PS I Hate You

Disclaimer: I listened to this book at the same time I was reading Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez ... so this book had some big competition. Unfair? Definitely.

I liked parts of this book - the initial feel as we meet Maddie and Dom and the premise - Maddie's older brother Josh, who recently passed away from cancer, asked Maddie and Dom, his best friend, to do his bucket list trip together which included 8 different destinations to sprinkle his ashes. 

The problem is Dom broke Maddie's heart years prior, and she continues to hate the man. Now she's stuck traveling with him, the only thing ensuring this will happen is Dom and Maddie's love for Josh.

This book went from sweet RomCom to contemporary fiction (with some uncomfortably/cringy spicy scenes sprinkled in) and heavy trauma lingering in the background. I appreciated how Connolly shows how people handle grief differently, but I felt like the more I got to know Maddie and Dom, the less I liked them. I liked Dom's twin brothers and Josh, the dead brother, more than the main couple. 'Nuff said.

Beefs: Maddie was insufferable much of the book. And while I loved how she tells off her mom (who is the queen of narcissism), Maddie often came off as rude and immature. There was also too much miscommunication and the animosity between the couple felt contrived. 

I wanted to swoon. I wanted more emotion and connection. What I got was a good premise, solid narration by Klarissa Vacker but a story and main couple who fell flat for me. PS, I didn't love this book.

My Rating: 2.5 stars

Author: Lauren Connolly

Genre: Romance

Type and Source: eAudiobook from public library

Narrator: Karissa Vacker

Run Time: 11 hours, 22 min

Publisher: Penguin Audio

First Published: December 3, 2024

Read: April 27 - 29, 2025

Book Description from GoodReads: Maddie Sanderson would be proud to honor her older brother’s dying wish, that she scatters his ashes over eight destinations that the adventurous 29-year-old never got to visit before he died from cancer. But in his will, Josh assigned her an impossible partner to help complete the mission—Dominic Perry. Seriously, if Maddie weren’t already at his funeral, she would have killed him for this.

Sure, Dom was Josh’s life-long best friend. He’s also the infuriating man who broke Maddie’s heart back when she was naïve enough to give it to him. But since Dom insists on following the rules and Josh didn’t leave much room for Maddie to argue the matter, they embark together on a farewell trip that spans thousands of miles, exploring new places and revisiting their complicated history along the way.

After a snowstorm leads to a shared bed, Maddie starts to wonder if her brother might be matchmaking from the grave. But when grief also reopens old wounds between them, Maddie will need more than Josh’s ghostly guidance to trust Dom again.