Having just finished Hello Stranger, I’m pondering how to crack the code of what makes Katherine Center’s writing so addictive. Her books are just intensely enjoyable and very difficult not to binge. There are few authors who can keep me up until the book is over, but Center reliably ruins my sleep (in the best way).

Struggling portrait artist Sadie finally has genuine good career news she can use to impress her distant, demanding father (and spite her cruel stepsister and oblivious stepmother). But just as she’s about to launch the most important portrait she’s ever painted, an unexpected illness leaves her unable to recognize faces. Now she must navigate a suddenly unfamiliar world populated with people who hate her and people who might grow to love her – but who’s who?

What Katherine Center does exceedingly well is find an interesting gem of information, in this case prosopagnosia (face blindness), and build a fascinating and deeply thematic book around it. In the process, she asks questions that mine the deepest corners of our hearts: what aspects of the people around us do we truly see, and what parts do we “see” simply because we expect to find them? In a world driven by face-based algorithms, both human and electronic, what information gets de-prioritized, and how can we rediscover it? How can we forgive people who didn’t see our truth, especially when it seems like they didn’t try too hard to look for it?

In summary, a recommended read for fans of books that land at the corner of women’s fiction and romance, with a deeply character-driven flavour and hooky, witty, emotional prose.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

this was such a cathartic reading experience. i can't articulate what the book did to me exactly but just know each page was worth it. i went in with one thing and left with a handful.

the premise of this story underlies sadie's turmoil with herself and her career. after a minor brain surgery she develops prosopagnosia aka face blindness, and throughout the story we see her cope with this inconvenience and mourn the loss of what once was.

i know i made it sound melancholic but it's katherine center so you best believe you'll close this book with a smile.

thank you to netgalley for kindly providing me and so many others with an arc!! everyone else: go preorder :)

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
Have read other books by this author and know she researches the background material.
Enjoy this read as it starts out when she's trying to prove herself to her father, yes she can succeed as an artist.
She accepts the bag of celebratory items as she heads home but is struck down in the crosswalk and wakes up in the hospital.
The surgeon is discussing her brain surgery... She has found some side effects after surgery, she can't see human faces, at least she can see her pet's face.
How will she ever be able to paint a portrait NOT being able to see the posers face....so many more obstacles. Love how the past comes to the future and things get worked out so they know who the culprit was all along.
Amazing thing for me was finding out this a real issue with brain surgery...Not being able to see much the first thing i notice in a person is their head. i can't make out the finer details but also the other senses kick in for me to recognize who's at the door.
some tell me who they are cause they know my lack of vision totally.
Great story and super amazing how it all comes to an end and how she justifies who are who.
Look forward to more works from thsi author, so descriptive I can see the scenes in my minds eyes.
Received this review copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Have you ever thought about the fact that our lives can jolt directions in one single instant? Changed by one single moment?
Sadie Montgomery is an artist that finally catches her ‘big break’. Unexpected events unfold after getting chosen for her ‘big break’ like: surgery, coffee shop misunderstandings, urgent puppy problems & more. These events aren’t exactly what she had in mind, but they all assist in weaving together parts of life that truly matter. A very innocent, closed door romance that I found absolutely engrossing.

A couple of my favorite quotes:
“It takes a certain kind of courage to be brave in love.”
“Pause from the hustle more often and just take it all in”

I also fell in love with everything Katherine Center had to say in the authors note. She writes about her first romance that she read around age 40 & how it showed her that people read love stories for many reasons & not the stereotypical: ‘because they’re predictable’. She goes to say readers fall in love and swoon because love itself is “nourishing” & reading love stories helps fill out minds with the good in the world. They take our mind off the harder parts of life and although the stories very much end up happy (most of the time), they’re filled with “anticipation” not predictability.
I deeply connected with Katherine’s thoughts 💭

Thank you for writing this story & for keeping us ‘swooners’ occupied!

BRB while I go add all of Katherine Center’s books to my TBR list. This was my first book by the author and it gets 5 stars from me! I could not put this book down, I even had to reschedule some husband time so I could finish the book first.

Sadie is a portrait artist. She is about to get her big break when a brain surgery leaves her unable to see faces. The doctors say it’s temporary, but will it get better in time for her to finish her piece for the highly competitive art show? Along the way there’s a romance (or maybe two) developing. The storyline is also intertwined with family and friend drama and leaves you asking what does family really mean. This definitely is a feel good book that tugs at your heart strings. I thoroughly enjoyed this read!


Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely fell in love with this book!!! I loved that Sadie was so beautifully described and we got to really feel her pain and then you get to the love interest and it all just comes together so beautifully !!!

If I could rate this with a thousand stars I would. I've read a few of Katherine's books before my favorite being, How To Walk Away, but wow!!! This one takes the cake, the ice cream, and the milk! It took me a couple days to read it Because work kept getting in the way but I finished it tonight, and stayed up all night! Bout to go to bed before working in the morning. Did I mention I killed my phone, it's at 4%. Nothing was going to stop me from finishing this book tonight. What a total twist and shock at the end like wow! I wouldn't have predicted that in a million years. I figured he overheard the convo somehow and thatis how he ghosted her, I guess in a way he did! Definitely recommend!! Thanks, NetGalley for the book!

Wow. I am left with nothing but a smile and joy. I have enjoyed every one of Katherine Center’s books that I have read to date but Hello, Stranger, took the cake! It is a touching story of Sadie, a starving artist type, with family drama for days, and her journey of overcoming struggles (emotional, physical and mental) all while finding the love of her life. Sometimes one is their biggest enemy and fan all the same time and finding the good is the only leg your have to stand on.

I also must gush on the cover art. All of Katherine Center’s books have beautiful covers but as a Houstonian, I cannot help but love the Houston skyline so beautifully displayed behind the stunning florals and characters.

I highly recommend adding this book to your list and reading as soon as possible.

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital advanced release copy in trade for an honest fair review.

I really loved Hello Stranger. What I enjoyed most was that the story was not your typical romcom. The majority of the first half of the book was really focused on the FMC. Sadie has faced so many incredible hardships and is trying to find her way through another huge setback. You get to know Sadie so well and really feel her pain. The love interest part doesn’t fully come into play until later in the story. I found this to be unique and make me feel so connected to Sadie.

Hello Stranger deals with personal growth and challenges, loss, difficult family dynamics, and coping with sudden changes in life. It is really a beautiful story and also has some twists and turns that I never would have guessed.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

This story follows a woman named Sadie. She has an accident and has to have brain surgery. She soon finds out she has acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia because of said surgery. It means she can’t really see faces. Anyways, she meets a vet that she starts liking but he “stands her up”, and so she started having feelings for a guy in her apartment complex named Joe. Long story short, she tells the vet that she just wants a patient/doctor relationship and that she likes someone else. She then goes to tell Joe she likes him but he ignores her and gives her the cold shoulder. She leaves him a voicemail explaining her brain trauma and then runs into him at a get together and he apologizes for how he acted. Then they get to the bottom of things and it turns out Joe is the vet and that Joe isn’t even his real name. There’s more to the story but that’s pretty much what I got out of it.

I wanted to like this book like really wanted too but it just fell flat for me. I don’t feel like the plot was executed in a good way. The romance wasn’t really there in my opinion and the book just felt rushed the whole time. It has potential but to me it didn’t meet the expectation that I wanted it too.

I’m very grateful for the chance to read and review it. 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

Wow, this book phenomenal! I cried through half of it. But it left me so incredibly happy with the ending.

I was completely hooked from the first chapter. My heart was breaking for Sadie. I thought she was a completely relatable and loveable character. I've never heard of her medical issue, but I loved learning about it. It makes you really think about how much you take.

I highly recommend this book. This is the second book I've read by this author and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more.

Spoilers:

I did have a thought about halfway through: wouldn't it be interesting if the vet and Joe were the same person? But then I dismissed that theory. I was delighted to find out they were!

From the very start of this book, you are rooting for Sadie to succeed. I love that right from the jump, you know who is good and who is bad, who you like and who you don’t like. I also love that perceptions of people change throughout the book, much like life itself.
Great book and a very fun read!

Delightful book. The pacing and tension in the back third of the book was well done. The face blindness story line was new and engaged me to think about something I would otherwise never consider. I figured out the twist very early and I wasn't sure if that was by design or too thinly veiled clues, but either way it was fun to watch the main character stumble around with anticipation for when it would get sorted. Once I got 40% I knew I'd stay up the rest of the night to complete the book. Highly readable.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Katherine Center and Netgalley for the ARC.

I haven’t always enjoyed Katherine Center books as usually I find them quite cheesy. I did really like The Bodyguard so thought I’d give this one a try. However, it was back to super cheesy. The plot was kind of fun, with the facial blindness plot line, but other than that, it was ultra cheese and over the top. The family drama was a lot and then resolved super quickly, and oh man… the “romance”. The whole twist at the end was so ridiculous. I also really did not like the way Sadie was written, she was super annoying and lame.

Overall, it was cute, I read through it quickly but it wasn’t really a book that will stick with me, Hello Stranger releases in July 2023, so look for it on shelves then!

I flew through this book. It had all the feelings and I could not put it down. This is the third book I've read from this author and while I enjoyed the others, this one was my favorite.
Sadie is loveable with a bit of a Cinderella vibe and I just wanted things to work out for her.
The book was funny, sad, bittersweet, and totally frustrating at times. If you've read and enjoyed anything else from Katherine Center, this one will not let you down.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me. I’ve enjoyed all her previous books as they leave me feeling hopeful about life in the face of tragedy. This book was no different.

We follow the tribulations of Sadie Montgomery, a young woman who is saved from almost getting hit by a bus and then she finds out she needs brain surgery. The surgery goes well, but she is left with a condition called prosopagnosia (also known as face blindness or facial agnosia) and it is a neurological disorder characterized by the inability to recognize faces.

I like how Center portrays her characters. They are realistic, flawed, and often quirky characters that I can’t help but love. It’s also a bonus when a dog is added. I’m a dog lover and Sadie’s dog was an awesome addition.

The one thing that I didn’t like was the evil stepsister and stepmother storyline. However, on a positive note, I really liked her love interest Joe. There was a whole miscommunication trope, but he was so patient with Sadie.

In my opinion, how face blindness was described within the story was well done and it’s obvious that a lot of research was completed. The author’s acknowledgement at the end provides the website FaceBlind.org for additional learning. As a health care provider, I am intrigued and wanting to learn more. I haven’t read a book with a fictional character with this condition before.

While this isn’t my favourite book by Center, I would absolutely recommend reading it. Hello Stranger comes out on July 11, 2023.

first i would like to thank st. martin's press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

i really enjoyed this one!

like i was a little nervous because i have heard so many good things about center's writing from her past novels but i was not disappointed at all!

it was really refreshing to read this one because it wasn't anything i had read before. i found the facial blindness aspect of the plot to be really interesting. and i absolutely adored sadie and joe as characters.

i did find some of the plot to be a little predictable but it didn't damper my experience reading.

4.5/5 and i would easily recommend to for an easy feel good read!

This book kept me hooked from the very first page!

Hello Stranger follows Sadie, who goes face blind after emergency brain surgery and has to navigate a new romantic relationship, family, and professional challenges (she's a professional portrait artist). I appreciate the author's unique take on the miscommunication troupe. The writing was crisp and enjoyable.

I did find some "twists" predictable and thought that the amount of miscommunication between the two main characters (though rooted in an uncommon explanation) was extreme. But over all, I was so excited to keep coming back to this one and recommend for anyone who loves romance!

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors who I can always count on for a fun book. What I appreciated the most in this one was that it was definitely happy, chipper, breezy, and positive. I also thought that the main character struggling with acquired face blindness after an accident was creative and allowed some deeper themes to be addressed, namely vulnerability.

That being said, this was probably my least favorite book of hers. It was, first of all, that darn chipperness and whimsy of the main character. The starving artist cliché here just made her look flighty and immature. The character development felt forced and in some cases (Parker, in particular) more like a flat caricature. Some of the conflict resolution within the family was very sudden and therefore not believable.

Sometimes you just need a cute & cozy read, and this one delivered!

It was full of unexpected events, sparks, and so many laugh out loud moments! The main character Sadie was strong, complex, & quirky- and her relationships were no different! She even has a sweet pup named Peanut, and he's an adorable foodie.

I found myself excitedly trying to predict what was going to happen, and trying to stop myself from speed reading to find out. Many times I went back & re-read previous scenes, looking for clues that might help me.

In short, I couldn't put it down!! Definitely add this to your TBR and snag yourself a copy!

[Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.]