom but the secondary characters felt so well rounded and lovable too!

Thank you to Berkley Pub & Netgalley for the ARC!

This is my first review of a Berkley title, so let me introduce myself a bit more:
My name is Emily, and I'm a 28-year-old book lover based just outside of Boston, MA. On my Instagram account @bookworm.in.boston, where I have just under 1,300 followers, I share content primarily focused on romance books. In the past 30 days, my posts have garnered over 23k views.

I review books—including ARCs—on my Instagram, Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/145345368-emily), and have recently started posting on StoryGraph (https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/bookworminboston).

For my first Lauren Connolly novel, I thought was such a lovely, yet heartbreaking surprise. I was captivated by the spin on a different way to portray a romance, in the unhurried way in which both Maddie and Dom healed separately, and then together. I am very much looking forward to reading more from this author.

**Many thanks to Berkley and Lauren Connolly for an ARC provided via NetGalley!**

UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT!

Maddie Sanderson is far from the adventurous type...that title belonged to her brother, footloose and fancy free world traveler, Josh. But at just 29 years of age, Josh tragically passes away, leaving a long list of unfulfilled travel destinations in his wake, not to mention a grieving family who just can't believe he is gone. Since his passing is the result of a battle with cancer, however, Josh had some time to think about the sort of legacy and message he wanted to leave behind...and it just so happens he had a bit of a crafty 'game' up his sleeve. His dying wish was for his sister Maddie to visit some of the bucket list destinations he DIDN'T see...sounds like a beautiful way to honor his memory, right?

WRONG. Because Josh added one tiny 'clause' to his postmortem contract...Maddie cannot take these journeys alone. No, it's Josh's best friend Dominic Perry who must travel WITH her...the same Dominic Perry who 'loved her and left her' after uh, one night of 'amore' in their teen years. Dom is obnoxious, and clearly doesn't have any problem breaking hearts...but gosh darn it, he's just so HANDSOME. (Sorry, I am trying to keep my vitriol out of this summary...) Despite their snipe filled and snarky relationship, the two begrudgingly agree that it's Josh's way or the highway (or I guess, Josh's way AND the highway?) and set off on a year long quest (yes, we have to follow them for that long) to fulfill his requests. But as grief pops up in the most unexpected of places, could the mistakes of the past be forgotten as the two attempt to mend their broken hearts...and end up finding more than just solace in one another? Or will this long, LONG trip be all the proof that Maddie needs that her feelings for Dom should stay locked away with her teenage angst...and she should battle her grief on her own?

Okay, so let's start with the elephant in the room. I don't think I've seen too many other reviews mention this...but this book is either an intentional riff or a twisted rip off of Cecelia Ahern's P.S. I Love You. I mean, I HAVE to think it was intentional due to the plethora of similarities: aside from the obvious one in the title, as the premise includes the deceased loved one (who passed from a tragic, wasting disease) leaves a TRAVEL BUCKET LIST for their loved one to find with missions to complete. This both helps them work through their grief AND find themselves along the way. So throw in an obnoxious sidekick, make the MC insufferable, AND force them to fall in love along the way...and you have this book. But where P.S. I Love You was drowning in empathy, nuance, care, and insight, THIS book was drowning in immature, obnoxious, odd, and frankly insufferable behavior, with next to NO character growth...and that made it feel more like a 'Nolex' masquerading as a Rolex, if you know what I mean.

Aside from the fact that I was so taken aback by the complete lack of acknowledgement (or even a gentle nod!) to the source material, let's get into these characters, as much as I would rather not revisit them. Unlike the utterly lovable Holly in Ahern's book, we get Maddie, a self-described 'immature' girl (and yes, I refuse to call her a woman) who is such a doormat she might as well have 'Welcome' printed on her forehead. I mean, really. She doesn't deal with her feelings of grief in any way, but yet is so hung up on essentially a one night stand where she thought she received a 'pity favor' of activity with Dom that she can't get over it? ALSO. Apparently asthma is essentially the world's scariest disease...at least, that's how it is presented here. One of the only times that Dom acts 'kindly' towards her (TBH, to me it read creepy and possessive) was when he got very angry about her climbing somewhere without her inhaler. I mean, I've known people with asthma and somewhat severe asthma at that....and NONE of this rang true. All it gave me were more reasons to dislike Dom.

...And there are PLENTY of those, trust me. If his behavior towards Maddie in the past wasn't enough of a turn off, when you read the icky set of circumstances that forced his one night with Maddie to BE only one night...you'll like him even less. His character is nothing short of abhorrent. I'm sorry he lost his friend, but losing someone doesn't make you a good person by default. The more time I was forced to spend with him, the LESS I liked him and honestly wished that we could just fast forward to the next letter from Josh and skip ALL of the 'will-they-won't-they' nonsense between Maddie and Josh. Which brings me to my next point, and one of the book's next main pitfalls: you can't have the ONLY likable character be a dead brother. Having to wait for little glimmers of kindness and common decency and even maturity in LETTER format only? Torturous. I couldn't believe we actually had to go through an entire YEAR of traveling with these two...I honestly started to feel like maybe Josh was the lucky one because he just didn't have to be AROUND either of these humans anymore.

This author also likes to fixate on certain words, enough that they caught my attention from being repeated so often: taciturn is apparently a fave, along with references to areolas, and calling people 'dick bags'. The whole book just had an air of immaturity that felt very YA for a novel that was supposed to be tackling grief, love, and have a certain level of emotional depth. There's also a weird passage where Maddie wants to like Dom's arm. (Okay?) If you think things like a dog peeing on you are funny, then you will undoubtedly laugh along with these characters, instead of the cringing I did through 50-60% of this. This not only kept taking me out of the story, but just detracted from every emotional moment that COULD have given this book the grounded feel it so desperately needed. When a travel aficionado such as myself does NOT enjoy a book that allows me to travel all sorts of places...that says it all right there. I kept waiting to feel something...ANYTHING....but all I could bring myself to feel was annoyed.

Have you ever seen those drawings of Disney characters where artists age them up or make them look evil...and while at its core it is familiar, it just feels WRONG? Much like these semi-facsimiles, whereas P.S. I Love You stands the test of time as a powerful, emotional story, PS I Hate You simply reads like a cheap, unlikable imitation.

3 stars, rounded up from 2.5

P.S. I Hate You is a twist on your traditional enemies to lovers story in that the hatred really only goes one way. Maddie hates Dom for reasons that unfold throughout a series of flashbacks, all of which center around secrets and misunderstandings. Despite the fact that I feel a lot of these things could have been addressed by a simple conversation, the story really grabbed me. It was entertaining and layered, and I liked getting to know Maddie’s late brother through her and Dom’s eyes. The ending ties up neatly, but some of the circumstances surrounding their estrangement continue to seem sort of flimsy to me… but not so much that it ruined the book. Really I’d rate it more like a 3.5. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc,

this book has everything you could want in a second chance romance! I haven’t moved on from maddie and dom, and I don’t think I will. there’s found family, tragic loss, inescapable friendship, heartfelt moments, a creative plot, unraveling grief, sarcastic banter, steamy scenes, healing wounds, wrapped up in a perfect bow 😭❤️‍🩹 I found myself wanting to finish to see how it ends, but also drag it out so I could experience this story for as long as possible. this was incredible lauren connolly!!!

This book was beautiful, and I cried so many times. Watching them come together to work through their grief and their past mistakes was incredibly satisfying.