Stranger in a Foreign Land

Patrick is on a business trip to Thailand when a tragic accident leaves him in the streets with no money and no memory. He stumbles upon a small, poor community near a pineapple canning plant where he meets another white man...Jack.
Jack is from Australia living in Thailand illegally. (why on this was never really clear and I would have liked to have known more about Jack's past.) He lives a simple life. When he hears his neighbor yelling and sees a man fleeing he follows him and watches him before approaching.
I am going to admit I skimmed the reviews on this book and was a bit surprised. It seems that I feel the total opposite of this book. I absolutely loved it. I do think to listen to the audio made a big difference, because Patrick/Buddy sounded lost, forlorn and not stilted or mentally disabled...just what he was, a stranger in a foreign land. I adored Jack's accent.
I liked both characters and loved the amnesia storyline. I loved that it felt like he had amnesia with all of his past erased not like in some stories where it seems they remember bits and pieces or have flashes. I also liked the end even if it ended much different than I expected, it was satisfying for me and I liked that is shocked me. I felt like it was cool for such a trope type story to not end like all others.
I will admit I didn't love the way he treated his parents but it did fit with his fear and amnesia, I would have liked to know more about who Patrick was and why he was going to Thailand and his brother could have shed that light and more about Jack's past and what he was fleeing from, but having said that I loved the story, the writing style, execution and in this case the narration.

I like how we get a glimpse of what happened to Patrick but that the important part of the story is the building relationship between Jack and "Buddy". I wasn't sure about Patrick's brother James but in the end he seems to make the decision to do the right thing and be the good guy after all. I also like that there is still more to their story.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
2.5 stars

Unfortunately, this is one of those books where I loved the blurb and the underlying premise but really didn’t get on with the actual book. I loved the Thai setting but the characters and relationships felt flat and undeveloped to me.

I’m not sure if Patrick is supposed to have special needs or a mental disability in addition to his amnesia, but he presents like a small child. His decisions don’t make sense and his conversations are limited. As readers don’t get to know much of what is going on in his head or with his emotions, I found myself unable to engage with him.

Jack is an equally opaque character. There are hints of trouble in his previous life in Australia but nothing about him or his circumstances is ever explained to readers. Like Patrick, he feels very simple and I’m not sure if this is a deliberate author choice.

I found the storyline bewildering. It took me some time to understand what was going on with Patrick after his accident. I didn’t ever fully understand why he couldn’t engage with his family and the ending feels rather rushed. This is a low heat story and I’m still not sure I’d call it a romance.

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Stranger in a Foreign Land by Michael Murphy to read and review.

I really enjoyed the storyline of this novel. A man loses his memory but gains the love of a hot Aussie man? Sign me up! In the beginning, Patrick’s inner dialogue had me laughing out loud! I would love to have a book with that guy as the MC. Once he lost his memory, he didn’t really gain a personality. He just sort of existed which is a shame. The secondary characters were quite good. The little old Thai lady with the mean arm cracked me up. Definitely some entertaining moments.

Patrick is a businessman from California who frequently jet sets off to foreign countries. We never find out specifically what he does or did as an occupation. I enjoyed his entertaining dialogue throughout the flight and the disembarking process. Leaving the airport, he gets himself a cab with a shady driver and ends up in an accident that leaves him banged up and with no memory of who he is or anything in the past including the accident. He soon finds himself living in a bush outside of a pineapple factory where a friendly Australian comes to his aid.

Jack is such a sweet character. We sadly never get his backstory only that he’s an Australian and isn’t sure if he’s welcome back into his home country. He works at a pineapple factory and lives close by in a hut of sorts surrounded by the other plant workers. He’s a pretty lonely guy, and his sweetness just pulls at your heartstrings. One afternoon he hears his feisty Thai neighbor shouting at someone who’s in her yard and goes to investigate. What he finds is a good-looking man a little rough around the edges, and he’s decided he’s going to help him. I really enjoyed the friends-to-lovers aspect. It wouldn’t have seemed right any other way. It’s a relatively slow burn from there, but eventually, things do heat up so you will get your sexy time fix.

I wish we had more backstory for the characters. I would have loved to know more about Jack and his past. The storyline was interesting if not a little bland. Definitely a sweet romance. I’m looking forward to reading more from the Dreamspun series and this author.