Thank you @NetGalley for the ARC of @katherinecenter ‘s Hello Stranger. This book was fantastically written. I rooted so hard for Sadie, and thoroughly enjoyed this emotional and heartwarming book! Another 5 🌟read from one of my favorite authors, I devoured it in 1 day.

What a fantastic romcom. Katherine Center does no wrong and I’ll forever be a reader of hers. I absolutely adored Sadie and would read many more books if she was in them. Such a relatable and thoughtful main character! I’d recommend this book to every single person who loves a romance. All of them. It’s simply a great, happy, heartwarming read.

I loved this book! Sadie is an artist who has brain surgery and then gets a type of amnesia where she can't see faces. This totally sucks for her because she's a portrait artist. She then meets 2 guys who she's very interested in... or so she thinks!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Bahhhh! So.. did this story have some cheeseball moments, a few cliches & a lil bit of “I can already see what’s coming”? Absolutely!
But I love you K Center & I wish you’d be my got damn friend already🥴😂
Rocky, heartwarming, feel-good, coincidental, frustrating as hell & gahh, I loved it every second!
4 solid ⭐️! I will always, always read Center’s work.
Huge thanks to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!🙌🏼

"Hello Stranger" by Katherine Center is pure PERFECTION!! Sadie is an Artist who has her life turned upside down by an accident and she suddenly sees life differently. She has to face her past grieve, while trying to navigate through her current situation. With the help from her best friend Sue, a helpful neighbor Joe, and a hot vet Oliver, and a not so evil stepmom, Sadie learns its ok to need/accept help from others. When Sadie's world does not look like how she is used to. Sadie realizes that maybe she never really "saw" before and with a different view things became more confusing while also becoming a bit more clearer! This book is full of Heart, Love, Acceptance. Courage, Forgiveness and little Misunderstanding!!

🌟 THANK YOU to the Publisher, Author and Netgalley for the ebook in exchange for an Honest review!!

#HelloStranger
#Netgalley

I was so excited upon receiving this book, and it was everything I hoped for and more! A romantic tale with a side of medical drama, touching and delightful at the same time.

This book was soooo fun! Found out I was lucky enough to snag an early copy and did nothing but sit and read for the next 4 hours!

Katherine once again, made me fall in love with the characters and while I suspected the “twist” it was so much fun to have unfold! I’m always left wanting more from her characters and the same rings true with this book. Such a delight and will be adored by many to come when this book hits shelves in July!

From the very beginning of the story the connection to Sadie is easy and a sense of who she is comes through in such a likable way. I was drawn to the storyline of Sadie and her dad as well as how much she loved and was similar to her mom. I wanted to eat Pad Thai with Peanut and was thrilled he lived to see the happy ending.

Katherine Center did it again, this time with "Hello Stranger," an unforgettable story of a woman who forgets faces.

Sadie, an aspiring artist is living out of her studio after a bad breakup. There with her dog Peanut she is trying to figure out how to get out of the studio and make her mark in the art world. She is poised to enter a prestigious portrait competition when she finds out she urgently needs brain surgery. When Sadie wakes up from surgery- all seems fine until she realizes she can't see or recognize faces anymore. Family, friends, the barista at the coffee shop- she can't recognize any of them from their faces. Sadie learns to use social cues, and relies on voices to help her navigate life as she recovers. What she can't figure out how to do is how to recreate faces for her submission to the portrait competition. Among all of this- her dog gets sick and she fears losing the one thing she can recognize.

I think every time I review a Katherine Center book, I emphasize the strength of character development in her stories. Center's writing makes the story come alive and flow. She connects you to the characters so there is an emotional investment in what happens next. "Hello Stranger," is about relationships with yourself, the people around you- those you've known forever and just met and how to overcome adversity in difficult situations. When this one comes out in the summer, I highly recommend you put it in your beach bag, carry-on, or add it to your e-reader!

Thank you, as always to @Netgalley St. Martin's Publishing Group and Katherine Center for allowing me to read and review early, always an honor!

I love Katherine Center’s books, so I was really excited to get to read this one. Hello Stranger is incredible! I absolutely loved it.

I can’t even imagine having to go through Sadie’s journey. To first find out that you need brain surgery, then you wake up and can’t see faces - I think I’d just find a hole to crawl into. That’s not what Sadie does, however. She finds the strength to power through it, and I admire her so much for that.

The romance aspect was really cute. I really liked “Joe,” he’s a great guy. The twist was great, although predictable (which isn’t a bad thing at all!)

There is also a lot of family drama in the book, which I always love. I think it adds an extra layer of depth to the book. I loved Parker and all of her pranks, even though they were awful.

This might be my favorite book of Katherine Center’s so far. I’ve never read a book centered around face blindness, and it made it so interesting. I definitely recommend it!

This was a great book! This one tugged on my heart strings. Definitely recommending to friends! Thanks Net Galley!

When I start a new Katherine Center book I know to turn off my phone, cancel appts, find a comfy spot and just read. I say this every time but this is my new favorite. Katherine creates characters that are nuanced, real, and fascinating.
Sadie’s life is already complicated. Still trying to gain respect from her father, she’s lost her apartment and boyfriend. Her beloved dog is getting too old and she’s been accepted in a prestigious portrait art competition where she must have a portrait ready in six weeks, but now finds out she must have life threatening brain surgery. While at first surgery seems to be a success Sadie soon discovers she can no longer see faces and has face blindness. Not great in the best of times but for a portrait artist who has to paint one in six weeks, catastrophic, and her best friend doesn’t get it.
When she meets the new handsome vet who saves her dog she decides here is some good news, he’ll be her future, and he’s nothing like the creepy neighbor in her building she keeps bumping into.
Center has done extensive research into portrait painting and face blindness, presenting her facts in an interesting layman way. You can tell she loves research.
Her romances are always a cut above the ordinary with unusual plots, wonderful characters, and a joy to her writing that always comes through. This is a wonderful romance book I can easily start reading a second time.

This was such a fun twist on the “amnesia” novel. The main character loses her ability to recognize faces, which is sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad, but utterly fascinating. I appreciate learning more about facial fusiform gyrus, but also appreciated it being as part of a fun romance. Would recommend!

I liked this book. I really liked this book. If I could give it more than a five rating, I would give it a ten. It is an excellent romantic book of intrigue. The subject matter is not one I have read much about, but this talented and gifted author has permitted me to understand it. The protagonist has brain surgery, and her life is changed...she cannot recognize faces of those she knows. It is difficult, to say the least, because she is an artist. Add to her tragedy a dysfunctional family with a stepsister and stepmother who are, to say the least, less than nice to her. We read about her romantic life, or the lack thereof. And to top it off, this author gives us an ending that is so surprising I am still wondering if what I read was truly what I read. Center is a fantastic author who does not disappoint the reader. We are left wanting more of her stories. Curl up in a comfy chair with a warm afghan, a cup of steaming herbal tea, and be transported, for an afternoon, into the world of these characters. This book was sent to me by Netgally electronically for review. Thanks to the publisher and the author for this copy.

I will forever read anything Katherine center reads. She’s the best!!! This one was a cool concept and I flew through it!!! I don’t think it’s my favorite by her but parts were so cute

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is an addictive & engrossing read.

I know when I'm about to open a Katherine Center story up, I'm in for an all nighter because once I start a book of her's.... There is no way I'm going to be able to stop.
And that was the case here with her newest novel!

Hello Stranger is a well written novel about Sadie who is a struggling artist. Who under goes surgery that leaves her with facial blindness. When her dog Peanut gets sicks she rushes him to the vet and meets veterinarian Dr. Addison. When the doctor asked her out on a date she has mixed feelings because she doesn't want anyone to know about face blindness.
Especially her Joe, her somewhat annoying neighbor. Soon they start to develop a friendship but Sadie can't help but wonder could this turn inu something more?
Trying to salvage her career, brave her haunting past, and figure out if she is having feeling's for two different guys at the same time, she soon realizes that happiness can be found when you least expect it.

This is her best one yet! Well it's at least my favorite! And she is always going to be an automatic must-read author for me.
I thought HS was a sweet and super fun romance.
It was everything I would expect out of her stories, sweet, fulfilling and most of all emotional.
I love how she focuses on realistic issues. Real characters dealing with real issues and raw feelings.
This book really got me in my feelings. It had me tearing up and laughing while devouring the pages.
I enjoyed the romance, family drama and the unforgettable characters.
A fun, light and entertaining read with strong characters to boot, what more could I ask for? This was the perfect rom-com and I loved it tremendously.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

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

Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me so I was thrilled to get an ARC of her upcoming book!
Hello Stranger has a unique premise. Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist whose worst fear is realized when she develops face blindness after a surgery. Face blindness is fascinating- she can see but her brain doesn't put the pieces together in a way that makes sense like it has her whole life, so her world becomes very confusing.
I enjoyed this one but it didn't beat out my 2 favorite of Center's books (Happiness for Beginners and Things You Save in a Fire). If you love Center's other books I think you'll still enjoy this one. It has the same positive outlook and feel good vibes that her other books have!

What a wonderful delicious read this book is! Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who suffers a non convulsive seizure as a result of a cavernoma which leaves her incapable of seeing faces. So begins an unconventional romance novel filled with surprising contradictions and a great lesson in perception. The characters are likable, the dialog between them snappy and real, evoking laughter and a lump in the throat at he same time.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this Uncorrected Digital Gally.

This is my second Katherine Center book the first being The Bodyguard. How did I not know about her before now?! I loved this book! It has a wonderful story line and characters to care about. And with this story as with The Bodyguard—the dialogue. OMG! This woman can write dialogue!! It’s deep, snappy, humorous, honest, vulnerable and REAL! I will be reading more of Ms. Center’s work

The premise is cute and unique and I did laugh out loud a couple times, but I struggled a bit with the writing style. I think it might work for a lot of people and it definitely added some fun and made for a breezy book, it just wasn’t exactly my cup of tea.

Hello Stranger is my second Katherine Center read and while I enjoyed The Bodyguard, the casual writing style wasn’t my favorite. Sadly, that casual chatty style is turned up a few notches in Hello Stranger and it really didn’t work for me.

I think what it boils down to is the fact that I am not a fan of characters talking to the reader or asking rhetorical questions and that happens constantly in this book. The story is really cute and it looks like I’m a total outlier so please don’t listen to me if you’re excited about Hello Stranger!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to be an early reader.