I swear Katherine Center cannot write a bad book. Honestly it’s true. I’ve read my fair share of her books and each one is just as lovely as the next.

So this one may have just been my favorite. I have a friend who suffers with face blindness so this story was extra special (and I’ll definitely be recommending it to her). I love that Sadie turned something unexpected into a beautiful superpower and learned something along the way. I loved all the twists and turns of Sadie’s story and I think it might be my new favorite Center book.

Katherine Center is known for delivering heartfelt stories that often tackle characters' fears or traumas. Hello Stranger has a unique premise -- an artist who is about to embark on a personally and professionally fulfilling contest discovers she needs brain surgery and, after the surgery, develops facial blindness.

While the premise of this is unique, and I was interested to see where the story would go, a number of things fell a bit flat for me. First, the main character feels very out of touch and failed to grasp the seriousness of her condition and then subsequently hides the condition out of fear that people will see her differently. A lot of her views around the condition felt ableist and I didn't love her narration. Second, the resolution felt simultaneously too neatly tied up and unrealistic. As a result, this story was a three-star read for me because I did enjoy the writing and felt invested enough to keep reading, but the execution of the interesting plot didn't wholly work for me.

Hello Stranger was a an interesting perspective of a character challenged with acquired face blindness coping with life and her career as a portrait artist.

I think this may be my third Katherine Center novel and I'm gonna rank it in the middle. I though The Bodygaurd was much stronger. There were just a bunch of holes in Hello Stranger that I just had to ignore as a reader.

I didn't really understand the wicked stepsister plotline. It felt contrived and didn't mesh well in my opinion. Just dumb things like why does she want to ruin Sadie's life, why now after so many years has she popped up again, what even is her job. Could. Have been fleshed out more or reworked somehow.

I loved the twist. I mean, it was obvious from the beginning due to the face blindness thing what was happening but I still enjoyed the build up and reveal.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Kathrine Center for a digital copy in exchange for a review.

I went in with high hopes for this book since I read last year's The Bodyguard by Katherine Center and loved it. This book didn't really disappoint (I read it in one evening/ couldn't put it down), however, it wasn't without its issues.

I found it ironic that the book as an author's note in which the author pontificates on the element of predictability in romance novels. I agree with the points she makes in this note, but it still doesn't excuse when predictability becomes trite or cliche which I do feel this book does. I have no problem admitting that I can and often do enjoy a book that is fully cringe (this book veers into cringe more than once). The author's note makes sense to me, what I'm looking for in a romance is a good dynamic between the romantic leads, a believable progression of feeling and a happy ending that feels earned. if you give me those three things, I'm going to like your story! This book gave me those three things! But I must say that it also has a ton of over-the-top-ness and truly asinine logic that it tries REALLY hard to explain away.

But I can excuse all that, the reasons I took a star away are 1. that we spend so much of the third act explaining the "twist" as if the reader didn't figure out the twist from page 5!! We thought you knew we knew, book!! why are you explaining this to me like I'm 3? and 2. the way that the sister was portrayed irked me a bit. She was a cartoon villain with absolutely zero nuance. I want my characters to feel real.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this. I liked the set up, the premise and the romance, but I didn't super enjoy the implausibility of some of the aspects
((and btw, I'm NOT talking about the face blindness issues when I talk about implausibilities. I'm talking about lack of communication and reader/author trust and/or dynamics. ))

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was the first book I’ve read by this author but had anticipated great things based on the reviews I’ve seen and I was not disappointed. The story was fast paced, kept my interest and had a cute angle. I’ll definitely read more by this author.

“Hello Stranger” was an absolute TREAT!!💙 This is my fourth Katherine Center book, and it left me with all the same warm feelings that I’ve come to love about Katherine’s writing🥰

Sadie, the FMC in “Hello Stranger” dealt with a very unique condition known as “prosopagnosia” otherwise referred to as “face blindness.” This was an especially challenging diagnosis for Sadie because she was a portrait artist and a finalist in a prestigious art competition. I had never heard of this condition before, but was fascinated to get an in-depth look at what life would be like if we weren’t able to see people’s faces!! You could totally tell Katherine spent HOURS doing tons of research to do this condition justice👏🏼

Although I can’t talk much about the romance without giving away major spoilers, I will say it was SWOONY!!!! And FUNNY!!! And HEART-WARMING!! And don’t even get me started on the ENDING🤯🤐🤭 That’s all🤫😍

I also wanted to say that I’ve never fallen in love with a character’s pet before, but Peanut changed that🥹🐶 I absolutely ADORED this doggo and his refined taste palate😂❤️ Best book pet EVER🥰

Overall, I REALLY enjoyed this story!! It left me with a sense of hope, deep satisfaction, and restored faith in humanity❤️

🚨TW: death of a parent & bullying
🚨CW: closed door romance with swoony kisses & infrequent strong/mild language

Only can Katherine Center write a love at first sight when the FMC is face-blind! And I am OBSESSED with Peanut. OBSESSED!

Sadie is forced to learn to live in a new reality after getting diagnosed with a possibly temporary face blindness after brain surgery. But as a portrait artist, competing in the biggest competition of her life, the timing could not be worse. As she struggles, she learns there may be other ways of seeing.

SO much love and humor and heartwarming moments that I have come to expect from Katherine Center. This one leans a little less into romance, but I loved it no less than her previous and as always, it was everything I needed and ever wanted.

It was emotional and inspiring and had me laughing and crying from one page to the next.

I really enjoyed this one!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for my advanced copy of Hello Stranger!

Hello Stranger had great humor, a unique storyline and a romance I was totally invested in.

Why This Book isn't a 5 Star ✨- The lack of communication.

Overall- Highly Recommend. I love Katherine Center and I will always look forward to reading whatever she decides to publish. ❤

Sadie's life isn't going exactly how she hoped but she is determined to show her father that she can make it. When she gets the chance to be a part of the North American Portrait Society Competition she can't help but celebrate the achievement. Things take a turn though when after buying some wine for her celebration she leaves the store and wakes up in the hospital. She soon learns that she has been stricken with face blindness, A horrible thing to happen to someone.who paints portraits for a living. The doctors can't tell her if she'll get better or will always have the condition. Faced with this new reality Sadie doesn't know where to turn. This was such a lovely and emotional read, I laughed and cried. You never know how strong you are until life knocks you off your feet.

Bravo, Katherine Center! This book made me feel the most delicious sense of anticipation. ❤️

I wasn’t a fan of Sadie right away. She just seemed so dedicated to being negative. But the more I read, the more I related to her, and the more empathy I felt. This truly is such a sweet story. It tugs at your heart strings and compels you to see people differently.

Katherine Center is a master of happy endings that feel realistic—it’s not just a wistful fairy tale. The characters and their feelings are so true to real life, that instead of a fairy tale, we are left with something much more powerful: hope. And that is what makes this book so wonderful.

Of course, I loved the characters, and I loved how much of the story unfolded in Sadie’s inner dialogue. It was a delightful read, and frankly, you should read it. If you love a sweet unlikely romance with lots of personal growth, go get a copy of this book. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed this book! Parts were predictable but sometimes I am okay with that! It was a quick fun read.

Where do I start? Do I start with “ I can’t stop smiling” or, I’ve been smiling for the last hour or so? How much I adored the characters in this book? From Sadie, to Joe, to Sue and Mr Kim… as well as Peanut. I seriously fell for this book! I thought I had a favorite Katherine Center book, but this has far out placed any other, and that’s saying a lot!! I know I mentioned smiling, but I will also admit to tearing up. This book is so touching. I cannot wait to text everyone I know and tell them they MUST read this book NOW. Thank you Netgalley for the chance at reading and loving this book.

I enjoyed follow Sadie's story as a struggling artist who finally got a big break. Unfortunately, it coincides with a medical emergency that requires surgery. As a side effect she cannot see faces, which is a big challenge as her big break is a portrait competition!
Sadie is an endearing character who has been though a lot with the sudden death of her mother when she was younger and a terrible stepsister that has gone out of her way to make Sadie's life difficult.
I enjoyed the writing style and look forward to reading more of Katherine Center's novels.

If you like family drama, humor, single POV, and a well-done love triangle, check this one out. Katherine Center delivers an entertaining read and a fun escape.

I loved this book! I really loved Sadie’s journey of self discovery as she learned to navigate her neurological issues, her family problems, and her grief, and come out on the other side. I saw the (Twist? Big reveal?) coming so that wasn’t a surprise, but the ending was very satisfying

This book is both hilarious and filled with romance while also balancing serious topics. Sadie has been trying to prove to her father for years that she never needed him after her mother died. She's a struggling artist who is filled with witty banter and optimism except when she needs to ask for help. There's great conversations about dealing with grief, how to evolve after life changing diagnosis but also above all, there's a lot of fun. I enjoyed this book because I was surprised with how much I found myself loling. Sadie's romance is one that has twist and turns and while it may be predictable, it def kept you on your toes.

This book is an invisible string type beat - I could hear Taylor while reading at the end I swear.

This is one of those books where at times, the plot is ridiculous but also really engaging so you’re just having fun reading which I always enjoy! This book really was fun and I loved following Sadie’s journey after her incident. I will say there were parts I thought were odd or should’ve had more of a definite resolution (*cough cough* her family issues) but these weren’t deal breakers for me by any means.

Where this book really got me was the end with the main reveal. I was genuinely shocked and could not process at first, it made the book sooo much better to me that I bumped up my rating.

Genuinely such a fun read, definitely pick this one up!

This story is one about finding love where you least expect it and possibly during one of the most confusing times in your life. On top of everything, how does a portrait artist paint faces she suddenly can’t see? Sadie struggles to find her identity amid the new challenges she’s been presented, but through self-discovery and a strong support system, she fights to persevere. I thought this concept was interesting for the book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is the first novel I’ve read by this author and I look forward to reading more of their work!

After years of feeling stagnant and like a failure as an artist, Sadie finally catches a break. She places as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. She's riding high, until she's not. She wakes up in the hospital after having a seizure in the middle of the street and being saved by a Good Samaritan. She finds out she will require surgery for a malformed blood vessel in her brain. She wants to put it off until after the contest, but her father is adamant she get it done immediately. Sadie comes out of the surgery with prosopagnosia, face blindness. She can no longer see faces. Sadie has difficulty navigating life with her condition. Everyone she meets is a stranger until she can place them based on other cues. Then two men enter her life - her dog's hot new vet and her sexy neighbor.

This was a big HUG of a story. From her amazing BFF and her sweet parents, her adorable dog, Peanut, her therapist and of course Joe - I loved it all. Did I forsee the twist? Yes. Was it any less enjoyable? No. As, Katherine states in her author's note - we all want that HEA when we read a romance. We're not here for the surprises. We're here for that feel good, fuzzy warm feeling and this book delivers that in spades.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center and St Martin’s Press for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I anxiously await new release from Center like no bodies business and this one made me so so happy. I found myself smiling the whole last 10% and I wanted nothing more than to just start it all over again. These characters were amazing and facial blindness doesn’t get very much attention for the amount of people who suffer. Just buy this one guys - it’s beautiful.