Review: Stranger

Stranger by Megan Hart.

Ames and I have not had a very good track record lately when it comes to the books that we review together. Either she likes it and I don't, or I like it and she doesn't.
Has that changed with Stranger? Read on and find out...

Note: like always, our 'reviews' here at Breezing Through are not so much reviews, but email conversations about books that we read together. There will be spoilers.

I pay strangers to sleep with me. I have my reasons...

But they're not the ones you expect. For starters, I'm a funeral director taking over my dad's business. Not exactly the sort of person you'd expect to fork over cash for the lust and urgency only live, skin-to-skin contact can create. Looking at me, you wouldn't have a clue I carry this little secret so close it creases up like the folds of a fan. Tight. Personal. Ready to unravel in the heat of the moment.

Unsurprisingly, my line of work brings me face to face with loss. So I decided long ago that paying for sex would be one of the best (and arousing) ways to save myself from the one thing that would eventually cut far too deep.

But Sam was a mistake. Literally. I signed on to "pick up" a stranger at a bar, but took Sam home instead. And now that I've felt his heat, his sweat and everything else can I really go back to impersonal?

Let's just hope he never finds out about my other life...

Chantal: I'm done!

Ames: Yay!

So what did you think?

Chantal: I liked it. It was interesting because I started reading it not knowing anything except this " I pay strangers to sleep with me. I have my reasons..." That's as far as I read the back cover before I bought it. Megan Hart is one of those authors that is an auto buy for me. I don't even read the full blurb to see if the even sounds good, because I know it will be. Did you know that Dan and Elle are from Dirty?

Ames: Was that the brother?

Chantal: Yes, Dan was Sam's brother. Well well well, what did you think? Did you like Grace? What do you think about her 'dates'?

Ames: I liked Grace. I think because I can relate to her a little bit. I regularly go on the types of dates she does.

Just kidding!! LOL

No, the way she thought about relationships (not wanting to be in one), I'm kind of the same way. So although I don't have to deal with death everyday and see the outcome and how people are hurt and grieving, I still get her thinking. I can understand her hesitancy and reluctance. I can also see though why Sam snuck in under the radar. Here's this guy she can't keep compartmentalized like she does to the men she "dates".

Now, knowing that about Grace, I get why she does go on those dates. It's the perfect way for her to control the interactions she has with men and keep people at a distance. And make sure she gets what she wants. LOL

What did you think of Jack's character? For a split second there, I was wondering if Jack was going to end up being the hero, until Sarah was introduced. LOL

Chantal: Oh, girl, you got me all excited when you said you went on those kinds of dates, lol. I liked Jack. A lot. It was cute how he started off unsure of himself, but was fast to learn what Grace wanted each time. I knew he was going to fall for her. Poor guy. When he and Grace had their last scene together I was a little sad because I was wishing that she would end up with him. Sam was the right choice, though. Grace was great. I had no problem with her hiring rentboys. Sometimes a woman just wants to have sex (with someone other than herself) I see nothing wrong with said paying for it. Of course, I come from a mindset that prostitution should be legal. I'm not saying that we should let women stand on street corners, but I am saying that going back to the days of cat houses, medical testing and actual protection is a good idea--something that I would support. Sam was pretty smart with how he courted her. Not calling too often, and catching her off guard when he did, etc. I do wonder who that blond with the kid was at the end, though... By the way, I just wanted to mentioned something about this part,

"Anger, like lice, can jump amazing distances from one person to another."

It would be a great analogy if it were true. Lice leg joints are are formed in a way that make them able to bend enough to grab on to the hair--But not to jump. Plus, the position of their legs and their heavy backsides forces them to be able to only crawl. Medical science has never once proven that lice can or do jump. Lice do not jump. Ever. They can't. Not that those little facts have anything to do with the outcome or my opinion of the story. It's just a little FYI, lol

Ames: LOL You're funny Chantal. :P

Maybe she meant fleas? Those little suckers can jump high and far. They did studies, ewwww!

Chantal: They have done many. Lice is SO common with school aged children. Fleas would have been a more accurate analogy.

Back to the story now (lol)

I want to know what you thought of her family. Her dad especially. And wasn't it neat to find out the inner workings of a funeral home? I thought it was interesting. How about the little romance with the two people working for her? I thought for sure they were going somewhere. It was surprising to see that relationship end as it did. It worked, though.

Ames: I found the funeral home business interesting too. Like stuff I never thought of before - having to remove a body from a home - those kinds of things. All interesting. And the little romance between her coworkers did work. I knew that when Shelly(was her name shelly? I can't recall) approached Grace about a partnership that it would backfire. She should have spoken to Jared first.

As for the family, I find it very realistic too. I had to laugh imagining her dad's reaction to finding out about his daughter's extracurricular activities. And then him giving her money? LMAO

Chantal: What I liked the most about Stranger, and about all her other books, is that they are so realistic. The feelings, the arguments, the day to day things, etc. I always finish one of this authors books thinking that she has done great research and actually talked to people who have been in each situation that she wrote about. I don't know if she really has done that, but it comes off that way. Which is very good. As a reader I want to know that things really could happen that way.

Ames: All right, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from the way things went down with Jack and how it all came together with Sam. B+.

Ooh, I liked how it ended! That Sam had to leave so Grace would realize she could survive without him if she had to. Very poignant.

Chantal: Absolutely! Giving her some space was the ticket to winning her heart.
I LOL'ed when her dad gave her money thinking that Sam was a rentboy, omg, LOL. It's a B from me! Reason being is that I thought there could have been more sex between Sam and Grace. Jack got into her pants more than Sam, the hero, did. The romantic in me rebels against that.

Ames: That didn't really bother me. I thought Jack was an interesting character - plus he was hot. LOL