From my blog: Always With a Book

Katherine Center has been a favorite author of mine for a while. Her books just make me happy – I can count on some laughing, some tenderness and a sweet love story, and I love that. She creates such real, relatable characters and is able to infuse humor into her stories at just the right time while still giving us little moments of truth.

I always find myself completely immersed in these books and this latest one is no exception. I love that this time around, we are given a character that finds herself confronted with a major medical issue that will have a huge impact on her life. She ends up with face blindness and while it’s not the first time I’ve read a story that addresses this issue, I have to say, it was still quite an enjoyable story.

I think what I love most about Katherine Center’s books is the way she tells her stories. You cannot help but find yourself totally immersed in the character’s lives and that is exactly what happened to me with Sadie. As soon as I started this one, I needed to see how she would handle what life threw at her and I quite enjoyed all the little snafus she finds herself entangled in.

While this is at its heart a story that is classified as romance and possibly women’s fiction, I loved that there were still a few twists and turns that I was not expecting. That kept the mystery lover in me quite happy! Katherine Center is most definitely a must-read for me and I highly recommend adding this to your summer reading list.



Audio thoughts: I find that Katherine Center’s books translate so well onto audio and this one was no exception. Like her last book, it was narrated again by Patti Murin, who does such a fabulous job bringing the story to life. Patti was able to give each character their own voice and personality and I just loved how she infused emotion and tension into her voice as needed.

There is no denying this is a well-written book.
Center writes the most loveable characters, you just can't help but fall in love with them.
That said, I have one huge gripe with this book and it's the overuse of the misunderstanding trope.
It literally dragged through the entirety of the book, like the last page dragging.
Uhhgghh
Very wholesome story with no angst or steam,
If that's for you, then you will enjoy this

I recently finished another captivating book by Ms. Center. One thing I've come to appreciate about her works is the inclusion of intriguing medical conditions, although not in all of her books. This particular story introduces us to Sadie, who develops a rare condition called apperceptive prosopagnosia after a brain procedure. This condition, also known as face blindness, renders her unable to cognitively process faces. Interestingly, I had learned about this condition when it was revealed that Brad Pitt himself experiences face blindness.

Sadie's newfound blindness becomes a significant obstacle in her career as a portrait artist. Additionally, her initial encounter with a guy in her apartment building, Joe, leaves her unimpressed, as she overhears a negative phone conversation he's involved in. However, as Joe starts assisting her, she begins to warm up to him, despite her conflicted feelings. Complicating matters further, Sadie finds herself attracted to Dr. Addison, the veterinarian caring for her dog, and the feeling are mutual.

While the story does contain a twist seasoned romance readers might anticipate it from early on but will undoubtedly enjoy the pleasant surprise.

Ms. Center has firmly secured a spot on my list of favorite authors because I have thoroughly enjoyed every book I've read by her.


**Complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**

Audiobook source: Netgalley
Narrator: Patti Murin
Length: 10H 39M

I have mixed feelings about Hello Stranger. Overall, I want to like this book. However, there were a few things that I didn't love.

1. The plot was lackluster, and the dialogue was stereotypical and lacking.
2. There was too much inner monologue, and I would have preferred more interaction between the characters. For example, her best friend left on a trip, and I would have loved to explore that relationship more instead of being in Sadie's head.
3. The relationship with her family was complicated for me to believe. Kathrine Center went too hard on the step-sister trope and made it unbelievable.
4. I figured out the twist pretty early, so the book annoyed me.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was really delightful. I'm a hard win when it comes to romantic contemporary novels but this one was light, funny, and heart warming. The romance developed naturally and the characters were really likable. I thought the concept was so unique and so well executed. I did not see the ending coming and thought it was perfect. I love the way Katherine Center tells stories. I thought the narrator was perfect for this as well. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie, a struggling artist, becomes a top ten finalist in a major art competition, Her friend Sue convinces her that they need to throw a party. Sadie goes to the grocery store and has a cute guy pay for her wine after she leaves her wallet at home. However, on the way home she has a seizure and it causes the doctor to look closely and find a lesion in her brain that requires brain surgery. It causes her to have face blindness and leads through a funny love story between what she believes are two different people. Of course throughout the book, there is family drama, and the mean girl and Sadie overcomes it all. I loved this book. It was hilarious, and made me laugh out loud so many times! It was a delightful read.

I received "HELLO STRANGER" as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest assessment of the book (I received the book and audio version). I love Katherine Center's novels - I appreciate her tone and voice, and the characters are well-developed and entertaining. I have a friend with face blindness but I hadn't given real thought until this book what that must actually be like. I enjoyed this story, and for those who opt for the audio version, the narration is well-done, easy to listen to, and just so good that I looked for other stories narrated by the same person.

4 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

First Katerine Center book and I really enjoyed it. The premise of this was really different and interesting. Sadie was an absolutely wonderful character whom I totally identified with. I know what it is like to lose your Mom and to want to try and hold on to everything about her.

I loved the relationship between Sadie and her love interest. I really enjoyed Patti Murin as the narrator. She did a fantastic job.

I will never have a bad word to say about Katherine center books, But this one in particular was a definite favouri0te of mine and the audible really did it justice

This is my second novel by Center! I was looking forward to it because I ADORED The Bodyguard. While this one didn’t quite measure up for me, it was still very cute and I loved the ending!

Katherine Center has, once again, delivered a phenomenal romance that reminds us that love is blind and that we can find it when we least expect it. She has the amazing talent of developing strong characters that are dealing with obstacles in their lives that may be hard to overcome if not for the people in their lives that help them through these challenging moments. While overcoming these obstacles the relationship between the characters grows stronger in a very realistic way and the listener cannot help but be pulled into the story that she weaves so perfectly.

In this uniquely marvelous book, we meet Sadie who is a struggling artist that has finally caught a break by being selected as a finalist to participate in a prestigious portrait contest. But after an emergency brain surgery to correct a leaking blood vessel she is diagnosed with Prosopagnosia also known as face blindness. How does a portrait artist overcome face blindness? How will she enter the contest when she cannot see the faces that she needs to paint?

She normally would rely on her extroverted best friend, Sue, but she has been whisked away by her fiancé leaving Sadie to navigate her face blindness by herself. She would like to be able to lean on her family, but her mom passed away when she was fourteen, her dad has a hard time connecting with her vision of life, her stepmother Lucinda is the opposite of compassionate and her stepsister, Parker, is a nightmare. This leaves Peanut, her dog, to be the one thing she can rely on. But when Peanut gets sick and has to stay at the veterinarian hospital for multiple days she meets her new vet, Dr. Addison, and she quickly falls in love with the compassionate way he cares for her sick dog, and it doesn't hurt that she sees past not being able to see his face to find him handsome from the way he holds himself and that his hair looked professional and competent. She also begins to rely on the helpful neighbor, Joe, that did not make the best first impression but has become a constant in her life.

The introduction of the two new men in her life gets her through these hard times. She finds redeeming qualities in both men which leaves her in an uncomfortable situation as she realizes she is falling for both of them at the same time for different reasons. This leads us to a few somewhat predictable surprises and yet there are many unpredictable surprises as the book wraps up.

The characters of this book contain a lot of depth and are very realistic. Their past experiences are explained to help draw a picture of how they have become the people they are today. The diagnosis of Prosopagnosia was very well researched with a note about it at the end of the book to help explain what it is. The plot of this book was very well-conceived and weaved together perfectly. If you like books by Kristen Hannah, Jojo Moyes, Emily Henry, or Emily Giffin to name just a few then you will love Katherine Center's books.

The audiobook was superbly done with a single narrator telling Sadie's story. Patti Muran is an amazing performer who has created an excellent audio experience that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

As I finished this book my heart was happy and fulfilled by a wonderful story about a good person put in a bad situation, but she finds her way through the bad days and comes out with a better life and much better relationships with her loved ones. This book is not just about romance, it is about life and how we overcome our pasts and the unexpected challenges in our lives to come out with stronger relationships and a bright future in the end.

I am extremely grateful to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to an ALC of this heartwarming book in exchange for an honest review. I will be recommending this audiobook to everyone I know!

I crafted a review in my mind and then listened to the author's notes at the end of the audiobook and she sums up HELLO STRANGER wonderfully - it's not "predictable"...it's hopeful!
There's a elderly dog, non-gory medical details, misunderstandings, coincidences, family drama, and some good dialouge of the main character (Sadie) standing up for herself - all topics that hook me in. There were some references to Sadie's past that I hoped would get more attention (two years at boarding school!) and why she would share a room with her step-sister when he father was a wealthy surgeon. But alas, I fell for the characters and rooted for everyone's happiness.
This is a sweet rom-com that has a uninque "ah ha" moment. For me, the "ah ha" came too soon so it was a little toturous waiting for the main character to figure it out too. Overall, Katherine Center delivers again, with likeable characters who overcome odds for their happy ending.

The plot of this book was fantastic and it had so much potential. I felt it was ruined by a poor protagonist. You could empathize what she was going through, but at the same time she was not particularly likable.

Absolutely adorable.
I am usually not a fan of the miscommunication trope. I am a huge fan of actually talking to the people you want to be in a relationship with. that being said, Sadie's situation is a little different. When she looses the ability to to distinguish faces after a, rather sudden, brain surgery, Sadie attempts to move on with her life til the condition clears. Stubborn as ever, Sadie refuses to tell anyone that she is suffering from face blindness and has elected to treat everyone with kindness and use context clues to tell friends from strangers. This works as well as can be expected, but she hits a bit of a hiccup when her dating life becomes involved. In true hopeless romantic style, she falls madly in love with the vet who saved her pup. And the also the suspected womanizer who lives in her apartment complex. The problem is, she really doesn't know what either of them look like and is purely going off the interactions she had with the men. You can see where this is going right?

While I had a very strong feeling I knew what was happening the whole time, it was so gratifying to see the resolution and watch Sadie be honest with the people in her life. This book was such a departure from some of the smut I've been binging and it was fun to listen to a wholesome romance with witty characters and emotional interactions.

Katherine Center gets another 5-star review from me for this one. Not only did I fall in love with the characters, but Patti Murin's audio narration of the story was top notch, as usual. I sure hope Katherine plans to release a book every summer, because after "The Bodyguard" and "Hello Stranger", I can easily say that reading/listening her books has been the highlight of my summers.

What I liked most about this book was that the storyline was a lot different than your typical rom-com, and it was clearly researched. While I've read some reviews saying that the storyline was predictable, I actually felt the opposite. I did guess the "twist" closer to the end, but for much of the storyline, I really didn't have any idea where it was going. Also, as per usual with Ms. Center's novels, I was laughing out loud at some parts.

I look forward to Ms. Center's next book! Hopefully coming out in Summer 2024? **Manifesting**

Thank you very much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to have an ARC of both the book and the audiobook (I did read & listen to the story in both formats and enjoyed them both very much!).

I loved the unique premise of this story. I was intrigued throughout the book. The stepsister bothered me to an irrational extent.

a portrait artist who has a brain surgery that leads to her experiencing face blindness?! 😱 of course chaos ensues in this closed-door romance, and a love triangle seemingly develops, but don’t worry, it all ends up resolving quite easily (remember, she doesn’t recognize faces…) 🫣 it had moments of schitt’s creek vibes, and cinderella evil-step family vibes, and was tame in the romance department, too!

This was my first Katherine Center and I will definitely be going back and reading her backlist. This was a lovely story. The characters were well written, the plot was intriguing (I was so fascinated by Sadie’s face blindness!), and the romance was just right.
Patti Morin was perfection as the narrator. She added just the right amount of humor and snarky to the characters.
Also not to miss is Katherine Center’s authors note. It’s a beautiful wrap up to this novel.

Five huge stars for this gem of a book! This is my first Katherine Center book and it blew my expectations out of the water. The writing is superb, the plot is so unique, and the characters are impeccable. The MC is so real, flaws and all. Joe is *chef's kiss*. The cover of the book alone is stunning. I got all of the feels from this book and will be thinking about it for a long time. The audiobook narration is so comforting. Highly recommend reading this book, particularly in audio format!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC!

This book was SO cute! I really enjoyed this. I had never heard of face blindness, so experiencing this alongside Sadie was interesting. I really enjoyed the various storylines - this is way more than a simple rom-com. The stories between her and her mom, her and her dad, and her and her step-family were just as compelling as the other storyline. I did see the "twist" coming and it made certain scenes even more emotional for the reader.

The audiobook is very well done.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!