Katherine Center is one of my go to authors, I always love her books. I have to admit that I was a little nervous when I started her newest book, Hello Stranger because I really struggled with the book in the beginning. Sadie is a cute and endearing character but all of the talk about her face blindness (prosopagnosia) became repetitive to me. After taking a break and coming back to the book I am happy to report that the second half is reminiscent of the Center I know and love. Once Sadie starts learning how to live with her condition the book really takes off. It was interesting to see her develop a relationship with a man when she can't see his face so she has to rely on her other senses to determine the type of man he really is. There were some cute mishaps with her face blindness but there were also some deeper moments, especially when Sadie had to deal with her family and her mother's death. Center is an expert at blending lighthearted content with more serious topics.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC.

Sadie Montogmery is following in her late mother’s footsteps as a photorealist portraitist. Unfortunately, like her mother, she’s inherited a neurological condition that requires brain surgery. At her father’s insistence, she gets the surgery to discover she’s left with face blindness: she can see the whole world around her, but the part of her brain that recognizes faces? Yeah, that doesn’t work anymore. Every human face is now a jumbled mess of puzzle pieces. Oh, and did I mention she’s just won a seat in the most prestigious portraitist competition in town? And it’s in six weeks? The face blindness might subside or it might be permanent; nobody knows and now, Sadie is screwed.

To add insult to injury, the manwhore next door, Joe, is suddenly always around to catch her at her lowest and her beloved dog (her sibling, really) falls gravely ill. But, maybe her luck’s about to change: her new veterinarian is her soulmate. Love at first sight, she is now convinced her future is with Dr. Oliver Addison, DVM. As she tries to reassemble the pieces of her life, she finds comfort in her self-constructed fairytale with Dr. Addison, only to realize maybe the most reliable and lovable person is right in front of her: Joe. After developing a friendship with Joe, she becomes at odds with which path to pursue - Dr. Addison or Joe - only to realize, maybe she doesn’t have much choice in the matter.

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Wow wow wow, did I love this book. I won’t lie, I had just finished Katherine Center’s “The Bodyguard,” when I read “Hello Stranger.” Having not been head-over-heels in love with “The Bodyguard” after all its positive buzz, I had lukewarm anticipatory feelings about “Hello Stranger” before cracking it open.

Boy, was I wrong. “Hello Stranger” is a complete, champagne-in-the-veins delight. Seriously, I was buzzing throughout the whole latter half. Now, I will say it was a tad predictable; at about the 70%-point, you totally know what’s going to happen. Nevertheless when it does, you’ll still be bouncing off your bed with giddiness.

Not only did I feel like the plot of this book was original, but as somebody who totally geeks out over neuropsychology, this book was also interesting and, dare I say, educational. With every twist and turn that Center introduces, you find yourself leaning in closer as to reveal Sadie’s happy ending. And again, while you can see said reveal coming, somehow Center manages to keep your attention, without being boring or trite. Unique, hysterical, and butterfly-inducing, “Hello Stranger” will definitely be on my favorites shelf from here on out.

5/5 stars. Would recommend.

I was so excited to receive the ARC of this because I really liked the The Bodyguard. I feel like Katherine Center writes really well development characters, especially the female leads. They are always so complex and mature and relatable characters.

Sadie was such a character, I loved her personality and I felt like I related to her from that start. She was so funny, I laughed at her silly antics, cried at her struggles, and swooned right along with her as the least likely candiate became a potential love. Joe was also another highlight to this book, well there are not enough words to express my love for his character.

Usually any type of love triangles I do not like and try to stay away from them, but it was done so well in this book and that is why I think Kathrine Center is my new favorite romance author.

I debated whether this was a 3 star book or 4. I think I'm going to give it a solid 3.5. This is my second book from Katherine Center and I love her writing. In a whole I enjoyed the book but I felt at times the book felt disconnected. There wasn't a flow. I enjoyed the main character, Sadie at times. I loved her independence but she reminded me of a spoiled child that obviously needed emotional and mental support. But I also wanted her to be successful because of her misfortunes. "Joe" who's real name is Oliver is adorable and so kind. Again, another character I enjoyed but the ending felt rushed. The family drama was unrealistic. I didn't enjoy how it all ended between all of them and how the childhood friend that was bullied came and cleared Sadie's name. Overall, I thought the book was cute. I'm now curious about Katherine Center and her other books.

She knocked it out of the park again. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! I love the romance aspect of the book but it wasn’t too spicy either.

I love Katherine Center and was so excited to receive this book! This book was such a sweet, heart warming story and I loved it. It was laugh out loud funny and a must read for everyone!

Katherine Center is quickly becoming a favorite author for me! This will definitely be a recommended read to my book club. This was not a subject I knew much about, and the way the story was told and how the characters dealt with it was top notch. Highly recommend!

Oh my goodness. Katherine Center does it again!! I have read all of her books so when I was able to read this one early, I was beyond excited! Her writing style is unlike any other because you literally feel as if you are friends with her characters. They come alive on the pages and you get sucked into their world. Just like her others, this is a MUST READ!!

What a story!!
More raving to come, but Katherine Center has blown me away again.
I read her last release and have since read her entire backlist too.
How is it that it took me so long to discover this incredible author and her amazing skills for writing?!

This book has all the things you want in a romance. The swoony man. The kisses. The strong FMC. In love with this book!!

Sadie is a struggling artist following in her moms footsteps. After her mom passes Sadie’s life completely changes. She’s kicked out of school. Sadie ends up having a seizure and ends up in the hospital where she finds out that she has cavernoma. She needs surgery. She finds out she’s a finalist in prestigious competition which is such an honor, but things don’t look so good when she wakes up from her surgery and realizes that she can’t see any faces. This was such a good read!!
Thank you Net galley & st Martins press!!

This was an incredibly enjoyable novel about Sadie figuring out her newly diagnosed face blindness. As a portrait painter this is a huge set back for Sadie, as she has to navigate a new way of living. This was a super interesting take on romance, while also giving a great story of family and forgiveness. And Sadie meets a great guy and I couldn't stop reading their story. I was actually surprised with the reason for the third act breakup, and thought it was well done. Katherine Center knows how to write a story!

Hello Stranger is the perfect romance for someone who is tired of predictable romance books. I love Katherine Center's books and I love that her characters are never one dimensional. She does a great job of bringing in real-life struggles to her books and it adds a depth that so many books are lacking.

I enjoyed this one and it felt very similar to her other books.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I love a good romance and in the author's words it did a great job of creating fantastic anticipation. I was invested in the story. I learned a ton about "face blindness" and walked away with a dose of oxytocin. My one struggle with this book was the miscommunication. It fit the story line but it's so frustrating to me. If this isn't a trigger for you I think you'll find this book an easy 5 star read.

Katherine Center does it again! Another great read!
Sadie Montgomery is a struggling artist who paints portraits. Her mom died when she was a teenager. Sadie has had struggles through her entire life.
Sadie gets a big break when she beats out hundreds of others in a portrait contest and could win $10,000. Sadie’s mom was an artist and had entered this contest as well. Sadie must have the portrait for the competition done in 6 weeks.
Things then go a bit downhill from here for Sadie. She finds out she needs brain surgery. After the brain surgery she develops an issue where she can no longer see faces. How do you create a portrait when you can’t see faces?
In walks Joe and Dr. Oliver Addison and she is totally confused.
This is a fun and easy read. Would love to see this as a movie.
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy.

I went into this blindly after reading and loving The Bodyguard and it was not what I expected! but… I loved it! such a cool concept and story that kept me guessing and really pulled me in. I couldn’t put it down because I HAD to find out what happened at the end! the characters were quirky and loveable and had a lot of depth to them still. I was so pissed off at her family for the way they treated her. her fam was kind of a Cinderella situation with a wicker stepsister and stepmother. I’ve never heard of a head trauma causing someone to not be able to process faces but I have a lot of empathy for Sadie and the way her diagnosis hinders her work as a portrait artist. Joe- god bless him! he’s so loyal and cute & I love him 🥹❤️

Katherine Center’s books always hit me hard and this one did not disappoint! tears!!!

happy to have received this ARC from netgallery & can’t wait for the release on July 11, 2023!

Rating 3.5/5

I absolutely loved The Bodyguard and was so excited for this one. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

The premise of the book was super interesting. Sadie acquires “face blindness” after a brain surgery and can no longer “see” faces. She is an artist and has a big show coming up, so obviously this is a huge problem. Sadie tries to navigate this hopefully temporary disability, but doesn’t want to let people know what is going on with her.

I felt like this story was kind of repetitive and her problems could have been solved so easily by communicating that she could not see faces right now. I also saw the “twist” from the very beginning, so the story kind of dragged and was not a shocker when Sadie figures everything out.

Sadie’s family is also extremely toxic and it was very over the top dramatic—not believable at all.

The romance was really slow and sweet. It would have been nice if things could have resolved earlier.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Katherine Center is the new queen of RomCom in my heart! I couldn't put this book down. Sadie is an utterly endearing character that you feel invested in from the very start. I highly recommend Hello Stranger if you are looking for well-rounded characters, a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat, with both angst and humor, and a very satisfying romance.

For all that Katherine Center has done that I've loved (aka The Bodyguard), this missed the mark for me. Now, the author's note about anticipation didn't change that for me. I felt the anticipation was lacking and I 100% guessed the end very early on. I was annoyed by the protagonist and her family more than I care to be in a romance novel.

It was still fun to read and enjoyable. I especially liked the development of her relationship with Joe.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great new rom-com - thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

This was my first Katherine Center book but definitely won’t be my last! After recently reading a thriller that featured a character with proposagnosia, I was intrigued to see this concept used for a romance novel. It did not disappoint! The story centers on Sadie Montgomery, a struggling portrait artist that becomes “face blind” after a surgery following a freak accident. Sadie’s relationship with her dad has been strained since the death of her mother (also an artist) fourteen years ago, but she is excited to finally have her “big break” moment after making it to the finals of a prestigious art competition. But how can she complete the most important portrait of her life when she can’t see anyone’s face?

I was eager to see how Sadie would adapt to her new-found circumstances, and enjoyed the “mystery” of her two romantic interests whose faces she couldn’t recognize. I found the family drama to be a little ham-fisted, which is the only reason this book didn’t get a full five stars. I was about half-way there to figuring out the ending, but the hilarity of the situations Sadie finds herself in and the relationship with her best friend, Sue, kept me fully engaged. Overall, a wonderful read for those who love the anticipation of a happy ending that comes from a good romance!

4.5 ⭐️

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this delightful novel to read and review.

Katherine Center’s writing is always a joy to read. A good mix of joyful anticipation with obstacles that aren’t far-fetched. Would highly recommend for anyone who needs a little dose of happiness.