Can't Wait Wednesday!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am combining CWW with Books From the Backlog hosted by Carole at Carole's Random Life in Books. This will allow me to feature some newly "rediscovered" books, which I plan on reading, alongside a new release.

This week I can't wait for

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PS I Hate You by Lauren Connolly
Published by Berkley on December 3, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
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.

The title actually caught my eye here, but when I read that this was a sister trying to complete a mission for her deceased brother, I was all in. Her task is to visit eight destinations in his stead. The catch, she has to accomplish the task with her brother's best friend who had previously broken Maddie's heart. Awkward. With some grief, healing, and lots of great romance tropes, I think this could be a good one for me.

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Wish You Were Here by Renee Carlino
Published by Atria Books on August 15, 2017
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Goodreads

Charlotte has spent her twenties adrift, floating from interest to interest, job to job, and guy to guy, searching for a spark but never quite finding it. All she knows is that she won’t discover it working as a waitress at a pies-and-fries joint in Los Angeles or living with her fun but aimless best friend in a tiny apartment in the Arts District.

Then Charlotte collides with Adam, a gorgeous and soulful painter who seems just as lost as she feels. Their instant connection turns into a midnight drink… and a whirlwind night of champagne, Chinese food, and the kind of conversation that only happens in romantic comedies. But the next morning, Adam gives Charlotte the cold shoulder, leaving her confused and hurt—and wondering if the few odd moments between them the night before were red flags in disguise.

Months later, Charlotte hasn’t been able to shake Adam, so she decides to find out what happened the morning after their magical night together. This fateful decision rewrites their wild love story, but what Charlotte doesn’t know yet is that the ending has already been written.

I have read several books by Carlino, both adult and young adult, and have great success with them. Her books tend to be quite emotional, and I think I am in the mood for something that will elicit tears. I remember adding this to my TBR when it first came out. Not sure why I put it off, but I like that it has an air of mystery. Carlino does well with this structure, and I enjoy watching it all unfold. 

What are you waiting on?
Let us know in the comments!