You know a romance book is good when you binge read it in one sitting!

I appreciated the author highlighting BCRA 1 and the ways this impacted Alison’s life, worldview, and relationships. I thought this painted a very realistic picture of survivor’s guilt and the pressure to live life to the fullest.

I enjoyed how Alison’s and Adam’s connection to each other also brought Sam to life in the pages. I felt he was developed just as well as the main characters, and the twist at the end had me in tears. Top notch character development, friendships, and a realistic romance. Highly recommend reading this wonderful debut!

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

luke and loreali coded , CANT WAIT FOR THE PHYSICAL COPY. S/o out to female friendships in this book!

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, for which I thank them.
Allison, a BRCA1 carrier homebody people-pleaser is on a mission to reinvent herself to be “worthy” of the second chance she has been given. While attending her ex-boyfriend’s funeral, she discovers most of his family doesn’t know about the breakup and agrees with his sister to play along to save his parents’ image of him as settled. While spending the next weekends with his best friend packing his things, she struggles with the person she was and the person she feels she should be. Throw in the growing tension between her and the sexy carpenter best friend, and we’ve got a great setting.
“Four Weekends and a Funeral” contains so many rom-com tropes in a delightful package: fake-dating, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine. It also deals with cancer, death, grief, loss, survivors guilt. There was more depth of character and growth than many more traditional rom-coms. The supporting characters were well developed and added much needed levity. I understand this is the author’s experience, but I felt like the medical details fit more in a women’s lit than a rom-com.

Allison (Al) found out that she has the BRCA1 gene after her mom gets breast cancer. She preemptively gets a double mastectomy. She has a lot of self guilt of cheating death/cancer and self image issues after reconstructive surgery. She has a strong support system of friends. However, she is constantly told what she "should" do and spends her time doing things she hates because she feels like it's her duty. She goes to her ex-boyfriend's funeral and is convinced to lie about her status. She is then stuck with his best friend to clean out his old apartment. Her mom is a bit overbearing. She spends a lot of time pretending to be something she isn't. This story is about finding yourself and being happy with yourself and your own interests. I never thought I'd see a line about antifreeze and Thin Mints but I found it rather entertaining.

Alison, a carrier of the BCRA gene has done what it takes to ensure her survival, and with that comes guilt. If she is to live, she needs to be the BEST version of herself possible and live life to the fullest. It seems possible with her adventure travel boyfriend Sam. But those dreams ended when he dumped her and six weeks later, he dies in a car accident. The book opens at Sam’s funeral, where everyone thinks she is still his girlfriend, and she somehow finds herself volunteering to clear the belongings from Sam’s house for his family. Alongside her during these four weekends of work is Sam’s best friend Adam, a carpenter for handmade furniture. Their increasing attraction for each other brings feelings of guilt—how could they fall for each other when they both loved Sam. How can Alison let Adam know their relationship had ended before he died and that she was not the grieving girlfriend, but the grieving ex-girlfriend?

Ellie Palmer’s “Four Weekends and a Funeral” is more than just a romance poking some fun at romance. Alison knows her attraction toward Adam, a kind of “handyman” is a cliché straight from a romcom but what can you do when the heart is falling? Especially when he is helping her discover the best person she can be, and not the best person she thinks she should be.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for an ARC of this book that is not only fun to read, but very informative in women’s health issues.

adam and alison are kind of my new favorite people. this book was like a warm 90s romcom written for people who love emily henry, hallmark movies, and have strong attachments to Girl Scout cookies (especially my thin mint girls). this will now be a winter tradition and i’m so glad I’ve spent my evenings reading this cuddled up in blankets on my patio. that’s the REAL experience reading this book. currently adjusting my beanie over my cold ears wishing it was actually adam keeping me warm while writing this . sorry to my boyfriend (if you read this, you’re still perfect). this author SPEAKS to me as a girl who’s main personality is hallmark movies (like did she know i actually collect hallmark merch and was writing this specifically incase i read it???) also i love a story about a slight lie that spirals out of control and leads you to the love of your life. after all, while you were sleeping is one of my faves so??? beautifully written where every touch they share gives ME butterflies. i was blushing and screaming out loud, having to explain to my boyfriend that i actually am fine, these book characters just exchanged a longing glance. which is really important to me. but overall the most important aspect of my life is my passion for bar trivia. and obscure true crime references. this also has a when harry met sally level declaration, and it made me sob. so. everyone should be counting down the days til this is released because it was incredible.
So grateful I got this arc and the opportunity to read this book in general. Thank you netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review . All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Four Weekends and a Funeral puts a unique spin on the movie While You Were Sleeping. Ali attends the funeral of her short-term ex-boyfriend Sam, only to find out Sam never told anyone they were broken up. Ali and Sam's best friend, Adam, agree to clean out Sam's apartment in four weekends, but soon sparks begin to fly.

This book felt like a late 90's/early 00's romcom while being curled up in a blanket on the couch. A warm fluffy feel good hug. It was funny, witty, and perfectly swoony. While this is a "clean" romance in my opinion (the touching that happens is vital to Ali's story as a BRCA 1 carrier, but all intimacy happens off page), it doesn't disappoint in providing the reader with butterflies, giddiness, or blushing. The chemistry Ali & Adam had was off the charts and I was eating up every second of it.

This book had so much more than just a blooming romance & nostalgic magic. Woven in the pages were positive examples of a healthy relationship with therapy, parents, strong female friendships, along with the very real truth of battling yourself & discovering yourself in your 30's (even if others see way before you!) We love a romcom with a moral of the story.

Mara and Chelsea are Ali's best friends and I loved them for her. They balanced her & held her accountable, they supported her & challenged her, but most importantly they held each other up.

While this book is a romcom set during the holiday season, it deals with very big topics such as cancer, guilt, and grief. I think the author handle it all beautifully.

Important to mention this is an #OwnVoices novel & a debut!! Ellie Palmer knocked this one out of the park for me and I cannot wait to read more from her!

I cannot recommend this book enough or put into words just how much fun I had while reading this! This comes out 8/6/24, and it really is the perfect romantic comedy!

4.5 🌟
Wow!!! I loved this so much, as a fellow Minnesotan it was so fun to read a book where you could place the whole story. These characters...ugh...I love Adam so much. He is the grump we all dream about.

I felt like this book was more than just a traditional romance and with that discussed a lot of heavy topics. Allison discussing her guilt over her mastectomy, her mother's diagnosis, and removing her ovaries are such serious issues but Ellie Palmer wrote it in a way that didn't make you feel sad but understood how she felt.


Thank you so much for the chance to read this before it's released, it was such a great read and I can't wait to recommend it!

A fun, serious, and sweet book about finding love. I loved that it took place in MN! Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. While I did not vibe with the writing, I still appreciated the story. I enjoyed reading about Alison and her journey with being BRCa +. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a cute palate cleanser.

I enjoyed this book so much. Starting the year off on the light but terrific side. This book paces itself into my best rom com of the year category. It will be hard to beat. Allison and Sam had been dating a fairly short amount of time. Sam broke up with Allison because she wouldn’t do anything out of her comfort zone. Sam lived his life as an adventurer and broke up with Allison canoeing in the middle of a lake. He dies six weeks later in a car accident. Allison, with one of her best friends,attends Sam’s funeral with all of his friends/fraternity brothers..
They are Adam and Allison are cornered later by Sam’s parentsAllison thanked for being Sams serious girlfriend enough to maybesettle him down.. His sister requests that Allison play along for her mom’s sake. Dr. Lewis states they need to ready Sam’s pace for sale by Dec.1. Allisonand Adam volunteer to do this job. They get off to a rocky start because Allison sees Adam as a grump. Over time they grow a very close connection. As any really good rom-com does. I am recommending this to anyone who likes a ro-com weekend. This is a pretty quick read. I definitely give this book jazz hands with my two thumbs up. Special thanks to #NetGalley, #GPPutnamandSons, #PenguinRandomHouse, #ElliePalmer, #A FuneralandFourWeekends, pub. Date Aug 6, 2024

this was sooo cute <33 i really loved the characters and the romance. after reading some mid romances, this one stood out!

This book is a unique telling of a fake-dating (does it count when one of them is dead?), grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity romance that I would absolutely recommend.

Alison shows up to her ex-boyfriend, Sam’s, funeral only to find out that he didn’t tell anyone about their breakup 6 weeks prior. For the sake of his grieving family, she plays along without thinking of the potential consequences. That’s also when she meets Adam, Sam’s best friend, and agrees to help him clean out Sam’s apartment.

The story unfolds from there and touches on topics like friendship, grief, guilt, and self-acceptance. It really surpassed my expectations and I was not ready for it to end! I hope we get a spin-off about Mara or Chelsea!

Ellie Palmer did a great job writing about heavy topics while keeping the story light-hearted and relatable. I will definitely keep an eye out for her future releases!

“Four Weekends and a Funeral” is a romance book (debut) by Ellie Palmer. Calling this “just” a romance book feels a bit limiting - as there’s also a continuing theme of BRCA 1 throughout the book. I have really mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, there’s Alison, the female main character, who is still, at the age of 30, trying to figure out who she is and, more importantly, what she wants out of life and herself. She wants to like so many things, but at the cost of being true to herself. In that regard, I just could not relate to Alison at all. She had her friends who loved her for being herself, but Alison herself wasn’t happy with who she was - and so often I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and say “you are good enough as you are!” As for the main male character, Adam, I liked him a lot. He’s a bit uncomfortable around people, happiest in his workshop, and is perfectly okay with his life - though he’s open to opening it a bit more to include others. The “meet cute” I felt was well played - though, as the cover states, it’s the wrong time. I can see a lot of people really enjoying this book, but it didn’t always work for me. The moments where I laughed out loud were over little minor comments that were throwaway bits and at times this book seemed really focusing on generational things my younger family members might instantly get (1990s things?). Also, toward the three-quarters mark, the pacing seemed to slow down a bit (or maybe it was a lack of continuing storyline before the conflict?) and I felt myself losing interest. I can see why some have commented on the BRCA1 storyline as being a bit heavy - I get it and found some of it educational, but at times it did seem a bit heavy handed, though I did get it. Overall, I’d rate this a 3.5 star, but I’ve rounded it up to 4 stars as this is a debut novel. I do think some will absolutely enjoy this book more than I did -and I’d be willing to read another book by this author.

Alison and Sam broke up just before Labor Day. Six weeks later, Sam dies in a car accident. But it turns out he never told his family they broke up—so to ease his family’s pain, Alison pretends to be the Current Girlfriend. It’s all going fine, until she ends up cleaning out Sam’s apartment with his best friend.

This book was good and funny from the first line. I love a book with a clever premise and this definitely delivered on that. We also had great slow burn, vulnerability, and growth with our two main characters. Not to mention an ensemble cast I am dying to see more of.

One of the main themes of the book is guilt—survivor’s guilt in different forms, as well as variations I won’t mention to avoid spoilers. In the story, Alison is obsessed with bettering herself and believed that Sam could help her get there. Her journey is heartwarming and smart, and Adam provides a perfect partner for her. Message from the future: you’re going to love this one (iykyk).

This quirky read was a fun start to the year for me. We meet Allison at her ex-boyfriend, Sam's, funeral and has to act like they were still dating before he died. In a wild turn of events, Allison and his best friend Adam are asked to help pack up and repair some things around Sam's apartment to get it ready to sell. Over four weekends, Allison and Adam bond while dealing with their own issues as they pack Sam's apartment. This read dealt with some heavy issues like grief, Allison's recovery from a preventative mastectomy after discovering she carries the BRCA-1 gene, and finding your direction in life, but also brought some humor and levity through side characters like Allison's best friends and Adam's family. I'm not rushing to recommend this one, but I did appreciate it's unique subject matter compared to other recent romance reads.

My face aches from reading this book. I had to force myself to stop smiling to mitigate risk of crows feet. It’s going in my 10-star reads tag. Absolutely fantastic.

Things I loved:
-A grumpy x sunshine romance that I can actually get behind. I was hooked from the first chapter. Hooked as in I skipped dinner to read this book straight through. I’m really hungry now.
-The survivors guilt is real. This book put me in my feels.
-… guys who like hiking that much are a red flag, okay!? Same vibe as putting “I am super active and need someone that can keep up with me” in a tinder bio.
-How different Alison, Mara, and Chelsea are. Nailed female friendships.
-Loved the pop culture references.
-Obsessed with the chemistry between Adam and Alison. Alison is very funny for being a self proclaimed bore. And the jealousy, UGH. Loved it. They made me smile like very few romance book couples have.

Notes (because I technically didn’t dislike anything about this book):
-I didn’t know this was a fade to black and actually cried out in frustration, but I understand that full penetra… I don’t think I’m allowed to write that… scenes are not for everyone.

Hold up… I just learned this is Ellie Palmer’s debut novel. I cannot wait to tell all my bookish friends that I got to read an ARC copy of this book and introduce them to this wonderful woman and wonderful story. Amazing read, wish I could wipe it from my memory and read it again.

I absolutely loved this story! I laughed, got teary, and found myself talking to the characters while reading. The survivors guilt and later acceptance was so well done, I really felt like I was right there with Al.

This was such a good book absolutely loved it! First time reading this author can’t wait to read more!

I loved this! It was funny and charming and the main couple had such great banter and chemistry. I found myself smiling while reading it and even the deeper subjects were written so well. I basically read full time as my job finding new books so sometimes I just love reading something that is easy and pulls you right in. Also I’m a sucker for grumpy sunshine dynamic. Will for sure be purchasing this for the library in the future.