Four Weekends and a Funeral

Debut author Palmer delivers an emotionally resonant grumpy/sunshine romance. Alison Mullally’s boyfriend Sam Lewis broke up with her, then died in a car accident six weeks later. When she attends the funeral, Sam’s family assumes that they were still together when he was killed and his sister Rachel, the only one who knows the truth, begs her to go along with it. As a result, Alison is tasked with packing up Sam’s condo with his gruff friend Adam Berg—who definitely doesn’t want her help, for reasons Alison doesn’t understand. Over the course of four weekends, though, Alison and Adam form a tentative friendship, which rapidly morphs into sizzling chemistry both try—and fail—to resist. When Sam’s mother offers a family heirloom to Alison, she’s forced to come clean—while having a panic attack at his parents’ home. Alison makes for a deeply sympathetic heroine in a sticky situation. Adam, too, will tug at readers’ heartstrings as he juggles his attraction to Alison with his grief. Palmer also handles tough issues with grace, including Alison’s preventative double mastectomy after learning that she carries the BRCA-1 gene, and her all too understandable panic attacks. This packs a punch. (Aug.)