I am now and forever a Katherine Center fan and will read anything she writes. Even when I have a feeling I'll be an outlier with her latest. HELLO STRANGER (Pub 07.11) Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the early copy.

I typically find her work compulsively readable and this was no exception. Her novels invite me to suspend reality and enjoy a story that isn't light-light, but isn't heavy either. In her author's note Center gives us a love letter to the romance genre. She extrapolates the gift of "predictability" and anticipation and the comfort and hope you feel in knowing a happy ending is coming.

While I agree 100%, I wasn't able to fully embrace the unrealistic elements of this book. The premise of prosopagnosia (face blindness) was intriguing, but the execution fell flat for me. I wanted more oomph. The dialogue felt choppy and the story a bit repetitive. All that said- I also found it cute, cozy and witty. It was an easy read that I inhaled in a day- especially the last quarter of the book which was my favorite.

Are you a Katherine Center fan? What is your favorite?

My favorites (in order):
Happiness for Beginners
The Bodyguard
How to Walk Away
Hello Stranger
What You Wish For

So- there you have it. Solid 3 stars. If you are looking for a love story to escape into by the pool or at the beach this summer this could be for you.

Overall, I think this was a 3.5 star read rounded up to 4. Sadie Montgomery is a struggling artist who has just placed in the final ten of a prestigious art award when she suffers an unexpected seizure. The diagnosis leads to the need for surgery, resulting in Sadie acquiring face blindness due to swelling of the brain. The story delves into the aftermath of her now-acquired disability as she struggles with not only interactions with family, friends and strangers but also with preparations for the art award.

While I thought the plot was refreshingly unique, I really had an issue with several of the characters, including Sadie. I could appreciate how independent she wanted to be but at times, I felt that she took it to the extreme to the point of being overly stubborn and childish. Parker, was, of course, a caricature of the evil stepsister who you prayed would get her comeuppance and Sadie could have done without Sue, the best friend who left her in the lurch.

Although not nearly as good as Things You Save in a Fire and How to Walk Away, I still enjoyed Hello Stranger. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was so good! It was very unique in its premise. I never knew what was going to happen next because it was unique. The wedge that drove the two characters apart was not unique at its core but the author did do a pretty good job explaining everything in the end. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to dig into this one early because I couldn't wait to read it!

A very slow burn and sadly I couldn’t connect to the MC in this one. I know there are fans of Katherine Center that will adore this one as well. Unfortunately for me this one didn’t work.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC!
I love Katherine Center books because they are just so much fun! I love how there’s just enough spice, but not smug. There’s humor and witty characters who banter and grow to become better humans by the end. Center does an amazing job of sharing the characters with us, making us feel like we really know what’s happening in their heads. Hello Stranger does a great job of taking us through the story without giving it all away! It’s a cute, romantic story of the girl who “doesn’t want to be saved” but ends up not even realizing how much one can always be there for you when you need them the most! Highly recommend!

Hello Stranger is the story of Sadie, who after a brain surgery, is no longer able to recognize faces.

I liked Dr. Nicole and Mr. Kim. That’s it.

While I wanted to love this story (as I think the premise is unlike any I’ve ever heard), I loathed this. This story was so predictable and almost childlike. I didn’t like the way things were “resolved”, nor did I like Sadie or Sue or Parker. Or goodness, any other character.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Everyone stop what you’re doing: this is a good one. This book is so….genuine. It explores a lot of different kinds of loss and the way we grieve our losses. There’s losses that are a decade old that the main character still has to tend to and new ones that come up along the way. It’s a story of discovering yourself when your in the pits with grief and your world view has literally changed and you have no choice but to cope.

While at the end of the day this is a love story, there’s just so much else that got put into this. I loved getting to explore the mind of a struggling artist, and getting to learn about face blindness was really an interesting addition to this story.

I feel like some might say this main character was maybe a little too much of a hopeless romantic and maybe she was a little ridiculous going off a deep end about people she just met, but…….I could relate LOL. She’s really cute and sweet, I loved her!

Katherine Center's main character Sadie Montgomery is a relatable, funny, 20-something-year-old who handles recent life challenges with humor and wit. Hello Stranger has quickly become my new favorite Katherine Center love story with Katherine's typical charm and unexpected twists. Hello Stranger gracefully tackles uncomfortable topics including the loss of a parent, extreme bullying, an evil stepsister, and an uncommon medical diagnosis. I had so much fun reading this book that I finished it in one sitting! I couldn't get enough of Sadie the starving artist, Dr. Adisson the dropdead gorgeous veteranarian, and Joe the bowling jacket wearing weasle. I can't wait for Katherine Center's next story to make me fall in love!

I received a digital copy for review from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

First of all, when you get an ARC of a Katherine Center novel, you drop what you’re doing and you read it! I didn’t even read the synopsis so I was just along for the ride. I read a lot of books and while many are really good, I generally quickly move on to the next. Every once in a while, you read a story that is just so satisfying it requires you to pause for a a few days and just let the story marinate in your head, because it’s so good! Hello Stranger was that book for me.

Quick Synopsis: Imagine that you’re a portrait painter and then you have a freak medical emergency that is actually a genetic condition and requires a quick little brain surgery. Only that brain surgery has an unexpected complication and suddenly you can’t see people’s faces — even your own. Oh and you’ve just been notified that you are a finalist for a huge art competition which could potentially be your big break in a field you’ve been struggling in for a decade? Only you need to paint a new portrait in order to win?

The premise of this book was so unique and interesting. I was hooked immediately.

Sadie’s voice was so real and relatable and as I’m not the most optimistic person I really connected with this character immediately. She was funny and snarky and I would totally be her friend!

Sadie’s first impression of Joe is that he’s a really awful human being, but then he keeps helping Sadie (even though she hates it) and soon she has to wonder if her first impression of him was wrong.

I loved that there was a whole bunch of other stories going on too — like Sadie’s grief over losing her mother, and the tension between her and her family — and then the relationship with her “chosen” family. I can get irritated with too many secondary characters, but all of the ones in this novel were vivid, well-developed, and contributed to the plot. They were also pretty comical when they weren’t being awful (and when they were).

I may have figured out the ending midway through, but who cares? It was still brilliant and I went back and reread some earlier parts of the novel to be like ‘oh yeah!’ It was entertaining, romantic, sweet, and really uplifted my mood in the middle of a mundane week. It also really makes you consider what life would be like if we got to know people without forming opinions form their faces but who they are and how they act? It was just a fantastic read.



Thank you for letting me review this early.

4.5 ⭐️

I flew through this book! What a fun group of characters! I enjoyed this unique plot and the twist near the end! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a heartfelt rom com!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book!

Thank you so much NetGalley, St. Martins Press and Katherine Center for this ARC. I have really enjoyed this book as I have loved all the book i have read by Katherine Center. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I enjoyed the face blindness story line. It was something new for me to learn about. I loved the humor in the book and will recommend this book to my book groups. I look forward to my next Katherine Center book.

DNF at 9%

I'm disappointed with this book. I had to stop reading fairly early on when I came across some horrendous fatphobic lines spoken by the male love interest.

I was incredibly shocked to see that in 2023, people think it's okay to use that negative terminology.! Upon further inspection I did read that he was talking about a dog; however, I wished that Katherine used different adjectives, rather than harmful, fatphobic ones.

I personally loved The Bodyguard and I'm so sad that this didn't live up to my expectations.

I hope this is changed and addressed.

Thank you to Katherine Center, Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center is hands down my favorite author. Everything she writes is pure gold. I don’t think I’ve ever read one of her books without crying (in a good way). Hello Stranger was no exception. It hit me so deeply in my heart and my soul. (I don’t want to give anything away but one moment was when you realized who bought Sadie’s painting….and then basically every scene after that, tears just flowed).

Sadie suffers a medical episode that leaves her with facial blindness...a tough spot to be in for a portrait artist on the verge of her big break. From despair over her condition, a distant father, evil stepsister, possibly hating, but then falling in love with a Weasel, who was most definitely *not* a weasel, this story just tugs at your heartstrings. You feel everything that Sadie is feeling, but you also feel hope. I adored how each character was written and how they interacted with Sadie. There were some definite plot twists that made me shout, but I can't shout them out here without giving anything away again!

I absolutely loved this book. Please go read this and every one of Katherine Center's books. I especially loved the author's note at the end, where she explains how she fell in love with romance stories. They are full of positivity and hope. Love is unapologetically optimistic and so is Katherine Center.

The idea of face blindness is truly baffling to me. I cannot even imagine trying to experience life like that. This was definitely a cute little romcom, with a couple twists that were predictable in my opinion, but I still enjoyed.

I've long been a fan of Katherine Center, since I first read How To Walk Away. What appeals to me most about her books are the characters. How relatable they are. How, no matter the obstacle, they always find their joy.

And that for me is what her books are about. The message that even though life doesn't work out as you planned, there is always a way to find joy, if you just look for it.

Look for it in this book and you will find it. (And read the author's notes!)

This is a remarkable novel that captures the readers attention from beginning to end. The pacing is perfect and it hooks you right from the beginning. I did not know much regarding face blindness until I read this book and I learned so much. The story was entertaining and had some surprises.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Katherine Center is an absolute gem of a author with the most wonderful stories. If Katherine Center writes it, I'll be reading it. She is an author who without a doubt will make me smile and give me the chance to escape life for a little while with a fun, joyful, and sweet story. Hello Stranger was absolutely not an exception to this rule.

What did I like about the novel?
It's a unique love story with a premise that is unlike a plot I've come across before. Yes, we've all read the medical romance where the MC needs extra support or help from another character...but this wasn't the same as those. Our FMC is a force to be reckoned with and she doesn't need the help of other people to survive or heal...but it sure is nice that she has someone to spend time with while she's healing. The banter was top notch. The romance was swoon worthy. And, it always helps when there are sweet animal friends to keep the reader company as well.

Was there anything that surprised you about the novel?
Of course not! Katherine Center makes it widely known that she writes for the purpose of bringing her readers joy. That means there are no surprise endings and always a happily ever after which is exactly what Hello Stranger delivers!

Who would you recommend this to?
Anyone who is looking for a pick me up or looking to end their reading experience with a giant smile on their face. All romance readers. All animal lovers. And of course, anyone who has previously enjoyed the fun that is Katherine Center.

I loved this! More than I loved her last books. It was a one sitting kind of read for me. I need to go through her back log.

I absolutely devoured this book! I found Sadie and her medical condition to be fascinating, especially as it pertained to her career and her upcoming art contest. There were some fun twists with the side characters in the book, with most of them being likable (Parker excluded of course!). Truly enjoyable and I could not put it down.

I'm not sure if this book beats The Bodyguard for me, but it comes damn close!! It was a bit hit and miss for me right away. I think because Sadie was constantly feeling sorry for herself all the time! She's never ask for help and would shut people out. BUT man, give me some more Joe!! I did not know face blindness was a thing. I cannot imagine how difficult that must be to live with. I feel like I'd have done the exact same thing as her. Still not sure about Witt who keeps stealing Sue away, but I just adored Mr. Kim! So many love able characters. I want more!! My only issue would be the MASSIVE amounts of coincidences at the end. I didn't guess the twist and I'm so mad at myself for it. I was dead set on another scenario completely and didn't see the signs. I really want to go back and reread the book already to catch the signs I missed !
Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for the ARC.