I absolutely loved the story of Sadie Montgomery and how her life turned upside down when a sudden seizure turns into a need for brain surgery, which turns into most-likely "temporary" face blindness.

Sadie is a portrait artist. As a portrait artist, being able to see clearly is incredibly important to Sadie and her livelihood. In particular, being able to see faces and make them into beautifully painted portraits is her passion, her dream. So, when Sadie places into this huge, prestigious national contest, the same one her mother placed into and was working on when she unexpectedly passed away, it was the biggest news of Sadie's life thus far. This is her chance to change her life around, get her big break, and be able to move out of her "hovel" on the rooftop of her best friend's parent's apartment complex. So to have her big break within reach and then not be able to see faces... it was not the plan to say the least.

Being with Sadie as she navigates life without such an important, taken-for-granted piece of her brain was a pleasure to read. Not only was this an incredibly cute rom-com between Sadie and her veterinarian and then Sadie and her downstairs neighbor, but it also included some really important life lessons. The importance of using all five senses. The importance of being kind and helpful to others. The importance of treating strangers as if they are not strangers, but friends. I truly loved this book and these characters and was sad for it to end.

This was my first Katherine Center book but it definitely won't be my last. Highly recommend this read! Thank you so much to Netgalley for this free ebook.

#hellostranger #katherinecenter #romcom #dogs #doglovers #faceblindness #romance #lifelessons

She did it again! Another hit that I couldn’t put down. This book pulled at my heart strings and had me hooked from the beginning.

I’ll say it over and over, Katherine Center is amazing! Every new book I love more and more. I learned so much from this story as well, I love how she expanded on a medical condition that is not well known. Love the twist and love story. Each day I read I had to go and tell my husband the plot.

This was a fun light read that I really enjoyed reading and loved the twist. I would definitely recommend this book to others!

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