I can honestly say that Katherine Center is becoming a definite go to author. I’ve read all of books & can say that they are all terrific! At the present time, Hello Stranger is my favorite. I’m sure that will change as soon as her next book is published. She is such a great storyteller! Hello Stranger is a fun yet serious love story revolving around Sadie, a struggling artist who is dealing with major problems both medical & family related. A quick read that you don’t want to put down. I highly recommend this entertaining take. Many thanks to St. Martins Press & Netgalley for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.
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I am a big fan of Katherine Center and have loved all her books so I totally expected the same for Hello Stranger. It was a little slow going for me at first but by the half way point I was completely invested and loving the story of Sadie and Joe. I've never heard of face blindness before so that was an interesting thing to learn a little bit about.. All in all, this was a great read and a sweet romance.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are mine.

Publication date: 11 July 2023

This is the first book I have read by this author and I loved it. It was not your typical Roncom or romance novel. I felt the struggle Sadie had throughout the whole story. The author did a great job talking about "face blindness" with respect and did a thorough job discussing the struggle of a person with this. These disabilities do not get enough attention and I am so thankful for her discussing this.

Katherine Center at her very best! Hello Stranger has everything I love in a rom-com: quirky characters, a flawed yet swoony love interest (or two), and witty banter. Lately when I read romance, I need more at stake than "will they/won't they," and this novel certainly delivers with a deeply important message about more than the love story. Most of all, Hello Stranger is laugh-out-loud funny in a charming, effortless way. Too many rom-coms are trying to be funny—this one just is.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eGalley of this wonderful novel!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center in exchange for an honest review. It publishes July 11, 2023.
Yet another book by Katherine Center that I couldn't bear to put down! But truly, I loved this book! I learned so much about the brain, about how we communicate and recognize faces, and just some neurological stuff I've not heard about before.
I loved the way this story was written, it felt like I was hanging out with a friend, and I just couldn't get enough!

Sadie is one of those characters you instantly bond with , I love her rawness, her honesty and personality . Sadie has quite the shock when she needs a surgery that will change her life .I really enjoy this authors writng , the style and topics not many talk about , I learned something new within this story .

Sadie Montgomery, a talented portrait artist, is suddenly diagnosed with face blindness after achieving a major milestone in her career. As she navigates her new reality of seeing faces as jumbled puzzles, Sadie also grapples with family issues, pursues her artistic dreams, and unexpectedly finds herself torn between two men. Despite the challenges, Sadie discovers that sometimes we find what we need when we least expect it and that there are different ways of seeing beyond physical appearances. As a fan of Katherine Center, I was eagerly looking forward to reading Hello Stranger which is one of my most anticipated summer reads! I devoured the book in just one day! Center's writing style never fails to provide a comforting and engaging reading experience and the pacing was just perfect. I was particularly touched by Joe's unwavering understanding and support for Sadie throughout her journey with facial blindness. The author skillfully portrayed Sadie's struggles and doubts, while also emphasizing the importance of kindness, hope, and overcoming obstacles. I couldn't help but fall in love with Sadie's quirky and lovable complex character. I highly recommend picking up Hello Stranger if you’re a fan of Katherine Center’s work or are a romance reader!

Such a cute summer read. Loved the information I learned about face blindness. This book made me laugh out loud and almost brought me to tears a few times too. Loved it.

This bad ass author thought I’m going to give you romance WITH OUT A FACE, the new “love is blind” so to speak! The protagonist is a struggling artist who gets into a competition and suffers a side effect from a brain surgery. Very realistic. Very pet loving and devoting. There are some parts that made me laugh out loud. The love interest is a compulsive helper and animal enthusiast. I love the protagonist’s growth. I am a huge fan of this book! I love the “A Note About Prosopagnosia”, and her authors note is very inspiring! It comes out this month and I hope you read it ASAP! Thank you to Katherine Center, her publisher, and NetGalley for this wonderful piece of art!

I'm a huge Katherine Center fan and Hello Stranger only makes me appreciate her even more. I had heard about face blindness before, but had never really considered it or what those who have it experience. This lent a fascinating premise for the plot of this novel that was unique, which seems hard to find with romance reads lately. Sadie was a bit of a mess as a main character, but she was interesting and had a lot of struggles to overcome and grow through due to this. I liked the love story, but even more than that I liked the elements of understanding and "seeing" people through Sadie's eyes at the various stages of her injury. I did struggle with a few things such as how unaware Sadie seemed at some points and the interactions with her stepsister, which seemed a bit over the top...but I'm sure there are actually people like her out there.

While the premise of this book seemed a little far-fetched, I did some research and learned a lot! The book was fun and lighthearted and a great beach read for summer! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This book sucked me in the way all of Center's books do, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected. The focus on Sadie and her ironic situation--an artist who has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious North American Portrait Society but suffers an accident leaving her with prosopagnosis, or "face blindness"--was interesting. I was most captivated by her attempts to paint her best friend Sue and later her neighbour Joe, despite her condition. The "who will she choose" between her neighbour Joe and her dog Peanut's vet, Dr. Addison didn't keep my attention. Sadie's relationship with her family was complex but I adored her relationship with her dog!

Sadie is a portrait artist who suddenly develops acquired face blindness, a condition which doesn't get much attention in media for something that is estimated to impact at least 2% of the population.

Carter's writing gives a sense of just how confusing and scary the world can become when we suddenly lose one of our senses. Sadie's journey in navigating her face blindness was incredibly emotional, but the writing did a good job of balancing the emotion of how confusing things became for Sadie with the humor of the situations she found herself in.

The romance didn't feel like the core of the story, but Sadie's unconventional romance adventures were simultaneously incredibly sweet and hilarious.

I always enjoy a Katherine Center book, and this one continues that feeling. In this book, Center not only writes an endearing love story but also explores an interesting topic, face blindness. It makes for a fascinating read.

The main character, Sadie, learns early in the book that she has a serious brain disease that requires a quick surgery that can fix the issue. The problem for Sadie is that after the surgery, which goes well, a new issue develops. Sadie becomes face blind, which is a major issue considering she is a portrait artist currently competing in a contest that could make her career. The story follows Sadie as she struggles with the face blindness while also falling for two new men in her life, both of whom she cannot see their faces.

The premise of the story is unique and interesting. I enjoyed that part of the book. Following Sadie as she learns how to recognize people without seeing their faces is quite engaging. On the other hand, I found the storyline involving her evil stepsister to be unnecessary and distracting.

The main love interest, Joe, is a very likable character. Sadie's judgmental critiques of his behavior and the assumptions she makes about him are frustrating, though. Sadie is a bit self-absorbed and does not often try to see things from the perspective of others.

Overall, the reading experience was enjoyable. While I do not love the main character, there is enough in this story that is original and interesting to make it a 4 star book.

I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would! I figured from the description that I knew the major plot, and of course I did (it was pretty obvious, I mean duh), but the way that Center pulls it off was sheer perfection. It was just magical. I ended up loving it. 4 stars!

𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚-𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣

𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 depicts a trope of hope: hope to embrace life even after life as you knew it has been dismantled.

For Sadie Montgomery, a broke, down on her luck, portrait artist her face recognising region of the brain is essential to winning the contest she's been finalized for. But as tragedies happen when they best do i.e. at the most inconvenient times - she gets scheduled for a surgery that goes well but leaves her with face blindness.

Now Sadie's got to readjust to her new condition, meanwhile, her portrait model's been kidnapped off to Canada to be married. Cut to Joe - the guy living in her apartment building, who she's sure is an a**hole, helping her out with her portrait and maybe even her heart.

- ~ -

I may have oversimplified the synopsis of the book but the essence remains the same.

Every time I read Center's books, they always end with her characters looking back on their story as a fond time which taught them something valueable. The moral of the story here was: 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳.
As simple as that.

Overall, I'd say Sadie is a bit different from Center's usual protagonists but I enjoyed her perspective and complex and chaotic love affair with Joe was also sweet.

- ~ -

4.01 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Thank you so much to Net Gallery and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC- this was such a fun book to read!

Sadie has had a rough life- and finally is about to accomplish something on the top of her bucket list, when a head injury causes her to have possibly temporary, maybe permanent, face blindness. What follows, is a total mess for dear Sadie- that’s often funny, and sometimes heartbreaking- as she tries to navigate her world, usually complete unaware of who she is talking to.

I can not recommend this book enough if you love romance, relaxing heart warming reads and dogs! Peanut is the absolute best! ❤️

I liked it! I love Katherine Center’s writing. The premise was cute but I really struggled with the main characters behavior. The writing left something to be desired which was a disappointment but it seems like I may be an outlier since this has tons of 5 star reviews. I’ll still recommend it as part of Center’s selection!

Hello, Stranger is Katherine Center’s newest book, a romantic comedy similar to her best-selling How to Walk Away. Like many of her novels, it is more Women’s Fiction than romance but is full of hopeful optimism.

20-something Sadie Montgomery’s portrait painting career is finally looking up when she is selected as a finalist for a big competition in her Houston hometown. Unfortunately she has a seizure and is diagnosed with a brain malformation, the same thing that caused her mother to suddenly die when Sadie was 14. So Sadie’s estranged cardiothoracic surgeon father schedules brain surgery for Sadie, and when she wakes up, she can no longer recognize faces. Sadie’s face blindness impacts her ability to create the required portraits for the upcoming competition.

Sadie is aided by her best friend, Sue Kim, and a neuropsychologist, Dr. Nicole, as she navigates her new reality. Sadie is fiercely independent and doesn’t want anyone to know about her condition, so only her family and Sue are aware. She is dead broke and living in a rooftop storage area that is supposed to be her art studio. She does some internet searches to develop strategies to successfully paint and interact with people, with mixed results.

When she picks up her beloved dog, Peanut, from the kennel, she falls head over heels for the handsome new veterinarian, Dr. Oliver Addison. Meanwhile she realizes that her neighbor, Joe, may be a nicer guy than she assumed from her brief glimpses of him and an overheard phone conversation. Further complicating Sadie’s life is the reappearance of her dad and hated stepmother, with Parker, the evil stepsister, even moving into Sadie’s building and pursuing Joe. Eventually Sadie has to decide which man she would rather pursue a relationship with, with neither aware of her condition.

Hello, Stranger is full of humorous scenes; my favorite is when Sadie mentally decides whether to take Dr. Addison’s name right after she meets him. While the story is ultimately a romance, it’s more of a positive tale of overcoming adversity. The characters are engaging and have realistic dialogue; the story is well-paced with several conflicts to be resolved; and there’s a satisfying ending. Center’s books do not contain descriptions of sex, and there is no profanity, except for a single F-bomb when Sadie tells off the evil Parker. If I could award Hello, Stranger more than 5 stars, I would. It is absolutely a must-read for Fiction and Romance readers.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A light, humorous, entertaining read with a very original plot. It was a little predictable but still a fun read.