Ugh Sadie is terrible
Most of the characters are terrible
Very annoying
Being in her head is exhausting
I don't get why people like her?

Thank you to St. Martins press for an arc of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. Katherine Center is an upcoming author of romance whose books leaves you with a warm feeling. This book was about a character who experience a medical disorder and forces her to have a different perspective on life. The characters were awesome and made the book enjoyable and relatable. This book was probably the best Katherine Center book, I was lucky enough to get an arc and encourage my friends to get this book when it is available to purchase.

Thank St. Martin for the opportunity to read this book before its official release in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sadie's life has been challenging and far from okay since her mother's passing when she was young. The longing for her mother and the struggle to move forward weigh heavily on her. Financially, she's barely keeping afloat with her Etsy business, and just when she thinks things couldn't get worse, they take a devastating turn. Sadie experiences a seizure and narrowly escapes being hit by a car, thanks to a stranger's heroic intervention. Just as Sadie reaches her breaking point, fate takes an unexpected twist. Another seizure strikes, and a stranger emerges, pushing her out of harm's way. Yet, the hospital visit reveals a grim reality—a lurking cavernoma in Sadie's brain, menacing her existence. The doctors insist on surgery, a life-or-death choice, which clashes with the incredible news of her contest finalist status. Caught between her artistic dreams and her fragile life, Sadie reluctantly heeds her father's plea and undergoes the operation. Little does she know, this critical decision will plunge her into the bewildering world of face blindness (prosopagnosia), where every face becomes a blur and the threads of her life further unravel.

As I became increasingly immersed in Sadie's story, I found myself captivated, eagerly turning the pages to unveil her tumultuous journey. It truly is a literary gem—a heartwarming escape that uplifts the spirit and leaves a sense of fulfillment. If you're seeking a soul-touching read, I wholeheartedly recommend Sadie's transformative tale—a testament to perseverance, strength, and hope.

I had been looking forward to reading something by Katherine Center, and I approached this book with a mixture of anticipation and concern, considering the glowing reviews of her previous work. However, my worries were quickly dispelled as I delved into its pages. This enchanting read brims with feel-good moments, pearls of wisdom, and beautiful quotes that leave an indelible impression. It has only heightened my eagerness to explore more of Center's books in the near future. I enthusiastically endorse this as a feel-good read, one that can be savored by readers of all backgrounds.

I love her writing style so much and enjoyed this book from start to finish. The whole premise of a portrait artist having face blindness was interesting and while I don’t know the details of it, I was glad it was explained in the book the way it was. I loved the romance of it as well and how the story played out. I love how one of them was mostly because of his walk and how he helped with her animal and the other was by slowly getting to know them(even if it wasn’t really on purpose). I do wish the “resolution” between her and the stepsister was a little bit better but I also understand that those type of situation don’t necessarily always get resolved in a clean way. All in all I enjoyed this book and I am glad I have some of her backlist to read still.

I enjoyed everything about this book! It's a hard story to put down and I finished it in a couple of days. The premise is so intriguing, and the author weaves in so much information about Sadie's condition without making it tedious or gratuitous at all. The characters immediately drew me in, especially Sadie. Her backstory helps give depth to her development in the course of the novel's action and makes some of her difficult behavior more understandable. Many of the characters add humor as well as pathos to Sadie's story, notably her dog Peanut, her wicked stepsister Parker, and her stepmother Lucinda. The fact that Sadie's profession as a portrait artist depends on interpreting and depicting people's faces makes navigating her new condition especially heartrending and difficult, but Dr. Nicole, Sadie's neuropsychologist from Trinidad, the compassionate vet Dr. Oliver Addison, and love interest Joe the petsitter all contribute to the enjoyment of the story. Some serious themes underlie the mainly light vein of the narrative (brain injury, bereavement and grief, bullying, false accusations, and gaslighting among them), but the book never gets too heavy. The twist at the end did not come as a surprise, but it was still satisfying as it is so well-handled. I highly recommend this one to lovers of women's fiction.

I loved the Bodyguard but know all Katherine's books compare to that one. So, with that being said I did not love this book. Don't get me wrong it had all the feels and intrigue, but I did not feel a connection. I had never heard of face blindness till this book, and it sounds really traumatizing, so trying to make this funny did not work for me.

I felt like the main character was so out of touch with realty she made me crazy at times. I think the only thing I really liked in this book was towards the end.

Sadie is one minute celebrating the biggest achievement of her life, placing as finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition, but all that doesn't matter because have a brain surgery she has Face blindness, and she is portrait painter. So, she has to figure out a different plan because faces are all this jumbled puzzle. Plus, there is her love life or is it lust? Can she find her way through this maybe temporary issue and find love along the way?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for a copy of this book for my honest review.

Katherine Center won me over years ago with How to Walk Away. How to Walk Away was one of my favorites of that year. Even though none of Center's subsequent releases had measured up after, I was still a loyal reader. Hello Stranger has won my allegiance all over again.

This is a great story of a woman who overcomes so much and makes a beautiful life.

Hello Stranger is a book that will stick with the reader long after reading. I don't want to give away any spoilers for the reader but I was not familiar with the medical condition in the story.

Five stars

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love KC. I love her stories of struggle and accomplishment and happiness. I love the messages that she weaves in her books. Her books will always hold a special place in my heart. Sadie's story is just as heartfelt and meaningful.

I tell people when I recommend these books that KC writes stories of personal growth with some romance in them. The romance isn't always first, but it's always there. This fits that bill. I flew through it. I loved how the story came together and adored seeing Sadie finally come into her own. I just wish that I felt more for her along the way. It was a smidge slower of a start than I wanted, but it fit what I needed exactly.

Katherine Center's books are always a delight to read, and Hello Stranger didn't disappoint.👏🏻👏🏻

Sadie is struggling with facial blindness after an accident. She needs to complete a portrait project to submit to a contest that will change her life if she wins. Along the way, Sadie falls for two different men that show her kindness during her struggles.
How can she manage to complete the project and allow herself to fall in love without seeing faces?

I love how Center writes about characters with real-life problems and how they persevere in those situations. This book is a must-read for all the romance lovers out there! 💗

Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the early ebook arc!

Hello Stranger is another lovely summer read from Katherine Center. Sadie Montgomery is struggling but has hope on the horizon - she’s a top 10 finalist in a portrait competition. Unexpectedly, she needs emergency brain surgery which results in a diagnosis of temporary face blindness. Through the recovery process, Sadie works on coping strategies and accidentally starts to fall for two separate men - Joe from her apartment building and Oliver the veterinarian. As the deadline for the portrait competition gets closer and her entry is no closer to getting done, Sadie tries new strategies while trying to sort out her heart and deal with her absent and sometimes cruel family. I found this story a heartwarming story of love, growth, and finding happiness.

Wow 🤩 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 this book is EVERYTHING! I’m not going to lie this is my first Katherine Center book and I am stunned and in love. This book was perfection.

While lately I’ve been going to the smut route, this was a breath of fresh air that didn’t even need smut to reel me in. This book started out deep with a medical condition and I was little unsure of what I was getting myself into, but my goodness. I’m buying this book to own since I read it first for NetGalley.

Without giving anything away, get through the start and go fall in love with Sadie and all the rough stuff in life that she goes through. She finally get some joy, good, and happiness even in the midst of everything not being perfect, she finds the way! Perfection!!!!!

@katherinecenter you have a new follower!!!

This is a tough one since I loved The Bodyguard and Things You Save in a Fire. A portrait artist goes face blind and has to learn to interact with those she knows and loves in new ways. Unfortunately, she does not really ask anyone else about themselves, so there are some easily solvable issues that linger for quite some time. A good underlying message here, but the ongoing miscommunications were a bridge too far.

I loved this book so much. I read it following the audio book. Both the book and the audio would be perfect to read or listen to on its own.

The book itself was quirky, funny, cute and had turns I did not expect . When I tell you my mouth dropped when the plot hit it dropped lol. The fact that she falls in love while having an seeing faces issue after her neuro surgery was what kept me reading the book. There were no boring parts to this book it had a good pace and it kept me wanting more after each page.

Thank you net galley for the ARC

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book was adorable and I read it as fast as I could. The main characters were wonderful, even the side characters were great! I would love to read another book with Sue (the best friend) if the author chooses to write one!
This was creative, adorable, and just wonderful. Highly recommend.

This one just wasn’t it.

Overly drawn out explanations (especially the “big reveal” at the end), repetitive scenes, and predictable outcomes at every turn.

Sadie has some trauma in her past that she is trying to overcome by thriving in her personal and professional life. She has a big break in a portraiture competition right as she learns she needs brain surgery to correct a congenital defect. A rare side affect to her surgery? That would be face-blindness - the absolute worst thing that could happen to a portrait artist. She attempts to overcome her “new normal” and complete the portrait while trying to navigate a new romance.

CW/TW: bullying, death of a parent, grief, medical trauma, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, gaslighting, panic attack, suicide attempt, infidelity

The way I will devour any book by Katherine Center – all I can say is just give me all the books and all the things she writes STAT! Hello Stranger was a delightful, fun and thought provoking read that brought out all the things I love in Romance and Women’s Fiction. Sadie is pretty much down on her luck, and gets her big break when she suffers a life altering event that basically leaves her reeling and trying to figure out who she really is. The way I swooned for the MMC in this book, like I thought Owen aka The Rookie (from Things you Save in a Fire) and Jack (from The Bodyguard) were dreamy, but Katherine Center has really outdone herself this time. This book, even though dealing with a serious topic, left me feeling whimsical and believing and kismet but also brought home an important message of knowing you don’t have to do things on your own and asking for or even needing help isn’t a sign of weakness. Yet again Katherine Center has left me utterly happy and anticipating what she’s going to write next!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided to me through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Katherine Center and St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

I love everything I’ve read so far by Katherine Center. She really writes feel good books with a lot of heart. This one is no exception. It pulls at your heart-strings and really had me imagining myself in the main characters shoes. I really didn’t see the twist coming!

Imagine if you can one day you are a struggling artist and the next you get a call that you have been selected to enter a competition with your art. Sadie Montgomery was finally going to prove that she had what it takes. And she did. Until, an unfortunate event took place. Sadie is hit by a car and must have brain surgery. When she wakes though things are not at all what they used to be. She sees things differently. Faces are different. She was diagnosed with facial blindness. How will she be able to do a portrait when she cannot see a perfect face. Or is there a perfect face? Sadie is struggling with her step sister, a father who is never near, and now a new love interest that she hopes will be something way more….like her husband. This was a very good book that showed the authors ability to tell a story and share the emotional outcome with her readers. The characters were very well developed and Sadie was my all time favorite. Watching her grow after the accident that may have made many feel as though they could not go on but not our Sadie. She showed us that it can be done and you can fall in love as well.


5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

I loved the premise of this book and felt like something I had never read before. Sadie loses her facial recognition and needs to navigate life with this new outlook. I saw a lot of myself in Sadie and the she thought, which is one of the reasons I loved this book. I really connect with her and I was always rooting for her. The book was cute, funny and hit on some deeper issues like grief and family dynamics. This was my first book from Katherine Center and can’t wait to read more.

Hello Stranger features Sadie Montgomery in one of her most defining moments of her life as she places in the Top 10 of a nationwide portriature contest. Winning could mean fame, which could mean she could finally afford a place to live, among others of life's necessities. After collapsing in the road and being rescued by a good samaritan, discovers she has a malformed blood vessel in her brain. She wants to wait to get the treatment as the contest is in 6 weeks, but after a stern conversation with her father, is convinced to get it corrected ASAP. After the surgery, some swelling in her brain causes her to have the unfortunate side-effect of being unable to recognize human faces, a death sentence if there ever was one for a portrait artist. On her journey of recovery and acceptance, she comes to develop romantic feelings with not just one, but two men, both of whom she does not know what they look like! On her journey, Sadie might discover that she has actually been blind to a certain far longer than she could have imagined.

This novel is a delightful mix of romance and women's fiction, similar to Emily Henry's adult romances, and Hello Stranger is an improvement on last year's The Bodyguard. The heroes in this novel are quirky, intelligent, unflinchingly helpful, and hurt from past relationships, and you can't help but root for them. Sadie herself is deeply flawed, something other reviewers have called out as a negative, but one I find honest as she learns how to navigate relationships better and resolve conflict in healthier ways. If there was one character that was a detriment to the novel, it was her "evil stepsister" who very much acts like a palms-rubbing villian to Sadie. Center attempts to give reasons as to why the stepsister behaves as deplorably as she does, but it falls just short of feeling realistic.

Even with the negatives, Hello Stranger was a novel I tore through in less than 24 hours and was worth the sleep Iost trying to finish it!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press for providing an eBook for an honest review.