4.5 stars. This reads like a clean romcom K-drama: unbelievable but also addictive and precious. I’m convinced the audiobook narrator (Patti Murin) IS the FMC (Sadie) because she is so convincing. I loooved the cast of characters. There were so many frustrating and heart breaking parts but it makes up for it with heart warming sweetness. It felt a teensie bit long, but it was still a lot of fun. Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me an ARC!

I like Sadie's character and all that she went through in this book! This book has plenty of humor and also lots of growth and discovery. I liked the facial blindness aspect as we learn how Sadie has to notice other things, and I also liked the veterinary aspect!! This is a great Rom Com, if you are in the mood for a cute story with fun characters and of course some struggles and misunderstandings, this book is for you! The narrator of this audiobook was fantastic!

This was a very enjoyable read. The author did a fantastic job of developing the characters as always. One very minor thing and most people won't care, but the dog on the cover is a Westie. (I love Westies and had one up until she passed away recently.) The dog in the book however IS NOT a Westie. Even though he was cute and wonderful in the book, it bothers me. Once I moved past that, I enjoyed the story overall. Even though I didn't really like the main character, because she's very negative about everything. Also, miscommunication is something I don't like in books and that plays a role in this one. It was a very good, clean romance although there were cuss words.

I am a big fan of Katherine Center so it is no wonder that I absolutely loved listening to this book. I loved the Main character Sadie and despised her wicked step sister, I was still up in the air regarding her step mother at the end of the book. If you like quirky people, animals, romance and art shows than this book is for you.

I LOVE Katherine Center's writing. She's so perfect at giving you an MC that gets their entire world flipped upside down in chapter one as she holds you in walking the MCs life back together, and "Hello Stranger" is no different.

Sadie is about to make her big break as an artist. That is until she has to undergo brain surgery. As Sadie picks the pieces of her life, and dream career, back up she begins to see the world, and her neighbors, in a new way.

Funny at times, sad in others, this combination of family drama and coming to terms. Reminiscent of what Center does best, "Hello Stranger" is another great penning by Center.

4.5⭐
Awww, this was such a feel-good and happy read!! When I finished I had this big grin on my face and felt I want to give strangers a hug like a crazy woman that I am, hahaa! 🤗🥰

Kathrine Center has become my top go-to romance author. Hello Stranger is my third novel by the author and I find her greatest strength to be her characters. I fall in love with her characters every single time.

Her characters are likable and quirky. They often have some sort of challenges in their life and are surrounded by characters that are equally memorable.

Sadie Montgomery's a portrait artist down on her luck and kinda broke. A sudden seizure put Sadie in a hospital and surgery resulted in her temporary (?) face blindness. How will she paint? Her beloved fur baby Peanut is sick and needs to see a vet. Her BFF Sue elopes while she's going through all of this. She can't even see the face of her evil stepmother and sister. That weasel neighbor Joe is just too helpful.

Wow, that's a lot for poor Sadie to overcome. I love how the author adds humor to all that life throws at Sadie. The crush on Dr. Addison, Peanuts's vet who she fantasized about marrying (without knowing what he looks like), and her wonderful landlord Mr. Kim who is like family.

I love the message of joy and strength and how one overcomes her challenges. The author gives readers another heartwarming and clean romance. I completely enjoyed this romcom and yes, I did see the reveal coming a mile away but it was still a pretty amazing read. Don't miss the author's note and the audio by Patti Murin is fantastic. Loooved it!

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is another addictive addition to Center's growing bookshelf. I particularly enjoyed her latest novel, and the narrator, Patti Murin, truly brought it to life. Center has created a romance that is perfectly balanced with the emotional arcs of the characters. And Murin has a voice I loved listening to. I can't wait for KC's next book, and will definitely search out another PM audiobook too!

4.5⭐️

Yes this was so great!! Katherine Center is so creative and this story was truly unique.

Sadie needs brain surgery and after she has it she has acquired face blindness. And the story goes from there. She falls in love, she breaks out of her shell, treating everyone as if she knows the personally because she can’t tell if she knows them or not. She goes to therapy.

This is a nearly perfect love story. The character grows through her trials and learns so much about herself. She helps to work through her own issues with her dad, step mother and step sister. And this book is funny. Of course Sadie is working through life with this acquired face blindness and things keep happening that are a little bit off but she works through that as well.

Another fabulous audiobook experience. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this hilarious, edge of your seat life drama.
(Fingers crossed that this review doesn't erase my earlier review of the Ebook ARC!)

Do yourself a favour and listen to this "can't breathe - wet your pants - laughing so hard" audiobook.

Sadie is trying to put a brave face on a terrible diagnosis. Joe doesn't know what to make of Sadie.

It all makes for a sometimes heartbreaking, often times hilarious, whirlwind of a story - don't miss this wild but funny ride!

Do I need to say more?!! Hurry up and go listen to it!


My thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for an ARc of this most excellent audiobook.!

Hello Stranger (audioARC) — 4.5 ⭐️

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: July 11th

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 —
🤩 Addicting Read
💗 Contemporary Romance
🔐 Closed Door Romance
😂 Plenty of LOL Moments
🔥 Slow Burn Romance
🧠 Mental Health Rep
🥰 Feel-Good Story
🔺 Love Triangle

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐟 —
🐶 Your dog eats better than you do
🛼 You’re an expert roller-skater
🎨 Your dream job involves painting
💭 You can easily create an imaginary romance in a daydream
🍷 You think cheap wine is the best wine

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: If you enjoy stories with an evil step-sister, an adorable dog, a spontaneous best friend, and the chance to learn about a rare medical condition, look no further - this book is for you, and don’t get me started on the swoony romance!!

After loving The Bodyguard, I was so excited to read Hello Stranger, and it did not disappoint. I found it just as addicting, and the unique plot line kept me intrigued. While I wanted to shake Sadie for a lack of communication sometimes, she was a relatable main character, and I couldn’t help but root for her and laugh at her amusing behavior. Overall, this sweet story gave me a sense of hope and made my heart oh so happy!

While listening to the audiobook, I frequently forgot I “was reading” or even listening to a narrator. I was so caught up in the story! Plus, I’ve enjoyed this narrator in other audiobooks as well.

𝐓𝐖: parental death, bullying, medical content, sick pet/vet visits, panic attacks, fatphobia (minor), suicide attempt (minor)

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me an eARC and audioARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Publication date ~ July 11, 2023
Page Count ~ 336
Audio length ~ 10 hours 39 minutes
Narrator ~ Patti Murin
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ face blindness, slow burn, no steamage

Sadie is excited about some news that could change her life when she has a seizure that does change her life. She has brain surgery that results in face blindness, which doesn't bode well for her career as a portrait artist.

I fount it to be a bit on the slower side as Sadie had to try to figure out who was talking to her based on their voice and what she can recognize of something someone has worn in the past. While I'm sure this is quite disconcerting and something I never want to experience, and I know this is the main plot, but it got to be a little much for me. How many times can one person dupe her ~ and the duper was a doozie.

She has 2 possible love interests:
Joe ~ the helpful neighbor who she mistakes for a sleaze.
Dr. Addison ~ the veterinarian who tends to her beloved, Peanut.
Who will she choose? I must say I am very happy with her choice 😉

Overall, I did not love this one like I did The Bodyguard, but I still liked it well enough. There is so much love for this one from other reviewers, so go see what they have to say.

I was fortune enough to have a kindle copy and an audio copy ~ both ways were fine. The narrator did a fine job. She totally nailed a good voice for the rude bully step sister, Parker.

Loved this charming story. It was engaging and educational as well. Loved the sibling drama and the fairytale like backstory - deceased mother, evil step-sister, etc. Loved that the prosopagnosia element created the opportunity for nuggets of wisdom to be scattered throughout the book - really seeing people, wishing things into existence, paying attention/being mindful of your day and those around you. Loved that aspect. Overall, thoroughly enjoyed this story!

Katherine Center has done it again with another amazing romance. I was hooked on the story from the very beginning. The narrator made the story extremely enjoyable and had me laughing throughout the story. The book was sweet and lighthearted but it also took quite an intense turn when our main character Sadie developed a contain known as, Face Blindness. Which is not ideal considering the fact that she is a portrait artist. I highly recommend this book to anyone and if you haven’t read a Katherine Center book before I highly suggest you do. 5 stars!

Thank you, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ALC of this book!

Sadie, a portrait artist, has a mishap and discovers that she has a genetic medical condition that requires brain surgery. The brain surgery results in face blindness, which is the premise of the story. We follow Sadie as she navigates this new normal- trying to figure out who is speaking to her, dealing with an evil stepsister and all the drama that comes with her, attempting to finish a portrait for a competition she's entered, and falling in love.

Although there were some storylines that didn't click at first, the ending of the book wrapped those up for me and had a fun twist.

Patti Murrin brings Sadie to life and made listening to this book spectacular! The narration was phenomenal and I kept finding myself wanting to continue listening to the story. I am a huge fan of this narrator!

This is a perfect beach read for this summer!

3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨.

I listened to this one in a day. I love Katherine Center’s writing so much but I also can’t say this is a fave among her many books. It’s an interesting premise and executed with Center’s compulsive storytelling, hence devouring it in a single day, but it was also filled with anxious moments described so well that I was in constant physical agitation. A mark of an excellent writer, to be sure, but I craved a different balance.

Some things were easily hypothesized, some moments were humorous, many were emotional and fraught, and Sadie is stumbling blind through it all. Her stubborn streak and trauma was just begging for proper acceptance of therapy. It was entertaining and eventually cathartic, but I wanted to get to that catharsis faster, and shake a lot of people along the way. Still, it was also a fascinating journey seen through an artist’s eye and sensibilities. I didn’t hate it, it’s just not one I feel compelled to revisit.

* I received a free early audio copy from the publisher via netgalley

I'm annoyed.

I first tried reading this in print, but the writing was so bad, I gave up. I requested the audiobook from NetGalley and decided to give it a try that way. I'm much more forgiving of bad writing when listening to a book vs. reading.

I should've taken the hint and just stayed away. It wasn't awful, but it was completely unbelievable. So many things had to go exactly, perfectly wrong for this story to work in any way. It was a few too many layers of suspended disbelief for me. I only finished because I needed confirmation that the absolutely ridiculous thing that couldn't possibly have been true all along, was indeed true.

I loved The Bodyguard. I was looking forward to this. I am disappointed, but I will give Katherine Center another try next time.

I am conflicted about this book. I've read "How to Walk Away" and "The Bodyguard" by Center, and I loved both of those books without reservation. Then we come to "Hello Stranger."

I liked the idea of the novel and loved to read about face blindness. I still enjoyed Center's writing style. The mix of funny moments and drama are always enjoyable.

Unfortunately, that's where the trouble came from too. This book lacked the balance of the other two. Sadie goes through so many outlandish things, but then she also suffers tons of tiny disasters too. If someone told me all this happened in their life, I would recommend they become a full hermit because they or others were bound to get seriously hurt.

Sadie was also an incredibly weird character. She doesn't want help to the point of rudeness. She constantly tries to stand up to her family, but <spoiler>she completely backs down and says nothing when her best friend abandons her at the literal most crucial moment of her career.</spoiler> She's hard to sympathize with, and she's flat compared to Center's other leading ladies. The other characters were good, and I'd love to know more about the snake scientist with the huge boobs. Give me a whole book about that lady.

The twist is clear pretty early on, which would be fine, but it's way, way too implausible. It's so implausible that Center makes her main character explain it "to another character," but it was obviously an attempt to explain this incredible leap of logic to the reader. How could the vet not have asked about the adorable and perfect Peanut outside of the vet's office?

I loved parts of this book, but when I analyze the book as a whole, it's shaky as hell. Center is still a favorite, and I still plan to reread her other books. I just don't think I'll be rereading this one.

I received digital ARCs for both the e-book and e-audiobook.

More like 2.5 stars, but Patti Murin’s narration kicks it up a notch.

If you don’t know Center by now, this is more literary romance and not romance romance, so the steam is very minimal.

Face blindness is a great and unique premise that because you see the relative story arc and outcome from miles away (not even 20% into the book), there’s no mystery to it and a real challenge to pretend otherwise. This allows various faults to come to the surface. There’s the repetition--driving the point over and over again what face blindness is, how it works (or rather, doesn’t), and how people cope with it. It’s so bad throughout the book that when the ending we saw from miles away finally happens, the repetition again as everyone, and I mean everyone, put two and two together regarding who Joe is further crushes any good will towards the characters.

Sadie’s bestie was totally clueless in terms of what Sadie needed for support and a bad friend when it really counted (but I know, it’s a way to move Sadie and Joe closer together).
Sadie’s stepsister from Hell was certifiable and I wish she had more just desserts.
And I’m surprised Joe didn’t add some things up and realize what Sadie was struggling with, to outright ask her and connect some dots.

I’m sorry to be so vague, but again, read the first 20% and you’ll have this all figured out.

I love this book so much! The audio is delightful and perfectly accompanies the story itself. It’s so wonderful. Katherine Center is one of the best, most uplifting, solid storytellers we have today. Truly wonderful.

This novel is a must read for the summer! This is my first novel from Katherine Center and I was pleasantly surprised.
The writing was witty and comedic, I laughed aloud several times while listening.

Sadie, a young woman in her late twenties has suffered much loss in her life. As a struggling portrait artist she has an opportunity for what she is hoping to be her big break. However, an untimely accident leaves her with a rare condition called "face blindness". As she navigates this new challenge she finds herself connecting with and falling in love with not one, but two men.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were relatable and lovable. It had the right amount of drama, obstacles, romance, and a happy ending with a twist.