Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Hello Stranger

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

13 reviews

rachellbc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kdailyreads's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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manaledi's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was a fascinating premise that was an easy read where everything gets tied up neatly.

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maggies's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This just squeaked into 5 star territory by the end...

The bad:

It took me a loooong time to warm up to Sadie and 90% of her problems were self-inflicted
What in the world was Parker's purpose? Just villainous for villainy's sake, weird
Sue is kind of the worst best friend

The good:

The men! Such good love interests
The premise! So clever, unusual and interesting. I learned so much about prosopagnosia and the various experiences of it
The growth! Sadie made me so proud by the end

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ellaticonstellation's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I enjoyed this story❤️ The characters are lovable except for Parker (she's so mean and a bully.) Sadie's journey having temporary face blindness was both funny and heartbreaking. She was ridiculous to the point of being delulu😂 The twist that Joe and Oliver were the same person was satisfying for me because they were meant for each other. I hate the misunderstanding trope, and this had a lot, but I had fun reading this novel. The Kim family were so nice to Sadie and I love it. Thank you, Katherine, ✨ P. S. I also read The Bodyguard and enjoyed that as well.🔥

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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3.25

Finished reading: September 5th 2023

"We’re all just doing the best we can. We’re all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down, is a little bit lost."

I'm not sure what went wrong here to be honest. I tend to enjoy her work, and I fully expected to love Hello Stranger after reading the blurb. I've read books with a face blindness element before, and it's a topic that has always intrigued me. I fully expected this book to become a new favorite, but somehow I ended up having mixed thoughts instead... This probably mainly has to do with the main character Sadie; there was something about her that simply didn't work for me. She was just too immature and negative, and I was never able to warm up to her completely... In fact, I liked most of the other characters a lot more! There were also too many cliches incorporated if you ask me. The whole evil stepmother and evil stepsister was just taking things a step too far; especially Parker didn't add anything substantial to the story other than annoying the hell out of me. I also saw the big 'twist' coming from a mile away, which was a bit of a disappointment as I kept hoping I was wrong. That said, I can't deny that it was still a very readable story though... And I did fly though it despite those issues.

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vj_thompson's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved everything about this book; from the first page to the author’s note. PLEASE read the author’s note. It made me fall more in love with Katherine Center’s books 💕

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Title: Hello Stranger
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Romance
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: July 11, 2023

I received a complimentary ALC of this book from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Entertaining • Outlandish • Predictable

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life—placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition—the next she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls in love—not with one man but two. The timing couldn’t be worse.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Hello Stranger was among my most anticipated releases for 2023, yet it was also the one I was the most unsure about. Katherine Center quickly became a favourite after reading Things You Save in a Fire. But I also wasn't a fan of her 2022 release The Bodyguard, which contributed to my apprehension. Regardless, I dove it shortly after publication, and it turned out my gut feeling was right.

To me, this novel reads more like a rom-com intended for film. The evil step-sister side plot felt outlandish. She was just absolutely awful! As a non-violent person, the fact I wanted to punch her in the face throughout the entire thing, speaks to just how terrible of a person she was. There was also a scene of one character appearing to describe a sexual encounter with a plus-size woman in a derogatory manner that was absolutely unnecessary and harmful. It stopped me in my tracks and I just couldn't believe it made it through editing. It's as though the author was going for shock and the silliest things she could come up with. Throughout reading there was a lot of eye-rolling and the execution just felt silly.

It was a quick read, and the premise had so much potential (focusing on what has become Center's go-to protagonist - a young single woman navigating a tragic pivot). Both of the main characters felt genuine and likeable, but as I've mentioned it was everything else that really ruined it for me. The audio narrated by Patti Murin was fine with good pacing and dictation, but again the story just took away from my enjoyment.

I am sad to say Hello Stranger was a dud for me. It along with The Bodyguard require the reader to suspend belief with such outlandish ideas. I am disappointed that Center has moved away from her signature depth, which is what originally made me love her work. It's clear she's going for more of a fun factor and that just jive with me. With that said, I will likely still give her another shot.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the love triangle trope

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"The more good things you look for, the more you find."

"And the idea that anything could just disappear at any moment is something you suddenly understand in a whole new way."

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emac021's review

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challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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alisonreadsitall's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is my second Katherine Center book and I am beyond hooked!! 🥰 I cannot wait to read the backlog of all her other works.

Sadie's journey with face blindness was so interesting. Her stubbornness kept her from telling people about it, which made her life more difficult than it needed to be. I loved her journey in learning how to trust and lean on others, after a childhood without that luxury.

I don't want to give too much away, but I loved the twists and the background story in this novel. I was so mad about the original elevator scene, but guessed where it was going in the next chapter so I understood the need for it. 😅 I'm a sucker for a redemption ARC. (IYKYK 😉)

Tropes:
Love Triangle
Forced Proximity

CW: death of a parent, emotional abuse, gaslighting

A big thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my review. My opinions are my own.

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