Amazon.com: Customer reviews: PS, I Love You: The heartwarming romantic bestseller, perfect for summer 2019

A true delight of a story, better than the movie

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2021

Like most Western women born in the 90s, I cried my eyes out over the movie version of this book. Gerard Butler was sweet and dreamy, and I'd always wanted to visit Ireland. I've since both visited Eire AND found my own American Gerry, and we fight plenty just like Holly and him, but we keep the love going every day.

This story is told almost entirely from Holly's perspective, with a few flashbacks to round out the letter setup and her earlier marriage. I truly enjoyed the larger cast of characters (compared to the movie) and the evolving family dynamics.

Grief is a complicated process and at once entirely commonplace and unique to each situation. I really connected with Holly's ups and downs, struggles, and little achievements. I appreciated how she turned to different friends and family at different times.

Not to spoil a nearly 20-year-old book, but there isn't one forced ending that the author is pushing you toward. I read this book in one 5-hour car ride and felt truly absorbed in this slice of Irish life.

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P. Robles

It was a good read

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2014

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One rainy afternoon I watched the movie from this book and noticed it was taken from a book. I bought the book for my kindle and started reading it that night. First of all, the book takes place in Ireland, not New York City. I actually found that locale very charming. I loved the colloquialisms from there. The way the book was written you can almost hear them talking with their Irish brogue. Charming. The book is different in many other ways, yet still the same. I'm sorry I read it so soon after seeing the movie. I spent a lot of time comparing the two. The book is a good read. It is well written and the characters are well developed. As you go through this year of Holly's life, you ache for her as she deals with the death of her husband. I have a friend that lost her husband at a relatively young age just last summer from a brain tumor, this story hit a little close to home. I found I was thinking of my friend as Holly went through her experiences. Not an easy thing to do for me. I would not recommend this book to anyone who recently lost a friend or loved one.

12 people found this helpful

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Holly H

Different than the film - but still good

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024

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I was interested in the book behind the movie when it was being filmed (big Gerry Butler fan). As usual, the book has more details than the film does. I enjoyed the book just as much as the film. Definitely recommend reading it & watching the film.

2 people found this helpful

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Ellen Cantarow

good read

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2023

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I kept reading this book to find out when the heroine would finally meet a new lover after the death of her husband. I had come straight from reading all of Elizabeth George’s novels, George is a meticulous writer who almost never stoops to cliches. Aherne’s characters, on the other hand, always “laugh hysterically,” have “brown puppy eyes,” “wrap their arms around each other,” and (ugh!) “flashed his pearly whites at her.” Jesus Christ! . I can’t understand why no one else has scored this bathetic, lazy writing.

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Cheryl Stout

"We haven’t lost everything, if we haven’t lost our hope."

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2019

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I first read this book in 2004 when it was first published. I loved it then and, have since, read many of author Ahern's books. The sequel to this book is going to be coming out in February 2020 and so I read this again to refresh my memory. I enjoyed it just as much this time around. I also enjoyed the movie based on this book.

Gerry and Holly Kennedy have the perfect marriage. They love each other deeply, living near to Dublin, Ireland. Then, at the age of 30, Gerry dies of a brain tumor and Holly spirals into the depths of depression.

A while after Gerry's death, Holly finds out he left her ten envelopes to be opened over the next ten months as she is grieving his death.

Holly is a devastated, vulnerable character trying to do the best in the circumstances. Her family and friends are a motley, fun crew. The author really breathed life into them.

I found myself many times while reading 'what would I do in the same circumstances.'

Wonderful story about love, loss, recovery and perseverance.

8 people found this helpful

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Avid Reader Vicki

Great book club read!

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2015

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I greatly enjoyed the book; seeing how a young woman dealt with the loss of her beloved spouse. Not only was she enduring the loss, she also had to come to terms with life moving forward for the res t of the world, while she felt stuck in this 'limbo' of not quite knowing where and how to fit in this new life she was forced into by circumstances beyond her control.

The things left for her by her departed husband (don't want to spoil the book for anyone), fulfill their intended purposes better that he could have ever hoped for.

She comes out of her first year as a widow a changed woman; not just changed by virtue that she was a single woman in a sea cf couples, or so it seemed to her, but changed in fundamental ways that will help her shape and mold her future into something very different from the plan she and her spouse had planned; not better or worse, just different.

This was an excellent read. It is ripe with endless possibilities for rousing discussions. I highly recommend this book!

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Snag61

P. S. I Love You - Have a box of tissues handy

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2008

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PS, I Love You I enjoyed this book. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster, and brought me to tears numerous times, so make sure you have your box of tissues handy. It was romantic, poignant and sad. But it also had its fun, lighter parts as well. Basically, the main character, Holly Kennedy, who is not yet 30, has to come to terms with the loss of her young husband and does so with the help from letters written by her husband before he dies. He helps her cope and move on. I found myself absorbed in the anticipation of each letter.

I read it before seeing the movie and I'm glad I did. The book is very different from the movie. So, if you read the book after seeing the movie you will discover that many of the details in the book are changed or left out in the movie. I found myself partly upset that they changed or left out so much and partly smug because I knew what 'really happened' in the book. Nevertheless, I did like the movie. (How could it go wrong with Gerard Butler!!)

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Angel

Emotionally charged

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2020

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This book ... I don't know what to say about this book. It was wonderfully written, full of the trials and tribulations, emotions and thoughts, that come with grieving the loss of a loved one. It made me think, it made me cry and it made me laugh. I was moved and endeared to just about every character in this book. I was extremely hesitant to read this book, as I had been exposed to the movie first...which was a wonderful movie, but as a rule I stay away from things that keep me crying throughout the entire process. I was pleasantly surprised, that while the book conveyed so much more on the emotional spectrum, that I wasn't constantly in a state of crying. I felt and experienced all the phases of grief, the suffocating sadness, as well as the laughter of warm memories that carry one through. It was a wonderful experience.

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MrsLeif

I might like the movie more..

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2020

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What a terrible thing to lose your soulmate!

Holly has found love with her best friend. A person she can share everything with. A person she can laugh with. A person that understands her and makes her happy. Gerry was this for Holly.

A decade after their marriage, Gerry develops a headache. He goes to the doctor and the news is devastating. He has brain cancer and his prognostic is terminal.

At the beginning of P.S. I Love You, Gerry is already dead. It has been two months since he passed away. Holly is immersed in a grief so profound that nothing can make her leave her house. Her family tries, her friends Sharon and Denise try. All is in vain.

Then her mother tells her she has found a letter addressed to Holly with the name List on it. Holly can't believe it. During her marriage and before they knew Gerry was sick, they had a running joke about a list. The list entails things Holly should abstain from doing, like wearing a white dress to a gala or things she should do in case Gerry dies and he is not around to help her.

Now, months after his death, the List has become real. He has left a letter for Holly and a note for each month left of the year. Every time, Holly opens a note, she can feel Gerry around her which brings her some happiness.

Holly will embark on a ride of self-discovery and much-needed healing. Simple and some difficult things are all part of Gerry's big plan to make Holly live again.

Losing a loved one is NEVER easy. Grief manifests in different ways. It can eat us alive. It can improve over time or become unresolved. It can destroy us. Destroy our happiness. Destroy the will to continue living. Thankfully, Holly had Gerry (from the grave) to help her out. She also had great friends and family who had her back.

I enjoyed P. S. I Love You but I'm going to say something that I never say. I like the movie more. I liked the movie so much that when I went to Ireland, I went to all the special places Holly went with Gerry.

One guess as to what I did after finishing the book?

Yep, watch the movie (again) with hubby this time.

Cliffhanger: No

3.5/5 Fangs

8 people found this helpful

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Mrs. K

Not the WORST book I've ever read...

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2011

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...but it's pretty darn close. I continued since it was recommended by a friend. This book contained far-below-average writing about a very sensitive topic. First chapter, I thought I was on to something when I saw a passable standard portrayal of "grief" (not eating/sleeping, not attending to personal needs, etc.) I had hoped to see her pull herself up from that state and learn to live without her husband based on "inspirational letters" he had left her. Nope, not so much. When I reached 75% completion of this book, I knew no more about the relationship between Holly and Gerry than I did at 3%, and poor Gerry was receiving mention with even less frequency by that point. Holly's friends were virtually indistinguishable from Holly- all were just as immature, spoiled, and shallow as she was.

The author, whose name was unfamiliar to me until I read another Amazon review, has clearly had no work experience, and could not have painted a more unrealistic picture of a couple's financial situation. To heck with life insurance!! To the devil with paying off a mortgage at news of a terminal illness!! Nope, the very last of this couple's money in the WORLD was spent on a vacation to Spain, sassy new outfits, haircolor jobs by an extreme cliche of a homosexual hairdresser, and pints at the pub! No matter if Holly can't afford to pay the library for internet service...Holly will simply cry, Mommy will just pick up her poor little baby at the library, shush her and give her 5000 euro. That will make things allllll better until Holly gets her ideal job after the first interview she undertakes. REALLY? No, REALLY?!?! Now, perhaps things in Ireland are QUITE different than in the USA, and if so, well...(thinking...) I've got nothin'.

Holly and the entire crew surrounding her -friends and family alike- cuss like sailors and wave their middle fingers around all the time. Here, our author is sending a clear message, that being these characters are adults, and even though they behave like children they must be adults because they use those naughty words and the author said they were adults and they are old enough to go into a pub...therefore, they must be adults. Wow.

The only reason for two stars is because a few weeks ago I actually read a worse book than this. It was tough to decide whether to give that second star, but I did because at least this author did not invent alter-identities for herself to falsely boost her Amazon ratings. At least I don't think she did...

3 people found this helpful

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