A delightful twist on the mistake identity trope. I'll be honest, I've never felt *older* that a protagonist than I did when I started reading this. I had trouble buying into her choices and assumptions. I was completely won over as the book went on, though, and ended up thoroughly enjoying this romantic comedy. And Center's authors note at the end about the romance genre in general was icing on the cake.

I adored this book. I laughed & cried. Some parts were predictable but I didn’t see one twist coming. I can’t wait to read another book by this author. Becoming one of my favorites.

This is a solid 3.5 star for me. The MC, Sadie, loses her ability to see faces after a medical procedure. This causes significant issues because she is a portrait artist trying to create a new work for an exclusive art competition. She also finds romance with two different strangers while recovering from her medical procedure. I thought medical issues that Sadie encountered were a unique plot device, but I found some of the plot issues were a stretch. Overall, I thought the story fell a little flat compared to other Katherine Center novels.

This one took me a while to get in to but ultimately loved the ending and the moral of the story! Katherine does a great job of keeping what can be heavy topics light!

Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me and Hello Stranger might be one of her best. After Sadie Montgomery has a life saving surgery she discovers she has face blindness. She is told it "should" resolve, but also sees a therapist to help her cope with it. As a portrait artist entered in a contest not being able to see faces is a horrible problem, one she doesn't want anyone to know about. Eventually she finds the courage to confront her step-sister (who a most unlikable character) and her father, and admit she can no longer see faces. In the end, it all works out but Sadie learns happiness and fulfillment can be found even in the most trying circumstances. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my review copy. This was a pleasure to read.

I absolutely loved this. This was my fourth book by Katherine Center and it was hands-down my favorite. It was funny and sweet and surprised me in the most wonderful way.

This book was delight! Another great romcom by Katherine Center.

This book was full of funny, heartwarming, and sweet moments. But the best parts were the twists and turns the story took, all leading to the ending we crave in a romance.

Sadie is an artist that got the opportunity to show her work in a contest that could change her professional career for the better, her big break. The problem is that right when this happens she has to have a surgery that let's her temporarily impaired: she can no longer see faces, which is a big problem since she's a portrait artist. Her journey to dealing with this challenge and also confronting the problems she has with her family leads her to Dr. Addison, a kind, thoughtful and sweet stranger that has been involved in her life in more ways than she knows.

I loved the development of the characters, Sadie's relationship wit her best friend and her tenants, even her dad. I despised her sister and was really annoyed by her stepmom. This is a story about resilience, following your dreams, and not judging people based on your assumptions. It was so entertaining, I read it in one sitting!

I'm a huge Katherine Center fan. This book did not disappoint! The story is full of emotion from funny, sad, and hopeful. You just wanted Sadie to succeed and show the world how amazing and talented she is. The author does such a great job of character development. It's a must-read!
P.S. The bowling jacket cracked me up.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an early copy of this book. This review is in my own words.

Hello Stranger is a wonderful book about a young woman who is a struggling portrait artist on the verge of a big break when She discovers that she has a serious medical condition that requires immediate surgery. Upon recovery, she learns she has a temporary disability where she cannot recognize faces. The doctors do not know how long this will last. Enter the wonderful veterinarian who cares for her dog and the obnoxious neighbour from her building. How will she try to continue to build on her artistic dreams and resolve her relationships with these two men?
I always enjoy Katherine Center's books as they are a warm feel-good romantic adventure with some real-life struggles thrown in. This time she introduced me to a condition I didn't even know existed. If you enjoy Kristan Higgin's books, you will enjoy Hello Stranger. You also might want to dig back into Katherine Center's other books and read them. All equally good! I always look forward to sitting down and reading Katherine Center's books and this one did not disappoint. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center is one of those authors who brings us hope when all seems lost and she’s done it again with HELLO STRANGER.

We start the story off with struggling artist Sadie Montgomery finally getting a break. She’s a finalist in a prestigious portrait contest (yay), but then she has an accident, and stuff happens that gets in the way (no spoilers). Most people would just give up and quit at this point, but not Sadie. Sure, she has her moments (who wouldn’t), but she hasn’t given up hope. Along the way, she meets a new neighbor and a hot vet who saves her precious dog, and even though it looks like her career might be tanking before it even gets to take off, her love life is flourishing. Maybe…again no spoilers.

What I loved about this book was the layers. Sadie’s medical issue and her journey learning to deal with everything happening because of said issues. Sadie’s budding relationship with her neighbor. Sadie’s relationship with her best friend Sue and her family. The complex family drama going on. And then on top of all of that, there’s the humor that the author wove into the story that gives us hope as we read about what is a very serious topic.

Katherine Center is a master at delivering stories filled with interesting characters facing difficult situations with courage and strength and lifting her readers up.

This was a highly anticipated read for me and it did NOT let me down.
Sadie faints and wakes up in the hospital. She finds out that she needs surgery to repair her brain, and if she doesn't have it, she could die. This comes at a bad time though. As a struggling artist she just got notified she was a finalist in a contest that could change her life.
After the surgery though, she wakes up with face blindness. This is particularly bad because she is a portrait artist and her work is supposed to be a portrait, but how can it be when she can't see faces? As Sadie tries to navigate her new normal, she doesn't want anyone to know. She tries to live a normal life, not telling anyone that she can't see their face. She tries to place people in boxes and looks at other distinguishing traits to identify them. This works out fine, until she realizes it isn't foolproof.
She meets her neighbor, Joe, and while she might have thought less of him in the past, she is really starting to think that he might be one of the good ones after all. Joe doesn't know her condition, but he helps her through all sorts of problems and is the one person she can count on. Too bad she has a thing for the hot new vet she met. When she first "saw" Dr. Addison she knew they were meant to be. But little by little, she's wondering if she was wrong and the right person might be the one she thought was all wrong instead.
I guessed the "twist", which I am sure most people will, very early on and I loved the way it was done. I loved that there wasn't over dramatic clues, but subtle ones just letting us know that it was there, but not clueing Sadie in too much. She was so busy trying to navigate her life with this illness that she didn't see what was right in front of her.
Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Katherine Center for an early copy.

Sadie Montgomery has had some tough breaks in her life, but she finally sees her chance to get a huge good break when she manages to beat out hundreds of other entries in a portrait competition with $10,000 going to the winner. Then she has to get brain surgery, and though it seems she’s recovering nicely, now she can no longer see people’s faces. She can make out other features like what they’re wearing and how they walk, but she can’t recognize her best friend or see her own face in the mirror. This is obviously a terrifying thing for anyone, but is a particular problem for a person who makes her living painting portraits and is about to enter a potentially life-changing contest.

She can still see her beloved dog Peanut’s 14-year-old face, and when he gets sick, she rushes to the vet, which is how she meets Dr. Oliver Addison. From what she can see, she somehow knows he’s wickedly handsome and promptly begins fantasizing about their wedding so she has something positive in her life, even if it’s all in head.

There are definitely a few things that stretch the imagination, but all is forgiven because I read the entire book in a day and, I don’t know if I was overly tired or there were genuinely heartbreaking parts, but I cried and reached for tissues more than once.

Definitely recommend.

NetGalley provided an advance reader copy of this novel, which RELEASES JULY 11, 2023.

This story was everything that I love about Katherine Center. Sadie was a flawed character that you couldn’t help but root for. The concept of face blindness was interesting and something I had not read about before. I loved the romance and the hope during struggle throughout the entire book.

Each one of Katherine Center's books is like a treasured gift. They are not just romance novels though the swoon factor is definitely off the charts. They make you feel good inside, make you believe that no matter what life throws at you, you will be okay. Hello Stranger is no exception. Full of humor, romance, and touchingly true insights, this book is soul food.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

What an absolute dream!! Ever since my first Katherine Center book, I have been HOOKED. I am not usually a fan of any type of romance stories because I find they are usually a little cheesy and I have a hard time keeping my attention on them, but Katherine Center always finds a way to make things sweet without being lame. They are realistic situations, so the reader can put themselves in the shoes of the characters. Not only that, but every story has some sort of mystery to them without being dark. You run through every emotion reading this book; fear when the main character, Sadie, experiences a health scare, sadness when she wakes up with a strange condition, happiness when she forms a new friendship, and anger when she receives unfair treatment from her biggest rival. There were certain parts where I even laughed out loud. I have zero complaints about the story or the author, besides the major book hangover and broken heart I experience when I finished a story and realize I have no more to read!!

Perfection.
I loved this book!

I live for Katherine centre books and I was ecstatic got an early copy of this one!
I love every character Katherine creates especially her female leads! All her ladies are perfectly imperfect, charming, funny, lovable and their inner monologues are amazing. Sadie was no expection.

I love how the romances are not always the star of her stories and you got so much more depth and plot in her books. The plot here was so unique and interesting and the family relationships themes are top notch!

This book was so emotional and uplifting and left me even shedding a few happy tears.

If I have not convinced you yet.. Read this if you love:
*Relatable and loveable Female MC
*Emotional and Hopeful Stories
*Fantastic Writing and Banter
*Unique and well researched plot-lines
*Adorable dogs
*Family, Friendship and personal growth themes.

Thank you Katherine Center, NetGalley and St Martin's Press.

Clearly I highly recommend!

This book gives great insight into prosopagnosia, a disorder I’ve never heard of before, while giving me all the warm fuzzy feelings that I like in a book. I even enjoyed the author’s note at the end of the book! I don’t have to read the back of a Katherine Center book to know that I will enjoy it. Anytime I see her name on a book I grab it without hesitation.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for this advanced readers copy!

A great read! It starts a little slow but you can’t wait to see what Sadie does after the accident. She is someone you root for and want the best for all through the book. Her relationship with Joe takes on so much. The end!!! Wow I loved it and how things you didn’t know were right in front of you the whole time. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. A quirky, heartfelt story full of rich characters.

I adored this book. Possibly my favorite of hers. It was sweet, but had depth. And led me to learn about face blindness.

Katherine Center is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I mean, she worked the word “tintinnabulation” into a romance! “...tintinnabulation of ice cubes hitting the tile.” I love words too much to not love this!! Also, her romances tell a story. She doesn’t just string together a bunch of sex scenes and call it a book. For a non-steamy romance fan, this is perfect!

In Hello Stranger, Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who discovers that she needs brain surgery just as she may be getting her big professional break. Following the surgery, she suffers from face blindness…a devastating turn of events for an artist who focuses on faces. We follow Sadie as she tries to navigate her new world and the relationships with her hot vet, obnoxious neighbor, toxic step-sister, perplexing step-mother, and distant father. All while trying not to miss the professional opportunity of a lifetime.

Sometimes I feel like I’ve read every take on a romance that could ever be written, but then comes Hello Stranger! This was such an original, layered storyline. There are so many relationships to follow it’s impossible to be bored, I could not put it down. Can we talk about Parker, though?! She is the mean girl to end all mean girls. Cinderella’s step sisters have nothing on her!! But we do know that hurt people, hurt people…so there’s that. By the end of the book it’s clear that we can be so absorbed in ourselves that we can easily miss what is right in front of us. Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this early copy in exchange for my honest review.