Katherine Center is the queen of easy romance--it's the right balance of tension and stress and enjoyment. These characters were fun & I loved the message! I do like my pacing a bit different, though, as well as wishing some of the scenarios seemed more realistic instead of rushed.

Such a fun, clever romance. Loved the twist at the end. This one really has me sucked in all the way through! Definitely a new favorite read!

“but i guess that’s the great thing about life—it gives you chance after chance to rethink it all. who you want to be. how you want to live. what really matters.”

READ IF YOU LIKE: creative love triangles, meet-cutes, rom-coms with feels, complicated family dynamics

what a creative and lovely book!! katherine center's writing is something really special. she has such an ability to take flawed characters and wrap them in love, presenting them in a way that is so relatable and admirable and just lovely.

i had never heard of face blindness before reading this book, and although i went in blind (pun not intended), i ended up skimming the synopsis a few chapters in because i needed soooome direction. the first bit of the book is quite chaotic and had me somewhat confused, but once things clicked, i was so all in.

parker might be (read: is) the worst character i've maybe ever read???? so villian ish and just purely evil for no good reason. and i especially hated how the parents sided with her at every turn like… FOR WHAT?!

a few friends said they saw the twist from the get go so turns out i'm a moron but i really didn't for a long time, and then once i saw it i was like OHHHHH. so good and really loved how everything played out!

highly rec this book for all romance fans!!

also, the author's note >>>>>>>>

Katherine always writes the sweetest and charming books. She does cover heavy topics., but there’s always hope and a happy ending. I appreciate the humor and the story and the banter. Whenever I need a pick me up, I read Katherine’s books and this one was that for me.

This had everything I love about a romance, met with unexpected and flawed characters that warm your heart right up to their story. I found this story, while some content was medically heavy, light-hearted and hopeful. Enjoyed it very much.

This isthe second Katherine Cnter book I've read and it did not disappoint! Imagine being a portrait artist, finally getting some recognition and ending up with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia (also known as face blindness). Well, that's precisely what happens to Sadie in Hello Stranger. The book is well researched and the author describes Sadie's experiences so well, I could easily imagine them in my head. Center uses humour to help Sadie get through her ordeal and it was so much fun. Other reviewers have said this is the author's best work yet and I can certainly understand why, though I still love The Rom-Commers most! I enjoyed this one a lot.

Another great book by Katherine Center. I really enjoyed this one. Hello Stranger is a fun, light read with a unique storyline that will keep you entertained throughout.

Highly recommended if you are looking for a cute rom-com that will put a smile on your face!

I will always be a staunch supporter of Katherine Center. I know I'm in for a good time. This was light, fun, and a great way for me to relax into a story that felt silly but entertaining!! Thank you for the arc!

This book had a really good mix of everything - a unique plot, conflict between characters, the main character is definitely going through it and the relationships that she forms going through the tough time were very entertaining. This story hit me in the feels and also had me laughing out loud and cringing at times (in a good way, because of how much I felt for the main character). This is my second Katherine Center book and I've loved both, she's definitely on my list of auto-buy authors even just after the two I've read. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

“I’m bad with voices….” Give me a break 😬
There some things I liked about this book but more things that annoyed me. LOVE this author but just had a hard time with my buy-in & believability.

Honestly, I normally love books written by this author, but this one missed the mark for me. I don't think I would recommend this specific title to a friend, but I will still want to read other books by this author. This is just my own opinion, and I know some people will have the opposite view than I did.

Katherine Center is an autobuy author for me. If she writes it, I'm reading it. I really enjoyed this one - she always comes up with such unique plot ideas and this was no exception. The way she writes is just so engaging! The only reason I knocked a star off this one was it was a little predictable at times - I guessed the big twist pretty early on.

What happens when an injury makes a portrait artist lose the ability to see faces? That's the heart of Katherine Center's Hello Stranger, a thoughtful and delightfully warm novel that is a joy to read from start to finish.

Katherine does it again with another great book. Hello Stranger was an amazing read, with twists and things that I didn't expect! 5 stars from me!

I'll be honest, this wasn't my favorite of Katherine Center's books. I have loved everything written by her, and although this book isn't bad, it wasn't my favorite. She's an amazing writer, so I'll definitely keep reading her books, I just didn't connect with this one as much as I did with her previous books.

Love isn’t blind; just a little blurry.
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Sadie is a struggling artist who finally got her first big break in the art community when she has a seizure and wakes up in the hospital with a brain issue that needs to be operated on. When Sadie wakes up from the surgery she realizes she has temporary (hopefully) face blindness. This is not ideal when your job relies on painting portraits. Her dog is the only happiness she gets in life so when Peanut has a medical issue (the dog doesn’t die!), Sadie rushes the dog to the vet only to fall for the veterinarian. Meanwhile she also is spending time with the womanizer in her building. She hasn’t told either guy about her condition and with a looming deadline it’s hard to see if Sadie will ever find a way out of this.
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Okay confession time: This is my first @katherinecenter full length book 🫣 I’ve read some of her novellas, but not a full length novel and I’m kicking myself! This one had me tearing up at the end for how Sadie was treated in her own family, how her found family loved her so much and just the ending in general about not always seeing what’s in front of you. Adored it! Thanks @mgarciareads for the book rec and for @librofm for the ALC.

CW: seizure, hospitalization, brain surgery, cheating, prosopagnosia, death of a parent (recounted), parental abandonment, grief, bullying/toxic relationship

Quick easy read. Katherine center is always an easy likable read. Would definitely recommend to anyone wanting a quick romance novel that’s not TOO serious

Katherine Center writes clean romance novels with infectious characters. I love her writing. Easy and entertaining. Go read her now!

I have loved most of Katherine Center’s previous novels-she is an auto read for me. However, “Hello Stranger” didn’t have that same magic for me. It was a decent read, but the story felt a bit too implausible. The main character is largely living life on her own, unable to see, but the coincidence of running into her true love, who she mistook for another man-I just wasn’t able to get into this story like her others. Not a bad book, but just not one of my favorites by her. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review.

“The more good things you look for, the more you find.” 🎨

This is not the first time I have read a book about prosopagnosia or face blindness. You might remember Adam from Alice Feeney's Rock Paper Scissors for those who love thrillers.

This book was about how Sadie Montgomery's unexpected face blindness affected her plans and dreams as an artist. Her condition also happened to come at the worst time possible. Sadie just became a finalist for the North American Portrait Society competition. Her conflict with her family was very intriguing, especially her relationship with her evil step-sister Parker. Parker was the full definition of a villain. I wish the book could explain why she is how she is, especially with Sadie. The love story in this book was lovely. I love the mystery behind Dr. Oliver Anderson. Still, I love how Sadie slowly falls for the always-helpful Joe. Certain parts of the story were prominent, but the author did a fantastic job revealing each secret without too many theatrics.

Another thing I love about this story is the people who love and support Sadie, like her BFF Sue and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kim. This was a sweet story about love, family, and forgiveness; it is also about moving forward despite the obstacles in life. Sadie said a line in the book, which is true. "We're all so limited and disappointing and so, so wrong much of the time. Maybe even most of the time. We're all so steeped into our own confirmation bias. We're all so busy seeing what we expect to see