I love Katherine Center books and this one was no exception. I liked reading about Sadie's journey and the face blindness made for an interesting angle. Read it, love it!


Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The best of the best.

This was such a beautiful and unique book. It explores the concept of grief, perseverance, boldness, truth & love. This is Katherine Center at her best.

Sadie is a struggling artist who is looking for her next lucky break. When she lands herself in a portrait contest that has a prize of ten thousand dollars, she jumps at this opportunity. But, it just so happens to coincide with a minor surgery she needs to have. Just after the surgery Sadie notices very quickly she can’t see faces. Sounds crazy right? Well it’s true. Sadie can’t recognize peoples faces, even her best friends. This a huge deal. Not only can she not see faces but she has a portrait contest coming up where she has to draw a face. During this, Sadie is trying to come to terms with this temporary side effect from her surgery, while also dealing with a neighbour who has Sadie feeling all kinds of things and a hot veterinarian.

This was everything I wanted in a book. I ADORED it. Sadie was so relatable and Joe the neighbour was to DIE FOR. Let’s not forget about those plot twists and turns AHHH IM OBSESSED. I will never forget about this book. This will always hold a place in my heart.

Thank you SO much St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, thank you to netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for the ARC! I love Katherine Center very much. The Bodyguard was one of my top books of last year if not the top, so I was thrilled to receive this book! And then I started, and I have to say, it's different from Center's other work. It took me longer to get into the story. Perhaps because there was a huge focus on Sadie's injury and medical journey which, while interesting, didn't really move the story forward as much as action would. Is this shaping up to be a negative review? of Katherine Center? Never! The last 10 percent of the book made it for me. It surprised me, and I am rarely surprised when reading books of this type. I won't say anything more, but just pick it up and give it a try - I think you'll like it too.

4.5 stars for this one!

I LOVED The Bodyguard by Katherine Center so I requested this one without reading the synopsis. Not going to lie. I'm glad I went in without really knowing the plot, because it makes it that much more enjoyable.

First and foremost, I just really like Center's writing style. It's like reading letters and notes from a friend. She also has the ability to create such relatable FMCs, which I love, and this book was no different.

I loved Sadie and Joe. I figured out the "twist" fairly early, but I loved watching their friendship evolve into something more. It felt real and authentic without feeling rushed.

There are some definite trigger warnings with this book.

Overall, a lovely read!

I really enjoyed this intriguing story, and I liked learning more about face blindness. This was a great follow up to The Bodyguard, and I liked it just as much! I am becoming a big Katherine Center fan! Can't wait to see what she writes next.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher. Thank you St. Martin's Publishing!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the copy of this book!

"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 so lucky. It lets you make your own rules. Color outside your own lines. Allow yourself another way of seeing."

Katherine Center has such a way of immersing her readers in her stories, making her characters relatable and every emotion tangible. In Hello Stranger, we feel through, Sadie a struggling portrait artist on her way to a lucky break in a competition when she's hit by a car, has brain surgery, and is diagnosed with prosopagnosia (face blindness). Yep - a portrait artist who can't see faces. In the midst of this, her family is completely unhelpful (and she has the most EVIL stepsister), but she also meets a very handsome vet she thinks could be her future husband and starts having feelings for the hipster guy living in her apartment building. The suspense was built up in this book with the looming portait competition deadline and the love triangle, and I simply couldn't put it down! While feeling the ups and downs in Sadie's life, I was also laughing out loud at all of the hysterical moments in this book and really just having a pleasant time with this warm hug of a book.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Sadie Mongomery is a portrait artist who has had some difficulties in her life - loss of her mother, family dynamic s truffles, etc. She is struggling to find success in her career but finds out she's earned a finalist spot in a competition. She is about to celebrate but learns she will need brain surgery and unexpectedly learns she has acquired a form of prosopagnosia, or face blindness.

Everything Katherine Center writes is just joyful, brings a smile to my face, and is just heartwarming to read. I've read a few books recently with the prosopagnosia trope and this was a different spin on it! I loved the little clues to figure out the context of each character, learning more about the painting/art world, and seeing Sadie persevere. I've read a few books recently with the prosopagnosia trope and this was a different spin on it! Katherine excels at strong dialogue, being able to really empathize and understand a character's intentions, and I loved being able to root for Sadie throughout her character arc. This reads heavily as women's fiction, with less of a romance focus as previous books, but still very swoony scenes! I loved seeing Sadie navigate her rocky relationships with her family and seeing her stand up to them after years of being treated unfairly. Forever a massive KC fan and cannot wait for whatever comes next !

i will never doubt Katherine Center!! Her books are like a warm bowl of freshly cooked soup on a rainy or overcast day. So comforting and heartwarming ❤️

This book was a little slow to get into but I put my trust in this author because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the books I’ve read from her, and this one was no exception.

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist, and it has been a rough road, but she is a top 10 finalist in a contest she entered out of thousands and thousands! Unfortunately, she discovers she has a medical condition that requires surgery, weeks before the final round. With that surgery came a very unlucky (very rare) side effect. Now she has facial blindness, which is definitely putting a wrench in her plans to win this contest and the $10k prize.

I loved reading her story of self realizations, fighting her pessimistic nature to find the good in situations and people, her relationship with her family (dad, stepmom), best friend sue, and her doggy 🥹 Katherine Center is a total dog person, she has to be- based on how she wrote Peanut ❤️

And I don’t want to say much about her love life relationship, just that it gave me such Beth o Leary feels, and I figured things out pretty early on but that just made me enjoy the ride even more 😘

Thank you to Erica at St. Martin’s Publishing Group and Katherine Center for this super early eARC for an honest review!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy of Hello, Stranger by Katherine Center! This book is out in July, and if you’ve loved Center’s past books, I think this one needs to be on your watch list.

First and foremost, I have to comment on how much research that Center must have done about brain injuries and face blindness. You could tell that she had done the work, and applied it well. The descriptions were vivid and easy to picture, and it was not hard to lose yourself in the writing.

I also loved that this was more of a womens fiction novel with a side of romance. You really got to focus on Sadie’s growth as a person, and see how her views on romance, and romantic life, changed as she changed.

I bet this will easily be a best-seller!

This story follows portrait artist Sadie Montgomery who after years of struggling to reach success, finds out she earned a finalist spot in a competition that can be the break in her career. She is about to celebrate when something goes terribly wrong and lands her in the hospital needing brain surgery. What she didn’t expect was to wake up with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, meaning she cannot see faces and of course, now paint portraits like she used to. As Sadie tries to navigate her new normal, she discovers more not only about herself but also about her family, neighbor, dog’s veterinarian and the world around her.

Katherine Center has a way with words and this book was no exception. It had less romance than The Bodyguard but seemed to be in line with How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire, where the love story wasn’t the focal point but was definitely there and o so swoony. Sadie was the strong, independent protagonist and type of character you want to root for, especially when the most evil step-sister gets in the way of her happiness. I loved watching her growth, learning about her career and seeing her finally stand up to her family after years of being treated unfairly. While the story covered some heavier topics like grief, I still found myself laughing aloud throughout and was in awe of how she pulled it all together at the end!

Read if you like:
-Close proximity
-Family drama
-Love triangles
-Portrait artists
-The recovery process post surgery
-Dogs

Thank you SMP for the ARC! Pub Date: 7/11

Sadie Montgomery is in the brink of getting her big break as a portrait artist when an ill timed surgery leaves her with facial blindness. Will she be able to pull through and find success after all? This book explores this and so much more!

I loved this!!!!!!!! Katherine Center is one of my absolute favorite authors and this book only continued to prove that fact. This was a great combination of romance and women’s fiction. The characters were extremely well rounded. Such a fun read!!

Thank you to Katherine Center for the opportunity to read her latest book "Hello Stranger" that will be published in July 2023. I think I've read most of Katherine's novels. They're always entertaining and character driven--the kind of well-developed plots you can spend some time getting lost in. This one has a unique premise that drew me in from the start. A young portrait artist named Sadie has the opportunity to follow in her deceased mother's footsteps when she places in a prestigious portrait competition that could finally be the answer to all of her career dreams. Problem is, she discovers quite by accident (literally) that she requires a complicated brain surgery that will ultimately save her life, but will also take valuable time away from the quickly approaching deadline for the competition. She opts for the surgery, thankfully, but the recovery process is more than she expected once she realizes she can no longer see faces. "Face Blindness" is an unexpected side effect from the surgery that could be temporary or permanent.

Sadie is devastated by the diagnosis. It's impossible for her to create a portrait for the competition without being able to see the face of her subject. While adjusting to the state of things and learning how to rely on her other senses to get by, her beloved dog gets very sick and she rushes him to a nearby emergency veterinarian clinic, where she meets Dr. Oliver Addison, who provides life-saving care for Peanut. Sadie can't see Oliver's face, but quickly realizes she has a strong attraction to him that catches her by surprise.. There is also another man, a new neighbour she hadn't met before her surgery, who has taken an interest in her. Suddenly she has two eligible men wanting to get to know her and she can't see either of them, and therefore has no idea which one is right for her. Or if either of them are.

There's a lot of dramatic complications in Sadie's life and I enjoyed seeing her grow as a person and handle many of the in a believable way. I did struggle with her ongoing reluctance to ask others for help or to share her current face blindness diagnosis with the two men she's developing relationships with. I understand that she didn't want to come across as helpless to either of them, but it got to be difficult to suspend belief in her motivation to keep the truth from them. I also really disliked her so-called best friend, who is self-centred and even more unlikable than her conniving stepsister. In fact, there's too many unlikable secondary characters, in my opinion, including her father because his treatment of Sadie was bordering on emotionally abusive. Her constant need for his approval had me wishing she'd grow a backbone instead and tell him off. Or cut him off. More importantly, why does she allow all of these people to continually walk all over her? It got tiresome. I wanted more focus on her developing relationships with the two men, who both seemed to genuinely care about her.

Even though I had some trouble with character motivation, it's an entertaining story, one that requires the reader to suspend some belief and just go with it.

4.5 stars. What a positive way to start out the new year! I love, love, love this book! It was an interesting and feel-good read! Thank you to Katherine Center for putting out these consistently great books, and always giving me something to look forward to!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. Please keep them coming!

Katherine Center left me swooning with this one! Love, love, loved this book. Sadie may be one of my favorite characters yet.

Sadie is a portrait artist living in a rooftop hovel, barely scraping by when she receives news that she has been selected to participate in an important exhibition. On her way back from the store with wine to celebrate her success, she loses consciousness. When she wakes up in the hospital, she learns she has facial blindness from a brain bleed. How can she complete a portrait with facial blindness?

What follows is an amazing love story where, through an awful step sister, a distant father, a helpful neurotherapist, her best friend and a new love interest, Sadie learns who she really is. She learns to rely on her other senses and opens herself up to becoming the best her.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

This is a Prudie™ review. If you’re a reader who appreciates clean reads with wholesome, traditional, conservative values, this review is aimed at you! If you’re not that type of reader, you probably won’t get anything out of this review.

What I liked:
This may be my favorite Katherine Center book yet. I truly loved it! I cried multiple times, laughed out loud, and at one point, almost shot soda out of my nose. Which is not a regular occurrence for me, FYI. I especially loved the author's note at the end where KC discloses her love and vision for this book. Although I saw most of the twists coming ahead of time, that didn't at all stop me from enjoying the story and giving me that "hope" she talks about. It was a sweet and entertaining romp of a love story that I highly recommend for fans of quality rom-com with real heart. I love the way it's written with such great attention to detail (as always), with memorable characterizations, dialogue, voice, storytelling, humor, and character dynamics, and I am a huge admirer of the love interest; he's adorbs. The storyline is unique, interesting, and loads of fun, likely helping this book to stick out in my memory for years to come. And, of course, I'm pleased with the Texas setting. ;)

What I didn’t like:
For my fellow Prudie friends, this is not Prudie-approved for mainly one reason: the language. I feel like the profanity in this one may be more intense than any other book I've read by KC. There were quite a few F-bombs, and lots of other words sprinkled throughout. Was it as bad as many other mainstream romances out there? No, it didn't even hold a candle to other authors like Helen Hoang and Ali Hazelwood. (Foul language seems to be nearly impossible to get away from with mainstream romances now. It's like it's a point of pride for these authors or something, like they think it makes them edgy? Because romance needs edge to be taken seriously?) But since KC hasn't been an author to smatter her narrative super hard with strong profanity in the past, I had hopes that she would hold out.

Anyway. Let's do the usual Prudie™ breakdown, shall we? 10 is atomic bomb, 0 is none to speak of.

-> Language: 6/10
5 uses of the F-bomb (almost always regarding the MC's crummy stepsister), 17 uses/variations of "sh!t", 10 variations of "ass", 43 uses of "hell", 15 uses/variations of "damn", and 3 uses of "b!tch".
-> Steaminess: 2/10
If you prefer your romances sweet more so than steamy, this one is a good option. There are some make-out scenes, but they're not graphic. There's some hugging and kissing, but it's pretty tasteful. I don't remember there being a lot of talk of sex, though there is extensive discussion of attractive people and aspects of their bodies (again, not particularly graphic). Though, if you're screening this book for teens, the content may be more than you're comfortable with.
-> Positive theme(s): 8/10
Found family, meaningful friendship, emotional and physical healing, the intentional practice of personal growth, hard work ethic, patience, grace with yourself and others, complementarianism, honesty and trust, vulnerability and developing close connection, restored familial bonds, forgiveness, consideration of others, the value of creativity and art, the helpfulness of professional therapy.
-> Political correctness: 1/10
I can't think of anything off the top of my head besides being open towards premarital sex.
-> Violence: 2/10
There're some perilous incidents that are not discussed in very graphic terms, there's a brain surgery and recovery, talk of injury and death in various forms (including that of an animal), a little blood here and there. Nothing worse than a medical show on TV.
Overall score for enjoyment/appreciation: 9/10 for 5 out of 5 stars.

Thanks SO MUCH to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an early, early copy of this book to review! Such a lovely surprise! All opinions are my own. Can't wait to read KC's next book!

Katherine Center books are pretty reliably enjoyable and sweet and clean. The only thing that bugged me about this book was that I completely predicted the ending. Oh well.

A romance with a side-story/emphasis on the main character adjusting to a medical condition. The storyline was unique and of course I loved the HEA, but I was not a huge fan of this one. I found the main character unlikable and honestly didn’t care for any of the other characters either. Upped rating from two to three stars based on the cool “twist” of the two men she is interested in being the same guy.

I went into this book blindly but excited since The Bodyguard by Katherine Center was one of my favorite reads from 2022. I was not disappointed! I read this book in one sitting and finished it with a feeling of joy and warmth.

I laughed, teared up, and swooned all throughout this story. It was heartwarming and relatable. The plot was unique, at least I personally have not read a book like it before.

Five Stars! Definitely recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was phenomenal. Katherine Center has this incredible way of creating stories that entrap you into a imaginary world. The twists and turns this book took were so unexpected and yet so beautiful and wild. This book will still with me forever. I don’t know how she does it but WOW.

I recommend going into this book blind. Don’t read too much into, don’t look at spoilers and just enjoy the ride Katherine Center takes you on.

Thank you SO much NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this novel, which releases on July 11, 2023.
This is my favorite Katherine Center book.
I loved Sadie, loved the romance, the full cast, even the devil.
This book was everything, dramatic, informative, heartbreaking, dramatic and funny. I loved reading about Sadie’s journey through face blindness and the love story in this book was just right.
I especially enjoyed the uniqueness of the story paired with the author's extensive research on Prosopagnosia. It was interesting to learn about something that is not well-known in the context of a beautiful, romantic story.
Definitely recommend.