Katherine Center's latest novel is a heartwarming and emotional read. The characters are cute and relatable, and the author's writing style is engaging and easy to follow. The story follows the journey of Sadie Montgomery, a struggling artist who is dealing with the aftermath of a surgery that left her with face blindness. The plot is compelling and the themes of love, friendship and perseverance are woven in seamlessly. The book is a great read for anyone who is looking for a feel-good story that will leave them feeling uplifted and inspired. I highly recommend this book and Katherine Center as one of my favorite authors.

I'm so bummed to be writing a negative review of a book that I was thrilled to receive an ARC of (I even gasped when I saw it was available). After loving Center's The Bodyguard last year, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Hello Stranger, but it left me frustrated and rolling my eyes by the end rather than wanting more.

Center is great at writing unexpected romance stories. In Hello Stranger, Sadie has necessary brain surgery that leaves her with temporary (hopefully) face blindness while her brain heals. The problem is that she's also a portrait artist about to participate in an important competition, made nearly impossible by her inability to process faces.

This was all interesting to me, though I had a personal struggle with the face blindness because I realized it made me feel like everything was fuzzy all the time as I was sort of imagining this story playing out in my head. That felt more like a me problem than the book's problem, though, so I didn't mind it much.

Quickly, though, I found a lot of this story very grating. Sadie has this capital-T Terrible family that I found pretty ridiculous. Her best friend is also a little obnoxious in that she keeps doing things Sadie doesn't like but it's written off. Then Sadie has these competing love interests: a vet who she acts like she has a deep, emotional connection with even though they've only met a couple times while he was treating her dog and then a guy named Joe who lives in her building and is apparently perfect except she heard him being a major jerk on the phone one time in the elevator.

The dueling romances felt pretty ridiculous and over-the-top to me—Sadie truly spends no time with the vet, so why should we care about him, and why would it be such a big deal when she finds herself more attracted to Joe? It was also pretty obvious to me from the beginning that the two men were in fact one and the same, which all made it more annoying to have to continue plodding along until these dummies figured it out. This only became further annoying when they did figure it out and there was all this explanation of how that seems unbelievable but actually, it totally makes sense! It felt like Center was already defending herself from criticism by saying, "See? Even these characters know this is dumb, but it happened anyway!"

I also found Sadie to be frustrating on her own. She has this family she hates, but when her Evil Stepsister tells her she loves to play the victim, I kind of agreed. Sure, the stepsister was unnecessarily terrible (she bullied another girl so much the girl attempted suicide and then blamed it all on Sadie), but luckily the bullied girl appears OUT OF NOWHERE to be like, "Nope, it was actually Parker (Evil Stepsister), Sadie is perfect." !!!! Full nonsense by the end of this book.

All right, writing this is now making me angry. Suffice it to say that I found this book pretty obnoxious by the end, which mostly just really bummed me out.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
SPICE: 🌶️
REVIEW:
Guys, I’m NOT kidding when I say I read this cover to cover without putting it down once. I just couldn’t stop reading. I needed to know what happened next and I stayed up WAY past this moms bedtime to finish the whole book. 🙈😂

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming- literally. She’s celebrating a big win in her career when she wakes up in the hospital with temporary facial blindness. Her worst nightmare come true. She can’t recognize the people in her life which makes things complicated when she meets not one, but two strangers she finds herself falling for.

An unexpected romance, an evil stepsister, and lots of drama.

Katherine Center blew me away with this book and I cannot wait to purchase it. 💙

After reading the Bodyguard by Katherine Center, and it being one of my favorite reads of last year I was so excited to get a chance to review her latest, "Hello Stranger"

It did not disappoint! Sadie, a super loveable and relatable character, seemed to be on the brink of her big break when a terrible accident occurs leaving her with temporary facial blindness. As she struggles to figure out life and how and where to go to from here she catches the heart of two eligible bachelors. Both of which who seem perfect, minus the fact their faces look like pieces from a mixed up puzzle.

I quickly devoured this one and I LOVED Sadie and Joe. If you love quirky romances and conflict that could've been avoided by a little more conversation by the characters, but still leaves you with all of the feels...this one is for you!

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you #Netgalley!

Big fan of Katherine Center's books and this one did not disappoint! This read had a very unique concept that I had never really thought about or knew much about. The main character, Sadie, experiences a complication after brain surgery where she can no longer see faces of others or herself. She was told it could take a few weeks to ever come back. She must learn to recognize people by how they walk, smell, talk, dress, etc. and it is not as easy as she thought it would be. During this difficult time she was a finalist in an art contest for submitting a portrait, which as you could imagine is difficult in her current state. We watch as Sadie observes her neighbors, her friends, the vet clinic and so many others. So many funny instances and twists that eventually tie all together at the very end.

.4.5

Sadie is a portrait artist on the cusp of her big break when she has an accident, leading to a brain surgery. It was supposed to be a routine operation, but Sadie us left with face blindness—not a great thing for someone who paints faces for a living. While she’s trying to scramble to save her career and care for her ailing senior dog, she starts to fall for two very different men.

This book broadcasts where it is going from the very beginning, but it gets all the passes, because it was too cute. I originally picked it up because of the recommendation of author Emily Henry, forgetting that Katherine Center wrote one of my favorites of 2022 (The Bodyguard), which was apt for the plot of this book. Anyway, I was not let down. If you’re an Emily Henry fan, you’ll probably really enjoy this one as well. I almost feel bad for talking about how much I liked this, as it doesn’t release until July, but it is definitely one for the TBR list.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this advanced copy of the manuscript to review.

I devoured this book in 2 days. Another great story from Katherine Center! This was such a joy to read, & I loved Sadie’s journey. Parker was so frustrating, & I adored Dr. Nicole. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was my first Katherine Center book and it did not disappoint. Unlike ordinary romance novels, the main character, Sadie, struggles with a very rare health problem. This impacts her career, friends, family, and everyday life.

Including a health struggle in a book can be difficult, and Center did an amazing job bringing detail to the situation and showing just how it can affect someone’s mental health and day-to-day life. Not to mention, the descriptions of the charters in this book are off the charts.

This book contained a slow burn, and there are many plot twists throughout that keep it VERY entertaining. While the beginning may seem a bit slow, keep reading, trust me!!

If you are looking for a unique romance that features family struggles, art, self-development, and great characters, I highly recommend Hello Stranger!!

Sadie Montgomery is a highly talented portrait painter, if only the world could recognize her skills. She's had nothing but bad turn after bad turn, and she's been reduced to living in her art studio. Things are about to turn around for Sadie, as she's made it to the final round of a prestigious portrait competition. It's not just any competition - it's the same one that her mom, also a portrait artist, had entered just before she died 14 years ago.

A few weeks before the competition, Sadie is in an accident, and during the ensuing medical treatment, a condition in her brain is discovered. Her dad, a renowned surgeon but not that great of a father, insists that the surgery happen immediately. Sadie gets the brain surgery, but one of the side effects is that she has face blindness - she can't see or recognize faces. For most people this would be a frustrating inconvenience but for a portrait artist it is life-altering. The doctors tell her it's most likely temporary - but that doesn't really solve the problem as the competition is only a few weeks away. What will Sadie do?

As Sadie navigates this terrible reality, her beloved but elderly dog Peanut gets sick. The new veterinarian at the local practice is a hot doc - Dr. Addison. Sparks fly, and he asks her out on a date. At the same time, her hot neighbor Joe seems to be the man-on-the-spot when she needs help in the apartment building. Sadie's evil step-mom Lucinda is coming around more to check on her, and it seems that maybe she's not so evil after all. No, that can't be right! We hate Lucinda.

The face-blindness episode is a topsy-turvy chapter is Sadie's life, but oddly it brings her more clarity than she's had in years. She learns to trust her own skills an artist. She is able to stand up for herself when it comes to her bully of a step-sister Parker, and by extension, her dad and step-mom. It was very satisfying to see her advocate for herself in the climax scene at the art show, even though I felt bad for her that she had to be pushed that far.

What I like:
- Katherine Center - the heroines are always imperfect and I really like that. Here, we have someone whose skills are at the forefront of her personality, much like the heroine in The Bodyguard. We barely hear about her appearance and for a romance I find that very refreshing.
- her bestie, Sue, left during a pivotal time. This seemed like a jerk move at the outset but it really forced Sadie to dig deep and rely on herself. And, it allowed Sue to encourage her, coach her from the sidelines.
- diverse supporting cast
- interesting career path


What I didn't like:
- the metaphor about not being able to 'see' people I felt wasn't fully completed - in particular when Joe/Oliver is talking about how Sadie had seen him around the building for more than a year before they started talking. They didn't resolve that to my satisfaction. I suppose it is implied that we sometimes don't actually 'see' people till we're ready.
- Peanut is a big deal in the first third of the book and we barely hear peep about him the final 2/3. More Peanut!
- it was a bit too on the nose that his ex-wife was going to buy the portrait of his torso.... kind of strange TBH
- the whole Joe/Oliver thing.... honestly I get that we needed that whole thing of mistaken identity to happen so there would be enough tension but it made him seem like a total pushover and kind of a dummy.... like, how does this guy not realize what's going on. How does he not realize that this woman is calling him by the wrong name, and doesn't put two and two together about who he is. I get that men are obtuse but... this felt like a reach.
- While I appreciated that Sadie was able to patch up her relationship with Lucinda, I would have preferred that there was more healing with her dad. That's not to discount what did happen, I just wish that there was more energy with him.
- PARKER. Just PARKER. THE WORST.






Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

One of my early favorites for the year! Katherine Center does it again! Fabulous characters with solid depth, and what a fun story. I so enjoyed Sadie. I would have loved a few more references to her pup. He came in and out but there seemed to be such focus when he was involved, that the gaps felt a little obvious. All in all, I can't wait to see what Ms. Center puts out next.

- Minor note - at least one time Lucinda was referred to as Linda.

I couldn't put this down. Before Hello Stranger I had only read The Bodyguard and now I'm absolutely going to go read Center's entire back catalogue. The book was perfect but even more than that be sure to read the Author's Note at the end. Center perfectly summed up why romance novels are more important than ever in a time like this and beautifully put into words why I keep reaching them for them time and time again.

Katherine Center is an immediate read for me. I’ve read every book she’s written, so my loyalty runs deep. Prior to this book, her stories followed certain patterns. They were all unique, but they had a similar feel. The same rhythm. Hello Stranger is wildly different. The plot was so unique. You know this is going to be a HEA romance, but getting there had me reading almost compulsively.

The two main characters were great. Sadie was so quirky and full of life. I found so many things about her fascinating. And Joe was a MMC cinnamon roll if there ever was one! Some of the side characters were either annoying or fell flat to me, but I loved the two main characters so much that I could overlook the side characters.

The moments with Dr. Nicole were so thought provoking to me. Everything that she said gave me something to really think about long after the book is over.

If you like unique and quirky characters and plots, you’ll like this one. Don’t forget to read the Author’s Note at the end. You’ll be glad you did.

I was provided this eARC by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center is, as always, absolutely lovely. Did I stay up way past my bedtime reading? Of course. Did I have a good cry or two? Definitely. Is the love story perfectly sweet? Absolutely. I normally gripe about closed door romance, but Katherine tells such a compelling and propulsive story that I don't realize the the door was closed until I'm looking back at a finished book.

Hello Stranger …
reading a Katherine Center book is like being enveloped in a cozy blanket, warm comforting and not strange at all.

Meet Sadie, an artist who lost her Mom at a young age and after her father remarried spent her life defending off the evil step sister.

Sadie is a struggling artist but has been invited to exhibit at a prestigious art show. Weeks before she is to create and show her piece she has a bad fall which ends her in the hospital where she is told she has to have brain surgery. A simple routine procedure. Sadie wakes up from surgery and slowly realizes she has developed temporary facial blindness.

Sadie is determined to get through this without sharing her condition and finish her piece to exhibit, not an easy task when you can’t see faces.

We follow Sadie through her trials and tribulations and new relationships she is forging all while learning about the disadvantages Sadie must overcome which opens your eyes to a condition many have probably never thought about.

Center has a way to make you fall in love with many of her characters in her book and each one is developed and written about for a reason. The supporting cast to the lovely, kind Sadie will have you laugh out loud, swoon, smile and generally lift your spirit as you enjoy this fabulous read.

I just devoured this book. I vaguely heard of face blindness before, but it was so interesting to learn about it and read about it from the POV of someone who acquires it. Sadie was such a lovable character. I don’t want to spoil anything but the plot was unique and I found myself trying to anticipate how things would shake out. I also read The Bodyguard by Catherine Center and loved it. I’ll be checking out more of her books.

Omg this book was delicious!
Thank you jet galley. St martins press & Katherine Center for this arc of Hello Stranger.

I seriously feel like this is my favourite book of 2023 so far!

Just a perfect book to get all the feels I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m not going to give a plot overview but when I realized things oh I was so happy.

Just read this book- you won’t be disappointed

Before finishing Hello Stranger, at about the halfway mark, I had already decided that this review would say that this book was predictable - but in a good way. Instead, now that I’ve finished it, I think I’d rather write that Hello Stranger created fantastic anticipation, incredibly well.

Hello Stranger didn’t just invite me into the story, share some thoughts, give me some feelings and send me back into the world, instead it built a home (or hovel) in my heart.

As I read this book, I was SCREAMING (not just internally). I was wide-eyed and wet-eyed more than once. I was puzzled, mad, happy and sad. I was hopeful and doubtful and often left wondering when, why, what, where and how? I had my questions, and I got my answers.

I was so hung-up on the predictability factor of this novel that I got distracted. I was so focused on one aspect of the book that I felt was just a bit too predictable that I forgot about the *details*. The beautiful, messy, wonderful details of the book that had been laid out throughout the story and needed my attention. In Katherine’s incredible way, she brought my attention to each detail, slowly but surely at just the right moment. Things I had forgotten about, things that went undiscussed, things that needed to be reconciled. This care and attention to detail left me shocked, satisfied and so full of hope and joy.

At one point in the novel one character says to another, “You’re very in your head”. And then encourages the character to “dip into (her) heart” instead, insisting that we don’t really live in our heads but rather in our hearts. I started this book very deeply in my head but my heart was so wonderfully welcomed into the story that soon I had left my head behind entirely.

I deeply appreciated the way Katherine Center writes in a way that does not allow the characters to fix, solve, or ignore the complex problems and challenges they are facing. There is no reason or rush to make things magically better, and I deeply appreciate that.

I have read two other books by Katherine Center, The Bodyguard and What You Wish For. I gave both of those books 5 stars and I stand by my rating…BUT THIS BOOK IS FIVE STARS.

Katherine Center, when I fall in love and get married someday, I’m inviting you to my wedding. You continually invite me into a world where love is rooted in wonder, bravery, and vulnerability. I’m so glad. I’m so grateful.

I cannot wait for the world to read this wonderful, challenging, honest book. I think we’ll all be a little kinder, a little more honest with ourselves and others, and a little more hopeful for having read it.

Favorite Quotes:
“I think I’m in love with you, by the way.”
“I’ll be Joe for you, if you want.”
“It didn’t exactly look like Joe, either, to be honest. But it felt like him.”
“I just want so badly to have somebody with me.”

ike all of the other Katherine Center books I’ve read, this was charming and delightful. It was such a unique idea, and although I thought it sounded far fetched when I read the summary, it actually worked really well.

I suspected the ending early on, but I was nevertheless cracking up when it was revealed. The dialogue is great and the characters are fun and charming. You really root for everybody. Well, except Parker. I found that part upsetting and we never got an explanation as to why she is so horrid!

I would have liked a little more insight into Sadie’s childhood with her mom and a bit more about her relationship with her dad. I felt like there was such nuance to what she went through that I would have love to have seen explored.

Overall this is a book about grief, making the best of your circumstances, and finding supportive friends and relationships to help you along life’s ups and downs. It was a wonderful read! Can’t wait for more from KC!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Katherine Center has done it again! Sadie is such a lovable character. I feel like almost everyone will connect with her on some level. I loved her growth throughout the story. Joe was charming and just wonderful. I was sucked into this story and wanted to see the happy ending at the end. It was a beautiful read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh Em Gee this book so so adorable! This light hearted romance is centered around Sadie Montgomery; a starving artist who does portrait work. Things have been rough but she’s excited to catch her big break when she is one of 10 finalists in a national portrait contest. Sadie’s mother died when Sadie was 14 and was also supposed to compete in the same contest. Sadie has been trying to live up to her mom’s memory and live her life as happy as she can.

The same night she finds out she is a finalist Sadie has a seizure in the middle of the street and is rushed to the hospital after a Good Samaritan saves her life. Sadie finds out she has do get a life saving brain surgery and quickly gets it done even with the deadline of the contest quickly approaches. When Sadie wakes from the surgery she is sad to discover she has acquired face blindness. How can Sadie paint a portrait if she can’t see any faces - not even her own?

Sadie is definitely saddened by this and a trying to do her best. She doesn’t have the best support from her father, step mother or step sister, but she has it in her best friend Sue, Sue’s parents and a neighbor she is starting to know - Joe. Joe is always around; his nickname is “Helpful” and never says ‘No’ to any favor or request. Joe is such a fun and interesting character!

Peanut, Sadie’s dog, is super cute and the only face Sadie can see. When Peanut gets sick she takes her to an emergency vet - Dr Oliver Addison and it’s love at first ‘sight’. The doctor is very handsome and so good with Peanut. He seems like a very nice man and is very thoughtful and respectful of Sadie’s time and deadline of her portrait contest work.

Suddenly there are two men in Sadie’s life that offer what she needs; but which one will she get closer to and get to know better? When her senses are all going haywire maybe she can ‘see’ things more clearly than ever.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this digital copy with me for my honest review.