Katherine Center does it again, another meetcute (or two) and more loveable characters in zany situations. You’ll see the ending coming a mile away but you’ll enjoy the ride anyway. There are some heavy topics covered so take a peek at the content warnings but everything is covered gently.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content Warnings: Death of parent, Bullying, Medical content

I would probably give this book 3.5 stars.

I liked this book but I just had trouble getting into the plot. I realize this face recognition thing is real but I just had a hard time imagining it. And I really didn't like the character of Parker and thought it was a bit over the top. I did like how the ending turned out though, definitely wasn't expecting that.

Another fabulous read by Katherine Center! This one tackled facial blindness and what it means to really see people....and ourselves. A wonderful message and a cast of likable characters you'll root for from page one.

Definitely a cute love story but not my favorite by Katherine Center. It was a unique concept and injury that caused so much to happen. I loved that she pushed through it and I loved that she fell in love without really “seeing” the person she was falling in love with.

🌀Synopsis
Sadie is struggling but getting by. She thinks her lucky break is coming when she enters a contest and becomes a finalist. Then there is an accident that leads to them finding an issue in her brain. Her father convinces her to have surgery to fix it but this leads to her losing a piece of her vision. Which is very important considering she’s a portrait artist and she needs to paint someone’s face for her competition.
While she struggles to recover there is a man in her building who helps her. The two move quickly from friends to a relationship. Sadie is forced to dump the vet she had been seeing before but suddenly things go wrong with Joe and Sadie is left in the dark as to why.
When the two finally talk again Sadie realizes the mistake that was made and they both find that their relationship has been different from what they thought- but wonderful in the same way.

This book was a delightful romp into the life of the perky, loveable Sadie. After a long term injury that affects her vision, Sadie, an artist, has to learn new ways to interact and essentially to see. Throughout the story, Sadie has a series of adventures and interactions with a variety of interesting people.-including possible love interests. Dealing with her injury and a difficult family situation, the question becomes will Sadie get her vision back? Will she fall in love? Will she be able to continue with her art? This book will answer all of these questions with a surprise at the end. Like me, hopefully you will fall in love with Sadie (and Peanut) and her steps and missteps for a satisfying and dare I say extremely touching read.

To say I love Katherine Center is an understatement. Much like the duo Christina Lauren, Katherine just knows what she's doing and never fails to deliver a rom com that gives readers everything we need and want, while still feeling fresh and surprising.
Sadie our heroine is scrappy, creative, and totally lovable. She has a hard past and deeply misses her mom. Sadie's life turns from up- upon receiving a prestigious nomination for an art prize- to upside down, when she's in an accident and wakes up with facial blindness. Not automatically knowing who she is talking to can make dating, among other things, very difficult. Thoroughly enjoyable beginning to end, excellent narration.
Dog lovers, this one will feel extra sweet.

This book was absolutely adorable. It started off really strong and hooked me in. The main character's condition, prosopagnosia (or face blindness), is something I really knew nothing about. It was interesting to learn more and see how that influenced her everyday life, especially as a portrait artist. The love interests are also really dreamy once you get to know them. I will definitely keep Katherine Center on my list of authors to watch out for because her writing was really well done, and I adored Patti Murin's narration as well.


Now...I was going to add something about how I guessed the big reveals extremely early on but honestly, what does it matter to include? It was the author's note at the end that completely changed how I feel about "guessing" the ending of romance books in general and the positive valence that is tied to them vs the negative valence I feel with most other book genres I read. The anticipation was still beautiful, despite knowing how it ends. This isn't a mystery novel.

However, I will say that the one part of the book that really frustrated me was the miscommunication trope. If this is a trope that you really can't stand (it's me...hi), keep in mind that it is extremely necessary to keep the plot moving. And I understood that. But it just made me want to shake the character as someone who values open and honest communication more than anything. I get why it had to be there. It doesn't mean I have to like it.

Also: please do not feed your dog like the MC does. That is horrific. But I'm a cat person so what do I know.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 This book was positively adorable.

After suffering a seizure, Sadie learns that she has a congenital malformation in her brain. The surgery to repair it leaves swelling in the part of her brain that recognizes faces, leaving Sadie face-blind.
Sadie's mother died when she was young, and the rest of her family is pretty terrible (I would've enjoyed less of the awful stepsister). Sadie's wish to follow in her mother's footsteps as a portrait artist is not respected and her biggest hope is to win a portrait competition and prove her talent, which feels impossible when she can't see faces.
Sadie suffers emotionally after repeatedly failing to improve. With the help of her best friend Soo, and new relationships with her veterinarian Dr. Addison and her neighbor Joe, she tries to find her way through a life that's now confusing and often upsetting.
There's a just right amount of detail about how Sadie "sees" faces, which was really fascinating, and also about how the brain separately perceives emotions even when your brain can't make sense of faces.

The author's afterword was beautiful and the narration was excellent!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for audio and digital ARCs of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Another great romance by Katherine Center. I really liked the main character and the narrator was fantastic. Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC! Hello Stranger tells the story of Sadie Montgomery, a struggling artist who finally gets a chance for a big break when her painting is chosen for competition for a major award. When her best friend, Sue, sets up a party to celebrate, Sadie heads out to purchase supplies. After shopping and running into a handsome stranger, Sadie suddenly collapses. She now must have surgery or run the risk of dying. Surgery it is! However, the surgery has side effects and Sadie, a portrait artist, now suffers from face blindness - right before her competition where she must submit a new painting. With her future at stake, Sadie must find a way to accept help, especially when it's offered by her bowling-jacket-wearing, kind neighbor, Joe. On top of that, in between the chaos of her competition preparation, Sadie's beloved dog, Peanut, becomes ill and Sadie rushes him to an emergency vet. Dr. Oliver Addison, who seems perfect in nearly every way and is interested in Sadie. Can Sadie save her career and open up to love with someone who's face she can't perceive? This is an utterly charming romance from Katherine Center, and Patti Murin offers a fantastic performance bringing the story to life.

Simply put, I loved this book. I can't wait for it to be published and for everyone to experience Sadie's love story.
Sadie is a portrait artist who gets dealt the worst hand of all time - 'temporary' facial blindness due to a medical dilemma.
How is she supposed to paint faces when she can't even see them!? Oh, and there's a twist, she's a finalist in a prestigious art competition and she needs to submit a new portrait painting in only a few weeks. She struggles to cope with her new condition and an unfriendly neighbor/evil step-sister, but she finds support in the people around her, especially her friend Sue and her helpful neighbor, Joe.
Sadie's journey of strength, evolution, and self-acceptance is inspiring. No matter what, in this book, she ultimately wins. I listened to the author's note, and I couldn't agree with Katerine Center more on her idea of romance novels. They are underrated.
What makes them so magical, so good, so easy to lose yourself in, is the fact that they give you hope. And in romance, love is hope. This story isn't predictable, it's full of anticipation. Anticipation for a happy ending, and most importantly love.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillain Audio for my audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review 🎨-
Okay someone pinch me because May has had so many books that I’ve loved. I don’t want it to end!

Hello Stranger by @katherinecenter was no exception.

The premise of this one was so fun, the banter was on point, and it was such a fun read. Even with all the laughs, the book does touch on some emotional moments. Overall, I loved it and recommend you check it out!

Thanks to the amazing gals who threw the buddy read schedule to the side and binged this with me:
@whatdomsreading @wittyreading @karas_reads @no.shelf.control.k @lit_with_kristen @booksmorganreads @naesreadingnook @queenchichireads @letsget.thisread

Thank you @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for my advanced copies.

Hello Stranger is out July 11, 2023.

Q- Do you read authors notes in books!? The authors note was so good in this one. It felt like validation for all us romance lovers.

This was quite possibly the cutest book! I was apprehensive that Katherine Center could top The Bodyguard but I absolutely loved this. I read it in 24 hours. I feel like the characters and the unique plot line really hooked me. Very cute! 4.5 Stars!

First I need to say that Patti Murin is a phenomenal narrator and she is MADE to narrate Katherine Center's books, I loved her narration of The Bodyguard and her performance in Hello Stranger was FANTASTIC.

Where to start with this book? I learned a lot, I swooned a lot, I cried A LOT. I've read so many good books this year, but this one hit me in such a different way. It was sweet but with depth, emotional yet hopeful, funny but dealt with hard issues with such care.

Our story follows Sadie, a loveable and slightly struggling artist, who has a seizure on her way back from a wine run to celebrate being named a finalist in an esteemed portrait competition. The same competition that her late mother placed in when she died.

Sadie wakes up in the hospital to the most unwelcome sight: her evil stepmother, Lucinda. And to make matters worse, she finds out that she has to have brain surgery six weeks before the competition to fix a cavernoma in her brain that caused the seizure and could be life threatening. At least according to her emotionally distant father, an esteemed cardiothoracic surgeon.

Sadie wakes from the surgery to something even worse than Lucinda: she can't see faces. A rare side affect of the surgery? Acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, or in layman's terms, facial blindness. It's likely temporary, but it could be permanent. Not great for a girl who needs to complete a portrait of someone's face to win a competition that could save her money problems and boost her confidence as an artist.

Annnnd as if things couldn't get worse, Sadie's aging dog, Peanut, (whose face she can thankfully see!) her constant companion, is sick and needs emergency help. Enter Dr. Oliver Addison, hunky vet (she can tell by his GAITE, ok!?) who saves the day and later asks her out. The only problem? The man in her building with the bowling jacket inscribed with the name "Joe" is also slowly making his way into her heart. And Joe is saving the day in a different way -- by modeling for Sadie's portrait and letting her use some unconventional methods to understand his face. This story is perfect and I'm jealous of anyone getting to read it for the first time.

Easy five stars for me -- and as a romance lover I'm begging you to read the author's note at the end. Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. Out 7/11 BUT PREORDER NOW!

I absolutely love Patti Murin as a voice actress, and I found this performance extremely enjoyable! I actually preferred the audio over the visual format for HELLO STRANGER. Thank you for the ALC!

_____
I've been a huge fan of Katherine Center for quite some time, and her latest novel, HELLO STRANGER, was among my highly anticipated 2023 reads. Similar to her other work, the female MC experiences a challenge to overcome, and for Sadie, it was face blindness. I've never really taken the time to consider the condition, and I was grateful for the research and information provided. Additionally, there were a few moments that were swoon-worthy (ahem, the painting scene), causing me to want to keep turning the pages to reach the HEA.

That said, I struggled with this one for several reasons. The first and most impactful issue was the extensive use of the miscommunication trope. Yes, I understand that it was essential to this particular plot, but there were so many interactions that should have acted as clues or given both Joe and Sadie pause. Beyond that, the book is filled with highly unlikeable characters, and even those that were supposed to be good had their moments, including Sadie. I felt that she was incredibly (and unnecessarily) rude to people in her life, which was disconcerting when not all warranted it. I also disliked how often she jumped to extreme conclusions rather than simply having a conversation.

Overall, I had a positive reading experience. If you enjoy audiobooks, definitely pick this one up, as Patti Murin narrates. While this may not have been my favorite Katherine Center novel, I am still looking forward to reading what she has to offer in the future. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my early copies in exchange for an honest review!

The audio reading is very well done. It was engaging. The book as a whole is heartfelt and makes you smile. This story captured my heart and put me in a good mood after listening to it. Perfect read or listen on the beach for the summer.

I adore everything by Katherine Center and this was no exception. It was my first time listening to one of her books in audio format and it was truly a delight. This story felt like a warm hug and the facial blindness premise made for a fun setup. I'd recommend to fans of KC and romance readers in general!

A struggling portrait artist gets her big break at the exact time she has brain surgery and develops facial blindness. Completely ridiculous in a feel good way. Read this if you're a fan of evil stepsisters, pampered dogs, wacky misunderstandings and light hearted rom-coms.

Outlier Alert!

It's a sad day when I'm disappointed by a book written by one of my favorite authors, but that's exactly what happened with Katherine Center's new book Hello Stranger.

Unfortunately, I predicted every single aspect of the plot from the very beginning and found the book to be both over the top, and ridiculous. In addition, there were so many holes in the storyline that made my eyes roll continuously, even though they admittedly existed for a reason.

After an accident, Sadie Montgomery is struck with face blindness. By some miracle, she manages to find love when she can't even see the features of anyone in front of her, (let alone the guy(s) she falls for), which is astounding considering that's virtually impossible for most of the female population.

While the writing was good, I felt that the characters had no chemistry and lacked the banter I'm used to seeing from Katherine Center. While this book was not my favorite, I remain a fan and look forward to seeing what Katherine Center comes out with next.

A buddy read with Kaceey.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the arc and to MacMillan Audio for the alc.

I had never heard of “acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia" or "face blindness" before this story, and I actually really enjoyed learning about it and how it changes a person's interpretation of the world around them. We really do see what we want to see.

Sadie is a quirky, fun FMC who I grew to really enjoy as the story progressed. She isn't perfect, but that's what made her enjoyable in my opinion. Her existing relationships are incredibly complicated, and I found that while I really liked Sadie and her love interests, I didn't quite care for her friend, Sue, or her father and step family.

Though the side characters outside of the love interests were a bit of a let down, Sadie does a good job of keeping the story interesting on her own! Her face blindness and silly mistakes while dealing with it lead to some pretty funny moments that I enjoyed.

I really enjoyed Katherine Center's other book, The Bodyguard and was really glad I ended up enjoying this one too. She does a great job of writing and the story flows really well. This was such a fun book to read and it was paced very well!

Audiobook
I went back and forth between the ebook and audiobook for this story. Patti Murin is the narrator and she did a great job of it! Her pacing was perfect and she really brought the characters to life. I could clearly understand her at various speeds up to 2.0x.