Predictable but oh so cute anyways. I devoured the book, it was exactly what I needed.

Bonus point for raising awareness for a rare condition named Prosopagnosia (face blindness).

I'm loving every book of Katherine Center that I've read so far. I just want to read her backlog.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center has a unique and original plot, despite the usually predictable genre.
I enjoyed the story very much!
The lead character dealing with face blindness adds an intriguing layer to the narrative, making it a fun and quirky read.
I have not read other books by this author yet, but now I agree with the many positive things readers say about her writing.
She writes in such a relatable and engaging manner which definitely makes me want to read her other books!
There was a satisfying flow to this story and fulfilling ending.
I highly recommend this book!

Thankyou to author Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of release date!
Charlene 📚🌸🤗 @lastnownext

Love may be blind. But what if . . . what you see isn't what you get?

We follow our MC Sadie Montgomery who is named a finalist in the national portrait competition of her dreams. But reaching her dreams falls short when she is diagnosed with prosopagnosia or also referred to as face blindness. Feeling like she's lost and all out of hope she scrambles to embrace this new challenge in the best way she can. Along the way her adorable dog Peanut winds up being sick and she ends up meeting a handsome vet who she falls head over heels for, but also starts to catch feelings for the hipster guy also living in her apartment building. What happens next made me gasp!

This is a first time reading a Katherine Center and this certainly will not be last. I felt that she had such a way of immersing her readers within this story, making her characters relatable and feel all the emotions. Not only is she an great character depth, but she also did her research with this one due to elements of Prosopagnosia & what it takes to be a portrait artist. This is a story that will stick with me for long a time and looking forward to reading her others now.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for a review. This one has been out for a while, but wish I would have read this sooner!

Hello Stranger is a unique and heartwarming story that is definitely not your average rom-com!

The main character, Sadie, gets into an accident which causes her to experience face blindness. What an absolutely harrowing trauma to go through and then continue to try to make the best of the life you were gifted. This story is so rooted in lessons on finding hope and persevering. That despite all the struggles and difficulties in your life, you are meant to be here and that you will experience so much good when you open your heart to it. I knew Katherine Center wrote hilarious stories, but now I know she can wring a tear out of me too.

Two strangers fall in love and it's the perfect, sweet slow-burn romance. You know a book is a hit when you love both main characters and no matter how much time it takes, they're a sure thing. The forced proximity also added to the general hilarity of this story!

Joe - you big sweetheart. You want to swoon over a male lead? This is your man alright. Also - there's a puppy y'all!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would definitely recommend to fans of the authors previous books!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher

I always love a good Katherine Center novel!
This one was a little bit of a miss for me, but still fun and enjoyable.

A portrait artist loses her ability to see faces in this chaotic yet sweet rom-com.
Sadie Montgomery is about to finally have her big break - she's placed in one of the biggest art competitions of her life - and she needs to submit the perfect piece of art for the North American Portrait Society competition. If she wins, it would be life-changing and legitimize her career choice as an artist to her father and friends. But when a freak accident results in a necessary surgery she wakes up and nothing looks the same as it did before - especially faces. Where she once could see the composition of someone's face, now is a jumbled mess rivaling even Picasso's artwork. With her competition looming and her inability to even piece a face together, Sadie does what she can to cope - namely falling head over heels for her veterinarian (whose face she cannot see) and finding friendship with the man in her building who she assumes is the ultimate player.

As Sadie grapples with her face blindness and comes to terms with her own emotions and career aspirations, she learns that love can be found in the most unexpected of places.

A sweet, silly rom-com with all the classic Katherine Center charm.

A light-hearted, fun romance; this is my second Katherine Center book and I must admit that I love her style. She writes stories you can get wrapped up and lost in. A funny, easy read.

This was adorable and I loved how the FMC’s face blindness made her rely on her other senses. I especially enjoyed the “twist” at the end. Katherine Center is quickly becoming a favorite of mine 💛

I believe that there is no such thing as a bad book. There are just some stories that should be read in certain seasons of your life. I am not in the season to enjoy Center'ss latest work right now. I found the main character whiney and self-deprecating. The Cinderella trope was unoriginal. And the desire for a happy ending felt forced. I normally love Center's literary work for its tear-filled lessons and satisfied endings.. Hello Stranger missed the mark this time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center in exchange for my honest review and opinion. OMG I screamed with excitement when I was approved for this as she is absolutely one of my most favorite must read authors! Katherine Center knows exactly how to tug at our heartstrings and make us fall in love with her character. This book has all the feels and will keep you turning the pages faster and faster to see how it ends. Once you are done, you will have a book hangover and wishing you hadn't read so fast!

This was my first book by this author and it has definitely left me wanting to read more. It was cute, sweet and quirky at times and the whole premise was unique and interesting. The plot seemed to move slowly at times and the heroine had me rolling my eyes occasionally, but overall it was a fun read.

Very very cute! I love how fun it was. But the main character was a little bit annoying at times. I love Katherine Center writing. It always brings me joy.

this one was cute! face blindness was such a unique and cool plot point that I had never read about before in a romance

I am not sure how this slipped through the cracks, as I am an avid Katherine Center reader! Then I realized that I truly hemmed and hawed with how to rate this book - I think I had some growing to do, and I feel this book helped. Originally, I was going to round it to 4 stars, as I found it an easy read, and rather enjoyable, save for a couple of eye-rolls here, and a groan or two there. And the ending? No spoilers here, but I also won't lie - I thought I knew what would happen. In fact I impatiently awaited its happening (hence the rounding to 4). And then I was gob smacked! Yet, it wasn't the ending that made me hesitate my review. I hesitated when I read Center's author's note, because her words made me go back and see the book in a totally different light. Center is 100% right, "love is healing", and "believing in love is believing in hope."

We tend to shrug off what we don't know or don't want to see. " We're all so steeped in our own confirmation bias. We're all so busy seeing what we want to see."

And as women, we rarely want to admit we need help, especially in today's world. We can also be blind to someone else's weaknesses. “Basically we tend to decide on what the world is and who people are and how things are—and then we look for evidence that supports what we’ve already decided. And we ignore everything that doesn’t fit.” Center really does a great job of bringing emotions, fears, desires, and romance all together in a way that is unique and well, educational. That is, if you open your eyes to it. So thank you , Katherine Center, for refreshing my eyes. Forgiving the eyerolls and the few groans, and the fact that I could recommend this to almost anyone with out any qualms or heads-up, Hello Stranger earned 5 stars.

And I know we are not to really quote an arc, but your words in this book are gold, and need to be read:

“The more good things you look for, the more you find.”
" Seeming okay and being okay are not the same thing." - "it's better to be real than to be fake."
“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.”
“We’re all just muddling through, after all. We’re all just doing the best we can. We’re all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down, is a little bit lost.”

Katherine Center's books have always been hits for me, and this one was enjoyable, too. The narrator, Patti Murin, is really good at portraying the banter and wit - she's definitely one of my favorite narrators. Sadie is a portrait artist who ends up with face blindness after an accident. Of course, this dramatically hampers her ability to make a living as she hoped to. Learning to live with this condition creates some heartbreaking and some hilarious moments. The way that it affects her romantic life is understandably cringey since she can't see anyone's face but also sweet and funny. This isn't my favorite book by this author, but it has her characteristic mix of substance and humor that makes me always look forward to her next release.

Wow! This book was amazing. Great characters, great plot and get connections between the characters. This was hard to put down!

Overall I enjoyed the message and life lesson this book set out to give. A little slow at certain points overall enjoyed the read and the unique-ness of the premise.

A feel good sentimental story, it was not unputdownable to me. I did enjoy the in story villains of this romance that was more than a romance.

Once I read The Bodyguard and was immediately hooked, I knew I had to read all Katherine Center books. What could be more intriguing than an artist diagnosed with face blindness? I must confess that this one was a slow start for me and I struggled to get through it a bit, but in the end i ended up loving the message of this book. Katherine Center has a magical writing ability and I highly recommend all her books.

I fell in love with Sadie and her dog peanut!! She is a very relatable main character, you couldn’t help but get wrapped up in her story.
After many turns of events, Sadie ends with face blindness. Not only is this devastating for anyone, Sadie is an artist. She paints portraits of people and their faces.
We follow Sadie through her dealing with this new way of life. I throughly enjoyed this book. My only gripe is mean girl/stepsister Parker has no consequences for what she has done to Sadie and others.

Katherine Center is such a reliable author - even though this wasn't my personal favorite of her books, it was still warm, funny and ultimately uplifting. I always feel happy after reading her books and she will continue to be an auto-read author for me.