Another wonderful Katherine Center story. She never lets me down. I didn't think this was as original as her previous stories have been, but sometimes there is comfort in the known.

Let me preface by saying I adore Katherine Center and would give her an organ but I just didn’t love this book. I really wanted to love it but I didn’t really care for Sadie. Her awful family was a little over the top too. I did like Joe and I enjoyed some of the banter / quips in the book but overall not my favorite from the author.

Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publishers for an ARC of this book. I am on spring break and this was the perfect pick me up. Although this book deals with a very real and devastating disease (Face Blindness) the author does a beautiful job. This book was everything that I love in Katherine Center books. The romance was pitch perfect, the banter was great and this one had an aging Doggo. Pick up this book as soon as you can it is worth every penny. I would def reread this for a little serotonin.

This book was SO good! I loved it. It was so different and I never heard of face blindness before so it made this book more fascinating. I really enjoyed Sadie's character to watch this change and challenger her. To watch her character grow and become a stronger person than before. It was also very clever what the author did with Joe's character. I did suspect her twist in the first half of the book but I didn't completely guess her entire twist which I appreciated and enjoyed. This is a wonderful story and a must read for me.

This book let me down! While there were some elements I did enjoy, overall I did not love.

I struggled to find the premise believable and I found Sadie to be way too cartoony and dynamic at all. Also didn’t appreciate the fatphobia miscommunication phone call thing. Even though Joe wasn’t talking about a person, the implication alone kinda sucked and the plot point could have been made in other ways that didn’t include harmful rhetoric like that. I also cannot believe that her love interest who is actually her vet too would be so ok with her not feeding her dog actual dog food. That was so weird.

Also, as a Houstonian, there’s no way anyone would survive living in a shack on a rooftop…. I can’t with that!!

That said, I did appreciate learning more about face blindness. I also liked how Sadie figured things out with her Dad and stepmom, and the progress she made in therapy. The stepsister plot line didn’t seem necessary to me, I don’t really understand the point of Parker’s character at all. Brb while I try to find a recipe for the coconut bread though!!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an early copy

In this deeper-than-just-a-romance-book, we follow Sadie, an aspiring portrait artist who recently had a medical freak accident resulting in her having facial blindness aka she can’t see people’s faces. We follow Sadie growing, healing, and trying to not lose hope and her painting career. There may even end up being an unexpected love interest for Sadie *cue the corny, classic romance*

This book made me laugh out loud. I loved Sadie’s wittiness and humor. I loved seeing her grow. This book is just an all around feel good read. But in the end, it overall just fell short for me sadly :/ besides the main character & love interest - I did not love the other characters. Especially her horrible family. As someone who LOVED the bodyguard - this one was kind of a let down. Loved the different concept and “twist” but was hard to get through it.

I loved Katherine Center's first book cause it made me laugh so much and this one did the same! Had so much fun reading it,

I knew about prosopagnosia (and yes, I did look up how to spell that word) but never honestly thought about it beyond "wow, that would be awful" and it kind of was for Sadie, but I liked the personal growth she had throughout the book.

Also, I saw the twist coming a mile away. I mean, it's a romance book. It's not hard to see that miscommunication coming at them. But even knowing it was coming, I still read the book in two days.

Not my favorite Katherine Center book (The Bodyguard is still my #1) but still a cute read!

Sadie is a struggling artist who finally has her big break. However, after an accident leaves her with prosopagnosia (aka face blindness) she’s wondering if she will ever be able to paint again. While trying to cope with her new diagnosis, she falls for two different men.

“Making judgment calls on anything right now is a nightmare. If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to have it all.”

This book is a slow burn, closed door romance! But also if you hate the miscommunication trope then you may want to avoid this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Katherine Center has quickly become one of my go-to authors. Hello Stranger wasn't my favorite book of hers, and I found it a bit predictable, but it was still a fun read with laugh out loud moments and also moments that tugged at my heartstrings.

Loved this heartwarming story. I read many of her previous books and this one is right up there as a possible favorite! There's no spice in this one, but there is romance! This story tugged at my heart and just left me smiling and happy. Really loved Sadie and Joe so much. A super cute read.

Another win from Katherine Center. I found Katherine’s books about a year ago and have since devoured them all. Hello Stranger was equally as propulsive of a read as the others. I stayed up late eager to see how it played out.

The lovable character of Sadie developing face blindness was fascinating as I had never even known such a condition existed. The author provided enough science and facts behind it that I felt like I understood the condition without it becoming like a classroom lesson as well.

The entire story flowed in the way that most of the authors’ books do, where by the end you have figured out the “twist” but you are still dying to actually experience it alongside the main character. Special shootout to the Kim family in the novel as they were delightful to get to know. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a Kim family in their life. I also thoroughly enjoyed the epilogue as it is often my favorite part of a Katherine Center novel.

I found the premise of this book fascinating. I did not know about this disability that your brain can not recognize faces but found it to be really interesting to watch our main character try to renavigate her life after waking up from brain surgery only to find she couldnt see anyones face. Despite her struggles, she still had some comedic relief that had me chuckling.
I have read Katherine Centers books before and although this one wasnt my favorite, I still flew right through it.
I found the story to be very predictable and I probably should have embraced the journey, but it felt a little over the top. Even the story of her step sister and family seemed a little too much. That being said, by the end you are really rooting for Sadie and Joe/Oliver. The ending gives you that warm happy feeling that you always expect from KC's books.
The epilogue was fabulous and weaved together what Katherine Center wanted you to get out of this story.
If you want an extremely fluffy happily ever after story, this is the one for you!

I may have squealed with glee when I first heard Katherine Center was coming out with a new book. I laughed, I cried, and then bought all of her other books after reading The Bodyguard, so you can imagine how jazzed I felt when I discovered I got an ARC for Hello Stranger. What can I say….I completely loved this book. Sadie is so funny, her sometimes deadpan humored friend Sue is such a complimentary companion and sigh….Joe and Dr. Addison. Let us not leave out the perfectly evil Parker who you wanted to reach into the book to slap on many occasions. The story was adorable, the banter was top notch. I laughed out loud many times while reading. I feverishly texted my friends on multiple occasions that they have to read this book as soon as it’s out. It was my greatest pleasure to read and review this wonderfully charming book from an author who I just think is amazing. Thank you to net galley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an early copy of this book. Blowing kisses your way!

This has been the best Katherine Center book since the magic that was How to Walk Away. It was creative and funny with lovably flawed characters. Even though the twist is fairly obvious, I was still glued to my Kindle to see how it would all shake out. Definitely a fun and entertaining summer read for any fans of Katherine Center's previous books or similar authors like Abby Jimenez or Emily Henry.

What a unique reading experience!

Katherine Center seems to always take a different approach to love stories and I am quickly become a huge fan!!

Sadie was such a fun character to journey with in this book. Her facial blindness was interesting and frustrating to follow along with. It’s almost as if her lack of recognition made it difficult for my own imagination to run with the story. I loved it! That being said, I couldn’t help but fall for Joe’s character the most. My heart has a soft spot for good guys.

I did have a little trouble at certain parts. It seemed as if Sadie DIDN’T have facial blindness and spoke as if she could recognize the people around her. Throughout the book these were the parts I was expecting her vision to come back and her facial blindness to go away. This was not the case though, it just felt inconsistent.

I WILL say you might find the twist a little predictable, but Katherine wrote it so well that I now feel the need to go back and see if I can catch it at just the right moment!

Another great read from Katherine Center. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!!

Katherine Center is one of my favorite light hearted romance authors and this story was full of romantic gestures and a satisfying HEA.

Sadie is a “struggling” portrait artist who finally catches her big break only to have an accident lead to a diagnosis of prosopagnosia (face blindness). Sadie now has a 6 week deadline to submit a portrait when she can’t even see faces clearly. Add into the mix a sick dog, a hot veterinarian, a rude but persistent neighbor and a bestie who means well but misses the mark.

The MMC was swoon worthy, thoughtful, and oh so kind. Two thumbs up there. Reading their romance was a satisfying escape. Learning to paint a portrait by touch, phew! Katherine really delivers on the buildup and closed door romance.

In an effort not to spoil the story I will just say the twist was obvious to me which did detract from my full enjoyment. The step sister was heinous. The things she did to the MC in high school was reprehensible and TW : bullying and suicide.

I would recommend this if you’re looking for a light feel-good romance and to learn a little something about prosopagnosia.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Cute read with relatable characters. This was a very sweet story with zero spice. I really adored the Sadie/Joe/Oliver love triangle. Katherine Center is well known for her feel good books with sentimental stories and Hello Stranger is no exception.

I have loved The Bodyguard and was so excited to be approved for this one. It does not disappoint! I love how the story flowed and how the characters were all developed. Definitely recommending this one once it is published!

Sadie, a struggling portrait artist, finally gets her chance as a finalist in a national portrait competition. Unfortunately, she unexpectedly has a seizure that results in her having (hopefully temporary) facial blindness. As she struggles to figure out how to live with her new diagnosis, she meets not one, but two dreamy men. Can she choose between the surprisingly charming guy next door and the swoony veterinarian and paint an award winning portrait while everyone looks like a jumbled up box of puzzle pieces?

This book. I finished it last night, and I’m still a little speechless. I got so swept up in the romance of this story and completely fell head over heels for sweet Sadie, helpful Joe, and swoony Dr Addison. This wasn’t spicy at all, but instead is such a sweet, feel good romance that truly makes you believe in the wonder of love stories. This will definitely be one of my top reads of the year, and I can’t wait to read the rest of Katherine Center‘s books!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mark your calendars to grab your copy of Hello Stranger on July 11th! 🎨

Special thanks to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.