I loved Katherine Center’s previous book The Bodyguard, but I was quite disappointed with Hello Stranger. I found the family drama to be very over the top and I didn’t like the romance at all. However, I enjoyed learning about prosopagnosia (face blindness).
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

*spoilers*
Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book! This book was different and was very refreshing! It was interesting to read about the medical side effects Sadie got after her procedure. I really connected with her on how close she was with her mom I truly don’t know what I would do without mine so when she talked about her mom it pulled at my heartstrings. I hated Parker so much!!! I loved Joe and I really liked how he wasn’t who you thought he was and just turned out to be so much better. I liked that Lucinda turned out to be better than I thought she was and I just loved how she fixed Sadie’s moms dress for her. I also really liked how Sadie’s dad tried to patch things up with her after everything. I really liked how the whole art contest felt realistic in the sense that she didn’t win and she finally got to say everything she has been wanting to say. I loved the twists that came along with the face blindness I mean what is better than having the two people you thought you liked be the same person!! This book brought love is blind and fate to a whole new level. This book was just all around beautiful! I loved the bodyguard by this author and am so happy I loved this one just as much now this author is an instant buy for me.

I read Katherine Center's The Body Guard in January and quickly decided that she's an "instant read" for me. Meaning I will instantly read anything she puts out. So when I learned I could get my hands on her upcoming release Hello Stranger, I requested it immediately, and am so glad I did!

Things I loved:
-lots of good one liners - I laughed out loud multiple times
-first person POV
-romance isn't the only story line happening

This book is written, as if Sadie, the main character, is telling you the story after the fact and I ADORED it. It was like listening to a new friend tell me all about their life. Katherine Center made her relatable, quirky, funny, and real. The same can be said of the other characters in the book - even the ones you don't hear much of. Each character has just the right amount of back story and development needed to make you love them. I had lots of hopeful anticipation for the ending of this book while reading, and it did not let me down.

Run, don't walk, to buy this when it hits shelves later this year!

Thank you to St Martins Press and Netgalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts

One thing I love about Katherine Center's books is that she does a lot of research and takes the time to really learn about her subjects. I learned a lot about face blindness. However, the rest of the book was just so far-fetched. I found myself growing frustrated with the main character. She frequently says how independent she is, yet she won't stand up to her family. The evil stepsister was ridiculously over the top. The ending kept going on and on and on....
I feel like How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire are such wonderful, realistic love stories. The reason I love those books is the exact opposite of what the author wrote about in her note at the end of the book. It's like she totally change her romantic writing philosophy. I thought The Bodyguard was different too, but chalked it up to her writing a novel during Covid. But if this is a trend that continues, I might not be as inclined to pick up one of her new stories.

After reading Hello Stranger, I fell in love with our main character and enjoyed getting to watch her overcome the obstacles she was faced with!!

This was a great read! I love Katherine Center’s books. I had never heard of “face blindness” before this book, but I really appreciated how it was depicted through Sadie’s eyes and the effect it had on her job as an artist.

Katherine’s characters are engaging, funny, and, other than her evil stepsister, lovable. I really enjoyed how the relationship between Sadie and Joe developed throughout the novel, and I loved the twist at the end!

Definitely recommend!

What an interesting and surprising twist on a romantic comedy. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the mystery of Sadie figuring out how to navigate her new life. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC

A new Katherine Center novel always promises to keep me up late the first night, wanting to read just one more chapter.... And this one woke me up early the next morning to finish it. "Hello Stranger" was a propulsive read. I cared about Sadie right from the start; Center has a way of creating interesting, believable, sympathetic characters whose lives don't go strictly according to plan.

This was a completely enjoyable quick read! Piles of thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free copy for review.

I think I say this every time I read one of Ms. Center’s books, but this time I really mean it. This is my all time favorite book of hers! Absolutely wonderful, heartwarming, hopeful, swoon-worthy, kept me up to late, can’t stop reading, sad it’s finished kind of book. Loved it. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to be uplifted. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest opinion.

One minute Sadie is a struggling artist who has just been accepted to a huge portrait competition, and the next she's having brain surgery. When she wakes up in the hospital, she is diagnosed with temporary face blindness due to swelling from surgery. Suddenly all the faces she used to focus on so intently for her paintings are a jumbled mess of puzzle pieces. On top of it, she finds herself falling in love with not one, but two men while she tries to recover and figure out how she is going to create a portrait for the competition.
This book was so much more than a romance novel. I lovvvved the romantic aspect, the internal battle to choose between two men, and the surprising way it ends up. But I also was thoroughly entranced by immersing myself in the life of someone who has face blindness. The whole book was beautifully written, sincerely addicting, and a burst of hope and love.Dare I say even better than 'The Bodyguard?'. I dare. It is. It's that good.

"It takes a certain kind of courage to be brave in love. A courage you can only get better at through practice."

I found this book so engrossing I finished it in one day. I'd only heard of face blindness before, in passing, but knew nothing about it. The author did a fabulous job with her descriptions throughout that journey and I truly felt I could "see" what Sadie was seeing (or not seeing to be more accurate). I felt so much empathy for her in those moments, trying to make sense of it all and how much it changed her ability to do what she loved.

Joe is such a likable guy (once you get past the elevator scene) and seems a little too good to be true... and like all good stories he does break her heart, but not for the reasons you'd think.

Her future husband, Dr. Oliver Addison (Peanut's veterinarian) was super hunky and the absolute perfect guy. If only he hadn't stood her up, who knows what might've happened?!?

I knew how it would end before it was so revealed and it made me giggle as the story went along.

Katherine Center knows how to write a compelling story. I would definitely recommend this book!!

This book really straddles the line between fun and non-sense. On the one hand, you have to deal with a very immature protagonist and her "evil step-sister" who is just so exaggeratedly diabolical for what this book is...but on the other hand, you get a funny, fluffy romance.

I loved Katherine Center's other books, but this wasn't quite it for me. I found Sadie kind of unlikable, and she definitely didn't deserve her man. The dialogue was choppy and the end wrapped in *too* neat a bow for my taste.

When Sadie Montgomery wakes up post-(totally minor) brain surgery to discover that she can't see the faces of people around her and she has six weeks to create a new piece for the prestigious portrait contest she's a finalist in, well, it's a massive problem.

Learning to navigate her possibly permanent acquired prosopagnosia (AKA face blindness) is a challenge, but throw in an evil step-sister, a concerning neighbor, an elderly dog, and hot veterinarian that she can't see but KNOWS is hot, and she has a long six weeks ahead of her.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sadie and her story are both wholly unique, captivating, colorful, and completely fun!

Katherine Center infused every page with the kind of wit, charm, and love that makes you laugh along with Sadie, cry with her, feel angry along with (and for!) her, and, of course, root for her as she overcomes every clever obstacle to find the happiness she deserves.

I know it's early in the year, but Hello Stranger is easily one of my top reads of 2023, and quite honestly, with its top-tier banter, rich emotion, and the hopeful anticipation of happily ever after that it inspires, I can confidently say that it’s one my all-time favorite reads.

This book is joy wrapped up in the sweetest cover, and I can't wait to add a physical copy to my bookshelf 🛼🎨🌸

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, & Katherine Center for providing a digital copy of Hello Stranger in return for an honest review!

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. I had read one of the authors previous books, and liked it very much, so I was quite interested to read this one. Hello Stranger has a very intriguing premise. Sadie Montgomery is an artist. Struggling does not even begin to describe her. She lost her mother( also an artist) as a teenager. Her father soon remarried to a woman who , while not a totally wicked stepmother, will win no prizes for devoting love on her stepdaughter. Sadie also gets a step sister, who quite frankly, makes Cinderella's stepsisters seem like the March Sisters in Little Women. Parker is truly evil. In short order, Sadie is in a boarding school, bereft of of family , friends and even her dog , Peanut.
Fast forward some years and Sadie is just barely getting by. She still has Peanut, and has a new friend Sue,as well as Sue's parents. She also has gotten an incredible opportunity, a chance to participate in a portrait contest. It is highly prestigious, could open many doors. It is also a contest that her late mother was planning to enter, just before her death.
However, Sadie has a medical condition. Unbeknownst to her, she has a tumor in her brain that manifests just after she finds out about the contest. She has to have surgery. She is assured that it is minor and she will be able to paint the required portrait for the contest with no problem. However, after the surgery she develops acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, or facial blindness. She sees people and parts of faces, but she can't identify them , recognize nor remember them.
as if things were not complicated enough, she falls for 2 men. There is Joe, who lives in her building, and then there is the Vet who takes care of her dog ( because of course, Peanut becomes sick). She can't see the face of either man, due to her condition, but is torn between them.
This is an interesting book. It is not perfect by any means( I had a lot of questions about Sadie's life). The problems and situations that Sadie encounters are over the top. The scenes at the Portrait contest were so unrelentingly awful that I cringed as I read them. I found myself asking how much more could Sadie endure, and then things got worse. I thought Erica Kane in All My Children had a melodramatic life, but it was a bed a roses compared to Sadie. All in all, it was a good book, but not a great one. I did like the ending , and the afterword by the author talking about the medical condition of acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia. It is clear she did her homework. I look forward to her next book.

i won’t lie, this book was kinda disappointing. when i saw i was approved for an ARC of a katherine center book i FREAKED out. i absolutely adored the bodyguard, so i had high hopes for this one. sadly it didn’t get even close to that book for me.

i found the face blindness very interesting. i didn’t even know that was possible before this book. it’s a very unique storyline.

i also liked the comedy. for the most part, it was funny. some of the dialogue between the characters was so funny i laughed out loud. but honestly, some of it was cheesy 😭 this book gives me MAJOR millennial vibes if that makes sense? some things the fmc did were so embarrassing it made me cringe 😕

my main problem with this book was the love interest. i didn’t feel anything for him. i kept waiting for it to hit me but it never did. there was occasional moments that i loved with the mmc but not enough to save this book for me.

i also didn’t like how everybody suddenly turned a new leaf at the end. i’m sorry but the shit parker did to her was CRAZY. like she should be put in a mental institution for that.

that being said, i probably wouldn’t jump to recommend this to people, but everyone else i’ve seen who’s read it gave it over 4 stars so maybe it’s just me??? idk 🤷🏻‍♀️

it’s a quick, funny, unique romance book. if you think you’d enjoy this then definitely give it a try! it just wasn’t for me!

thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

What a unique and interesting story. I gotta admit I thought the condition was made up when I first read about it, I mean, the name alone sounded made up, but when I found out it wasn’t I was shocked to think that people actually have to go through life not seeing faces and it made the story that much more intriguing. I loved the thought of seeing people for other things, like their personality and their gait versus the first thing a person would notice; their face.
The plot twist at the end regarding her two love interests was not that shocking, but so entertaining to see her figure it all out! It was cute, sweet and so romantic.

4.5 stars
Oh such a nice story!! I always love reading books by Katherine Center. This one made me cry, laugh and get angry. It had a bit of everything which I enjoyed. I found this one bingeable and enjoyed Sadie’s discoveries.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publish Date July 11, 2023

I love everything about this one! This was such a different and unique take on romance. The character growth was amazing (which is always the case for Katherine Center). Such a hopeful and inspiring romance. I could not recommend this more.

I absolutely loved this book. I am so thankful to NetGalley for the early release! I can’t not wait for July 11th to buy a physical copy.
Is it possible to fall in love with a book? I did with this one. Hello Stranger brings awareness to mental health and family connectivity issues. Sadie, the main character is so relatable and I felt like she was one of my friends I was talking to. This is a story that I could read over and over. I had to know what was going to happen but I also didn’t want the story to end.
I highly recommend reading this book, I know I’m about to binge her other books now.