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.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley, for allowing me to read an eGalley of this title before publication in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I will start by confessing my long-time admiration for author Katherine Center, I typically adore her novels and look forward to reading each one. I know that when I pick up a Katherine Center book, I am in for a treat with her trademark emotional depth, humor, and complex characters.

Hello Stranger came up a bit short for me compared to other novels of Center's. I enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away. Some parts of this book were incredibly deep and emotional, other parts were a tad ridiculous and silly. I had a few questions left when the book was over, I didn't feel like I got all the closure I needed about a few of the characters involved. That being said, the twist at the end really surprised me. I did not see that coming!

Sadie is a confused and at times immature main character who I really wanted to see develop into a strong woman taking charge of her $hit and relationships. I felt like she was just starting to turn that page by the end of the novel, when her interactions with the other adults in her life started to become more adult-like.

Despite some of the silliness, this novel had a unique plot, I haven't read anything like it before. Center has a way of bringing medical conditions and difficulties to light, such as this book's focus on prosopagnosia. She does a nice job of humanizing it and taking the reader into the middle of the character's adverse circumstances.

This is a work of fiction, but I learned something from it. I look forward to reading more of Center's work in the future.

I've loved everything I've read by Katherine Center, and Hello Stranger was no exception! While I loved the light-hearted romcom feel of it, it was interesting to have it centered around face blindness, which isn't something many people talk about or write about. I've certainly not read about it in many other books. Overall, Hello Stranger was entertaining and kept me turning the pages!

3.5 ⭐️

I am planning to read this soon. Just read the audiobook for The Bodyguard and loved the narrator!

#netgalley #hellostranger

🌼 𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝗪 🌼⁣
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𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 by 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫⁣
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ .5⁣
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First of all, thank you so much to @stmartinspress for my copy of 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳! Be sure to grab a copy of your own when it publishes on 7/11 (also my 6th dating anniversary with my husband 😍)!⁣
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I kinda fell in love with 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 after reading 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘺𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥, which came as a surprise to me since it is a closed-door romance. Not exactly my preference. 😅 But I adored it and decided I needed to read all of 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 books. I was pretty freaking thrilled when I saw that 𝐒𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧’𝐬 granted me a digital review copy of this one!⁣
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𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 is an absolutely adorable but incredibly predictable story. I mean, if you don’t see this coming from a mile away, I would be shocked. That’s honestly the only reason I took away a half star. It’s a very enjoyable book, but it’s very easy to figure out. At the same time, several elements just seem a little too far-fetched for me, but I tried to ignore those. 😅⁣
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𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞 is quite the comical main character and reminds me a lot of myself, so that was a fun breath of fresh air. It’s been a while since I’ve read a very relatable character. I missed that.⁣
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Y’all have to read this one when it publishes! If only to tell me if you figured out the big reveal as quickly as I did. 😅

I love Katherine Center books. She has a way of writing such sweet story lines that feel like a warm hug. I will say I found this book a little far fetched in some of the coincidences. There was great banter between the characters which I always enjoy. Overall, not my favorite of her books but a fun read.