I really enjoyed this one! It reminded me of a twist on Cinderella and I loved the mysterious elements thanks to the face blindness. The Bodyguard was my first Katherine Center book and I loved it so I was nervous going into this one. I really enjoyed this one but it didn’t have as much humor to it as the Bodyguard but it still was really good! This might be one of my favorite new releases of the year! It was nice to read a cleaner romance book too that surprised me along the way - reads like a good mix of romance and women’s fiction. The author’s note was so good too!! Definitely one I would recommend to anyone!

Content notes: toxic family relationships, medical content

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book early!

Once more, this was a very enjoyable story by Katherine Center. I love her writing style. I wasn't excited by the blurb for this one, but having read Center's work before I was really looking forward to reading it anyway. As expected, Center made it work.

This is a slower moving, closed door romance with some cute giggles. I enjoyed getting to know our MC, Sadie, as well as the surrounding characters. It was fun to root for Sadie and I looked forward to her figuring it out and getting together with her person.

There is an interesting author's note at the end where Center discusses predictability vs positively valanced anticipation in romance novels that is certainly worth a read. I've considered this concept before, but as you would expect Center put it into words much better than I ever could. Center also includes a quick bit of information about prosopagnosia that is interesting. So, when you finish the story, keep reading.

I am already looking forward to reading whatever Center writes next.

This story begins with Sadie, a young woman who’s not really crushing it in her career as a portrait painter. She’s finally on the brink of success when she wakes up in the hospital after nearly being hit by a car. She never expected to wake up from surgery with “acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia”, also known as Face Blindness. She has earned one of the coveted finalist spots in a competition that could be life changing, but now she needs to navigate her new normal, and that includes learning when to ask for help. Two men enter her life: her new vet, who helps her dog through a health crisis, and Joe, a neighbor who doesn’t exactly make the best first impression. This is one of those books that perfectly balances emotion, humor, and romance. Hello Stranger was entertaining and charming read that . I would highly recommend!

Cute rom-com, a complex family drama. lots of twist-turns and sweet moments, unique plot.

I had a hard time enjoying Sadie, found her a little whiny, and the romance was a little hard to believe. An okay read, but I didn't connect to this book. It wasn't a perfect fit for me but could be for someone else.

I loved this one! It was a page turner from start to finish. I felt the character's emotions as she felt them. There was so much more to the story and I loved that it built it up the way it did. I wasn't entirely sure until the end what had happened with "Joe" and why he'd been so upset. The twists and turns made the ending even better!

I liked the unique premise of this rom com and thought it highlighted some great moral dilemmas. I like how she fell in love with "two" people essentially, but I won't spoil that part. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it to be heartwarming.

A cute rom com with an ending that left me smiling. What brought this down a star for me was just the predictability. I saw the end coming pretty much from the beginning, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the story as it went. I found myself laughing and smiling often. But also rolling my eyes some, as the main character finally came to the same realization that I came to many chapters before. Overall, worth the read/listen and a great romantic comedy to leave you feeling good!

A big thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book so much. Katherine Center writes such beautiful stories of emotional depth that bring joy to her readers. I loved the characters that she created here. I guessed the "surprise" early on in the book, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of it at all. I liked it so much that I pre-ordered a physical copy of the book AFTER I had finished reading the e-arc. I recommend this one for sure.

I loved this book because it was so unique. I had never heard of facial blindness and it was a great take on the traditional romance book. I typically struggle to keep my focus in the middle of romance novels but this one held my interest the entire way through. The supporting characters were amazing especially the Kims!

It’s not often that a book leaves me so completely surprised. In a world full of tropes and recycled plot lines, Hello Stranger was an utter joy and a puzzle that I got it put together right along with the main character. I loved it. Maybe the best Katherine Center book yet.

I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

First off, thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC! This was my first Katherine Center book and i thoroughly enjoyed it. I enjoyed that the plot line was different to most other rom-com’s and story felt so heartfelt to me. I would definitely recommend this to anyone else planning on picking this book up!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

First off - Katherine Center is such a gifted person when it comes to writing books that are topic heavy but heart light. Meaning her books have substance and by no means deal with trivial issues for the main character. Yet somehow, I always feel so hopeful and joyful after reading her books. This one gave me the same feeling I had after reading Lisa Genova's work. I may have gone down a rabbit hole researching faceblindness.

Secondly - I LOVE an epilogue. It makes me happy.

I'd heard of Katherine Centers as an author but hadn't read any of her books so was so excited to get this ARC. I completely enjoyed this book and it was just the right dose of hope and happiness. I was surprised by the twist towards the end of the book--which is something i love in a book. I look forward to reading more of this author. Thank you net galley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! I was so excited when I got approved for this book and it did not disappoint.

From page 1, I was hooked and fully invested in the characters, the narrative voice, and the storyline.

The book follows Sadie, a young woman who is struggling artist. She has went through a lot familial trauma that shapes how she perceives the world and people.

One day, she goes through a medical emergency that requires her to need brain surgery, which ends up resulting in her developing prosopagnosia, or more commonly known as face blindness. This becomes a great hardship in her life because her work as a portrait artist requires her to be able to capture people’s faces authentically on canvas.

I found this story line intriguing and is what kept me turning the page. Sadie’s journey dealing with the condition, while also coping with some deeply rooted trauma from her mother’s death and her upbringing soon after (her father remarrying and her manipulative step sister), was heartbreaking. I found her inner monologue to be evocative and inspiring at times, especially towards the end when she comes into terms with herself.

There were some things I didn’t really enjoy. I found that some characters were too 1-dimensional, like the stepsister and the best friend. I found their actions to be over-the-top at times, which I didn’t mind too much, being that this is a romcom—I could easily picture the book as a movie—but sometimes it took me out it.

Also, some of the dialogue felt unnatural. I’m also not the biggest fan of the miscommunication troupe in romances, and the biggest plot line revolves around one big miscommunication.

However, none of this ruined my reading experience. I loved the book and definitely a fan of Center’s writing. Her authors notes at the end about romance books was beautifully written, and made me appreciate the genre even more than I already do.

4.5 stars

I became a fan of Katherine Centre last year after reading The Bodyguard and I've been making my way through her entire collection. Her writing is phenomenal and this is no exception!

I loved the FMC, Sadie, she was extremely relatable because she was such a disaster sometimes!

I ADORED the neuropsychologist Dr. Nicole and her talk about the art of self-confidence… it really stuck with me because do I ever need to work on that. She taught Sadie to fight with herself instead of fighting with others and I loved that.

I had some thoughts on where the book was going but I definitely did not see the ending and all the reveals!

My one beef with this book is why did Sadie not confront Joe even after they started talking and she thought he was a terrible person on the elevator?!


Thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio & St Martin's Press for advance copies in exchange for an honest review.

I received an early ebook copy of this book for review and this is my honest opinion.

I’m not entirely sure what expectations I had before I first started this book by Katherine Center but I was not prepared for how much I enjoyed it. The medical nerd in me loved the neurological aspects of Sadie’s condition. The author expertly weaved how important the medical issue was to her background and the lens she saw the world through. Sadie’s dog was a great sidekick and provided lots of heartwarming elements as well as her best friend, and her parents.

I’m used to reading books with more open-door spice but the tension between Sadie and the main male character was definitely steamy and in the end, the emotional journey Sadie goes through was enough.
Will definitely be recommending this book to others!

Humorous, light, sweet, and character driven. Katherine Center is amazing at finding the way the characters twist with each other.

Katherine center! I love her books! I’ve met her and she’s a doll. She’s a fellow Texan. You won’t be disappointed with any of the books you read written by her.

I absolutely LOVED Hello Stranger and devoured it. The premise was unique and the characters interesting. I enjoyed the sweet romance and didn’t even miss the spice! I really liked the writing style and will definitely be delving into the author’s back catalogue.

And the Author’s Notes were amazing, don’t miss them!

Another fantastic book from Katherine Center! She has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to reading her books. They're a little formulaic in terms of the plot, but the characters are always endlessly endearing and relatable. Center tends to highlight a traumatic or life-altering event in each one of her books that one of the main character experiences. In this one, Sadie, a struggling portrait artist has brain surgery and an immediate result is face blindness, meaning her brain can properly see faces. Sadie has to re-learn how to do things she always took for granted in her life. I really liked the relationships in her life and seeing how they shifted. Patti Murin perfectly narrates the audiobook. She has such a relatable delivery, which perfectly suits Katherine Center's conversational tone.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.