Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy in exchange for a fair review.

This is the third book I’ve read from Katherine Center and I just really enjoy her writing style. I found this book to be so fun and enjoyable for the very reason a few readers complained about it. It’s a delightful fairy tale with villains, true love, and a heroine who can rescue herself but also learns it’s ok to ask for help. It’s a story that problem seems to incredible to be plausible and that’s what makes it fun. You just have to roll with it.

Here’s the thing about rom-coms: they aren’t meant to be realistic. One should automatically assume that disbelief will need to be suspended to enjoy it. Let’s be honest- real life love stories are messy and don’t always end happily, which is probably why rom-coms appeal. Anyway, Center has a fantastic author’s note at the end that talks about this.

I absolutely loved that Center created a medical reason that drove the plot and created all the rom-com tropes we all read rom-coms for, like the big third act misunderstanding. And it worked so well because it wasn’t like Sadie, the MC was a total idiot for the misunderstanding- her acquired face blindness was the cause. Brilliant.

The face blindness was used very deftly to explore change, adaptability, and Sadie’s significant childhood traumas. At first I kind of thought Sadie was a victim and a whiner and as her story develops and she reacts to her medical condition, which also impacts her livelihood as a portrait painter, you start to discover the depth of the trauma and grief her family has experienced and why she is the way she is. I did get frustrated with her complete lack of awareness - with or without the face blindness.

I was blown away towards the end when I unexpectedly bust into tears at the sadness of her experience. And in this case, the unspoken conversations that usually create the romantic tension, were also used to explore BIG topics like grief and forgiveness. This novel has a lot of emotional depth.

I really liked the love interests - Joe the Weasel and Oliver the vet. You can probably guess the ending early on, but even if you do the rom-com journey is so fun. The supporting characters had some fun, developed personality traits. The rich descriptions of Houston and portraiture were interesting.

In terms of constructive criticism - I don’t have many notes. Parker as the villain sometimes felt too cartoonish even though she is proper psychopath. That didn’t quite work for me narratively. The pacing in the beginning felt slow and too much time was dedicated to trying to verbally describe experiencing face blindness. I thought some tighter edits could have resolved that. Center’s endings tend to be pretty long. I have still enjoyed them, but when an ending is like 50 pages it’s hard not to get impatient for it to end. I think some tight edits here would also help with pacing. The last 50 pages specifically felt too wordy. I’m sure the final version will be typo free - the e-ARC I received still had some typos.

That’s all I’ve got. I really liked this book and highly recommend it.

Funny, moving, and instantly engaging, Hello Stranger has one of the most fascinating set-ups I've ever encountered in a romance novel. With a great main character and a unique premise, this book is impossible to put down.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

I honestly don’t have much criticism of this one. The premise is intriguing—broke, portrait artist, Sadie, winds up needing brain surgery which results in a questionably temporary condition known as “face blindness”—meaning that she can no longer process faces. They look like puzzle pieces of features that haven’t quite been put together. But that’s not all: Sadie had just finally gotten her big break by becoming a finalist at a prestigious portrait competition. In a matter of weeks, she has to adjust to her new life and attempt to paint what she can no longer see.

Not only is the premise great, but the characters are quite lovable. Sadie’s life is really taking a turn, but she’s incredibly resilient and unintentionally charming. The story is told through her experiences, so we find things out as she does, making her an unreliable narrator and causing a lot of hilarious confusions. It’s been a long time since I’ve genuinely chuckled at something I’m reading, and this one had me laughing out loud by the end.

I also really appreciate that it didn’t wrap up too quickly. The pacing at the end felt perfect, and don’t even get me started on the warm and fuzzy feelings I got from these characters. And, the love story did not disappoint. Joe and Sadie’s dynamic is so funny. I could have gone without some of the sub plot about her evil stepsister—that felt a bit too juvenile and over the top—but I was satisfied when it played into the central conflict moment. Overall, great story-telling, funny moments, and lovely characters.

Why are you still reading? Go put this on your wishlist! It’s out next month—July 11th!

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

📖: (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC for an honest review. This is hard book to review, because it’s really not like anything i’ve ever read. Certainly not like any other romance i’ve read. This is a very emotional book, that had me tearing up quite a few times. I really liked Sadie as a main character, i really felt for her, and enjoyed her inner dialogue. What she was struggling with was very complex and hard to describe and i think the author did a great job making it understandable. I would definitely say this was more of a women’s fiction than a traditional romance, it was definitely Sadie’s story, with more of a romance side-plot. And the writing was so good, it definitely kept me invested despite that. I will say, i did get a little impatient with the plot with Joe/the vet, just because as a reader you basically knew what was going on, but Sadie didnt, and you were just waiting for him to say something, and for her to find out. and he could’ve said something and cleared everything up so easily! Also i did not love the evil stepsister side plot, she was just a little TOO psychotic where it just felt a little unrealistic. But i did like the resolve of her and her father.
Overall, really beautiful writing, and once i got into it, i really couldn’t put it down, just some parts grew a little tedious. 3.5/3.75 stars.

I can't believe I'm giving such a low rating to a Katherine Center book, but this one was really not for me! The concept is absolutely fascinating: Sadie, a young woman who makes her living as a portrait artist, has to have lifesaving brain surgery that leaves her with a condition called face blindness; suddenly, she cannot recognize the faces even of people whom she has known for years. Not a great development for someone who has been accepted into the finals of a prestigious art competition, which requires her to complete a portrait in six weeks' time!

My main problem with the book is that Sadie decides she is not going to tell anyone (except her best friend) about this condition. This, obviously, leads to HUGE misunderstandings that could have been cleared up if she'd simply been honest. It's a (possibly temporary) disability, and her reasons for being so secretive just didn't add up to me! It made me think of what film critic Roger Ebert once referred to as "the idiot plot," a storyline that only functions if people behave like idiots.

Also, Sadie has a stepsister who is so evil she practically runs around cackling, "Ha ha ha, I just love ruining your life" (only a slight exaggeration). I can't get into the ending because I don't want to spoil it, but it was just one wacky misunderstanding after another. Very disappointing!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the review copy, via NetGalley.

Katherine Center has delivered another delightful novel! Center is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and this book continues to confirm this. The story is fun, warm, and heartwarming. As Sadie copes with the diagnosis of face blindness, she begins to learn how to love, accept help, and forgive. I truly enjoyed and appreciated the mix of self-discovery and comedy in this sweet book.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. I think the author perfectly captured how a person might fixate on all the negatives in a life-changing event. The characters were fun to follow, and the family drama/emotions were well done. While some of the event were predictable, it was still a very fun summer read.

Katherine Center is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors after reading two of her books and loving them!

This one included a very original storyline. It was such a halerious and sweet read! I love the way we are inside Sadie’s head and we get to see her amazing commentary on her unfortunate situations (reminds me a bit of myself ).

For this book I can truly say you will be rooting for the FMC throughout the book. I thought I didn’t enjoy closed door romances, but I just hadn’t found Katherine Centers books!! It doesn’t feel like something is missing, but close the book satisfied with the ending.

Sadie is a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition when the worst possible thing happens to her. She’s in a hospital bed after a procedure and is diagnosed with a condition known as face blindness. This makes painting a portrait into her own nightmare as all the faces she sees are jumbled jigsaw puzzle pieces. As she struggles to cope with her new and “probably temporary” condition and achieving her artistic dream, she falls for two different men.

I had never heard of face blindness (otherwise known as acquired or developmental prosopagnosia) prior to reading this novel so I learned a little something while diving into this cute romance. I thought this was a really interesting feature to be added to a romance novel and really well done.

I loved Sadie as the FMC, as with all the other main characters in Katherine Center’s novels, she’s down on her luck and experiencing what feels like the worst weeks of her life. Even still, there’s a note of levity, of humour, and hope to her story. I really enjoyed reading Katherine’s author’s note because it really hits home on how romance novels are novels of anticipation and hope. They’re the silver lining of a story. And that rings true here.

Katherine is a master at finding humour in even the most dire of situations and that is ever present here with several laugh out loud moments or moments that brought a smile to my face as I read.

I loved all the quirky secondary characters - they really rounded out all the edges of this novel, making it feel tangible and complete. I thought the romance aspect was really sweet. I did figure out the twist in advance, but loved how it all came together in the end.

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.</i>

Though I did enjoy this book, it was not my favorite Katherine Center book.

I will start this review by saying that even though I have notes, I DEVOURED this book. I had a hard time stopping myself from reading when it was time to put it down.

Here are the issues I had first so that I can end on a good note: 1) The miscommunication is STRONG in this one. It is basically a book ABOUT not being able to communicate properly so if that is a turn off for you PREPARE YOURSELF! I am not a big fan of miscommunication troupes so this was a hard one for me. 2) I did not like the added obstacle of her having an “evil stepsister”. I felt like there were enough obstacles for Sadie to endure without having that girl hate in the book.

All that being said, this book still had the bones of what I love from Katherine Center books. Great banter, absolutely hilarious, and so much joy! I loved that both of our characters in this book were just full of life even though they were both going through BIG and life altering obstacles. As usual, I found myself laughing out loud on multiple occasions and then ugly crying toward the end.

Over all, this was a 4⭐️ read for me. I enjoyed myself!

Katherine Center's books are like a warm hug. She has a great formula for her stories, and I really enjoyed her notes at the end of this book.

Hello Stranger was a fun and different read. Sadie is a portrait artist who just won a coveted spot in a portrait competition. Winning this thing could really make her career. Her plans are completely derailed when an unplanned medical procedure leaves her with face blindness. As if things weren't difficult enough, Sadie is also dealing with family issues, a sick dog, and the possibility of two new love interests. They say when it rains, it pours... How will Sadie manage to navigate through these challenges in her life?

4.5

Have loved this author since I read “How to Walk Away” (still my favorite). But, I will say this one came close. Sadie is her mother’s daughter, promising portrait artist making it to the Top 10 in a prestigious competition. Until the unthinkable medical emergency makes her take a detour and reevaluate how she sees herself and her past, present and future!

Center writes beautiful love stories that wrap their arms around you. Interesting plots and characters. Subtle twists, but yet somewhat expected. I love how she brings such unusual elements into her stories. From her beautiful covers to her engaging and relatable characters, Katherine Center is always my go to for a great, feel good read.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Swoonworthy!

Sadie is a portrait artist who receives an opportunity to enter into a contest that could launch her professional career to the next level. Unfortunately, just as she gets this news, she has to undergo surgery that has detrimental consequences; the surgery leaves Sadie with facial blindness....

How is Sadie supposed to make a living as a portrait artist when she can't see faces?! Sadie's life is blurry and she begins to see people differently: by characteristics, gait, voice pitch, their clothes... While dealing with underlying personal and family issues, she meets two love interests.. one is a "womanizer" and the other is a kind veterinarian who saved her dog's life. She knows them through the clothes they wear and where she 'sees' them.

There were many secondary characters that brought this story together. Hello Stranger is a story about following your dreams through adversity, resilience and definitely not judged people based on pre-conceived notions. All of Katherine Center's books have a feel-good, hopeful component. I loved this one!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and Katherine Center for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book releases 7.11.23!

I really enjoyed this story. I don’t always love an unreliable narrator but I think with this story line it worked well. As an aside it was interesting learning about face blindness and how it would affect someone’s daily life. Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t know where we were going with the ending and I really enjoyed it. The pacing was good and the writing was good, this would make an excellent beach read this summer.

Another beautiful Katherine Center book that deserved its rightful place on my shelf!

First, allow me to say thank you to St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley for the e-arc and MacMillan audio for the audio file in exchange of my honest review. So, here it comes.

With KC’s (Katherine Center’s) books, I always learn something different and new every time and gets to experience another story aside from my own. Never had it occurred to me, that there are people out there suffering from prosopagnosia (face blindness) and that some acquired it later in life and other just had it ever since. Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist and she is just finally getting the big break that she has been waiting for in her life. To be a finalist in the Arts Award and proving to her dad that she could be something with her art, until a random seizure on the sidewalk ended her in a hospital room, a diagnosis of cavernoma and the supposedly routine brain procedure she had endure resulted to her not recognizing people’s faces. A dilemma, if you are a portrait artist hoping to snag the first place in Arts Award that is happening in six weeks.

The term struggling artist is literal in every sense in this book. Sadie was taught all the coping skills to get by with her new situation and who would have thought that people’s gait can be such a define and specific characteristic not to mention sexy? So, now I’m going to add that new hobby of watching people’s gaits as they drag their suitcases and rush themselves in the airports! Thank you KC!
True to KC’s fashion, the characters are always well developed, have the exact amount of intrigue to keep us all hanging, have the perfect stubbornness that would make us want to pull all our hair, the excruciatingly annoyance and bitchiness of the characters who are antagonists to our MCs and the loving, warm and supportive relations of the side characters who will never leave or MCs alone making this book truly humanity focused! Just as KC mentioned in her notes, the feeling of hope drives the romance genre and I am all for it because this is a truly a feel good book and I highly recommend! And if any case listening to the audio is possible? Do it! It was just as amazing as flipping the pages!

When I saw there was a Katherine Center book coming out, I knew I just had to get it. Hello Stranger, I was hoping going to keep me entertained from start to finish.
Sadie is a promising portrait artist, and she has finally gotten the chance to show her work. Just before her chance she ends up having to have brain surgery due to an accident. The result of her surgery was temporary prosopagnosia (face blindness).
The plot line of this book really made me think as I was reading.
The story was good, but I had a very hard time connecting with the characters.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy to read.
This is my personal review.

First of all, this is my first Katherine Center book and wow, she did not let me down! I will be reading more from her! I loved this book so much. Highly recommend!

About the book:
Sadie Montgomery has just placed in the North American Portrait competition as a finalist - one of the biggest achievements in her life! Unfortunately, tragedy strikes and she has to get brain surgery - yes, brain surgery! Which leaves her with a temporary condition (she hopes) called face blindness. Not so great for a portrait painter…

Sadie now sees jumbled features for faces, so she must cope with this new reality while dealing with family drama, her lovely dog Peanut’s health issues, and also… boy drama?! Sadie meets not one, but two men that take an interest in her! One, a dreamy veterinarian who helps to save her dogs life and two, an annoying tenant in her apartment building that may or may not be a womanizer. How will she choose between the two, or will she?

My thoughts:
Oh Sadie! She is so funny and has such a running imagination… it made me not want to put this book down. The way her thoughts spiral and jump from one thing to the next was funny and relatable, as she learns to deal with a very unique situation that seems at odds with her entire lifestyle.

The romance in this book, can I call it a love triangle? It’s meet cute, funny, endearing, heartfelt… and most of all it is surprising! 💜

There were a couple twists to this book that had me anticipating what was going to happen next, and I couldn’t put the book down until I knew! It left me with all the good feelings. 🎨🦴🛼💜💗

I hope this becomes a highly anticipated read for everyone! 💜💕🛼🐕

🛼Also, please read the authors note at the end of this book! It is so well written, especially for romance book fans!

thank you netgalley for the arc !

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 2.5/5 stars *ੈ✩‧₊˚

read if you like:
♡ love triangle (with a crazy plot twist)
♡ super cute senior dog called peanut
♡ miscommunication galore


ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ after reading the man who mistook his wife for a hat many years ago i recall being fascinated with the condition of prosopagnosia - dubbed more often as face blindness - for a significant amount of time. my terminal opinion of hello stranger notwithstanding, katherine center has authored a singularly unique story orbiting around a neurological condition affecting more of the population than you might suspect. the sheer creativity required to have concocted the foundational plot is absolutely and insanely commendable.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ sadie, a portraiture artist has scarcely begun celebrating being initiated into the finalist round of the North American Portrait Society competition when she’s prone in a hospital bed and slapped with a diagnosis of prosopagnosia that may or may not be permanent. all this to say, her career as a portrait artist (naturally hinging on her perception of faces) and the competition is now categorically up in the air. struggling to piece her life back together with this newfound way of seeing the world around her, she’s caught up in comedic misunderstanding after misunderstanding, bent on not sharing with anyone the news of her face blindness. unable to judge others with as much shrewdness when their expressions are but in absentia, she’s now seemingly getting her poor neighbour joe’s number all wrong who seems intent on helping her, falling head over heels for a veterinarian she can’t see and just generally muddling her way forward till the day she’s told whether or not this change in her life is going to stick.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ this is my second center novel and much as i maintain that this was foundationally brilliant, to my disappointment, the overall effect dims in the comparison. sadie came across immature, pathologically whiny and dare i say it… stupid. she initially seeks to defer her surgery for a potentially life-threatening condition and takes one too many pages to give in. riddled with prepossessions regarding both love interests, she cuts a rather narrow-minded figure. at least the relationship between her and peanut redeems her greatly in my eyes and for all her unpleasantness she is immensely humorous. that’s one element you can always count on with center, her comedic timing has been honed to a keen-blade - this book is seriously funny. joe on the other hand is more likeable if not a bit hallmark in his lack of foibles and same goes for the veterinarian. all told, the characters here are not doing too many favours in service of the story. the pacing is pretty fast which would have been fine on its own if not for the insta-love. the romance is a little heavy-handed and rushed in its development which is something i personally tend to veer clear away from so my opinion of that is coloured by a personal distaste. in any event, the writing was witty even if it repeated turns of phrases a bit too frequently for me.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ conclusion:
hello stanger is an eccentric spin on a prevalent but little-known neurological condition which will lure you in with its humorous timing - or rather, in the case of poor sadie, its mistiming - and you’ll find yourself paging through this one rather quickly (so long as you’re not ill-disposed towards a more childish romance), if not having a blast.

I absolutely loved The Bodyguard so when I had a chance to read Hello Stranger early I was ecstatic! It did not disappoint. It had one of my least favorite tropes — miscommunication but it was done in such a new, interesting way. I wanted to keep reading and enjoyed every second of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

When I read The Bodyguard I had rather lukewarm feelings about it. So going into this one I knew roughly what I was going to get, but this book turned out to be so much more than I had anticipated.

This book had heart with interesting characters. It had (to my knowledge) good representation of something I was only vaguely aware of but didn’t know much about. And as everyone knows, I love a golden retriever love interest and this book has Joe, which is basically the same energy.

I really liked the dissection of Sadie and Parker especially. I loved the layers getting uncovered and watching more and more of them becoming known to the reader and helping to explain more of the “why” (although Parker is the worst). And even though I typically don’t enjoy the “mean girl” trope in books this has an interesting twist on it and it kept me engaged in the story instead of pulling me out.

All in all this is a phenomenal read. I would definitely recommend this to people who are new to reading romance and don’t want explicit sex scenes in their books. This author definitely focuses more on the connection between her characters instead of the lust being the motivating factor. Which is nice to see in a really “smut” saturated market.