I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I honestly was not sure what to make of the beginning of this book. It was strange and slow and I just couldn't get into the characters. However, I stuck it out because I love Katherine Center! I am so glad that I did!! This book was so fun and the way the story comes together is simply amazing. If you want a great, feel good book where the characters actually deal with real issues like adults, this book is for you :).

I'm so happy to have found a new-to-me author, Katherine Center. I read her last release, The Bodyguard, last year and knew she was going to be a new favorite. When I had the chance to read/listen to her newest release, Hello Stranger, I jumped at the opportunity, and I'm so glad I did.
Once again, I was entertained, I loved the characters (aside from the evil stepsister), I rooted for Sadie to get her life back on track and to get her happily-ever-after. I'd heard of face-blindness and knew a bit about it, but definitely learned a lot more about it than I'd known previously. And don't miss the author's notes at the end, both the notes about prosopagnosia (face-blindness) and the Author's Note about how she became a romance reader and writer. I can't say it any better than she said in her notes: “This love story really created fantastic anticipation.” I loved it!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

I loved Sadie’s story of face blindness and seeing how she overcame it. Especially loved the Joe story unfolding! Katherine Center is a top 5 happy rom com” author for me.

Sadie is an artist who just won a spot in a prestigious portrait painting competition when she finds out that she has a malformed blood vessel in her brain resulting in a need for immediate brain surgery. After her surgery, she has brain swelling that leads to (hopefully) temporary face blindness. Not only does this impact her participation in the competition, but it throws her life upside down. She ends up falling in love with two different men and dealing with an evil stepsister.

This book is so weird but in the best way possible. The idea of temporary face blindness as a romance trope is just wild enough that it works. I think Center did a nice just of explaining face blindness and the emotional impact without making it seem rude. Sadie has a lot going on in her life pre-brain surgery and it just gets even more intense afterwards. She hasn’t had a relationship with her dad or step-mom since she was a teenager and she has a step-sister who makes it her life mission to make Sadie’s life miserable.

My one issue with this book was Sadie’s continued participation in the portrait competition. I understand it’s important to the story and her growth, but no one in her life thinks to suggest she reach out to the judges and organizers, explain what happened, and ask to be deferred to the next year? Like, she can’t see faces! Why would she think it’s a good idea to continue in this competition??

I adored the romance in this story though. Joe and Sadie were so cute. It was very interesting to read a book where the lead male’s face was never really described. She ogles his torso a little bit, but it was kind of fun to read a romance where the physical aspect wasn’t the leading factor. Even though her interest in her vet was a little bit physical because she was attracted to his gait.

It was fascinating to see Sadie grow and deal with her emotional issues. I would’ve liked if we could’ve had a few more of her therapy sessions and delved a little deeper into the grief with her mom. I also wouldn’t have minded a little bit more of the happily ever after because I wanted more of Sadie and the man she got together with.

I rated this book 4 stars but it’s definitely closer to a 4.5 It was unlike any romance novel I had read before and I really enjoyed it. Sadie and Joe were so cute. Center does a good job of writing romance novels which mix heavier topics with romance, but I do think she could’ve gotten into it a little more. I will always add Center to the top of my to-read list. This may not be my favorite of hers, but it’s very high up there. I like it more than The Bodyguard from last year and would highly recommend checking it out.

I really enjoyed this book, after a few chapters. Took me a little bit to get there (had to put this down for other books) but once I was there, I was hooked! The premise is interesting because I've never heard of the condition before so that was a fun deep dive session for this enneagram 5 gal. The character development in this book is great, I was a bit meh about Sadie in the beginning but definitely warmed up to her around the middle of the book and totally get her actions/drivers by the end. All in all, a great read especially if you're a fan of Katherine Center!

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

I had not read a Katherine Center before and I will pick up her works in the future. This was so fast paced and I read it in one sitting. I have recommended this on my bookstagram!

I’ve loved Katherine’s other books for their great characters, engaging plots, and witty banter. This book has everything that I’ve lived about her previous ones. I couldn’t put this book down, and I finished it within a day. If you’re looking for a funny read with great characters— this is your book!

This was my second book by Katherine Center and I loved it 🥰 Sadie is an artist that paints portraits. When tragedy hits and Sadie is left with propoganosia (face blindness), she is forced to face some tough challenges. I love how this was written so beautifully bringing in hope and love during such a difficult and life altering challenge.
I loved the humor, the family drama, the dog, and the romance. Katherine Center knows how to suck you in and give you all the feels 🥰
I’m excited to read all of Katherine Center’s books. I have a few on my shelf. I’ve only read The Bodyguard before this one.

Thank you @netgalley and @random house for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Center's books are always like a dramatic big hug. Something devastating is bound to happen...in this case...Sadie wakes up after an unexpected surgery and can't recognize faces. But the whole story has you anticipating the warm, cozy hug that will inevitably be the ending.

Family drama, best friends, mistaken identity, love.

Hello Stranger felt more in line with the romcom subgenre. It was cutesy and made me smile.

4 stars simply because I personally loved the feel of How to Walk Away and Things You Save In a Fire more.

A great read, I highly recommend. The story of Sadie, who is face blind after a surgery on her brain. What does this mean for her career as an artist? Emotional read at times.

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist on the cusp of getting her big break in a portrait competition, when everything gets turned on its head. She is discovered to have a condition that needs brain surgery right away, and although she fights to postpone it until after her competition, she finds out her mother died of the same condition so she chooses to have the surgery right away. She wakes up and discovers there has been a complication, she has developed face blindness. Faces look like a jumbled mess of features, and it could not come at a worse time, then when her future career depends on her ability to paint a realistic portrait. As she struggles to find a way to paint with her condition she begins to get to know a neighbour living on her floor, but also falls in lust with her dog's new vet.
Not being able to recognize people by their face will really change the trajectory of her life, and while things don't work out the way she wants, everything will end up a blessing in disguise.

This was such a lovely surprise of a book. I have heard so many good things about this authors work, so when i had the opportunity to get a copy of her latest release I jumped at the chance. There were a few aspects that didn't work for me. Some of the side characters felt too much like caricature and had one dimension. Past that I really enjoyed this book, it felt over the top in the best way. I don't know if it was intentional but I felt the love interest being called Joe, when his name was not Joe as a nod to a Christina Lauren character who happened to be referred to as Not-Joe. The characters were quirky, funny, and outrageous in the best way. I did not want to put the book down, it was so readable.

Katherine Center attacks another tough topic with a brain injury that can't identify faces. This was new to me, so it was interesting to learn about. The characters were great, humor added to help the flow of the plot, and the idea of her being an artist having to paint after this brain injury adds so much.

I will be recommending this to others for sure!

Katherine Center is an auto read for them and this one does not disappoint! Well written, with great characters. I laughed and I cried!

Katherine Center writes love, loss, and other themes with such grace and wit. I leave her books feeling like I have found new friends and I feel like I grow in my own way, especially in regards to empathy for people of all walks and lives. Stellar book, once again!

An incredibly interesting premise about a girl with a brain injury and develops face blindness. As someone who works in Neurosurgery, I couldn’t get on board with the “wait and see” approach to edema that was the same 2 weeks after surgery and then all of a sudden was resolving. That’s what steroids are for. Alas, I found the twist at the end to be predictable. Not my favorite from this author unfortunately

To start, I have enjoyed reading most of Center’s books, especially last year’s The Bodyguard, but Hello, Stranger just was worthy of a 5 star rating. The storyline is unique as the reader learns of neurological condition called prosopagnosia (face blindness) which was brought on by cavernoma in her brain. Although this is horrible for anyone, Sadie is especially effected by this issue as she is a portrait painter causing her to not complete a portrait that has been submitted into a highly prestigious portrait competition. Besides Sadie having a difficult family, Sadie has difficulty asking for help. After a few unfortunate situations, Sadie finds herself in a love triangle between the helpful neighbor, Joe and the strikingly handsome veterinarian, who saved her dog Peanut’s life. She must ask both of them for help, and she falls for both of them, but she cannot not identify either of their faces.

The premise is inspiring as we should look within before judging someone by their face alone, and the parts of the story are heartwarming and funny. I would recommend reading this one if you feel good story with a little love triangle and a little steam.

Thank you Libro.fm for the advanced copy audiobook and Netgalley for the advanced copy eBook. And a special Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read and review the book.

Katherine Center wrote another book everyone is going to love. Sadie and Joe have such an unlikely start to their relationship and the way it all comes out in the end is a big surprise to anyone. The family dynamics of Sadie, her dad, Lucinda and Parker are another layer of complexity to this story. After Sadie lost her mom suddenly, her dad remarried rather quickly and that marriage came with an evil stepsister that did everything she could to get Sadie out of her life and turn her mom, Lucinda and Sadie's dad against Sadie. The sad part is Sadie has always been a genuinely nice person. When she develops prosopagnosia (face blindness) after a needed brain surgery her world is literally turned upside down. Her portrait career and chance of a lifetime to make a name for herself may just be slipping away.

I thoroughly enjoyed this silly and engaging romance.

Our heroine Sadie was a hot mess from the beginning (which, I liked because life is messy y'all.) Our hero Joe started out as more of a zero (yes that rhyme should make you cringe) but by the end of the book he had more than redeemed himself.

Like all of Katherine Center's books, the secondary characters were well written and did add to the storyline. There were a couple of the characters that I would have liked a house to drop on but for the most part they all had good and bad traits just like people actually do.

I would recommend this book to any fan of Katherne Center or anyone who enjoys hard won HEAs.

Sadie, the very definition of a starving artist, finally gets her big break when she is selected as a finalists in a renowned portrait competition. But after having brain surgery, she develops face blindness. She can't recognize anyone--let alone paint their features. She struggles through, trying to find ways of coping, all while developing a bit of a crush on two new men in her life: her dog's classically handsome, ivy league educated veterinarian and her floppy-haired hipster potentially playboy neighbor. But her inability to paint and truly evil stepsister make things challenging.

Wow! I love Katherine Center's writing, especially her newer works (which veer on the slightly less tragic), and this one didn't disappoint. I had intended to read an early copy last Christmas, but didn't want to mess up my (already-decided) best books of 2022 rankings, and @bookswithnopictures had been screaming about how good it was, so I held off... and somehow just managed to get to it it now. Oops. But it was just what I needed to pick me up after a string of perfectly average books. It had everything I wanted--a likable heroine, swoony hero(es), an interesting career and subplot, and ride-or-die BFF. I could have done without the literally sociopathic stepsister, but every book needs a villain, I guess. I really, really enjoyed this book and would whole-heartedly recommend.

Thanks to St. Martin's for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10