Publication Date: 11th July 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance
3.5 Stars
One Liner: Cute (but not wow)
Sadie Montgomery finally gets a chance to prove her worth and earn loads of money. She is a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition after years of being an unsuccessful artist. One minute she is celebrating it, and the next, she’s on the hospital bed. After mandatory brain surgery, Sadie ends up with Face Blindness, a possible temporary condition that blurs faces into a messy blob.
As a portrait artist, Sadie is devastated by the development. What if the condition is not temporary? And what about the competition she needs to win? With her family issues, monetary troubles, and her dog Peanut’s health condition, Sadie has more than her hands full. However, she finds a ray of hope or two.
While daydreaming about her future with Dr. Addison and getting to know her neighbor Joe, Sadie goes from finding potential love in two men. But things will have to wait until she can see their faces. After all, surprises come in the most unexpected forms.
The story comes from Sadie’s first-person POV.
My Thoughts:
With a premise like that and a cover just as attractive, I expected a cute and heartwarming romcom with two endearing characters (and a dog). I got some of it, but…
There are enough laughs and awkward scenes to keep the story light and cater to the ‘com’ of rom-com. There’s some ‘rom’ too, though it gets lost in ramblings and redeems only the last 15%. Peanut is a saving grace in many scenes.
I understand the struggling artist trope, and combined with Sadie’s past, it should make me sympathetic toward her. However, a majority of the time, Sadie sounds whiny and immature. Her determination to not rely on others is admirable, but she never seems to care enough about anyone except herself (and, thankfully, Peanut), even when she is being helped by others. I didn’t find her sweet, TBH.
No denying how hard it’s for Sadie to come to terms with her newly acquired Face Blindness. I mean, who’d want their lives to be filled with a blur of faceless people? It’s even worse with her profession and career at stake. I tried my best to empathize with her and did to an extent. I even understand why she doesn’t want to share it with others (never mind that the plot wouldn’t exist if she did). Still, the FMC makes it hard to take her side.
The book pretty much hinges on suspended belief. I don’t mind that in this genre. (As the author says in her note, it’s the anticipation that counts, and I agree). Yet, things are contradictory in many instances, though they make sense given Sadie’s characterization (this, sadly, is not positive).
Joe is a decent guy- good enough and sweet, but he doesn’t reach the book-boyfriend level. The poor guy has little to no space for character development since the book is from Sadie’s POV.
Sue reminds me of an easily distracted, energetic pup. She could have been more, but again her role is limited for the plot to work. Lucinda, Parker, and Sadie’s dad are restricted and uni-dimensional. Devices used to mess up the FMC’s life and possibly strengthen her.
The pacing wasn’t great, either. The narration starts slow and feels slow almost throughout, even as the days go by. Again, I blame it on the ramblings (which I began to skim after a point).
The last 20% is the best part of the book. However, it comes a little too late, and one thing happens after another to tie up the loose ends. There isn’t enough time to let Sadie’s reasons for her current attitude sink in and justify her actions. I don’t mind the detailed explanation as it is done well.
I’m a fan of epilogues. The one in the book starts great but drifts into a philosophical tone that takes us away from the story. It will work for some, but I’m not looking for the MC to give me any lessons at that point. I just want them to be happy and show me their happiness.
As many other reviewers said, the author’s note is detailed and beautiful to read. Since I’ve never been the type to rank literary fiction higher (doesn’t help that my experience with the genre makes me shudder), I understood her points. Also, romance is one of my favorite genres (I read for enjoyment).
To summarize, Hello Stranger is a cute book with some noteworthy themes and a few laughs. Pick it up if you want something breezy and light (though I cannot help but say- it could have been better).
Looks like this is not the author’s best work (not surprising since I tend to pick up such reads whenever I try a new author). I’ve got more of hers on my list, so hopeful I’ll find better books and enjoy them more.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the eARC.
#NetGalley
No comments:
Post a Comment