A truly cute story that would get anyone out of the doldrums. One can always count on Katherine Center to add a bit of sparkle to one's reading experience.

In this story, the author explores the idea of face blindness (prosopagnosia) which Sadie Montgomery acquired when she had her first seizure right in the middle of a traffic area. She is saved by the push of a good Samaritan, and though she is okay, learns she needs surgery to correct a faulty blood vessel in her brain.

This surgery couldn't have come at a worse time as she was a finalist in a prestigious art competition, her dog Peanut had taken ill, her step sister continually drove her crazy, and her doctor father was as distant as ever and missing her mother who she lost at age fourteen makes it ever so hard. Making matters a bit more complicated is the fact she was falling in love with her veterinarian, Dr Oliver, even though she couldn't really see him. She also, after hating him initially was developing a rare friendship with Joe, a tenant in her building, named helpful by her landlord Mr Kim. Of course, Sadie couldn't see his face either!

As her feelings deepen and her face blindness continues, Joe volunteers to be her subject for the art contest. This creates a very intense twosome as Sadie finds herself falling big time for Joe. What a dilemma!

At any rate with some stretch your belief system moments, our author manages to bring happy tidings to all and a life that seemed only destined to doom, tuned around into a healthy dose of love and forgiveness.

Thanks are extended to Katherine Center, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for a joyous story with love, laughter, and a bit of mistaken identity!

~3.5-4/5! A quick, thoroughly enjoyable read. Sadie is a 20-something year old portrait artist barely getting by, and after some emergency brain surgery, loses the ability to see faces. Naturally, she then meets two love interests and has to juggle getting to know them without seeing them. The big reveal was definitely predictable but enjoyable nevertheless. A bit slow to start and some things felt a little silly but I actually laughed out loud several times throughout the book which isn't something that I usually do. It's a great rom-com, and if you are in need of a pick me up this is perfect.

This story was a pocket of sunshine I wish to carry around with me 24/7 😭💖

My first ever Katherine Center read and I was so excited. I’ve heard amazing things about Katherine’s books and couldn’t believe that Net Gallery allowed me a copy before the release date!

I’ve truly never read a work of fiction like this. I admired each aspect of Sadie’s story, the build-up and all. You could consider this a story of romance but honestly, I was drawn in by the author and stayed because of Sadie. I have read another book where the main character has prosopagnosia and in no way did it live up to this story. Katherine had my heart beating wildly throughout the whole plot, I was on the edge of my seat for each moment.

Each character (even the protagonists) played a vital role in how the story played out, and I have literally no complaints as to how each aspect happened.

I will definitely be reading other Katherine Center books! 🌟

4.5 STARS

Portrait artist Sadie Montgomery has been determinedly trying to make a go of her career one Etsy sale at a time. When she is a finalist in an important art competition, Sadie thinks her career will take off until a health problem suddenly derails it. What is supposed to be a minor surgery, if such a thing on a person’s brain ever is, leaves Sadie with a condition called face blindness, something devastating for a career that depends on painting faces. Sadie can still see everything but faces which look like disjointed puzzle pieces to her.

Sadie’s condition is supposed to improve with time and while she is struggling to cope with it, her beloved dog, Peanut, falls dangerously ill. The veterinarian, Dr. Oliver Addison, becomes a welcome distraction for Sadie, not only helping her dog, but providing a nice fantasy attraction to keep her mine off the bad things. Dr. Addison seems attracted to Sadie too as they spend time together, he asks her on a date while he treats the elderly pupper. Another man who becomes part of her life is Joe, a neighbor whom she at first cannot stand, but then realizes he is not the bad guy she intially thought.

Above all, Sadie does not want Oliver, Joe, or anyone else knowing about her face blindness going to all kinds of efforts to pretend she is fine. Her best friend, Sue and her parents who own Sadie’s building, where she lives on the rooftop in her hovel of art studio, are among the few who know the situation. Sadie’s father, step-mother, and horrendous step-sister, Parker, who has made Sadie’s life a misery since she lost her mother years before also know, but provide little support, quite the opposite in fact. Sadie has been estranged from the family after appallingly bad treatment by them for years.

This story surprised me more than once; it is certainly not a predictable romance. It does have some features of a Rom-Com especially with Sadie’s quirky personality, but the seriousness of her disability and her family’s ill treatment put a heart wrenching spin on this book. Some aspects seem a bit unrealistic especially when facts about Oliver and Joe are revealed; however, Ms. Center skills at writing kept me invested in the story and engaged to the very end.

This was my first Katherine Center book, and now I can’t wait to read the Bodyguard!

I loved the fun voice of the narrator - think Sophie Kinsella but less scattered and random (and MUCH more likable and relatable in my opinion).

It was such a uniquely cool concept and such an interesting way to tie a plot together. It wasn’t a dime a dozen romance and I appreciated that. It had lots going on and kept me entertained.

Where I did find the beginning slow at times, the end certainly made up for it. I was shocked, I was laughing, I was crying, I was on the edge of my seat. Very fun read over all.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the eGalley of this book.

Solid 3 stars. This was a cute, quick read of a rom-com and scratched the itch of needing some bubble gum for the brain (so many dark, sad books lately!) I could see the twist miles and miles away, but I still enjoyed getting there.

Story centers around our protagonist, Sadie, (lots of internal banter)- she has to get brain surgery and results with temporary face blindness, where she’s unable to see anyone’s face. Love story combined with face blindness = high jinx ensues. Face blindness sounds so wild and hard to even imagine what that must be like. I was trying to picture this book as a movie, and it is hard to fathom being able to clearly depict that experience on screen- I struggled imagining it as a reader.

Funny, heartwarming, romantic, triumphant…Sadie’s life had all of these feelings in her roller coaster life for 2 months. It was a very unique premise but it gave me all the feels, just like every other Katherine Center book. I felt like I devoured the book but had to pace myself because I didn’t want it to end too quickly. A winning book again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Sadie paints portraits, and has just been accepted as one of ten finalists for a prestigious competition sponsored by the North American Portrait Society. Unfortunately, as she heads home to celebrate, she has a slight seizure, and nearly gets run over by a car. It turns out she has a lesion on her brain that needs to be taken care of soon, or it could rupture and kill her. Her father is a surgeon and gets it scheduled rapidly, but when it is finished, she has some brain swelling that causes her to have a case of Prosopagnosia, which is a form of face blindness. This is heartbreaking for a portrait artist! Sadie has to come to terms with her new reality, and she doesn’t want others to know about it. Along the path of this journey she must face, she meets a vet who saves her dog, and one of her neighbors—who she has a distinctly negative impression about. She quickly learns that jumping to conclusions can be dangerous, and that confirmation biases are real.

This enlightening story is a true feast for the senses! When we can no longer rely on visual queues to give us information about people, we have to get that information in other ways. Ms. Center shares Sadie’s journey in a beautifully creative way with readers. We feel Sadie’s frustrations and struggles as she copes with this new reality. We watch as she begins to trust both her neighbor and her vet, and we are with her when she makes her choice between the two, and we see the ramifications of that choice. This book is captivating and compelling. Readers will laugh and cry and cheer and get angry. The ending may surprise many readers, but is delightfully original and well-crafted. There is wisdom and beauty in these pages!

Katherine Center has become my go-to author for heartwarming contemporary romance with realistic characters struggling with the demands of life. Sadie Montgomery is a struggling artist with a challenging family. She finally has the opportunity to present her portraits in a prestigious competition when an unexpected health complication turns her life upside down.

This story was funny and touching and I loved the message about how our unconscious bias shapes our lives. While the story may have been somewhat predictable, the journey was joyous. And Center's essay at the end about the power of romance novels was wonderful. As a librarian and reader who loves romance, she articulated so well the hope romance novels provide. My favorite romance read of 2023 so far. Highly recommend.

I'm struggling to articulate my thoughts with this one, but it wasn't my favorite Katherine Center book that I've read, and I've read a lot. I felt like it was just a little too "inspirational" for me. Like the narrator was giving too much life advice and thr advice seemed cliche and I couldn't connect to the narrator for a large chunk of the book. I don't think it was a bad book, it was fine, parts were cute and I enjoyed them. Simply put, it just wasn't my favorite, but I will continue to read Katherine Center books.

I swear only k center could make me love a book about face blindness.

When I read a book by KC I remember to find joy in reading. To escape and fall in love.

By the end the anticipation was too real! Everything was playing out and connecting and ugh. I can’t think of the words!

This post/review is so choppy. Usually I’m better w my words but I don’t know. This choppy and notreallyareviewbutalsoareview is what we’re getting.

Takeaways:
Love is nourishing.
Look for and see the good over all else.
Ask for help.
Offer help.

Please read the authors note! I love this book. I love this author. I love what she stands for and how she writes. I love why she writes romances. I love how her characters come alive. I love how he weaves things together in a way that feels so real yet so perfect.

Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve read most of Katherine Center’s novels, and they never fail to be fun and entertaining. Hello Stranger didn’t disappoint. Wonderful, interesting and likable characters just blended to create an interesting look into a medical condition, that as a nurse, was a new one for me. I’ve never heard or seen someone that is completely unable to see or recognize faces. But Sadie Montgomery barely misses being hit by a car, saved by a stranger, only to end up in the hospital with this strange, little known condition, which affects her life completely.
Sadie’s encounters with faceless people she can no longer recognize, new acquaintances that can be described every way but facial, complicate her messy life. Thankfully she can see the face of Peanuts, her precious dog, who is having medical problems of his own, and consequently she’s attracted to his faceless Veterinarian while repelled by the faceless Joe the Weasel, who everyone else seems to love.
Sadie’s life just becomes more complicated, and it difficult to see any solution, but as usual, Katherine’s knack of tying things up neatly and to the reader’s delight , it makes for a wonderful read. It’s 4 stars for me.
My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press fir the ARC. As usual, I loved it!

I absolutely loved this book! Katherine Center never fails to disappoint and this is no exception. I blew through this in 2 days and found that I couldn’t put it down!

All in all this was a sweet, unique romance that was quite enjoyable! I really appreciate the author doing her research on prosopagnosia.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as The Bodyguard, because it leaned a bit too heavily on the miscommunication aspect, which can annoy me past a certain point. I wanted to yell “just talk!!” at the characters sometimes!

Still, this was funny and cute and I think definitely worth reading! Also, I love when there are dogs in books so that will pretty much always cause me to enjoy a book that much more!

Great book, very unique story and take. Love the character grown and how it learn to surpass the situation were it was put. Not big on the romance but still very enjoyable

Katherine waves a beautiful web throughout the story with the characters and events. While you think you know where the story may go you can't stop turning the pages to find out how it unfolds... And if you're right.
It was magical, heartbreaking, and full of intriguing family drama and a sweet slow-burn romance.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's
Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An artist looks her facial recognition ability after a potentially life-threatening tumor is removed--just as she's getting ready to create a portrait for an art contest in which she's a finalist. Sadie is very anxious about her future, the contest, and her health--and her ability to recognize her canine companion!--but post-surgery, her inability to identify people she knows becomes an opportunity for her friends to come up with creative ways to be recognized. During her physical healing, her evil stepsister messes with her but it's a chance for her stepmother to support her in ways she couldn't when was a teenager; and an opportunity to get to know the hot new veterinarian and the cute but fratty guy in her building.

Center's novel is a great read for fans of Lisa Genova, blending medicine, psychology, family dynamics and light romance with a well-paced, not overly dramatic story, replete with humor and pathos.

I received a free advance reader's review copy of #HelloStranger from #NetGalley.

Hello Stranger was a sweet read! Took a bit to get into but I enjoyed it! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

If you want a romance novel that's a bit out of left field - look at Katherine center. In the beginning I definitely asked myself where the book was going. I thought it was a little slow to start, but as you started connecting to the characters it becomes more engaging. I don't know if I've ever yelled "just talk already" at a book so hard until this one came along. In the end I really loved where it went and how it got there. As crazy as the premise sounds with the brain surgery and facial recognition issues, it really didn't seem unrealistic and it was definitely different than your typical meet cute standard romance.

A sweet and fun read with likable characters. Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!