Wow, just… wow. I had such high expectations for Hello Stranger, after the brilliance of The Bodyguard (still one of my favorite books)… and not only did Hello Stranger deliver on my high expectations, it totally surpassed. The characters are nuanced and are so vibrant, complex, and well-developed they practically jump off the page. The storyline - in which Sadie, a portrait artist, develops face-blindness after an accident - is unique and thoughtful. We learn about characters through their personalities, not their looks, as she experiences meeting and further getting to know new people, including two love interests. Honestly, I tore through this book in less than a day, I could not stop flipping pages because I just couldn’t get enough of these characters. Probably one of my favorite ever books now.

An enjoyable read about Sadie Montgomery who just finaled in a portrait painting contest only to have a nonconvulsive seizure, causing her to need brain surgery. A result from the surgery is swelling in part of the brain that causes Prosopagnosia, aka face blindness. This is not good when she needs to be able to paint a portrait in weeks!

To top that off, her dress that she was wearing the night of the accident has been trashed, her beloved fourteen-year-old dog gets sick, and her evil (truly evil) stepsister, Parker, moves into her apartment building and won't stop messing with her. Seems like too much too handle for one person.

Sadie meets the veterinarian, Dr. Oliver Addison, and soon has visions of marrying him. Then, there's Joe from her building. Soon, she is spending a lot of time with him. What's a girl to do? It's a love triangle in the making, sort of. I loved Joe's character. He is super sweet and truly "Helpful."

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hello Stranger is the perfect summer read. Sadie is a talented artist who has a medical emergency and must have brain surgery. When she wakes up, she discovers that she can no longer see a persons face, including her own.

Kathleen Center did a beautiful job creating a story that was funny, loving and also heartbreaking at times. The story is fast paced and easy to enjoy. This book just makes me love Center even more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for their generous ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5- I was a little wary to read this because while I liked the last book I read by Katherine Center the ending ruined it for me. I decided to give this one a try and I’m so happy I did!
Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist. It doesn’t bring in much money, but she loves painting and it makes her feel closer to her late mother so she’s pretty happy- despite the fact that she isn’t close with her father, she hates her stepmother, and she has a genuine wicked stepsister. After a near miss with a car, she ends up needing surgery that leaves her with facial blindness, pretty catastrophic for a portrait artist. During this time she falls for 2 different men and needs to figure out how to go on working and living in a world that makes no sense.
I loved every bit of this book. All of the characters are so well developed and Ms. Center created fantastic anticipation with the love story aspect. Watching Sadie learn who she is as both a person and an artist while missing this pivotal part of our senses (she can see, but faces look like a separate pieces instead of a cohesive whole) was truly a joy.
Strangely, I’ve read a bunch of books with characters who have prosopagnosia and this is the first that describes what a sufferer sees in a way that my brain could imagine. The amount of research Ms. Center did on both this and portrait artistry is truly commendable. I’ll definitely be checking out more of Ms. Center’s works. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this. This gem hits the shelves on July 11th.

Ok, I enjoyed the writing. I was hesitantly vibing with this book until a pivotal scene between Sadie and one of her love interests. It’s a moment that I didn’t want to happen but I kind of knew it would and would require you to ignore a lot of questions that come up while reading. Questions such as “If you live in a tiny hovel of an apartment, where do you hide your dog?” “Is Joe a trust fund baby because he has a bougie apartment and always seems to be home?” “Sadie, you’re falling in love with someone but never take the time to get to know them?” There are so many more questions but I’ll be falling into spoiler territory if I keep going. There were quite a few plot choices that could have gone in another direction that would have made this story a bit more plausible. Anyway, if you’re the type of person who can easily see that the math isn’t math-ing then you may not get on with this book. If you can ignore the questions popping into your head, then you can happily fall into this sweet romance.

Absolutely loved this! Katherine Center writes the perfect “pick me up” books and “Hello Stranger” was exactly what I needed to get myself out of my reading slump. The romance was really well written & I loved all of the side characters.

I received a digital ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Katherine Center’s books make me happy - Hello Stranger; is no different. The characters are relatable. I felt like Sadie was a friend. I laughed, and cheered, and felt anger along with her on her journey.

after a brain surgery to fix a deadly cavernoma, sadie is diagnosed with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, aka face blindness. it’s supposed to be temporary, but with an important art show coming up—for which sadie has to draw a portrait—she starts to get nervous. meanwhile, she’s started falling for both her dog’s veterinarian and for her neighbor, even though this is the complete wrong time for romance.

i enjoyed the bodyguard when i read that last year, so i was very excited to hear that there would be another katherine center book releasing this year!

it was a little bit frustrating that sadie wouldn’t be honest about her condition with almost anybody, but i also understand why she didn’t want to share, especially since she thought it’d clear up super quickly at first. i have no idea what it’s like to have prosopagnosia, but i thought it was interesting how this was portrayed in sadie. she was able to piece together who she was talking to sometimes, but other times had no clue at all. additionally, she tried so many different techniques for her art, and reading about her continuously trying and still not getting it made me frustrated on her behalf.

i really enjoyed the romances present. one is much more prevalent than the other, but it was still so interesting to see both of them play out. i loved how the main romance developed!

Prepare to be captivated by this delightful book that had me completely enthralled! Sadie Montgomery, a talented portrait artist, basks in the joy of being a top ten finalist in a prestigious art competition. However, her world takes an unexpected turn when she discovers the need for brain surgery due to neurological issues.

As someone who has undergone testing for my own neurological concerns, I appreciate the author's portrayal of Sadie's fears and anxieties. Although I felt that her emotions may have been slightly understated, as someone who has experienced the genuine terror associated with such situations, I can assure you it's an incredibly daunting experience.

Despite the successful surgery, Sadie is left with facial blindness, which her doctor assures her may be temporary. This revelation strikes horror in the heart of a portrait artist, and the story takes an anticipated yet thoroughly enjoyable path as Sadie navigates her romantic interests: the endearing veterinarian for her adorable (in her opinion) dog, and Joe from her apartment building.

While the plot may seem predictable, it does nothing to diminish the sheer fun and enjoyment of this book. It offers a delightful blend of sweetness and amusement, making it a truly engaging and heartwarming read.

2.5/5 I just didn't click with this one. I didn't believe that Sadie who had face blindness would not be able to tell a person by their voice. I didn't believe that your step sister's antics would haunt you into adulthood without her ever being held responsible for her wrongdoings. This is quirky like What You Wish For and I didn't click with that book either.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steam Level: 🔥 (kissing only)
Trigger Warning: death of a parent recounted; brief mentions of seizure, cheating recounted, divorce, attempted suicide (side character)

After years of being a starving artist, Sadie Montgomery has just learned that she's a finalist in a portrait contest that has a prize of $10,000. But on her way home to celebrate, she was ends up having a seizure that leads to brain surgery and a side effect called prosopagnosia- face blindness. Now she can't see faces clearly, much less paint them for her final submission into the portrait contest. As she tries to figure out how to move forward, she befriends Joe- a man in her building who is eager to help her out. Joe helps Sadie realize that she's not the only one whose life is a mess, and she begins to feel a deep connection with him. Will Sadie find a way to complete her portrait and also find love with a faceless stranger?

Okay, I loved this so much! I finished this in one day because I just couldn't put it down. The writing just flowed so well and the story kept me engaged with its unique premise. I really liked Sadie and wanted to see her get a happy ending after everything she'd been through in life. This book had me cracking up in some spots and teary-eyed in others. I'm such a sucker for emotional books in which the characters overcome grief and loneliness. There was a lot of growth Sadie had to go through, and I was happy to see many things resolved by the end of her story. Joe was also a delight, but I won't say much to avoid spoilers 😉 While I was able to predict the plot twist, it never took away from my anticipation of how everything would be worked out in the end. (If you've read the author's note, you'll probably appreciate my word choice there!) I honestly was on pins and needles waiting for Sadie to connect the dots, and I was not disappointed with the conflict resolution. This book easily puts Katherine Center on my auto-buy author list!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book!

Last year the surprise rom com that I end up loving was The Bodyguard so I was super excited to learn we were getting a new one from Katherine this summer!

First off, can we get some commotion for the cover?! Just like her prior work, this one is bold and colorful and truly does stand out. And now after reading it, all the items on the cover make sense.

Back to the book, one thing I love between last year and this year's book is Katherine has provided a fresh take on romance storylines. In The Bodyguard, the female was the guard and in this one the FMC has a rare brain lesion and from the surgery has acquired prosopagnosia.

Did I see where this was going? Yes absolutely!
Was I still hooked from the beginning? Yes!
Did I find myself feeling emotional while reading? Yes!

I like how this story followed Sadie before, during and after her diagnosis. Though being almost 30, you could tell the trauma of losing her mom and her effects of that still weighed heavily on her life as an adult. She was constantly striving to impress and make her father proud after all the years of feeling like a disappointment to him.

"We're all just muddling through, after all. We're all just doing the best we can. We're all struggling with our struggles."

Joe.
I was trying to hate him. Especially after that disastrous moment in the elevator (which I am glad they cleared up that moment later in the book). I won't say too much but my only qualm with his storyline is WHY DIDN'T HE SAY ANYTHING.!? There were plenty of opportunities for him to question Sadie's actions or connect things but did not. Despite my side eye from the elevator moment, I did love the relationship he had with Sadie throughout the book. I definitely thought they could have bonded on a deeper level though if that happened then the story would be over.

Sadie.
As I mentioned above, she was just trying so hard to still work through her grief after all the years and then to somehow make a living out of doing her favorite thing - painting. I thought it was a nice connection to her mom to include the art show. I like that she tried different ways to incorporate her new diagnosis in with her art. BUT I wish she would've told she interacted with often about the condition. Once again though, if she would have then we would have had a totally different story. I love how much she loves her dog Peanut. It goes to show that the love for our pets is unconditional no matter what the circumstance. My heart went for her when it come to dealing with her stepsister Parker. She truly was terrible even as someone in her 20s. She knew how to press all of Sadie's buttons and Sadie let her. I think Sadie could have used a lesson on boundaries when it came to her family. Though I am glad by the end there was a little more balance and hope for the future.

If you are looking for a steamy romance, this one is not it. And honestly I did not even miss it.
There may have been a moment or two where it could have happened but like I said I did not miss it. There was other things happening that kept me intrigued enough to not need it.

I think this book is perfect for summer and by the pool.
If you love unconventional romance with art references, check this one out!

Also don't skip out on the author's note at the end. It gave extra info on prosopagnosia as well as a short vignette on writing and romance that I thought was really relatable.

I cannot fully put into words just how much I LOVED this story!! This book was everything that I could have ever wanted and more. Seriously I could not recommend this book more! This was the first Katherine Center book that I’ve read and she absolutely blew me away. This book’s main character, Sadie, had the most unique challenge as a portrait artist that kept you absolutely hooked wanting to know what she would do next. I loved reading her story and watching her navigate her way through each challenge her life sent her. To make things even better the men in this story were absolutely SWOON WORTHY!! And don’t even get me started with the TWIST at the end?! I kind of saw it coming but I was still pleasantly surprised to read it and watch all the puzzle pieces finally make sense. All in all one of my favorite books I’ve read this year!! Thank you Katherine Center and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Such a good story! Sadie is a young portrait artist who lost her mother as a young teen. She doesn't have much of a relationship with her father, her stepmother or her horrible stepsister, Parker. Sadie has followed in her mother's footsteps in pursuing her passion for art. Sadie wins the opportunity to do a portrait for a yearly contest that could make her career. Her best friend Sue decides to throw a party and while Sadie is out buying wine for the party, she suffers a seizure after leaving the store. While in the hospital, the tests done reveal Sadie has a lesion on her brain. It is recommended that she have it removed ASAP. Sadie only has six weeks to do her portrait for the contest and wants to wait. Sadie's father insists she have the surgery right away and tells her that her mother died as a result of the same medical condition. Sadie has the surgery and becomes "face blind" afterward. It's probably temporary but for a woman who paints faces for a living, this is a huge issue. 4 1/2 stars.

I am a fan of Katherine Center and one thing that I like is that all of her books are different. Well written, and rich characters, this story is about Sadie Montgomery, a portrait artist who is on the brink of fame by proving her talent and self-worth to her father who always doubted her. However, on the cusp of success, she befalls a terrible accident leading to brain surgery to prevent a life threatening situation. However in a rare turn of events, the surgery leaves her with face blindness - not a good thing for a portrait artist. Sadie must rely on other senses, a person's voice, their gait, and more in order to identify others. Her therapist wants her to focus on the positive, something hard for Sadie to do. However, she does and falls madly in love with her veterinarian, convinced that this is her future husband. But then there is also the helpful guy in her building which makes her confused. Day by day, Sadie struggles to appear normal to others who faces appear as strangers even if she has known them her whole life, which is a challenge. Add in an evil step-sister who has always been jealous of her, and that throws road blocks in her way. Lots of laughs and yet empathy for her situation, this is a story that is easy to read as you want to walk along with Sadie on her journey hoping for her success both in her art and in love. A great selection for a fun summer read, it has a pleasant feel-good vibe. I recommend this book, a 5/5 stars.
Many thanks to #netgalley #katherinecenter #hellostranger #st.martinspress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Hello Stranger is one of my new favorite books — no questions about it. I haven’t gotten this wrapped up in a story in a while. It was really really hard to put this book down. I was so drawn to the characters, especially Sadie, whose mind it was so fun to live in. I also think this book does a great job incorporating the idea of face blindness and allowing readers to understand the experience. This was absolutely a comfort read, heartwarming and beautiful. I love Hello Stranger SO much and would recommend to any and all fans of art, romance, and the mysteries of life!

I am so thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

As a fan of Katherine Center, this book did not disappoint.
Sadie is a struggling artist, following in her mother's footsteps and avoiding her father and his new family. There is a lot of family drama as Sadie finds herself in the hospital with a diagnosis that could kill her if not treated. She is diagnosed with face blindness. As a portrait artist, this makes her struggling career nearly impossible. She had just been accepted into a long hoped for artist contest and without being able to see faces, she needs to create a masterpiece.
This is the big dilemma that is the focus of the entire book. However, add a dreaming vet, a man in her apartment complex with questionable morals and we have the perfect set up for a cute romance.
Sadie comes to realize that things are not ever what they seem. She makes some funny mistakes in not being able to recognize people and it adds to anticipation that as a reader I had already figured out. Watching Sadie stumble her way to truth is quite entertaining though.
I really like the characters and the storyline. I appreciate when there is something like face blindness that is highlighted in the book. This is something that is very hard to imagine or understand and yet it gives some great insight and perspective.
This is overall a very fun, sweet, romance.

I have been wanting to dive into a Katherine Center book and I’m happy I did. We have a Sadie who is quirky as hell, full of humor anda a starving artist, for real though. She lives in her art studio and she’s a finalist for this huge art competition that can make her career. Then she suffers and accident, finds out that she has something hereditary in her brain and has temporary face blindness.

This topic was something new to me, but I loved how the author makes it very clear in the situations that Sadie is going through. She meets these two men in the middle of everything, and I was all for how this was going to play out, and even her art. It’s crunch time! There were a few things that saddened me but I found it to be a good combo to bring into this book, Bullying, and the characters that played a part in it. And also how the people who support you the most are not always family.

I loved Peanut, now that I’m a dog mom a fun and loyal pup-best friend is a must to make any book all CUTE!…… everyone deserves their happy ending and even if it looked like Sadie wasn’t going to get hers she did, and it was heartwarming to see, even through it all in her life she ended up winning.

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I loved this!!! Such a heartwarming romance from Katherine Center. This was super lighthearted and enjoyable. I also liked Sadie a lot. I really enjoyed it and am excited to explore the rest of Katherine Center’s books!

This book was lovely. I woke up the next day after finishing it wanting to do a reread. I adored the ending, it sold the whole book for me. Of course there is a HEA and I thought it was wonderfully done.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!