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catsandmetaphors's review against another edition
DNF @ 48%
Katherine Center, I adore your books and I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t finish this one.
You know the feeling when you know you should be excited to pick up your book yet you’re only filled with trepidation and unease? This was one of those books for me. The face blindness thing sounded intriguing, but reading about it quite literally hurt my brain. I may have read way too many romance novels this year, because I guessed one of the plot lines almost instantly, so I didn’t even have anything to read towards, if that makes sense.
Katherine Center, I adore your books and I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t finish this one.
You know the feeling when you know you should be excited to pick up your book yet you’re only filled with trepidation and unease? This was one of those books for me. The face blindness thing sounded intriguing, but reading about it quite literally hurt my brain. I may have read way too many romance novels this year, because I guessed one of the plot lines almost instantly, so I didn’t even have anything to read towards, if that makes sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Death of parent
maggies's review against another edition
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:
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
annag77's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content and Cursing
rosebee00's review against another edition
More women’s fiction than romance. And was not in the best headspace to deal with the MC death of a parent.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
sfdogmom's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Dnf at 26%. Too depressing
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
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
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Medical content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
madanxiety's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.75
Miscommunication tropes are not for me. And God, it was so obvious so early on, and it was just 10 hours leading up to finally addressing it. I also hated the cartoonish evilness of the step-sister. I would've liked to have seen her perspective a bit more. The motivations discussed at the end just felt kind of tacked on. The fact that she literally ran away just felt so ridiculous, albeit in-character.
I liked the interesting perspective with the face blindness. And I guess I liked the romantic dynamic. I finished it quick enough! But I think I was more motivated by just finally getting to the revelation than like any love for the characters.
I liked the interesting perspective with the face blindness. And I guess I liked the romantic dynamic. I finished it quick enough! But I think I was more motivated by just finally getting to the revelation than like any love for the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Medical content, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide attempt
kaydeedickins's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.75
The Author’s Note is so so beautiful, an ode to love stories. 😍
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Chronic illness, Bullying, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide attempt
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content
ellaticonstellation's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship