Sadie is a portrait artist who has just been diagnosed with face blindness. She also has just been announced as a finalist in an elite portrait competition. As Sadie struggles to deal with her situation, her family, etc, she meets two very different men. She must learn to find her way.

I learned so much from reading this book! I had vaguely heard of face blindness before, but this book really educated me. I could not put this book down as I read Sadie's journey. I needed to know if she was going to be okay. I needed to know how she was going to deal with the stepmonsters. AND I needed to know if she was going to choose Joe. Joe, who won my heart. I feel as though he won Sadie's as well, but the vet was the safe option. Sadie needed the safe option since everything was so unsure for her.

This book will capture your heart and soul. It's not just a love story, but it's a story of survival and hope.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another great romance from Katherine Center. I love how her books always have a unique take on falling in love.
In this story, Sadie ends up with a medical condition where she cannot properly see or recognize faces - they look like puzzle pieces to her. I really enjoyed learning more about this condition I'd been unaware of. In addition to causing a huge problem in her career as a portrait painter, she falls for two men at the same time but doesn't totally know what they look like. Dr. Oliver is her new veterinarian who she decides she is destined to marry, but Joe is the bowling jacket wearing guy in her building, and she gets more intrigued by him every time they see each other.
Funny moments, amazing side characters, lots of color and life. Hello Stranger also makes you think about all the things you take for granted or don't fully actually see even when you're looking at them. Katherine Center's books come with all the feels, but overall end up leaving me happy and smiling.

Sadie has an accident that leads to brain surgery that gives her face blindness. She's trying to make it as a portrait artist (of course), so this really makes her job impossible. Throw in two love interests- her hot vet and a questionable guy, Joe, in her building and some complicated family relationships.

Unfortunately, I love Katherine Center books, but not this one. I thought this premise was completely unbelievable and didn't like the characters or the ill-advised decisions they made. They often seemed like a caricature of themselves. This is fine for a time filling book, but I wanted more. Center has set the bar too high with her other books! Maybe the next one will be better.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Hello Stranger was a refreshing romance that was delightfully different from anything I've read before, and it was such a pleasure to read that I couldn't put it down. Sadie's character growth throughout the story felt very natural and her internal world felt so vivid I almost experienced a visceral connection to her and how she was seeing the world, which unexpectedly made me invested in her story from the start. The resonance she had with her art and how that tied to her late mother added a depth to the story that made it both heartfelt and heartbreaking, an interesting dynamic that only emphasized how Sadie was struggling to see the gray areas in her life rather than only the extremes of black-and-white thinking she was so used to. Her relationship with Joe was everything it needed to be and it was so wholesome with scenes that warmed my heart and felt authentic and wonderfully imaginative, never feeling like it was excessively predictable. I had so many questions throughout that were satisfyingly answered and the story came full circle in the most perfect way (under the stars, no less). I loved every minute of this story and these characters and it will probably be something I'd love to reread again and again. Easy 5 stars!

I am absolutely in love with this book. In the interest of a spoiler-free review, I’m changing a few tactics on my usual review formula. I refuse to spoil anything about this story or the love interests, so instead I will focus on the FMC, who tells the story in first person narration,, and the incredibly masterful storytelling by Katherine Center. I didn’t read the synopsis before diving in, and I REALLY encourage you to go in blind as well.

The story revolves around Sadie, a portrait artist whose ability to see the world around her changes dramatically just when she gets her big break, and I absolutely adore her. She is a fiercely independent person with a past, and because of this past, she is determines to never need any help, except for a few exceptions from her inner circle. Perhaps because she’s an artist, and because her perceptions of the world around her change, I found myself obsessing over the way she describes this new strange place she finds herself in, and how incredibly isolating this journey is for her. I also found her reaction to the ordeal, the mistakes she makes along the way, and her response to adversity incredibly relatable and human.

I want to champion how incredibly well written, entertaining, swoony, thought-provoking, infuriating (there’s an evil step-sister) and endearing this story is. It is such an interesting story, such an interesting trauma, that naturally create interesting interactions, connections (or disconnections as the case may be). And because it is told from Sadie’s point of view, you only have the information that she has, and are left, as she is, to wonder about who these characters are that are coming into her world at such a turbulent time. Characters that I want to love and swoon over as much as Sadie does, but have to navigate in new ways.

There is an absolute meticulous care to the way this story unfolds, and I enjoyed every part of it.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader Copy. My review and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much to Katherine Center, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ok so apparently Katherine Center is my go-to author any time I need to be forcibly removed from the slumpiest of reading slumps. I read this book in 24 hours! I haven't finished a book and enjoyed it in over three weeks! I'm on cloud nine right now. But also, Katherine, I sad and happy cried for pretty much the last 25% so thanks a lot for that.

Spoiler-free!

Anywho, this story follows Sadie Montgomery, who meets a cute guy at a grocery store shortly before her life is changed forever. After suffering a nonconvulsive seizure in the middle of the street just outside her apartment, she learns of a brain abnormality that could kill her without prompt surgery to remove it. The problem is, she's been parading around her father as a successful artist for years, but her big break is a portrait due in six weeks at the most prestigious art contest she's ever entered. As a top-ten finalist, she can't have brain surgery now. Though her father is ever absent in her life, he shows up and demands her surgery immediately, pulling his doctor strings to schedule it right away. Upon waking from the surgery, Sadie can no longer see faces.

Navigating this illness in Sadie's thoughts is incredibly interesting and I felt for her throughout the whole book. I saw way too much of myself in her relationship with her father, her headstrong determination to always be ok, her stubbornness, and honestly her loneliness even in the midst of "friends." I hated Parker, obviously, but I also hated Sue. She's such a typical kind-of friend that it hurts how accurate her character is portrayed.

Without spoiling absolutely everything, I will just say that I felt the entire range of emotions while reading this book and I'm not even mad about it. I appreciate that it has forced me to shift my perspective on life to focus on the good things, how "you can either pretend to be okay or you can actually be okay, but you can't do both," how it portrayed the miscommunication trope in a way that was a lot more like misperception and therefore a lot more bearable, how I anticipated every moment of the ending but was totally sucked in to find out how we would get there.

Honestly, I was about to give this story 4-4.5 stars, but after reading the Author's Note, it's a 5 star read from me. I loved the Author's Note and I think it reflects the message we get in The True Love Experiment, which is that romance as a genre is often deeply misunderstood and strongly marginalized even though it is the only genre where you get to expect that HEA. But for some reason we often rate them harsher and expect more realistic things from them, while we devour reality TV and zombie movies and everything else.

TLDR; Katherine Center is at it again and I love it. I had a great time and genuinely could not put this book down. It is unique and challenging and heart-wrenching and heart-warming.

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.