Sadie is a struggling portrait artist that has just become a finalist in a huge portrait competition. Winning this competition would not only be life changing but would give her the validation she needs to prove to her family that she made the right career choice. She has spent the last few years focused on her art with little time for love. Her happy day is cut short with a trip to the ER and finding out she needs brain surgery. To make matters worse, she agrees to the surgery and wakes up with a life altering side effect. She can no longer recognize faces; she is a portrait artist who cannot see faces.

What follows is far from the tragic tale we are expecting. Sadie, our strong, funny, and determined protagonist, keeps trying to work on her art. We also watch her fall in love with two different guys, dodge annoying family members, and continue to be her delightful self. Just like all of her other books, Center gives us characters that we love, love to hate, and would love to hang out with. Watching Sadie fall in love and deal with all of her brain issues you can't help but root for her.

Pros of this book are great characters, witty dialogue, and an interesting plot. A con is that it was a little predictable. I also felt like the medical diagnosis and treatment didn't fit with the lightness of the plot. I know that the side effect of no facial recognition fits with the plot, but it seems too serious for a rom com. Perhaps, I am just being a little picky. Overall, still a 4-star read for me and I continue to be a big fan of Katherine Center. This will be a perfect beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an audio copy of Hello Stranger, in exchange for my honest review. Narrated by Patti Murin
I am a huge fan of Katherine Center and was overjoyed when I was preapproved for an advanced copy of the audiobook.
If you are looking for a great beach read, pick this. There is a great storyline that will keep you reading. The main protagonist, Sadie, is an artist who undergoes brain surgery and ends up with Prosopagnosia; the inability to recognize faces. Sadie is a strong character that has endured a lot in her life, so hiding that she has Prosopagnosia is not challenging, but she will learn that she has to let her guard down to let others in.
The narrator of this book did a great job and I finish the audiobook in one setting.

I absolutely LOVE Katherine Center books. Everything she writes is gold. I haven't read a single one that didn't live up to my expectations, and this didn't disappoint at all. All of her books are a light read with fun, lovable, and quirky characters that you can't help but to root for all while exploring normally difficult situations.

When Sadie, a portrait artist, undergoes brain surgery after an accident and wakes up with face blindness, her entire world is left upside down. As she tries to grapple with her new reality, she finds herself in a love triangle between her veterinarian (who even though she can't see him, she can just feel that he's extremely hot) and her womanizer/bad boy neighbor, Joe.

I saw the big twist coming from miles away. That normally deters me from a book, but honestly, I think it made me love this one even more. While I knew what was going to happen, I had no idea how in the hell we would get there, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

Highly recommend if you're looking for an easy to read romance that has you laughing out loud.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Katherine Center’s books. They always feel like a hug. Even though the storyline is predictable it’s just such a fun story to see how you get to the end. I enjoyed reading about Sadie but at the end in the authors notes I found out more about this disease that I never heard of. This would be a wonderful read for the beach.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book. I’ve read a few other Katherine Center books and really enjoyed them, and this one is right up there with the others. Hello Stranger was a cute ron com that you’d expect from KC.
I did find the main character a little annoying but have to remember that she’s in her early twenties. Sadie is a recent art school grad that’s broke, however her father is a well know surgeon.. She’s entered a portrait contest in which the winner is paid a hefty sum. Soon before the contest she is in a fluke accident, while in the hospital getting looked over they discover genetic brain condition. After she has the brain surgery she has a rare complication that usually goes away, facial blindness.
Sadie meets a few young men while having facial blindness and tries to navigate her relationships, art contest, and estranged family life. Cute story that taught me about this rare condition.

I loved this book, it's a quick read or listen. Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan Audio for the advanced audio copy.
I've been a fan of Katherine Center's books since I read her first book years ago, and while they are romance with some drama, I find her writing so entertaining and pleasurable. I believe these books just make me smile and feel good. The ending author's note reminds me of why I enjoy this genre.
Sadie is the kind of character that makes rooting for her easy! When an accident leads to a discovery of a neurological issue, and her outcome leaves her with face blindness, look it up, it's real. As a portrait artist with a competition upcoming this is devastating. Sadie is suddenly looking at faces all messed up, and she messes up so many people , can't recognize her evil step sister, and many others...it's frustrating. She is surrounded by people who love her, people who want to help her and some frustrating familial relationships.

Read this book, enjoy the people and the discovery of a unique disorder and how Sadie works to overcome its impact.

The audio narrated by Patti Murin was very well done.

*4.5

I have read two Katherine Center books and they have both been absolute gems. Never would I have thought I would go this crazy over a closed-door romance, but here we are. Katherine Center specializes in romances that are so feel-good, you won't be able to help but awww out loud (I did. Several times).

This book has a lot of moving parts, but it works so well. We have a painter who suffers from face blindness as a result of surgery that she has right before the biggest portrait contest of her career. We see her as she reconciles her faith and ability within her career with her new reality. This also takes place within a family drama and a new relationship.

There were times when the story got a bit predictable, but I don't feel like the book suffered from it. The author's note at the end of the book definitely backs up my thought about this. Katherine Center basically says that romance is supposed to be predictable - it is one of the hallmarks of the genre. So while I predicted a lot of what was going to happen, it only made me love this book more.

If you need a pick-me-up, this book is the perfect thing for you. It is so feel good and I just loved it with my whole heart.

Thank you to Netgalley and Katherine Center for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist when out nowhere she has brain surgery, she wakes up diagnosed with Prosopagnosia. (the inability to recognize faces). With the North American Portrait Society competition coming up she struggles with her art piece due to the fact that every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle...

Home from the hospital she meets one of her neighbors, as she tries to study him in the elevator he thinks she's checking him out, so she immediately dislikes him. & then when her dog gets sick she meets her dream husband, the veterinarian... Making judgment calls on anything right now is a nightmare.

Keeping her prosopagnosia a secret from everyone, her timing for falling in love couldn't be worse.

I really enjoyed this book, when you can cry and laugh you know its good! Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio & Katherine Center for this ARC! loved it!

Hello Stranger
By: Katherine Center
Narrated by: Patti Murin
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
Release date: 07-11-23

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors. Her writing style is so unique and helps the stories flow seamlessly. Listening to this book as an audiobook had me hooked from the start. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

I loved this book so much. I can not describe just how many emotions this book made me feel, but it did a great job in making me laugh, and swoon, and want to smack some evil step sisters. So, very good.

I actually want to start at the end, by end I mean the supplemental material by the author where she talks about romance novels (this has nothing to do with the story). The author talks about the stigma of romance books how people use the term "predictable" because you know what you're getting in to when it comes to romance novels. It gave me a new perspective when she goes on to describe the reason why we love these books and it is because it elicits joy, a dopamine response. On a scientific note( not in the authors note) it makes sense that we love to experience these stories, dopamine can cause vasodilation causing us to relax or give us a mild since of euphoria. That really happy feeling you get when you finish a great book. Anyway, thank you Ms. Center for that perspective shift.

Now on to the story, again I loved it AND I learned a little bit too. I don't really know much at all about face blindness, I honestly thought it was a generic term that people used when they said they don't pay attention to what people look like. It does not mean that at all. This story gives us a little glimpse in the emotional impact of what it would be like to have acquired face blindness (the book also uses the medical term which is much longer). How crazy would it be to not be able to recognize anyone at all based on characteristics you are used to recognizing them? Or not being able to continue painting portraits when this is what your career is based on.

There is so much more to this than the fun love story, there is well, I guess it's several love stories and several versions of love. There is the love your self, family, pets, and of course the potential significant other. The finding of oneself is always so satisfying in stories and the journey to find yourself and find the love of your life is amazing. The whole journey of this story was amazing. I stayed up late to listen to it because I wanted to know what was going to happen. I loved all of the characters (except for the step-sister) and could not get enough.

The narrator also did a wonderful job with all of the voices. She make Sue seem a little ditzyer than I would imagine for her character, but overall, her voices were spot on. She conveyed all the happiness, sadness, joy, anger and everything in-between.

This was a really well rounded and fun romance that you will not be able to get enough of.

This book was a TRIP! The main character Sadie is a witty realist who experiences a medical development which quite literally changes how she sees the world. Full of frank discussions of loss and the grief which envelops those the dead leave behind, this book also contained moments of great levity, mistaken identity (although I’m still not sure how realistic it was), and made me rethink how I interact with the world, specifically with the faces of people in the world. The audio-reading of this novel was emotive and engaging, and I found myself able to enter Sadie’s head much more completely. This is the second novel of Stranger’s I’ve read and her injection of snark and novelty into her work has made me a definite subscriber.

This was cute. If you have liked Katherine Center books in the past, you will like this one, too. I thought the exploration of "face blindness" was extremely interesting, and not something that was just used as a cheap plot device. It also wasn't just done away with easily; it felt like a real conflict in the MC's life that brought other things to the surface. The audiobook was very good as well. I called what was going on with the two love interests sooner than the author wanted me to, I think, but it didn't affect my enjoyment. Anyway, I normally hate love triangles, but it works here.

"The more good things you look for, the more you find."

Sadie, like her mother, is an artist. After a very public seizure she discovers that she has more in common with her mom than just their artistic abilities. Sadie also has a genetic condition, the exact same one that killer her mom, that requires immediate brain surgery. After surgery Sadie develops some swelling that caused a temporary prosopagnosia, or face blindness. Soon after, she begins to fall for two very different men. Because she can not see their faces she has to rely on other aspects...their personalities, charm, and even their gait, to decide which she has the better connection with. Will it be her crass but charming neighbor or the compassionate veterinarian who saved her beloved dog, Peanut? & Is love truly blind?

How good is a book when you feel like you know exact what's going to happen and exactly how it's all going to play out, yet you still cannot put it down? This was my third Katherine Center book and my favorite of the bunch. So far I've liked each book more than the last & look forward to whatever she writes next! I enjoyed Patti Murin's narration and felt like her voice was perfect for the character of Sadie. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 4 stars.

I absolutely loved this book! This is the first time I encounter face blindness in a romance novel and I felt so many emotions throughout the book thanks to this rep - my heart ached for Sadie when she found out she had face blindness after surgery, I was anxious for her, I was frustrated with her, I whooped at every milestone and bit of progress and eventually, I laughed because of the crazy situation this led her into. I always find it says a lot when I feel so much and so deeply when reading a book! I do have to say though, I'm not sure how Sadie made it out alive with the degree of second hand embarrassment I felt on her behalf! I think if I had been in her place, I would've melted into a puddle on the floor. Hahaha! I am very happy she found her HEA though.

The narrator for this book is brilliant! I really enjoyed listening to her and I feel like she got Sadie spot on! I'm also impressed cause I feel like she portrayed Joe very well too.

Content warnings: Death of a parent, bullying, gaslighting, panic attacks/disorders, infidelity.

A huge thank you to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

The narration was done super well for this book; however, the story gets 3 stars from me.

What I liked:
- The premise was promising
- The message this book sends to readers

What I didn't like:
- The weird love-triangle with the twist
- None of the characters were very likable... especially the FMC
- The plot felt like it dragged on forever and like nothing was actually happening

I absolutely loved The Bodyguard and was really bummed when this one wasn't panning out the way I had hoped it would.

This was my first audiobook that wasn't nonfiction/a biography and I'm not sure if romance audiobooks are for me. I found the narrator to be grating and the plot is quite predictable. I also gave a low star score because there's an instance of fatphobia early on in the book that does nothing to move the plot and does not involve the main character (it's almost like it didn't need to be there at all...). I will say that if you're a fan of Grey's Anatomy or other medical dramas, this might pique your interest.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read a romcom like this in a long time. Entertaining, laugh out loud funny and in no way cheesy. Highly recommend this read if you need a slightly more complex romance that will have you laughing out loud.

Already posted to Goodreads. This was great!!!

Predictable, but really cute and original for a rom-com. Face blindness has been used a bit in thrillers, but I think using it in a rom-com was a genius idea.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Katherine Center is a wonderful writer. One can tell she does a great deal of research for her stories. Hello Stranger is about a young female portrait artist who develops a medical condition which interferes with her ability to recognize faces. Character development is great and has you rooting for the good guys and cursing the bad. Patti Murin does a beautiful job bringing the book to life with her outstanding narration. I really enjoyed listening to this book and thank Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC.

This is such a charming summer read, I appreciated the chance to listen to this book while enjoying an early little summer break this past week. I read this book earlier this year from St Martin's as well and knew it would be the perfect book to support as an audiobook in particular, I really like romance novels/rom coms on audiobook. Hello Stranger is a fun book that takes on themes with memory, artistry, family (esp found family, always a great theme), and the simple messy joy of finding your place and pace in adulthood.
Patti Murin's narration was great, it brought to life Katherine Center's words nicely and her pacing and intonation really suited the story well.

Definitely a great audiobook for a summer walk, a road trip, or listening by the pool/on the beach if that's your thing. Perfect for fans of Katherine Center and other romance/women's fiction writers such as Emily Henry, Ava Wilder, Elissa Sussman, Jojo Moyes, Abby Jimenez, etc.