Katherine Center has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and Hello Stranger did not disappoint. In fact, it is probably my favorite of her books thus far. I really enjoyed the evolution of the characters and the growth of their relationship. I feel like her characters are all really relatable and someone you'd want to be friends with in real life. If you are a fan of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, Elin Hildenbrand or Laine Moriarty you will enjoy this book.

The ending of this book absolutely made it! I hate the miscommunication trope, which I started suspecting was going on from the first phone call of bowling jacket dude overheard in the elevator. Between that fear and just not vibing with the main character well, I ended up putting down the book for a good, long while.

While this certainly wasn't my favorite book I've read recently, the last few chapters did actually win my heart a bit. Joe-Bowling-Jacket-Dude (MMC) and Sadie (FMC) are still far from what I typically like in main characters, but oddly enough I actually liked them together even if I didn't like them individually. I was cheering them on (especially that art exhibit scene... my goodness...). The plot largely centers around Sadie's development of facial blindness, which was SO interesting and unique for a rom-com plot. I might have unlocked a new fear, but it's fine, I'm fine. Overall, I can say that while the first 75% of this may not have been my personal cup of tea, I fully understand why so many of my friends and local booksellers love it and will recommend it to others. Plus I mean... with a cover this cute, how could the book not be a good time?

I absolutely loved this book! This is the first time I encounter face blindness in a romance novel and I felt so many emotions throughout the book thanks to this rep - my heart ached for Sadie when she found out she had face blindness after surgery, I was anxious for her, I was frustrated with her, I whooped at every milestone and bit of progress and eventually, I laughed because of the crazy situation this led her into. I always find it says a lot when I feel so much and so deeply when reading a book! I do have to say though, I'm not sure how Sadie made it out alive with the degree of second hand embarrassment I felt on her behalf! I think if I had been in her place, I would've melted into a puddle on the floor. Hahaha! I am very happy she found her HEA though.

I started this one off with the ebook and ended up switching to the audio - The narrator for this book is brilliant! I really enjoyed listening to her and I feel like she got Sadie spot on! I'm also impressed cause I feel like she portrayed Joe very well too.

Content warnings: Death of a parent, bullying, gaslighting, panic attacks/disorders, infidelity.

A huge thank you to St-Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

“We think what we think we’re going to think.”

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is a sweet tale about artist Sadie, who undergoes a brain procedure only to wake up with edema causing Prosopagnosia – otherwise known as face blindness. She was just named a finalist in a portrait competition and has only weeks to paint a brand new “live model” portrait but can’t see faces! Bring in her super nice, always willing to help neighbor Joe who is willing to sit for her . . . and although Sadie can’t see his face, she begins to fall for him! However, simultaneously, she has developed a cute crush on her veterinarian. With the hope of the edema going down in the near future and her whole life seemingly out-of-whack, Sadie learns to perceive things differently, use her other senses, deal with “confirmation bias,” and runs into multiple “misunderstandings” that will leave you laughing, empathic to her situation, and wanting friends like Joe, Sadie, and the whole Sue family!

Katherine Center is climbing her way up my favorite author list easily – her humor-filled, sweet character development, uplifting stories are just what I needed to warm my heart and leave me happy! Plus, Center’s love of writing romance novels seeps through every page and leaves me with the “anticipation” (read the end author’s note!) I needed!

I admit, I have never heard of face blindness before and was surprised at how common it is. I felt like I learned a lot (and then researched some) from reading this great book and would be lost if I couldn’t identify people immediately from their face. I was so intrigued by the discussions about how we are “so busy seeing what we expect to see” that we only “see what we’re looking for.” How interesting and true!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved everything about it – especially the feeling it gave me while reading - and feel lucky that I was able to read this ARC! Yes – somethings are a little too perfect, but plot lines come together wonderfully, and I don’t care that I “anticipated” the ending before it happened – actually I was smiling, while “rush” reading it to get to the joyous finish! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group for this amazing read! I will definitely be recommending this book and author Katherine Center to all of my friends! This is just the book you need to fall in love with and brighten your day!

5 massive stars!

“And then I found out that letting people help you isn’t so bad.”

“This love story really created fantastic anticipation.”

This is a delightful book. Katherine Center always manages to surprise me with her wit and her depth of character.

A fantastically fun vacation read. It reminds me to have fun, enjoy the process of creating, and not really give a damn what people think.

This is going on my list of "Must Reads" for Summer. I want to read it again and again.

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.