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.

Great book! Believable characters. Would definitely read another book by this author because she didn’t draw out the story.

Katherine Center does it again! She builds delicious anticipation for how the pieces will fall into place and ultimately shocks the reader with a satisfying twist. Not only did Katherine Center create a surprising plot using an obscure medical condition, but she did it in a way that feels entirely believable and medically accurate. High praise for this KC novel. I wish I could reread it for the first time.

I am a huge fan of Katherine Center, so I was so excited to see she had a new book out. Unfortunately I DNFd this one around 20%. I could not get into it. I plan on trying to come back to it again in the future.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who has just learned she’s the finalist in a big contest when she has an episode that leads to her having brain surgery. A side effect of the brain surgery is that she develops face blindness that may or may not be temporary. As she tries to rebuild her life and finish a portrait for the contest, she finds herself falling for both her dog’s veterinarian and her obnoxious neighbor, who maybe isn’t that obnoxious after all. I really like Katherine Center, but this wasn’t my favorite of hers. I felt like she could have explored the relationship Sadie had with her father a bit more and the nasty step-sister was way over the top. I did really like the ending though. I also appreciate the author’s note about romance novels. She really captured what I love about them as well.

Such a cute book!! I loved the characters and the whole story! The medical part was pretty interesting to me!! I throughly enjoyed this! Thanks NetGalley!

Awww what a fun book! It honestly took me a little why to get into (I think because of all the medical stuff haha) and I saw the “twist” coming a mile away but still, what a ride! I found myself laughing out loud more than once while reading this.
Thanks for the ARC, Netgalley! It was definitely a fun read

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

Hello Stranger

ARC - Pub Date July 11

What a great book 😊 Such a unique storyline and great characters. I also found this book very funny and caught myself laughing quite a bit.

I would say it has a bit of everything and would highly recommend it to everyone. It was also my first read of @katherinecenter and if all her books are like this one my TBR shelf is in danger 😂

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Summary of plot:

Sadie is a portrait artist, like her mother. She has a complicated family. Her father wants her to be a doctor, and she has an evil stepmother and stepsister. She’s not doing great in life until one day she gets accepted as a finalist to a portrait art contest—one where she can make big bucks. However, her luck runs out when she gets a seizure and is diagnosed with temporary fade blindness—something you definitely do not want as a portrait artist. This book follows how she navigates this new part of her life while also balancing family problems and her art contest.

Thoughts on the book:

I’m kind of conflicted on how I feel about this book. For the most part, I really enjoyed it. I love how the author dives into these complex issues around family drama and brings light to face blindness. There were so many emotional scenes, especially when Sadie talks about her mother who died years earlier. I love the scene where Sadie recites the last voicemail her mother sent her.

However, there were minor aspects that I didn’t like, such as the bullied girl who came back, Sue eloping, etc. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the romance. I honestly think this book could be better without the romance. I saw it a mile away, but that’s okay. But that’s just my opinion.

Overall, I would read this book again.

Would I recommend this book? Yes!

I loved this book so much. One of few 5 star reads so far this year. It was cute and heart warming and just what I needed. I called the twist but still enjoyed it.

This book was a fun and light-hearted read! The author does a stellar job of describing prosopagnosia. I’d heard of this condition, but feel like I learned a lot more about it while reading Sadie’s experience of it. I did have to suspend disbelief a bit while reading but I could overlook that. I really loved Joe and Mr Kim! The stepsister, Parker, was so evil - she was fun to hate. Overall, I gave this book 4 stars. It was a sweet, funny, fast paced read that also taught me something.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I always say this, but I think this might be my favorite!! I loved the banter between Sadie and Joe. They are so cute!! I figured everything out pretty quickly, but it didn’t keep me from completing enjoying this book. Sadie is precious and I loved her spunk and her availability to overcome what was thrown at her. Katherine just needs to keep writing books like this.
And can we just discuss how beautiful this cover is!!!

4.5 Stars

"Seeing the world differently helps you see things not just that other people can’t—but that you yourself never could if you weren’t so lucky. It lets you make your own rules. Color outside your own lines. Allow yourself another way of seeing."

Sadie a struggling portrait artist on her way to a lucky break in a competition. Only problem is it coincides with a needed brain surgery. Things don't go quite as planned and after surgery she is left with with prosopagnosia (face blindness). Try being a portrait artist who can't see faces. Sadie has a complicated relationship with her father and her mom passed away when she was a teen.

She meets a very handsome vet, who she thinks could be her future husband and then starts having feelings for the hipster guy living in her apartment building. Will Sadie be able to save her career? Who will win her heart?

I also enjoyed the authors note at the end of the book. She talks about why she started writing romance novels, and what she hopes the reader will get out it.

Thanks to netgalley for an advance read copy.

Once again, Katherine Center has written an entirely unconventional romance book and I LOVED IT.

Sadie’s journey with face blindness is fun to watch and leaves you giggling at her in the end. We get to watch her go from hating this situation to learning to ask for help from other people.

At first, I felt sad watching her deal with the situation, especially the moments with Parker. But once you start to put together the Dr. Addison/Joe situation, you begin to laugh at the absurdity of her situation.

And Joe? He is the best romance MMC I have read in a while. He’s kind and caring and just the right level of pining/desperate. His ability to take Sadie’s truths in stride at the end made my heart so happy. He is the loving helper that every woman deserves. I will defend his honor with my life.

And lastly, thank you endlessly to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC! My physical copy is already pre-ordered.

One minute you're flying high, the next everything is changed. That's what happens to Sadie Montgomery in Ms. Center's fabulous new book, HELLO STRANGER. Sadie is a portrait artist who is limping along making ends meet. When the chance of a lifetime comes up, a prestigious competition her deceased mother also entered, Sadie wants to prove to her dad that she is thriving in her artistic field. Only fate slaps her in the face, when she wakes up in the hospital after an accident and learns she is to have brain surgery. However, after her high risk operation she develops face blindness, a rare condition. How will Sadie cope losing her ability to see faces?

Her family life is the pits, her beloved dog, Peanut, gets sick and she is recuperating slowly, adjusting to her new reality. Then after taking her dog to the vet, she falls for the veterinarian, Dr. Addison. She's secretly excited when he asks her out. Then in a twist of fate, she meets Joe who lives in the same apartment building. Joe is brusque with her, giving her a bad impression. However, over time Sadie becomes attracted to him, even though she can't see his face. She is delighted that she has two handsome men in her life! But, who will she choose as the one?

HELLO STRANGER is an awesome, twisty, heartwarming romance. Filled with mystery, tense-filled and light bulb moments, it will charm you and won't let you go. I was taken aback by the subject matter as I have never heard of this rare condition before. Imagine having to live your life not being able to see your loved one's face, but in a jumbled pattern. Sadie's life is turned upside down in the space of a minute. Ms. Center does an excellent job penning a story that is entertaining, suspenseful, and romantic at the same time. I absolutely loved it! This story will stay with you long after you have read the last word. HELLO STRANGER is a story you won't soon forget!

Thanks to NetGalley for access to an advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For an honest review, I received an ARC. This is the third or fourth from this author and unfortunately least favorite. I listened to the previous ones and read this one, so I am wondering if this had an impact.

This is a fun rom-com with some chuckles, drama and mischief. As with Center's other books, the character finds themselves in a situation in which love is not a priority. Circumstances and situations lead from one thing to another (wink!).

I would recommend books by Center, just for me personally, this is not my favorite!