If you just looked at the tropes this would be a second chance, brother's best friends romance, with a dose of forced proximity and only one room left at the inn. But PS: I Hate you was so much more than the sum of it's tropes. It is a bittersweet love story about going through the grief of losing your most beloved person while trying to navigate the wounds of your first heartbreak. It was about learning to trust people and take the risks that are worth it in spite of your family trauma and fear of abandonment. It's about letting your support system help you through the tough times, because that's what friends are for.

While I love the Rom-Com genre, I don't always go in expecting to think deeply and feel so much. I read this in one sitting, and it brought me to tears multiple times. I loved these characters, and I would have gladly spent a few more years with them. Their deep love for their brother and best friend was endearing, the way they navigated through their grief felt real, and their love story was bittersweet perfection. Our MMC took awhile to give us the full story, and when he finally did I fully melted and forgave him immediately. He has everything I want in a perfect fictional man: steadfastness, patience, grunting and veiny forearms.

All the stars for PS: I hate you. 10/10 must recommend.

4.5/5
PS: I Hate You is a romantic comedy between Madison and Dom, her brother's best friend. The book follows them on various trips as they navigate the aftermath of her brother's death and the complex events of their past.

I really enjoyed reading PS: I Hate You! Even though it is described as a rom-com, the book dealt with some deep issues, such as grief, in a very realistic way. This book depicted the journey of losing a loved one and all the emotions associated with that process.

I especially liked reading about the relationship development. Connolly was able to write about a growing love in the midst of a dark process. I think the reader was able to especially enjoy those positive moments because of the characters that were created. Maddie and Dom were well-rounded characters, with flaws and all. Even Josh, who was not alive, seemed like a person the readers knew. I think this was also due to the way the other characters talked about him. The supporting characters, especially the Perry brothers, were also a fun part of the book.

Overall, PS: I Hate You was a great romance! Readers of Abby Jimenez, who enjoyed Just for the Summer, will also enjoy this book.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book!

PS I Hate You is a moving second chance romance between a woman and her brother's best friend, whose ill-fated teen summer romance ended in heartbreak, as they reunite after her brother's death to spread his ashes over eight cross-country destinations.

I'm very here for the growing trend of bittersweet road-trip romances, and PS I Hate You makes a great addition to books like You, With a View and Mrs. Nash's Ashes on that list. I thought that the grief was especially well-done, as Dom and Maddie are raw and messy and real as they reckon with Josh's death and the diverging directions their lives took. I also love that this book gave the characters and the narrative time to breathe, as the trips took Maddie and Dom two years and showed how they worked through their grief (and began to work through the hurts and misunderstandings related to their relationship) over time. There are a few moments where the humor didn't totally land for me, and I never felt that I knew Dom as well as Maddie, but, all in all, PS I Hate You is a book I'll wholeheartedly look forward to recommending to my patrons who enjoy a poignant contemporary romance.

4.25 stars/5.

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

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this book, with my honest review below.

PS I Hate You blended a story about growing through grief with a road trip romance. While this was a combination I didn’t know could work well it did exceptionally well here, reading as bittersweet throughout in a heart rending way and ending extremely hopeful which was just perfect after the journey. Maddie and Dom are honoring Maddie’’s brother’s final wishes on their series of trips and inadvertently fulfilling one of his unspoken ones. Maddie grew to throughout the story but both acted as perfect foils to one another. I love to be taken to a different place in books and this fulfilled that but also the hit some deeper emotions. I would highly recommend this if you want to go just a little deeper in your destination fiction.

This book broke me and put the pieces back together again. The amount of time I laughed and sobbed during this book were many. It was really perfectly done and I'm not exaggerating when I say this has become one of my favorite books. The journey this book took me through was so heartwarming and real, and I was so invested in the characters and watching them find their way to each other. The book spans 2 years after Josh dies and is 44 chapters long, but it still didn't feel like enough time with the characters. I never wanted this book to end.

Overall, this was a compelling read that took me less than a day. I really enjoyed all of the characters but wish there’d been a little more development with Dom and Rosalynn’s story - it just seemed a bit too convenient and stilted to have it end as it did. However, the pain and grief Maddie felt for her losses (brother and love) conveyed through the pages. The book was explicit and I wish some of the language was toned down as it came across on the vulgar side (though not nearly as much as other authors of contemporary romance). The book was complex, which was refreshing for a romance novel. There were some incredibly cheesy lines that seemed out of place like needing to wear sunscreen because he was so hot and her breasts glowing like the bioluminescence of glow worms (I’m paraphrasing, but it’s basically what it said) - those were a bit too over the top and didn’t come across as joking or conversational, which would have landed better. But overall, I enjoyed the read!

First, I have to say three things:
One, I don’t like contemporary romance (at least what I consider contemporary romance, of which this book is a prime example).
Two, I don’t like to suffer or cry for entertainment (I hated Bambi and The Lion King).
Three, none of that seems to matter where Lauren Connoly’s stories are concerned (as my rating can attest).

I loved this story. I wanted to finish it and I wanted it to continue forever at the same time. It took me around two days to finish not because it wasn’t good, but because I didn’t want it to be over. I really liked Maddie and Dom, and as usual with a Lauren Connoly Romance, the side characters are memorable as well as endearing. They feel fully fleshed out, and the world feels full of their presence. Maddie is snarky and sarcastic, and her dry (and oftentimes dark) humor made me laugh or giggle every time. Dom’s stoic presence looms in the background even when he’s not in the scene, in a good way. As if you could feel his presence and his support through Maddie’s words, even if she didn’t realize it.
This is a story about grief, but it is also about forgiveness and self-worth. Maddie grows a great deal through the story, and Dom is a very supportive partner through it all, even when Maddie pushes him away. I always can see something of myself in Lauren Connoly’s characters, and this book wasn’t the exception. Maddie’s insecurities and her tendency to bottle up her feelings resonated with me (and her asthma, since, after COVID, I get winded after climbing a flight of stairs). But you could always count on her snarky remarks to make you laugh and lighten things up. Being in her head was interesting, and I didn’t miss the usual dual POV. The romance is realistic, they work for the relationship, and their issues don’t get solved magically once they say I love you.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I thank Berkeley, NetGalley, and, of course, the author, for the opportunity to read and review the ARC for this book.

Wow! An emotionally moving story
A beautiful story of loss, love and a brother’s final wishes.
Such a deeply emotional story that had me laughing out loud then crying multiple times throughout, eager to keep reading.
Faced with sharing a heartbreaking task with her teenage crush, who just so happened to hurt her badly many years ago, Maddie must now accept Dom’s part in the adventure they both have to partake in.
Unable to accept being so close to Dom and all the emotions he evokes in her she finds herself wanting to hurt and lash out at him.
Dom ever patient allows Maddie to set the tone and pace each time they head off together.
Can Maddie get over her insecurities?
Or will she sabotage what is growing between her and Dom and forever be distrustful of anything good happening in her life?
Secrets were uncovered and truths told along the way making this a truly beautiful and heart wrenching story.
I loved the storyline, all of the characters and their evolving relationships.

This is a romance that perfectly balances intensity and emotion. The story is compelling, and the characters’ journey is deeply moving. A passionate and a beautiful read indeed.