Katherine Center is, at this point, an auto-buy for me. She is a reliably fun author who will always bring a smile, some real life laughs and warm fuzz. Hello Stranger hits every beat and came with the unique and cool bonus of teaching me a lot about a rare medical condition, face blindness, that I admittedly was not very familiar. I had intended to savor this audio book over the weekend but, alas, it was too good and I devoured it in one day while running errands and doing chores around the house. Thank you to MacMillan for the early listening copy, it was the best Friday treat!

Read for:
-Reliable Rom Com
-Fuzzy feels
-Hopeful
-Hilarious
-Informative

4/5 stars!

Overall an enjoyable and unique read.
For me - the main character read very young to me & that kept pulling me out of the story. It felt as if I was reading a YA main character rather than adult woman. I did really enjoy the plot and romance aspect! Definitely an interesting read and I look forward to reading more from Katherine Center!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

5-stars This book is fabulous! I loved everything about it! Witty, romantic, quirky, heartwarming. The storyline was wonderful, unique. Couldn't stop reading it...ended up binging overnight. :)
I particularly liked the H...hot, kind, dreamy...definitely in the BBF category.
I have a feeling this will be Center's best book yet.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with a galley of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I struggled at first to get into the story, but once I did I really enjoyed it. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming which was fun!! Cute little fun heartwarming read! Also enjoyed the bit at the end about prosopagnosia!

*I received an arc of this book for review. This is my honest opinion. Thanks to Netgalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for the arc!*

A portrait artist who can't see faces? What a fun concept!

I have a lot of feelings about this one. I really liked the concept, even though I expected the "twist" from the beginning. (It's romance though, we read romance because it IS predictable--so that's not a negative! I was looking forward to seeing how that played out!)

I really liked Joe's character! He was sweet and funny, but as the love interest, I would have loved to see him a little bit more. For me, Sue really only serves as an inconvenience, and I almost wonder if she and Parker couldn't have been combined, which leads me to my third thing:

The whole mean girl as plot device/conflict thing is something I really, really dislike. I like to think that Future Parker got therapy and got better and apologized. Not that she and Sadie could be friends after all the shit that happened, but still.

Anyway, back to the positive! Overall, I really enjoyed this! I loved Sadie's connection to her mother, and reading this felt like being in Sadie's little rooftop hovel penthouse with her. I could see all the colors and feel the sunshine and hear the music.

**I give this 3.5 stars rounded up.**

This was an absolutely delightful romance. I was simultaneously laughing out loud and crying happy tears. Sadie's story of having Face Blindness, while trying to navigate a new (to her) world and the crazy family she's part of make for a very compelling story. I wish I could read all about Sadie again for the first time.

I absolutely loved this book. Every time I pick up a book by Katherine Center I know I'm in for a good read. I don't know how she does it, but each book is just better than the last. How does she do that?

Gah! Okay, five stars, just to tell you up front.

This is the story of Sadie, who suffers from something called Face Blindness (common term, not science-y at all) after some elective brain surgery. Is any brain surgery actually elective? That's another book. The kicker is really that Sadie is an artist, who has just been chosen to show a new piece of art in six weeks. She is a portrait artist. Ruh roh.

Then there's her best friend Sue, who was sitting for said portrait and then was kidnapped so she could elope. Sadie is forced to ask for help, not her strong suit, from her neighbor who doubles as a mutton muncher. In case you don't know that term, look it up. Laughter will follow.

Did I mention that Sadie has a difficult relationship with her family? And has fallen in lust with her senior dog's veterinarian?

This book is swoony but not steamy, but in the best of ways. I do not have enough ways to write good things about this novel, trust me. You want to read it.

I love Katherine Center and her romantic stories. I was so excited to get my hand on an early copy of this book through NetGalley.
Hello Stranger was classic Center. It was tender and genuine, lovely and heartbreaking. There is a guy and a girl and a lot in between. I thought Sadie’s issue was so interesting. I had never really considered face blindness and its consequences. Center used this to twist a little suspense into the story and keep you guessing. And it felt believable! At the end, when things are resolved, you breath a sigh of relief!
What I did not enjoy very much was the bit about Sadie’s dad, Lucinda and Parker. The scene at the art show felt a little forced. And it resolved too quickly. That’s the only thing I didn’t really care for. Other then that, I this book continues my love affair with Katherine Center books. I will buy whatever she writes!

A beautiful love story. I'm grateful to have read this.

Sadie is someone who is relatable, and easy to root for. I felt such compassion and sympathy for her. She goes through some heartbreaking things in her life. I don't know if I'm just overly emotional right now but there were times I was so sad for her. I felt such a connection to her thoughts and worries. However, even though this book may touch on some darker aspects of life such as fear and loss, it is NOT a sad book. There were times I laughed out loud. It's funny It's hopeful. It's romantic. I wanted nothing more than for these characters to find love with each other.

It's a unique and fun read that you don't want to miss.

I highly recommend reading the authors note at the end too.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Unfortunately right now, I am not in the right headspace to read a book with any sort of failed surgery and loss of a family member triggers. I made it to about forty-six percent, and I think that eventually I will come back to this since I have loved other work by this author and this was a unique concept that I think I would like to experience. Just right now, I think if I were to continue reading, my own feelings would cloud my judgement over something that otherwise would probably be a book I could love.

For anyone going in to this book, the synopsis actually sounds REALLY cute and based on what I had read so far, was super well written. The characters seemed likable enough (and in some cases, completely repulsive) and the story was going in a really great direction, I hope other readers enjoy this one a lot! If I do pick it up again, I will adjust this review :)

This was exactly what I needed right now. A charming love story with a happy ending, and some new knowledge to boot. Though I've heard of face blindness, I've not known much about it, so to have its impact rolled into a fun, easy read was a bonus.

Katherine Center always gives a fun and relaxing read. I appreciate that.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center was exactly what I expect from this author. It was a unique story with relatable
and sometimes quirky characters. The main character discovers she needs emergency brain surgery and wakes up to find that she has face blindness. The swelling left in her brain prevents her from being able to recognize people based on faces, which causes her a great deal of anxiety. She meets a tenant in her building that helps her cope when things get overwhelming for her. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read.

The thing about Katherine Center is that she takes circumstances that are foreign to me with my ordinary life and makes them so real and relatable. Face blindness is something I was aware of but never really gave much thought to. This story begins with Sadie, a young woman who’s not really crushing it in her career as a portrait painter. It’s been 14 years since her mom died suddenly and she still feels the loss deeply. She’s finally on the brink of success when she wakes up in the hospital after nearly being hit by a car.

What follows is the poignant and often hilarious story of Sadie’s struggle to live as an artist and just a regular person while not being able to see faces. She hates asking for help but her neighbor, Joe, always seems to be there when she needs him and she finds herself attracted to him. This presents a problem since she’s already made up her mind to marry her dog’s vet.

Sadie’s best friend, Sue, and Sue’s family were delightful supporting friends. Her evil stepsister and clueless stepmom were the characters you wanted to hate.

I loved this heartwarming story of newfound love and forgiveness. 4.5/5 Stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received a advanced copy of Hello Stranger, and was so excited to read it. Sadie is a portrait artist who is enrolled in a competition. In a turn of events Sadie is faced with a medical complication and her life changes. Throw in a mix of a vet and a neighbor and a evil step sister and Sadie has to navigate her new life ........

I very much look forward to a Katherine Center offering and her latest, Hello Stranger, did not disappoint. Heart strings are vigorously pulled and her characteristic witty banter are in full display in this story of Sadie Montgomery, a portrait artist who experiences face blindness just as she becomes a finalist in a prestigious competition. As she struggles to make sense of the world and her new reality, Sadie battles a childhood nemesis, navigates her beloved dog’s illness, and comes to terms with the loss of her mother and her father’s subsequent indifference. She also finds herself drawn to two different men, despite her inability to fully recognize either one (is love blind?). Sadie’s journey is not to be missed.

I received a free advance reader's copy of this from NetGalley, in exchange for a review.

I had a really, really hard time with the first fourth of this book. It was to the point that I wasn't even sure I wanted to finish reading it. It was dry and filled with people's conversations (just two characters discussing things without doing things like moving, apparently). There were a few times I just wanted to call it good and not finish. But, because, I'm not a quitter, I stuck it out until the end, and I'm glad I did. After the awful first fourth, the rest was moving, beautiful, and interesting. I knew several of the twists from the very beginning (<spoiler>that the guy in the store, Joe, and Oliver were all the same person</spoiler>), but that didn't detract from the rest of the book. So, the first fourth was 2 stars (if that), the rest was 4 stars.

I really enjoy this authors books. She writes with humor and details that have me laughing one minute and wanting to cry the next. I also learn a lot and in this case, I was unaware of facial recognition issues. Very interesting. The story was sweet and there was a light bulb moment when you see it all coming together. Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

Hello Stranger was really cute. I mainly wanted to read this to “experience” face blindness myself. It was interesting to see how she navigated not being able to recognize faces. It kind of made me wonder if I could recognize people I knew by just their gait. Maybe? This is definitely one I’d read a sequel to!

That was fun! Super cute rom com with such lovable characters. It also had a little bit of a unique premise, which I enjoyed. I loved Bodyguard and after this one, I’m sure to read all of Katherine’s books past and future.

Okay first off, 4.5 ⭐️ the ONLY reason I didn’t give it 5 was because this one took me a minute to get into. I actually started it 3 separate times (I would like to credit most of that to squirrel brain)!! I’m so glad I kept on bc I fell in love, but also… I was heart broke . Why couldn’t poor Sadie catch a break. A literal evil step sister, face blindness, at odds with her family. Honestly, I don’t know how she did it. I LOVE Center’s ability to project just how strong her female leads are. They persevere, conquer, and end up with a swoon worthy love 🫶🏼

I would also like to add, that I was SO confused!!! Three total strangers and potential love interests? The first stranger I thought “oooooh here we go!! Can’t wait to see this relationship blossom.” Then came along the vet and my thoughts were as follows, “what the heck happened to wine stranger?? Oh well, I’m down with the hot vet!” Then once again, I am bamboozled with Joe. Once we began to see their relationship flourish I was so curious what the point of the other three men were? Then we are hit with that twist at the end 🤯Let me tell you, my jaw usually only drops like that with a thriller 😂 The end product was so chaotic, fun, heartwarming, and mixing up three different men is something I would do 💀 that made me love it that much more!!

In this book I laughed, I cried, I SMILED SO HARD. The aspect of self discovery was so perfect for this storyline, and something I think so many readers also benefit from. Katherine Center is an auto buy author for me and when I was given this opportunity I was over the moon 🤍 so thank you and I will NOT stop recommending this book