Tag: romcom

Book Review | Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Posted June 26, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Love isn’t blind, it’s just a little blurry.

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 with every face she sees.

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 into—love? Lust? A temporary obsession to distract from the real problems in her life?—with not one man but two very different ones. The timing couldn’t be worse.

If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to find her way. But perceiving anything clearly right now seems impossible. Even though there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.


For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Library Love Challenge


The Reason

I had this on my TBR before I read The Bodyguard but ended up reading The Bodyguard first and loved it. I think I’m probably going to read as many of the author’s works as I can!

The Quotes

“The more good things you look for, the more you find.”

“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.”

“But I guess that’s the great thing about life—it gives you chance after chance to rethink it all. Who you want to be. How you want to live. What really matters.”

“Light matters just as much as darkness. Play matters as much as work, and kindness matters as much as cruelty, and hope matters as much as despair. More so, even. Because tragedy is a given, but joy is a choice.”

My Thoughts

Amnesia is an overdone cliché, but face blindness is something completely new and in this story, allows us to imagine some of the same scenarios that amnesia could put the protagonist in. It’s a tiny bit cheesy and dramatic, but I loved how the story played out and I love the chemistry between the main characters! I’m also not a huge fan of miscommunication tropes in general, but it worked for this story, and I think to an extent, it’s genius how the author uses these tools and mold them to tell a wonderful and hilarious love story!

My Feels

I loved this one and I think it might be my favorite romance so far this year, which is saying a lot because I’ve read a couple of great ones so far! I can’t wait to read more from Katherine Center!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Time Travel Thursday | April 18

Posted April 18, 2024 by Haze in Time Travel Thursday, Weekly Book Memes / 2 Comments

It’s Time Travel Thursday! Hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog, this is where you get to take a look back at what you were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and get to relive those bookish memories!

This time last year I was reading:

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio.

When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.

As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.

My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this one. It was just the right amount of funny, serious, and sexy. I love the funny scenes – not just the banter between Dominic and Shay, but Steve being cute and adorable, and I also love the awkward and self-deprecating stuff. The serious stuff were handled really well too – the grief and loss talk, not just on the radio but when the characters talk to each other. I love how Shay and her mom communicates about their feelings, and yes, the vulnerable conversations between Dominic and Shay gave me feelings. The sexy scenes were hot and steamy too, and I love that because it seems like sometimes you either get a fluffy love story with lots of sexy scenes, or a more serious romance without anything steamy. I really love the balance here. Definitely checking out the author’s other books!

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? What were you reading this time last year?

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