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 her brother’s 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 series of farewell trips that span 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.

I love a road trip. I love a good romance. So I would’ve been happy with a good road trip romance. Imagine my surprise when I read PS: I Hate You and found not only that, but also so much more.

Maddie’s older brother Josh has just died from cancer. Before the full weight of her grief has sunk in, she’s given a last message from her brother. Except, she can’t read it—not alone, that is. In his will, Josh requested that Maddie scatter his ashes across eight destinations he never got to see, and that she do it with his lifelong best friend, Dominic.

The thing is: Dominic and Maddie have history, and it’s not a happy one. After spending years in love with her brother’s best friend, they started a relationship which ended with her heartbroken and him engaged to someone else. Now she will have to travel with him, sharing the last pieces of her brother and remembering the past she wishes to forget.

This is just the book I needed going into the holiday season. Lauren Connolly has written a stunning novel about losing love and finding it again, about discovering solace in memory, and taking comfort in the people around you. I laughed, I cried, I loved every moment living in this story. If you’re looking to read something that will make you feel every emotion and heal you along the way, pick up PS: I Hate You this month!