I absolutely adored Katherine Center’s newest release, Hello Stranger, and the tie-in to the title is on-point and impactful. This story is now one of my favorite reads of the year.

Hello Stranger has the perfect mix of sweet love story combined with heart-wrenching family dynamics, strong female friendship, challenging personal issues to overcome, and thought-provoking themes. The main character is funny and optimistic, but also realistic, relatable and inspiring. I learned new things about “face blindness”, which is something I knew and have read little about, and the insights gleaned were interesting and valuable.

Hello Stranger follows Sadie Montgomery who as gone her own way in life, despite her father’s dogged resistance, choosing to follow her dreams of becoming an artist like her late mother. In addition to her career choices, she has had to go it alone without the support of her family, who has alienated her and kept their distance, repeatedly choosing to believe her “evil step-sister” over Sadie. It has not been an easy road, losing her mother at a young age and then essentially losing her family, but her friendship with Sue, and Sue’s parents, has kept her going.

Tragedy strikes yet again when Sadie has a seizure on a street intersection, saved by a Good Samaritan. When she has to follow-up with brain surgery, comes out of it with a new obstacle to overcome, prosopagnosia, or face blindness. As a portrait artist, this is especially debilitating, but she handles it with grace, determination and optimism. Along the way, Sadie learns more about herself, tackles some long-held issues, finds restoration and a degree of healing within a certain relationship, as well as a discovering love in an unexpected place.

Katherine Center portrays her characters’ interactions, choices, thoughts and emotions with such authenticity and realism. Her stories consistently have deeper themes for the reader to contemplate; her characters are humorous, likable and engaging; and her plots have unique elements that make each story feel fresh. Hello Stranger was heart-warming and an absolute joy and pleasure to read. Katherine Center is without a doubt, an auto-buy author for me.

I thought this book starts a bit slow. That only lasted for a couple chapters and then it really took off! I really liked all the characters and felt sad for Sadie. It’s another really good book by this author! It was hard to put down! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Gosh, I really wanted to love this book. The cover is gorgeous, but this was all over the place. Parker should've gotten an a** kicking at the end, or atleast a punch to the face. Joe was so sweet and likeable, Sadie was a hot mess. Sue didn't help the situation, like a best friend should. And then Sadie's dad, checking out after her mother died. Are you freaking kidding? I'm getting pissed all over again. 100% missed the mark with me.

I’m happy to see that there is a lot of love and many positive reviews for this book. Unfortunately, I am an outlier and did not enjoy it nearly as much as the other four books I have read by the author. This one just wasn’t for me.

Katherine Center sure delivers “all the feels” in Hello Stranger. Sadie Montgomery lost her mother, her Dad, a surgeon, does not like that Sadie did not follow him in the field of medicine, she doesn't like her stepmother, Lucinda, and her evil stepsister, Parker, is out to get Sadie at every turn…..

When we first meet Sadie, she finds out that she has been selected to participate in a portrait contest. Her mother participated in the same contest and won. Sadie has an accident and has brain surgery. She is faced with having prosopagnosia, a condition where she cannot recognize faces. What is a portrait artist to do? While suffering through her trauma she develops two love interests. Dr. Oliver Addison, a handsome veterinarian treats Sadie’s aging dog, Peanut. Joe, the Weasel, lives in her building and wears a red and white bowling jacket everywhere. And then we have Parker who moved into the building and Parker’s goal is to mess with Sadie. I found myself rooting for Lucinda as she really (I think) is trying to have a relationship with Sadie. I loved Mr. And Mrs. Kim who are the landlords and their daughter, Sue.

I think this is Center’s best book. Lots of twists and turns and something I did not see coming in the last 25% of the book that brought tears to my eyes. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

There’s nothing better than when a new Katherine Center book comes out AND it doesn’t disappoint. I’ve loved this author from the beginning and will read everything she writes. Sadie’s character was very unique, and you could tell alot of research went into learning about facial blindness. I especially enjoyed that you knew the book would end happy but it was certainly messy along the way.


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

Hello Stranger was a good Katherine Center novel. I actually enjoyed it more and more as I read through it. The story is about Sadie Montgomery who is a starving artist that finally earns a top ten spot in a prestigious show giving her the break she's been waiting for when she discovers she has a rare brain condition that needs operated on immediately.

Even though the surgery is successful, she's left with a side effect causing her to have face blindness. Being a more visual person and a portrait artist, this is a very debilitating consequence that brings on issues in personal and love life. However, she does get to know people for who they are and not what they look like as well as learn a different approach to art.

I at first thought that Sadie was a little whiny until I picked up on her humor and then I flew through the book and particularly enjoyed the additional information on face blindness included after the book ended as well as the author's note and opinion on romance books. I whole heartedly agree with her even though I may have been more of a book snob in my younger years.

Katherine Center is one of the top 5 romance authors I've ever read for writing a not-always-likeable main character who is still relatable and fun to read. This book is such a fast and constantly enjoyable one. In keeping with the author's note, this book brought me both positive anticipation and joy in execution. I was astonished at how well the author carried out such a complicated and unique concept while somehow making it seem completely effortless. (Not relevant to my review, this was the most UNproofed ARC I've ever read, but it didn't even distract me from how good this is.)

One thing I love is Katherine Center’s writing! It’s so easy to follow and her books go by so fast! I loved the bodyguard so I was super excited when I got this ARC and it did not disappoint. I’ve never read a book about face blindness before and it was really interesting, I did some research on it after I finished the book too. I really liked the main character, at times she could be frustrating but when your life turns upside down, I don’t blame her. I kind of guessed the plot twist but I still throughly enjoyed it!

This is another win from Katherine Center. There's something about her writing that sucks me in so quickly. I thought Hello Stranger's concept was really compelling and the romance was so sweet. It was the perfect dose of happiness.

ℒℴ𝓋ℯ 𝒾𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓃𝒹, 𝒾𝓉’𝓈 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁ℯ 𝒷𝓁𝓊𝓇𝓇𝓎．

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who just found out she’s a finalist in a major competition. Unfortunately she has a life threatening condition that caused her to need brain surgery immediately. This left her with a condition known as face blindness. Suddenly, she is unable to recognize anyone’s face, including her best friend and even her own face. How can she possibly enter into a portrait contest now? While struggling with her new (hopefully temporary) way of life, she meets 2 potential love interests even without seeing their faces.

This story was heartbreakingly beautiful. I loved Sadie’s inner monologue. It was such a unique storyline. I devoured this book! Mr. Kim and Joe were absolutely top tier. And the twist ending had my jaw on the floor!!

Sadie Montgomery is 28 years old and a portrait artist, just like her late mother. Her father, who doesn't approve of her career, quickly remarried after her beloved mother's death years ago. Her stepmother is difficult, and her stepsister is simply evil. Just as Sadie has the possibility of winning a portrait painting contest with a lucrative grand prize, an injury results in an immediate need for brain surgery and the swelling afterwards causes a condition called prosopagnosia, more commonly known as face blindness. While hopefully temporary, this makes it near impossible to paint portraits. With Sadie's life in complete chaos, she is helped by her best friend Sue. She also finds some solace in a crush developed for a new veterinarian who is caring for her dog. Joe, a neighbor she can only identify by the jacket he wears, also enters her life and after an assumption that he is a bit of a player, turns out to be a decent guy. But what about the hunky veterinarian who seems to also be interested in her? Life is certainly complicated for Sophie. Perhaps the change in her seeing ability can provide her with a new perspective on life.

Leave it to author Katherine Center to create an enjoyable book that is about a serious medical condition. Hello Stranger is romantic fiction and Center is an author who you trust will eventually make everything right. She has the talent of taking readers on journeys from misery to happiness. This isn't a spoiler. The author is unapologetically optimistic. That's why she has become an auto-read author. Sometimes you just need a book that aims to be joyful.

I am so happy that I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. Katherine Center’s books are always excellent, and Hello Stranger is her best one yet! I loved the characters (except for the one we are supposed to hate), and I loved the relationship between Sadie, the main character, and her best friend. The ending of this book is perfection! Another five star book from Katherine Center—and I’d give it more stars if I could!!

This is one of those books that will have me going back and forth on my rating for days, probably weeks, maybe even years from now if a friend brings it up and asks me about it, I’ll still have the same reaction. I really really loved this book. It was interesting. It was original. It was nuanced. The characters were so wonderfully written. But I also have gotten really really fed up with the miscommunication trope. Especially when the third act breakup can be avoided/resolved with one conversation. And that was also this book. I will say that at least there was some reason, if not entirely rational, for this character to avoid that specific communication and Center even directly addressed it in the text because she knew some of us would be (figuratively) screaming at Sadie. I want to give it 4.5 stars but I can’t so I’m giving it 5. The lack of half star ratings is almost as frustrating as the miscommunication trope. This is a really weird 5⭐️ review. I get that. Idk, it’s where I’m at right now. It made me feel things, not all of them good, and that’s not necessarily bad. I’m all out of whack. Just read it.

This is my first Katherine Center book and she blew me away. Katherine did an outstanding job of writing Hello Stranger. I had never heard of what Sadie goes through (prosopagnosia), but through Katherine's writing I was able to feel her frustration, sadness, and then happiness as everything played out. The plot twist was one that you don't expect but it's exactly what you were wishing for. I cannot wait to read more from her.

👋🏻 Hello Stranger 👋🏻

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@potatoesandpaperbacks 4.5 ⭐️

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Thanks to Netgalley, Katherine Center, and St Martin’s Press for this Arc! It is released next Tuesday, July 11!

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Sadie is barely getting by as a portrait artist when she gets her big break- a top 10 spot in an elite portrait competition. Shortly thereafter, she discovers that she has to have brain surgery, which leaves her with face blindness. As she adjusts to her new normal, she tries to figure out a way to paint a fantastic portrait when she cannot see who she is painting. Along the way she falls for her dogs new vet, as well as a guy in her apartment building, and fends off attacks from her evil stepsister. Will Sadie overcome her face blindness in time, or will the condition wreck havoc not only on her professional life, but on her personal life as well?

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💭 Thoughts 💭

Another fun Katherine Center read! Sadie’s inner monologue was hysterical, and I enjoyed all of her escapades throughout the book. Yea, it was predictable but I enjoyed the ride!

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⌛️ Favorite Moment ⌛️

Due to her face blindness, Sadie tries some new techniques to paint Joe (the guy she has a crush on from her building). Her hilarious attempts include making him lay upside down, drawing a grid on his face, measuring all his features with a ruler, and touching him all over. These scenes had be laughing, and she did all of this without admitting to being face blind!

I REALLY like Katherine Center’s writing. Her writing is so good! It’s easy to read and I was engaged the whole time. I loved Sadie’s thoughts and how funny she is! The story was told really well, I really like how everything came full circle by the end, it was exactly what Sadie and the story needed. But I thought this was such a frustrating story, and I can get on board because of Sadie’s facial blindness. Her whole world was turned upside down and it was so frustrating. But I just didn’t love the actual story.

But I DID really like Sadie! She went through such a hard time and by the end she really was able to step back and figure things out. I like the start of the reconciliation with her dad and her step mom! I loved Sue and her parents! They were exactly the family Sadie needed. I even mostly liked her romance, it was so frustrating so much of the time. But the end was rewarding!

Listen, I’m all for the cliches, the ‘of course that’s what happened’, the ‘I’d expect nothing less from a romance book’! I TRULY am. But for whatever reason this one just…made me sad... She was a portrait artist!! She needed be able to see faces!! I just really hated seeing Sadie struggling to deal with her facial blindness and while it brought a lot of other things she very much needed to deal with…just the ‘of course that happened’ didn’t do it for me this time. So many things bad happened to her and I just hated seeing it again and again.

Also just some thoughts I had while reading:
Parker SUCKS. SO. MUCH.
Shout to Dr. Nicole just because she was exactly what Sadie needed.

Thanks to much to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Title: Hello Stranger
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Love isn’t blind, it’s just little blurry.

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life—placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition—the next, she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality with every face she sees.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls into—love? Lust? A temporary obsession to distract from the real problems in her life?—with not one man but two very different ones. The timing couldn’t be worse.

If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to find her way. But perceiving anything clearly right now seems impossible. Even though there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.

I enjoyed Katherine Center’s latest read very much! It was worthy of binge-reading until 1 a.m. after a hellish day at work, if that tells you anything. Sadie was a little bit whiny at first, which got on my nerves, but I ended up liking her a lot. Why can’t I have a helpful/cute neighbor like Joe? Sadie had “strangers” popping out of the woodwork—like her horrible stepsister—but she also was surrounded by kindness. Her character growth was fun to watch, and I just enjoyed this book so much (even if the big surprise wasn’t really a surprise to me).

Katherine Center is a NYT bestselling-author. Hello, Stranger is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 7/13).

Katherine Centre got it exactly right when she said that its the anticipation of the romance that we love.

This story was a perfect example of anticipation. I loved Sadie's character in this story. She is a strong woman working hard to be successful on her own and follow in her mom's footsteps after losing her as a teenager. The author brought in a real life issue - face blindness. I thought this made the story so interesting. It became a story that made me think about how I would cope, what I would try amd just how challenging this could be. Even through this adversity, the author weaves in romance for Sadie and keeps you guessing - first the stranger who rescues her, then the vet who helps save her dog, then the neighbour in her building. I had fun reading this book, smiling and laughing. It was exactly what I needed. The story comes together in this perfect way that left me smiling and wishing I could just keep reading Sadie's story. This is definitely a sit down and devour it kind of book. I will keep coming back to this author time and time again.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, and this doesn't disappoint! I loved the characters of this book and it was a quick, fun read.