A very interesting read. What do you do when you find "The One", the absolutely perfect partner except for one thing. The narration is split between the lovers and any more information would spoil the plot.

Rachel Marks has become an author whose books I would pick up without knowing anything about them and in fact, that's almost what happened with Hello, Stranger as the blurb is fairly vague. All we know as the story begins is that Lucy and Jamie have agreed to split up even though neither of them seems to want to. So why on earth are they doing it? The story is split mainly into 'Before', which forms the majority of the narrative, and 'The Day of the Break Up' and we follow the couple from the glorious day they meet until the heartbreaking day they break up. I loved the two main characters who are perfectly portrayed by Marks so that although I may not have always agreed with one or both of them, I still felt empathy for them and I know there was no right answer to what they were facing. The writing is superb and I just couldn't put this book down. This is all-consuming love coupled with the realities of everyday life and I really felt for Lucy and Jamie and the dilemma they faced. Marks builds up a life for them that I got completely drawn into and was reluctant to leave, but when it came the ending was emotional and perfect and I think this is a book I will remember, with a storyline that provided a sucker punch to the heart. There are some light-hearted, funny bits too and I loved Jamie's humour (Jamie is really rather special!). A beautiful tale about the ups and downs of love and life, Hello, Stranger was a joy to read from start to finish.

A good romantic read about two people Lucy and Jamie who were made for each other and meant to be together apart from one big stumbling block. Having children! The story is told from both their perspectives going back right to the beginning when they first met. I loved the pace of the book and the storyline. It kept me turning the pages from start to finish.

In many ways Hello, Stranger by Rachel Marks is simply impossible to review. I could just give it all the stars and leave it there.There is so much I want to say about this book and yet to do so would spoil the experience for others. This is a book that needs to be read blind, with tissues and ideally with a buddy to read it with. I will add though that there are TWs to bear in mind with this book. Hello, Stranger is the story of Lucy and Jamie who, not long after meeting come to realise they are each other’s ‘the one’. They’re chalk and cheese, Lucy a free spirit to Jamie’s homebird. Jamie has a place for everything and yet Lucy can’t even seem to find her keys. And yet they work, so very well together. Theirs is a special kind of love and yet why does their story start with them saying goodbye? The way Marks has written Jamie and Lucy is absolute perfection. The chapters alternate between them both in the ‘day of’ and ‘then’ sections. Never have I read about a couple where I feel so deeply for them both as individual characters. They were so well developed and so very, very real. This is a beautiful, raw, and heartbreaking story in places; and yet it feels so very real and so normal, and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. The characters deal with some very heavy issues and Marks handles them deftly, with so much care and respect. No one is right or wrong, everyone is simply able to feel what they feel, even if that’s different to the other. The respect Marks shows her characters, and indeed her readers, is something else. This book is so special and will stay with me for some time. Never have I felt the ending of a book to be as heartbreaking as it was utterly perfect. If I could sum this book up with a single word it would be ‘wow’ said, of course, through tears. With thanks to Netgally and Penguin Michael Joseph for the advanced copy in return for my honest review.

This was a poignant read about Jamie and Lucy who are so much in love with each other, yet the story starts with Lucy determined to breakup with Jamie. We then rewind to when they met and follow their relationship to find out just why she made that heartbreaking decision. This was such a thoughtful story with a whole raft of emotions and I think Rachel Marks did a superb job of writing a female character who would genuinely be judged in life for her convictions which was so well balanced with a believable male character who feels so completely differently in a key part of their relationship. Aside from that one area you could feel what a great couple they were and there were some great supporting characters too. I thought Lucy was very brave and how things transpired after the breakup was very well considered. 9/10