Reviews

Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

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winemakerssister's review against another edition

4.0

Talk about competence porn! These two are at the top of their professions.

Such an interesting pairing - the only female doctor in the UK with a top spy/police/assassin. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the story line. And liked seeing some of the characters from previous books in the series along with getting to know West Ravenel better in preparation of the next book.

Cover: Nice
Narrator: Mary Jane Wells always does a nice job
Hogwarts Sorting Hat: They both Gryffindors. She has Ravenclaw tendencies and he has Slytherin tendencies.

Themes: female doctor, Sorbonne, Irish revolution, by-blow, police

kmkasiner's review against another edition

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3.0

The fourth book in the Ravenels series follows Dr. Garrett Gibson and detective Ethan Ransom. It involves plot lines and characters from previous books in the series, and in my opinion wouldn't work well as a standalone.

Unfortunately, I seem to like each successive Ravenel book less. I would have liked to see more focus on Garrett's medical practice and challenges as a female doctor, but instead it was more about Ethan's escapades. The plotline was a bit forced, and the romance progressed too quickly for me. There was a lot riding on their brief interactions in previous books. We're supposed to believe Ethan is already in love with Garrett at the beginning of the book, and there just isn't much development of the couple falling for each other.

Spoiler

Also, I'm getting bored with romantic tension being solved by near-death of one of the parties, and the other having to play nursemaid. I've seen this in several regencies lately and it's getting old.

Spoiler

Overall, this was an ok read and I'll probably continue with the series, but definitely not my favorite by Kleypas.

maribooked's review against another edition

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4.0

Απολαυστικό... δεν το περίμενα!!

juliafrat's review against another edition

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emotional funny

4.0

there were some bits in this that weren't my favorite but overall it was a fun read.

i loved ethan as a hero. garrett stays slaying. the research was meticulous, as always. the sick bed trope ate. i love cousin west. these two are just a power couple, let's be honest.

elinorsbookshelf's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mastersal's review against another edition

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4.0

This was an interesting experience for me - both in terms of where this book falls in the The Ravenels Series and my reading experience.
I listened to this on audio, pretty much exclusively; which is unusual since I usually find it faster and more successful to read romance physically. Perhaps it’s something about second hand embarrassment when listening to romantic scenes feels a little voyeuristic - like watching PDAs.

Here the audiobook was fantastic. I loved the accents and the voices the female narrator did - especially the hero’s. The Irish baroque was so lovely that I listened to this entire thing at 1.0x speed. I may have loved her reading more than perhaps the book itself where I had some plotting issues.

For example, this book follows Ms. Kleypas template of a physically imposing, almost supernaturally perfect hero. Ransom hardly puts a foot wrong in the book - unless its motivated by LOVE - but the audiobook made me smile every time he spoke so I didn’t have time to be annoyed with him.

Now that I’ve gushed about my excessive love for the audiobook - let’s talk about the plot.

The plot itself is a little slow - and very different from the rest in the series. Ms. Kleypas generally deals with rich and/or titled heroes and (mostly) well-born heroines. There may be a contrast and romance of opposites - with a working class hero and titled heroine (or vice versa). As an author, she does tend to show more working people than other historicals which is one of the things l really liked about her works.

Here, unusually, both the hero and the heroine are working class which made it feel different - especially as book 4 in the series. I am glad I had book 5 before this one (which I like quite a bit - see: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3358460465?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1) as I don't think this fits into the series and I would have been annoyed if this broke the flow from Books 2 and 3.

Not much actually happens romance plot wise - the couple is kind of crazy about each other from the get go and the issues keeping them apart are mostly external. This actually makes for a surprisingly low stakes, gentle read - which, given when I was reading this (2020 needs to end!!) was a positive. This wont work for everyone and I was surprised that it worked for me as I am usually not a fan of external issues being the central focus of a romance.

While I loved the hero (or his accent) - I admired Garret, our heroine, more than I loved her. The fact that she was a doctor was different but she mattered little to the plot itself given it’s construction. This was Ransom’s book through and through which is a missed opportunity and your enjoyment of this will depend on how well you get along with him.

I wish that Garret’s arc mattered more in terms of her profession and character. Any woman could have fit into the plot - maybe a flower seller / seamstress / anything ... blah blah. I know she is meant to be unusual and that attracts him but really it could have been anyone with a sense of strength and purpose.

Spoiler

Yes, the second half was better which showed her saving the day with the surgery but it was a little too bifurcated for my tastes. She was quite passive and in the second half she stepped up. But since that was during Ransom’s convalescence it mattered little in the romance sense.

I had actually had quite a bit of issues with the whole surgery plot and how Garrett went against her doctor’s ethics to operate on Ransom. It irked me quite a bit as it could have been handled a lot better. If his condition was not made so dramatically dire, it would have shown her competence a lot more instead of it being this do-or-die / I can’t lose you movement. As I said, a missed opportunity.

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All in all - listen to this on audio! It made me a lot more forgiving of some of the other issues with the book.

3.5 stars for the book but I rounding it up because in the end I loved the experience of listening to this.