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.

This was such a fun read. I had heard of face blindness but never really understood what it was and this presenting it in an understandable and touching way. I loved the male MC so much! So many cute aspects of this book that I just ate up. Would definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed the plot of this, face blindness after surgery is a cool concept.
Even better when you add in that the MC is a portrait artist.
I really enjoy Katherine Center's writing and had kinda high expectations for this.
It was a little frustrating how naive and flighty the MC was, but overall I enjoyed this one.
Much love to NetGalley, & Macmillan Audio for my DRC.

THIS IS MY SECOND KATHERINE CENTER, BOOK AND I REALLY REALLY ENJOYED IT!! THE MAIN CHARACTER HAS ACQUIRED PROSOPAGNOSIA (AKA FACE BLINDNESS) AND WHILE IT’S A ROM-COM, IT IS SUPER UNIQUE, JOYFUL, AND FUNNY! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS BOOK WAS THE AUTHOR’S NOTE AT THE END AND HER TAKE ON ROM COMS- ESPECIALLY THE REFRAME OF “PREDICTABLE” TO “FANTASTIC ANTICIPATION”.

Sadie Montgomery is preparing for a portrait painting contest that could be the big break for her career when she is in an accident that leaves her with a rare form of face blindness that prevents her from accurately deciphering faces. Hello Stranger tells the story of Sadie trying to piece her life back together and make sense of the situations and relationships she finds herself in.

I have enjoyed Katherine Center's books in the past, but while this was a fine story, it fell a little flat for me. The romance was lackluster, there was far too much miscommunication, it was incredibly predictable, and I found Sadie unlikeable as a main character (which isn't a dealbreaker for enjoying a book, but combined with everything else, it didn't help the situation). The narration on the audiobook was just okay.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for gifting me with an ALC to review!

I think Katherine Center must be just the warmest, most optimistic person. Her books always have so much heart, even for people who are doing terrible things.

I really enjoyed Hello Stranger but I think your enjoyment of this one will definitely have to do with how crazy miscommunication makes you. Also, like everyone in Sadie’s life kind of sucks except for love interest Joe and her best friend’s parents, who are also her landlords. Sadie’s stepsister is an actual nightmare and I deeply wanted to punch her in the face.

Overall, super cute and satisfying read!

I loved the narrator Patti Murin, her voice really matched the perky, optimist-despite-all-odds tone of the book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my review copy! All thoughts are my own!

I love Katherine Center’s books because she always takes terrible situations, and brings beauty out of it. Her author’s note at the end was amazing!

Huge thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook!

Katherine Center is one of my FAVORITE romance authors. Every single book I read of hers I LOVE! this was honestly one of my most anticipated reads this year - and I thought it was amazing!

Sadie Montgomery is a talented portrait artist who recently has been accepted into a prestigious art competition... Unfortunately a few weeks before the competition sge has a seizure and almost gets hit by a car and finds out some very life changing news. I thought the storyline was so interesting (I've never read a book about Prosopagnosia, so I feel like I learned a lot about that. The misunderstanding... Omg I was DYING 😂 I loved Sadie's love interest(s), and her best friends family, but her family definitely sucked. This book never lost my attention, was impossible to put down and I loved it so much!

Read if you enjoy:
• family dramaaaa
• unique plot
• plot twist
• funny moments
• sweet guys

I read this as an audiobook and it was sooo good! I thought the narrator did a great job with the story and made it a super fun and interesting listen. I couldn't put this one down!

Author: Katherine Center
Narrator: Patti Murin
Length: 10h 30m
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Pub day: July 11, 2023

This book was a hilarious, cute, feel-good, swoony rom-com that I definitely recommend!

[it was okay]

This book started out really strong with a unique premise but as it went on, the story became a bit predictable and bland. I did love the main character and was rooting for her. The writing and narration of the audiobook were also great. Even though the story wasn’t a complete hit for me, I still recommend picking this one up, hopefully it’ll work better for you!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic narration. I laughed, cried, and thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook!

Thank you #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC audiobook.

I am normally not a rom com reader but I have been enjoyed Katherine Center's The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger is just as good. I enjoyed the self deprecating humor of the main character and also learned more about the medical issue she had to deal with. Narrator was very good. A good audiobook to listen to to escape all ugliness that is in the news today.

I did like this book, I listened to it very quickly. I know we don’t want to use the predictable but it was. The ending wasn’t a surprise but I still loved it 💜. LOVED the narrator. Can’t imagine not being able to see faces that’s wild- had to google it to see if it was a real thing (it is!!) thanks for this!!!!!

Katherine Center is incredibly talented at writing witty, sweet, and a bit spicy stories. "Hello Stranger" is a wonderful addition to her works. I also reccomend listening to her Virtual Book Tour Podcast - it made me love her even more.

I have read all most all of Katherine Centers books. Hello Stranger does not disappoint! It was a fun read ! Loved all of her quirky characters. I listened to the book and really enjoyed the narrator. She bought the characters to life. It was a fun romance with lessons to learn. It will make for the perfect beach/pool book.

I loved this one! There were some fun twists that I thought were obvious but that made ir even better. I love her books and this one was so good!

Hello Stranger
By Katherine Center
Sadie Montgomery was finally getting the chance she’d been waiting for to show her father who ignored her very existence and her mother posthumously that she could make it as a portrait artist! That is until something turned her world upside down. How could a portrait artist recover from “face blindness?” I was so amazed at the way the author explained a true condition unknown by most in a way the reader could understand and sympathize with the character! It was fascinating! I was rooting for Sadie page after page! I loved how I was surprised at many turns and changes Sadie made throughout and how her growth enhanced her relationships. I listened to this book on audio and it was phenomenal! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the amazing Katherine Center for the ARC.

I enjoyed this story about Sadie, a struggling artist who feels like she's on the brink of her big break. It kept my attention on a day I was home with a cold, and even helped ebb some of my grumpiness - which is exactly what I was looking for.

I didn't always love Sadie's behavior, but I thought it made sense given what she'd been through.

I enjoyed the narration by Patti Murin overall, though I wish her pacing were faster. (I listened at 3x and wanted to go faster, which is rare for me.) There's also one part in particular that I think could have been handled differently: The narrator reads this as written, "'That's huge!' She stretched out the U for what felt like a full minute. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge." I'd have rather the narrator just say, "That's huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!" It felt off for her to not actually stretch out the U in "That's huge!" but then tell us that's what the character did. Again, overall, I enjoyed it - these are minor critiques!

This was a fun read! I’ve read a few thrillers that dealt with face blindness and it was fun to have a new take on it, in a different genre. I think it was tackled well and i liked that the author also made the reader more understanding and empathetic of it.

It was a cute story and i enjoyed it. I do wish i had a little more from the side characters, because they were pretty cool.

And i figured out “the twist” early on. But it was ok just not shocking. I also loved the love interest. Never thought he was a bad dude. I figured out what was really going on and the phone call in the beginning seemed kind of obvious what it was to me. So i never thought badly of him 😜

I really didn’t like Parker, not that you’re supposed to! But man she was a monster.

Enjoyable read. And the narration was easy to listen to.

I loved this story! I do not want to spoil any of it for anyone who may listen to so I will not even attempt to describe the story!

I learned so much about something I had never heard of! I was delighted! I was surprised! I was cheering for the main character and was very invested in her story!