This book had a really good mix of everything - a unique plot, conflict between characters, the main character is definitely going through it and the relationships that she forms going through the tough time were very entertaining. This story hit me in the feels and also had me laughing out loud and cringing at times (in a good way, because of how much I felt for the main character). This is my second Katherine Center book and I've loved both, she's definitely on my list of auto-buy authors even just after the two I've read. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

“I’m bad with voices….” Give me a break 😬
There some things I liked about this book but more things that annoyed me. LOVE this author but just had a hard time with my buy-in & believability.

Honestly, I normally love books written by this author, but this one missed the mark for me. I don't think I would recommend this specific title to a friend, but I will still want to read other books by this author. This is just my own opinion, and I know some people will have the opposite view than I did.

Katherine Center is an autobuy author for me. If she writes it, I'm reading it. I really enjoyed this one - she always comes up with such unique plot ideas and this was no exception. The way she writes is just so engaging! The only reason I knocked a star off this one was it was a little predictable at times - I guessed the big twist pretty early on.

What happens when an injury makes a portrait artist lose the ability to see faces? That's the heart of Katherine Center's Hello Stranger, a thoughtful and delightfully warm novel that is a joy to read from start to finish.

Katherine does it again with another great book. Hello Stranger was an amazing read, with twists and things that I didn't expect! 5 stars from me!

I'll be honest, this wasn't my favorite of Katherine Center's books. I have loved everything written by her, and although this book isn't bad, it wasn't my favorite. She's an amazing writer, so I'll definitely keep reading her books, I just didn't connect with this one as much as I did with her previous books.

Love isn’t blind; just a little blurry.
🎨
Sadie is a struggling artist who finally got her first big break in the art community when she has a seizure and wakes up in the hospital with a brain issue that needs to be operated on. When Sadie wakes up from the surgery she realizes she has temporary (hopefully) face blindness. This is not ideal when your job relies on painting portraits. Her dog is the only happiness she gets in life so when Peanut has a medical issue (the dog doesn’t die!), Sadie rushes the dog to the vet only to fall for the veterinarian. Meanwhile she also is spending time with the womanizer in her building. She hasn’t told either guy about her condition and with a looming deadline it’s hard to see if Sadie will ever find a way out of this.
🖼️
Okay confession time: This is my first @katherinecenter full length book 🫣 I’ve read some of her novellas, but not a full length novel and I’m kicking myself! This one had me tearing up at the end for how Sadie was treated in her own family, how her found family loved her so much and just the ending in general about not always seeing what’s in front of you. Adored it! Thanks @mgarciareads for the book rec and for @librofm for the ALC.

CW: seizure, hospitalization, brain surgery, cheating, prosopagnosia, death of a parent (recounted), parental abandonment, grief, bullying/toxic relationship

Quick easy read. Katherine center is always an easy likable read. Would definitely recommend to anyone wanting a quick romance novel that’s not TOO serious

Katherine Center writes clean romance novels with infectious characters. I love her writing. Easy and entertaining. Go read her now!

I have loved most of Katherine Center’s previous novels-she is an auto read for me. However, “Hello Stranger” didn’t have that same magic for me. It was a decent read, but the story felt a bit too implausible. The main character is largely living life on her own, unable to see, but the coincidence of running into her true love, who she mistook for another man-I just wasn’t able to get into this story like her others. Not a bad book, but just not one of my favorites by her. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review.

“The more good things you look for, the more you find.” 🎨

This is not the first time I have read a book about prosopagnosia or face blindness. You might remember Adam from Alice Feeney's Rock Paper Scissors for those who love thrillers.

This book was about how Sadie Montgomery's unexpected face blindness affected her plans and dreams as an artist. Her condition also happened to come at the worst time possible. Sadie just became a finalist for the North American Portrait Society competition. Her conflict with her family was very intriguing, especially her relationship with her evil step-sister Parker. Parker was the full definition of a villain. I wish the book could explain why she is how she is, especially with Sadie. The love story in this book was lovely. I love the mystery behind Dr. Oliver Anderson. Still, I love how Sadie slowly falls for the always-helpful Joe. Certain parts of the story were prominent, but the author did a fantastic job revealing each secret without too many theatrics.

Another thing I love about this story is the people who love and support Sadie, like her BFF Sue and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kim. This was a sweet story about love, family, and forgiveness; it is also about moving forward despite the obstacles in life. Sadie said a line in the book, which is true. "We're all so limited and disappointing and so, so wrong much of the time. Maybe even most of the time. We're all so steeped into our own confirmation bias. We're all so busy seeing what we expect to see

This was a very cute rom-com. It was an interesting concept - the idea of face blindness for a portrait artist - and I thought it was well done. Sadie was an interesting character, and I liked watching her come into her own. I really enjoyed the romance as well.

This book was amazing. I absolutely loved the main character and the male lead. I found the issues and problems Sadie faced were both interesting and heart breaking. Such a fantastic book!

Completely bingeable, but in the end, it felt just okay. The story was just a cute little mixup and that’s about it. Like it was unique with the face blindness, but I couldn’t feel the romance.

An extra star because it is a super quick (and enjoyable) read.

Synopsis: Sadie, struggling portrait artist, is walking down the street and celebrating her entry in her big break when the world goes black. She suddenly wakes to her evil stepmother and stepsister FaceTiming about how she had a seizure due to a brain tumor, and is now suffering from face blindness. Seeing faces is kind of her thing, being that she paints them for a living! She must rely on her other senses and to some extent, the kindness of strangers to help her through the portrait competition in which she’s a finalist, oh and life itself.

Review: Where The Bodyguard is more romance, this is more comedic coming-of-age. I loved the character of Sadie and her quirky inner voice, planning imaginary wedding to imaginary vet and all! This was such a sweet, unique read and i feel so lucky to have gotten an advanced copy through @netgalley!

This was a very cute and unique book that I would definitely consider women’s fiction. It was a no spice sweet book. It was a tad predictable, but very enjoyable regardless. This is the second book I read by Katherine Center, and the second I really like.

Romance can be repetitive or predictable, but this book had a different spin on it that was really compelling to read. I haven't read much from Katherine Center, but I have really been enjoying her books lately. I thought this was an interesting dive into a neurovascular disorder that was unexpected and ultimately incredibly fascinating to think about. The characters were complex here and I enjoyed the aspects of mistaken identity due to her facial blindness. Really not at all what I was expecting.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review) 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. This was fun read, definitely consider this a women fiction. But I always enjoyed Katherine Center books & love the romance in her books.

Reading this book was such an experience. Hello Stranger was another anticipated read of mines this year and I am extremely grateful that NetGalley allowed me a chance to read the arc.

Hello Stranger is the second book by Katherine Center that I’ve read with the first being The Bodyguard. I fell in love with Center’s descriptive writing and humor along with her characters and I knew from then on out she would be another go to author for me. Hello Stranger tells the story of Sadie, a portrait artist, who has landed part of the top ten finalist in a portrait contest. Unfortunately, after experiencing a non-convulsive seizure which lands her in the hospital and would require surgery for it, she starts to experience acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia also known as face blindness. From there, Sadie struggles with her newly acquired condition while figuring out how she’ll be able to compete in the portrait contest. Among those struggles includes other factors that impacts Sadie’s life as well such as her relationship with her father and step-mother/step-sister, her neighbor, Joe, the vet, Dr. Addison, and Sadie’s memories of her late mother who was also a portrait artist.

Center’s writing is the book form of a Hallmark movie. It’s cozy, warm, and safe. But it’s also heart wrenching, thought provoking, and eye opening. I loved this book just as much as I loved The Bodyguard. It made me cry, it made me swoon and it made me laugh, and I cannot wait to read more of Center’s words in the future. If you read and enjoyed The Bodyguard then you might enjoy this one too.

Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me to review this book in exchange for an honest review.