Premise: Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who has a medical emergency and wakes up with face blindness. How can a portrait artist work when she can’t see faces? To make matters worse she has the most important portrait of her life due in 6 weeks for a prestigious competition. A competition her mother never got to complete as she died just weeks before the deadline of the same medical condition Sadie suffers from.
I am enjoyed this book and it makes for a quick read. Some initial thoughts:
1. Marketed as a romance this is more of a women’s fiction that has some light romance, rather than a standard romance novel. If you have only ever read this author’s last book The Bodyguard do not expect the same experience.
2. While I am enjoying this read I find it hard to relate to the main character. She doesn’t have many redeeming qualities and her constant whining about her situation becomes redundant.
3. My favorite character so far is Peanut, the lovable Thai food eating dog.
4. Yes, there is a love triangle but the characters spend more time rescuing and helping Sadie through yet another crisis than actually forming a relationship.
5. While the face blindness aspect is unique and initially intrigued me, I found it hard to relate to the situation on an emotional level.

Overall this is a solid read that I know will be a hit with most readers. I am enjoyed my experience even though this story is not what I expected. Thank you to Katherine Center and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center has done it again! Her new novel Hello Stranger was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and I’m thrilled to share that it not only met my very high expectations, but it actually exceeded them.

Hello Stranger follows the protagonist Sadie Montgomery. Sadie is a gifted portrait artist and when we meet her, she has just placed as a finalist in a prestigious portrait painting competition. She is beyond ecstatic until she is quite literally blindsided by a life changing event and finds herself in the hospital diagnosed with “face blindness.” The doctors hope her condition is temporary, but there’s no way of knowing how long it will last. If Sadie’s career involves painting faces for a living, how is she supposed to do her job and how is she supposed to paint her competition entries. Needless to say, Sadie is distraught.

What always draws me to Center’s books is how strong her heroines are in the face of adversity. No matter how big of an obstacle they face, there’s always a sense of perseverance and hopefulness and we see this with Sadie as she sets out to cope with her situation and try everything in her power to get those portraits painted. I’m not very familiar with face blindness, but I thought Center did a wonderful job of handling the condition with respect and sensitivity, while at the same time, infusing Sadie’s journey with her signature warmth and humor.

Another area where I really appreciated Center’s humor revolved around Sadie’s complicated relationship with her father, her stepmother and her evil stepsister, Parker. There’s a nice balance between dramatic moments and humorous ones as Sadie interacts with them, especially Parker, who loves to torment Sadie on a regular basis anyway, but being able to prank her without being recognized is just too irresistible for her.

While much of the story focuses on Sadie’s journey as she copes with face blindness, there is also a romantic element. Even though Sadie cannot see their faces, she finds herself attracted to two very different men she encounters while looking for distractions from her situation. One is her new neighbor, an obnoxious yet endearing guy named Joe, and the other is the veterinarian who saved her beloved dog, Peanut’s, life. The timing is of course terrible because she has more important things to worry about than her love life, but she cannot deny that she’s attracted to both men. I loved watching Sadie navigate her way through this love triangle she didn’t expect to find herself in and was more than satisfied with how this aspect of the story plays out.

Filled with relatable and realistic characters, witty dialogue and a storyline that is both heartwarming and humorous, Katherine Center has another winner on her hands with Hello Stranger. It’s easily one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Sadie Montgomery never expected to lose one of the most significant assets to her life and livelihood, the ability to see faces, but it was all gone in the blink of an eye. She should be celebrating placing as a finalist in a prestigious portrait painting competition but instead, she's recovering from brain surgery. Upon waking from surgery, she was shocked to discover that every single face she could see, including her own, consisted of a jumbled mess of facial puzzle pieces. She tries to hold on to her dream of winning the competition but she can't paint, let alone see, her model's face anymore. As she feels her hope slipping away, she meets two handsome men (at least she thinks they are handsome) who she can't stop thinking about. At the same time, her constant family drama seems to be at a high. Can Sadie find a way to cope with her new normal and maybe even thrive?

I enjoyed this story but it did take a bit for me to get hooked. I kept setting it down and coming back to it but once I got more into it, I wanted to find out what happens. I found a few parts of the story to be a little less than believable but I will say that this was a fun and cute read. This story is definitely different and I appreciated that it's not like most other romances I've read. Overall, I think this is a great beach read with a unique storyline.

Sadie really wants to stand on her own two feet. But, she is having some terrible difficulties. She thinks her life is looking up. She has been selected as a finalist in a major art portrait competition. Then she wakes up in the hospital with a major brain abnormality. She has to have brain surgery. And this leaves her with face blindness. No way can she compete if she cannot see faces!

This book has some of the best characters (as do all her books)! Sadie has flaws but she is struggling to do her best. Life just keeps knocking her down. Then there is her sweet 14 year old dog named Peanut. Enter veterinarian, Dr. Oliver Addison. He is a good-looking guy that goes out of his way to help Sadie. But, as you can guess, there is a little bit of confusion in places!

I have been a fan of this author since I read my very first book. And I love this one just as much as How To Walk Away! This author can just transport me into her stories and keep me there.

This book is more than just a romance. It is a story about strength and courage. Sadie’s perseverance is amazing. And the research that went into this affliction is incredible. Katherine Center has done it again!

Need an adorable story to get you through the day….THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

If you’re a fan of Katherine Center, you’ll be a fan of Hello Stranger, for sure. It is a perfectly sweet yet predictable story that didn’t exactly keep me guessing while simultaneously kept me intrigued and wanting to read more. I felt as though there was a lot happening…face blindness, family, friends (Sue’s departure bothered me way more than it should have, what a strange storyline), job…but it didn’t seem to connect like it could have. The main character Sadie was likable, while at the same time kind of obnoxious and she wasn’t the FMC I wanted to cheer on as I read. All around a cute story, a quick read, and one KC fans will love, but the storyline just was not for me. Thank you Net Galley & St. Martin’s Press for the advanced digital copy of this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hello Stranger
By: Katherine Center Pub Date: 7/11/23
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Sadie Montgomery is a portrait painter just like her mom was. Unfortunately her mom passed when she was 14 and her father isn’t supportive of her career. He wanted her to be a doctor like him. They are estranged now.
Sadie has entered the same contest her mom placed in years ago and she too was selected as one of the finalists. With just 6 weeks to prepare, she’s feeling the pressure.
When she falls and has a seizure things get serious quickly.
When she wakes up at the hospital to her wicked stepmother Lucinda she knows things are bad. She needs surgery and for the first time her father comes to her tells her she needs to do the surgery right away and confesses the condition is hereditary and her mom put off her surgery and died before it could be fixed.
Only when she wakes up she doesn’t recognize her best friend Sue's face. She is a portrait painter who can't see peoples faces. Everybody looks like a stranger to her. She worries about Peanut’s face the most, her 14 year old dog her mom rescued. But when she finally works up the courage to go get him from the border, everything is normal with Peanut. Until she begins to notice that he’s not moving like he should, nor eating and drinking. She rushes him down the street to the emergency vet. Where is she meets Dr. Oliver Addison, who she knows is good looking without seeing his face.
Because of her condition she needs extra help, her neighbor Joe enters the fold and now she has 2 men in her life. But maybe she’s “seeing” things she never had before.

I really loved this book. Katherine Center has become one of my favorite romance authors. Her characters are always fun to learn about. This was definitely the feel good romance I needed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! This is my first t Center novel, even though I’ve had two others on my TBR for some time. This was a cute, quick read with a premise I hadn’t really encountered before - face blindness. I really enjoyed this until about 2/3 of the way through. I started to get a little confused (which I realized by the end may have been due to pieces of the story being moved around in editing - hopefully to be corrected before publication!) and frustrated when I realized what was going on. I wanted Sadie to get there faster at the same time as me! All in all, this was a cute book and I’m going to eventually get to the author’s books on my TBR.

I received an advance reader copy of this book.

God. Why was this so cute? This was my first Katherine Center book and definitely won't be my last. Finished in one cozy summer evening and couldn't stop.

Sadie is a portrait artist who gets brain surgery and ends up with face blindness right as she's supposed to be producing her best portrait for a competition. As she's navigating her condition, family drama, and the art world, she ends up in a love triangle with a guy in her building and her dog's vet.

Can't say much else without spoiling the whole thing but ugh it was so fun.

If you’re in the mood for a happy, feel-good read, look no further. I had a hard time wiping the grin off my face for the majority of this latest Katherine Center novel which I couldn’t put down.
The story follows portrait artist Sadie Montgomery who finds herself in a bit of a pickle when as she finally gets her big break, she winds up in an accident and an eventual surgery leaving her with “probably temporary” facial blindness — not the thing you need as a facial portrait artist! Everyone appears as a face full of puzzle pieces, including the two very different men she starts to fall for, despite not seeing them clearly. It becomes clear things may not always be as they appear — blurry or not.
This was such a fun, refreshing romcom that left me frequently laughing and unable to put the book down.
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This comes out 7/11.

I have some mixed feelings..

Overall, I enjoyed it!! Definitely an interesting story but I was not a fan of the MC. Part of me understands that she was going through a rough time & to cut her some slack, but another part of me thinks she’s rude & a debbie downer

Although this one did start out rather slow for me, I really loved that last 30% and that made up for the not so great start.

A portrait artist struggles with “probably temporary” face blindness after an accident, in Katherine Center’s heartwarming and funny, HELLO STRANGER.

After celebrating her most significant accomplishment to date (placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition), Sadie Montgomery undergoes emergency brain surgery and wakes up without the ability to see faces clearly. As a portrait artist on the cusp of her big break, this more than dampens her prospects. Intent to figure a way through, and with the help of her best friend, Sue, and her beloved dog, Peanut, Sadie starts to paint again… sort of. Along the way, she begins to fall for two very different men—her neighbor Joe (with his telltale bowling jacket), and hunky veterinarian Dr. Addison. All this couldn’t happen at a worse time, though, as her whole life spirals into a jumbled mess she can’t seem to decipher. And as the days tick by, will she be able to deliver an entry to the competition that could change it all for her?

Center (THE BODYGUARD) delivers an endearing story about hope, love, and found family. While it’s somewhat easy to predict the direction of the narrative, and despite questioning the reality of some scenarios, this was a charming escape. Funny and sweet, HELLO STRANGER is a warm, feel-good type of story. Center also clearly did her research on Prosopagnosia (face blindness), helping to shed light on this difficult condition.
If you’re looking for a heartwarming one-weekend binge, this is a great book to pick up.

Most of this book was hard to put down. I liked the variety of characters. I also was surprised to read in a note following the book that sadie’s condition is a legitimate medical condition. I always think it’s great to bring awareness of conditions that aren’t well known. I was just not expecting what happens towards the end and i’m not sure How i feel about it.

This was just the book I needed and I finished it in 24 hours. It was a cute book with a ton of heart and some great life lessons. I adored Sadie and her best friend, Sue. I loved how she wanted to prove her dad wrong by being an artist instead of a doctor. Sadie was resilient and determined to overcome the obstacles her health situation gave her. Oh and there’s some love interests as well.

"Knowing how much I used to be missing has taught me to pay better attention . To pause from the hustle more often and just take it all in."

Sadie is a portrait artist who has just been selected to enter into a prestigious contest. One day, Sadie ends up in the hospital and finds out she needs brain surgery. This surgery saves her life but has one major side effect.....she cannot see faces!

Follow Sadie as she learns to adjust to her new circumstances while trying to navigate family drama, perfecting a portrait without seeing the face, and falling in love.

Will she prevail or will she fail?


This book was funny, sweet, romantic, sad at times..... it was the total package for me! Loved it!

A sappy love story set unusual circumstances that left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Sadie was an amazing main character. I loved her strength and determination throughout the story. One of the main struggles she faces is that a brain surgery leaves her with face blindness and she has to learn how to navigate her life, career, and relationships with it. This was such a unique direction for a love story to take and I learned so much about this condition. Sadie was badass and it was a joy to read about how she dealt with it.

The romance part of this story was cute and sappy. I did guess the twist early on but it was interesting to see how everything was revealed. I do wish it was a little more spicy though 😅

I loved Katherine Center’s prose and can’t wait for what she writes next.

Pub date: 7/11

This eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Hello Stranger to review!
Katherine Center's newest romance novel follows a painter named Sadie that gets diagnosed with an inherited brain condition. This leads to brain surgery with a temporary diagnosis of face-blindness. This basically means that Sadie can't recognize faces anymore and when she sees a face she cannot even tell if it's a face that she should be able to recognize or not. This problem is made more difficult by the fact that Sadie is a portrait painter who needs to complete her best portrait to date in the next six weeks if she wants to win a competition that she became a finalist in. As Sadie's life turns upside down she ends up meeting two different men that she is infatuated with. When her impromptu love story starts unraveling at the most unstable point in her life she struggles to understand where to turn. This new romance has everything you're looking for as well as an unpredictable ending. For anyone who is a fan of romance or contemporary, this is absolutely worth picking up!!
When I read the first 25% of this book I was very hesitant about what direction it would turn. The Bodyguard was very obviously "fluffy romance novel" from the beginning, so when this book took a dive into brain surgery I felt a little bit out of my depth. However, once Sadie met Dr. Addison and Joe I could not put the book down. I read it in a day. I was obsessed with both Joe and Dr. Addison and the fact that there were two love interests. Everything about this book felt unexpected and unpredictable but that's what I loved about it. It gave me a really cute love story while not using the exact same blueprint that so many other romance novels use. I also ended up finding Sadie's face-blindness diagnosis very interesting and I thought her descriptions of what she was experiencing were very cool. By far, my absolute favorite part of this book was Peanut. Every scene with Peanut was made 10x better BECAUSE of Peanut. When Sadie picked him up at the vet for the first time and was afraid that she might not recognize his face I literally almost cried. I thought this was a super cute, fun romance novel that was different from anything I've read before in the best way possible. I will definitely continue to read more Katherine Center books in the future!

I loved this book!!!! It was crafted so uniquely and the characters were delightful. I highly recommend reading this. It will stick with me for a long while!

This was such a cute story that I loved so much! It wasn’t just about the romance aspect, but about keeping hope and moving forward no matter what difficulties you face in life. I loved that Sadie had so many real life struggles because it made it that much easier to relate to her. She was dealing with family problems, a career she hadn’t seemed to excel at, and having trouble with money. I was heartbroken to find that she’d have to have brain surgery on top of those problems, but loved getting to see her learn to deal with the difficulties that her temporary “face blindness” caused. It will definitely have you making sure you slow down and appreciate the things around you a little bit more.

I went into this one completely blind and am so happy that I did! There’s a little twist that I kind of saw coming that I know you will enjoy! Make sure to pick this one up, you won’t regret it! 💗

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress and @katherinecenter for allowing me to read and review!

This wasn’t my favourite Katherine Center novel I’ve read. It was an enjoyable read it just wasn’t anything fantastic that I will be raving about. Parker was awful and that whole story arc really bothered me. If you’re looking for a cute not spicy romance with some other topics mixed in this one is the one for you.

If Katherine Center writes it, I will read it.

All of her books read like a movie and while they do have a comforting sort of formula, she also comes up with some of the most inventive storylines to fit into that formula of hers.

They have all the nostalgia and sadness and joy and comfort that comes from a warm cookie.

One thing I specifically loved about Hello Stranger was that the FMC becomes an unreliable narrator after she has a brain surgery which leaves her "face blind." Sadie, no longer able to recognize faces, leaves the reader with this really fun mystery element you don't get in your average romance. I was left looking for the same clues to people's true identity as Sadie.

I laughed (out loud even), I thought really hard about prosopagnosia (face blindness), and grew attached to these characters (especially Peanut).

Loveable characters, lovable plot, and just the right dose of "wow this would never happen." Well done, Katherine! you've done it again!