I was really excited to read this! I’ve read two of Katherine Center’s novels, and loved both, but this one fell a little flat for me.

There was a lot going on for a rom com. Family drama, pet drama, medical drama. I feel like Sadie had so much happen to her and even when she was sad and heartbroken she still just seemed to be fine? Like her step sister RUINED her life and did some really HORRENDOUS things, and even in adulthood this crazy step sister is moving into her building and while there’s somewhat of a blowout in the end it all sort of leads to nothing really other than Sadie and her dad somewhat start to repair their relationship? And Parker just…moved to Amsterdam 😂. And the step mother just wasn’t so evil anymore.

I started to suspect what was going to happen with the romance thread, and when it was confirmed in the end I immediately started trying to poke holes in the miscommunication. The biggest one being Oliver never texted her back, but Joe did. How did she not realize they were the same number? Like if she had Oliver’s number first and then Joe texted her, it would show up Oliver on her phone, correct?

And I feel like with the last few scenes the author is REALLY trying to justify how this all happened, which makes it more obvious that maybe it didn’t make sense and the editor was like we need to clear this up 😂.

Also the dog disappears halfway into the novel after the drama in the beginning and it all just felt disjointed, with these random things happening to try and make the main plot work and once they fulfilled their purpose they fell off the storyline. Which is a bummer cause I really loved this author’s other books.

Overall this was just fine if you don’t think about the details too much. It’s a romcom and it’s fluffy and cute, but it had these dark elements that really should impact the character more and they just sort of don’t? Or maybe it was the audiobook narrator just being really bubbly sounding all the time.

Not my fave Katherine Center novel, but a quick read.

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book, such a sweet story, laugh out loud funny at times. I loved, Sadie, Peanut and all the side characters, minus Parker, she is the worst! Definitely recommend!

This book was adorable! The love story is sweet and swoony. Katherine Center can do no wrong with her romantic comedies! I love them all, and Hello Stranger is no exception. This was a quick fun read for anyone who needs something light and funny and cute in their life right now.

Not my favorite Katherine Center but still delivers the comfort and joy I've come to expect from her. I think the plot was a little overwrought but I still enjoyed the ride!

This is the kind of book where I'm glad I decided to keep reading and not DNF. Because while the beginning was rough, I ended up enjoying the story by the end.

My main complaints with this though is that the main character was kind of insufferable at the beginning, and also, the "villain" of the story was very one-dimensional and didn't add much to the overall story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book! This book was sweet and fun, but throughout the whole thing so many characters and their trauma seemed way over the top- almost like a book of crazy caricatures. It was an interesting premise, and worth the read, but I could have done without some of the more ridiculous characters.

This was just perfect !! I was a little nervous at the start and then bam I was hooked ! I didn’t want it to end.

As a fantasy reader I don’t read a ton of romance. Especially ones that don’t have some kind of fantasy element. But this one I wanted to read just because the FMC ( female main character ) was an artist. As an artist I felt a pull to it! It was just so good! I love the connections that were formed when the FMC couldn’t see their faces! I loved the twists and turns. I also enjoyed that this book made me feel! I got so sucked in that I felt like the character’s feelings like they were my own! I will definitely be reading more by this author! She just has a beautiful special way to bring life to words and create so much off the page within the reader.

Sadie must learn to navigate her new life. She will be pushed way outside her comfort zone and she will need to try new things! But as the reader your there with her every step wanting to whisper in her ear that she’s doing great. Will Sadie find love? It may not be where you think.

In Short:
Did I like it? Omg! Yes!
Would I recommend it? Yes ! Read it!
Would I read more by this author? Absolutely.

🎨Review 🎨
Hello Strangers- Katherine Center
Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Hello Strangers was a light, easy & sweet read with a very unique premise!

Our main character, Sadie Montgomery, a portrait artist, becomes diagnosed with face blindness ( hopefully only temporarily), weeks before she is to submit a portrait to an art competition. Although she can still see, faces have become jumbled blurs, and even her closest friend is unrecognizable to her. Amongst the chaos of trying to adjust to her new way of life, Sadie becomes tangled in a love triangle with two very different men; without ever seeing their faces.

How will Sadie continue to do what she loves if she can’t see faces?
Will she re-gain her ability to see faces?
Will she find love?

I had a lot of fun reading this book! I enjoyed the writing style and the way Center carried out such a unique and compelling plot. I loved the warm fuzzy feelings I got while reading this story. I also adored Sadie’s dog, Peanut ( I can always get behind a dog mom MC🐾🖤).

I had a hard time with the interactions between Sadie and her “evil” step sister. I found it to be a little over the top and cringey. I also found myself slightly annoyed with Sadie herself at some points of the story. I empathize with her life changing diagnosis and her difficult family situation, but at times she was a little too “woe is me” and selfish. That is not to say she doesn’t have her good moments too, but I found myself bouncing back and fourth with my feelings towards her character.

Although I did see the twist at the end coming, I appreciated the execution and was very pleased with how the story wrapped up! I would definitely recommend this story to anyone looking for a fun, entertaining light rom-com! 💕
I am looking forward to reading more from Katherine Center’s backlist in the future! 🫶🏼🫶🏼

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for sharing a digital copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with Katherine Center after reading <i>The Bodyguard</i>, which I gave a very elusive 5 stars to. The characters were awesome and the story, although it had my eyes roll a couple of times, it made me laugh so much more. I had high hopes for <i>Hello Stranger</i>. Unfortunately, it did not even come close to reaching those expectations. The amount of downtrodden bad luck that Sadie found herself in was enough for anyone to give up. The timing of all of the unfortunate situations happening to her were downright convenient in the most miserable of ways. Fortunately, although after this description it could sound like I'm reviewing a dark drama, the book was lighthearted and easy to read.
If you into extremely predictable and unlikely situations leading to love stories, this one is for you.
I will admit that I am really debating on my star rating. I don't want to rate it, because I prefer to not give under a 3 star rating, but I really wasn't a fan of this story. I'm giving 2.5 stars, but will round up to 3.

This book makes you realize how much of what we perceive is what we see! Especially when communicating with others! Katherine Center writes books that make you feel deeply, count your blessings, and also consider "what life would be like!"

4.5/5 Stars. Such a sweet RomCom read! I had never heard of facial blindness, and especially enjoyed the authors note at the end.

Loved the characters, especially Sadie - a portrait artist who can no longer see faces after a life-saving surgery. Her struggle to adapt and embrace her “new normal” felt very real and was inspiring.

The RomCom storyline was super cute. There are several good meet-cutes, and I liked the aspect that Sadie has to be attracted to and get to know someone without being able to see their face. I could see where the love triangle was going but the ending was still cute!

Pick this up when you’re in the mood for overcoming obstacles, inspiration, and ultimately a happy ending.

I throughly enjoyed this book. It was a humorous, contemporary romantic comedy. One where you can evision the actors that would play these characters (Justin Hartley and Lily James are my picks!). The story had some fun twists and turns and even though I knew the twist that was coming, it was delivered in an unexpected way. I was sad when this story ended and would love to see it move to the big screen. The is the second book I have read from Katherine Center (The Bodyguard) and I love it is just as much as the first. Keep them coming. I will definitley be watching for the next one to drop.

This book was fantastic, one of my new favorites! Katherine’s books just keep getting better and better!

The Bodyguard was my first book from Katherine so when I saw the announcement for Hello Stranger and it has the cutest little cover, I knew I had to read it. Katherine’s writing is just so special. While I didn’t love this story as much as I had hoped I would, the authors ability to write a story and create likable and squeezable main characters is something I truly love. Some parts of this book seemed a little far-fetched, other parts were just perfect. I found myself laughing at Sadie’s whirlwind of a life, wondering how the sort-of? Love triangle was going to work out, and wanting to hug the book when I finished. While it didn’t exactly live up to the hype in my head, I still adored it for what it was.

I found this book too slow when reading the physical copy. I switched to the audio and it was much better and I am glad I finished this one! Cute at the end!

Let me start by saying I will stop whatever I am doing to read anything Katherine Center writes! Hello Stranger was so adorably cute. I loved it. I mean I was a little frustrated with her at times, and emotional, but I still loved every minute of it!

I absolutely loved this book. Katherine Center is a must read for me and this book did not disappoint. I was intrigued by the character experiencing face blindness due to a needed surgery and how that affected her ability to continue as a portrait artist, but also in navigating her relationships.
The family dynamics with the stepsister were quite terrible. What she went through as a teenager and as an adult was awful, but the resolution at the end was good.
The HEA at the end was worth the wait. Overall a most enjoyable book.
I have recommended this book to my friends, along with all of Katherine's other books.

Aghhh first, the cover is beautiful. I love it. Second, I wanted to love it a lot more than I did. I found that I could not connect with Sadie. As the main character once the reader and main character can’t find a connection it gets a little lost. The story line was brand new to me and I learned so much more from a romance book than I expected. Definitely worth reading for those that enjoy love triangles and little surprise twists.

This was a cute pallet-cleansing romcom! For me, this was a bop, but not a banger. Katherine Center’s writing is always solid, but the story didn’t pull me in as much as I expected. That being said, I still enjoyed it!

Thoughts:
-Sadie having facial blindness was an interesting storyline and it’s always nice to see representation in books. I didn’t know much about the inner workings of facial blindness, so it was interesting to learn about
-Sadie’s step-sister felt a little too evil Disney princess to be believable and enjoyable to read
-I think a major issue I had was I did not feel connected with the vet love interest storyline - I understand Sadie latching onto him because of her trauma, but I just couldn’t care less about her obsession with him
-It was incredibly interesting watching her find adaptive ways to pursue her art despite not being able to see faces. Center did an incredible job showing how people with disabilities adapt and find ways to pursue their passions in different ways
-It was a predictable ending, but Center’s author’s note at the end about the magic behind romance and the comfort in the predictability of a romance novel was so important to read. Often times criticisms of romance books are their predictability (I’m guilty of doing this too), but Center framed that predictability in such an eye-opening way by saying when you know you are reading a romance with a happily ever after, you can just sit back and enjoy the story. I thought this was such an important perspective to take in and remember while reading

There’s no doubt that Katherine Center is a great writer, but while this was a good romance, it fell a little flat for me. I would still recommend it if you’re looking for a sweet romance!

Thank you Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for a #gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Was this my favorite book? No. Was it still very cute? Yeah, but mostly because of Joe. And Mr. Kim. He could have a book of his own and I'd be all about it. I dunno, I just wasn't a huge fan of Sadie except for when she was around Joe, and even then I really was just in it for Joe himself. Most of the people in the book were pretty shallow and communication (or lack thereof) needed to be WAY better. I didn't care for Sue because, as a best friend, she should have been more considerate. All I'm saying is that if my best friend went face-blind, I'm not likely to forget and throw an overwhelming and unwanted surprise party for her. Sadie herself was kind of self-centered, too, though. I'm not saying she would have made the connection right away, but she might have asked what the guy she's falling in love with does for a living. Or for his last name. And she might start calling him by his actual name instead of the name on the jacket that is not his. But I'm just beating up the plot at this point. It was still cute, and I'd still recommend it to people who like miscommunication tropes, for sure.