I enjoyed this story about Sadie, a struggling artist who feels like she's on the brink of her big break. It kept my attention on a day I was home with a cold, and even helped ebb some of my grumpiness - which is exactly what I was looking for.

I didn't always love Sadie's behavior, but I thought it made sense given what she'd been through. The author's note and acknowledgements were a delight.

I enjoyed the narration by Patti Murin overall, though I wish her pacing were faster. (I listened at 3x and wanted to go faster, which is rare for me.) There's also one part in particular that I think could have been handled differently: The narrator reads this as written, "'That's huge!' She stretched out the U for what felt like a full minute. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge." I'd have rather the narrator just say, "That's huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!" It felt off for her to not actually stretch out the U in "That's huge!" but then tell us that's what the character did. Again, overall, I enjoyed it - these are minor critiques!

This was a fun read! I’ve read a few thrillers that dealt with face blindness and it was fun to have a new take on it, in a different genre.

It was a cute story and i enjoyed it. I do wish i had a little more from the side characters, because they were pretty cool.

And i figured out “the twist” early on. But it was ok just not shocking.

I really didn’t like Parker, not that you’re supposed to! But man she was a monster.

Enjoyable read.

I loved this book! It was such a hopeful, heartwarming story and it hooked me from the very beginning. Books about art always seem to draw me in so quickly despite not having an artistic bone in my body. Sadie was such a quirky character that I immediately loved. I could not image being in her position and not being able to see the faces of my loved ones and those around me. I felt like she handled it so well and was so strong despite everything the world was throwing at her. Joe/Dr. Addison had my heart from the very beginning. It was so interesting to see how Sadie got to know each of them and how different they were to her. Normally I am not a fan of love triangles but this one has a twist that, from a reader's perspective, is obvious. Plus, any story about dogs is a story I want to read. This story managed to pull at all my heartstrings, and I loved the message to persevere despite the difficulties you might face. So glad I got the opportunity to read this one!

This book started out with a lot of promise, but I ended up getting bored and found it a little repetitive. The premise is cute, but I don't think it all tied together.

This was a first for me by this author and have heard a lot of hype. I liked this book, I just felt it to be really slow in spots which made me tune out a bit. The last bit of the book was really great and made up for the slow start.

This book was so enjoyable ! A perfect rom com. I love this author and make a point to read all of her books! This book was one of her best yet ! The character development was wonderful and could not put it down! I also liked that it gave us insight into this disorder that I really did not know existed .

✨BOOK REVIEW✨

Hello Stranger by @katherinecenter

This one was fun!! You could easily read this in a day - it’s so easy to get lost in and it goes quick 🩷

I loved the uniqueness of the story and like a lot of KC books the romance wasn’t the center of the story, but it’ll still have you falling in love!

It’s all about Sadie navigating her new reality of developing “face blindness” after having brain surgery. There were certainly times where Sadie’s actions irritated me but I also can’t imagine having a father that acted like he did. It broke my heart thinking about it 😩

Read if you love:
🛼 a dog’s best friend
🛼 family drama
🛼 portrait artist/veterinarian careers
🛼 LOL moments
🛼 easy, binge-worthy read
🛼 cute, light romance

Read this with the best little group! We had a cute little schedule that turned out to be just a suggestion bc the majority of us read it in two sittings 🥸 @naesreadingnook @whatdomsreading @wittyreading @lit_with_kristen @karas_reads @queenchichireads @booksmorganreads @the.book.tasting

Thank you @stmartinspress @netgalley for allowing me to be an early reader! All opinions are my own. This one is out 7/11!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

If you need a feel good read, this is the book for you. After having surgery, Sophie develops face-blindness. Sophie learns how to navigate her new life and job opportunity with her new disability. How will she pull off creating works of art when she can't see the faces she paints? It also has a sweet romance in it. This was a light and easy read and will be a great heartwarming pick me up read.

Katherine Center had recently become a must-read author for me, and Hello Stranger exemplifies why. Sadie Montgomery is immediately likable relatable, and I found myself rooting for her from the get-go. Through the course of the book, Sadie is diagnosed with prosopagnosia, yet through her struggles Sadie perseveres and remains true to herself. Sadie’s complex relationships and the way she navigates them through her condition were the highlight for me, and most of all her relationship with her beloved pooch, Peanut - it’s evident that Center herself is an animal lover, it shows through in the love in the narrative. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!
I read The Bodyguard by Katherine Center in 2022 and absolutely loved it, so I, of course, had high expectations going into Hello Stranger. It did not disappoint in the slightest. This book was fast paced, engaging, and hilarious. Sadie was such a lovable FMC and I felt so connected to her from the start of the book. She was strong and never gave up no matter what got in her way, She made me laugh, cry, and everything in between. I loved seeing her navigate life and all of the people she connected with along the way. This book was like a warm hug and I just loved it. Katherine Center is definitely an auto-buy author for me now :)

What a unique story. Never really knew what the blindness was called made it interesting to read about it. I loved how this turned into some wonderful twist that I didn't even consider. Bravo to the author for coming up with the idea of this story.
I breezed through this book it was so easy to fall into and get absorbed that before I knew it it was done.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center!
This one was much different than anything else I’ve read by Katherine Center. Interesting plot! Sadie, a portrait artist, has just won a spot in a prestigious art show. The grand prize is $10,000. The portrait must be a live model. Sadie knows she can win that $10,000. Unfortunately, an accident might change her chances of winning the grand prize in the art show.
After Sadie’s accident, she suffers from a condition where she is unable to decipher faces. The faces she sees are a Picasso style jumble of eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
Sadie is determined to still enter a portrait into the art show, even though she cannot see anyone to paint.
Meanwhile, Sadie crosses paths with a loud, obnoxious guy in her building and instantly cannot stand him. He’s rude and blunt and everything Sadie dislikes in a guy. But, naturally, he isn’t actually as rude as Sadie thinks.
It took me a little while to like this one, but I’m really glad I stuck with it. The only thing I would change is to maybe make Sadie’s age a little clearer, as much of the behavior in the story seems very immature. I kept thinking that Sadie was in high school, but then I thought, wait…a penthouse? No. Did Sadie not have a job, either? I think it did mention that she was 27.

I'm going to borrow the author's own words for this one... "This love story really created fantastic anticipation." I read that in the author's note, and thought it was the best description of this book. I knew how this one would play out while I was reading it, but I kept doing so because I was really excited to see how it all came together in the end. Sadie's face blindness was such an interesting premise for the book, and I still am trying to figure it out no matter how many times it was explained. I found her character to be realistic, and I enjoyed how her struggles blended with the romance along the way.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. There is an instance of fatphobia pretty early on in the book that almost made me DNF, but I kept going because I was so intrigued by the face blindness aspect. It turned out to be the miscommunication trope, so I'm happy with my decision, but I wanted to mention it for others awareness.

4.5 stars
This book was just fun. The Bodyguard was one of my favorite books last year so I knew I needed to give this one a go.
Sadie finds out she needs brain surgery and after she gets it, she finds out she has face blindness. She can't make sense of anyone's face and literally can't even recognize her family or friends. Thing is, she is a portrait artist who is supposed to be in an art show. She can't even see faces she tries to paint. The romance. Sadie meets Joe who lives in her building. After her friend Sue ditches her and elopes, Sadie needs to use Joe for a model. Their relationship is cute. Sadie has decided that her new vet will be her future husband (even though she can't see him) so she kind of keeps Joe at arm's length even though you can see them falling in love.
The characters and plot were both so engaging and I was always excited to pick this back up. But I figured out the twist super duper early, so through the whole book I was SO impatient for the characters to figure it out. At times it made me angry that they hadn't figured it out yet. It never put me off the book though and when it all finally came out, it was so satisfying. It was resolved so perfectly and the epilogue was so heartwarming.

I absolutely loved this book! Katherine Center excels at writing quirky, dynamic characters that you can't help but love in spite of all of their faults. The romance in this book was sweet, and the overall message of hope and perseverance was beautiful. I'm an avid romance reader, but I have never read a romance with a main character with acquired face blindness. It was a unique spin that I thought was done very thoughtfully. Highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a laugh, a tender romance, and a hopeful message.

If you love miscommunication in romance than boy is this the book for you. Face blindness is a concept I've heard of but was not overly familiar with and didn't realize the full extent of it. What it provides in a reading experience is a whole lot of mix-ups and miscommunication.

I love Katherine Center and will most certainly continue to pick up whatever she puts on paper but this one did not live up to my expectations (after loving The Bodyguard so much). I didn't care for or about the main character too much, she irritated me more than I wanted to cheer for her. I am also not a fan of miscommunication so I guess this was just a doomed endeavor from the jump.

Every book has its reader and I know some will adore this one as much as I did The Bodyguard just be forewarned that if you can't stand miscommunication take a pass!

Sadie is an artist, however after finding out she has to have brain surgery she developed, face blindness, and what she goes for a living is paints people faces! To her father she a failure to her she is living her life, the best she can. When she gets in to the contest her late mother also go in to she can’t believe her luck only now she isn’t able to finish her painting because she can’t see what she painting! How will she do it?

This book was funny and ridiculous all at once I loved it!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Portrait artist Sadie Montgomery ends up with a face blindness condition after her brain surgery. As she is in the lowest of her lows, navigating the world without being able to see people's faces, she meets Dr. Addison, who she hopes is her future husband. He is her dog's vet, and although she can't see his face, she knows he is as good looking as he seems. About the same time things start up between Sadie and the vet, Sadie begins to see Joe, her weasel of a neighbor, in a different light. She is falling for the two men yet she refuses to tell either of them of her condition.

What a unique and fascinating premise! I went into this book blind because I will read anything that Katherine Center writes. I had no idea where it was going, and when I realized that this was going to be about Sadie's journey with face blindness, I couldn't put it down. I couldn't guess in what directions this story would go up until that final chapter.

Sadie's condition and her experiences were thought-provoking. This book was centered around perception, prejudice, compassion, and forgiveness. It reminded me to remember that you never know what someone is going through, so be kind!

Katherine Center has magical abilities, making me swoon for the two love interests without even knowing what their faces look like. The way that Sadie saw Dr. Addison and Joe and how she connected with them despite the fact that she couldn't see their faces was enthralling. It was like I could feel what they looked like not only on the outside but on the inside. I loved Sadie's personality - she was a complex character and a delightfully weird. Her dialogue with Dr. Addison and Joe had me laughing out loud.

Pick up this deeply engrossing novel about a woman on a challenging journey who finds love in the end!

Steam level: 🔥
⚠️: seizures, grief, panic attacks, bullying, mention of: death of a parent, infidelity (not between the main characters) & suicide attempt

I LOVED this book! The plot was original and I fell in love with the characters! The main character was lovable and so were all the supporting characters. It has a villain you love to hate.

Sadie has finally had the big break she has needed! She is a finalist in a prestigious art competition out of 2,000 people. Only 10 people are finalists. While crossing the street she hits her head while being saved from being hit by a car and ends up getting something called face blindness! How is she going to continue with the art competition and somehow without seeing their face she falls in love with two different men! This book was such a fun RomCom! FIVE STARS

5 Stars - Hello Stranger is another wonderful romance book from Katherine Center. The main character, Sadie, is a struggling artist and never seems to get a break, not from family or her profession, and when she finally does, her world appears to crumble apart. Sadie is forced to live her life in a way that is completely unlike anything she has ever known. How can a portrait artist paint when nothing looks the way it should?

With the help of her neighbor Joe and good friend Sue, Sadie starts to put the puzzle pieces together … or does she? The hope and anticipation of what could be kept me reading way past my bedtime to finish this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this ARC for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hello Stranger will be available for purchase on July 11, 2023.