📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @stmartinspress and @smpromance for an early copy of Hello Stranger by @katherinecenter. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Hello Stranger tells the story of Sadie, a portrait artist who is celebrating the biggest achievement of her life – placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition but has found herself lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with face blindless – which may or may not be temporary. She can see almost everything, except faces are now puzzle pieces. As she struggles to cope with her new reality, she falls in love (?) with two different men, or lets herself get distracted by them. If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to find her way. But perceiving anything clearly right now seems impossible. Even though there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

This novel is a fast-paced and heartwarming romantic comedy that is quite enjoyable and hilarious. Sadie, the FMC, is quite relatable for me, excluding face blindness of course, but her internal monologue, how she overthinks, pictures different scenarios that are out of this world, well, I do that sometimes too. Maybe more often than I would admit 😅 With everything getting out of hand in her life, Katherine Center was able to emit Sadie’s feelings and panic, which made me empathize with the character and had me shed a few tears regardless of how bizarre I thought all the unfortunate events were dumped into this character almost all at the same time.

Even though I had an inkling of how the story would end (which by the way I was right lol), I enjoyed how the story flowed and most especially Sadie’s character development. Her relationship with “both” MMCs and her reactions to them were funny and sweet, but I found Sadie’s relationship and reconciliation with her stepfamily a bit underwhelming, but I guess a great contribution to her character arc nonetheless.

Rating Hello Stranger ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases July 11th, 2023!

This was such an interesting read! It was my first from Katherine Center and I really liked it! It really wasn't a romance and that it what I liked most about it--it was just different.

Sadie is a portrait artist is who experiences a dramatic life change due to a medical condition. Trying to navigate a world without faces, Sadie has to focus on other things to make her way around. There were misunderstandings a plenty, but it all ended well.

5 out of 5 stars.

I received a free ARC from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley; and I am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.

So I this is like the fourth Katherine Center book I’ve read! (Thanks, Netgalley for the early read.) I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I was already expecting to purchase, and it’s currently on its way to my house with my book of the month shipment but I’m grateful for the early read! The concept of this book was really cute- a portrait artist who ends up with face blindness (THE IRONY). The idea that there may be two suitors also really dug my interest. Conveniently, I also received a yes to this book via audiobook from NetGalley and for that reason, decided to go ahead and just listen to the audiobook.

This was by far my favorite Katherine Center read. There’s something about a book with topics and themes personal to the author that just hit the reader at such a different level.

I really enjoyed Sadie’s overall journey and what the face blindness allowed her to overcome/breakthrough in a way. To me, it felt like she was overcoming the need to hold herself back and to become more than the shell she was permitting herself to live in. And I think breaking through the “shackles” you may put yourself in is incredibly important lesson in life.

There were some issues with lack of communication and miscommunication I just could not get behind. If you have strong feelings toward someone, why would you not ask for clarity? Or talk through things? The blind acceptance was frustrating to say the least.

Sadie unfortunately was surrounded by mediocre people or awful people. It almost seemed like she settled for herself..including in friendships.

Emotionally, this book has my heart. Sadie grips you with her struggles of parental death, an evil step sister, then has to go through some pretty life altering events. She was hit from every direction and I felt that all the way through.

3.75/5

I'd anticipated a fun light-hearted read—based on my one other KC read, The Bodyguard—so the somber tone threw me. While Hello Stranger leans more toward Women's Fiction, Sadie's journey with Aquired Apperceptive Prosopagnosia aka "Face Blindness" as a portrait artist was a completely new perspective I haven't come across before.

Joe is definitely the perfect support Sadie needed (obstinate as she was to accept help...) and a bright spot in all the personal and familial struggles Sadie is challenged with (I didn't find any satisfying resolutions to these issues...).

Overall, it provided a unique look into a condition I'd never heard of before while providing an easy to read, no heat story that still builds a little bit of twist into the relationship element.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
Contemporary romance.
Sadie is a portrait artist. She’s won a spot in an upcoming contest that’s she’s feeling good about. But she has a seizure that causes her to have brain surgery and suddenly she can’t see faces or recognize anyone. Features are out of place for everyone. Sadie needs to find alternative ways to identify people and then figure out what to do with her portrait painting career. Hair, clothing, posture and gait are some of the ways she’ll need to use to identify people she sees everyday. Including Joe, the man on her floor who always wears a leather jacket with that name stitched on the front.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook narrated by Patti Murin. The performance of the audiobook was marvelous. There were distinct voices for Sadie, Joe and several of the secondary characters. For me, the timing was perfection. I clearly heard the anxiety, the fear, the confusion and ultimately the hope in the story. Of course, those feelings are in the written word as well, but I think this book comes across phenomenally well by the narrator.

From the author notes: “Romance books are unapologetically hopeful and optimistic. Joyful. Positive. The lead to Emotional bliss.”
Yes, that’s why I love them.
And I loved this book for the same reasons. The heroine had a temporary physical disability that meant she couldn’t recognize faces. But she didn’t give up. She still painted to the best of her ability and ultimately she found love.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.

“It’s a disorienting thing to know there’s something wrong with you. It made everything about my life seem different, worse, false. Like I’d been misunderstanding everything all along.”

“You’re not just your face, is what I mean. But man, it sure is a big part of you.”

Love isn’t blind, it’s just a little blurry.

4.5 stars rounded up! I adored this book. I laughed. I wanted to cry. And I can’t even remember the last time I wanted to reach into a book and smack the sh*t out of a character the way I did with Parker. It made me FEEL things, guys. What a wonderful story.

The audio was absolutely fantastic! It is narrated by @pattimurin and she nails it! Her comedic timing is on point and she had me falling in love with these characters. She gave them life and so much heart. I just loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I am such a fan of Katherine Center and I love her newest book!! Hello Stranger is about portrait artist, Sadie, who is on the verge of her big break. It all turns on a dime when she experiences a health crisis that affects her ability to see faces. Sadie spends the next few weeks trying to navigate her new life and figuring out how to move forward with her art. Along the way, she faces issues with her family and a new love interest.
The more I thought about this book, the more I loved the realness of it. The ending didn’t come up perfectly roses for Sadie, but there was a lot of growth. I thought the moments about Sadie’s mom and honoring her memory were beautiful and I loved the connection Sadie and Joe shared. There were a lot of tender, emotional moments mixed with the fun and the strange.

this was my first Katherine Center book and it definitely will not be my last! I requested this book on a whim and was pleasantly surprised with the story once I started reading. this is definitely unlike anything I’ve ever read before and it had my attention the entire time!

the ending was definitely predictable, and by predictable I called every single twist that happened, but I’m not mad about it. I liked the ending. just saw it coming from 300 pages away.

read if you like: artist mc, puppies, insta-love ish, love triangle (kind of)

Oh my goodness, this one was so sweet! The storyline was so creative. It was heartwarming. It helped me to see the good in people. I have enjoyed all of Katherine Center’s books, but I LOVED this one. Adored it!

Sadie’s character was funny, thought-provoking, artistic, and inspiring. Her friendship with Sue made me laugh out loud. Parker truly was an evil stepsister. The love story component was so pure.

4.5 rounded down 💫

What I’ve come to learn after my 3rd KC book is they’re a bit dramatic + unrealistic BUT it WORKS!

Were there plot holes in this that just didn’t make sense? YES, hence the half star reduction but this was my face while reading —> 🥹🥹🥹

You can expect :
✨an evil stepsister
✨a HELPFUL, pet loving, patient love interest
✨an emotional support pup
✨SO many “aha” moments from her therapist that had me like ✍️✍️✍️
✨to learn SO much about Prosopagnosia (face blindness)
✨an incredible authors note 🥲😭

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!!!!