Thank you to Katherine Center, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an arc edition of this ebook.

KC is definitely one of my all time favorite authors and this book did not disappoint! Though, I will admit I was disappointed to not get an early Thanksgiving edition on Netgalley but later scooped this one up when available later. No worries, KC... I still love you and your books ;D

This story is one of romance and self realization . Sadie is an artist trying to win her dream portrait competition when disaster strikes and she is hospitalized and found to have a condition known as "face blindness". We follow her through her struggles in relationships with family and friends , while trying to heal after brain surgery and yet still be able to paint to earn a living.

An emotional roller coaster that had me cheering out loud and crying when nothing seemed to go Sadie's way. As usual, I would love to meet our MC and become friends, Katherine Center does a fantastic job at describing the characters and environment while capturing all the feels.

Another fav on my list! Thanks again for sharing Sadie, Peanut and Dr. dreamy with us!
Recommended for fans of Romance, Chick Lit and of course Katherine Center <3

It is hard to think that Katherine Center can top her own books but she does it every time!

Hello Stranger is such a sweet love story about Sadie, a portrait artist who is suddenly dealing with face blindness. As she copes with that as well as a myriad of other personal issues, she also encounters the kindness of two very possible suitors. How can she choose?!

Hello Stranger marries the severity of scary medical diagnoses like in How to Walk Away with witty, swoon-worthy banter as in The Bodyguard which only makes for a good time!

It was nice to have the digital version to switch between reading it and listening the audiobook!

4.5 Stars

When things go wrong for Sadie Montgomery, they really go wrong! Sadie is a portrait artist invited to participate in a renowned portrait competition that could change her life and her career path. However, with just six weeks until the competition, a lifesaving brain surgery leaves her with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia (aka face blindness) …and that’s just the beginning. I was ready for the quirky, comfort read to play out in all its colorful glory and Katherine Center does not disappoint. This tale is an eye-opener for a neurological disorder that affects 2% of the population. The amount of research done in support of this warm, clever story is evident.

DO NOT skip the author’s note. It made me laugh and who couldn’t use more laughs? She shares when she realized that books could be fun and how she fell in love with romance novels, “I felt like a person who’d spent her entire life eating boneless, skinless chicken breast . . . and I had just discovered chocolate cake.” It is an author note that will stay with me, why do we admonish romance novels with an eye roll? They bring joy to our lives and yes, they offer a HEA, but is that a bad thing? “…tragedy is a given, but joy is a choice.”

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review Hello Stranger by Katherine Center in advance of the release.

This was such a heartwarming story!! This is the first book I've ever read from Katherine Center, but I need to read more from her. I absolutely loved the way this story was written and I loved the character development. The main character, Sadie, had finally become a finalist in a portrait competition, but as a result of her brain surgery, Sadie experiences "face blindness". She can still see everything around her as normal, except for people's faces. Hopefully it's a temporary side effect, but how is she supposed to paint faces for a contest if she can't see them? I loved this premise and thought it was very unique and refreshing.

Although I liked both of the love interests - Oliver, her dog's vet and Joe, a guy who lives in her building, I didn't connect with them as much as I had hoped I would. Sadie cannot see their faces, but we never really learn much about either man. Their interactions picked up in the second half of the book and things started to open up, but I never grew much of a connection with either love interest.

Overall, I still loved this book and thought it was such a sweet romance!! I definitely recommend it for all my lovers of sweet, heart-warming romances!! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this free arc in exchange for my honest review!

Katherine Center continues to be my go-to author for meaningful Women’s Fiction. She knows how to craft a thoughtful story that has humor, love, and deeper meaning.
Hello Stranger, is a romance, and good one at that — but it goes deeper with Sadie’s unique situation and how it impacts every aspect of her life that made this book so engrossing to read. Sadie is a portrait artist who is diagnosed with a malformed brain vessel that requires immediate surgery. When she wakes in the hospital after surgery, she realizes she now has a condition called acquired prosopagnosia, otherwise known as “face blindness”. The surgery has left her with swelling near the the part of the brain that processes faces, and there’s no telling whether this is a permanent or temporary condition. Right before the surgery, Sadie learned that she was a finalist in a portrait competition that could finally give her the big break she is looking for — but if she can’t see faces, how can she paint them? Sadie’s life was already messy before the surgery — barely making ends meet, dealing with her estranged family, a truly evil stepsister, and a pesky, yet helpful, neighbor. Even though I could see what was about to happen, I still enjoyed the journey getting there.

I appreciated the author’s note and acknowledgements for it gave great insight into learning about the real disorder that Sadie has: Prosopagnosia. I also really related to her insight into the romance genre and how all stories run on anticipation, but romance uses positive valanced anticipation. Don’t we all need a little more positivity in our lives? I would highly recommend adding Hello Stranger to your summer reading list.

This was my third Katherine Center read, and after finishing Hello Stranger, I can now say that she will be one of my auto-purchase authors from here on! I just absolutely loved this book. I loved the depth of characters, the fun storyline, and how the book was engaging throughout its entirety. I could develop a clear picture of each setting and character in my mind. I just wish I had started the book sooner!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I absolutely adored this book. In true Katherine Center fashion, the characters are well rounded, full of personality and believable quirks. I found myself smiling and laughing out loud repeatedly while engaged with this novel. Yet another five star Katherine Center read for me!

Thank you Katherine Center and NetGalley for this eARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book. I LOVED it! 5 stars for sure! Since I was not familiar with the author, I read The Bodyguard a few weeks before reading this ARC so that I could be more familiar with her writing. Well, I found a new favorite author in the process. I really enjoyed both books immensely.
For Hello Stranger, I really enjoyed how Katherine Center took an old trope - a take on amensia - and made it fresh and new with the main character's head injury and face blindness. She took "meet cute" to a whole new level. I found her characters fun and likable. More than anything, this book radiates pure joy, second chances, and working to make the best version of yourself. Highly recommend it!
Will have a review posted to my Bookstagram on June 30th.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read Hello Stranger in exchange for an honest review.
I have loved other Katherine Center books I’ve read so I was very excited to snag her newest release.
“We see what we are looking for”
Hello Stranger is full of betrayal, hope and happiness. Sadie has been given an amazing artist gift from her mom. When she is stricken with a brain injury, she has to find a way to still produce works of art. This brain injury causes her to not see faces so her art work suffers among many other things. While dealing with her brain injury from a surgery that her absent father forced her to have sooner rather than later, she also had to deal with an evil stepmother and stepsister. They were the worst! Every time they were mentioned, I rolled my eyes.
Her doctors and therapist kept giving her hope that things would improve so she could compete in this important art event. It didn’t turn out how she wanted but she still tried to give it her best.
I hated to laugh at poor Sadie when she started dating “2” men, who in a sense were completely different. I figured out the twist very early on but I loved to see it unfold. In the end, Sadie finds happiness in her love life, friendships and even with her father.
(Side note: I went down a whole rabbit hole researching Facial Blindness. I had no idea it existed.)

*I did find some errors. I believe they are just typing errors. I was able to keep reading without the errors messing with my flow." I'll be happy to provide those to the publisher.

Sadie is a portrait artist who has made it to the finals of the North American Portrait Society after many attempts. The celebration is short-lived, however. After an injury leads to brain surgery, Sadie is left with face blindness. Hoping it's temporary, she faces her most challenging painting yet. The portrait for the competition must be completed in just a few weeks. And all faces look like Picasso paintings, except that of her beloved dog Peanut. Oh, when she least expects it she falls both in love- and in lust- with two men she can't even see clearly.

For those wondering if this is appropriate for teen readers, I would say yes. Interesting information about face blindness and there is no sex, even behind closed doors. Though Sadie does overhear a conversation that makes her very uncomfortable.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this free review copy. I love Katherine Center and she delivered with this one. This book makes you laugh, pulls at your heart strings and gave me butterflies! Check it out!

Sadie Montgomery is a struggling portrait artist living in a studio. She is determined to get her big break one day and become successful. A life changing diagnosis has Sadie seeing things differently.
Katherine Center's notes at the end of the book are informative about the characters health issue. It made me see things differently.
A captivating and lighthearted romantic novel by Katherine Center. Entertaining and heartfelt. Her books have become must reads for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

I was excited to receive this ARC, as Katherine Center is one of my auto-read authors. This book didn’t disappoint!

It follows the story of Sadie Montgomery, who has just placed as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society Competion and is one her way to celebrate before getting to work on her composition. After a seizure like episode, and emergency brain surgery she awakes to find that she has face blindness. This condition may or may not be temporary, and may derail her life long dream of winning the portrait society competition.

As she is dealing with this, another crisis rocks her life. Her beloved dog Peanut, has a life threatening emergency and is rushed to the vet. Here Sadie meets Dr. Oliver Addison, who she has an instant attraction to (despite her facial blindness). She also is starting to have feelings for her neighbour, even though her initial impression of him was awful.

She is also trying to deal with strained relationships with her father, stepmother and horrid stepsister.

Despite all the serious situations, the author sprinkles in enough humor and heartwarming moments to make the reader hopeful that Sadie will emerge from this darkness and find herself again.


Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

Katherine Center does it again! Hello Stranger was a delightful read! If you are new to reading Center's books, I would not recommend starting here! Hello Stranger has all the classic pieces of Center's writing style that I have grown incredibly fond of. Center always picks unique characters and plot lines that immerse you fully into the story.

Sadie is broke. She's struggling to make ends meet as a portrait artist. She's estranged from her surly father and is absolutely unwilling to ask him for any assistance. When said enters an art competition, she sees her opportunity to change her luck. As she's walking home from the grocery store, she lose consciousness and wakes up in the hospital being told she needs to have surgery. Reluctant, Sadie is ready to refuse, but her father (a renowned surgeon) shows up and takes control of the situation. The surgery is scheduled. When Sadie awakes from surgery, everything seems ok, until she becomes aware that she can't see faces. They feel like blurry puzzles. A portrait artist with hopefully temporary blindness is a devastating hit to Sadie.

This is a story about coping with unexpected life altering challenges and persevering in the face of adversity without becoming cold or closed off. Sadie can't see faces, but she learns new ways to recognize people. Sometimes it works and sometimes she has to adjust on the fly. The way Katherine Center creates relationships between characters is truly a gift. I always find myself wanting friends, family, and lovers like the ones she creates. I think my favorite novel of hers remains Things You Save in A Fire followed by The Bodyguard. Hello Stranger is such a new twist on classic Center elements and I loved it!

If you don't follow Katherine Center on Instagram, I highly recommend you do. I love her energy and her descriptions for how her covers come to be. She's such a warm and genuine author. I can't say enough about how when you like the author, it only adds to the quality of the book!

Thank you so much St. Martin's Press for granting me access to this title via NetGalley!

This book was so sweet! I loved how this story felt like so much more than just a book about a relationship, it felt about discovering yourself in the process. Sadie was so unique compared to other characters and I loved getting to follow her journey. Her relationship with Joe was also so sweet! This one had humor but was also so sweet at the same time.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Once again, Katherine Center does not disappoint, she gave me a book I read in a day and went to bed happy.

Sadie Montgomery lost her mom at age 14 to a stroke, or so she was told. Sadie follows in her mom's footsteps, must to the chagrin of her surgeon father, to become an artist. They had a falling out around the time her mom died and her father quickly remarried Lucinda who had a daughter the same age as Sadie, Parker.

Fast forward about twelve years and Sadie is a finalist in the North American Portrait Society. She has six weeks to paint a new portrait to enter win the top prize of $10,000. However, the night of learning the news, while out buying provisions for an impromptu celebration party, she is crossing the street when suddenly everything goes black. When Sadie comes to, she is diagnosed with face blindness. The doctors assure her it should be temporary, due to swelling in her brain, but in some cases, it does stay permanent. Now Sadie must decide how to do a portrait when peoples faces resemble puzzle pieces lying on a table.

As Sadie navigates this temporary? permanent? new world, she realizes that things can go right when you least expect them.

Again - I loved this book - and all works done by this author. I anxiously await the next book!!

I read this book towards what I think will be the end of a reading slump. I’ve just been busy. And yet, I finished this book in a sweet 48 hours because it was so good! This is 100% on brand for Center’s work (I’ve previously read How to Walk Away and The Bodyguard) so if you’ve tried her books before and liked them this will fill your bucket too!

Sadie is a portrait painter who suffers a brain injury and struggles to work. But she has to because she’s just gotten her big break - a spot in the top ten showcase for a national competition. She’s got a host of family issues that are mostly realistically wrapped up at the end of the novel but that’s not the best part…

The best part is that while you’ve got the Good Samaritan on the back burner (he’s involved in the inciting action!), there’s also Joe her neighbour and the mysterious vet Oliver. See, Sadie suffers, as a result of her brain injury, from face blindness. So she’s piecing together life, and her work, from clues, hints, and her other senses.

I enjoyed this book very much and it did keep me guessing how it would turn out until very close to the end. Well done!

ARC REVIEW

Hello stranger
By Katherine Center

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Publishing date: 7/11/2023

Sadie, a portrait artist, needs brain surgery. It's a relatively easy procedure, but as a result, sbe experiences "face blindness."  She can still see the world around her, but faces are unrecognizable as a result of swelling in her brain. It's HOPEFULLY only a temporary side affect, but the timing couldn't be worse. Sadie is a finalist in a portrait competition, and she needs to paint...you guessed it,a FACE.

While trying to adapt to her new normal, Sadie develops feelings for 2 men....at the same time, (Even though ahe cant SEE them) has some major family issues, and also has a sick dog.  Sadie is trying to navigate her new reality while trying to understand the world without using her eyes.

This was adorable! The 2nd half was my favorite. The first 50% didn't hold my interest, unfortunately.  I was certain I was only going to give it a 3 star rating, but the  ending was soooooo good!

Joe?!! LOVED his character. TALK ABOUT SWEETHEART!! What a great book boyfriend!

This is definitely a sweet, non spicy romance. I did struggle to feel free romance vibes in the first half. It didn't suck me in like I hoped, but by the 2nd half, I was invested and finished 50% in one sitting.

Need a heartwarming read? Pick this one up on 7/11!


THANKS TO @netgalley AND @stmartinspress for the cute arc!
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We start the story with Sadie receiving this amazing news - she's been chosen to participate in the final round of a prestigious portrait competition! But after a medical scare, she awakes from brain surgery with acquired face blindness. She can see just fine, but her brain can't make sense of the features of a person's face, so she doesn't recognize anyone. She only has weeks to paint a portrait for her submission to the contest, but she can't even make sense of her own face, let alone anyone else's.

In the midst of this trauma, Sadie also deals with a health scare for her pup, the never-ending grief of losing her mom when she was a teenager, a tormenting step-sister, and the daily fear of not being able to recognize anyone in her life or trust her senses at all.

I was absolutely fascinated by Sadie's journey. Along the way she meets Oliver (her dog's handsome vet) and Joe (a guy who lives in her building) and she develops strong feelings for both of them. I think the most compelling part of the story was that I felt like my understanding of Oliver and Joe were also muted in a way - Sadie didn't know what they looked like and I felt like I never really got to know them that well. And I can't tell if this was done intentionally (it made me feel like I couldn't "see" them either) or not, but it definitely interfered with my ability to feel invested with the romance. There was some very sweet and adorable caretaking scenes but I just felt a bit disconnected from them when usually I'd be swooning alongside the heroine! I should note that I am a strictly romance reader and I would say this felt like much more of a women's fiction story than a romance to me, so that could be part of it as well.

Either way, it was a heartwarming story that I think a lot of people will enjoy for its unique premise! I especially enjoyed reading Katherine Center's notes at the end explaining her research process and all of the people she met along the way!

I absolutely love Katherine Center, so I knew I would absolutely love this book. I thought the premise was brilliant and so interesting to dive into and consider. A portrait artist who can no longer see faces? Yep, I'm in. Those who love a medical anomaly will love to read about facial blindness. It was something I had never heard of, so I loved that I learned something new through Sadie. And, as always, Katherine Center nails the romance part of the story. I loved it! I will forever be a fan.