First of all, five stars for the author's note! I'm not generally all-in in romance novels and Center kind of hit on why I wasn't, but why I should be. I loved her explanation of yes, they might be predictable (or slightly unrealistic), but that love stories "don't work like other stories." Her idea of changing "predictable" to "hopeful anticipation" of a happy ending sparked a lightbulb moment for me. Honestly, I never thought of love stories that way, but it all makes sense and it does make me enjoy this book more. I wish the author's note was upfront so I didn't wait until the end of the book to have this epiphany.

Now to review the book itself. As I mentioned, I admittedly was viewing this read through the wrong lens before reading the author’s note. I found the story to be unique and quirky with some humorous moments thrown in. The premise of the book was sort of "too coincidental" for me at first, but the more I read, the more the storyline grew on me. I was fascinated to learn more about prosopagnosia and I felt the author did an impressive job showing the realistic daily struggles Sadie faced. Sadie's family though--- what a drag! Some of their actions just seemed a little far-fetched, even for an evil step-family. Any appearances of her step-sister (Evil with a capital E) really brought down the flow of the book for me. Overall though, an enjoyable, quick read.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this book! I appreciate you!

I really liked this book, the cute romance between the MCs was swoon worthy. I really look forward to the books written by Katherine and this book did not disappoint.

Katherine Center did a fantastic job making her characters feel very relatable, while also being able to feel their emotions. Sadie experienced a traumatic incident that changed the path she expected her life to go in. Sadie experiences push back and lack of support from her family, which makes her experience that much harder. This book has has love triangle that leaves your heart wanting more. overall, I really enjoyed this book and getting to know the characters.

Katherine Center has done it again. She has this way of taking the human conditions we all suffer from (jealousy, not-enough-ness, grief, fears) and turning them into this tangible feeling, one we can all conquer with the right people in our corner.

This book was a joy, and is my newest favorite by Center. Even though I could see early on where the story was going, it was still an absolute joy to watch it unfold on the page. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for myself once this hits shelves in July.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the advanced copy!

This was my first novel by Katherine Center, and it reads easily. I enjoyed the story in general because she included a challenge for the protagonist that was new to me and sent me looking for additional information.

That being said, I'm not sure Center's books are for me, only because of the writing style. The romance was tender, but the misunderstanding between the two people, even with Sadie's face blindness, just did not feel reasonable to me. However, I could set aside my skeptical side because normally, I love all things romance. But Center's use of innumerable one sentence paragraphs began to annoy me after a while. One sentence paragraphs are a wonderful stylistic highpoint in novels for emphasis, to show importance, but she does like to use them very, very often, and it began to wear on me after a while. I know this is a me problem; you may not be bothered one bit by it and love her story all the more for it.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sharing this advanced digital copy of the book with me.

𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐, 𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈. 𝑴𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒔. 𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆.

Sadie Montgomery finally got her lucky break. She finally had her chance to honor her mother, make her father realize she was making it as an artist, and prove to herself that she could do whatever she wanted. That is until a great Samaritan saves her life which results in brain surgery and is further complicated by not being able to see faces. Ever hear of a portrait artist who can’t see faces? Yeah, neither had Sadie. Fueled by more emotions than she cares to tell her therapist, and the will to keep going, Sadie will do anything to paint again. Even if it means falling in love with her muse despite never seeing his face.

I’ve recently become a fan of books with medical themes in the plot. For this one, you could tell Katherine Center did her research to really do the diagnosis of acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia (face blindness) justice. I am also a fan of how she never discounted Sadie’s character due to her diagnosis and used it as a strength of her character development.
The components of platonic love, family dynamics and romantic love were done very well too. There are topics of grief following the loss of a parent on this book, but again, Center did a great job making such a real connection to add to the development of her characters.
Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable read. It left me with the warm and fuzzies and was super cute!

The premise was very interesting, if a bit far-fetched. I enjoyed the mystery and figured it out quickly, but I couldn't quite fully buy that the main character wouldn't recognize people by their voices or general body shape or height. But it was fun if you suspend disbelief enough. The beginning was so tragic, it kinda felt like the wrong genre, but halfway through things swung around to being more rom-com. Then things got a little telenovela. A fun, whimsical, ultimately feel-good story.

All of Katherine Centers books are wonderful, feel-good reads. There wasn’t one thing I disliked about this book. Once I picked it up I didn’t want to put it down, but as I grew closer to it ending I wanted to slow it down so I didn’t finish it too soon.Katherine Center has charmed me yet again with this book about a struggling artist dealing with face blindness.

Sadie is a portrait artist with a cavernoma (cluster of abnormal blood vessels) that requires brain surgery. The surgery causes her to have face blindness known as prosopagnosia. Faces are her specialty and now she can’t see them.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, and her latest contains much of the patented magic that makes her stories so special. Sadie is going through the most challenging experience of her life and all of the disparate parts of her life are unraveling at the same time. After Sadie’s mom tragically died of the same brain abnormality Sadie has, her dad emotionally abandoned her and remarried quickly. Sadie’s stepsister Parker is one of the worst, most evil sibling characters I’ve ever read. I know that was the point, but it was honestly really hard to read the Parker scenes.

I was truly charmed by the love story element. At first I found Sadie’s infatuation with her vet to be pretty juvenile but I was really pleasantly surprised with the way it resolved and how her face blindness played a pivotal role.

I did ultimately enjoy this quite a bit, but it wasn’t my favorite Katherine Center book.

My first Katherine Center book & it won't be my last! If all of the characters and stories are as relatable as these, I will be a fan girl for life!

Sadie spoke to me. From the moment she busts out performance in the middle of a store, I knew Sadie was my kind of person. I felt as if I knew her. I laughed at her antics, felt sad through her hardtimes, and swooned right along with her as the least likely candiate became a potential love.

Thank you SO much NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this feel good story.

I adored Sadie and Joe. The twist was great!! I did not care for the character Parker. The family dynamic did not click for me. But the twist at the end saved it and made it a 4 star read for me. Katherine is always amazing.

Loved this book , full of happy people and moments. The humor was awesome and had me laughing out loud. Also lots of educational stuff and everyday feelings that we all have but don’t admit. Highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read a digital copy of this book.

I read The Bodyguard by the same author recently and absolutely loved it, so when I saw a chance to read this one, I was super excited. And I definitely was not disappointed; I can now confirm I love this author's writing style.

Sadie is a portrait artist who is finally getting her big break when an accident leaves her with face blindness. Her new condition may or may not be temporary, and Sadie has to go through her new normal trying to navigate not being able to recognize faces and somehow complete her artwork. Sadie has to deal with a lot of very awkward interactions and starts leaning on one of her neighbors for assistance, and eventually learns that she may not be able to trust herself and her face blindness.

Even though I saw several of the plot twists coming, it was still very entertaining and I couldn't wait to read more to see if my predictions were correct and what other awkward situations could happen to Sadie. Although I had a hard time relating to Sadie as a character, I think she was very well written, as well as the rest of the characters in the story.

HELLO STRANGER was another enjoyable read from Katherine Cenrer. I definitely found this to be her quirkiest main character she’s ever written. Sadie was kinda goofy, fun, and a very interesting as she was a portrait artist suffering from face blindness. This book worked well as a pretty light read after some heavy, heavy historical fiction. I enjoyed seeing how it played out and I liked how Sadie settled some issues within her family by the end. I loved the themes of living life fully every day and how Sadie found herself along the way a little bit. There were a few things that felt a little disjointed, but maybe those were changed after this ARC. Either way, I liked it!

Review

Pub Date: July 11, 2023
5 stars

"The more good things you look for, the more you find."

Sadie Montgomery, a struggling portrait artist, is about to celebrate her big break in the art world. As one of 10 finalists in an upcoming competition, Sadie can't wait to make her late mother proud and prove to her father that she's chosen the right path in life. That is until she collapses in the middle of the street and is rushed to the hospital, only to find out that she needs emergency brain surgery. It isn't until after the surgery that Sadie realizes something is off. Doctors say that swelling near the site of surgery has impacted her "fusiform face gyrus" which impacts the ability to recognize faces. Sadie is devastated, as the portrait competition is just weeks away.

Just when it feels like things can't seem to get worse for Sadie, Peanut ends up sick and she has to rush him to the vet. Even though she isn't able to see the face of the vet who saves Peanut, she decides that she is absolutely in love with the dashing Dr. Oliver Addison. She's over the moon when he asks her out on a date. When he doesn't show for their date, Sadie is upset. As she leaves the coffee shop, she runs into her neighbor Joe, who up to this point she thinks is a jerk when it comes to women. As Sadie navigates her new predicament, Joe continues to show up more and more for Sadie, showing a different more gentle side to himself. Soon, Sadie will have to decide which of the faceless men deserves her attention.

This is the first book I've read by Katherine Center and it certainly didn't disappoint. I can't remember the last time I found myself laughing out loud while reading. I absolutely loved the banter between Sadie and Joe. This was a funny, lighthearted, and touching romance with a little twist. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this wonderful digital copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

OH MY GOD A BOOK ILL NEVER FORGET

5 STARS

It was a compelling story from the very beginning.
Sadie might have become one of my favorite romance MC’s. From the get she’s funny, real, stubborn, and I adore her.
(I also strive to not need help lol)

I definitely skipped over Dr.Oliver because Joe was more compelling to me and I pick very clear sides in a love triangle…

L-O-L

Then there was the biggest plot twist in history, maybe just below Breaking Dawn pt.2.

I’m not forgetting it anytime soon and I can’t even write any further summary because you really just need to discover this twist for yourself!

What a whirlwind of sizzling chemistry, life, and love!

P.S Parker is an ass

"The more good things you look for, the more you find." Oh how this quote lived with me long after I finished reading. Katherine Center has become an autobuy author for me, and one who I look forward to. This story was much like the themes of her other novels, but didn't feel redundant.. Her books feel like a warm hug. I foresaw the big twist but it was still entertaining to read the surprising revelations! Her characters are always so likeable, especially true for Sadie. I found this book to be the perfect addition to a summer reading list!

I devoured this book in less than 24 hrs. It flowed so well and the writing just worked.

It was predictable but worth the read. This author is an automatic read for me :)

Loved Sadie. It sucks that she got sick but enlightening to hear about this condition.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I'm a newbie to Katherine Center books and I'll definitely be picking up more. What an interesting concept for a book! The anticipation of it kept me guessing but it didn't feel predictable. There was a light within the book that always focused on something better. A positive journey if there ever was one.

I always love Katherine Center's books! I'm an avid rom-com reader and so many characters are forgettable in this genre. That was the not the case in Hello Stranger. It did take me a little while to get into the book, but once hooked, I couldn't put it down until the last page. Thank you NetGalley for my ARC copy!