Evidently I am a fan of Katherine Center as I found I had readily enjoyed many of her books. This one is no exception though a little bit too perfectly worked out. The charm, humor and romance carry the story about a portrait artist who loses the ability to see faces after an accident. The side story relationships are relatable and the characters and dialogue are snappy. I will continue being a fan.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

Despite spending most of last year debating whether or not to read The Bodyguard (still haven’t), this is my first Katherine Center book and it did not disappoint! The story follows Sadie, a struggling artist who is completely down on her luck. Poor girl has a stroke, has to get brain surgery, and ultimately ends up with a temporary condition known as face blindness. This would be life changing for any old person, but it’s an especially big deal to Sadie who is a portrait artist aka makes her living painting faces. She’s a finalist in this huge art contest for portraits and suddenly can’t see people’s faces. While battling this condition, trying to figure out what to do for the contest, Sadie also ends up in a sort of love triangle. We follow her throughout the book as she battles it all. This book was pretty unique compared to anything I’ve ever read before. I’ve never heard of face blindness before this book. The unique premise and unknownness of it all is really what hooked me. I also became very interested in Sadie’s love life and how that was starting to unfold. I figured out most of the big truths throughout the book pretty early. Even knowing or being fairly sure of what was going on didn’t make the book any less interesting. I’ll say that while I think this book is marketed as romance, and it is a romance, it doesn’t read like strictly romance. To me this book was largely about Sadie and her finding herself, navigating her life, navigating love and family relationships etc. It kind of read like women’s fiction to me? Overall, I really enjoyed my first book by Katherine Center. It read very well and was well written and had a nice pace to it. I might just have to go back and read The Bodyguard now. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book.

I was excited to receive an ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was my first book by Katherine Center, although The Bodyguard has been on my TBR list for some time. (Actually, after reading Hello Stranger, it’s now moved to the top of my TBR list!)

This book covered a lot of bases… loss of a parent, complicated family dynamics, living with physical and psychological challenges, and of course… love! The story is told in a way that, although you (the reader) become aware of where things are leading, you feel an excited anticipation and empathy for Sadie (our main character) rather than frustration about her lack of insight. This method of storytelling, for me, creates a connection with the main character that is often missing or lacking.

The story opens strong with an adorable grocery store scene and a climactic incident right out of the gate, but the romance in this book is a VERY slow burn with the focus on emotional connection more than physical. (If you’re in it for the spice, this isn’t going to be a five star - or rather, five chili pepper - read.)

As far as supporting characters go… Peanut, our MC’s geriatric and lovable mutt, stole the show for me. He is adorable and Sadie’s affection for him felt so relatable. Best friend Sue, on the other hand, didn’t deliver. Rather than come across as a tough-love, tell-it-like-it-is bestie, she seemed insensitive and uncaring. Exactly the kind of best friend that would make you lean on your dog for comfort.

Overall, I loved this book. I would have liked more physical connection and a friendship with more affectionate wit (rather than just snark), but the male and female MCs delivered where it really counted. I’m Katherine Center’s newest fan!

The author did it again. Such a great read. Kept me in engaged right from the very beginning. Katherine center has become a favorite author of mine and I always look forward to reading her books. She has a way with words that can tell a story like none other. I highly recommend this book as well as any other books she has written. I look forward to her next book to come out

What can we glean about the people in our lives if we can’t see their faces? [author:Katherine Center]’s latest is a unique premise, wonderfully executed.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who finally gets her big break as a finalist in a contest in which she has to deliver a portrait in 6 weeks – only to have a seizure out of nowhere, and a resulting surgery that gives her prosopagnosia: face blindness. At the same time as she scrambles to figure out how to paint portraits if she can’t see anyone’s face, her beloved senior pup has a health scare. While Sadie can’t see Dr. Oliver Addison’s face, she can just <i>tell</i> he’s very handsome and they’re destined to be together. But then there’s this guy Joe in her building – she thought he was a jerk and a cad, but it turns out he’s sweet and incredibly helpful. She and Dr. Addison are meant to be, but she can’t stop thinking about Joe.

I have no idea if acquired face blindness works the way it’s described here, but I found it fascinating as Sadie has to get creative in an effort to begin painting again. Chuck Close famously painted photorealistic portraits by mapping elements of faces out on a grid to overcome his prosopagnosia, but that’s not an option for Sadie. Her inability to see faces, including her own, could come off as cheesy metaphor in Sadie’s journey of self-realization, but it doesn’t, especially as she compares her art and herself as an artist to her late mother.

This stays on the side of romance (rather than fiction with a romantic plot) – but only just. Oliver is swoon-worthy; Joe is a dream. There’s something wonderful about the fact that Sadie falls for them without being able to see their faces (though it’s no shock they do turn out to be very hot). But Sadie’s relationships with her father, stepmother and stepsister, her art, and her dog, are equally, if not more important than the romance.

CW: Parental death (in the past, off page), bullying/attempted suicide (minor character, off page).

[book:Hello Stranger] by [author:Katherine Center]
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
🌶️ Too many interruptions to get far
🐶 🍜🥞 Peanut should get to eat pad Thai and crepes if he wants
🖼️ 🤪 Sadie’s art giving me bad-restoration-of-Mary realness

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Have you ever had a book hangover? That's me right now! Hello Stranger hooked me so fast and made my heart smile throughout. I was immediately drawn into Sadie's world. How it must feel to see everything and nothing at the same time. Add in the loveable Peanut, the evil stepsister, and all the other shenanigans that were a result of Sadie's face blindness and I was feeling all the feels! I already want to re-read and I just finished it. This is one of my favorite reads of the year so far!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

"We're all just doing the best we can. We're all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down, is a little bit lost."

"The more good things you look for, the more you find."

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Hello Stranger is hitting shelves July 11th, 2023!

I was so excited to receive this book as an ARC. I haven't read a book by Katherine Center. However, I have The Bodyguard on my TBR shelf and I've heard nothing but amazing things about her books.

In Hello Stranger, we are introduced to Sadie who is a struggling artist. We learn that she has to get brain surgery, and although she’s recovering nicely, she can no longer see people’s faces. Now imagine being a person who makes her living painting portraits and is about to enter a potentially life-changing contest and can no longer see people's faces.

Sadie meets Joe, who is her neighbor. Joe is a sweet friend to Sadie. However, he has no idea that she can't see his face. She only recognizes him by his vintage bowling jacket. Joe becomes her model for the contest. Without giving too much detail, I felt like I was reliving the scene in the movie "Ghost". Read this book and you'll know what I'm talking about. ;)

I really enjoyed the twist at the end as well as the author's note. I love how Katherine turns negativity into positivity. She seems to be about happiness and finding the good in a bad situation/choice.

I disliked Sadie's step-sister Parker. I felt Parker was thrown into the story to be the antagonist without much character development. Between Parker and Sadie's step-mom, Lucinda, I got a "Cinderella" feel.

I felt that Sadie was portrayed as the “starving artist”. Which is a common stereotype often used to imply that artists do not make money, or that if artists choose to pursue their passion, they will be broke. It perpetuates the idea that a majority of artists are not successful.

Despite this book being ok, in my opinion, I look forward to reading more books by Katherine Center.

Katherine Center is quickly becoming an automatic-buy for me. Her latest, Hello Stranger, is loaded with anticipation and kept me turning pages way later than I should have been. We can all relate to feeling like the world is against us, and we could all use a lesson or two on kindness. Not overly romantic, but just enough for me.

I enjoyed Center’s newest release. The quirkiness of the main character and the wild premise kept me engaged.

Full review to come on my blog the week of release.

Very rarely does a book send me directly to Wikipedia to look up a medical condition! But in this case, 15% into the book I found myself looking up face-blindness and clicking through various articles and websites. Sadie is diagnosed with a condition that requires surgery on her brain. A side effect of the surgery is a swelling that causes her to experience face blindness, which would be scary for anyone, but when painting portraits is your career, it becomes a critical situation. Add in her estranged father, difficult step-mother, evil step-sister, a cute veterinarian and a neighborhood and you have "Hello Stranger". I have enjoyed Katherine Center's books in the past and this was no exception. This will be a great summer beach read. Definitely have never seen this wrinkle in a novel (of any genre) before.
I received an advanced reader copy via NetGalley.

I love Catherine Center novels and if you like a good romance novel, you’ll love this poignant double love story! Sadie has a once, in a lifetime chance to make a name for herself in the art world by winning a National portrait contest. A contest her mom was in, painting a portrait of her- when she died. Now Sadie develops a condition, called prosopagnosia, or face blindness. How will she paint a portrait when she can’t see faces? Throughout the main storyline is her sadness over her moms death, her romance with two men, her tenuous relationship with her father, and the antics of her manipulative stepsister, who is trying to sabotage her life at every turn! Sadie is a strong heroine, who must overcome her face blindness, repair her shaky relationship with her dad, and outsmart her nasty sister. She must also choose between her two loves. Lots of action, romance, and an unexpected twist at the end. I found this heartfelt novel to be inspirational and cleverly written…It keeps you guessing until the end. Highly recommend ! 41/2 stars .Thank you NetGalley for a digital copy.

My Thoughts
I learned quite a bit from this particular story, some of it interesting and some of it off-putting as it was unnecessary drama that repeated throughout the book.

Sadie is billed as a young woman whose life has been filled with ups and downs, this is even more so once she has her surgery which has consequences far greater than expected by her surgeons or Sadie herself.

Her one solace is a fourteen-year-old mixed breed dog named Peanut.

Peanut is a character in his own right that readers will love like Sadie does, and if like me cry over just as hard as she did when he gets sick.

As for her neighbor Joe and her new dreamy vet Dr. Addison adding their characters into her life at the right moments was well thought out and had its own drama as well.

The best parts of her journey however are shared with Sadie’s realization that to truly win in life sometimes you have to lose first.

As I read the last chapter Epilogue it occurred to me that many of us are face blind or just blind in some fashion or other as we go through life only half paying attention.

Sadie Montgomery's character proved that point when forced to think back over the past year, especially in particular her last 6 weeks, and it was a revelation to her how much she had missed out on without meaning to, worse yet what it almost cost her as well.
[EArc from Netgalley]

On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

Loved this book so much! It was so refreshing and just a sweet story. I fell in love with the characters and was sad for it to end.

I really struggled to connect with the protagonist in this one. I thought she would be relatable, but as I went on her and the premise seemed more and more far-fetched.

This is my first Katherine Center book. This book was super cute and the characters are so relatable.

The book is about Sadie Montgomery who is a portrait artist and she gets placed as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. This is the same competition that her late mother was entered in before she died. Sadie ends up having to have brain surgery because she has the same problem her mother had and after surgery she has a complication causing facial blindness. While this is "probably temporary" how is a portrait artist supposed to draw portraits if she cannot see peoples faces? While trying to cope with her "new normal" she has to work through family drama and she ends up falling in love with not one but two men.

This book is super fun and adorable. I would highly recommend. This is definitely a popcorn read and I cannot wait to read more from Katherine Center.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!

I was so excited to get early access to this book. I loved The Bodyguard so I had high expectations for this one and it…. Did. 👏🏼 Not. 👏🏼 Disappoint. 👏🏼

I thought this was such a unique angle to take with a romance novel. I mean, not being able to see faces, or rather seeing them differently than you used to/ like a puzzle… I can’t even imagine what that would be like, and I hope I never have to.

Sadie’s strength and kindness despite everything she was dealt made this a really fun read. I think I finished this in 2 or 3 sittings but only because it was mid-week and unfortunately had to work during the days 😉

As far as our male love interests go, it was almost comical the way Sadie immediately started to plan out her future with Dr. Addison after only one meeting – it made me giggle, esp. as my dog’s vet is an older man in his late 60 so clearly couldn’t relate. Lol. By contrast, Joe came off the gate as such a pompous jerk, yet Sadie kept being drawn to him. I loved the contrast between these two characters.

The way Katherine let it play out, even when I may have anticipated it in some way left me feeling very fulfilled!

If you haven’t read this yet you’ll want to make sure you have a few hours (or a day) to read it because one you start you won’t want to put it down.

This book was cute!!! There was a lot happening at once but I thought it was really well written! This is my first book from this author so I was excited to read. I thought the story was fast faced and kept me interested. It was also very relatable. I’m

Katherine Center is back with Hello Stranger. While it doesn't pack quick the same punch as The Bodyguard, it's an interesting twist on the traditional girl meets boy love story. Sadie seems stuck in life, trying to follow in her late mother's footsteps when a freak accident changes her life. Without spoiling, she gets a new perspective on life and has to learn to deal with things in a completely new way. Will it open her heart to a new person, or will her current struggles end up pushing him away? Read Hello Stranger to find out.

I recently read The Bodyguard, and now i just finished Hello Stranger. It’s like Katherine Center week ✨

I enjoyed this new book more than the bodyguard in every aspects!

Saddie and her sudden life change cause she got diagnosed with Prosopagnosia then it makes her struggle to win the Art competion or even just to live her daily life. This idea alone it’s compelling to me.

And i love Saddie with all her flaws and negativity haha. How she try her best to not asking help even when her life is scramble ( it felt like i read my inner self) so this book felt personal to me.

And the Family drama it’s well written. I even cried. I still holding grudges towards 515 and i’m glad she got her karma.

The romance itself, even i could see the twist but it’s still enjoyable for me. Joe it’s a helpful machine, and he’s being sweet and cared to Saddie omg my heart can’t even handle his torso.

I’ll read anything by Katherine Center. So glad that i reah her books.

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin Press for providing me the Arc.

This was my second Katherine Center book, and it just further proves that I need to continue to read more of her titles. Center has a way of writing such lovable characters. Hello Stranger did start out a little slow for me. Once I was about 100 pages in though, I flew through it! I’m so happy I got to read this ARC. This was also a very different romance than I’m used to. Sadie having face blindness was such a new and interesting storyline and nothing like I’ve read before. Although I wasn’t surprised by any of the twists, I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!