Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is a unique and ambitious take on a romance and coming-of-age story.

Center’s writing style feels more nuanced and developed in this. There’s so much detail but not too much where you get confused or uninterested. The way the story is written reels you in pretty quickly.

The story is so interesting and different. It’s something I never would’ve thought to write about. There are twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.

I love when a romance novel includes other genres that aren’t exactly the focal point. Coming-of-age is one of my favorite genres. This book does a great job of telling Sadie’s story in that regard by taking the reader on her journey of accepting herself and her condition.

I love the banter between Sadie and Joe. I’m a huge sucker for banter, especially when it’s done right. Center knows how to write witty and entertaining banter. There were so many scenes with the two of them that had me incredibly giddy.

I like that we got to see different aspects of Sadie’s life such as her family and her friends.

I might just cave in and get the physical copy when it gets released.

Katherine Center's latest novel, Hello Stranger, is nothing short of awesome! I loved this story and the characters so much. The plot was filled with fun anticipation and swoon-worthy moments but in a nice clean way. I looked forward to reading this book and even took it in my car and sat in the Home Goods parking lot to read it! Honestly, this may be Center's best work yet. It's a good clean romance. It's a perfect beach read but, don't wait until summer - grab it when you can, you won't be disappointed.

Katherine Center is an automatic read author for me, so when I saw that Hello Stranger was available I jumped at the opportunity and I was not let down.

Sadie really goes through it in this story, in such a unique way that made me really feel for her and her situation. Imagine finally getting your big break and then by some twisted turn of events lose the skills you need in order to perform for that break. Sadie doesn't give up though when she's faced with huge obstacles and less than helpful family members.

Joe is also a super likable character. He's a self proclaimed "helper" and really you can't help but to cheer for him. I loved Sadie and Joe's dynamic and watching their relationship unfold. The twist in the story was one that I actually saw coming but that didn't take away anything from my enjoyment of the story.

I will continue to pick up anything Center writes because in my mind she can do no wrong.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Most definitely pick this one up when it comes out this summer!

Advanced Book Review! Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I’ve read a few of Katherine Center’s more recent books and I’ve really enjoyed them so I was so excited to get Hello Stranger as an ARC from NetGalley.
This was such an interesting book. Basically, Sadie is a portrait artist who is having a tough time – and I mean it literally seems like things are always going wrong for her – when she ends up needing brain surgery and is left with face blindness following the surgery. She not only has to learn how to navigate the world with this new challenge, but figure out how she’s going to continue her career as a portrait artist and enter an important portrait competition when she can’t see faces.
I feel like face blindness must be such a difficult condition to explain and I thought Katherine Center did a good job of helping the reader understand. Honestly, my thought when I was reading was good for her for taking on this challenge to create this great story.
Because it’s written in first person, I feel like we’re there with Sadie and as the reader we also don’t really know who anyone is for a while, as Sadie is trying to figure it out. I did find this a little bit confusing at the beginning but I’m actually assuming that’s what Katherine Center was aiming for, so that we could really put ourselves in Sadie’s shoes.
I haven’t read a novel with this story line before so that was great to read about something new.

Katherine Center recently made an Instagram post about "anticipation" vs "predictability" in romance novels, and I feel this novel is a beautiful example of that. There's a moment early on where you'll figure out exactly what's going on, and you're just cringing at the fact the characters don't know - but you also can't wait for them to figure it out. At least, that's exactly what happened to me, and the payoff was worth it. I feel Center did a great job building the story and making the reader empathize with Sadie's face blindness despite the rarity of the experience. I appreciate the opportunity to learn about this unique medical condition while also enjoying a cozy love story and tale of self-discovery. I have only two complaints - the nature of the story meant I didn't feel too connected to the love interest until about halfway though, and the "villain" (Sadie's stepsister) felt like an exaggerated caricature, hurting the believability of their conflict. Overall, however, I enjoyed this cozy and artistic tale.

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

What a cute story! Katherine Center continues to write entertaining stories with characters that are easy to love. Sadie's life is a bit of a mess, but I didn't mind following her as she attempted, and sometimes failed, to make the most of her situation.

I was quickly drawn into this story even though the romantic plot didn't pick up until about 30% into the book. I found the information about the faceless condition very intriguing and was genuinely interested in Sadie's progression. At times I wanted to reach through the book to shake her family because they were pretty awful in some situations. But I found the love interest adorable and I actually wish we got more time with him.

I enjoyed my time with this book and found myself giggling, shaking my head, and thinking about the main characters the entire time!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for this book and exchange for my honest review.
Katherine Center has done it again! Not only do I love reading her books because of their location, but she does a great job in terms of vivid descriptions and cultivating a romantic atmosphere within the pages of her book. She is now an auto-buy author.

Oh my GOSH!! I didn’t want this book to end!!!

Katherine Center truly knows how to write a book. She has all of the pieces in there and they flow together seamlessly.

Joe and Sadie were PERFECT from the start and I loved watching their story blossom. I was not expecting the ending!!

I loved learning about the facial recognition issue as well as the step sister and step mother characters. They added so much to the story!

This may be my favorite romance of 2023!!!

Review will be posted on my instagram (bookmarkedfavs) tomorrow, 3/16!

4.5/5⭐️ I found this book just wonderful! I have never read a Katherine Center book so I was unsure what to expect (and had no precious bias). I would now definitely call myself a fan & will be adding her books to my tbr list.

First, the characters were so well written. Sadie was goofy and brought humor but also was thoughtful and thought provoking. Joe was the perfect leading man. I loved how he was branded "Helpful." Their dynamic was reminding me of grumpy x sunshine but instead was doesn't need help x the man who loves to help.

Also, the plot was so intriguing. It's slightly educational with the prosopagnosia. It was emotional with family dynamic and loss/grief, and also had the perfect balance of swoon worthy romance. My only hiccup that has me hesitate between 4 and 5 stars was the "plot twist" was pretty predictable. I called it early on. But the predictability didn't ruin how great every piece of this book was🥰

Another gem by Katherine Center!
I seriously love everything she writes.
Full of characters that you can't help but to love. Highly recommend.

Another great book by Katherine Center! Love the development of our quirky main character and how she truly discovered who she is! Clean romance that keeps you on the edge.

Overall a feel good type of book. I thought the premise was interesting and I love how Katherine Center takes characters and pushes them to re-evaluate their lives. I loved Joe, and thought the underlying relationship was cute. I will say this one strained credibility a bit with the love triangle, and I thought the late misunderstanding was forced. Some of the characters felt one note but I am glad that there was some resolution with her dad issue. Overall, a very entertaining read.

Frist, I loved the cover of the book which was one of the things that grabbed my attention. I found the overall plot of the story to be unique. Something I never read before. However, it was a slow burn for me and not my favorite by this author. I liked the overall message of family, the ones we are born into and then ones that we create through our friendships.

Hello Stanger is a romantic contemporary fiction that follows Sadie as she navigates her new world of face blindness. Sadie is a painter who specializes in portraits and she has to figure out a new way of completing her artwork, all while learning how to live in a world where she cannot see the faces of her friends and loved ones (as well as her enemies, who enjoy popping in on her to surprise her with her new diagnosis). Sadie also has to navigate through her love life as she tries to decide between her neighbor, Joe, and her sexy vet.

I really enjoyed reading this book and found the characters to be loveable. Sadie's friend Sue is the best friend every girl wishes they had. Someone to challenge her but support her entirely. Sue's parents take Sadie in when she feels she has no one else. It is an incredibly heartwarming story with many struggles of a new diagnosis. I found it to be an easy read but was not all too surprised by the ending. Katherine Center is great with foreshadowing.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

For fans of Katherine Center, her newest novel will not disappoint! Always reliable for romance that pulls at your heartstrings, Center's main character, Sadie is nothing, but loveable while she relearns how to navigate life.

Well, as always I love the writing style. But this book was kind of a mix for me. The idea is fun. But I kind of wish I’d waited for the book to release. I know it’s an arc but the spelling and grammatical errors took me out of the story every time. There were quite a few and I think they threw me.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy the way Katherine Center writes her books- I’m not normally a fan of the character TELLING you a story rather than just experiencing the story, but I enjoy the way Katherine Center does it.

This book was cute and funny- the face blindness aspect was frustrating, because I like so many features about the face when reading, seeing emotion and features in general- but we didn’t have that here, and that really captures the frustrating the main character was experiencing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and the characters, but I didn’t like a lot of the side characters and the main character was definitely a Debbie Downer- but she was still kind and funny. I think the ending was paced weirdly, and a little slow, and I wish the characters had realized a few things sooner, but it all came together to make a really interesting and sweet ending.

4 stars!

I cannot say it better than how the author, Katherine Center states in her notes at the end, this book was "Delicious..."It is like all other books are"Boneless skinless chicken breast....and this was chocolate cake"

Yes, it is a romance.
Yes I totally predicted most everything that happened.
Yes, there is that oh so annoying "Non Communication" trope that has you screaming-YOU ARE AN ADULT TALK TO EACH OTHER
Yes it ends happy.

But guess what all you deep literary people? I LOVED EVERY LETTER OF THIS BOOK. This is the book that even when I wasn't reading it, was making me happy, just thinking about what I was "working" towards: the happily ever after.
The "positive anticipation" Katherine Center mentions, knowing the story is going to end up happy and lovey dovey, but we are drawn to that. I love the predictable (when done right i.e. All Katherine Center Books and most recently Nora Goes off Script) Its pure bliss when you are ingesting these words and literally see the characters love story unfold right in front of you.
Maybe it was the migraine, but I felt like Sadie and Joe were right beside me. Don't get me started on how much I love Sue btw.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It will bring you pure Joy.

On a personal note there were a lot of passages and things that encouraged me

"If there is a 5 % chance something bad will happen and a ninety five percent change that things will be fine, which one is more likely...on which of your thoughts are you going to chose to indulge in?"

"Be patient with your self"

"Practice Self encouragement"

Katherine Center and Netgally you have provided me with an advanced copy read for an honest review, and I cannot thank you for the fun and warm fizzy feelings enough this book gave me. I will sing and shout its praises, go buy it on JULY 11th 2023.

This weekend I finished Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. This is another summer release, but thanks to @Netgalley and @stmartinspress for letting me get my hands on it early.

Hello Stranger follows Sadie as her luck appears like it’s about to change. She’s been struggling as an artist and finds out she’s a finalist in a portrait contest. Right as she begins to celebrate a tragic event happens that causes her to lose the ability to see faces. She’s hoping it’s just temporary. Sadie then has to deal with finding ways to cope with it. If life wasn’t complicated enough, add family issues, and a possible love triangle.

❤️Review❤️

Compared to The Bodyguard, this book definitely goes back to a more serious tone than rom-com. It still has it’s comedic moments, but it definitely is a true discovery of self. Sadie spends a lot of the book still grieving her mother who passed when she was younger. She is also grieving the loss of her skill to create portraits. It was one of the things that was pretty solid in her life and now she feels like her chance at success is slipping through her fingers. It was beautiful watching Sadie become stronger and stronger throughout the book. It let the love story take kind of a back seat even though it was still very present at the same time. I really enjoyed watching that storyline develop as well. Peanut May have been my favorite side character. A dog who loves pad thai and snuggles is my kind of dog. He’s such a great support for her. The book was extremely well rounded hitting all of the points I like my romantic contemporaries to hit. Katherine Center remains a favorite author.

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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4.5 stars rounding up to 5

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

Katherine Center never disappoints. I needed to know how Sadie's story ended from the very first page.
Center does an excellent job of explaining Sadie's face blindness in a way that the reader can easily understand. As someone who is not sciencey at all, I feel like I now have a basic understanding of face blindness and what a fusiform face gyrus is. The fact I even remembered the term "fusiform face gyrus" is impressive. Usually I skim over all medical and science-based stuff in books due to the explanations being winded, but this one I didn't feel like I had to. It was to the point and perfectly explained.
Sometimes I found Sadie to be insufferable, but I also loved her. It really made me think "how would I act if I suddenly couldn't recognize people I've known for years?" And on top of that this all happened when Sadie had a huge art competition coming up. I really felt for her.
Once again, the love is more on the back burner, but that's what I love about Katherine Center's books. Yes, the love is present but I enjoy that it's not written like a typical romance novel. I also loved Center's explanation of why she writes love stories in her author's note. If you read this book, do not skip over the author's note! (They're my favorite part of Center's works.)
The reason I'm giving this 4.5 stars and not the full 5 is because I found some parts to be long winded. Sadie's internalized thoughts became repetitive at some points, and I was like "c'mon already!" But other than that, this was beautifully written. I enjoyed every minute of it and was rooting for Sadie and her love interest the whole time.