Delightful read! I think this may be my favorite by the author. There is humor, romance, family strife, health scare all woven into a great romance. I loved the characters except for the evil stepsister. Pick this one up. You will not be disappointed. Thank you Netgalley.

What a (sarcastic) surprise, another slam dunk in the form of a Katherine Center romance!!

Can I first tell you that I LOST MY MIND when I realized I was given this advanced copy!? It’s KATHERINE CENTER! And not only was I not disappointed, this was one of my favorites of hers!

This is a beautiful story of fate, compassion, vulnerability, and perseverance. Sadie is an artist who finds out she needs to have brain surgery. This surgery leaves her with a potentially permanent side effect of having face-blindness. Making it not only difficult to continue painting portraits, but pretty darn difficult to have interpersonal relationships!

“Did she look weird? I mean, the components of her face were like puzzle pieces spread out on a table. So yeah”.

“And every morning, of course, my own face was just a jumbled pile of disconnected features”.

This book was so emotional for me, I ran through a whole spectrum of feelings! I was sad, disappointed, angry, hopeful, and absolutely in love. The most powerful and compelling of roller coasters. The friggin resilience Sadie displays is both inspirational and heartbreaking at times. I absolutely loved the unique aspect of this story, and the ride it took me on. I 100% recommend this read!!

This was my SIXTH book by Katherine Center and her books are always so solid. I know if I pick up one of her books, I'm going to love it. This wasn't a fluffy romance in the sense that it dealt with a pretty serious medical condition, requiring the main character to need brain surgery, which then led to a condition resulting in face blindness, but was still a solid romance. It was so interesting to read about the condition and you could tell that Center really did her research. There was a small twist that I predicted right from the start but this was a romance not a thriller so it wasn't a big deal. I did read this book with some friends and one friend didn't predict it at all until the reveal - its so cool that a book could be interpreted different ways! I really enjoyed the MMC but one of the other characters bothered me slightly. This also needs a TW for dog illness because my dog died of immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, which is different than what the dog in the book had but it was so closely related - especially with both dogs needing blood transfusions - so it hit close to home for me!

Despite this book dealing with tough issues, it was still a light read! It will make a good beach read this summer.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own!

In her afterword, Katherine Center talks about the happiness that romance novels brought her and how they made her realize reading could be enjoyable and fun. If that is what her aim was when writing "Hello Stranger," she beyond accomplished that mention. 

The story of Sadie, a portrait artist who develops face blindness after brain surgery, was a joy to read, with an interesting cast of characters displaying Sadie's interesting life relationships. Throw in a guy in her building who she possibly misjudged at first meeting, and an alluring veterinarian who helps save her dog, Peanut, and you have a lot going on - but everything is balanced really nicely with very satisfying conclusions. 

Are there some meet cutes, cliches, surprises you saw coming, and a few coincidences that require a suspension of disbelief? Sure. But all of that formed to make a really fun, enjoyable romance that has you rooting for the main character to get everything she wants and find peace at the same time. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Hello Stranger was not what I was expecting but I absolutely fell in love with this book!
It took a couple of chapters to hook me but once it did I devoured it in one night. Stayed up until 2am because I absolutely needed to see what happened between Sadie, Oliver, and Joe. This book is a closed door romance, but honestly I didn’t even miss the spice. It just made my heart happy!

Sadie, is a struggling portrait artist who places into the finals of a portrait competition when she is diagnosed with acquired face blindness. Reading about her family dynamic, her evil step-sister Parker, her canine true love Peanut, and the different ways that the tried to process the unknown kept me so invested. I loved Dr. Nicole and all her wisdom. The growth Sadie showed over the course of the book really hit me in the feels.

Side note: Peanut being a geriatric canine foodie had me cackling at points because I also have a 12 year old pup with a refined palate and I truly related!

I really appreciated the effort and research Katherine Center put in to portraying face-blindness (prosopagnosia) and therapy in general. It greatly added to the storyline. Make sure you read her author’s note because she truly nailed it. This story was full of “fantastic anticipation” and the love truly nourished my soul.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Hello Stranger in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit I did not read much beyond halfway through. I found it difficult to read because the female main character was very self centered. The ensemble cast was fun, the artsy subject matter fun, but I was not invested in the story because of the main character and the unbelievability of her inability to sense who people were based on smell or body language or anything else. Meh. This was my first my this author and not sure if I’ll try another. Maybe.

Thank you to St. Martin’s press for granting me access to this book!

Katherine Center can do no wrong, her writing is like drugs. This was so feel good and happy. I love how Katherine pulls the reader in and then once you’re at the end, you know the characters really well and feel attached. I loved Peanut SO much.

I never would’ve thought that a contemporary romance comedy would also have deep topics like brain surgery and fusiform face gyrus, but make it all funny and come together beautifully. Also, the miscommunication trope on this one did not bother me at all, which is odd cause I suffer with it most of time.
This was super fun to read. I do have to admit, the “villain” of the book was so ridiculously immature, it kind of felt like I was reading about high school drama, but I guess that was the purpose of the author right ? To make us hate the villain with passion 😄

Anyway, the FMC was hilarious, her best friend was crazy, the MMC was so thoughtful and gorgeous, and I could not love them more. Overall, it did not disappoint, it was a very fast and cute read.

This is my very first Katherine Center book and I enjoyed every minute of it!

This book is out July 11th. Mark your calendars!

Thank you Katherine Center and Netgalley for this advanced readers copy.

This is a 6 star book!!!!!!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I ADORED THIS!!!!!!

It’s 2 am. I stayed up reading this. In one sitting. And I had the best time of my life!!!! That was…phenomenal. Unbelievable. Incredible. In my top romance novels of all time. I am. In love. Absolutely in love with everything about this!!!!!

This was such a joy to read and I loved every second of it and I knew I was reading it too fast but I just couldn’t put it down. In a way, I wish I had enjoyed it even more than I did and the writing in it is spectacular and brings you in and it felt so emotional and tender and funny like a good kind of funny like a warm hug kind of funny and JOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My sweet Joe!!!!!!!!!! Oliver!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them!!!!!

There are very few perfect novels out there, but this one is one of them!!!! Perfect!!!!! This is me in a romance book! I’ll spend the rest of my life believing this was written for ME. So much of this resonated with me and my situation right now and how I feel and could anyone want anything else out of a book??!!?!! No cause THIS WAS EVERYTHING!

SO EXCITED FOR EVERYONE TO READ THIS IN A FEW DAYS!!!!

Kathleen Center you have a lifelong devoted fan in me!!! I’m just devastated I didn’t find you sooner! Ilysm!!!!

Absolutely perfect! I felt this story was a very original premise, I learned a lot! Katherine Center creates magic - her writing is fabulous! It's heartfelt, great character development and plenty of laugh out loud moments. Sure to make you laugh, cry and fall in love with love.

Katherine Center is a go to author for me and this just reiterated all of the above!

I was hooked by chapter 3 and flew through this within 2 days! Sadie is a portrait artist and hits the high note of her career by being a finalist for portrait painting. Enter the biggest upset for her; she now has facial blindness and cannot fully process what she is supposed to be painting!

I loved everything about this book. I laughed, I cried. All the feels!

Was it predictable? Sure. However, I will ALWAYS pick up a Katherine center book.

I loved, loved, LOVED this book! I couldn't get enough. I was so sad every time I had to put it down and couldn't wait to get back to it!!

It's not often that romance novels surprise me but Hello Stranger really did! The plot line wasn't your typical romance and I loved that Sadie was facing a genuine struggle. While I've read a few books about face blindness recently which felt a little coincidental, this novel still felt totally unique and was flawlessly executed. How Sadie tackled her face blindness while also at a pivotal moment in her career added so much to the story and I appreciated the level of detail that went into her process.

I listened to this novel on audio and it was really well done. I enjoyed the narrator and thought she added the perfect level of theatrics. There were so many laugh out loud moments and maybe even more moments that brought me to tears! It was the perfect blend of emotion and heart.

I haven't read many by Center but it's safe to say this one will be hard to beat. I know it's one I'll be recommending for a long time!

4 stars! I was thrilled with the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Katherine Center’s newest novel and I enjoyed much of it.

The main character, Sadie Montgomery has been named a finalist in the North American Portrait Society Competition and life seems pretty ok until she is diagnosed with face blindness which may or may not be temporary. The diagnosis sends Sadie spiraling. While I was interested in her plight, I didn’t really identify with Sadie and found her to be kind of negative even before the diagnosis.

There is a love triangle between Sadie, Joe and Dr. Addison that I often found cringe worthy. I kept reading the novel and was very satisfied with the ending. Though it wasn’t one of my favorite novels by Katherine Center, it was still an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I’ve also read The Bodyguard by Katherine Center and both books gave me Hallmark/90s rom com vibes in the best way.

The premise of Hello Stranger is super unique and really draws you in, I loved watching Sadie’s growth throughout the book and the twist at the end was so ridiculous but again, in the absolute best way. This book has solidified that Katherine Center is an instant-buy for me.

Hello Stranger was the EASIEST 5-Star review I have had in several months. I admit, it took 2-3 chapters for me to get into the groove of the book, but once I was there...WOW!

Sadie Montgomery is the FMC and she has a whirlwind of a time in this book. She is a struggling portrait artist and has an accident that makes her not able to see faces properly. During her struggles, she meets her dream man and falls for him. How does it all work out? Read/Listen and find out. Do not miss out on this one.

I will recommend this book to anyone and I have already pre-ordered it.

Thank you for the ARC of this wonderful book. I have given a fair and honest review in exchange for it.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is a very unique romance and not something I had read before. It took me until about 40% in to really start enjoying this book and once I hit that point I was unable to put it down. I loved the character of Sadie and her persistence throughout the story. Sadie developed face blindness after a brain surgery and I found it to make for such a unique story. Joe was a good character but I do wish he would have been a bit more prominent earlier in the story. I couldn't have cared for Parker and in some aspects felt like the character and side story took away from the main story a bit. Overall this was not what I was expecting but in a very good way! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

This new addition to Center's catalogue did not disappoint! This book is more than a cute love story, and instead is a journey of hope and perseverance while facing unexpected adversity. This is a unique plot line that stands out from other romances being published right now, touching on an uncommon experience in a way that can help the general public understand the diagnosis the female main character receives in the book.

This was a very unique friends to lovers read. I very much enjoyed the story and character building and definitely learned something new (I had never heard about face blindness before). It is a closed door romance with many cute sweet moments.

I always know I can turn to Katherine Center's books for a toothachingly sweet time. There's always so much hope, positivity, kindness in these books and while I sometimes reluctantly go in reading them, I come out a slightly less frigid curmudgeon. The author's note in this one is especially poignant and lovely, highlighting all the ways romance is different from other genres, and managing to perfectly capture why this genre always has us coming back for more every time, even if we do know all the formulaic story beats.

With Hello Stranger, I felt that Cenrter's humor and witty banter was especially heightened. This made me laugh and smile, it was cheerful and just all around fun. The evil step=sister is truly quite evil, and I enjoyed that Center didn't give her an all too easy out, which in some of her other books felt like it was just much too positive and good. Like several others, I knew the 'twist' pretty early on, however I still enjoyed the story. I can see how Center envisioned the reveal going, but honestly I felt the 'love triangle aspect got forgotten quite a bit and very imbalanced so I'm not sure it was even needed. I think there was a missed opportunity to have the conflict focus more on the characters weaknesses and past hurts rather than something that felt more gimmicky than emotional.

That said, this still managed to surprise me with how endearing the story felt, even if it was a bit whacky. As always, I'll continue to read these stories for all the warm fuzzies and specific "humans can do so much good" brand that Center has built. Rating: 3.75/5, rounding up to 4.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I so enjoyed this book! It’s such a feel good happy one.

The main character Sadie, has face blindness after having brain surgery. It was super interesting learning about this throughout the book. And I caught that Grey’s Anatomy twist, Montgomery - Addison (Addison Montgomery). Sadie doesn’t like to ask for help and doesn’t like to be helped either. Enter Joe. The golden retriever of helping others. I so liked his character. But I also liked Dr. Addison (the veterinarian)…at the beginning anyways. I liked how it all played out though. Such a good happy ending.
Peanut was the real star of the show with his fine taste for not eating dog food. I laughed so hard at that part because I have a 14 yr old dog and she’s so picky and moody, so I connected with that. Plus books with pets are always better!

This was a closed door romance. It had a great message about overcoming obstacles, give others second chances, and to look for the good things in life. Overall, I thought it was a super cute romcom that you need to add to your TBR list! It comes out July 11th.

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

“Isn’t it lucky when we’re drawn to people who can teach us things we need to learn?”


Also, shoutout to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book. This is my voluntary and honest opinion. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this book and getting to share that!