I always know that when I read a book by Center, to abandon other books I have going temporarily because she will draw you into the storyline. Sadie is stubborn but fun. I laughed so much while reading this. Her stubbornness often got in her way, so many of her roadblocks were of her own making.

But to be fair, when you’re a portrait artist who suddenly becomes face blind, it can feel like all hope is lost. So even though romance should be the last thing on her mind, it added another layer to the storyline. Was Sadie too stubborn at times? For sure, she wants to do it alone. When you look at her history, it explains so much as to why she is this way, and that makes her more endearing.

I really do tuck into Center’s books. The characters are fun, encouraging, and you get to know them intimately. I love the storyline and the creativity in tackling this subject, and am amazed at some things I learned while reading this. It is such a truly fun read. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for the advanced copy.

Have you ever read a book, by a new to you author, and think I must consume all their books?
That was this for me.

Sadie is going through it. She broke up with her boyfriend, moved into a shed, then got a coveted spot in a portrait competition, just to lose her ability to see faces.

Overall, I think this book just feed my soul in a way I was not excepting. I guessed what I suppose is not really a plot twist pretty early on, but it didn’t take away from anything. I could not put it down!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Okay, wow. Why did I wait so long to start this?

This was so freaking cute. I've only read a few books by KC, and I enjoyed them all thoroughly.

The face blindness threw me off and I was worried it would get annoying. But not at all. The reasoning behind it was completely believable and accurate, and you can tell she did her research.

Sadie is an adorable character I loved from page one. Her family dynamics really bothered me and how horrible her stepsister was. Like seriously people. Why did she get away with so much damage? Anywho... I liked how it wasn't just about her face blindness and overcoming it to win the art show. I loved how it showed her grow as a person and explain how you don't always have to see things to understand them.

Was part of the book clear as day (pun intended)? Yes. I'll be kind of surprised if others actually don't catch on. But it's okay either way. It's a super cute read, I giggled a few times, and I loved how it ended.

Thank you so much for the ARC. Can't wait to buy a copy!

I absolutely loved this book!

Imagine going through your life, and then all of a sudden, you can’t recognize anybody’s face, even your best friend. This exact situation happens to Sadie at the worst possible moment: she’s a portrait artist and just got selected as a finalist in a career-defining competition.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sadie’s journey throughout the book, especially as she explored her relationships with Joe, Sue, and her family. Joe was such a great leading man (i almost cried when he said “I’ll be Joe for you, if you want.”), and the serendipity of the ending was spectacular and makes the reader think about fate with romantic partners. I know I’ll be thinking about Joe and Sadie long after I closed this book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher, and Katherine Center for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 ⭐️
Sadie should be celebrating - she just placed as a finalist in a prestigious portrait competition - but instead she finds herself at the hospital after having a seizure. The seizure reveals that she needs to have brain surgery. She reluctantly goes through with it at her dad’s insistence but it leaves her with face blindness. As she figures out what to do about her portrait, she meets two men who she is interested in.

For most of this book, Sadie really bothered me, which is not great for a protagonist. She just acted so wildly inconsistent. I also found it crazy that Sadie’s dad and stepmom blindly believed Parker about literally everything. The last third of the book I really enjoyed though. That had more of the feel of Center’s other books I’ve loved. There was the growth and fun characters I’m used to.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hello Stranger is a dramatic, emotionally intense read that you have come to expect from Katherine Center. Sadie Montgomery goes through a terrible traumatic event that also turns out to be such an inspiring life-affirming one. I must say this at time sad story with the wicked stepmother, okay maybe not totally wicked, and the totally wicked stepsister with the distant father broke my heart, but that is not nearly the entire story. I loved the gourmet eating dog, Peanut, Mr. and Mrs. Kim, the truth coming to light, the several mix-ups, the life-changing moments, and the wonderful conclusion. Without a doubt, I believe that Sadie will win the bet concerning the wicked stepsister, Parker.

The perfect book to read anytime but would make a perfect beach read too.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Katherine does it again! I love her stories and romances and this was yet another thrill to read. I love how her stories interweave

First off, thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. Unfortunately, I don’t have a positive review! It devastates me to say that I didn’t like this book at all! Since I love this author and her other books, it pains me that it was such a let down. I found the storyline to be incredibly frustrating and I hated the plot twist.

I absolutely loved this book!! Katherine wanted to and successfully wrote a love story that "really created fantastic anticipation"!! She tugged at the heartstrings, she gave the tickle of a new romance, she educated in such a visual way the diagnosis of prosopagnosia (face blindness) and gave hope that even when life isn't necessarily as expected, it still may be okay.
Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who isn't even barely scraping by. Just as an artistic opportunity of a lifetime comes her way, she has a seizure and needs emergency brain surgery. The surgery has left her with face blindness with no promise of ever resolving itself, but hope for a good outcome. Not being able to see faces has a profound impact on a portrait artist! Her best friend is unexpectedly unavailable, and her family is not part of her life, thanks to her evil step-sister! But two men come into her life and while she immediately falls for one, the other slowly becomes someone very important to her.
Sadie learns through her trauma, that there may be more than one way to see.
Did I mention I loved this book? It is a beautiful story and in its humorous way shares a very profound message!
Thank you NetGalley, Katherine Center and St. Martin's Press for my gifted ebook!

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center was an absolute delight! Sadie was such a great main character, I kept rooting for her and wanting her to heal! I also loved Joe so much, he was such a great guy and reminded me so much of my mom because she is a helper too!

This was my first book by the author and I cannot wait to go back and read the others! Her style of writing is really easy and effortless for me to read! I lived it so much!! All the characters were great and I loved the ending! Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital advanced readers copy!! I received a complimentary copy of this book. This novel will be published July 11, 2023

I fell in love with Katherine Center’s writing in her book The Bodyguard, and that’s really the only thing that kept me going through this book. I couldn’t quite fall into this one as easily, which I think was more an issue with the plot than the characters or writing.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I think the story did a really good job straddling the personal issues the main character was working through while introducing a really compelling romance plot. I loved how the author seemed to have really researched the medical condition the character was dealing with, and did her best to accurately and safely portray the physical and emotional struggles Sadie deals with throughout the story. The love interests complemented her well, and they didn't draw the focus away from the personal growth Sadie needed to go throguh. My biggest issue with the story was that I didn't love the way they portrayed the female relationships in Sadie's life. I felt like those characters felt a bit like caricatures and I wished for a bit more nuance there, especially with the step-sister character. However, it didn't significantly hinder my enjoyment of the story. I had an excellent time reading this book, and I would absolutely recommend it to fans of Women's Contemporary Fiction and Romance.

Hello Stranger featured the most unique storyline I've read in a long time; I found it highly entertainingly and read the entire thing in one day.

I was so invested in Sadie's story and all the obstacles she had to overcome after suffering a brain injury. Obstacles that came on top of the difficulties she had experienced in the years since the sudden death of her mother when she was a teenager. I did guess the plot twist pretty early on, but in my opinion, it did not take away from the story. I was team Joe all the way. (IYKYK)

The did have an issue with the fact that the people who hurt Sadie the most, including her own father, did not suffer any real consequences for their awful behavior towards her. Their reasons aside, it felt highly unsatisfying as a reader to not see them at the very least grovel for her forgiveness. I understand why Sadie would choose to forgive and move on, but I would have like a bit more closure.

Overall, Hello Stranger was an emotional, angsty and unique read that made me tear up more than once and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Can I just say that I love Katherine Center’s books? I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to read her last one, The Bodyguard, and this one early through Net Galley. I have to say that this one is now my new favorite. Sadie is one of the most delightful characters.. She needs what should be somewhat routine brain surgery, if there’s such a thing, and ends up having face blindness as a result. She has other struggles too, but in the Katherine Center way, all these struggles seem to be handled with a light, humorous touch. In my book, Katherine Center is the queen of romance.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite romance writers. I never feel let down with her books. This book was no exception. I love how Center writes romance so there is an expected HEA but all of her books are so very different. I never feel like I’m reading the same book or same character.
Hello Stranger she’s light on something I had never given much thought to: face blindness. But the reality is many people live with this all the time. There were many times that I was reading and I had to stop and think about the feelings or the reality of someone in this situation.
The romance was, as always, amazing! I loved Sadie and I felt her emotions. Also, loved Joe and Dr. Addison! I’m not a fan of love triangles but this one worked!

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once again, I read this forever ago. At least I've doing the review before the release date!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this new Katherine Center book. It was delightful. <I>Hello Stranger</I> centers around a young artist who suddenly finds that she cannot see faces. She struggles through her new disability, finding friendship and romance with someone unexpected.

I thought that this handled disability really well, without turning it into inspiration porn. Also, I hate love triangles, but this was done in a great way that shouldn't keep you from reading it just in case you hate them too.

Anyway, this was a delight. Center has a way of getting pretty cheesy at the end, which I honest don't mind SO much, but that's the only complaint I really have about it. Super sweet, sunshine-y book from her as usual and if you've loved her stuff in the past, you'll enjoy this too. I'll be happy to read more from her.

4.5 stars

4.5 - I am officially a Katherine Center girlie! I loved her last book, The Bodyguard, and her latest one coming out in July did not disappoint!

Sadie is chosen as a finalist for a prestigious portrait competition but suffers a medical injury that jeopardizes her artistic abilities, face blindness. Faces now look like puzzles and she finds herself learning to navigate her new world full of "strangers". Of course there is an unexpected love interest intertwined into the plot :)

I love how Center's books don't fall into traditional romance tropes and the characters are always so likeable. Her writing invites you in immediately and hooks you from the start, even if the plot is chaotic an unpredictable at times. The beginning of this book was a little hectic and chaotic and I wasn't really sure why certain characters were being introduced, but everything comes together eventually in a hilarious but endearing turn of events. My only critique is that the FMC, Sadie, was a bit self-deprecating at times, but you'll eventually learn the context as to why. I can't wait to see what Center comes out with next!

Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me. There's something about her books that just make me feel good when I'm reading them; they call me to curl up with a blanket, get lost in the story and give me the warm and fuzzy feelings of a good romance. Hello Stranger was surprisingly hard for me to get into, I had a hard time connecting with Sadie or the storyline until about half way through. The last quarter of the book is what made it a Katherine Center book for me. I was invested in the characters, what happens to them and how everything would come together. It was interesting reading about FFG and how it affects so much more than you initially think. Fans of Center aren't going to want to miss Hello Stranger!

There’s no other word to describe this book than pure joy - it is a real-life manifestation of joy and I loved it. But reader be warned, I did not feel this way the entire book and it was only at the end that I realized what a true treasure I had just read. So there will be times where you’ll question my rating and my review, but hold on, read the epilogue, then read the author’s note, and you’ll know exactly what I mean. I could read those two sections every day of my life and take away something new.

Ok, so back to the rest of the book. The writing overall is funny and charming. Sadie is a perfect protagonist - funny, kind, vulnerable, goofy, and someone pushes herself to grow and learn and be the best person she can be. The topic of facial blindness is something that I’d not heard of, and the author does an excellent job of making this book an immersive experience. You really do feel what it’s like for Sadie (and I also googled for examples). There were definite moments of implausibility and semi-cringe, but again, read the last two sections and you won’t care. My least favorite part of this book was the sister dynamic, as that did feel a bit exaggerated. But I got over it bc the rest was so endearing.

So many thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. It was my privilege to read and review. And now I’m going to go push it on all of my friends!

Her writing style is nice and fun and flows well, just like one of my favorites by her, The Bodyguard, but unlike that one I just couldn’t connect with the characters. I didn’t love them, I didn’t hate them, I was just pretty much indifferent. I was so disconnected from them that I actually didn’t know the main characters name for a while and even then often forgot it.

Also by design, I was really confused on the love interest. Like Joe was introduced but so was the Vet and honestly I had no clue if they were going to end up being the same person somehow. And then shocker they were and I didn’t enjoy it. Like there’s absolutely 0 way you love “Joe” and don’t even know what he does for his job, and they didn’t have any conversations about the fact that he quote literally saved her life and he asked “how’s your health” but when they became close didn’t ask what the hell happened?

I also was not a fan of some side characterization. Lucinda who has never been nice in the many years since marrying Sadie’s dad suddenly gets a redemption, and so does her dad. Not needed in my opinion, it’s nice that in some way Sadie gets to feel better but after at least a decade, I don’t believe it.

Which, in a mostly character driven story, is a problem. Now the premise was great, a portrait artist that gets surgery and ends up with face blindness, how ironic, but while also being a romance i felt like there wasn’t enough balance. It just felt way too face-blind heavy in some parts and in others it felt like we forgot about it for a little while.

I wasn’t a big fan of the pacing really and it started to feel real slow for me around 40%, I felt like I was just waiting for something to happen and move on like progress with portraits or the main romance but the main character kept getting sidetracked.

Now, I know all of this is complaining or what I didn’t like and I don’t want to be negative because by no means is this a bad book.

Katherine Center writes beautifully, she’s funny at every turn, and really does write beautiful easy to connect to storylines and characters. I think on this one it was just a personal miss. I’m entirely blaming myself for the disconnect.

I see so many things about this book that I could love, the irony, the humor, the hopeful tone. I can’t really explain what prevented me from it. But I do think everyone should give this one a chance. I see so many things that many people would enjoy and love in this book.

I hope all readers can connect to Sadie better than I did! and have a great time.