Ahhhhh. I seriously loved this novel. I need to meet Katherine Center because she definitely seems like the kind of person I could be friends with. Everything she wrote in Hello Stranger was absolutely, wholeheartedly entertaining and adorable. It reminded me a lot (but even better if you can believe it) of Lucy Score’s Things We Never Got Over. She definitely made sure to capitalize on “when it rains, it pours” as a metaphor in the best way. 

Sadie as our main heroine was funny and spastic and completely someone you’d want to root for. The backstory with her mother gave her purpose in her journey to become the best portrait artist ever. It also gave her a lot of empathy and compassion that I really appreciated. Her main man companion, Joe? Even better. Talk about the goofy, fun-loving nerd that everyone woman wants. 

I, of course, have to talk about the plot as well and, oh my goodness, was this plot gold. Pure 14k gold. I loved everything about it. Every instance was used for something. You had no filler scenes. Literally everything meant something, and as an English major, this totally captured my heart in the nerdiest way. Was the ending a little predictable? Of course it was. It is a romantic comedy after all, and if the ending wasn’t predictable, it would be in a different genre. I want to point out, though, that so many parts of the ending got me by surprise. A very happy surprise, though, and I applaud Katherine Center for giving me plot points that I couldn’t guess. Extremely refreshing to say the least 🙂

Overall, if you’re looking for a fun, romantic novel to take you away from reality, this is the novel for you! Absolutely gorgeous, hilarious, and beautifully written, you won’t be disappointed. 

Source: Personal Copy