This is my third book by Katherine Center and she’s an auto buy author for me.
This story follows Sadie has she navigates through family drama, personal drama, (face blindness, relationships and self growth). Sadie will make you feel all the feels.
Katherine has a way of making you laugh and cry and feel hope through her writing and this story delivers.

What I loved most about this story was how you connect with Sadie as she is figuring out her new life, she is a portrait artist who can no longer sees faces, she has to use her other senses to help her put the pieces together.
Even with being a romantic comedy book this book had A surprising ending that I just adored.

Thank you to St Martin Press/ NetGalley and Katherine Center for allowing me an opportunity to review this for an honest opinion.
I can’t wait to add this to my physical shelf in July

"Seeing the world differently helps you see things not just that other people can't but that you yourself never could if you weren't lucky. It lets you make your own rules. Color outside your own lines. Allow yourself another way of seeing."

Oh my goodness my heart!!! I absolutely loved this book. It's my favorite Center book yet. I give it all the stars and some.

If you're fan of Center... this is all you will want and more from her. Hello Stranger is a novel that will pull at your heart strings and make you smile, laugh, get a little emotional, and pull your heart together at the end.

This is my first 5 star in awhile and Center you completely deserve all the stars for this one.

That ending was so unexpected and found myself laughing with joy and jumping up and down with how perfect it was. Ugh, my whole heart!!

I'm not going to go into what this story is about since you can read the back cover for a blurb. All, I can say is READ THIS! I am already going to preorder this one!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 7/11/23
Published to GR: 1/14/23

I always love Katherine Center’s books, and this did not disappoint. Although the premise was unusual, it was interesting and fun. I really enjoyed reading her author’s note, which perfectly described why I love her books - they make you feel hopeful and happy, and provide a wonderful escape.

Sadie’s journey is officially one of my all-time favorites! I am a sucker for character growth, and Hello Stranger delivered just that. Sadie is a struggling artist whose life gets turned upside down after what was supposed to be fairly simple brain surgery. As she discovers a new perspective on, well, everything, she is able to more fully embrace who she truly is and develop new relationships. I fell in love with Sadie, her stubborn independence, and how she learned to let people help (even if she still cringes at the word ‘help’). I thoroughly enjoyed every twist along the way and the people we met throughout Sadie’s story.

I think my favorite part of Katherine Center’s books is that I can read them over and over (which I have totally done) and pick up on little details I catch the second (or third or fourth) time around. I knew this book was going to be five out of five stars for me before I began, and it went beyond every expectation I had. Can I please give it more than five stars? Because it was absolutely beautiful and wonderful, and I can't wait to read it again!

“We see what we’re looking for.”
Pub date: 7/11/23

🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨/5

Wow! What a start to reading in 2023. I couldn’t put Hello Stranger down. The anticipation throughout this book was fantastic. I kept wanting to know more about our dear Sadie. Sadie has a condition that I don’t want to give away, so I’m keeping my lips sealed! There’s a hint in this photo. Well, kinda! I stayed up reading way too late last night but it was so worth it. I’ve always been a fan of Katherine Center books. This one, I think, is her best one yet. Reading this book felt like talking to a good friend. I learned, laughed and cried throughout this book. Thank you to Erica at @stmartinspress for making my day and giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful ARC of Hello Stranger.

Every book that I read by Katherine Center leaves me with warm fuzzies - they are all great. This one is about a portrait artist that has a brain injury and suddenly can no longer recognize faces. She can't tell who anyone is until they speak to her, and she (obviously) has to struggle through this new life, uncertain about everything around her. Also, she has become a finalist in a portrait competition that she can no longer enter, so her official big break is ruined. I may have seen the twist in the plot coming, but it's a great feel-good story about learning to accept help from the people that love you and, as always in Katherine's books, the characters feel like friends at the end. Loved it!

did i read this 6 months in advance? yes I did and I don't feel guilty about it at all.

Three words to describe it: cozy, comfy and cute.

total book cleanser for me. Quick and sweet with a unique spotlight on "acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia (ie. face blindness).

As I was reading I was jotting down notes and I had the word predictable in it. I don't mean that as a negative thing, more like a cozy sweater that you always gravitate to when you need a moment...and then I got to the end of the book and see the author has written something about the word herself (side note, always read the Author's note at the end).

Katherine Center has a suggestion for the word predictable in books and it's to eliminate the negative connotation of it. She suggests "anticipation". So I'll change my review to say that this is a cozy, anticipated happy read.

Have you ever finished a book, then immediately wanted to flip the book cover and start over again? Me neither, until I read Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. I had pretty high expectations when I started this book because I've loved every other book I've read by Center. She has such a charming way of writing about flawed characters that work through their issues in an adult and realistic way. Sometimes it's a few steps back and not moving forward for awhile but that's okay. And the romance she writes is so slow, so charming, so heartfelt and touching.

But her books are usually about more than just a romance too. There's usually a really good friendship or family dynamic, or in this particular books case: both. Anyways, Hello Stranger is no exception to these elements that I've come to expect from Center. The book starts slow but soon you're sucked in and staying up late to finish the book.

I knew what was going to happen about halfway in, but I was so excited for the big reveal that I didn't care if it was predictable or not. I just could not wait to see how it played out anyways. Sections of this book were laugh out loud funny and some made my heart ache. This was just such a stunning book. It had everything I wanted or needed and it's got re-readability. This is definitely a book I recommend and one I am going to read again.

My quest to read everything Katherine Center has written continues. This was such a cute rom com with characters you want to root for - and I even learned something new about a medical condition the main character faced. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've been a Katherine Center fan for awhile, and was so excited to receive the ARC for Hello Stranger. Center does an amazing job building out her characters to have nuance and the endings are always satisfying, and Hello Stranger is no exception.

I read Hello Stranger in one sitting, I could not put it down. Sadie had an accident that uncovered a lesion in her brain that needed surgery than results in her face blindness. She doesn't know if it's temporary or not, but this book focuses on her navigating her face blindness, the complexity of families - especially when you have an evil step-sibling, love, friendship, and how to be a portrait artist while dealing with face blindness. What I enjoyed was that Sadie dealt with it as best she could, and always pressed forward. Even when she was wronged by her step sister Lydia, she still kept her head high. She of course wallowed, but instead of giving up on her art competition, she tried to think of ways she could skirt around it.

One of the biggest themes was Sadie dealing with her budding relationship with Joe and her attraction to her dog's vet, Dr. Addision. Seeing her and Joe blossom was great to read.

I would definitely recommend this to friends once it is released.

Katherine Center is an auto buy author for me and I adore everything she writes! This story follows artist Sadie who is finally getting her big break but needs to have an emergency surgery. After the procedure Sadie discovers that she can no longer recognize faces of anyone. While struggling with this new part of her life, Sadie meets two different guys who both make an impression on her. I loved this story and read it so quickly and again Katherine writes such great characters and stories that you feel like you are a part of it. Highly recommend this one and any other book by her! Thank you St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy for review, all thoughts are my own.

This was an interesting read. Hadn't heard of this happening beforehand so of course read more into it. I kudos Sadie for making it through life with all the troubles she encountered.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an e-ARC of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. This book was incredibly unique and a very different style compared to the Bodyguard. I haven’t read all of her backlist, but I know those fall into more of a “women’s fiction” category compared to The Bodyguard. The Bodyguard was your typical romance with women’s fiction elements. I loved that one a lot and it’s definitely more my style compared to this one. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think this book is amazing, it totally is!!! It’s something new and different. It tackles some very hard subjects and the “plot twist” in the end was absolutely perfection. I would just make sure that this one is advertised as more of a woman’s fiction than a pure romcom.

To say I was super excited to get an advanced copy of Katherine Centre’s new book for review is a massive understatement.
I think I say this every time I read something by her but this might be my new favourite.
Struggling portrait artist, Sadie, might have finally gotten her big break. She is one of ten finalists in a national portrait competition. Until an accident and a surgery take her ability to recognize faces.
This book got to me. I have been recovering from a health issue that effected my eyes and my attention span which made reading, my absolute most favourite thing to do, extremely hard. I was cheering for Sadie so much. Watching someone lose something so integral to their heart and as well their lively hood and have to learn to pivot just makes you want to cheer them on as hard as you can.
As this is a Katherine Center book, there is of course a wonderfully fun romance (or two) starting for Sadie, who really will have to pick on personality as she cannot tell what her suitors look like.
I loved every second of this heartfelt and joyful book.
Mark your calendars this book releases on July 10 2023.
Thank you to St.Martin’s Press, Katherine Center, and Netgalley for providing me an advanced copy of this book for review.

This is such a good book! So good now that I know what it's all about, I want to read it again! It's such a beautiful story! I love Katherine's books! They are never the same! But always so good.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review this wonderful book!

Ok I reallly really loved this one. Katherine Center’s sense of humour is just so on point for me, and the heart she puts into her stories has me highlighting line after line. 

I saw where this story was going pretty early on, which made the conclusion a bit frustrating for me but I definitely think there will be people who don’t see it until it’s played out, which would make this book even MORE enjoyable.

I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved it. It was the perfect palate cleanser, and just the feel good novel I needed.

Hello Stranger is the sort of absolutely delightful read I've come to expect and love from Katherine Center! This story was such fun, I inhaled it in a day. With a twist on the familiar "amnesia storylines" in which the heroine can't remember who she was in love with, Hello Stranger features a young woman, Sadie, who develops facial blindness and can't SEE who she's in love with. Worse yet, Sadie is a portrait artist who has just had her big, lucky break. But how can she paint a face that she can no longer see?

There is something really comforting in sitting down for a read that you know will have a happy ending, swoon-worthy romance, and its share of humor and joy. But there's also some complex family drama (Parker! Gah!) and characters dealing with real-world, relatable struggles and insecurities. The plot with prosopagnosia was unique, the romance delightful, and the story incredibly entertaining. This is another Katherine Center story that I definitely recommend!

This has to be one of the most unique premises to any romcom I have ever read! I really enjoyed the plot of a portrait artist who suddenly could not see faces- but loved how the character was able to “see” deeper in order to create her art.
I loved the romance and the fact that she could not clearly see his face- their connection was purely built on something deeper.

I love Katherine Center and have throughly enjoyed all of her books- and Hello Stranger was no different!

4.5⭐️

Wow. I could not believe it took me this long to pick up a book by Katherine Center. It wasn’t until last year that I read her 5⭐️ book The Bodyguard! And if you saw my review for that you know I LOVED IT! So when I was contacted by St. Martin’s Publishing Group to receive an arc for Hello Stranger, I didn’t hesitate! YES! And I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity and extremely glad to have read it.

Hello Stranger is about Sadie, a quirky struggling portrait artist, who has been through a lot and because of that she’s a bit of a relatable mess. One day she receives an email announcing she’s been picked out of 1,999 to be a part of the ten finalist in the portrait competition. It’s Sadie’s big break and she can’t wait to prove to everyone, especially her dad that she made it! But life isn’t always that easy and just as Sadie thinks her life is about to change for good, she gets hit with a lot of bad at once. The characters in Hello Strangers were all lovable, well except for one or two lol iykykandtrustmeyk. I was constantly rooting for Sadie throughout this book so hard!! I honestly loved her, although I do wish she stuck up for herself more with her father and Parker (but Parker is evil and we can easily forget her :)). Sue was such a good bestfriend, perfect amount of support and honesty! We can not forget about Joe! JOEEE! A thousand chef kisses for Joe! 😘😘 and that’s all I will say about him lol I also have to give special recognition to Chapter 31, it was my absolute favorite chapter! I laughed so much! 👏🏻 As well as I thought the author did a great job with the medical/science research. I had never heard of the particular medical condition talked about in the book and it was very interesting to learn about it.

Comparing this book to The Bodyguard, there were moments where it felt unnecessarily repetitive (which it was an ARC so it will most likely be edited by publishing time). I also became very aggravated with the Parker character and I would’ve loved Sadie to get a bigger redemption out of that but that’s just the Taurus in me wanting a fight 😂

Overall, Hello Stranger was very enjoyable and highly recommended! Happy reading!



Special thanks to St. Martin’s Publishing Group for sharing this digital copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I am literally the biggest Katherine Center fan there could ever be. This novel is full of grief, but also heart-warming support and dynamic characters. Just amazing.