Reviews - Four Weekends and a Funeral

1.82k reviews for:

Four Weekends and a Funeral

Ellie Palmer

3.83 AVERAGE

okayletsread's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It's more like a 3.5 star, but we'll round it up due to the fun Minnesotan references throughout the book! I was curious to see how the author would pull off such a unique love story: Alison pretends to "fake date" her ex-boyfriend after his funeral to help his family through their grief and, in turn, falls in love with his best friend. What a premise!

The book had a lot of heart and covered some heavier topics—loss, breast cancer, mastectomy, surgeries—but it felt like it was trying to pack too many subplots into the book at times. We didn't get to feel as much of the grief as I would've expected. But for those who like the grumpy meets sunshine trope with characters who all seek therapy in the end, you'll love this!

jess_justmaybeperfect's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Alison arrives at her ex-bfs funeral only to discover that no one, save his sister, knows about the breakup. Said sister begs her to go along with the misunderstanding for the day since his parents loved that he was “settling down.” Things go sideways when Alison agrees to help the ex’s best friend, Adam, prepare his condo for sale. Adam and Alison spend 4 weekends processing grief, cleaning, and slow burning their way to love.

Alison is a post-double-mastectomy BRCA 1 carrier. As a surgical cancer patient myself, I found Palmer’s treatment of Alison’s procedures, loss, and complicated feelings about surviving and learning from her diagnosis, spot on and moving.

Also, the Minnesota of it all is perfect.

jackiesreadingjourney's review against another edition

5.0

This was the serotonin boost I needed! This was such a unique debut and I adored it! Fake dating a dead man was not a plot I expected to read this year but it worked so well. The main character was so relatable to me - a homebody who feels like she isn’t doing enough in life and doesn’t feel worthy. Where we don’t relate is her issues with carrying the BRCA1 mutation (which the author herself has) and reading about their experiences with getting a double mastectomy and needing potentially more surgeries for her ovaries was a difficult topic to read about. I felt so strongly for the main character and reading about her self image issues after surgery and how it affected her intimacy broke my heart. This was a life affirming story especially for the introverts/homebodies!

I also adored the male main character. He was grumpy but also so thoughtful, witty, and chivalrous. I loved his complaints about people not letting Thanksgiving have its moment and the fact that Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all happen in this book made this the perfect romcom for this time of year. This gave 90s romcom vibes in all the best ways and the side characters were also A+++!

There’s so much about this story that just hooked me and worked for me. The way it ended was so amazing. A truly full circle moment.

Thank you Putnam Books for my finished copy!