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Perfect Strangers
A marriage of procreative convenience for Natalie and Jack becomes much more when the two find themselves falling in love
- GenresRomanceContemporary
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 3, 2017
Natalie on lasteraamatute illustraator. Ühel päeval sai naisel oma kõledast New Yorgi korterist isu täis ja ta kolis maale, õunapuudest ümbritsetud majja, elama. Kõik näib võrreldes vana eluga täiuslik, kuid tegelikult on Nataliel veel üks unistus - ta tahaks peret ja last, kuid silmapiiril pole ühtegi sobivat meestuttavat ning kunstlikust viljastamisest ei taha naine mõeldagi. Nii otsustab ta teha (äri)pakkumise täiesti juhuslikult ette sattunud mehele - Jack peaks temaga abielluma, lapse sigitama ning siis võib mees seitsme tuule poole kaduda. Loomulikult maksaks Natalie talle selle kõige eest ilusa summa.
"Ostetud isa" on mulle meeldinud esimesest korrast, mil seda aastaid tagasi lugesin ja nii loen seda ikka mõnikord uuesti üle. Alati on selles olnud häirivaid pisidetaile, kuid sel korral segasid need mind miskipärast rohkem kui tavaliselt. Võibolla on aeg lihtsalt mööda saanud ja see raamat ei paku mulle enam nii palju kui varem. Minu raamaturiiulit ei liigu see siiski kuhugi, sest isegi kunagisi lemmikuid ei sorteerita välja, need jäävad sinna ilusaid lugemishetki meenutama.
"Ostetud isa" on mulle meeldinud esimesest korrast, mil seda aastaid tagasi lugesin ja nii loen seda ikka mõnikord uuesti üle. Alati on selles olnud häirivaid pisidetaile, kuid sel korral segasid need mind miskipärast rohkem kui tavaliselt. Võibolla on aeg lihtsalt mööda saanud ja see raamat ei paku mulle enam nii palju kui varem. Minu raamaturiiulit ei liigu see siiski kuhugi, sest isegi kunagisi lemmikuid ei sorteerita välja, need jäävad sinna ilusaid lugemishetki meenutama.
January 23, 2011
I have to admit that Perfect Strangers by Lou Ann Gaeddert is unabashedly a romance novel. AND I have read it about ten times through the last twenty-five years. It came out first as the book section of a Good Housekeeping magazine back in the '80s. Gaeddert's plot and characterizations were so above the ordinary romantic drivel that I was intrigued. Natalie, the main character, is an over-30 illustrator of children's books (that was a plus for me right off- a talented and creative woman) who is bored with city life. She uses her money to buy a farm in Vermont. No, she doesn't meet a farmer...she meets Jack...oh, can't tell more about him without spoilers. The plot is so heartwarming and easy to connect with. This is NOT a bodice ripper, folks. I remembered this story for years after I read it, and I had to do detective work to find it again and buy it online. I own the book...don't even know if it's still in print. But just like watching a favorite movie over and over again, I reread this book when I need escape. I will lend it out if I like you!
April 29, 2013
This was a really cute love story,a typical romantic comedy type but with a different vibe from so many. I would definitely recommend it. A super quick read and lots of fun. And clean throughout!
Brief synopsis: Single girl wants a legitimate baby, so she hires a man to become her husband, and as it says in the front cover, "the last thing they expected from their marriage was to fall in love."
Brief synopsis: Single girl wants a legitimate baby, so she hires a man to become her husband, and as it says in the front cover, "the last thing they expected from their marriage was to fall in love."
November 25, 2020
นิยายเรื่องนี้ถูกเขียนออกมาตั้งแต่ปี 2535 แต่ไม่แน่ใจปีที่พิมพ์ฉบับภาษาไทย เป็นนิยายขนาดสั้น ตัวเล็กบางมาก อ่านไม่นานก็จบ
ตลอดที่อ่าน สำหรับเรา รู้สึกสนุกดี เนื้อหาดำเนินไปเรื่อยๆ แม้จะเเปลกใจกับพฤติกรรมไม่อยู่กับร่องกับรอยของพระเอก แต่ก็ยิ่งทำให้อยากรู้ว่าเพราะอะไรถึงได้มีพฤติกรรมแบบนี้ อ่านจบก็คลายทุกปมไม่ค้างคาค่ะ
รูปแบบสำนวน เป็นแบบเก่า เป็นแบบสมัยเดิมรวมถึงถอดคำ ถอดความด้วย อ่านแล้วก็รู้สึกอย่างชัดเจนว่าเป็นงานยุคก่อน
เหมือนเดิมเลยค่ะ หาเล่มนี้มาอ่าน เพราะอยากตามอ่านงานของนักเขียนให้ครบ จัดเป็นนิยายรักแปลทั่วไป ไม่หวือหวาอะไรมาก ถ้าจะแนะนำก็แนะนำให้มิตรรักของนักแปลอ่าน แต่ถ้าใครรู้สึกว่าไม่จำเป็นต้องตามทุกเล่ม เล่มนี้ข้ามๆไปก็ได้ค่ะ
ตลอดที่อ่าน สำหรับเรา รู้สึกสนุกดี เนื้อหาดำเนินไปเรื่อยๆ แม้จะเเปลกใจกับพฤติกรรมไม่อยู่กับร่องกับรอยของพระเอก แต่ก็ยิ่งทำให้อยากรู้ว่าเพราะอะไรถึงได้มีพฤติกรรมแบบนี้ อ่านจบก็คลายทุกปมไม่ค้างคาค่ะ
รูปแบบสำนวน เป็นแบบเก่า เป็นแบบสมัยเดิมรวมถึงถอดคำ ถอดความด้วย อ่านแล้วก็รู้สึกอย่างชัดเจนว่าเป็นงานยุคก่อน
เหมือนเดิมเลยค่ะ หาเล่มนี้มาอ่าน เพราะอยากตามอ่านงานของนักเขียนให้ครบ จัดเป็นนิยายรักแปลทั่วไป ไม่หวือหวาอะไรมาก ถ้าจะแนะนำก็แนะนำให้มิตรรักของนักแปลอ่าน แต่ถ้าใครรู้สึกว่าไม่จำเป็นต้องตามทุกเล่ม เล่มนี้ข้ามๆไปก็ได้ค่ะ
August 11, 2019
This is a book my grandma lent me to read when I was a young teen. I was staying at her house overnight during summer vacation. I stayed up way too late to finish it (I think it was the first time I stayed up past 2am!) It was the first "grown up" romance book I ever read.
Every few years when I need to be reminded of a simpler time, I reread this book and remember summer overnights at Grandma and Poppy's house. It's not great literature, but it fills my heart and soul with hope and love and family.
Every few years when I need to be reminded of a simpler time, I reread this book and remember summer overnights at Grandma and Poppy's house. It's not great literature, but it fills my heart and soul with hope and love and family.
July 12, 2025
B. fiction; contemporary fiction; marriage of convenience in order to have a child
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January 6, 2022A favorite of my mom's. 🥰
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January 1, 2013This is the story of a 30-something woman who is a successful illustrator of books for children and lives in the house of her dreams with her pets. She’s strong and independent, but finds that there is something missing in her life: a child. She is single, and there are no eligible bachelors in sight, so she has to think hard about how to get pregnant. Her method is somewhat unconventional…
I was about sixteen when I first discovered this book in my mother’s bookshelf. I loved it, and I re-read it a few times over the following years. Back then, I just fell for the sweet romance, and although I was in my teens I was able to relate to Natalie, the main character, in some ways.
Well, as I re-read the book now, I am Natalie’s age, and I can relate to her even more. I’m glad I haven’t read it in ten years or so because I can see things from a different point of view.
I can see that in some ways, there are things in the book that are a bit outdated, but it was written in 1985 so it’s not strange. Also, yes, this really is a romance novel (of the sweet and fluffy kind; mentions of sex but no smut) and it’s short and sometimes a little bit too simple; it’s still well-written, but it’s not like it’s “great literature”… (But who says every book I read has to be that!) At this point in life, I can see all those little details that went unnoticed when I was younger.
Last but not least, an important thing to note is that I now understand that this book is a shameless romanticizing of pregnancy! I’m not talking about the longing for a child, that’s something very realistic, I’m talking about how the pregnancy is portrayed. I mean, I’m sure all women experience it as something unique and special, but in this book it’s all fluffety-fluff-fluff. My point is: there are many, many sides to this, and this book only deals with the upside of expecting a child, because it’s that kind of book.
This said, I still enjoy the book. I don’t know if I like it in the same way as I once did, but in some ways I think I like it more.
I was about sixteen when I first discovered this book in my mother’s bookshelf. I loved it, and I re-read it a few times over the following years. Back then, I just fell for the sweet romance, and although I was in my teens I was able to relate to Natalie, the main character, in some ways.
Well, as I re-read the book now, I am Natalie’s age, and I can relate to her even more. I’m glad I haven’t read it in ten years or so because I can see things from a different point of view.
I can see that in some ways, there are things in the book that are a bit outdated, but it was written in 1985 so it’s not strange. Also, yes, this really is a romance novel (of the sweet and fluffy kind; mentions of sex but no smut) and it’s short and sometimes a little bit too simple; it’s still well-written, but it’s not like it’s “great literature”… (But who says every book I read has to be that!) At this point in life, I can see all those little details that went unnoticed when I was younger.
Last but not least, an important thing to note is that I now understand that this book is a shameless romanticizing of pregnancy! I’m not talking about the longing for a child, that’s something very realistic, I’m talking about how the pregnancy is portrayed. I mean, I’m sure all women experience it as something unique and special, but in this book it’s all fluffety-fluff-fluff. My point is: there are many, many sides to this, and this book only deals with the upside of expecting a child, because it’s that kind of book.
This said, I still enjoy the book. I don’t know if I like it in the same way as I once did, but in some ways I think I like it more.
September 3, 2016
I read Perfect Strangers in the Good Housekeeping magazine when I was a teenager. My mom and I both loved it and wanted copy of our own. It was printed into a book and my mom gave me a copy. I found it after my current move and read it because I was curious to see if I still loved it since it has been about 25 years. I read it really fast but I found myself not as captivated with it. It is the story of Natalie. She is a 34 year old woman who has never been married and doesn't see her chances of getting married happening anytime soon. She moved from New York City to a rural part of Massachusetts into a quaint farm house. She is a children's illustrator and works from home. She desperately wants to become a mother. So when Jack pulls up on a bicycle and asks to to camp on her 20 acre farm land, she ponders the idea of asking him to marry her so he can get her pregnant. Then they would get a divorce. Crazy as it seems, after a few days of him helping on the farm, she asks him and he agrees.
This was probably one of the first adult clean romance stories I read in my life when I was a teenager so it was exciting and such a crazy story that I was intrigued. Now after 25 years of reading books, my tastes are a little more advanced and it seemed to me to be a lower-level book that wasn't as impressive. The story line was hard to imagine for me and the romance didn't have me swooning. However it was a quick and interesting to read.
This was probably one of the first adult clean romance stories I read in my life when I was a teenager so it was exciting and such a crazy story that I was intrigued. Now after 25 years of reading books, my tastes are a little more advanced and it seemed to me to be a lower-level book that wasn't as impressive. The story line was hard to imagine for me and the romance didn't have me swooning. However it was a quick and interesting to read.
May 12, 2011
A TALE AS UNFORGETTABLE AS THE VIVID CHARACTERS AND THE ENDURING LOVE THEY FORGE!
NATALIE
had finally achieved the success that was her ticket out of the city. Living in a beautiful old farmhouse complete with apple orchard, a new husband, and the hope of having a child, her dreams had finally come true. But she was living a lie.
JACK
was a stranger to her. Tall and secretive, he was a man of whom Natalie knew nothing... except that he was willing to father the child Natalie ached to have.
NATALIE
had finally achieved the success that was her ticket out of the city. Living in a beautiful old farmhouse complete with apple orchard, a new husband, and the hope of having a child, her dreams had finally come true. But she was living a lie.
JACK
was a stranger to her. Tall and secretive, he was a man of whom Natalie knew nothing... except that he was willing to father the child Natalie ached to have.
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December 14, 2016Abridged in Good Housekeeping, June 1985.
February 6, 2013
Very sweet and fun escape. Our book club this month (February) is "romance." It is so fun to read romance that is clean and has interesting characters. What is on your list of best escape, clean romances?
January 23, 2016
This one of my favorite chick-lit novels. Like many others, I read it first in Good Housekeeping. It is sweet and poignant, a love story about compassion and restoration.
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April 22, 2018A TALE AS UNFORGETTABLE AS THE VIVID CHARACTERS AND THE ENDURING LOVE THEY FORGE!
NATALIE
had finally achieved the success that was her ticket out of the city. Living in a beautiful old farmhouse complete with apple orchard, a new husband, and the hope of having a child, her dreams had finally come true. But she was living a lie.
JACK
was a stranger to her. Tall and secretive, he was a man of whom Natalie knew nothing... except that he was willing to father the child Natalie ached to have.
NATALIE
had finally achieved the success that was her ticket out of the city. Living in a beautiful old farmhouse complete with apple orchard, a new husband, and the hope of having a child, her dreams had finally come true. But she was living a lie.
JACK
was a stranger to her. Tall and secretive, he was a man of whom Natalie knew nothing... except that he was willing to father the child Natalie ached to have.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews