Summary - Sadie Montgomery is a struggling artist who has an almost nonexistent relationship with her father. After becoming a top 10 finalist in an art contest she finally could have her big break. That is until she has an accident that leaves her needing brain surgery and subsequently acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia (Face Blindness). Not a great thing to have when you are an artist in the middle of the most important contest of your life. On top of it all her beloved dog Peanut gets sick, thankfully emergency veterinarian Dr. Oliver Addison is there to save the day. It's a major bonus that he is quite charming and has great facial features (even though she can't see him.) Sadie is head over heels, but she has some challenges ahead with her big contest right around the corner. Fortunately for her so is her neighbor “Joe” who is always there to lend her a helping hand. With 2 men in her life, the contest rapidly approaching, and her facial blindness not improving what will she do?


Pros- Super cute quick read. Unique to other books out there right now


Cons- I did not like that even after Sadie has a real heart to heart with her dad she is still treated her lesser than her stepsister. Plot was a bit predictable


Trope- Forced Proximity (live in the same apartment building), Love Triangle


TW- Bullying, Mention of suicide and overdose


Spice level – 0



ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for honest review.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Anything Katherine Center is a “can’t wait to get my hands on, must read.”

And of course, Hello Stranger was no different.

Sadie, a literal starving portriat artist catches her big break in being picked as a finalist for a portriat competition. The catch: she undergoes brain surgery that gives her (hopefully temporary) face blindness. How does one paint portriats without facial recognition?!?

Throw in some family drama, the power of grief, and falling in love without ever seeing the guy’s face as a face.

So much story packed into this novel and I adored every second of it.

For the last 25 percent of the book, I was on the edge of my seat or crying.

I want to live inside Center’s head, she outdoes herself every time.

“Our thoughts create our emotions. So if you fixate on your worst-case scenario, you’ll make things harder on yourself.”

“Practice the art of self-encouragement.”

I absolutely adored this book and the characters in it. Especially Sadie Montgomery, I adored her. She is such a like able person. Within this story we go through the many trials and tribulations she has to endure, and through it all she is still such a nice person to anyone she comes in contact with. I loved how different this story was from any I’ve been reading lately. My favorite book by Katherine Center to date.

Thank you NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin’s Press for my eArc! You guys check this book out the release date is July 11, 2023.

You know the phrase “Nowhere to go but up?” That seems like it ought to apply to Sadie, except the blows keep coming. Somehow she doesn’t turn into a blubbering mess. I think I would have needed to crying time. A drink. A hug. SOMETHING.

Sadie seems to roll with the punches though, as she should after growing up with her family. Her best friend is a sweetie. She has a possible love triangle, although one leg of that triangle seems sort of “iffy”. The other part of that triangle is Joe, who seems to be a ladies man while also seeming wonderful, but is that possible? Then she still has this brain issue mucking up her vision, and how is this going to affect her entire life?

In supreme Katherine Center style, finding out the answer to how it changes Sadie’s life is a great story and a terrific read.

Couldn’t put it down, finished in one day. Such a great romance with a subject that I didn’t know much about but was fascinated to learn. Love, love, love this book

4.5 stars

Sadie Montgomery was a portrait artist who recently found out she was a finalist for the North American Portrait Society's competition. Winning the prize money would be wonderful, but maybe winning would get her family, especially her father, to see her career in a different light. Sadie was crossing the street near her apartment when she found herself waking up in the hospital. She had what the doctors called a non-convulsive seizure. A good samaritan pushed her out of the crosswalk in order to save her from getting hit by traffic. An MRI revealed she had a weakened blood vessel in her brain that warranted surgery. The doctors, including her father, wanted her to get the surgery ASAP. Sadie wanted to wait six weeks until after her competition portrait was completed, but they convinced her to get the surgery first. The surgery was successful in treating the vessel, but it left her with the inability to see faces.

I loved Sadie's character so much. I wanted everything wonderful for her including having her family acknowledge and apologize for the wrongs they blamed on her. Sadie's best friend, Sue, and her parents were loving and supportive of Sadie and her life choices. Sadie developed a crush on two guys during the story. It was fun to watch those two romances play out. The ending was very sweet and what I wanted to happen. Tears of happiness may have been shed. I cannot imagine the difficulty of navigating life not initially knowing whom you were talking to and being unsure if you were supposed to know them. Katherine Center writes sweet stories I love to read. I am so happy I read this one.

I received an e-ARC for Hello Stranger and want to thank Katherine Center, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to voluntarily read and give an honest review of this book.

Hello Stranger is set to be released July 11, 2023.

Katherine Center can do no wrong!!! I’ve always been a fan of her writing and this new novel is no exception!!! A fun, smart, and funny read with impressive depth. The characters were all incredibly well developed and I was easily able to form bonds and attachments to each of them! I couldn’t put this one down!! Bravo!

Such an enjoyable book that had the perfect balance of lighthearted and silly romance, while also dealing with the heavy seriousness of grief, self identity, and daily relationships with people we know and those we don’t.

My favourites parts of the book were definitely Sadie’s humour and her personality, she was just so likeable and it was so easy to root for her, even when you could tell she messed up. I adored her chemistry with Joe/Oliver (lol) and found both dynamics so wonderful to read.

I really loved this book. I had a feeling I knew how things described in the blurb would ultimately work themselves out, but the journey to get there was so lovely, heartbreaking, hopeful, and endearing. To borrow some phrasing from the Author’s Note at the end of this novel, there was “fantastic anticipation” leading to the resolution. (Please take time to read the note—it’s wonderful.)

Sadie has not had an easy life in general, and to end up face blind following a surgery when she’s trying to make a living as a portrait artist is a massive blow. The whole concept was such a unique plot to me and fascinating in general. It’s clear that Katherine Center did an extensive amount of research on the condition to do her best at writing an authentic experience. Sadie is a fighter, but in a realistic way, where sometimes she’s exhausted and needs to stop fighting for a minute. I think it’s such a great message woven in that that’s ok. Sometimes we need to stop, or let someone help, and we’re all doing the best we can.

The romance was really more of a secondary storyline to Sadie’s journey for me, but as it grew, it became an important part of helping her find her way to accepting and adjusting to her circumstances. One thread gave her something hopeful to latch onto, even if it was mostly fantasy to begin with, and the other gave her support and understanding.

Katherine Center is quickly becoming one of my favorites for a unique, soft, and comforting romance read.

I was so excited to see that Katherine Center had a new book coming out and I'm so thankful that I got to read an ARC of it!

I had never read or heard anything about facial blindness before so I was very curious to learn about this condition, and what better way to learn about something than from a romance novel? The MC is a portrait artist and now has facial blindness, what could happen?? I loved following Sadie's journey to finding herself again during this unbearably challenging time in her life. Figuring out how to do daily tasks but also how to continue in her career.

Sadie and her friendship with Sue (loved their vibes through all the calls and texts) and her unlikely friendship with her neighbor Joe were so fun to read about. Honestly this book as a whole was a hoot.

Thanks netgalley for the ARC, it really made my day!

Hello Stranger is so much fun, I couldn’t put it down! I really enjoyed the unique premise, and the characters were delightful. The ‘Big Misunderstanding’ is a big enough plot point that the author even tongue in cheek references it in the text, so fair warning if that’s a distracting element for you. Overall however, the author does a fantastic job of wrapping you up in the story and giving you characters that you really root for. Her research into the medical aspects of the book was very thoroughly done and it shows!

I loved this book! A perfect story filled with sunshine and hope. All the sweetness without the spice, which is exactly what I needed. I know you’ll love being immersed in Sadie’s world just as much as I did!

So, Katherine Center has become one of my favorite romance authors in the past years, with the bodyguard being a particular favorite of mine. When I saw she was publishing a new book, I obviously had to request it and immediately got an arc to review (yay me!).
Was this my favorite? No. Was it funny, original and did I have a great time reading it? Yes!!!

I’m trying out a more systemized review system (especially for arcs), so here we go:

**Plot:** This book follows our girl Sadie, who’s a portrait artist and - in typical Katherine Center style - has been diagnosed with a condition that requires surgery. Unfortunately, this surgery leaves her unable to recognize faces. So now, we have a portrait artist who can’t see faces and has been selected to the final stage of an art competition taking place 6 weeks later - intriguing, right?

**Characters:** I loved the main character, Sadie. She is unhinged and we are here for it. I loved Peanut, her dog, hope he lives a long live. The relationship with her dad and her stepmother was so interesting and I loved getting to know more about it. Her best friend, Sue, was so cool, but I was sad we didn’t get to see more of her. When it comes to the boys, though, I really can’t say much without spoiling it. **Parker is a bitch.**

**Romance:** So, this book is a bit of a love triangle, but with a twist that makes it so unique, I couldn’t hate it. I did see it coming, when I was around half way through the book, and let me tell you. I LAUGHED. OUT LOUD. FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES. Just read it, okay????

**Writing:** This book is written in first person perspective, so throughout the story, we only get access to Sadie’s thoughts and actions. I loved it and I think it was the perfect writing style for this book.

**Pacing:** Kinda slow in the middle, but nothing too bothersome.

**Themes:** Loved getting to know more about prosopagnosia. It also dealt with grieve, bullying and complicated family relationships, but without it being too heavy.

**Recommendation:** Pick it up when it comes out. It’s light, fun and original. Let me just drop a quote to try to convince you: “Being kidnapped to Canada is every girl’s dream.”

**Rating:** ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I voluntary read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me this arc via Netgalley.

Absolutely fantastic! The definition of the perfect romcom and officially up there with Happiness for Beginners as my favorite KC book. KC brings her typical wit and humor with heavier themes that are uplifting rather than depressing. I don’t remember the last time a book made me laugh so hard! And it was such an easy read, I finished it in one sitting. That third act conflict was hilarious and even though the twist was obvious, it didn’t takeaway from the enjoyment for me. I’ll admit that I didn’t love The Bodyguard but after reading this and a few off her backlist, KC is an auto-buy author for me and I’ll be recommending this to any reader looking for a feel-good romance.

🎨 BOOK / REVIEW 🎨

In true @katherinecenter fashion, #hellostranger captured my ENTIRE HEART. Man, I had no idea I needed this book as badly as I did (I have been on #thriller binge for the past few months) and this was a breath of fresh air. Ps ... if you use @netgalley, this gem is currently #READNOW - run to grab it❤️

You will literally LAUGH OUT OLD during this entire story. The characters are the absolute #chefskiss - I think Sue may have taken the cake for me, but I would gladly add any of these people to my inner circle.

And while this is a funny and romantic book, it did touch on a serious condition called cavernoma, which I had never heard of before this book.

Giving this one all the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - this one publishes July, 2023. Thanks for my copy @stmartinspress!

I absolutely devoured this book. It was my first book by this author and I will be backtracking to read her other ones! I thought the concept of this was fascinating and truly enjoyed reading it. It was nice to see the character's growth throughout the book. I'm giving it 4 solid stars because I do feel like there were a few parts that were a little too slow.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy by NetGally for an honest opinion.

This book confirmed one thing (that didn't need much confirmation), I love Katherine Center and I hope she never stops writing quirky books that make me cry and laugh and want to be her friend.

Let's start with the cover: OBSESSED. And everything on the cover ties in so perfectly to the story!

Katherine has a way of weaving deep tragedy with a lightness that makes you feel like hope is always on the horizon. I love that her books never shy away from the hard topics of life, but that she faces them so ferociously.

I'm not going to give any spoilers, but I will say she really had me going with this one and wondering how I was going to end up satisfied with a conclusion. I was surprised and satisfied in a way I did not expect to be.

This is one you're not going to want to miss! It comes out on July 11th, so place those pre-orders now!

Thank you so much to St, Martin's Press for the gifted ARC.

4.5 Stars

This book has such a unique concept and was such a charming read. Despite the plot being a bit predictable, I enjoyed every minute of it.

The characters felt well developed and easy to connect with, I couldn’t help but root for them throughout the story. I also enjoyed learning about prosopagnosia (face blindness), a condition I knew very little about before reading this book.

This is my first time reading a Katherine Center book and I will be adding more to my TBR immediately. (I even loved her author’s note at the end about romance books and why we love them)

Lastly, thank you to NetGalley & St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I will always love whatever Katherine Center writes. Her books are the perfect mix of comedy and romance. This book was no different. I have read books on Face Blindness before, but the way Hello Stranger was written was so different from what I’ve read in the past. I loved Katherine Center’s take on it. Parker was an evil witch of a character, but her character development was fantastic.

I absolutely loved this book! Katherine Center has done it again. I read this book in about two sittings because I simply could not put it down, I fell in love with the characters and thought they were perfectly developed and I loved the witty banter and interaction between them. I will be recommending this book, just like I do all Center's others, to everyone I know!