Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book!
Thank you so much to MacMillan audio for the complimentary audio of this book! 

Last year the surprise romance that I end up loving was The Bodyguard so I was super excited to learn we were getting a new one from Katherine this summer!

First off, can we get some commotion for the cover?! Just like her prior work, this one is bold and colorful and truly does stand out. And now after reading it, all the items on the cover make sense.

Back to the book, one thing I love between last year and this year's book is Katherine has provided a fresh take on romance storylines. In The Bodyguard, the female was the guard and in this one the FMC has a rare brain lesion and from the surgery has acquired prosopagnosia.

Did I see where this was going? Yes absolutely!
Was I still hooked from the beginning? Yes!
Did I find myself feeling emotional while reading? Yes!

I like how this story followed Sadie before, during and after her diagnosis. Though being almost 30, you could tell the trauma of losing her mom and her effects of that still weighed heavily on her life as an adult. She was constantly striving to impress and make her father proud after all the years of feeling like a disappointment to him.

"We're all just muddling through, after all. We're all just doing the best we can. We're all struggling with our struggles."

Joe. 
I was trying to hate him. Especially after that disastrous moment in the elevator (which I am glad they cleared up that moment later in the book). I won't say too much but my only qualm with his storyline is WHY DIDN'T HE SAY ANYTHING.!? There were plenty of opportunities for him to question Sadie's actions or connect things but did not. Despite my side eye from the elevator moment, I did love the relationship he had with Sadie throughout the book.  I definitely thought they could have bonded on a deeper level though if that happened then the story would be over. 

Sadie. 
As I mentioned above, she was just trying so hard to still work through her grief after all the years and then to somehow make a living out of doing her favorite thing - painting. I thought it was a nice connection to her mom to include the art show. I like that she tried different ways to incorporate her new diagnosis in with her art. BUT I wish she would've told she interacted with often about the condition. Once again though, if she would have then we would have had a totally different story. I love how much she loves her dog Peanut. It goes to show that the love for our pets is unconditional no matter what the circumstance. My heart went for her when it come to dealing with her stepsister Parker. She truly was terrible even as someone in her 20s. She knew how to press all of Sadie's buttons and Sadie let her. I think Sadie could have used a lesson on boundaries when it came to her family. Though I am glad by the end there was a little more balance and hope for the future. 

If you are looking for a steamy romance, this one is not it. And honestly I did not even miss it. 
There may have been a moment or two where it could have happened but like I said I did not miss it. There was other things happening that kept me intrigued enough to not need it. 

I paired my reading with the audio and as always Patti Murin did a fabulous job with the different characters and especially bringing Sadie to life. I also thought she gave Parker the best attitude and snarkiness in her tone. 

I think this book is perfect for summer and by the pool. 
If you love unconventional romance with art references, check this one out! 

Also don't skip out on the author's note at the end. It gave extra info on prosopagnosia as well as a short vignette on writing and romance that I thought was really relatable.