Lauren Connelly – Romance Reviewed

PS I Hate You is out now! Thank you to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an emotional and heartfelt journey between Maddie and her brother’s best friend Dom to spread her brother’s ashes at eight specific locations across the US as designated by her brother in his will. Dom is her nemesis (in her head) so this is extra hard for her, but the two start to form a begrudging friendship which turns to more as they go about carrying out these tasks.

Though it is emotional and grief heavy at times on this journey, there was also a lot of laughter amongst the tears.

Maddie was a bit immature, but to be fair, she had no good role models growing up and she is actually quite young still. So, it was reasonable she would be a bit bratty at times but it did get a bit tiring. This didn’t make me dislike the book at all, but I do think it stopped it from being as emotional of an experience for me because I just wasn’t feeling sympathetic.

However, I loved taciturn Dom, the caretaker, the big brother, the serious accountant who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was so worried about Maddie’s health and safety, even when she was rebuking him at every step.

This is a single POV, so we only see what Maddie thinks of things but I thought the author did a good job letting us know what Dom was thinking, even Maddie couldn’t understand it. The single POV also made it Maddie’s journey rather than Maddie & Dominic’s, so it felt more like women’s fiction than a romance to me.

Overall though I thought it was a well written exploration of grief, one I definitely recommend to those who like emotional stories that border on women’s fiction!

This was a cute fake dating small town romance between Robin, an outgoing aviation mechanic, and Arthur, a slightly grumpy mailman.

Robin catches her boyfriend, Arthur’s cousin, cheating on her and decides to fake date Arthur to get back at him. Arthur, who believes in true love and soulmates, is appalled that his cousin would cheat on a woman as wonderful as Robin, so he agrees despite this causing major issues with his family. She decides to give him kissing lessons (and more!) after their one attempt at a kiss to decide if they’re actually compatible goes terribly.

I loved Arthur, he’s described as grumpy but I think he’s really just an introvert who appreciates a schedule and just wants to be comfortable at home while reading a book and having a strict bedtime (I can relate). He’s a big hairy guy which I lovvvveee and I loved how steadfastly he believed in true love even if he hadn’t really felt that spark with any one (until *spoiler alert* Robin). His family was also great, aside from one of them, and I loved that they were a bunch of male wedding planners.

Robin was a fun character, I loved her take no shit attitude while also caring deeply for Arthur and his happiness. I love that she has a blue collar career while also going to school to finish her degree so she can own her own company.

I loved them together but man the lack of communication made me want to pull my hair out by the end. Neither of them were honest about their feelings and it got repetitive and old as the book progressed.

Overall though it was cute and I especially loved the kissing (and more!!) lessons.

‘Package Makes Perfect’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #6 in the Green Valley Heroes series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.