Katherine Center writes the coolest love stories. Hello Stranger has a super unique premise--a portrait artist, who has just learned she's a finalist in a prestigious competition, has a seizure, which requires brain surgery--but as a side-effect of the surgery, she now has acquired face-blindness. She can't see faces. Period. She strikes up a friendship with a man in her building, who she can only identify because of his unique bowling jacket. But she also has a crush on her new vet--Dr. Addison. As her feelings for Joe get stronger, she has to decide which man she really wants, all while trying to paint a portrait for the competition even though she can't see faces to save her life. There's also family drama, with a side of trauma and gaslighting, but it's handled well, in a way that I don't think people will find triggering.

The ending is absolutely delightful. And honestly, this book has my favorite author's note of all time. It's more like an author's manifesto about the romance genre as a whole, and I may or may not have cried at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saint Martin's Press for my advance review copy.

This was such a delightful read! I discovered Katherine Center earlier this year after reading The Bodyguard for a book club, and was excited to hear she has another title coming out.

This book follows Sadie Montgomery, a struggling portrait artist who finally has a chance at a big break when she has an opportunity to participate in a prestigious art competition--but her dreams, and her life, come crashing down around her when unexpected emergency brain surgery leaves her with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia (also known as face blindness). Sadie, still navigating her grief years later after losing her mother (who was also a portrait artist) at a young age, struggles to find her footing after the surgery and cope with her face blindness. In the middle of trying to create a painting to meet the competition's deadline, she also finds herself falling for both her new veterinarian named Dr. Oliver Addison as well as a man living in her apartment complex named Joe. Sadie has a nice supporting cast of characters around her in her friend Sue Kim and her parents, and was a realistically awkward and endearing character to cheer for. It's clear the author did a lot of research around how to portray face blindness accurately, and the book touches on larger concepts of grief, forgiveness, and self-identity, which adds some emotional depth to this romance novel. Overall an optimistic and uplifting read.

Katherine Center's books are always enjoyable, and this one once again fits the bill. Sadie, a portrait artist who is a finalist in a competition, has a type of seizure and is saved by a Good Samaritan only to learn that she needs surgery. Once she awakens from surgery she quickly realizes that she can't recognize anyone's face and learns that she has a type of facial blindness. The story continues with Sadie trying to cope with not recognizing anyone, figuring out how to paint portraits when she can't see faces, and getting to know her neighbor Joe and her veterinarian Oliver. As the story goes on Sadie develops feelings for one and has to break it off with the other, while still struggling to paint. This story was fun, enjoyable, and sweet. The "Big Misunderstanding" trope was a bit frustrating, but that is an essential part of this story. I recommend giving Hello Stranger a try!

Absolutely phenomenal concept and storyline. I loved this quick book and devoured it as soon as I got it available!

My favorite part of this book was the message of perseverance and determination in the face of adversity.

Although I did love Sadie, I didn’t build the usual connection to the characters that I do when I read Center’s writing. I also found it hard to love the premise. All and all, Hello Stranger will not go down in history as my favorite Katherine Center novel, but I can’t wait to continue as a Center reader!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist and is getting ready for a huge competition that she believes will make her career. However, after a string of terrible events, she ends up in the hospital diagnosed with a very rare condition known as "face blindness". She cannot recognize the faces of anyone, even her best friend and her family members. While this would be difficult for anyone, as a portrait artist, this is quite possibly the worst thing that could happen to Sadie. As she struggles to cope and deal with her new reality (that is hopefully temporary), she falls in love with two men.

What this has:
- Found family
- Love triangle (trust me on this, I know it's not popular but it works here)
- Healing from trauma/loss
- The cutest elderly dog

As with basically every Katherine Center book I've read, this book went extremely fast for me! For some reason, I'm always astonished at how readable the writing is and how compelling the story is, and I usually read her books in one sitting due to that.

Now I will say, I guessed the big twist in this pretty early on. However that did not detract from the book at all for me. In fact, it actually made it more enjoyable for me personally because I could try to see the clues from Sadie's perspective (truthfully they were very few!). I won't say more than that for spoiler reasons but it really worked for me in this case!

Boy is Katherine Center good at creating horrible family members that I could not hate more!! I am so glad that Sadie's stepsister did not get a redemption arc because I would have had a real problem with that! I was glad to see that her dad was able to recognize some of his failings and that her stepmother also came to some small realizations as well. This book walks the line between rom-com and real life issues.

I also loved the author's note at the end and am still actively thinking about it now. I've heard Katherine speak a few times about the romance genre and every time she does it's like she's taking the thoughts in my brain and making them coherent and beautifully said. Can't wait to see her for her launch event in Houston!!

Huge thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the message of this novel, but getting there was a struggle.

2.5 stars

"We see what we're looking for."

Hello Stranger is a novel about an artist who loses her ability to see faces and the two men she is torn between.

Sadie is a portrait artist who just learned she is a finalist in a prestigious art competition. She is flying high until she experiences a medical issue that requires her to undergo brain surgery. Sadie wakes up from surgery to her worst nightmare--she is face blind. Adding to the drama, she is now torn between two men--neither of whose faces she can see.

Here's the thing: the premise is compelling. The problem is Sadie’s character--I found her bratty, selfish, and whiny. Even before she experiences her crisis, she is self-consumed. I got bored of her feeling sorry for herself--I know she was struggling, and she should have had my sympathy, but her behavior put me off.

The triangle between Joe, Sadie, and Dr. Addison also was a failure. I was cringing almost the whole time while reading this. Sadie experiences crisis after crisis and is constantly helped by Joe, Sue, and other mysterious strangers (even though she prefers to rescue herself). Yet, she never takes the time to return the favor and ask others questions about themselves and what they do for a living. It's all about Sadie all the time. (I know part of this was for plot purposes but really?!)

Usually, with Center’s books, I pick them up and struggle to put them down. With this book, I had to coax myself into picking it back up once I put it down. I liked the premise and some of the characters. I loved The Kims and Peanut, and Parker was a great villain. Thankfyully, the last 10%, things took a turn for the better.

I am very much an outlier when it comes to this book. Most readers have loved it, so it might just be me. Check it out for yourself!

“So weird to think that this feeling had been there all along, hibernating in a box under my bed, just waiting for me to wake it up. Maybe I should have tried these skates on sooner.”

Sadie Montgomery is a Houston based portrait artist who is on the verge of her lucky break. Her dreams are just within reach when an accident sets into motion a series of events, resulting in a condition of prosopagnosia (face blindness) - the inability to recognize different faces. Alongside her companion, a 14 year old dog Peanut, Sadie copes with past heartache and new challenges on the eve of a game changing opportunity.

Take a highly unusual love triangle and add a sprinkle of Cinderella and a dash of Sleeping Beauty and you have a classic and fresh Katherine Center storytelling experience. This auto-buy author’s signature optimism and thoughtful takeaways created a breezy and fun read, perfect for the season.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the early copy in exchange for my honest review!

What if huh were a portrait artist and after years of struggling, you may finally get your big break and then you have to have surgery and after that surgery you can not see faces
This is what happens to Sadie.
Sadie has a lot going on… A practically nonexistent relationship with her father and her stepmother, so when her father family takes an interest in her life and tell her, she must have the surgery because it’s something her mother did not do that all of a sudden had Sadie’s attention

I always love this author in her books, Ii laugh. I cry, and the message always makes me stop and think and reflect.

I wasn’t super impressed with The Bodyguard last year, so I was as surprised as anyone to find myself texting my sister while reading this book: “This new Katherine Center book is just amazing… it’s like a 00’s rom com.”

4.5 Stars rounded up for Center’s afterward. Remarkable insight on the Romance genre!

Sadie Montgomery is in a rough spot…
✅ Living in a hovel.
✅ Only two real friends (and one is her dog).
✅ Doesn’t talk to her family.

Her luck finally seems to be turning when she beats out 1,990 applicants in an art competition for a shot at $10,000, but then she:
- has a seizure.
- has brain surgery.
- can no longer make sense of faces.
- finds out her dog is incredibly ill.

Scrambling for a distraction from all of this. She thinks she’s falling for her dog’s vet, but maybe her weasel of a neighbor will turn out to be more than she bargained for.

On top of nailing the vibe, this book did a great job of walking the line between being a rom-com and seeing a young woman navigate loss, heal from long trauma, and learn to stand on her own feet.

Would recommend for anyone who likes enemies to lovers, medical enigmas, and TRUE rom-coms. I laughed out loud multiple times.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced copy of this audiobook. All opinions above are my own.

This book was an adorable surprising delight. I think my favorite Katherine Center book yet! Nice twist at the end

I really enjoyed Katherine Center’s first book The Bodyguard, so I was really eager to read this one. The plot was definitely something that drew me to reading it and even though it did deliver, I wasn’t very pleased with the overall book. It was a lot slower paced than even the previous book which was already a slow burn, but even then the humor and dialogue in her stories usually keeps me coming back. However, this time the book included some problematic content regarding body shaming & fatphobic commentary without any mention of trigger or content warnings and I feel like in 2023 that was just not acceptable to me as a reader and was very inconsiderate of readers that are not straight sized and/or have struggled with EDs in the past. I would’ve appreciated a heads up or for the content (which served no purpose to the plot other than for comedy which is an entirely other issues) to just been removed entirely.

Thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the ARC! This certainly had some charm to it and I loved the overall message regarding confirmation bias. I also thoroughly enjoyed learning about prosopagnosia (face blindness) and thought it was a unique plot device for a romance novel, however; the foreshadowing for the “twist” etc, while I’m glad seeds were planted it was painfully obvious and just a drawn out miscommunication trope.

The fat phobia at the beginning was striking and highly off putting, even though ages later it turned out not to be actual fat phobia, what a weird and just plain bad way to move along a plot twist. The character of Parker was a caricature and highly unnecessary - that entire plot point was a little too glossed over and didn’t fit.

Finally, while parts of this were good, the characters were underdeveloped, the various threads didn’t quite fit together and I wasn’t loving it.

Amazing book, she did such a wonderful job creating amazing characters with a good storyline. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

After brain surgery leaves her unable to interpret facial features in context, Sadie can’t even recognize her best friend. Which would be terrifying for anyone, but especially for a portrait artist - one who is a finalist in a prestigious painting competition to boot. And her face blindness doesn’t discriminate - everyone, from her evil stepsister to the objectively gorgeous veterinarian (even the weasel butt from the elevator who fat shamed his one night stand!) is a total mystery. She can’t paint like did pre-surgery, but she can’t let this opportunity slip by - but can you paint a face if you can’t even see it?

This book was ADORABLE AS HELL. This concept works so well as a book, because the reader is also left without the ability to see each character’s face.

Can we just give it up for Mr Kim?? From his nicknames, and his support, he’s a gold star supporting character.

The relationship dynamic between Sadie and her family is so interesting - the evil stepmother and stepsister keep her at arms length from her father, and the loss of her mother as a child made her feel so isolated. I liked how her relationship with her stepmother evolves slowly throughout the book.

The romance was also so much fun! The anticipation of how it was all going to turn out had me speeding through this book with reckless abandon.

This book also had the audacity to point out how valid the miscommunication trope is, and have me kinda agreeing.

To avoid spoilers, I’ll leave it there, but her therapy sessions after brain surgery had so many incredible bits of wisdom - one being “You don’t see what you’re not looking for”. Mic drop.

I would highly recommend picking this one up!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was shocked and thrilled to receive Katherine Center's newest due out this summer - I've given every single one of her books I've read either 4.5 or 5 stars, and this one was no exception. Sure, it's a romance, but it's something so different, and I can honestly say I've never read a book like this one - our main character Sadie ends up having a brain injury that results in face blindness, and as an artist, this is challenging for her to navigate the world. I will say as I was reading it, I kept thinking - I hope the author didn't make something like this up, so I was thrilled to see an author's note at the end with all of the resources she used. What an interesting layer to add to character building! Naturally we see Sadie start to fall for Joe, and then we realize that some of the people in her life may not be as they seem, and Sadie has to rely on other senses to communicate and interact with people.

I ate this one up - it was so interesting to keep reading, and I was rooting for Sadie and Joe the entire time. The supporting cast of characters added such great connections to Sadie, and I loved the spin on a traditional romance storyline. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who's read Center's works before - they're very similarly written and easy to read.

Thank you again NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this one - publishing date is coming up this summer, July 11th 2023!

Genre: contemporary romance

Sadie Montgomery has followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a portrait artist, specializing in hyper realistic portraits. She’s definitely on the starving artist range of the spectrum, and renting a not-quite-livable studio space/apartment from her best friend’s parents, but still feeling like she’s only one break away from better luck. She thinks she’s found it when she’s invited to enter the same portrait contest that her mother participated in before she died. But a nonconvulsive seizure reveals an underlying lesion that Sadie needs to have removed from her brain. A bit of routine brain surgery leaves an unfortunate complication - Sadie develops prosopagnosia, more commonly known as face blindness. Sadie is bereft, unsure how to process the loss of her livelihood (even if the doctors assure her it *may* only be temporary), until she meets the absurdly handsome veterinarian who helps rescue her dear elderly dog Peanut.

I hadn’t yet read a Katherine Center book, but had heard so many great things about her heartwarming love stories. I’m really glad I picked this up! Hello Stranger is told from Sadie’s POV, giving us insight into the confusion, depression, and terror she feels at the lack of recognition of people she’s known forever, from her best friend to her evil stepsister. Working with a neuropsychologist helps Sadie cope and learn some tricks, but it isn’t enough to help her feel less alone.

I don’t tend to read many contemporary love stories that aren’t totally bonkers, but when I do, I love ones like this that are wholly heartwarming with rich multi-dimensional characters who struggle with navigating their lives and find love in both the expected and unexpected places.

Thank you to St Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio, and Netgalley for an eARC and ALC for review. Hello Stranger is out 7/11/23, and I can’t wait for you all to read it, because there’s not much I can talk about in this review…

Katherine Center books are like a hug... and this one is no different! This book drops us into the world of Sadie, a portrait artist struggling to make it professionally despite painful family situations... that we learn about in fits and starts throughout the book. As Sadie deals with medical issues that lead to face blindness (obviously a problem for an artist), she has to reckon with what success means and how she can persevere and survive through pain, both present and past. She has a great friend network (that even grows throughout the book). There are some great twists and turns, and the wildness of her circumstances make this book truly something special. I loved the characters and did not see all the drama coming!

This book was a great mix of romance, friendship, and women's fiction.. with the lovely writing, great characters, and warmth you expect from Katherine Center. I also liked reading her author's note at the end where she talked about her goals for writing and how she likes to use her work to create hope and (a bit) of predictability in a challenging world.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was so sweet and different then others. I really enjoyed it. I loved reading about the main characters journey throughout.

This was such a unique story. The characters were sweet. and funny. Sadie Montgomery is such a relatable character battling her insecurities and need to find herself. I loved her journey and her determination.