Such a good romance! The characters were likable and believable. The story was great and the steam was perfect!

I love Katherine Center & her newest book does not disappoint! It was SO good. So encouraging.
Release date: July 11,2023.
Thank you NetGalley!

Synopsis~
Love isn’t blind, it’s just little blurry.

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life―placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition―the next she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls in love―not with one man but two. The timing couldn’t be worse.

Making judgment calls on anything right now is a nightmare. If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to have it all.

Katherine Center is an instant buy for me! There isn’t a book of hers that I have not enjoyed. This book was extraordinary. Strangers to lovers is such a great romance trope & Katherine Center mastered it! It was a tear jerker at times but also made me blush with cuteness. I love books about family as I relate to them. Katherine’s books make you laugh, make you cry, make you appreciate life & your family! This is the second book I’ve read about prosopagnosia, I’ve never heard of this condition until this year. So it was interesting to learn the trials and tribulations of someone struggling with this condition. And it just goes to show you that love is possible for all!! Sadie is such a wonderful character. This book went by so fast. My favorite is still Things You Save in a Fire but this one is definitely a close second and still a 5 star read!!

A great sequel to this amazing series! It was a little too fluffy for me (I prefer something with a little more tension and spice) but the storytelling and characters were phenomenal! It very much gives me the vibe of ‘Part of your world’ so I would recommend this book to anyone that loved that book!

Another Katherine Center hit that leaves you feeling so HAPPY.
This book was the distraction that I needed right now. Everything that you would hope for: a unique plot, romance (with an unexpected love triangle), and family issues.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist that is set to have her big break in an upcoming competition. She is finally ready to prove to her family and herself that she is not a failure and can find success as an artist. After a fluke accident, urgent brain surgery is necessary against Sadie’s wishes.
Unfortunately, the surgery leaves her with a rare condition of prosopragnosia- otherwise known as ‘face blindness.’ Not an ideal situation for a portrait artist..
Sadie must not only learn how to navigate and continue with her upcoming competition, but also adjust to dating without recognizing the face of who she is interacting with.
Sadie finds herself caught in a love triangle between her charming neighbor Joe, and her handsome dream-husband veterinarian, Oliver. Oliver is handsome, successful and takes incredible care of her beloved dog, Peanut. But Joe is always there for her, charming and comforting. She chooses to move forward with one relationship while breaking the heart of another..

This story is filled with an interesting and unique plot, characters that you’ll fall in love with, and an unexpected love triangle with twists and turns. I had never heard of prosopagnosia before so it was really interesting to learn about this condition through this book.
One of my favorite parts of the entire thing: the author’s note. Don’t miss it!

A fabulous read for the summer!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this one, not my favorite of hers but it was a very intriguing storyline. As usual she has created a great cast of leading characters, Sadie and Joe were both awesomely written and incredibly likable. I liked Sadie so much that I'll never forgive her for forgiving her extending family so easily, she at least could have made them grovel a bit!

I might be the last person on earth that is able to say, I had never read a Katherine Center book previous to this. Though she has a lot of books that seem right up my alley- this just happened to be the first one I had the pleasure of ready.

Face-blindness is a recurring theme I have noticed in novels over the recent years. Typically in thrillers, I don't know how I feel about this as a plot device. Regardless, it seemed to be handled gently and respectfully in this case.

Overall a good romance and all around story and I look forward to reading from this author again.

This book was such a treat! I loved the storyline and getting to see things from the point of view of someone with prosopagnosia. The main character, Sadie, is a portrait artist that develops prosopagnosia (face blindness) and as a result she struggles to identify people in her life. She gets to know her neighbor Joe who she initially writes off as being a jerk— only to realize her initial impression of him was wrong. She finds herself falling for him while also pining for her handsome vet. The story was unique and took twists that I didn’t see coming! This story made me laugh and cry. As someone who lost her mom, I appreciated the details about Sadie’s mom who passed away and how she continues to honor her mothers legacy. It warmed my heart. I will definitely be reading more of Katherine Center and am thankful for this ARC!

I very much enjoyed this book!

I loved the premise and how different the story was surrounding the face blindness.

I was rooting for Sadie and Joe the entire time and although I had some ideas I’d how it would end, I was still very happy how things tied up.

I adored this book! I devoured it in just about 24 hours. I was so excited to get this as an ARC because I have loved so many of Katherine Center’s other books. There were a few errors and a timeline/location with a secondary character that didn’t line up, but that didn’t affect my overall love for this story. I found one plot point a bit hard to believe, but since I have never experienced face blindness, it’s hard for me to judge the believability of that sequence of events. I read a lot of romance and this book had me SWOONING!! It was also refreshing to read a closed door romance. Highly recommend!!

I loved this book. I found it easy to relate to. The story line was great.I would recommend it to friends and family.

This book was a perfect read of an original plot, hopeful romance, and enough flubs and miscommunications to make it wonderfully not sappy. Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who has just been listed as a finalist for an art show that could give her the break she has been looking for. However, Sadie has never thought of herself as lucky. Throw in a cavernoma, brain surgery, and acquired prosopagnosia (face blindness) along with a touch of dead mother, distanced father, and an evil stepsister and you have the perfect storm for a delightfully entertaining romance.

Katherine Center is an auto-read author for me. Her books are all relatable and her plots are original without being far-fetched. This one is my new favorite. I love that I learned about a topic I don't know much about while also falling in love with the characters and rooting for them to figure out so they could end up either their happy-ever-after. This was a very heart-warming read and these characters will stick with me for quite awhile.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I loved the unique story line. Nothing felt overly predictable. And the characters! Sadie was such a a great MC. Sometimes I feel like authors try to write the "quirky female lead" and miss the mark, but Sadie was truly such a great character. The chemistry and build up between her and Joe was perfect.

Fell in love with Sadie & Joe and truly enjoyed this story. I felt for her a lot and admired her independence and determination. She was love able and relatable. This was a very unique concept that was executed very well, kept me intrigued the whole time. Read in one day, couldn’t put it down.

Sadie Montgomery is a young portrait artist who has just gotten the news that she has been chosen to participate in a prestigious art competition that will require her to paint a portrait within the next six weeks. Her life is upended when she has a medical emergency that requires urgent brain surgery. Things get complicated when Sadie develops a disorder called prosopagnosia or face-blindness after the procedure. Sadie’s new life dynamic forces her to begrudgingly accept the kindness of the people who want to help her. In the process she will examine her relationship with her father and her own resentment towards the new family he built after Sadie’s mother passed, as well as sort out her feelings toward two young men (her own neighbor, and a handsome veterinarian) whom she has connected with.

Thoughts:
This is a closed-door romance with themes of hope, courage, kindness, and vulnerability, among others. Sadie is used to doing things on her own without any help from her family even though she has been struggling for years. She sees vulnerability as weakness, but her face-blindness disorder forces her to recognize the joys of accepting kindness and being kind to others in return. I loved Sadie’s process and her compassion, forgiveness, and gratefulness despite everything that has happened to her.

The premise of this story is captivating, and the pace is adequate. Although I could figure out early in the story an important reveal, I needed to know how Sadie’s life was going to unfold in this period of her life. As for the ending, it was satisfying, though I am not a fan of characters interjecting in lengthy explanations of misunderstandings. However, this book provided two things I personally enjoy, which are learning new things, and invitations to reflect.

Overall, a four-star read for me, and a terrific book for those liking themes of family dynamics, grief, vulnerability, hope and kindness, and closed-door romances.

This is a cute, lighthearted rom-com following Sadie Montgomery, a struggling artist trying to survive. Her relationships with her parents are basically non-existant. There are family issues involved which in turn affects the character and her story going forward. (no spoilers).
A life alternating event changes Sadie's life forever and this is when the book actually starts to progress the plot forward and start getting interesting. The plot twists and writing style is so fun to read. I honestly loved it.



Thank you netgallery for this arc in exchange for a honest review!

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

Sadie Montgomery is on the precipice of her big break! She has just been placed as a finalist in a portrait painting competition. The same competition that her mom placed in before she died. When on her way home to celebrate with friends, Sadie has a seizure. After brain surgery, she was diagnosed with face blindness. Maybe it will go away, maybe it won't. Not even the worst part. The worst part is falling in love with two guys - Joe and Dr. Oliver Addison! What's a girl to do!

This novel had me laughing out loud to the point where I was afraid I was going to wake my husband at 2 am while I was trying to read the book because I just could not put it down! Katherine Center did not disappoint! Following Sadie's journey through her medical issues, her tumultuous relationship with her dad and stepmom, her evil stepsister, the career she craves, and falling in love was a treat!

This was middle-of-the-road Katherine Center for me. Not as good as "The Bodyguard' or "Things You Save in a Fire" but better than "What You Wish For."

It was clear that Center had done her research and consulted a veterinarian for the veterinary-related content (also confirmed by her thanking a veterinarian friend/reader/vet-content-advisor in the acknowledgments) - good on her for getting this right.

The story was entertaining and interesting enough to keep me reading through to the end - the portrait competition and Sadie's participation in this, particularly her departure from her life long signature painting style --necessitated by her brain injury - was the most interesting plotline.

The romance was so-so -- it was just that the big 'reveal' was so incredibly obvious from nearly the beginning that it was all rather anti-climactic.

The surrounding content was alright - the best friend, the family conflict, the dog, etc -- mostly fluff but cute enough. The backstory of her mother dying of the exact same ailment during the exact same portrait contest, and her father blaming her etc etc -- just felt overly contrived. And, as I have found typical with Center's books there's a little TOO much repetition/internal monologue sometimes. I get it, you've mulled it over for 3 pages, let's move onward. I found myself skimming a fair bit.

Overall, pretty good - if you've read Center's other books - this will be par for the course & enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! Hello Stranger is Katherine Centers' new book that follows Sadie, a struggling artist. Sadie goes in for brain surgery, then comes out with a rare side effect; face blindness. It's a romance novel, but with so much more. A heartwarming story, trials and tribulations, great (and some not so great) side characters, and many laughable moments. This book will leave you smiling once you finish it!

I went into this book blind and really enjoyed it . I loved that we got a romance book and we also got to learn about the condition Sadie was experiencing. This book was different from what i read normally . But I liked it . I liked seeing the character progression throughout the books and loved the strangers to friends to lovers vibes in the book. Overall a cute book and I liked it !