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.

This was a delightful read that I couldn't put down and finished in a day! Sadie, a portrait artist, has a small brain procedure that is successful, but leaves a bit of swelling that gives her temporary (hopefully!) face blindness. Not only does this affect her work as a portrait artist and her place as a finalist in a competition, but it makes her life, overall, much more complicated. She meets a cute veterinarian and a cute neighbor. Despite the twist being obvious to the reader, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it as it happened and enjoyed looking at the world through Sadie's eyes, and enjoy watching them fall in love. Can't wait to pick up more of Katherine Center's books!

I am a big fan of Katherine Center's work because she often portrays strong, independent female leads; however, this main character had poor self-esteem due to her new diagnosis.

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who just placed as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. Weeks before her final entry is due, Sadie wakes up in the hospital with a temporary condition called prosopagnosia, or face blindness. Sadie works to take care of her dog, tackle family issues, and navigate relationships while living in this new reality.

You can probably guess where this book is going to end up, but it was still enjoyable to read the journey. I have never heard of face blindness before this book and lead me to do my own research on the condition. Although I didn't like how the main character was portrayed, I recognize that this may be how a lot of people react when they are newly diagnosed with this disorder. I am just too used to Center's work being "yes, this is me. Deal with it" type of attitude.

I am also not a pet person- sorry- and cannot relate to the emotions Sadie felt when going through the unknown with her dog, Peanut.

Overall, this was a good piece of work. I am thankful for the educational topic that taught me something new. I am looking forward to Katherine's next title!

This might be a new favorite from Katherine Center. 💙 I loved this one so much!

Sadie is a struggling artist that makes it as a finalist in a portrait contest. Before she paints her final painting, she finds out she has to have brain surgery that will, as a result, change the way she sees the world - and people.

She meets Joe, a helpful guy in her building, and they form a perfect relationship.

This is the perfect novel about finding yourself, believing in yourself, and listening to your heart - and your head.

Hello Stranger will most definitely be a new favorite read.

I absolutely loved this. I really enjoyed The Bodyguard by this author but I truly think this one is even better. Our main character begins the story so angry and yet she is still so incredibly relatable. The concept of a brain injury and losing the ability to recognize faces was a great concept. Adding the fact that she is a portrait artist in a life changing competition really upped the anti. I’ll be recommending this one for my romance lovers and character development lovers alike!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a slow burn for sure. Sadie has a life changing event happen to her and she’s having to relearn what she knew and was good at.
There were parts that were interesting to read and then a lot was just very slow.
I also didn’t connect to the other characters like I thought I would.
I did like the growth of Sadie and how she takes everyday to gain control

I am a big Katherine Center fan but this one just didn’t do it for me, I found the parts with her medical issues interesting at first. They roller skating was cute. Lucinda and especially Parker were cartoonish, I did enjoy the relationship with Joe and Sadie to a point. The painting with him as a model was cool.. But then it went off the rails and I didn’t really feel the connection between them. The plot also seems disjointed. I wish I liked this book but I just didn’t. Sorry. 2.5 stars for this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

thank you netgalley and st. martin's press for the advanced reader copy of hello stranger. all opinions from this review are entirely my own!

first, i was so excited to receive an arc of this book. the book cover was visually stunning, as once i finished reading, the content matched the book cover. but in my opinion, the storyline was so cliche that i had to stop reading at times. let me explain!

i wanted to give this book a shot due to the 4 and 5-star reviews, but this book can be described as a hit or miss, and i thought this was a huge miss. first, i liked how the author took the time to research prosopagnosia, it shows that center wanted to stay true to the facts and took the time to research the neurological condition. however though, i thought the storyline was very hallmark and lifetime-esque. the dialogue from this book was so childish and annoying, but i found myself wanting to read more of it? like sadie is in her late twenties and she acts like a high schooler in love with her two potential love interests. for instance, sadie only interacts with dr. addison (her veterinarian) a few times due to her dog, peanut, and he instantly asks her out on a date. and i was like "huh? did i happen to miss a chapter or something." the development between asking her out seemed so sudden and abrupt. even with the joe character, it felt abrupt with joe because he did something in the beginning that sadie had heard and did not like. but sadie eventually gains a liking to him, as it took till the end of the book for joe to address what happened. even with the plot twist in the book, i was like "why are we going too fast all of a sudden?" and sadie's reaction to the plot twist had me shaking my head because was she joking or being for real?

to talk about the other characters, her stepsister is literally the definition of a witch. her dad wants her to become a doctor, but sadie chose the art life. and sadie believes her stepmother is like her stepsister. it was giving cinderella vibes. and sadie's relationship with sue was giving passive-aggressive. i felt like there was tension that wasn't mentioned. for instance, sue wanted to throw her a party, but sadie mentioned that she did not want a party. but sue decided to throw it anyway. there was also a character that appeared in the end that seemed so, so random. since this was fast-paced, i felt like these characters were very one-dimensional.

i'm so sorry, but i feel like i'm the unpopular opinion out of the bunch of good reviews, but i'm gonna give this a solid 2.5 ⭐. this just was not my cup of tea, but i hope to give a chance for other center books. i'm sure many will have a different opinion than me. keep in mind, there are serious themes in the book. but if you are interested, this book releases on july 11th, 2023! 💙💖💐🎨🖌️👫

This is my second Katherine Center book, my first being The Bodyguard. However, unlike The Bodyguard, this book was not a home run for me. While I felt a softness for the main character, most of the other characters felt undeveloped and were difficult to connect with. I also found the beginning of this book to be a bit slow. While I like a slow burn, this one went on too long for my liking and at one point I almost contemplated adding this to my DNF shelf. However, I am happy that I kept with this one and while it wasn’t my favourite Center book, it is a great one to add to this summer’s Beach Read list!

I adored this new book by Katherine Center! She poignantly addresses themes in such a unique, sincere way. Sadie’s experience with face blindness opened my eyes to the condition, and I was so touched by the way Center explored the impact it makes on one’s life. I admire how Sadie processes her acquired prosopagnosia and how empowered she becomes along her journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent book with a healthy mixture of character development, romance, and plot. The dialogue was witty; there were a fair amount of surprising twists; Plus, the characters were fun and easy to cheer on.

Katherine Center has written several novels, and it shows! This was my first of her books and will not be my last!

4.5 stars rounded up! This book was so good that once I started I just couldn’t put it down! This was also my very first Katherine Centre book and certainly will not be my last. I loved that it had the cute love story going for it but also touched on real issues (Prosopagnosia, aka face blindness) and all of that was complemented by the loveliest and most relatable characters. I had a sense sort of how it would conclude early on and rooted for my suspicion more and more as I read and I was not let down or disappointed in the slightest!

Thanks to @netgally & @stmartinspress for the early read! This book releases on July 11 and is definitely not to be missed!

Thank you for an advance copy of this book! I love Katharine Canter books and this one did not disappoint. It tells the story of Sadie, a young girl about to reach her biggest achievement when she ends up in the hospital with face blindness, a rare condition that changes her outlook on everything. While dealing with this new perspective, she falls in love! I loved how the author presented Sadie's thinking and struggles. This is much more than just. a romance book, addressing how Sadie deals with frustration, disappointment, fears and loss along with love. An honest and touching story!

*Received copy for review.*
I love the way this author writes characters. They are nuanced and flawed and so utterly human.
I cannot imagine how a portrait artist would feel if they could no longer see faces.
This book is a lot about grief and how it can impact your life long term. It’s also about learning to live a different way after unexpected trauma/illness/injury.
I loved the two main characters and although I figured out a twist, I still enjoyed the story.

Wow, this story was incredible. I honestly haven’t been reading many synopses of books anymore, because I just love going into stories blind now. So I can truly say I did not expect what I got out of this story.

In this story, our main character, Sadie, is a portrait artist who undergoes brain surgery. After the surgery, she is left with swelling over the part of the brain responsible for facial recognition/perception, the fusiform gyrus. She becomes “face blind” - how will she reconcile this with her career where she literally paints photorealistic faces?

Yes, this is a romance (and a good one at that!!), but also, Sadie has so. Much. Growing to do. Everything is upside down for her, and that requires her to confront many things in her life, as well as look at life with a very different perspective. I loved this part of the story the most. Sadie’s therapist, Dr. Nicole, quite frankly made me change my perspective on some things. Most hitting was that we see what we look for (confirmation bias), and that when we look for good things, we tend to find and experience more good things. Of course I’ve heard this wisdom before, but to be in Sadie’s head while she accepts and proves it was very powerful.

The ending had a twist that I truly did not expect, and it all came together very well. Also, there was so much humor in this book!! I laughed out loud so many times. Katherine Center’s way of writing Sadie’s dramatic internal dialogue, and the slightly sarcastic/dry almost nonsense, was just so fun.

This book left me feeling hopeful, satisfied my anatomy and psychology-loving brain, and most of all was NOURISHING. I read Katherine Center’s note at the end and her take on why we as readers love romance novels, and I think she hit the nail on the head.

Please give this a read when it comes out, July 11, 2023. Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this wonderful story, I had an incredible time.

Sadie, a struggling artist, just found out that she’s a finalist in a portrait competition. The same competition her mother was a finalist in before she died. She’s finally about to prove to her father, a surgeon, that being an artist was the right choice. While crossing the street, she has a non convulsive seizure and is saved from getting hit by a car by a Good Samaritan. She needs brain surgery and wakes up to a condition called acquired apperceptive prosopagnoisa, also known as face blindness. Faces appear jumbled and she cannot tell people apart. How can an artist paint a portrait if she can’t see faces? Even worse, she falls in love with two men, and can’t see their faces.

I absolutely loved this book. Sadie falls in love with Dr. Addison, her dog’s new veterinarian, and Joe, a man in her apartment building who did not make the greatest first impression but made up for it as the story went on. I absolutely LOVED Joe. He was so sweet and caring.

I enjoyed the addition of her evil stepsister Parker. I hated Parker but I think she was a necessary evil. She needed to have some of these confrontations with Parker in order to stand up for herself and heal her relationship with her father and stepmother (even though Parker is a big reason she has issues with them).

I also loved getting to see Sadie’s artistic journey. She was very resilient when trying to paint without seeing faces.

I guessed the big twist and was delighted to be along the ride for Sadie’s journey. As Center says in the Author’s Note, romance is about anticipation and this book exemplified that.

There is medical jargon but it gets explained in a simple way for the every day person. This book also had a really great lesson on confirmation bias that I think people nowadays should be aware of.

This is the first book I’ve ever read by Katherine Center and I will definitely be going back to read her previous books.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.