What I liked about this book:
✨ completely unique plot
✨ very sweet friendships and found family
✨ Sadie’s new found confidence
What I didn’t like:
✨ Sadie was super immature.
✨ the romance wasn’t it for me

Loved this book from start to finish. Fell in love with Sadie’s relatable character immediately. From her jaunt down to the corner store, to her perseverance when presented with a very hard diagnosis, to her vulnerability in falling in love while going through a hard time this book intertwined so many different plot
points. It did a wonderful job doing so and pulling them all together in the end. I love Sadie. I love Joe. I love Mr. Kim. And I’d love to see a part two to this wonderful book. Highly recommended for an easy, quick read with real meaning! Thank you, NetGalley and St. Marten’s Press for allowing me to read this book early!

Another wonderful Katherine Center book. At first I wasn't sure where it was going . Then, as I'm figuring it out, it takes a turn . Laugh out loud moments, tug at your heartstrings moments and a love story like no other. Bravo. Katherine for always finding a new angle to keep us going

Funny and a little heartbreaking, but ultimately romantic and life-affirming...I really loved this one.

Sadie's whole life, which honestly hasn't been going that well, gets flipped upside down when she has to have brain surgery and leaves her with face blindness. As a portrait designer who has (at last) just been accepted to a prestigious portrait competition, this is catastrophic.

As Sadie mourns, freaks out, etc, she also meets a very handsome veterinarian (or at least he seems handsome) and befriends a neighbor in her building who is compulsively helpful and maybe not what he seemed during a previous elevator encounter. Meanwhile, Sadie must come to terms with who she is as an artist and deal with the enduring grief of her mother's early death while learning that being an island isn't as great as she led herself to believe.

There is so much humor in this one, but it also has many poignant moments. Sadie's relationship with her dad and step family was tough and well-told. I also thought Katherine Center really nailed her descriptions of face blindness (as I understand it) and I often felt the closed-in-ness of Sadie as she tries to navigate a world where the most familiar thing to her is suddenly jumbled.

And of course, I really enjoyed the love story aspect with her sweet and funny neighbor Joe. It was fascinating to see that unfold when Sadie couldn't see his facial reactions to her.

Oh how much I loved this book! I laughed so many times, out loud so many times to the point my husband asked if I was okay...I cried for Sadie and her big huge problem...finally getting a break and then developing face blindness after have a seizure and having to have brain surgery. I cried for her loss of fatherly relationship and loss of mother. I adored Joe/Oliver so very much and predicted him to be the guy who bought her the wine in the beginning of the story but NEVER would have guessed he was also the vet! And that his name wasn't even actually Joe! He was all good things in a man, she was all good and true and honest to goodness things in a woman. I cannot wait for the world to read Hello Stranger and I really really can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy so I can annotate the heck out of it! (Katherine Center, feel free to send me one early if you feel so inclined ;) ) Thank you thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this one early!

“Isn’t it lucky that we’re drawn to people who can teach us things we need to learn?”

Hello Stranger was a bouquet of sunshine. In this book, Katherine Center thoughtfully handled a little known and often misunderstood condition, face blindness. Watching Sadie struggle made me so much more aware of people who deal with this condition on a daily basis. Reading truly does make us more empathetic people. Sadie’s eventual triumph and healing is all the sweeter in the end because of the struggle. This is a Romance, but like all of Katherine Center’s books, it gives you nuggets of wisdom for life in addition to a beautiful love story. I adored Hello Stranger, and I think you will, too.

I would Hello Stranger four starts! This was such a fun read and not your typical rom-com storyline. Sadie is an artist who hits a big break, but has a life-altering event happen. When she wakes in the hospital she's unable to recognize faces and this creates quite a few misunderstandings for her. As she starts to get feelings for her new vet her medical condition poses a problem. I would highly recommend this book and can't wait to read more from Katherine Center.
Read as an eARC on NetGalley.

Katherine Center is just nailing it, one after the other.

This is a super cute (even though I don't normally like love triangles) love triangle, and the humor, complexity, moments of every emotion under the sun really tie it all together.

What I loved;
🛼 Peanut
🛼 Character growth
🛼 The cutest romantic moments
🛼 Learning about Prosopagnosia

And one of my favorite pieces of the plot, that you learn quite quickly, is anytime with her terribly awful step sister and her almost as bad step mom. Something about those two really really made me want to punch them, and I think thats just beautiful.

Excellent read. This book follows Sadie and her success as a portrait artist. She also suffers from face blindness, which I don't think I've ever heard mentioned in a book before, let alone it is the main plot. Hello Stranger also has an excellent set of characters, including Sue and Joe. The love story is a lovely friends-to-lovers story and I don't want to give too much away about the plot twists and story aspects, but it really was a wholesome story.

5⭐️

What an absolutely delightful read! Katherine Center creates the most beautiful books inside and out. I mean those covers, could they be any more gorgeous!? This was one of my anticipated reads of 2023 and I was so excited for the opportunity to be an early reader.

I have adored all that I have read by Center thus far and this was another winner for me. It sounds ironic to say it considering the synopsis (which I never actually read btw) but I went into this one totally blind. ☺️

I loved it all! The beautifully written and unique story. The most lovable and relatable characters. Except of course for “poison” Parker. I haven’t hated a character that much in a long time, but even she was so well done. I have the ability to get caught up in a story and be blissfully ignorant of what other’s may easily see and or predict, and I did not see that twist coming. I literally yelled “OMG” when it all came full circle. This heartwarming, hug of a novel exceeded my expectations, and was exactly what I need and want in a romance read.

What I loved;
🛼 Sweet Romance
🛼 Character Growth
🛼 Love Triangle
🛼 Family Drama
🛼 Peanut
🛼 Learning about Prosopagnosia

Hello Stranger publishes 7/11/23! Pre-order, add your wishlist, and request from the library because you absolutely must read it!

Big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Swoon! This is exactly what I’ve come to expect from a Katherine Center book and it is everything! We watch Sadie take on an unexpected challenge that can potentially alter her life, while she continues to deal with the grief of losing her mother at a young age and the drama that followed when her father re-married. I admired how Sadie continued to spread kindness, even as her world turned upside down and others is her place would turn bitter. The romance doesn’t kick into until we’re further along in the story, but when it does your heart will melt. This is another favorite by Katherine Center and I can’t wait to own a physical copy once it’s released!

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Hello Stranger by the amazing Katherine Center! I’ve read two of Katherine’s books prior to this (Things You Save in a Fire in 2021 and The Bodyguard in 2022) and absolutely loved loved them both! When I received an ARC of The Bodyguard, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the page. Suffice to say, I was more than a little excited to get my hands on an advanced copy of her latest novel.

I just so happened to have sat through a whole lecture covering Prosopagnosia in my Perception and Cognition course for my graduate program, so coming across this book on NetGalley a week later was perfect timing! I have long been fascinated with the disorder, so I was super excited to read a book in which the protagonist explores it from a first-person perspective. The fact that she also, like myself, loves drawing and painting was just another aspect that drew me toward the plot.

The plot on its own makes Hello Stranger a unique and compelling story. It covers a disorder that is so unfathomable to those who don’t live with it that you want to keep hearing more about Sadie’s experience. I enjoyed seeing how drastically Sadie’s outlook on life changed from the beginning of the story to the end. Definitely an uplifting epilogue if there ever was one.

That being said, there were a few aspects of the story I didn’t particularly like that dropped my rating, the first of which is how predictable it was. Without giving spoilers, I’d say the plot twist covers two things, one of which I didn’t expect and the other I knew had to be the case from the very beginning.

I was also disappointed in how much I genuinely disliked Sadie. I was taken aback by just how naïve and judgmental she was, as well as the wild accusations she threw left and right. Part of me understands why she may be this way given the information we get about what she went through in childhood with her step sister in addition to the trauma she was dealing with in the present. However, I couldn’t wrap my mind around how she got from point A to point B. When it was seemingly obvious to me as a reader what something or someone was referring to, Sadie found a way to ignore the obvious and paint the person in a negative light. For certain situations—like those regarding her stepsister—it made sense. For most, it was frustrating and confusing.

I am also personally not a fan of clichés. This story differs from Center’s other books (at least the two others I read) in that it follows a very basic romcom structure. The things characters said and the situations they were in were cliché and unrealistic, and you had a general idea of how it would end. Some people love stories that follow this structure. Since I usually don’t, it may have contributed to my “meh” opinion of the story.

But back to the positive! There were some parts I was genuinely invested in, and little surprises were thrown in along the way. I didn’t dislike this book, but I didn’t love it the way I expected. This by no means indicates that I am done with Katherine Center. She has written two of my 5-star reads—not to mention this book was by no means bad!—and I look forward to what she has in store next!

*Book Review*
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Emotional, Fascinating, Romantic, Tear-Jerking, Triumphant
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This is my first Katherine Center book and it did not disappoint! This story followed Sadie on an emotional rollercoaster as she tried to navigate life after getting a condition called face blindness. It was fascinating to learn about this condition and I’m so glad I got to that with a wonderful main character like Sadie. We see her develop new relationships, work through existing ones, and grow as a person overall. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more books by Katherine Center. Hello Stranger comes out on July 11th!
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Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC.
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Synopsis:
Love isn’t blind, it’s just a little blurry.

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life―placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition―the next she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls in love―not with one man but two. The timing couldn’t be worse.

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.

The story of Sadie Montgomery and how she finds success as a portrait artist is amazing and inventive. It is told through Sadie having face blindness which is something I’ve never heard of. The beautiful story is woven through a great supportive cast of BFF Sue and neighbor Joe who turns into her model for the big portrait contest Sadie has been accepted into and must complete a new portrait painting for the competition while figuring out how to complete with her face blindness. Then there are the Kims, Sue’s parents and apartment building owners, and Sadie’s dysfunctional family with her nemesis stepsister Parker leading the way and who you can dislike all you want, Lucinda the stepmom and dad. This love story really created fantastic anticipation. It’s my favorite friends to lovers trope. The way Katherine Center weaves the story of Sadie coping with her new, maybe temporary, normal and figuring out to see people’s faces is magical. Katherine brilliantly gives us these characters that have you asking yourself if Sadie actually sees who she sees or not. I found myself rereading portions of chapters to see if I had figured a few things out and when I had my “ah ha” moment I thought the story was even more magical! Thank you NetGallery for the ARC! This is another Katherine Center must read!

I loved this story about Sadie, a portrait artist who has face blindness following brain surgery. This was a funny read with a lot of depth. I really connected with the way Sadie wanted to feel close to her mom after her death. This was mixed in with a lot of humorous interactions she had with two men she met after her surgery, whose faces she could not recognize. It was interesting to read how Sadie adjusted to this challenge that affected every area of her life. She struggled to accept what was happening to her, but over time she found ways to cope and still enjoy her life. I did start to guess how it would turn out towards the end, but there were still a few details I hadn’t figured out. I really enjoyed reading this!

I Love Katherine Center’s writing!! But I just couldn’t get into this one. I’ll try it another time when I can overlook the “Weasel” and see him in a new light.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is a romantic comedy about Sadie Montgomery, a painter who temporarily (or not) loses her ability to recognize faces after minor brain surgery. She's supposed to be painting a person's portrait for a life-changing competition and meets someone she feels she might want to date. But how can she do either when she can't see his face or the face she is painting? Her life is just so up in the air, waiting for her ability to recognize faces to return, and it's just not even an okay place to be for someone looking for a break.

My Reading Experience:
Face blindness, or prosopagnosia, is so fascinating to me. I loved the care with which it is handled in the story. Any plot gaps or just too far-fetched instances in the story are all explained by the end as part of what people with this neurological disorder can experience – like not recognizing people by their voices. I can understand that, as all your senses get thrown off when one is malfunctioning. It's just less cut and dry than it seems. I also loved how being unable to see in the usual manner helped Sadie see herself for the first time.

I enjoyed how the story is not wrapped up in a perfect bow at the end. Sadie's life is messy, due primarily to her insistence that nobody knows about her temporary-ish disorder, so how could everything end so perfectly? But it does end on such a high note, even through all the chaotic and unfortunate reality, with attitude being the prime focus that I have to applaud. Even when you fail in life, or something doesn't work out as you hope, your attitude about it is everything. Will you suck on those lemons or make some of the most wonderful lemonade anyone has ever tasted?

The closed-door romance between Sadie and the vet and Sadie and Joe is the best potential triangle ever. And I'm not too fond of love triangles per se. I loved how she couldn't see either of their faces but had to grapple with interest and feelings for both men and navigate through that. It provided some of the funniest moments in the story for me.

Characters:
Sadie Montgomery lost her mother at a young age and has spent so much time trying to be just like her deceased mother that she lost out on finding out who she is as an individual. The silver lining to the very ill-timed and challenging neurological consequence of her brain surgery is that she has to take the time to discover who she truly is.

Joe lives in Sadie's building and always wears an obnoxious vintage bowling jacket with his name embossed. When Sadie overhears his phone conversation in the elevator, she believes that Joe is one of the worst people. That is – until she gets to know him better due to her disorder and need for help.

Dr. Oliver takes care of Sadie's beloved dog, Peanut, when she fears his age is catching up to him. She instinctively knows the doctor is handsome and obviously cares for animals, so when he asks her out, she starts planning their wedding and the white picket fence around their house.

Sadie's family is the worst, particularly her stepsister, who is just plain evil. They are characters that I just loved to hate.

Narration & Pacing:
The story has a medium pace, but it is consistent, allowing the story to take the lead. The story engaged me thoroughly, and I read it fairly quickly with no annoying lags. The narration is in first-person through Sadie's eyes which it really had to be. It would have lost something special if the narration had been done differently.

Setting:
Houston, Texas, is the setting though I didn't feel it played any significant role in the story. I even kept forgetting that's where the story was located, instead getting more New York vibes for some reason. I've even been to Houston and still did not recognize it in particular in the story.

Read if you like:
Strangers to lovers closed-door romances.
Big city setting
Fascinating medical conditions and overcoming challenges.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced E-copy. I have been a Katherine Center fan for a long time. And when I saw this stunning cover and heard everyone raving about it, I was dying to get my hands on it!

For me, however, this felt very young—like YA young— and I don’t think I was in the headspace for a manic, immature “fell in like” story (very closed door romance). I gave it 3 stars.

The beginning of the book has some promise… it’s cute and fun and light. Our main character is an artist who is up for a big competition, placing really well for the qualifier. She and her best friend want to celebrate, but unfortunately she is hit by a car and develops a temporary case of prosopagnosia. I have heard of this via Brad Pitt (last year in the news), and in the novel, Rock, Paper, Scissors. It’s a neurological issue that creates face blindness. Well, as you can imagine, considering, she’s a portrait artist, this will severely impact her work for the competition. But she’s determined not to quit. That’s a great quality to have! Unfortunately for me, the delivery did not work (manic).

The side stories are what left me underwhelmed. She doesn’t have this blindness with her dog and we watch as she freaks about the tiniest of things at the vet… She lives in an apartment complex and she assigns names and judgement to the residents based on elevator talk and who is going to who’s apartment and when. (She can see clothing and mannerisms, just not faces.) She has a best friend who tries to help her, but when that friend wants to live her own life, our protagonists flips out “how could she do this to me?” We meet an evil step sister — and we are talking that she is SO OVER THE TOP IT’S NOT BELIEVABLE. (Nobody can be this rude on purpose just for kicks unless you’re a kid bully at school who doesn’t understand emotions.) We have a cliché dad who’s disappointed in her career choice as an artist. And we have an “evil step mother” who isn’t as evil as she’s assigned by our young, maniac protagonist. Finally, the reveal at the end was so obvious that I wasn’t feeling angst or desire for it all to come together. I don’t know what I missed and I genuinely feel bad for expressing this opinion as so, many I know loved this book! Sigh…
I will still happily read anything this author puts forth!

Hello Stranger was such a fun read! It is the story of Sadie, a young woman who wakes from brain surgery with prosopagnosia, or face blindness. She cannot see or distinguish faces and this leads to all kinds of mishaps and frustrations. Center clearly did a ton of research in order to portray this condition in a realistic way because she did a fantastic job. It was so interesting to think about all of the cues that we get from faces and what it would like not to be able to recognize someone based on their face. It sounds heavy, but I promise it’s not! It is a true rom-com that was a perfect vacation read. I was rooting for Sadie throughout the book. I loved her character arc and I loved the romance. Hello Stranger comes out July 11th. Put it on your list!

This was only my second book by Katherine Center, but after reading The Bodyguard, I bumped this eARC to the top of my list. I was expecting a lighter read, but I wasn’t disappointed that this wasn’t that. Center found a unique plot I have not seen elsewhere. I would defer to the sensitivity readers on how well she handled the prosopagnosia angle of the story. I liked all of the family drama details and the interactions between the characters, particularly her landlord. He was a surprisingly loveable side character. The one character I really never grew to love was Sue. She was such a consistently bad best friend that I feel like there should’ve been more character development with her, or at least more instances of addressing the fact that she was a bad best friend. The love story was very swoon-worthy, and brought the necessary lightness to a lot of the more difficult aspects of the story. This book has confirmed Center as a new (to me) auto-buy author, and I can’t wait to go back and read some of her older books.