P.S. I Hate You
Winter Renshaw
[P.S. 1]
Dear Isaiah,
Eight months ago, you were just a soldier about to be deployed and I was just a waitress, sneaking you a free pancake and hoping you wouldn’t notice that my gaze was lingering a little too long.
But you did notice.
We spent one life-changing week together before you left, and we said goodbye on day eight, exchanging addresses at the last minute.
I saved every letter you wrote me, your words quickly becoming my religion.
But you went radio silent on me months ago, and then you had the audacity to walk into my diner yesterday and act like you’d never seen me in your life.
To think … I almost loved you and your beautifully complicated soul.
Almost.
Whatever your reason is—I hope it’s a good one.
Maritza the Waitress
PS – I hate you, and this time … I mean it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Despite the slightly-misleading blurb and a few loose ends, this was a fun story.
Maritza initially came across as a bit of a flake. She started out strong at her job, but at her second meeting of Isaiah, she crossed into oblivious airhead territory. By the time they started their week of Saturdays, though, she’d stepped back into being a free spirit with more than fluff between her ears. The inconsistency in character left me uncertain if I liked her, though in the end she’d improved enough to be tolerable.
Isaiah was rather a taciturn soldier stereotype, a tough guy who was pants at communicating. He could be thoughtless and selfish, but it was counter-balanced by his regard for his mother and his exposed layers as the Saturdays progressed. By the end of the story, I found I vastly preferred him to Maritza; he seemed to have evolved more, without the back and forth of her character.
Maritza and Isaiah seemed to counterbalance each other well. It was interesting to see their quasi-friendship develop through their Saturdays, interspersed with just enough tension between them to keep the later romance believable. It did seem to grow more on Isaiah’s side, though; Maritza started out strong and never really wavered, despite her “rules”.
The secondary cast really blended into the background for the majority of the story, until the end when a previously-unrevealed character stepped out for drama. Some were interesting during their appearances, while I found others irritating–and not necessarily ones who were supposed to be.
The story was a little different from what I’d expected, given the emphasis in the blurb of Isaiah’s lack of recognition when he returned to Maritza’s place of employment. That didn’t really develop until quite late in the book, so I spent a lot of time anticipating it. By the time it paid off, I was shrugging over it and hoping to get back to everything else. Still, I really enjoyed the Saturdays and even the letter-writing part, fraught as it was with slightly-overblown angst.
There were a few loose ends. Maritza’s stalker in particular struck me as underwhelming. I can see how it was necessary for the plot, but a resolution beyond “Oh, it must’ve been him,” would’ve been more satisfying. The military service part also seemed a little fast and loose, but I’m not an expert on that so it was easier to overlook.
Ultimately, I had fun reading this book, which is what really matters. Things that could’ve blown up into huge plot points didn’t (which was a relief, as too often things do for the sake of unnecessary tension), and, despite the questionable bits, it was an easy, satisfying read. I won’t necessarily read the second book in the series (I wasn’t a fan of Melrose in this book), but I’ll definitely pick up other things by this author.