In Katherine Center's latest, a woman unexpectedly dealing with face blindness is forced to come to terms with her altered life in a variety of different ways. Sadie is on the cusp of a life-changing moment in her professional career as a portrait artist when a sudden surgery results in her brain's inability to see faces correctly.

She also keeps running into the womanizing jerk in her apartment and is immensely confused when he consistently acts kind and thoughtful toward her. On top of it all, her stepsister who has terrorized her entire life is taking advantage of her condition and pulling nasty tricks on her over and over again.

At the end of her rope, Sadie starts to reconsider her former aspirations, first impressions, and even her distant family and discovers some things are not as they seem.

I really wanted to connect with this story in the same way that I have other Katherine Center books, but it just wasn't pulling me in like I've experienced in the past. It seemed to lack the emotional depth that I'm used to.

The one aspect that pushed this from 3.5 up to my 4 star rating is the heartfelt ode to romance novels that she wrote in the Author's Note! It captured my attention and my heart more than the entire novel!

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is her newest romcom and this is the story of Sadie and Oliver.
 
Sadie is an artist, and she is following her dream of living from being a portrait artist. However, she is kind of struggling to make ends meet. She has a good support system, and her sidekick is her dog Peanut and I loved that. When she has the chance to enter a contest, she does everything to participate, however shortly beforehand she experiences face blindness. That was something I’ve never read about before and was really interesting and unique.
 
It also makes a play on the love is blind concept and during this time Sadie gets a completely different view and that made me think as well. One day she meets the vet Oliver and the two have a connection and a lot of similarities. I really liked the romance aspect as well and Oliver is such a cinnamon roll hero.
 
Overall, Hello Stranger is a great romcom with an amazing message. 4,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

This was a fun, quick read. I loved both the MC and the LI, as well as many of the side characters. Sadie’s family was almost unbelievably horrible. Seriously evil stepsister and clueless stepmother. Her dad was not any better. That part of the book was sad, and though there was ultimately some redemption it didn’t really make things that much better.

I found it interesting that the author had a note in the back commenting on why she loves romance novels and addressing the issue of them being “predictable.” I wonder if she got a lot of commentary from early readers about this book being too predictable. I literally guessed the “twist” from reading the blurb, before I even started the book. I felt like it was very obvious. I think the point in her note, however, is that that’s OK in the genre. And I think I tend to agree. You know in a romance that you’re getting a HEA, so it’s just a matter of how they get there and what else happens along the way.

You definitely have to suspend some disbelief with this one, but I would recommend it to romance lovers!

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center once again does not disappoint. This one is probably my new favorite of hers.
Hello Stranger is a light hearted romance that centers around Sadie Montgomery. Sadie is a struggling portrait artist, barely making ends meet and living in less than a stellar apartment. But things start to look up when she is announced as one of the finalist at a highly recognized portrait competition. This is going to be Sadie’s big break. That is until she had a seizure in the middle of the street and rushed to the hospital. With even more bad news, the doctor tells Sadie she must have surgery due to having a malformed blood vessel in her brain. After the surgery, her world is flipped upside down when she realizes she cannot see faces! How can she paint a face portrait when she can’t see what their face looks like?! Ugh

Once again, Center creates vulnerable, likable, relatable characters and makes you care about them, makes you root for them, and makes you angry when roadblocks occur. Sadie was a strong female character who changed and grew over the course of this book. She had flaws, she had pain, she had sadness and anger, but she also possessed courage, heart, and determination. She felt real. I was completely and totally immersed. I listened to this one on audio and let me tell you…it was amazing. Patti Murin did everything right. I don’t have one bad thing to say.

If there is one book I would recommend above all others this year...it would be this one! Do not miss out! It is a must read!

I loved this book and the character was so relatable. She was messy and real and I loved this book! This is a must read and I recommend highly.

Thanks to Netgalley for ARC of this book; all opinions are my own.

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who develops a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Kinda puts your career and love life in jeopardy or not?

Before going into this book know that you are going to have to suspend belief a bit. I had so many questions related to the facial blindness plot that didn’t get answered. So just go with the flow. Also if miscommunication is not your trope may be check out Katherine Center’s How To Walk Away because it’s my favorite.

Sadie’s love interests are super sweet and it was interesting to see how a relationship develops when she can’t see faces (picture Helen Keller style of learning here). Add an adorable pet that likes Thai food for comedic relief and this one was cute. Heads up for my spice queens…this is closed door.

I read this weeks ago but didn’t submit, I guess so I’m fuzzier. I loved this book! She’s messy and one of those characters I can’t relate to with the dog and such total lifestyle difference. The face blindness that happens is wild and makes for such an interesting plot line. It’s just all so good. The confusion, the relationship building, how she has clarity of her mom and dad, separately.

Sadie is an artist, and her specialty is painting portraits. Her style is like her mother's who died when Sadie was 14. Six months after her death, her dad remarries, which cause further distance between Sadie and her dad. The step-mother brings to the family her own daughter, who for some reason that Sadie just can't understand, does everything in her power to make Sadie's life miserable, and this continues into adulthood.

When Sadie places as a finalist in a prestigious art competition, she is thrilled, realizing this could be her big break. But a freak accident reveals a health situation that will force her to reevaluate her painting, and what's most important in her life. Throw in a best friend Sue and love interest Joe, and you have a perfect summer read. As with her other books, this one has the quirky characters Center is known for, and they all grow on their journey.

Highly recommend! Thanks to Netgalley for ARC of this book; all opinions are my own.

Dang! There are so many levels to this book! I loved all of the talk about accepting things and adapting to your current situation versus trying to hang on to how things were. I especially loved Sadie navigating her love interest(s) and figuring out what (& who) brought her joy!

I am so happy I was able to snag an arc of this. I read my first Katherine Center novel, The Bodyguard, last year and absolutely loved it. My experience with this one was no different! I literally read this in one day because I just did not want to put it down.

The twist! I totally called it! I started putting the pieces together very early on. That did not make reading the book any less enjoyable however. The concept was so interesting and so unlike anything I’ve read before.

Katherine Center is absolutely an auto buy author for me now. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is such an amazing story. I had requested the book a few months ago and had not re-read the blurb until after I finished so I was going in blind (didn’t realize that pun when I typed it!). The story of how Sadie developed a form of face blindness and the details of it were interesting. Even more so is the fact that she’s a portrait artist. As she struggles with this massive change in her life, I felt a bit claustrophobic almost as if I couldn’t see and was vulnerable. Sadie could definitely see things; she just couldn’t see an entire face.

There is just so much to this story with losses, life changes, bullying, falling in love and more and then realize everything isn’t as it seems. Sadie learns to deflect so that very few people realize she can’t see their faces. She begins to rely on the voices, gait, hair styles, etc., and yet even those clues end up causing confusion also.

There are some truly funny parts where Sadie overhears a man in her building elevator talking and the story is NOTHING like the true details. The last chapter was almost who/what/when/where mixed up confusion on the truth, while not discounting the facial blindness, but communication is definitely important.

Her landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Kim and their daughter Sue, are true family to her. She also has her elderly dog Peanut and is almost frantic to keep him well and in her life as the almost only stable thing in her life. Meeting Dr. Addison, the vet who helps Peanut recuperate and Joe, who lives in her building and seems to be helping everyone starts off high hopes of romance.

I love to read and read almost every day from various types of romance, mystery, history and sometimes I just need a change. This story was so unique – it wasn’t just about loss or romance or struggles and was sad when I finished it. Even with the sad parts it was just an uplifting and heartwarming story and I just felt so hopeful at the end. The author’s notes should not be missed!

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this new work. I greatly enjoyed the story, highly recommend, and look forward to reading Ms. Center’s backlist.

This is a book you will not want to miss. I had never heard of the facial recognition disease called proosopagnosia where the brain no longer recognized faces and I really learned a lot while being totally entertained with the story. I loved all the quirkiness of the characters and how carefully each was woven into the fabric of a delightful story. I laughed out loud all through the book. Sadie is a portrait artist trying to win a contest that could make her career. She struggles with the disease while dealing with family, friends and stranger and a loveable dog. How can she do portraits when she cannot see faces? You will just have to read this to find out. You will not be disappointed.

I wish to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press, for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Katherine Center never misses. Heartfelt, hopeful, and sweet. This story was wonderfully emotional and gave me all the feel good tropes without having felt like I’d read the book before.

Sadie is a portrait artist, who unknowingly suffers a brain condition and suddenly looses her ability to recognize faces. First off, despite the irony of the situation, this is handled believably and with gravity. The build of the story’s premise is slow but doesn’t feel it. The humor instilled in Sadie’s perspective is a joy.

Katherine Center knows how to write a book, her writing style is magnificent.

There are so many things I love about this book starting with the cover its gorgeous! We are introduced to Sadie a young adult in the throws of trying to figure out where and what she is doing with her life. She is an aspiring artist who is following in the footsteps of her late mother. She wins an opportunity to participate in a one in a lifetime art show when the unthinkable happens and she is in an accident. At first I struggled to connect to Sadie a little, I am not one to enjoy someone who isn't much of a fighter but by the end I really enjoyed the characters in this book. I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone but Joe, I loved Joe! I love how the author is able to tell a wonderful story of love and romance without filling it with smut. Sometimes I feel like smut overtakes the skill it takes to write a good romance and Katherine is able to pull you in and make your heartbeat I also love how the book reminds us to see with more than our eyes.

The only con I can mention is the story is a little slow, it takes a while to get to the good stuff. The heart moving good stuff but its there and its worth it.

Katherine Center is one of my all time favorite authors and she did it again with this one! Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for providing me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I can only imagine the fun the author had researching and writing this book; the twist at the even I eventually saw coming, but was 100% worth it. The only character I had a hard time believing was the stepsister. Otherwise, thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is one of those books where I really like some things but don’t like others & feel like I could talk at length about both.

There was one part of this book that had me teary eyed—& I’m RARELY like that while reading—but then there are parts that had me internally going like this .

So maybe a mixed bag response ;) .

What I love most about Katherine Center’s writing is how direct & approachable the narration style is & also how it isn’t afraid to delve into emotions.

Sadie, the protagonist of this book, has a lot of emotions to parse through—she’s a portrait artist who is close to estranged from her father and who has to have a brain surgery that results in her having face blindness for the foreseeable future.

Sadie’s journey has moments that really work for me, that feel as luminescent as Sadie herself, & then moments in the plot that I didn’t totally buy, that aren’t convincing to me.

So in the end I’m giving this one 3.5 ️⭐️ & calling it a day ;).

3.5⭐️. Out 07/11.

CWs: Grief over loss of mom. Toxic stepsister. Basically estranged from father & she learns that at one point he blamed her for her mother’s passing. Nonconvulsive seizure; recovery from brain surgery; face blindness.

[ID: Jess, a white woman wearing a raspberry shirt & a striped skirt, holds the ebook in front of a tree & an ivy patch.]

I never thought I would like a Katherine Center book MORE than I liked her book The Bodyguard, but Hello Stranger has surprised me in the best of ways! I really enjoyed reading this one!

Sadie is a portrait artist who experiences “face blindness” and can no longer see faces properly due to a complication with her brain surgery. And this led to so much of a journey for us to read along. I loved watching her grow into a more confident person, despite her disability. Her friendship with Joe was so wholesome and I loved watching it develop into a romantic one.

The Kim’s are the sweetest/funniest human beings on the planet and I absolutely loved them. Top tier side characters for sure. Also the twist at the end didn’t surprise me, but was still cute!

Overall, I loved this book. I loved Sadie and I loved Joe! I would highly recommend this one!

🤍 Thank you so much to the publisher @stmartinspress & @netgalley for this advanced reader copy!

⚠️TW: bullying, death of parent, medical content, gaslighting, panic attacks/disorders, grief, suicide attempt, fatphobia, infidelity

Sadie thinks her art career is starting to take off, she is a finalist in a portrait contest and her friends want to celebrate. An accident leads to surgery which leads to face blindness, now Sadie doesn't recognize faces and her deadline for the contest is quickly approaching. Sadie has to figure out how to navigate her new reality when she doesn't recognize anyone and doesn't want anyone to know. How is she going to complete a portrait when she can't see anyone. A story of learning to see in new ways and trusting people.

This book was so fun! A portrait artist suddenly diagnosed with face blindness right as she has to paint the perfect portrait for the final round of a prestigious art competition is such a fun way to start this book. Watching her learn to adapt to her new disability was inspiring, and her struggles with trying to date while not always knowing who was around her was so fun! Katherine Center writes incredible romances with fast pacing, engaging characters, funny plot twists, and the perfect amount of tension! I have loved every book I have read by her and can't wait to read more!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is classic Katherine Center: witty banter, an extremely likeable and self-deprecating protagonist, a dream guy, and a situation where many things conspire to keep our main characters apart, but they are of course united in love by the end. Loved it.