After loving THE BODYGUARD, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on HELLO STRANGER. This is a sweet story and I loved every bit about dogs, the more dogs the better. I wasn’t totally sold on the MC’s condition and I wanted more romance; so this just wasn’t written for me but I will be picking up Katherine Center’s future books!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for my advanced readers copy.

Katherine Center never disappoints in crafting unique plotlines and characters you desperately root for, and her newest novel, releasing July 11th, is so full of hope that I can’t stop smiling!
 
Sadie Montgomery is my kind of women. The opening scene has her dancing and singing Smokey Robinson in the convenient store aisle while buying wine and dogfood for her beloved pet, Peanut. I knew we would quickly become literary BFFs from that moment.
She is an independent free-spirited portrait artist who has just placed as a finalist in a prestigious competition. After years of rejection and defeat, she is finally on the verge of a career break and can stick it her father, stepmother, and stepsister who have never supported her career path.  However, her life is quickly flipped upside down when she experiences a medical emergency, needs brain surgery, and post-operation develops a condition that prevents her from seeing and recognizing faces. How is she going to submit her final portrait if she can’t see faces?! As she is struggling to cope with her new diagnosis, Sadie also finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with two different men; her dashingly handsome veterinarian who saves her beloved dog’s life, and her hipster neighbor Joe, who might be more than the womanizer she thought as he offers to sit through long sessions for her final portrait while Sadie explores a variety of painting techniques.
 
Watching Sadie cope with her new diagnosis while refusing to surrender her artistic dream was a beautiful journey full of laughs, tears, and hope. I loved the secondary characters so much, the love triangle was executed perfectly, and the family drama had a resolution I adored.
 
If you are looking for your next favorite charming romance, this is the one!
Readers who love:
Unique plot lines
Laugh out dialogue
Family drama
Love triangles with a twist
Sunshine heroines
Cinnamon roll heroes
 
Thank you to SMP Romance and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is so sweet. I was a bit skeptical at first. This was my first time reading a book by Katherine Center and I didnt know what to expect. I thought at times the main Character Sadie was having a really hard time, I felt so bad that she had no one in her corner. I almost stopped reading, but I am so glad I stuck with this book. The love story between her and Joe was so unique and special. The twist at the end was priceless.

Book: Hello Stranger
Author: Katherine Center
Rating: 3 ⭐️
Release date: July 11, 2023

I squealed when I got a copy of Katherine Center’s new book, Hello Stranger in my inbox. She is an auto read for me. I put it off for a bit because I knew as soon as I started I would devour it and then it would be over and the sadness would come. However, this one didn’t hit like they usually do. I did read it fairly quickly and wanted to keep reading until I was finished, but I felt like something was missing this time. I wouldn’t say I don’t recommend it, because if you’re a Katherine fan then you’ll still likely enjoy it, but it was only a 3 star for me.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read this early digital copy in exchange for my thoughts.

A fast-paced, heartwarming story incorporating a fascinating subject - face blindness and how portrait artist Sadie will cope with navigational challenges post brain surgery. She has been offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in the prestigious North American Portrait Society competition but in looking at her canvas, she sees only “unintelligible nonsense.” Enter a perfect man to spice up her life. Great characters. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Absolutely loved this book!! Delightful, witty, and a the characters really developed as the story progressed! Very cute read and definitely recommend for a feel good rom com.

This was just the book i needed! Sometimes you just need a dose of hope and some happiness in a story. It was a cute story of love at first sight but the sight is unseen. Next thing you know she has two men competing for her. She is forced to pay attention to all she has been missing.

4.5 stars.

Katherine Center is one of my new auto-buy authors. I loved THE BODYGUARD and HELLO STRANGER is another delight. I appreciate this fresh and new plot about face blindness. It navigates Sadie's health and life with grace and humor. I would have appreciated a bit more steam, but overall it's a great book and I highly recommend.

Highly recommend! I couldn’t put it down. I love all of her books and would purchase a physical copy for my collection!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. I was introduced to Katherine Center a couple of years ago, and ever since she has become one of my favorite authors. I'm not a huge fan of "miscommunication" in a plot line, but with Center's writing style and her well developed (some lovable) characters, I can overlook that feature. This was a great read with some deeper level meaning and romance mixed in.

I loved this book! It was a really interesting concept & I enjoyed learning more about face blindness. I thought the supporting characters were all written with just the right amount of depth.

I did figure out the twist a little early on but it didn’t ruin the story for me.

I did think Sadie read a little immature for being 28, but that could be a choice on the Authors part considering all that Sadie went through in her youth.

Overall this is another amazing story from Katherine Center & I can’t wait to read her next book!

I absolutely loved this book! Seeing art and the world through Sadie Montgomery's perspective and her experience with face blindness evoked a lot of reflection about how we navigate the world, the assumptions we make, and the things we miss. This is my second book I have read from Katherine Center and I love the character development throughout the story and exhibiting strength and resilience. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book. At times, it felt like there were too many different things going on, but even yet, the story chugged along at a quick and steady pace throughout the entirety of the book. I really adored the main character. I loved how much I learned about painting, and about face-blindness. The MMC was precious as well. There were a few things I didn’t care for, but I read this in just a few sittings and really enjoyed my time - so that makes it a good book in my eyes. Also - a HUGE plus for me is that it was “closed-door”. Meaning, no spice! Which I really appreciate and will be recommending to many friends solely with that in consideration. I’m excited to read other books by this author. I’d highly recommend this one when it gets released!

I also want to urge readers to read the Author’s Note and Acknowledgements at the end. Worth it. (I always think reading the Author’s Notes and Acknowledgements are worth it) but especially these!

This book is a perfect dose of hope and happiness. Felt like a hug.

(Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy. )

“She felt it all. She loved it all.”

I ended up going into this book blind and was not expecting the huge change with the main character. I found it fascinating what had happened to her and I was researching all about it and learning more. It’s a very unique read and I haven’t read anything like it before. Unfortunately, I do feel like this book was pretty predictable, so the ending was definitely a let down for me 😫 I kept hoping I was wrong and that there would be a huge twist in the end, but that didn’t happen. Her family confused me and also made me a little irritated. I feel like some big things kept being brushed under the rug!

I’m a little confused by my feelings about this book. I did enjoy it and I felt entertained the entire time. Normally I would rate a book like that higher, but there’s so much more that I wanted from this book! I do recommend if you are needing a unique and happy (not so passionate) romance story!

READ IF YOU LOVE READING ABOUT:
-dogs 🐶
-art 🎨
-painting 👩🏻‍🎨
-a cute neighbor 😍
-a hot veterinarian 👨🏻‍⚕️
-an evil stepsister 😈
-closed door 🚪

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC! ❤️

This book was wonderful! At one point I laughed until I cried and then later I just cried. A heartfelt read!

As a longtime fan of Katherine Center’s work, I can say that I’ve never been truly disappointed by her work. This time is no different. I absolutely LOVED this book. I loved how unique the storyline was yet how it was still infused with her usual rebuilding of family and friend relationships that had gone awry. I loved the validation and growth Sadie achieved. And more than anything, I loved Joe.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc! 5 stars.

What a super fun, quick read! It’s hard to not instantly relate to Sadie and all that’s going on in her thoughts. The romance in this book is really sweet. It felt a little grumpy/sunshine but with our main character Sadie being the grumpy one. This was my first read from this author but I will definitely be looking into her other books.

When I saw this one on NetGalley I was immediately requesting it, then I saw it on “read now” and snatched up my copy. I couldn’t wait to read it because The Bodyguard was one of my favorite reads of 2022.

Sadie never saw it coming. One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life, the next shes waking up in the hospital – and she needs brain surgery. After getting the surgery she is horrified to learn that she can’t see faces – she has what’s known as face-blindness. It should go away, but as a face painter with the biggest event of the year coming up – she has no time to lose.

As Sadie struggles to cope with her diagnosis, she stumbles through problems with her pet companion, Peanut, and falls in love – with two men! The timing is all off. Will Sadie be able to get her life in order before it all comes crumbling down? Only time will tell.

Okay, full disclosure I went into this book with the highest expectations there are based on how I felt about Katherine Center’s last book. I will admit that I compared this one to that, every step of the way. I spent probably the first 75% of the book enjoying the story, but not loving it. Then the last 25% of the book – oh my gosh! I was dumbstruck. I fell in love fast and hard. This book ended up being amazing and stunning. It is filled with hope and anticipation as the author points out in her authors note.

My biggest take away is don’t give up on this one, it will surprise you in the best possible way imaginable.

Grab your copy July 11th.

Thank you to the publisher St Martin’s Press, @stmartinspress, @smpromance, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center never lets me down. This book felt like a cozy wearable blanket type of read. I knew I’d go on a sweet and fun journey with a few twists and turns to keep me guessing just how we’d get to the HEA for Sadie. I was utterly fascinated with face-blindness as I had really never heard of such a thing. Sadie’s experience left me so intrigued and I loved the many things she learned along the way. The relationships in this book are complex and layered and Katherine Center writes beautifully about the ways we break & how we put ourselves (& our relationships) back together again. I do love the unexpected aspects of Center’s style so I will not go into detail about the twists in this story but I will say that it was especially fun to anticipate and to still be a bit surprised with how it all came together in the end.

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this egalley my way! All opinions are my own. #HelloStranger will make a great summer beach read and I look forward to sharing all about it.

“Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center is such a wholesome love story! I was captivated from the beginning and absolutely fell in love with all of the characters. I also felt that I learned more about a medical condition that I haven’t had much experience with, and it was very eye opening! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Publisher for this ARC!