Though the concept snared me instantly, the initial leap into the book is just that -- a leap. It feels like there's no exposition, no time to get used to the characters, the setting, anything before you're thrown directly into the central conflict of the book. While a charming feature of some fantasy novels, I did not enjoy the experience in this realistic fiction.

A girl pretending to be 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 at her ex's funeral all while falling for said ex's grumpy bestfriend... 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.

𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 opens up to Allison Mullaly getting caught in a fake dating scenario at her ex's funeral. But things get complicated as the weeks go by with her boxing up his apartment and growing closer to his grumpy lumberjack of a bestfriend.

- ~ -

Allison believes she's cheated cancer after an early detection and an immediate double mastectomy. In compensation, she forces herself to live life not merely survive by taking on adventures she detests.

Adam's last interaction with his late bestfriend was a fight cursing out their lifestyles and as he tries to moves on with his ex-girlfriend, the guilt seems to overpower.

I was really pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this debut actually.

Ali and Adam are a bit both dense. They both want something different from life but are too hesitant to stand up for it. Basically a perfect match.

Adam was the perfect combination of grumpy lumberjack meets cinnamon roll only for her and how Allison's sunshiness drew out smiles from him and her patience too and how they declared each other their favourite person.... swoon.

𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯.

- ~ -

3.98 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

What a great read! Although there was loss the story was/ wasn’t mainly about that. It was a tale of two introverts brought together by an extrovert. A little push through reminders from the beyond to not let life pass you by. I loved the gruffness of Adam who kept his thoughts close to his chest and Alison the timid survivor. This was a light story mainly but taught knowledge of BRAC 1 that opened my eyes to the struggle and all that goes with it. I thought Ms Palmer did an excellent explanation through the character of the myriad of thoughts that go through your head when you have any sort of health scare. Her knowing from personal experience. I thought this was an excellent debut and I’m hoping that Chelsea and Mara will have their own stories. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy. I am voluntarily leaving my thoughts

Four Weekends and a Funeral is a charming romance with characters to root for! Alison's ex-boyfriend, Sam, dies suddenly (first page of the book, so no spoilers here!), but his parents do not realize that Alison and Sam broke up weeks before his untimely death. They ask her, with the help of Sam's best friend, hot carpenter Adam, to box up Sam's apartment. And there begins the insta-chemistry between Alison and Adam! Alison is also on a journey to live her best life after a double mastectomy, but she isn't sure what "best life" means for her.
This book reminded me of the 1995 movie, While You Were Sleeping, in the best possible way. Adam even has a reversible denim/khaki jacket like Bill Pullman! Read this book if you are in the mood for a light-hearted romance with dashes of hiking, trivia, and trains.
Thank you to Putnam for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book is a mystery/thriller with different point of views from the characters and beautifully written. The timelines were also very well written.

I read this book in a day and I never looked back! The twist and the plot were pretty easy to identify but the different POV's kept me intrigued to see how everything was going to unfold. A couple of the characters were so unlikable that it made it hard to feel bad or connect with them in any way. I do wish that the ending would've given a little more, I wanted to know how the characters dealt with the aftermath.

Overall I give this 5 out 5 because it really was a great book and I will definitely read more from this Author. I enjoyed the thrill of the plot and its twists.

5 ⭐️’s

This was OUTSTANDING! I read this entire book in one sitting today because once I started I couldn’t stop. This story takes you on a journey immediately and immerses you in the intricate and chaotic life of Alison Mullally. Written in single POV, we are treated to some of the funniest banter I’ve ever read in a book. Legitimately, laugh out loud funny.

Loosely inspired by the film While You Were Sleeping, we meet Alison at the funeral of her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Due to a small mix-up and well meaning intentions, everyone believes she was still dating Sam at the time of his death. This misunderstanding indirectly causes her to end up spending the next four weekends with Sam’s mercurial best friend, Adam, as they they clean out his condo together and prepare it to be sold. What ensues is pure romantic comedy gold.

Alison and Sam are the epitome of opposites attract! These two are like magnets and their chemistry is electric. The banter between them will leave you in stitches, in fact, all of Alison’s inner dialogue will have you laughing! The side characters are incredible, but we still get so much of our story devoted to our two main characters and their love story. This book was reminiscent of “You, Again” by Kate Goldbeck in writing style and story telling. It was such a special treat to get to read.

Absolutely a top read of the year for me. I enthusiastically recommend this book to everyone!

I absolutely loved this book! I found myself laughing out loud (okay, maybe even a snort laugh, if I’m being honest) through most of the book. I loved Allison’s witty humor. This book was so much more than that though. The story beautifully navigated through dealing with grief, guilt, and self acceptance- something I think everyone can relate to at some point in their lives. All the characters (especially Adam and Allison) were lovable and relatable. I look forward to reading more books from this author!

This slow-burn romance had one of the most creative set ups I have read. The inclusion of medical complexities added depth and a realness to the characters.

My November is starting so strong with books!! I loved this one. Alison is at a funeral, which happens to be for her ex-boyfriend/newly established friend. His family is there, and they don’t know (other than his sister) that they broke up. Sam’s best friend, Adam, gives a eulogy at the funeral. Both Adam and Alison are roped into fixing up, boxing up, and getting Sam’s condo ready to sell. Through the course of four weekends and a funeral, they get to know each other and challenge each other.

Eeeeek this book was so great. The tension was fire and the sparks were flying with these two, I loved how sarcastically funny Adam was and how Alison balanced him out. Their first kiss had me swooning. I loved their love story, and how it played out. Such a cute happily ever after. This was a wonderful debut and so much fun to read. I’m sad it’s over!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been dying to read FOUR WEEKENDS AND A FUNERAL by Ellie Palmer since I first heard the pitch! Not to mention her Instagram always cracks me up, so I knew I was going to love the voice. Friends, it did not disappoint!

When Alison, still processing her double mastectomy and diagnosis as a BRCA 1 carrier, shows up at her ex-boyfriend’s funeral, she expects to sit at the back and pay her respects. She doesn’t expect for everyone to believe they’re still together, or to have his sister rope her into faking it for their mother’s sake. But she suddenly finds herself playing the role and agreeing to help the prickly best friend, Adam, pack up her ex’s apartment over the course of the next four weekends. But when their tension ramps up, Alison will have to decide if she can come clean about her past in order to have a future with Adam.

This book was incredible! Ellie’s voice is fun and witty, while giving the story the depth and complexity it deserves. Alison’s people pleasing tendencies are so relatable, and watching her struggle with survivors guilt for “escaping” cancer through her BRCA diagnosis was such a unique insight into the experience. The chemistry between Alison and Adam was fantastic! He was so deliciously grumpy, and I loved that through them falling in love, his characterization stayed the same. Their journey through their grief was somehow still so bright, fun, and heartwarming. Ellie is a master of the craft, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with in book 2!

Super cute romcom but could get a little wordy regarding some of the descriptions of things that caused me to get a little lost/lose interest for short periods but overall a really good read. The character's self-journey made it so worth it!

This is a sweet romantic comedy. I really liked the setting - Minnesota in the fall to winter gave me that Midwestern vibe that felt like home. I liked the subplot related to women's health issues (no spoilers). I thought the treatment of that was authentic and sensitive. The dynamic between the main characters was sweet. I'm not sure the overall plot relating to the death of the ex worked for me. I appreciated the token nod to LGBTQIA+ representation, though it was not at all central to the plot.
I would recommend this to readers of romantic comedy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This title piqued my curiosity. There's nothing quite like reading an author for the first time and developing an affection for their characters.

Envision the moment when you enter Sam's funeral, your ex-boyfriend of six months, and no one knows he dumped you. On top of that, his parents treat you with the same tenderness and consideration as if you were their son's grieving girlfriend. What do you do? While I wouldn't have made the same choices as Alison, I have to admit that they made for an engaging read. So as not to make the funeral more difficult for Sam’s parents, when they asked her to pack up his condo, she say yes.

Although Adam has long been regarded as Sam's "best friend," I am not sure how these two became friends, considering how different they are! Sam's vibrant personality was a far cry from Adam's aloof and emotionally distant disposition. He carries a parallel emotional heaviness as Alison that traps him in a state of stagnation, something Sam regularly endeavored to pull him away from. So, out of duty or guilt, when asked by Sam’s parents to help, he agrees.

Despite the author's deep dive into their emotions, I found it challenging to connect with either of these characters. The pages explore Ali's journey with the BRCA1 gene, her physical and emotional challenges, her desire to be someone else, and her feelings of inadequacy. The awkward friendship and attraction between these two gradually develop, with their chemistry becoming intense two-thirds into the story. Not to say that this isn't enjoyable - because it is - I just yearned for a smoother and more immediate connection.

I do recommend this read, as this was easy to read and enjoy. Overall, I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. I thank Netgalley, this author, and Penguin Random House LLC publishing for my free ARC. I voluntarily leave my review.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Ellie Palmer for an advanced read copy of “Four Weekends and a Funeral.” This story was a gorgeous nod to some of best trope in cinema and on the page.

Alison is a bubbly young woman whose recent ex-boyfriend died inexpertly. Except he never told anyone they had broken up, except his sister who asks Alison to play the role of grieving girlfriend for her parents at the funeral. Pretending to be the girlfriend and not the grieving friend she is ends up making things complicated.

Alison is, like many of us, a people pleaser. She is a BRCA1 survivor who had preventive double mastectomy, of which she struggles with guilt. She also believes she needs to be someone else: someone more adventurous. That’s what Sam, her ex boyfriend liked. But at the funeral, his best friend, Adam, and her eyes lock as he is eulogizing Sam, and through a request from the parents spent four weekends cleaning out Sam’s condo.

The tension between the two main characters perfect. The way Adam can see through Alison and know she is trying to be someone she isn’t, is what we all want: to be seen.

Ellie Palmer creates a beautiful and tender love story with Four Weekends and a Funeral.” This was so good, I would read it again! I look forward to reading more of her work. Pick up a copy when it hits the stands in early August 2024.

After finished reading this book, I can say with absolute surety that Palmer is an expert at weaving a story that instantly touches your soul. There's romance, growth and emotional depth throughout the entire book. Simply enjoyed reading it.

What a great debut!! I can’t wait to see the cover of this one and future reads!

I’m from MN living in TX and it was so fun to read all the MN references.

The book was well written and you can tell the author did their research (or rather, if you read acknowledgment/about the author, you learn this book is much more close to home for them!). It also made me think about my own life and am I doing things because I want to or because I think I should be doing them? Is a life of contentment ok? Am I there? What’s next?

I would highly recommend this to anyone for a great romcom read!

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for providing a DRC of this title.

In this loving homage to '90s romcoms and While You Were Sleeping, Alison Mullaly finds herself unexpectedly falling for Adam, the best friend of her recently-deceased ex-boyfriend, Sam-- despite the fact that Adam and her late ex-boyfriend's family still believe that she and Sam were dating at the time of his death.

It's always fun to discover a new author whose voice you really love, and I thought the humor and characterization in this novel were fantastic, particularly Alison and her friends. I love seeing fully-rounded female characters and supportive friendships, and Alison's friend group was probably one of my favorite points of the book. While I liked the central romance, there were parts of the middle of the book where the narrative dragged a bit for me and where I could have personally used a bit more structure to the plot. Overall, though, I think Four Weekends and a Funeral is sure to charm romcom fans, and I look forward to reading Palmer's next book! 4 stars/5.

Thanks @putnambooks @netgalley and @elliepalmerwrites for the chance to read Four Weekends and a Funeral early. It’s out on August 6, 2024.

I can already tell that this book is going to live rent free in my head for a long time. Ellie’s debut was so funny, heartfelt, and swoony. She created real stakes for her couple and their HEA was very hard earned. I also loved her having a female main character who has the BRAC1 gene and decides to get a preventative double mastectomy. Ellie is open about her own journey, and she wrote this character’s journey to feel comfortable being intimate in such a deeply empathetic way.

When Alison attends her ex-boyfriend’s funeral, she’s shocked to discover that his family thinks they are still together. Her people-pleasing and empathy for his parents leads her to go along with the ruse and volunteering to help clean out her ex’s condo with his grumpy best friend Adam, who can’t seem to stand her. Over the course of four weekends, they get to know each other better and start to catch feelings. But, will they be able to get their happy ending if everyone thinks she’s grieving her boyfriend??

Steam: 🔥 (kissing on page and 🌶️ off page)
Tropes: fake dating, enemies to lovers

What a whirl wind of emotions 😅

I related to the FMC and her mothers relationship so much. It’s exactly like the relationship with my own mom. I never thought that maybe she feels guilty about the diagnosis and my probability going up. 😪 along with this when I read the “about the author” my whole body got goosebumps.

“You don’t need to prove you deserve your life to me or anyone.”

Okay, now to my review. This is without a doubt a 5✨ read. Your ex boyfriend passed away, his sister wants you to pretend you were still dating, what could go wrong? I had no idea this would be a romance (queen of not reading synopsis) but there was one line when it finally clicked. I buckled up my seatbelt and was ready to take off.
Adam is such a grump but in the best way. “I’m not super fun right now.” “Perfect, I’m never fun.” You have to break down those walls he built and it turned out he’s a major softy 🥲 The banter between him and Ali definitely made me laugh a few times and was perfectly done.
Ali’s character development was absolutely top notch. You watch as she tries to force herself become this adventurous, risk taking, living life to the “fullest” person. When, in reality she’s a homebody who loves trains. The whole premise of this book is about just being yourself. The right person will love every part of you.

There were so many movie and tv references, which I think a lot will appreciate it. I don’t watch tv or movies so I was completely clueless to them. UNTIL, there was a babes in toy land one and my jaw dropped. I swear this movie doesn’t get the attention it deserves 🫡

“It was always you” 😭😭😭 my heart

This was such an amazing and empowering read. I will be recommending this to everyone and anyone and I couldn’t wait to share my thoughts on it. Please pick this book up when it releases! I don’t think I’ve ever wrote a review this long which is proof in itself.

I’m a big fan of rom-coms and I’m always excited to see when a book brings something new to the table. In this case, it’s the story of Alison whose mother had breast cancer and they detected a mutation in her genes that increase her chances of having breast and ovarian cancer.

Those pages where Alison described her experience with surgery and the regular check-ins were so raw and brought up honest emotions in me. I felt pity but also was felt terrified for how this is actually someone’s reality, a routine.

I also found this take on survivor’s guilt very uncommon and interesting to see from a character’s perspective.

However, the rom part in this rom-com… Alison and Adam clearly have a spark but I just couldn’t stand Adam after he started with the whole “but you’re my dead best friend’s ex girlfriend, things shouldn’t be this complicated”. But they weren’t until he made them complicated? I agree with Alison that perhaps Adam was just looking for an excuse to ruin something good. I also didn’t like how he talked to Alison. They’ve known each other for 4 weekends and he talked like he knew her best. Sure, he provided a different perspective and opinion to Alison’s life but in reality, does he really? Her best friends have told her the exact same advice before. That being said, I think the romance part felt a bit rushed. I'm not saying two people can't fall in love with four weekends but I was surprised it went all the way to "I love you"s.

I’m not sure if I should mention this since this is an early version of ARC and this might be already planned to change (if that’s the case, please ignore this part). There are a handful of scenes where the dialogue doesn’t make sense or at least the flow is off and I found myself re-reading to make sure I understand what’s going on. For example, the conversation about Alison moving in with Adam went from “I already signed a new lease” to “I’d be happy to move in with you” in the matter of a couple lines. I had to re-read that part to understand what’s going on in that scene and how they made that jump for it to make sense.

Overall, I learned something new from this book which is a nice bonus from any rom-com. If I could, I would give it 3.5 stars, I that that is a fair rating. I see a potential for it to improve in quality of dialogues and flow through a scene.