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!

Book Review: Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This is the story of Sadie, a struggling portrait artist, who has had a lot of things not go her way. She finally has been invited to an art competition and feels that this could be her big break….but, she ends up needing surgery and everything she knows changes!
Joe is her neighbor and is helpful and there whenever she needs him! She also really likes her vet, Dr. Addison. Ultimately, she will need to choose between them….or at least she thinks so!
This book was good, a story of perseverance and hope that things might work out in the end. A reminder that what you see is not always the truth and your thoughts can affect so much of what we see!
Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Enjoyable, but it doesn't know the art of restrain, not knowing much about Katherine Center's work prior to picking this up, I have to confess rom-com is not my go-to subgenre when I want to read a romance, and turns out Hello Stranger has the overly zany (Her life is falling apart, hilarious!), shenanigan-filled writing style that sometimes has me curling my toes in discomfort. But on the flip side, there are also moments where the humor and emotion really hit home, and I find myself laughing, and in-sync with the protagonist's topsy-turvy journey.

The romance plot I find extremely likeable and appealing; the inclusion of face blindness is a great catalyst for drama and laugh (there's a 'twist' that should've been pretty obvious, but I still got excited it when it was finally revealed), and Katherine Center can definitely write great banter. For me, it is the secondary element that drags down the overall score. The villain(s) in Hello Stranger are portrayed as characters so vile and deranged, it makes the heroine's nonchalant reaction utterly unbelievable and irritatingly illogical (even if it was intended for comedic effect). Written in first person, some of the heroine's monologue can be overdone; there's relatable anxiety and self-deprecation, but I start tuning out when it becomes an onslaught of 'woe is me, everyone is against me' rant.

For me, Hello Stranger has the good and the bad in equal parts; the central romance delivers, but everything outside of that leaves something to be desired. Still, this is more of a personal observation, as I'm not as familiar with what to expect in a typical rom-com. For avid readers already reading this category of romance, I can still see this being an easy crowd-pleaser.

This book blew me away, it really teaches you life lessons dealing with family, friends, and relationships. There was a great mixture between romance and the general plot. I was shocked with the ending.

This was adorable. I loved the MC, Sadie so much. She was witty, charming, and so good to build a story around. I loved the love story that developed, I mean, the portrait scene🥵. But the whole thing had me smiling and even crying at one point. Loved it!

All the feelings. Every single one. Name an emotion, and I can confirm that I experienced it while reading this book. There is beautiful anticipation built in the story and in the characters (to use the phrase found in the Author’s Notes), and it’s made me so happy and hopeful that I could burst into song!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

4.5 rounded up! This book annoyed me when I started it, hence the 1/2 star reduction. I was SUPER annoyed with her father for being so distanced in their relationship(possibly a touchy subject..😑🤷‍♀️) and more annoyed that literally everyone was so nonchalant about brain surgery. (Possibly another touchy subject)

(I mean I have zero triggers when it comes to my endless Thrillers I read but when it comes to reading a romcom….🚨🚨🚩🚩)🙄 go figure

BUT I will say it did quickly turn around and it ended up being a really cute story! There was definitely a lot of drama there but I ate it up! …and honestly I love to hate a book! When the reader is literally yelling out loud(spoiler: it was me) at the characters in a book, the author wrote it well!

Ooooh but Parker made me so mad and I was almost crying for Sadie at one point! Like come one people!, how much are you gonna throw at this girl!? 😡😧

In the end it was a a really cute, lighthearted, sentimental, HEA romance and I’d absolutely recommend it!

Hello Stranger follows a portrait artist that has lost her ability to see faces. The story is cute yet some chapters can be a bit sad as they cover some heavy topics.

Overall if you like Katherine Center books you’ll enjoy this one.

I’ve recently discovered Katherine Center’s work and I am a big fan.

This story did not disappoint. It was such a great love story, that doesn’t let the love overpower the plot.

Center has the ability to make all of her stories feel like nonfiction in their delivery. The aspect of face blindness in this work was so interesting to read. And made for such an intriguing conflict.

My only complaint is that we didn’t get more of the love story once the characters were together. I could have read about them for hours more!

An ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

What a unique contemporary romance! This is a story that won’t be easy to forget. Sadie is a portrait artist who undergoes brain surgery that leaves her with face blindness. Sadie had to learn how to deal with her new disability, her negative mindset about the situation, and her traumatic past. Sadie faces several bumps along the way, but then she meets two men who seem to make things a little better. She starts to feel herself again and looks forward to dating. In the end, who will she choose?

Thank you to the publisher for the egalley in exchange for a review. I've read everything by Katherine Center and she always writes a good story. I was intrigued by the "face blindness" topic of this rom-com as it was something I had heard of before but really didn't know a lot about. This read very quickly and I enjoyed the character development. This would be perfect to throw in your beach bag this summer.

THIS BOOK! If you love a fun romance that will make your heart flutter, definitely pick this up and read it. I absolutely loved Sadie as the main character. I had so much fun reading this and I think Katherine Center did an amazing job with this one! 5 Star I absolutely loved it and I can’t wait to read more by her.

Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgally for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read, like other Katherine Center books! I enjoyed the characters and I enjoyed the prosopagnosia aspect. It was a quick read for me as I couldn't put it down!

Katherine Center has become one of my favorite authors. I have loved all of her books. This book is a great book club selection. So many topics to discuss. I loved the themes and characters. Very relatable.

Thank you Net Galley for an early peek at “Hello Stranger.” It made for a fun escape. The characters were interesting and the storyline was new.

Sadie Montogmery has had good breaks and bad breaks in her life, but as a struggling artist, all she needs is one lucky break. Things seem to be going her way when she lands one of the coveted finalist spots in a portrait competition. It happens to coincide with a surgery she needs to have. Minor, they say. Less than a week in the hospital they say. Nothing about you will change, they say. Upon recovery, it begins to dawn on Sadie that she can see everything around her, but she can no longer see faces.

This one started off with a unique story line that had my attention. Sadie is independent, but I found her to be unlikeable. Yes, there are major family issues along with her accident, but I found her character to be immature. I normally love Center’s adorably quirky MC’s, but I felt Sadie was too much. There is a lot of internal monologue and a lot of Sadie refusing help that just made her story feel repetitive.

I enjoyed the twist in the end and how everything came together. I thought the research and presentation of Prosopagnosia was well done. I’m just not a fan of the ‘lack of communication’ relationship struggles.

This is the second book I've read by Katherine Center and the second one I gave 5 stars to. This is a fun, cosy, love story where the characters face real issues. The conflict between the two main charaters is great.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have enjoyed Center's previous books so I was so excited to receive this one. At first at the mention of face-blindness, I wrote the book off because in the last two years I can name two to three books that have mentioned that in the book. HOWEVER, the depth that Center goes into with it was great. And the ending was absolutely amazing. The whole take away is about changing your perceptions about yourself and others and when the MC has an accident that causes the face-blindness, she is forced to do just that. I loved it. Readers will enjoy this one as much as her last books.