I have been fascinated by prosopagnosia since I read Rock Paper Scissors and found out it wasn’t something Alice Feeny made up for her story.

Sadie is an immediately likable character with a very unlikable family. This book confronts so many things. Sadie is dealing with her past traumas, grief and a traumatic brain injury. She also has a looming deadline and a geriatric dog on her hands.

It was so interesting to see the world through Sadie’s unreliable brain and you suffer with her as she tried to navigate her new life.

This book was an easy five stars for me. Katherine Center writes books that are just fun to read.

This book was AMAZING!!!! I seriously love Katherine writing. I read this in a day. I highly recommend all of her books.

Before the twist even came i thought that might be the case and oh man. I couldn't even imagine going through all that Sadie did. I don't wanna say to much and give away the whole book.

Thank you Netgalley!

Hello Stranger was such a cute book- one that at the end you feel like hugging. It centered around Sadie, a struggling portrait artist who has to have brain surgery which ends up resulting in face blindness. Unfortunately for Sadie, she was an art competition coming up but now can’t see faces.

At first the premise was a little out there for me, but it really grew on me as the book went on. I loved Sadie and Joe and loved some of the side characters like her best friend Sue as well. Katherine Center is great at creating characters you are drawn to and end up rooting for! Hello Stranger does not disappoint. If you like feel good romances, this is a great book for you!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center is always a winner for me. She has a way of teaching you about something interesting while also building a compelling, realistic and hopeful story around it. This book was no exception. I was fascinated by the topic and the rich characters; I couldn't put it down! I only wish I had someone to talk to about it.

Another Katherine Center win! This was an adorably tragic rom com and I devoured every second of it, as quickly as possible!
Her way of writing is so easy to get into & I look forward to every story she writes! This one definitely doesn’t disappoint. Just read it if you want a smile.

Thank you NetGalley, Katherine Center & St Martins Press for allowing me to read this book!

If you love Katherine Center, this book is very much in the vein of all her others. Was it predictable? Yes. Did it feel slightly theatrical? Also yes. Was I excited to pick it up every night? 100%. I like to read sweet books before bed and this totally fit the bill.

This is the second book I have read about facial blindness, and it really is such an interesting plot point. Making Sadie an artist created an additional conflict for Center to resolve.

I did love the romance. although it wasn’t super mysterious, it had a nice buildup.

If you love or even like Center’s other books, this is a great one!

“We’re all just muddling through, after all. We’re all just doing the best we can. We’re all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down, is a little bit lost.”

Katherine Center really can do no wrong. I loved this book. Sadie is so easy to fall in love with and Joe? Yup him too. Mr. Helpful is someone many of us woman would probably consider the perfect man.

While Sadie is dealing with her new medical condition, family drama, and an artist crisis, she is also learning how to adapt and change in her new normal. Oh and we LOVE Peanut

Katherine Center puts a twist on romance novels that keeps me wanting more. The way she can weave together unique challenge, heartbreaking struggles, and love into one beautiful book is magical.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist trying to prove to her father, the world, and maybe even herself that she has what it takes to be a famous artist. She finally has her big break becoming a finalist in a huge competition. She tried to prove to everyone she is okay and doesn’t need their help after the struggles of losing her mom at an early age. But when an accident leaves Sadie unable to recognize faces, she must learn to lean on the help of strangers.

Hello Stranger will be published 7/11/2023.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie Montgomery has been down on her luck for awhile now and things were just starting to look up with a spot in a coveted portrait contest when something out of the ordinary happened. Sadie winds up finding she has a brown condition and needs elective brain surgery. After the surgery is complete, Sadie realizes she can no longer see faces. She is face blind! This is a hard pill to swallow for anyone but with Sadie being a portrait artist, it’s especially hard. Sadie’s doctors have told her there is some swelling on the brain and they are hoping her facial blindness will subside but when? I’m time for the contest? Over these weeks, Sadie meets 2 different men that she likes and works on honing her craft.
This was a cute story of resilience and romance. It is light and easy to read. I really don’t know anything about facial blindness but the ending was a bit much but easy to accept. I would definitely recommend this when it comes out. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC copy of this book for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the story, the twist, and Sadie’s character. The love story was adorable - I saw the twist coming but it still made me so happy when they both figured it out. I liked the dynamic with Sue and Sadie, and the Kim’s were great characters, showing that loving family. Also, I liked that Lucinda kind of redeemed herself with the dress. It made her seem more human and caring. Parker was the perfect evil step sister.

I wish there had been more about the hovel - to me, it was a shed, but she seemed to have a bathroom and kitchen, etc. so it got confusing. I feel like the beginning chapter should have had better descriptions of this “hovel.”
Chp 2 - Lucinda is called Miranda

The way this was unlike anything I have ever read was just a breathe of fresh air. Romance can be run into the ground as far as things becoming very similar within the genre but this was just so fresh and new and I loved every second of it! Thankful to have been sent the ARC and would love to review for this author in the future!

Review on my TikTok is up now!

This was my first Katherine Center romance novel and I was pleasantly surprised. Sadie Montgomery an artist following in her mother’s footsteps faces the struggles of adulthood and life estranged from her father and “evil” stepmother/sister. She has placed in the top 10 for an art competition and everything is going smooth until she has a seizure in the middle of the street and has to get brain surgery. After her surgery she develops acquired face blindness and must figure out how to get through life and her art competition with these new challenges. Enter the only love triangle I actually approved of when she finds herself liking her dog’s veterinarian and the man that lives down the hall in her building. I really enjoyed how much Sadie changed and how she finally realized that her ability to see people’s faces didn’t change who she was or who she had to be. It was a great book, very entertaining twists some being more predictable than others but I really enjoyed this book! Thanks to NetGalley and Katherine Center for the chance to read this ARC!

Just when I thought I had learned everything in the medical field from Grey’s Anatomy, along comes Hello Stranger and teaches me about prosopagnosia. That led to a rabbit hole on Google so I could dive further into this diagnosis. I found the diagnosis and the book, Hello Stranger, wildly fascinating. I can’t imagine having a seizure that turns into a necessary brain surgery then finding out mr wrong was actually Mr. Right and Mr. Right that was wrong is also Mr. Right. So much juggling.
This book is going to be a hit.

*Publish date 7/11/23 - Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Wow! Another book I simply loved by Katherine Center. This novel was heart wrenching (I cried), heart warming (I was rooting for Sadie), mysterious (unexpected twists), and ended in a way that just made me smile!

Sadie Montgomery had been dealt some hard blows in her life - starting with the death of her mother when Sadie was just 14. Her dad remarries soon afterwards, but the new step mother and step sister form bonds that leave Sadie feeling even more alone. Fast forward a few years, and we find Sadie as a struggling artist who just received news that could be her big break. She is a finalist in a prestigious competition for portrait artists that will take place in six weeks. Then, through a series of unfortunate events, Sadie finds out that she needs to have immediate brain surgery to repair a genetic condition. The recovery time is estimated to be just a few days, so Sadie has the surgery. There is a rare complication that results in Sadie being able to see the individual components of a face but not the see a face as it should be composed (prosopagnosia). This is problematic on its own but especially for a portrait artist who is a finalist in a portrait competition! Sadie's journey in learning to cope with this condition is enlightening and you see how friends and family both support and hinder the healing process. As with all of Katherine Center's books, the characters are endearing, the plot is engaging, and the ending is satisfying. There is hope, There is kindness. There is love. The last line says it best: The more good things you look for, the more you find.

Highly recommend this book! 4.5 Stars

To quote Katherine Center herself, “This love story really created fantastic anticipation!” As I was reading, I had a pretty good idea of where the story was heading, but the predictability didn’t ruin it for me. Instead, I was just excited to see it all play out!!

The Bodyguard was one of my favorite books of 2022, so I had high hopes Hello Stranger. Thankfully, it did not disappoint. I loved the banter. I loved Sadie and Peanut. I loved every ridiculous twist and turn. It was an almost perfect read… except for Parker. I didn’t find her to be a believable character. Her meanness was so over the top and evil that she felt more like a caricature of a bad guy. I honestly don’t even feel like she added much to the story either. Parker aside, Hello Stranger has easily made it on my list of fave romcoms.

I’m a huge fan of Katherine Center’s books, so when I got the chance to read Hello I Stranger in advance I was excited. This was a perfect read for me right now. I needed a book with hope and this was it. Hello Stranger is one of those fun, easy books that you just can’t put down. The main character, Sadie, is quirky and likable, and the plot is interesting, even if it was a little predictable at times. It made me laugh out loud, smile as I rooted for Sadie, and see things from a whole new perspective.

Sadie, a struggling artist, was finally getting her big break - a chance to win $10,000 in a portrait competition. The only problem is Sadie can no longer see faces, due to swelling in her brain from an unexpected surgery. How can you paint portraits without seeing the faces?! The book takes us on Sadie’s journey to overcome her challenges and redefine who she is and what matters the most. And of course, she finds love along the way.

The only thing I didn’t love was the evil stepsister. She was unnecessarily cruel, and I don’t think her character added to the storyline. By the end of the book, I had forgotten about her.

Ultimately, everyone loves a happily ever after, and this one was perfect to me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for my honest review.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
Publishing Date - July 11th 2023
Rating (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc. Loved it! I always enjoy a Katherine Center read. All of her books are feel-good reads! Highly recommend this one when it releases in July.

Wow this book was really interesting! I’d never heard of prosopagnosia before now, and it seems like a terrifying diagnosis and circumstance, so I’d be lying if I said much of this book didn’t have me cringing and eeking and forgetting that it was a romance because so much of it was SAD!

To be honest I struggle a bit with rating it and prob lean towards a 3.5 - 4 stars because of how much more I enjoyed the Bodyguard by Katherine Center, more than this book. I really felt so sidetracked by her sad life circumstances with her family, the diagnosis, and honestly the sort of crummy BFF Sue was in my opinion. I did enjoy the romance but it was kind of a twist on the misunderstanding trope which isn’t a trope I adore, so really the book had a lot stacked against it for me unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for the ARC copy to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Katherine Center has done it again. I honestly don’t think there is book of hers I dislike. Hello Stranger is definitely worth the read!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

2.5⭐️
I was so excited to read Katherine Center’s newest book with the CUTEST cover after absolutely loving The Bodyguard. Unfortunately, this book fell a bit flat. I wasn’t very interested in it and it just felt a little weird and all over the place.

I will say that the plot was very creative. The MC, Sadie, can no longer see people’s faces after having surgery- so crazy! And she is a portrait artist😮 Sadie’s family was terrible and I thought it was too unbelievable how their story left off. I don’t think I have EVER hated a character in a book the way I hated Sadie’s stepsister, Parker.

There were some sweet parts between Sadie&Joe (I really liked Joe!) and I laughed a bunch of times but overall just not the book for me.