Kate

I'm so disappointed. This was just... not good and not needed. If you were hoping for more Elio and Oliver, you'll be sorely disappointed to find out that their paths don't even cross again until about 90% of the way into this book.

The first half is focused on Elio's father, Samuel, ten years after Oliver's summer in Italy. Now divorced from Elio's mother, Samuel meets a woman half his age on a train, and they fall in love instantly. I ended up skimming through a lot of this as I just couldn't make myself care. I didn't come here for Samuel's story, I came for more Elio and Oliver.

The next section is devoted to Elio and his meeting with a man twice his age (not sure what was up with the huge age gaps in this book) and their subsequent love affair. There are moments where Elio's pain over his lost love shines through and those are what kept me reading because to be honest, I didn't care about this new relationship either.

Next comes a brief section devoted to Oliver. It's approximately twenty years later and at a party in his honor, a friend plays a piece on the piano that immediately transports him back to that Italian summer so many years ago when Elio played that same piece for him. It is clear that Oliver hasn't been the same since that summer and he wonders if he should make a trip back to Italy.

This final section is where I was hoping the story would make up for all the crap that took up the first 85% of the book but sadly it didn't. The reunion between Elio and Oliver is incredibly rushed, on one page Oliver is thinking about going to Italy, and the next they're literally weeks into their visit. The intensity that was originally there between Elio and Oliver in Call Me By Your Name is severely lacking. What should be a satisfying end to their story, isn't. I wish I hadn't even bothered with this.

I never want to stop reading Amy Harmon's words. Ever. Ugh. I can't even write a coherent review for this book. I'm not usually a fan of fantasy but I was captivated by this from the very beginning. The world Amy Harmon builds is unique and filled with magic and intriguing characters. Lark and Tiras are connected in ways you can't even imagine and I was on the edge of my seat until the very end.

This is the RS Grey that I know and love. Three Strikes and You're Mine is the perfect blend of humor, tension, and steam. It's refreshing when both of the main characters are on the same page and know what they want and go for it with very little drama involved. That may not make an interesting story for some but I really enjoyed it.

This was my first book by Katherine Center so I wasn't sure what to expect going into it. There were aspects of this book that I really enjoyed and there were some that just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Hello Stranger could sort of be considered a love triangle which is typically one of my least favorite tropes, however this is a love triangle with a twist and I actually really liked the way it was done here. The twist was refreshing and not something I've read about before in a romance novel. And the love interest(s) are super sweet so that was a plus.

My hang-ups with this book are basically everything about Sadie's family. I just thought the whole evil step-sister plot was over the top and unnecessary and then it was wrapped up too nicely at the end.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I'll definitely give Katherine Center another shot.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

DNF. I was so bored reading this book. It's supposedly a slow burn and I can agree with the slow part but there was nothing burning here whatsoever.