What happens when the boyfriend that dumped you dies... and didn't tell his family and friends you broke up?

Filled with relatable relationships (her people pleasing nature, crazy best girl-friends, parents - especially her overly worrisome mom, and funny work colleagues) this story plays out how Alison handles playing the bereaved girlfriend and helps her (ex) boyfriend's grumpy best friend ready the apartment for sale. Intent to win over the grump, Alison learns so much more about herself along the way.

ARC copy provided courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

Allison agrees to go along with a little white lie after her former boyfriend unexpectedly passes away and she ends up agreeing to clean out his old apartment with his best friend, Adam. Both Allison and Adam are covering things up and not being truthful with each other but the walls start to come down as they work through the apartment and their own personal baggage. Feelings development but there are many complications along the way. Overall a cute and fast paced read that felt fairly relatable/realistic and was quite enjoyable. I thought the friend's relationship added a lot to the book as well which was great because I love to see well developed supporting characters.

In the opening pages , the female main character finds herself at her ex-boyfriend's funeral, only to be coerced in pretending to his family that was was his current girlfriend. The remaining 200+ pages are her working her way out of this white lie, all the while coming to terms with her own BRCA1 mutation diagnosis and sense of self. What I loved most about this romance was that the FMC is highly relatable, as is. Instead of idealizing and wanting to be like the main character, I found myself identifying with her in a refreshingly cozy change of pace. This book is the first contemporary romance that I have truly loved in some time as a dedicated romantasy fan. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone looking for a feel good read where the main character goes beyond surface level romance and comes to term with herself, just how she is.


Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing me this ARC!

Loved this book, for more than just the romance! It gave me a better understanding about the emotions of someone/family going through breast cancer or even carrying the BRCA gene. I have a few friends trying to make tough decisions about their future, that carry BRCA 1, and it gave me a better understanding about potential guilt, self shame, and other emotions that I might be able to help them through. I loved the main characters and their self growth. Overall great read!

This book is everything to me!

If you’re looking for something a little different from your typical rom-com, look no further. This book follows Alison Mullally, a thirty year old, post-double-mastectomy BRCA1 carrier as she learns to accept and love herself as she truly is– AND learns to accept that same love from others.

FWAAF had me laughing out loud, swooning, kicking my feet, and yes… tearing up a little. I loved how real the characters seemed. Her friends are truly the girl gang everyone wants on their side. And Adam is the ultimate book boyfriend. He’s grumpy-ish, a loving uncle, a sports trivia superpower, and a carpenter for crying out loud. Does it get any hotter??

Seriously, I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s one I’ll be thinking about for a while and that left me feeling inspired to love myself for exactly who I am, introvert and all. Run, don’t walk to add this to you 2024 TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me! FWAAF releases on August 6th, 2024.

I can’t remember the last time I finished a book with both tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Four Weekends and a Funeral was such a tender, deeply emotional story of two souls trying to navigate grief, loss, and guilt, while reconciling their wants and desires with other people’s expectations and society’s “shoulds.”

Ellie has penned such a complex story about grief and guilt, and finding joy, love, and your own path. I love the conversation about “shoulds,” regret, and guilt, and how much joy and experiences we miss out on because we settle for things we believe we "should" do or want? Like somehow we've convinced ourselves our true desires are lesser than or we should feel guilty for feeling joy or contentment… not every one needs to backpack the Pacific Crest Trail.

These characters were so endearing and deeply relatable. I appreciated how Alison and Adam didn’t try to “fix” or push each other out of the discomfort of grief, but offered quiet support, a listening ear, and coffee and thin mints. Alison was such a relatable character in so many ways - the people pleasing reflex I personally identified with - and I loved how Adam picked up on her tell and wouldn’t let her fall into this tendency but encouraged her to share how she really felt.

And the side characters! Chelsea and Mara were such wonderful friends and it was touching to see how they loved Alison through her journey and healing, while also encouraging her to not lose sight of who she was and to chase her passions.

Y’all, I’m choosing to believe it was Ellie’s intention, but there were so many moments where I found myself quoting While You Were Sleeping and pairing up the two casts - Russell was giving off major Joe, Jr. vibes, Adam was 100% Jack, and Alison was obviously Lucy.

Romance is fade to black, but Ellie does a phenomenal job of delivering heat without spice. The tension and longing are *chef’s kiss*

The grand gesture and romantic declaration at the end was absolute perfection. I laughed and cried, swooned and squealed, and smiled so damn much my cheeks were hurting. My heart is so full from this gorgeous and truly heartfelt story and I cannot wait to see what magic Ellie has in store next. If you love When Harry Met Sally, While You Were Sleeping, and other classic romcoms, this is a must read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay - to start, I really liked this book. I enjoyed the concept. Alison attends the funeral of her most recent ex-boyfriend. Six weeks prior, Sam dumped her. Which was okay, she wasn't exactly heartbroken. They'd only been going out for like 2 months. No big deal. Although the breakup did sting a little because it proved exactly what Alison thought. She wasn't living life to the fullest and Sam saw it.

But color her surprised when she arrives as the funeral, expecting to hide away in the back row and pay her respects, only to discover Sam's family thinks she was still dating him. Cut to her sitting near the front, everyone staring at her with pity, and then her getting roped into cleaning out Sam's apartment, because his family finds it too painful.

Only she wont be doing it alone. Sam's best friend, Adam will be helping.

The two don't really know each other and they don't exactly get along at the start.

Until they start to get along a little too well.

The main theme in this book is GUILT. Everyone is feeling it all the time.

I liked the concept, and I LOVED that Alison is a BRCA carrier. A lot of the story focuses on her struggling with her body post mastectomy. I read a LOT of books and this is the first book I've seen that focused on this subject. And didn't just glaze over it, but really TALKED about it. Which I thought was fantastic.

I think, even as women, we know more about the BRCA gene thanks to several celebrities discussing it, but I don't think people really realize the extent biological females have to go through to prevent this, or stop the cancer if it's progressed. It's not as simple as having the fat cut out of your chest and then replaced by implants. You loose sensation in your breasts, you have your nipples removed. It's brutal. And it doesn't stop there. The gene doesn't just increase your likelihood of breast cancer, it increases a lot of other cancers. You rarely stop at removing the breast tissue. Usually it's followed up by hysterectomies and fallopian tube removal, and a myriad of other things.

This story follows Alison several years after her mastectomy but she hasn't gone through any of the other procedures yet, and she's feeling survivors guilt, but also intense pressure to have everything else removed so she reduces her odds of cancer. It's hard and exhausting and I loved that it was a major topic in this book.

And I loved that it was a realistic portrayal and not a "romance" portrayal where she sleeps with the MMC once and magically becomes pregnant and all of her dreams come true and SURPRISE she doesn't need to have any more surgeries or whatever nonsense always happens.

My only complaint for this book, and it's a rather large one, is the OBSESSION Alison feels about being a "hiker." Like, I do not get it. Granted I don't have a lot of guilt crushing me at all times making me feel like I'm not living life to the fullest...but I don't understand why she is so stuck on HIKING. Why not a diverse, active lifestyle? Why not a big bucket list of things who suck the marrow out of life do? Like skydiving and eating crazy foreign foods and hiking the Andes and swimming with sharks and whatever the hell else. Instead it was just HIKING. She was so stuck on hiking and she hated it and I just didn't get it. I think the point that was supposed to be made was lost in it because she's supposed to be "living" her life since she cheated death/cancer but she was miserable and was in turn wasting her life. Which I know was the point but couldn't it be more than just...hiking? Like why was HIKING the only way to live a full life? Again, turn her into an adventurist but maybe she hates all of it anyway. She hates hiking and is terrified of sharks and she is tired of spending a ton of money traveling to all of these places to "live." The point of her guilt could have been better made with it being a little deeper than her desire to hike. It could have really made the point that she doesn't have to be an adventurer to live a beautiful, fulfilled life. Instead we just talked about her hatred but insistence of hiking for so long and it was really annoying.

For that I am struggling to give this book 3 or 4 stars. I'm going to give it 4 because I think the rest of it is a really great/important story but DANG is the hiking thing so annoying.

And her realization about how much she hates it and where she decides she's not going to do it anymore isn't groundbreaking. It's nothing new that people haven't already said before and nothing she hasn't done before either. I'm not sure why it was the breaking point.

This was romcom at its finest! Allison and Adam are both very lovable characters. You’ll definitely feel the butterflies reading this one! Recommend for those looking for a great romance that gives strong 90s romcom vibes!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*3.5 stars*

Four Weekends and a Funeral is a funny and heart-warming grumpy meets sunshine romcom (complete with many romcom references (including the quintessential "big gesture")). Our FMC, Claire, is working to find herself after a preventative double mastectomy and due to a series of misunderstandings, gets roped into pretending her dead ex-boyfriend never broke up with her. As she works with Adam to clean out the ex-boyfriend's apartment, sparks fly. I found the first half of the book a bit slow and harder to get into but by the time the characters finally kissed, I was hooked. I thought the book did a good job at touching on heavy subjects such as grief and cancer and death while still feeling like a fun and sweet read.

Let's start this off with a thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for this (my first!) ARC.
3.5 Our main characters are brought together by the death of Sam who is Alison Mulally's ex-(though this isn't known to his family) boyfriend and Adam Berg's best friend (debatable). The two are roped into cleaning out his apartment for the next month by the family, and from there a relationship is kindled.
I think this book accomplished some things really well for being in its genre. The character's were normal people with normal hobbies and interests. Most authors tend to really blow up character's "unique" traits to the point of annoyance, yet Palmer presented these two with relatable problems and interests. I liked how she let the characters struggle with their feelings for each other and the troubles they had in their lives. The scenes with tension were decent too!
What I struggled with in this book was the pacing. I felt like the plot seemed like it was flying in parts and being dragged along in others. The progress between the two's relationship also gave me a little whiplash--big love declarations were given very quickly.
Overall an easy rom com to read! I think some pop culture references went over my head, and Ali is better (or crazier) than me to agree to the main plot/rouse, but I can see people flying through this book if they want something light and enjoyable.

I was very fortunate to receive an advanced reader copy from NetGalley but all thoughts are unbiased and my own!

Okay so I did like certain parts of this book - but I’m not sure if it was like a WOW read for me. I loved Ali’s representation with the BRCA gene and the idea how loss and grief comes in many different ways and forms. I liked the Midwest representation (shout out Buddy’s pizza!) but also the overall representation as there were lots of diverse characters. The tension between Adam and Ali was also delicious and kept me on my TOES.

However the pace felt off to me - at points it just felt like drawn out and a bit boring. I also don’t like books that don’t feel like they’ll age well so some of the millennial references made me feel eh.

But overall it was good!!! A cute little quick romance and I did enjoy it.

Fans of Emily Henry and Sophie Cousens will love this endearing, quirky story about a girl with the BRCA 1 gene mutation and the grump she falls for. Alison finds herself in quite the snafu when she arrives at her ex’s funeral to find out that he never told his family and friends they broke up. With good intentions, she keeps up the charade and ends up with the task of cleaning out the ex’s apartment with the help of his best friend who seems less than pleased to be stuck with her. Alison ends up on a journey to deal with the grief of her mastectomy and survivor’s guilt.

The dynamic between the FMC and the MMC was so fun, and I found that the author balanced the serious with the playful skillfully. The tension was drawn out well in my opinion, and I loved watching the warmth and intimacy grow between them. I related to Alison’s journey of accepting herself the way she is and loving herself dorkiness in all! I also wish I had friends like Chelsea and Mara! They were the ideal support group.

My only small note is that I wish there had been more of an exposition. I kind of got whiplash from being thrown immediately into the funeral and trying to piece together how Alison was feeling about her ex’s death at the same time. Perhaps, we could’ve started a little further back with her thoughts while she gets ready or something of the like.

Overall, an amazing debut by a new author! So excited to read more of her work in the future. Highly recommend!

Highlights:
-Forced proximity
-Grumpy/sunshine
-Cinnamon roll MMC with hard exterior
-FMC with a quirky love of trains

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC.

I was caught off guard by how much I enjoyed Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer. I went into anticipating a sweet rom-com, which it totally is. However, her pacing in this book is to be applauded. I loved the anticipation of each weekend!

The story felt a little more raw than some of the convenient romances I have read recently. It wasn't as tidy, which made me feel like it was more real.

Adam was kind of adorable, in my mind I imagined him as the MC from Leap Year with his gruff, no-nonsense vibe at first.

Alison was just indecisive enough to bug me mildly, which actually improved the story for me because I kind of hate when the main lead is too perfect.

Thank you Netgalley and Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an E-arc. This was my first E-arc and I am sooo excited.

This was absolutely the cutest. By the end of the book I was cheesy and giddy and thinking about the day where I would get romance for myself. The chemistry and the connection between these two (Adam and Ali) were undeniable and that mini plot twist at the end had my heart in knots so sweet.

I loved this book! It was a fun mix of all the best romance tropes while also not being the same as any other book. The characters and story were funny, but there were also more serious and thoughtful moments. I also felt right at home with all the Minnesota references! So glad I was able to get a sneak peek at this one and I can't wait to read more!

This was a fast-paced book that kept my attention. A super cute Rom-com where you were rooting for the main characters. I enjoyed this one.

I absolutely loved this book! It was the perfect 3 in 1 execution of forced proximity, grumpy meets sunshine and enemies to lovers. For anybody that loves either of these tropes, this is the book for you!

Alison is such an endearing main character, and I found myself cheering her on throughout the book! I loved the message that Palmer was sending through Alison on the lesson of accepting yourself and embracing who you are. And Adam….well, he’s pretty much the perfect book boyfriend!

Overall, this was a terrific story with unforgettable main characters, entertaining supportive characters, and a special nod to the good ‘ol 90’s rom-coms. The amazing message this book gives us on who we allow ourselves to be, survivors guilt, and honoring memories after death makes this a story I’ll be rereading time and again in the future.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book and that it showed how different forms of loss/grief can affect people differently. It was a slower romance but I liked that the main characters and their friends all pushed each other to be better versions of themselves. Also, as a fellow Minnesotan, I enjoyed the references!

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and everyone involved in this lovely book. It was such a cute, funny romance story. It made me laugh many times. The only reason I am giving it 3.5 stars is because towards the middle/end it was a little slow paced. I found it hard to get through some chapters. But overall it was a cute romance story. I enjoyed it. I’m so happy Ali and Adam got their happy ending.

Great job, Ellie :)

The title of this debut romance by Ellie Palmer piqued my interest immediately and it did not disappoint!

We start "Four Weekends and a Funeral" at 30-year old Ali's ex-boyfriend's (Sam) funeral only to find out that no one knows he broke up with her. At the request of a family member, Ali agrees to put on the face of the grieving girlfriend. ("Fake dating" trope, but not in the traditional sense that we're used to.) Following the funeral, Ali finds herself with Sam's broody best friend, Adam, to pack up his belongings and get his apartment ready to list. But... a lot can happen in just four weekends.

This forced proximity, grump vs. sunshine romance is unlike any other that I've read. It's a sweet story with some serious topics as the FMC is a 30-year old post-mastectomy BRCA 1 gene carrier who is grieving the loss of her ex-boyfriend while navigating the emotions of her life-changing surgery/prognosis. MMC, Adam, is grieving the loss of his best friend and things left unsaid. There's an invisible string that seems to be pulling them together, but would Adam be betraying his (dead) best friend by dating his (ex-) girlfriend?

Ellie Palmer hit it out of the park with her debut romance, "Four Weekends and a Funeral" and I can't wait to read more from her in the future.