P.S. I Hate You is a contemporary romance about two people with a complicated past, tasked with scattering the ashes of someone they loved at landmarks across the U.S.

Maddie Sanderson had her heart broken years ago by her brother Josh’s best friend, Dominic, when he proposed to another woman the morning after being intimate with Maddie. Devastated, she fled to the opposite coast to start a new life and successfully avoided him for seven years. However, after her beloved brother passes away from cancer, Maddie discovers at the funeral that Josh has requested she and Dominic take a series of trips together with his ashes. Despite her lingering anger toward Dominic, Maddie reluctantly agrees, hoping to feel closer to Josh’s memory. But as the trips unfold, Maddie begins to see glimpses of the Dominic she fell for all those years ago.

This book offers plenty of emotional and romantic moments designed to tug on the heartstrings. For readers who have experienced the loss of a sibling, Maddie’s desire to honor Josh’s memory might feel particularly poignant. However, I struggled with Maddie’s character, whose personality often swung wildly between pitiful, whiny, and a grating try-hard. Her sarcasm and attempts at humorous quips or insults felt more cringeworthy than amusing, and her claims of being a neglected introvert didn’t align with the fact that everyone she interacted with seemed inexplicably invested in her life—including two boys she babysat for one summer when they were thirteen.

Dominic, meanwhile, was reduced to a one-dimensional “growly” and “responsible” archetype. The intimate scenes felt misplaced and overly detailed, clashing with the more poignant themes of grief explored in the story. Maddie’s family—her mother, grandmother, and father—came across as cartoonishly toxic, which detracted from what could have been a nuanced portrayal of a dysfunctional family.

While the premise had the potential to deliver a heartfelt exploration of grief and second-chance romance, the execution fell short due to an irritating protagonist, an overemphasis on love scenes, and unrealistic characterizations.