Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Pages: 336
Method: Kindle
Rating: 3.75/5

I’m going to start this review by saying that I am not someone that does deep critical thinking while I read romance. I’m not the reader that is constantly coming up with theories or trying to guess the ending of the book. While it may be satisfying to guess correctly, I much prefer the satisfaction of getting swept up in the story and absolutely shocked by a twist that many other people may have already saw coming.

I say that because I was not prepared for the twist at the end of this book but I’m sure other people knew it before it was revealed. I won’t tell you what it is, because everyone knows that spoilers are the worst (if you are someone that reads the end of the book first, we need to talk). But I will say that the reveal made me laugh, a lot. The combination of a seemingly high stakes situation for the FMC and a relationship that is low stakes, made for a refreshingly hilarious twist.

One thing that I noticed a couple of chapters in was that the story was told in a narrative style that felt like the main character was recounting the story for you. There were interjections and cliches that I would include if I was telling a story to a friend, but probably wouldn’t think of in the moment. While I didn’t mind the choice, it made me realize that I like stories that are told in a style that makes you feel like you are a fly on the wall, watching everything happen in real time.

Something that I did love was the way that the FMC described the characters she interacted with. She is a portrait artist, so she described people with a more detached and analytical style, compared to the modern, swoony way that most “love interests” are described in books. It was refreshing and showed a commitment by the author to put herself in the character’s shoes. This was also demonstrated by the main obstacle of the character which was a medical condition that someone who doesn’t have it, may have a difficult time understanding, let alone describing and writing from the perspective of.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read but it left a couple of things to be desired. I felt that all I really knew about the main character was a general sense of childhood trauma and an aversion to asking for help. The chapter endings were often very abrupt and left frustratingly unresolved, although I know there is a limit to the amount of detail an author wants and/or needs to go into. And while many of the moments were relatable, I felt that there were a few too many cliches that were an attempt to make it more relatable and it often took me out of the emotion of a scene.

What’s the most telling, is that the part I enjoyed the most about the book was the Author’s Note at the end. I don’t always read these, but I was curious as the material was a niche topic and I ended up finding this the most compelling. It made me wonder if getting that point across was the starting point for the novel and she filled in details and plot from there. I’m curious which route you would take if you were writing a book: would you land on a plot and characters first and then decide what overall point you wanted to weave throughout, or would you start with your “lesson” and then fill in from there?