Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Hello, Stranger

Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Hello, Stranger by Katherine Center

25 reviews

idk_indigo's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

It is fortunate that Sadie has no decent friends in her life (Sue doesn't count, we'll get to that later) because they would all feel a very apt obligation to remind her that she is literally the dumbest FMC to ever exist. I am absolutely baffled by each & every one of her terrible, TERRIBLE decisions. I genuinely cannot stress this enough, but...girl wtf? Blah blah blah, characters are human too, blah blah blah, flawed characters, blah blah blah. I love me some flawed characters (trust me, I do) but Sadie was like genuinely a threat to herself & to society. Like yeah, sure, she could be semi-relatable (don't we all struggle with vulnerability?), but homegirl was just not adept to deal with reality at all. I couldn't tell if I wanted to hand her a mug of hot cocoa & tuck her into bed or if I just wanted to stare at her in shock & bemusement as I wonder how she hasn't yet been flagged as a social experiment.

I think all of the characters were pretty uni-dimensional as well. Parker, for one, was literally just boring. I wanted to be like, "Girl shut up, you're in your 30's; being this obsessed with your stepsister, whom you lived with for a decade & have known for most of your entire life, is scarily obsessive." She admits to everyone on multiple occasions that she has no life besides tormenting Sadie; she shows up constantly, everywhere; she doesn't seem to have a job, & we know nothing else except that she has a pet & is an asshole. I think Parker would benefit from a hobby or a part-time job or a friend or a personality, or something, anything, just please get her out of the scene.

The father is simultaneously the most & least important side character in the entire book.

I know there is a stepmother & I know her name is Lucinda, next question please.

Don't even get me started on Sue & her sudden disappearance from, like, the most important part of Sadie's career (& frankly, life)? Obligation, schmobligation, but giiiiiiiiiiiiiirl!!! I would not have been friends with Sue after that, & we would've been straight up enemies after the surprise party full of people whose faces I couldn't see?!? I would just hope Susie has something recognizable so I can identify her as I'm throwing hands on the rooftop, I don't care who sees. Then to have the whole situation chalked up to Sue being extroverted? Tying up my hair, handing over my bag, one of us is going to regret their decisions tonight & it's not going to be me...

Even the love interest is boring; his whole personality is being helpful, which is great for Sadie because her whole personality is pretending that she never needs help...but also, sir...I do really like him tho, he seems like a hottie & I've always had a thing for vet MC's...

But the worst part of this book, by a long shot, is the miscommunication trope. I am never typically a fan of a miscommunication. It's definitely far from my favorite, but it's usually not a vibe killer for me. Stuff happens & miscommunication, while an amateur & enraging move, is normal. That's reality. But OH MY GOD! I don't think I have ever wanted to unread a scene in any book as much as I did this one.
It was obvious from the start what would be happening, but eh, whatever, romance novels are always predictable & that's what we love about them. But the whole thing just seemed so outrageously, painfully stupid that I thought, "Well, that can't possible be what actually happens, that would be too stupid, right? Right...?" The answer is no, it apparently wasn't too stupid.
The realization scene was excruciating.

I have read 2 Katherine Center books before this, & I loved both of them so so so much! They were so well-written, so fun, so wholesome! I will be honest, I do think Katherine Center can be credited as the segue into my love of romance, I really do. I am so excited to read The Bodyguard as well, it has been on my tbr for ages (I got the BOTM copy when it first came out, but please don't tell anyone I'm that far behind).

I did enjoy this book, it was fun to read & it genuinely gave me such a good laugh. I definitely think I read this at the exact right time in my life. It was fun, uplifting, it had the perfect amount of trauma without being depressing, & the perfect type of trauma that wasn't triggering.
#iloveditbutitmademeangry #fucksusiethoughlikewhatafuckedupthingtodo #whittisaredflag

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.75

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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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emilycheslock's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-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

3.5

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elaineh7's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

This book felt like joy, I found myself laughing out loud. While there was some miscommunication, overall the romance was sweet. The plot was unique, and it really let Sadie grow throughout the book as she struggled with her face blindness.

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cdace8's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.75

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dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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challenging funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

I really liked The Bodyguard and was really excited to read another Katherine Center book. That is why I am so genuinely confused by this book.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this review is too spoilery, but I do toe the line because I couldn’t fully express my feelings without that.

I can sum up this book in one sentence: There once was this really dumb girl named Sadie. When Destiny Sidwell called her “delulu,” she was so right! Forget her facial blindness, the girl was objectively dumb, even at the beginning. She seemed to go through the story making the worst decisions possible. Why choose a career you actually like when you can be a starving artist who doesn’t really like art that much? Why tell someone about your newly acquired disability when you could simply not, even though it would make your life so much easier? The only person who gave her stupidity a run for her money was her best friend, who upon hearing that she couldn’t recognize anyone’s face to the point of being fooled by her “evil stepsister” (more on that later), decided that she should throw an impromptu surprise party without even checking to see if Sadie was home.

Another thing about Sadie herself: she’s so incredibly annoying. Like yeah, she’s objectively had a rough life, but that doesn’t give her an excuse to judge people based on nothing but appearance (which she does multiple times) and to ignore people she deems lower than herself. Also, WHAT’S WITH HER DOG FOOD?!? Who in their right mind thinks that it’s okay to feed their dog food that’s even considered unhealthy for humans just because her dog is “a foodie”?!?! Also, WHY IS HER VET SO CHILL ABOUT IT?!? Yeah, he says it’s a bad idea, but he doesn’t actually say that she needs to stop,

Now onto the “evil” stepsister and stepmother. While I completely agree with Parker is evil, she is unrealistically evil. Seriously no one noticed that she was awful?!? Like, no teacher pointed out that the thing that Parker pinned on Sadie sounded more like something Parker would do?!? Also, WHAT 15 YEAR OLD DOES ALL OF THAT STUFF JUST TO GET SADIE KICKED OUT?!? And why did even Sadie’s dad side with Parker?!? Even when that was “resolved,” I still felt very unresolved about the whole thing.

Now onto the actual point of the book: the romance. I thought that the main romance itself was the best (and only good part) of the novel. The tension was good and the few kissing scenes we got were really cute and sweet. But honestly? Every guy in this book deserves better than Sadie.

Finally: the plot twist. I saw it coming from a mile away. I figured it out at the 40% point and I actually now, upon reflection, think that I probably should have figured it out sooner. It annoyed me that it even happened in the first place! If this book would have taken place over a couple of days, okay, maybe I could see it, but six weeks?!? I’m hard of hearing and I bet even I’d know what was going on if I had facial blindness too…

Overall, I’m extremely disappointed, but I also haven’t had the opportunity to rant about a book to this extent in a long time, so that’s fun, I guess? Honestly, my favorite part of the book ended up being the author’s note at the end. If only that had been like the entire novel. I will read more Katherine Center books in the future because this book was well-written, I appreciated the acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia representation, and I truly enjoyed The Bodyguard, but this book was not it.

One last thing: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU HATE MISCOMMUNICATION, GETTING SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT, OR PEOPLE BEING DENSE FOR NO GOOD REASON.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Katherine Center for providing me access to this book. I’m sorry…

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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 against another edition

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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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