The narration was done super well for this book; however, the story gets 3 stars from me.

What I liked:
- The premise was promising
- The message this book sends to readers

What I didn't like:
- The weird love-triangle with the twist
- None of the characters were very likable... especially the FMC
- The plot felt like it dragged on forever and like nothing was actually happening

I absolutely loved The Bodyguard and was really bummed when this one wasn't panning out the way I had hoped it would.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"Hello Stranger" by Katherine Center was my first book by this author, but it definitely won't be my last! I enjoyed this book immensely; it was heartwarming, thoughtful, funny, and relatable. The main character, Sadie, is so likeable and deals realistically with the challenges in her life; I was rooting for her from the start and laughing along with the zaniness of her adventures. If you want a sweet and charming read that you'll devour, this is the book for you! (Note/CW: serious medical diagnosis, death of a parent [off-screen, prior to events of book], bullying)

Predictable, but really cute and original for a rom-com. Face blindness has been used a bit in thrillers, but I think using it in a rom-com was a genius idea.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I meant to give feedback on this when I finished it but I forgot, which feels fitting. Center is such a down-to-earth talented writer that this plot, which is at danger of being hokey and melodramatic manages to land a surprising punch. Sadie Montgomery is painting a portrait. Only she can't recognize faces (an extreme version of face blindness). Hijinx ensue. While there will little quibbles I had, overall I love sitting back and trusting that Center would handle everything without it getting too madcap.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the stories Katherine Center crafts. They are so well told, the characters are so developed, and the just leave you feeling content when they are done. This would be a fun summer vacation read to just fully immerse yourself in! I loved it!

Was it cute? As sweet as candy. 🍭
Did I devour it? Like pizza on a Friday night. 🍕
I get picky with romance, but this is romance done right! ❤️
I adored the main characters and despised the antagonists. Who knew you could like as well as dislike fictional characters so much? 🤷‍♀️
Peanut reminded me so much of my friend’s dog so of course I had a magnetic pull there for the best for Peanut! 🐶
Sue (the BFF) was my favorite character and I’d love to read a book about her story if the author ever chose to write one!
I will say, you have to suspend a bit of belief during a portion near the end of the book, but A+ for creativity and the boldness to try something new!
A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary copy of this book. Hello Stranger will be published July 11th, 2023. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
4.5 ⭐️ rounding up.

I've loved Center's previous books-- they're a little out of my wheelhouse (more sweet than spicy, which is what I'm used to) but the stories are compelling. This one fell a little flat for me. The premise was "meh" at best, and I have a really hard time buying into any "starving artist" trope. In real life, if someone I knew chose to struggle and complain instead of just getting a job, any job, and making their art on the side (like the rest of us do), I'd roll my eyes so hard they'd pop out of my head. The same applies to characters in books, sorry. Center's writing remains lovely, but the character didn't do it for me.

I love it when you pick up a book primarily just to be entertained, but in addition you learn something. In this story Sadie suddenly finds out she has a condition I’d never heard of that is called face blindness. This turns her world upside down, especially as she is an artist painting portraits. Sade finds herself looking at life in new ways.

Sadie Montgomery is a budding portrait artist, who just became a finalist in a big portrait competition. If she wins this competition, not only will she win money, but she will also gain contacts to help propel her career. As she gets ready to celebrate with her friends, she has an accident, which leads doctors to discover a weird blood vessel in her brain. After much encouragement from her dad, Sadie elects to have the brain surgery right away. She wakes up with “face blindness”, where she can’t identify anyone’s face, everyone looks like a Picasso painting to her. Needless to say, this stresses out Sadie, as she has to paint a new portrait for the competition in about 3 weeks. Fortunately, Sadie can still see other faces, like her dog, Peanut, but not human faces. However, Peanut becomes very sick and is hospitalized at a nearby vet. Sadie develops a crush on the new vet, but everything is awkward in starting a new relationship. It’s very hard for Sadie on a social level to recognize people, even people like her friends and family. Sadie’s new neuropsychologist helps her to identify people by other senses, such as voice and gait. I found the science behind her condition and new social skills fascinating. Overall, the story is funny and heartwarming, hitting all the right notes and emotions.

Special thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for providing a free digital copy to review.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

I really hate to write a bad review about a book that I've been looking forward to for so long and i was so happy to be sent this copy into my inbox.

Katherine's last book, The Bodyguard, was such a delight to read and I loved it. This one, I didn't enjoy it at all. Sadie was a rather whiny MC and she grated on my nerves. For me believability is a big thing when a story has the premise of being a contemporary novel (romance) and here there were a lot of plotholes. Also, the evil stepmother and stepsister... totally unbelievable. Where is the nuances?

I'm sorry to say that I can't recommend this. I will definitely read her next book since I have loved several others by her :)

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Hello Stranger.

I wanted to like this, I really did. I've heard good things about Katherine Center and her other books. But I guess I am just not the reader for this genre. I'm not huge on romance novels, typically because I don't like reading about descriptive sex scenes (which this book did not have thankfully) but I also struggle with the happy ending wrapped-in-a-bow trope that romance novels seem to have and this one definitely has that. Reading the Authors Note at the end showed me that Center also knows that so I suppose this is not news to anyone..

I'm not sure if the ending was supposed to be a big reveal or startling to the reader because I predicted a lot of what happened in the end and I am usually not very observant at all... I felt that the last few pages included a lot of over explaining that didn't need to be spelled out for the reader.

The writing itself was okay. I didn't hate the main character which is a plus. The secondary characters were 'whatever' and didn't add much to the story. I didn't find anything that happened all that interesting. I was waiting for more to happen and found that nothing really did that interested me.

I think I should just stop trying to read popular romance authors. They just aren't for me, and that's okay.

I've read Katherine Center's book The Bodyguard and loved it. I was so excited to read this book by her ! It was just as good, I can't decide which one I liked better. Seriously this book was great

This was a cute little romance. The FMC develops a condition, commonly known as Faceblindness. Which sucks because she is a portrait artist in a huge contest with a $10,000 prize. While her life is going way off course, she meets 2 guys that she begins to develop feelings for.

I liked this one. The faceblindness make it unique. It had a fun little twist. It was funny. But ultimately it’s not a favorite for me. I found myself feeling a little annoyed by the FMC at times. I wanted to keep listening and find out the ending, but it just didn’t give me that feeling I was hoping for.

I've read most of Katherine Center's books, and Hello Stranger is one of my favorites. The romance had just the right amount of anticipation and slow build, and Sadie's acquired face blindness added a unique twist to the story. This book, especially the second half, was so propulsive that I was constantly trying to find time in my day to sneak in just a chapter or two. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

A physical ARC showed up a few years ago for Things You Save in a Fire. It’s actually one of the reasons I decided to start a #bookstgram . I’ve got a definite soft spot for her books. I was thrilled to get a copy of the ARC on Netgalley and had hoarded it to read when I needed a pick me up, thinking it would be like many of her other books and be a fast favorite.

I think the overall concept for this story was interesting, but for me the execution fell flat. I had an extremely hard time getting into the plot. I think it was a combination of the overabundance of the facial issue (meaning I felt like I was being beaten over the head with the issue, and I’ve read and loved MANY books that had character disabilities, but it wasn’t compelling) Like a few other reviewers have mentioned, I often tear through a Katherine Center book, get roped into the story and feel like I’ve run the gauntlet of emotions. This one just didn’t do it for me, in large part because I just really didn’t love Sadie. I know that the anti-hero is the THING these days…. But there wasn’t enough good to balance out the self centered unlikeable aspects of her personality.

In Hello Stranger, portrait artist Sadie undergoes brain surgery and experiences face blindness, a “hopefully temporary” side effect. As she navigates needing help from a complicated family and friends that are like family, she’s also working toward her biggest break—a prestigious contest that her late mother also was a finalist in.

Katherine Center has a way of crafting stories that make you swoon, laugh, rage, hope, cry and learn something. I swooned for the romance between Sadie and Joe, but honestly also fell in love with the Kim family. I laughed at so many little moments and one-liners. I raged at the evil stepsister, who was quite literally the worst. I hoped alongside Sadie, willing her to find her way through. I cried for the big feelings, grief and family dynamic. And I definitely learned something new about face blindness as well as neuropsychology—you can tell just how much research the author did.

I haven’t met a Katherine Center book that I haven’t enjoyed, so I definitely recommend adding Hello Stranger to your summer reading list. A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

Oh these characters!! Sadie Montgomery ran into some unexpected health issues causing her to have acquired face blindness, which made it difficult to do the things she loved such as painting, not to mention making it very difficult to see the faces of new people. While trying to navigate life with this new difficulty, she meets Dr. Oliver Addison, This is by far one of the sweetest love stories I have ever read! And the author is sure correct when she says that love stories are the best with a happy ending. I am so sad to be done with this book! I wish that I could go on and read more about the life these characters build together. Definitely a 5 star read for me and in my top 5 books of the year for me so far! Thank you so much NetGalley, the Publishers and especially Katherine Center for allowing me the chance to read this phenomenal book! I cant say enough good things!!
I received the ARC ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Hello Stranger is a great romantic comedy that’s well paced and kept me wanting to find out how it was going to end. This is the first book I’ve read by Katherine Center and it did not disappoint. I especially liked Sadie, Mr. Kim, and Joe. I couldn’t stand Parker, but that’s good because she truly was an evil stepsister! This book has a satisfying ending and happily ever after. 

For those curious: this romantic comedy is not in the sweet romance category. There are sexual references and swearing. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions in this review are my own.

I’ve read hundreds of romance novels, but never one with this type of story before. I loved the uniqueness of it, the funny conversations, and the cute girl-next-door vibes. An entertaining and clean romance that will lift your spirits.

Sadie Montgomery is a painter. Or at least she was. After being urged to have brain surgery, she now suffers from a condition known as face blindness - which is rather upsetting when you paint portraits and you have a major art piece due in just 3-6 weeks.

As if dealing with the repercussions of a massive surgery were not enough, pile on top some family drama, neighbor problems, a sick dog, and a good dose of lust. Actually the lust part is a good distraction, so she leans heavily into daydreaming about the guy she’s lusting after. But things aren’t always what they seem and soon she finds herself making her way through life with a completely different view on it. Literally.

I got the feeling that the reader is supposed to guess the twist near the end because the subtle hints that were peppered throughout the story are not quite so subtle. Instead, you’re left anticipating how it’s all going to play out. For me, it was a little slow. While I enjoyed the character arc, I wish there was less internal dialogue and self-loathing and more communication and growth. Especially to make up for the lack of a romantic plot twist. That’s not to say there’s no plot twists! But I picked the book because of the romance aspect.

All in all, this is super cute and I’m actually really glad I read it. It gave me a glimpse into another world I didn’t know existed that was right out my own front door. And it changed my perspective on how to view life in ways I didn’t expect.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

"Love isn't blind, it's just a little blurry"

Just when Sadie, an artist, thought her career was about to take off, she is diagnosed with the "probably temporary" condition of face blindness. Instead of giving up, much to her evil step-sisters dismay, Sadie finds new ways to cope and hone in on her artistic abilities to not pass up on the opportunity of competing in a portrait competition.

But what happens when you meet someone (or two people) and are ready to give love a chance without ever seeing their face(s)? Can you crush on two completely different people at once? And how do you know if you've chosen the right person?

This was a super cute, fast paced and easy read. The writing is great and holds your attention. I look forward to reading more of Katherine Centers work. I love a good HEA!

Thank you NetGalley & St Martin's Press for access to this e-ARC.