Let me start by saying I loved this story. I loved the writing style, it was easy to read and follow. I also really enjoyed the concept of the story. Grief is such a heavy thing to go through, but this story almost makes it fun (if that’s even a thing). Through this book you can see the relationship Maddie has with her brother and how much they truly cared for each other because really they were all they had. You also see how Josh (the brother) impacts SOOO many lives with his job, the connections he makes in so many different places is powerful.

The story is focused on Maddie and Dom who endure something so life changing, that they end up having to face each other more than they truly want to. Watching the characters relationship grow not only in romance, but in their grief was so telling of what grief looks for different people. Maddie is HILARIOUS she made me laugh the entire book, although a lot of her human is to hide her feelings I found Maddie super relatable. At times she let her insecurities get the best of her (like we all do) but I am so proud of her growth that SHE realizes she needs.

Dom is the perfect guy, ugh I just loved his quietness and sense of order; but also when it came to what he wanted he was going to work hard to get it. His brothers who are 9 years younger than him are also a comedic relief in the story. Loveddddd Adam and Carter, their relationship with Maddie is so enduring.

You guys will want to pick up this story when it comes out!! It’s such a good time!!

So....I LOVE THIS BOOK!

For fans of Abby Jimenez, in this bittersweet romantic comedy, enemies, Maddie & Dominic, are forced together by a mutual loss are led on a cross-country journey toward a second chance.

We love a rom com with substance and this one delivers on that over and over again!

Plot:
First, grief is a central theme in this one. The grief that these characters experience is very apparent and visceral. The author does a fantastic of showcasing grief, how it can suddenly manifest, how it can truly change a person, and how it can look different from person to person. So many tears, bring tissues. And not only grief but complicated family relationships. It gets heavy y'all. However, there are SO MANY light and fun moments that make you laugh and happy to follow along with these two. Matching tattoos, glow worms, emo music sing along, and so many shenanigans! With a couple of twists and turns in the plot to keep us going. It also has so many great tropes: brother's best friend, one bed, childhood friends, and a side of miscommunication to keep these dramatic! And the spice was SPICING - enjoy this heat y'all! Also this books spans a couple years and I really enjoyed the slower timeline as it shows the grief and much needed healing and growth that needed to happen for our characters.

Characters:
On to the characters! I was obsessed with them. Maddie is a sweet disaster, and I love her. I empathize with her and those are the best kind of characters. She is going through so much and feels even more so. She is going through the greatest grief of her while also trying to protect her heart from heartbreak. With a toxic mama as if she needed something else weighing her down! And yet still comes off funny and quirky in the best ways. I'm happy to have witness her growth and love story. Dom is a freaking tree - his love is a constant thing and he's so lovingly stable and just a breath of fresh air. All of the side characters are lovable and helpful to the plot. And y'all Josh is the best fictional dead brother I have ever witnessed - he made me laugh, cry, yell, and I wished over and over for him to come to fictional life. Such great character development across the board!

Overall, this book had so many beautiful layers and I shed so many tears. Can't recommend it enough. Thank you to the netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is an emotional journey! Before you think, "Okay, I don't want only an emotional book," let me preface this by saying PS: I Hate You is a romantic comedy mixed with an emotional journey that weaves the devastating passing of a brother and best friend and the grief that comes along with it, combined with heartbreak from the past, and personal trauma mixed with hilarious banter and side characters that will keep you laughing.

Maddie and Dom, her brother Josh's best friend are forced together to fulfill Josh's last wishes of scattering his ashes in eight states that he never got to visit when he was a photographer before cancer stole him from this world. The only problem is that Dom broke Maddie's heart and it's been her goal in life to avoid him like the plague ever since, but with the responsibility of Josh's wish they are determined to follow through. Can they battle through their shared grief, and heartbreaking past to find their way back to each other?

☆Forced Proximity
☆Romance with Brother's Best Friend
☆Second Chance Romance
☆Slow Burn
☆One Bed

Trigger Warnings: Contains discussions of chronic asthma, anxiety, death, grief, cancer, parent abandonment and toxic relationships. Please check warnings.

If I'm being honest when I started reading PS: I Hate You I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it because at first Maddie came off to me as a self-centered brat, and Dom a cocky jerk, but getting to live through their eyes, to experience their pain, love, laughter, growth and healing was worth it, because she's not a brat, and he's not a jerk, they have both suffered through things in their lives that caused them to behave that way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ READ!

“If I have one day left or thousands, I want you to be in every one of them.”

Those words will forever make me swoon.

Make sure you add PS: I Hate You to your TBR as it releases on December 3, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and Lauren Connolly for the e-ARC!

Another scattering of ashes road trip novel? Yes, but this one is super compelling, from the way the reader is launched into Maddie’s brother Josh’s funeral as she is hiding in a closet because she doesn’t cry prettily and her grief clothes are appropriately uncomfortable. Maddie is less than pleased to learn her brother’s best friend Dom (and her one-night stand) has been tasked as executor of Josh’s will, and they are to scatter his ashes at a variety of pre-determined locations. Rather than following a path in a short span of time, are working and meet at destination after destination, unravelling the puzzle of why has paired them together as a his final act.

The novel unfolds over the span of several years, with Maddie and Dom using their vacation time to meet at the destinations outlined in a series of letters to them both, from Josh. Maddie’s behavior towards Dom can best be described as whiplash: he’s kind, she softens, then snaps. The verbal sparring is not pretty, but given their history and grief, it’s a little more understandable than some enemies-to-lovers tropes where the characters are just being mean to one another to be mean. The destinations enrich the story, as do the secondary characters, like Dom’s twin younger brothers, whose legendary crushes on Maddie provide levity, and Maddie and Josh’s mother, portrayed as the Cruella DeVil of influencers, ready and willing to exploit her loss–and Maddie’s–for more fame and followers.

If you’re in the frame of mind for a heart-wrenching and satisfying road trippish romance and loved Mrs. Nash’s Ashes.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #PSIHateYou via #NetGalley courtesy of #Berkley; the review will go live on HLBB on Dec 3, 2024.

P.S. I Hate You is a catchy title but I'm not sure it fits. Enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes. I really enjoyed reading about the traveling to places around the US Maddie and Dom visited. At first I thought Maddie was difficult and a brat but after reading further she had dealt with quite a bit of trauma in her home life and personal life which manifested as anger and isolation. This book was very well rounded as the characters were dealing with grief and everyone had to work on it in their own way. In the end there is healing and truths are revealed which was satisfying to read. I was not expecting one part of the ending but overall this was a good read.

I enjoyed this but honestly the main character got on my nerves a bit what can I say. They tied it all up neatly in the end if not improbably lol

I was a little hesitant to read this book once I realized it had a heavier theme to it, yet I am so HAPPY that I gave it a try. I really, really enjoyed this book. The author delivers a lovely story filled with love, laughter, and at times tears. Yet she does so in such a poignant manner that I am an instant fan of her writing. The banter and the characters were perfection. I loved the character development and also the friendships in the books. I wish the author much success with this book once it publishes. I will be sure to recommend this book to other readers.


Many thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

When I read the summary for this book, I just knew that this book would be right up my alley. A romantic comedy with angst? -Yes, Please. The kind of angst where I can connect with the Main Character and feel their pain, feel every tear that they shed and every sob building up in their chest. 😭

This book delivered that feeling and so much more. Plus it hit on tropes that I love.

❤️Forced Proximity
❤️Misunderstanding-Leading to Separation/Break Up
❤️Romance with Brother's Best Friend
❤️Second Chance Romance
❤️Unrequited Love-Turned Requited

Maddie returns to her hometown for her brother's funeral. He was her best friend and only relative that hadn't abandoned her. At the reading of his will, she sees his best friend Dom and immediately wants to flee away from him.

Dom was her childhood crush, the only man she thought she had been in love with. For a brief time when she was 19, she thought that her love for him was requited. He made her heart soar for the few weeks they were together. Then brought her heart back down to earth and stomped all over it when the day after they shared an intimate moment she overhears Dom telling his ex girlfriend that he will marry her. Maddie had fled across the country shortly after that, not wanting to face him again and to see him married to another woman. Seven years later, her brother's death was forcing her to see him and all of the feelings that she was trying to bury inside came rushing back.

Dom, as the executer of the estate reads out the will and Maddie and Dom are given one envelope to read together. In their letter, Maddie's brother , Josh asks that they complete the journey to 8 states that he says that he'd never gotten to visit and spread his ashes at each location and take a picture after reading each of 8 separate letters that Dom was in charge of.

Maddie is forced to plan trips with Dom to each location and discovers that Dom is now divorced. As she goes on each adventure, spanning over a 2 year period she begins to think that her brother is playing cupid from beyond the grave. As they go on each adventure they learn more about eachother and spend more time together, they experience the love that Josh had for each of them unites them together.

I laughed just as much as I cried reading this book, Maddie has a mouth on her and she's not afraid to say what she's thinking even if she offends someone(especially Dom) and Dom is stoic and lets Maddie do most of the talking for the both of them but its clear that beyond his words said during each trip, there's so much he wants to tell Maddie.

I definitely shed a few tears reading this book and I could feel every ounce of pain that Maddie felt, not only with the loss of her brother but with the pain caused by Dom marrying someone else and not choosing her all of those years before.

I didn’t like Maddie at the start. She was childish but as we learn more about her childhood, her reactions make sense. I loved her growth, and I was cheering for her by the end.

I had difficulty connecting with Dom until later when we get to hear more of his voice. I wanted his POV badly but can see it was necessary to omit once we get more context. I loved him though; he’s ‘a little’ possessive and ‘a lot’ considerate of Maddie’s needs. Excellent book-boyfriend material!

The relationship between Maddie and Dom felt organic. Their personalities were opposites but perfectly complementary; he’s dry and she’s sarcastic. She made him work hard to regain her trust and his grovel was next level!

It was a fast-paced read and I liked the sections being indicated in seasons. It made it easy to contextualize the passage of time.

✩ Honourable mention: the banter! Maddie exasperates Dom and it is basically foreplay for him. Between the verbal sparring, emails, and text messages, their interactions were super entertaining.

♡ A lot of humour and snark is thrown in to lighten the heavy and emotional content. Lauren Connolly drew emotion from me with precision and I loved every moment (even the ugly-cry ones). P.S.: I Hate You is a great read, I recommend it!

CW/TW: Contains discussions of chronic asthma, anxiety, death, grief, cancer, parent abandonment and toxic relationships. Please check warnings.

4.5 stars— this book GUTTED me. Haunting, hilarious, heart wrenching. It reminded me of one of my favourite books of 2023 (YOU WITH A VIEW by Jessica Joyce), and had MANY of my favourite tropes— second chance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity. Do NOT miss this one!!!

ARC Review 💌 PS: I Hate You by Lauren Connolly

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pub date: december 3

read if you like:
+ brother’s best friend
+ friends to enemies to lovers
+ scavenger hunt / road trip vibes
+ one bed (with some major spice after a loooonnggg slow burn!)
+ found family
+ grief processing

RUN, do not walk, to add this one to your TBR!! I enjoyed every single page of this adventurous, contemporary romance, filled with laugh-out-loud sarcasm and morbid humor, scavenger hunts, sour patch pirates, puzzles, letterman jackets, cheese boards, matching tattoos, second chances at love, and finding a way through grief. 💕

Synopsis: Maddie’s brother Josh’s dying wish is for her to scatter his ashes in the eight states he never got to visit during his adventures as a wildlife photographer… Unfortunately, Josh wants her to complete this task with his best friend Dom, who happens to have broken Maddie’s heart, and she’s done her best to avoid him ever since. Can their shared experience of losing Josh and a storm that leaves them with only one room change the course of their relationship?

Three things I LOVED about this book:

1️⃣ Maddie and Dom’s complementary personalities. 👏🏼 Maddie hilariously refers to Dom as “Mr. Responsible Asshole” and to herself as a “sarcastic troll person” and these traits are SO spot on. I loved their quirks, the way their differences made them butt heads sometimes, but also how they balanced each other out.

2️⃣ The best supporting characters! 🤩 Dom’s twin brothers Adam and Carter, and Maddie’s best friend Jeremy were all so fiercely in her corner, and added some amazing comic relief.

3️⃣ That plot twist near the end! 😱 I love a good happily ever after, but I did not see this other plot point coming at all!

“If I have one day left, or thousands, I want you to be in every one of them.” 💕

Thank you soooo much to @berkleypub, @netgalley, and @laurenconnollyromance for the e-arc! I adored this book! 🙌🏼

Maddie and Dom got a piece of me this weekend wow, but also Josh 😭

Lauren Conolly takes the classic brother and best friend, adds a heavy dose of grief, a lasting miscommunication/misunderstanding, and a truly glacial slow burn to create the most emotional read of my year so far. It doesn’t take a lot to get me a little teary, I love romance what can I say, but this…this tore me right up.

Between Josh’s untimely passing, his letters which made him come alive as a character, the actual love story between Maddie and Dom, the twins(!!), and the extended family/friends, this book was chock full of vulnerability and love. I can’t recommend this enough and I’m so glad I got an early copy.

PS: I hate you

I didn't like it...I found the beginning to end too manipulative in its attempt to tug at heartstrings throughout the whole story.

Maddie is initially against her brother's decision to take a long farewell trip with the man who hurt her feelings. Maddie and Dom's relationship is strained at the beginning of the book. They were once friends, had a one-night stand, and he left to marry someone else... Josh uses his funeral as a means to bring Maddie and Dom back together, making them use his ashes to be spread in different places, and forcing them together. I found it ironic that he really wanted her sister to be happy with his friend but didn't do anything to make her happy while he was alive, knowing that he had little time left. the romance felt flat, and some scenes felt unrealistic to me. The reason for Dom to get married and hurt Maddie in the process didn't make sense.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the eARC.

The author masterfully weaves humor with heartfelt emotion, capturing the essence of Maddie's sorrow and the unexpected resurgence of her connection with Dom. Observing the interplay of their shared history and new encounters, I found myself cheering for their reunion, fully feeling each jolt and twist on their poignant journey. Maddie's path to forgiveness and fresh starts, set against a series of touching goodbyes, kept me captivated and swiftly turning pages, deeply engaged in the intricacies of their dynamic bond. It left me with the uplifting realization that sometimes, the heart truly knows what's best, even after enduring past wounds. This story is transformative, raw, heart-wrenching, beautiful, uproarious, and romantic. I'm overwhelmed with emotion.

The author’s writing effortlessly blends humor and poignancy, capturing the rawness of Maddie’s grief and the unexpected spark that reignites between her and Dom. The way their shared memories and fresh experiences unfold had me rooting for their second chance, even as I felt every bump and turn of their emotional road trip. Maddie’s journey toward forgiveness and new beginnings, against the backdrop of a series of poignant farewells, had me eagerly turning pages, fully immersed in their complex, evolving relationship. Leaving me with the hopeful realization that sometimes, the heart knows best, even when it’s been hurt before.

life changing. raw. devastating. beautiful. hilarious. romantic. i can’t stop crying. thank you so much to Berkeley for this arc. ill probably add more when I have the words but I just think I wont be the same after reading this. lauren connolly is now in my list of new favorite authors.

Reading this book was an intense and emotional experience for me. The story of losing a brother and the deep grief that follows was portrayed so vividly that I couldn’t help but feel connected to the characters. The author did an incredible job of capturing the raw pain of such a loss, and I found myself deeply moved by the sister's journey through her grief.

As the story unfolded, I felt a deep connection to the sister as she navigated her way through the unimaginable pain of losing someone so close. Her bond with her friend became a lifeline, a way to cope with the overwhelming sadness. Their journey together wasn’t just a physical one, but an emotional and spiritual quest to find meaning and healing. The way they supported each other, even in their own moments of vulnerability, added a layer of depth to the narrative that I truly appreciated.

What struck me the most was how the book balanced the heaviness of grief with moments of hope and connection. The sister's relationship with her friend provided a sense of solidarity and understanding, showing how important it is to have someone by your side during the darkest times. By the end of the book, I felt a sense of closure, not just for the characters, but for myself as well. It was a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of love and friendship to help us heal.

This story stayed with me long after I finished reading. It was heartbreaking, yes, but also a powerful exploration of loss, love, and the journey toward healing. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a deeply moving and thought-provoking read.

A human life is fleeting. We only get so much time before we run out. Sometimes, there is no warning. Sometimes, you get a heads up that the end is inevitable. Either way, death is a reminder of our ticking clock, and often shines a spotlight on what is important, and what is not. This is a theme that has come up a lot in my reading this year, and it strikes home every time. Because we're all alive, and one day, we won't be. What are we going to do with the time we have?

Before Josh Sanderson died of cancer, he wrote some letters to those he left behind. To his mother, his grandmother, and his friends. But to his best friend Dominic and his sister Maddie, he left a task: travel to the last eight states he never got to visit using the coordinates he left, scatter some of his ashes there, and read the letter he left for each place - together. The only problem is, Dominic Perry is the reason Maddie fled PA for the west coast all those years ago. If it were under any other circumstances, Maddie would've told them both to kick rocks, but Josh was the only person in the world who loved her, and she'll do anything read the letters he left.

I think my favorite part of the whole adventure was that Josh didn't spell out his reasons for sending them on their quest, leaving Maddie to speculate what his intentions could possibly have been. She comes up with several theories along the way, each of them making her reconsider everything she thought she knew.

I was pulled in from the very beginning by Maddie's snarky, heartbroken voice. Her backstory is devastating, and she's developed unhealthy coping mechanisms to survive. In the depths of her grief, she clings to them harder than ever, but the journey through the eight destinations illuminates the need for changes.

Dominic is the strong silent type. Through so much of the book, all we really see from him are 'looks'. He's staring at her, he has a strange look on his face, you know the drill. It leaves a lot of room for the reader to project what they want him to be thinking, which is clever. The one complaint I have is that Connolly WAY overused the phrase 'the man', when referring to him, especially at the beginning.

The themes in his book are heavy, but it reads very much like a rom-com. There is plenty of banter to enjoy, and a lot of personal growth for our MC. There is a fun cast of friends which make me hope there might be another book featuring one of them (Tula?) still to come. This was my first Lauren Connolly book, and it certainly won't be my last!

Thank you to Berkley & Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on December 3rd, 2024, but it is currently available for pre-order!

ARC Review: PS: I Hate You by Lauren Connolly
Pub Date: December 3

Thanks to @berkleyromance for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thanks to @bookswithnopictures and @justtalkingtomyshelf for arranging this traveling ARC! I had such a good time reading this one.

When Maddie's brother dies, he asks her to do one final thing for him - spread his ashes in the states he didn't get to visit. Josh was the biggest adventurer and Maddie...is not. But she agrees to do this for her brother. The only problem is that he also asked his best friend, Dom, to undertake this journey with her. After Dom broke Maddie's heart when they were younger, she has no interest in rekindling any sort of relationship with him. But, she can't ignore her brothers last wishes so she reluctantly agrees to go on these trips with Dom.

My GOSH you guys this book - it's a heartbreaking story of grief, loss, and protecting yourself from hurt - I cried multiple times towards the end. Like literal tears running down my face. But it also made me laugh out loud?!? It's honestly the perfect mix for this book, I have absolutely no notes.

The banter between Maddie and Dom is absolute perfection - Maddie is also just such a complex character and all of her actions throughout the book make a lot of sense given the context of her experiences. Going from enemies to almost friends to lovers felt like the perfect arc for Maddie and Dom's relationship. And I actually like that this book is single POV! I think Maddie has so much to work through that it's helpful to be in her brain the whole time but also I think readers can clearly see that Dom has loved her the whole time. So watching Maddie come to that realization is really satisfying.

I also loved all of the side characters - Maddie's friends who don't let her hide from them and her brother Josh (because even though he's no longer alive, he is absolutely a side character here!).

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and lovable. The pacing was perfect and left you wanting to read more. I can't wait to read more by this author!