I'm such a big fan of Katherine Center and I was definitely looking forward to this book with an interesting premise. Unfortunately, the lead character is pretty unlikeable and make it a hard book to love. Sadie is to put it plainly, a brat. She is self-absorbed, negative, and whiny. She jumps to the the worst possible conclusions immediately. At 64% in she says, "Getting super mad at assumptions is not normally my thing." Um, what? That is exactly what she does consistently. Even after the mix up was explained, I can't understand what Joe sees in her. She does not treat him well before or after the surgery. For someone who "never accepts help" having someone turn a blind eye while you rent somewhere you aren't supposed to, gives you a cheap rate on that rent and then no rent at all, that seems to be a pretty big way of accepting help. Much greater than $20 worth of wine.

A few other things that really bothered me was that she never had a good reason for not telling people about the facial recognition. She was worried about being embarrassed but was embarrassed because she couldn't recognize them. She could have saved a lot of trouble with just a small explanation. Of course, then there wouldn't have been a plot at all. Also, she says she's "not good with voices." Come on. Scents, voices, mannerisms... you can't tell me her brain wouldn't have picked up on all of those, especially after such an extended period of time.

One redeeming quality was everything wasn't exactly tied up with a bow at the end, i.e. Parker. Things still worked out a little too conveniently but I would have given two stars if they suddenly became close.

I think if there had been better reasonings for the confusions and Sadie did not act like such a petulant child, I would have liked the book more. I will still always read Katherine Center and I do believe enough other people loved it that everyone who is interested should still give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Life has been hard for twenty eight year old Sadie Montgomery ever since her mother died and her distant father married the mother of her biggest bully at school, a girl who committed horrible acts and then made sure that Sadie was blamed for them. So Sadie has some really intense bitterness towards her father and his new family, a family that has been allowed to overshadow her completely. Sadie's revenge it to not forge a more lucrative career path her father suggests but rather to try to make it as an artist.

So that's why we meet Sadie while she is living in a rooftop hovel, formerly more of a janitor's shack. Because of the hurts in Sadie's life, everything about her might be a little bit better than she thinks it is, her living space might be more attractive to others than she will allow herself to believe and she might be more attractive to others than she will allow herself to believe. Now her rotten step sister is latching on to Sadie and her adult world, with a vengeance, determined to continue destroying Sadie's life as much as she can.

Sadie does have a huge, real problem. She is face blind after a health incident that led to brain surgery. Just when two men show interest in her and she can't even see their faces. One man is Joe, who she first noticed while he was having an extremely gross and inappropriate phone call, saying very degrading things about a woman. The other guy, Oliver, is her dog's new vet. But while the new vet seems to be ghosting her after asking her out on a date, Joe, except for that one disgusting overheard phone call, seems to be a sweet dreamboat...maybe.

Yeah, yeah, Sadie makes some strange choices in life, sometimes seeming to cut off her nose to spite her face, but I just let the story flow and found it to be cute and funny. We are certainly given some folks that we can love to hate and Sadie seems to be blessed in ways she doesn't appreciate, but I let Sadie be Sadie and greatly enjoyed the story. And then there is that very cute little dog named Peanut!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was my first time reading a Katherine Center novel, and I really enjoyed it!! I read it in 2 days, which is really fast for me. It was very fast paced, and had me wanting to know the ending! Some of it was predictable (I had guessed the twist about Joe), but overall it was an amazing romance book. I didn’t like some of the characters, mostly Parker. Sue made me mad occasionally especially when she left her best friend in need! But I understand how it set up the Joe and Sadie storyline even more.

I rated this book a 4 because we can't give half stars but I would most definitely round it up to a 4.5 ! From the beginning I felt for Sadie and her struggle of being an artist and wanting so badly to succeed but with no support from her family. Then to find out she needs brain surgery due to a genetic condition that killed her mother I thought, man is this girl ever going to catch a break? Once Sadie made it through surgery, she realized she could no longer distinguish the different faces of the people around her. So she then has to learn to sort of navigate being an artist who is on a 6 week deadline for a contest and just life in general.

Peanut is Sadie's dog and her best friend, she decides to take him to a new vet who she immediately dubs her new future husband although she can't see her face. But his gait is what attracts her to him even though she had never noticed these things about people before. Then she runs into a man who lives in her building but overhears him having what seems to be a private conversation of a one night stand. Who is this guy? Why all of a sudden is he everywhere? Honestly I loved Sadie and "Joe's" story, the irony in the end was beautiful and who doesn't love a happy ending. I absolutely adore Katherine Center.

3.5 rounded up

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC of this book.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I had some reservations because I feel like the idea of someone having face blindness isn't always the most interesting story for me, but I did end up liking this book. The writing is very much what I would expect from Katherine Center, a little bit silly, fun, and very easy to read. I sat down to start this book and ended up finishing it all in one sitting. It is an incredibly quick read. I enjoyed the romance although I really felt like it was secondary to the family relationships in this story. This really felt like a story about a woman who is learning her family history a bit and trying to repair a relationship with her dad. While she's doing that she happens to meet a guy and fall in love. I didn't mind that the romance wasn't necessarily font and center. I enjoyed following Sadie as she comes to terms with her diagnosis and as she tries to win a portrait contest (because of course). I liked Sadie a lot as a character and had a really fun time reading this book.

Sadie has finally gotten her big break as a portrait artist when she is named a finalist in a competition. Unfortunately, she also needs brain surgery which completely alters the way she can see faces.

This book was a great read and included themes surrounding honesty with yourself and others. Another hit from Katherine Center!

Thank you SMP & NetGalley for my gifted eARC. 💕

About: Sadie Montgomery, a portraitist just like her late mother, finally gets her big break: she's placed as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. Unfortunately, that same day she lands in the hospital with a "probably temporary" condition called prosopagnosia - AKA face blindness. The timing couldn't be worse!

As she struggles to cope with this new condition and the impact it will have on the competition, she's also dealing with a sick pup and a dysfunctional family: a mostly-absent father, an overbearing (but well-meaning) stepmom, and a wicked step-sister.

So meeting not one, but TWO, men is the perfect distraction! But Sadie's inability to see them clearly will cause problems galore!

Thoughts: This was an absolute DELIGHT! This is only my second Katherine Center novel but call me a fan! The humor is perfect, and I found myself smiling for most of the book. Sadie is so charming and I couldn't help but love her and root for her. The romance is slow-burn but very sweet. And I appreciate the way the author handled Sadie's family issues, and I thought that backstory added a lot of depth. Overall a very solid read that I binged in just over 24 hours 🥰 I read this along with the audiobook and Patti Murin delivers a wonderful performance from start to finish. Katherine Center+ Patti Murin are a dream come true! Add this one to your TBR ASAP!

4.5 rounded to 5.
Review to be posted on my Instagram prior to pub day.

This is my second Katherine Center book and I loved it just as much as the first one!

I had never heard of face blindness so I was very intrigued by the blurb. I feel like it was very well researched and was so interesting.
Sadie was such a relatable character. I felt like I really knew her. And Joe? SWOON.

I will definitely recommend this book forever

2.5 stars
Thank you to St, Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

To be honest, if this wasn't an ARC copy, I probably would've quit reading this at about 35%. I did end up finishing it, and I did enjoy the ending and the author's note especially. But the rest of it I mostly sped read through because I just wanted to know what happened. There were cute parts of the story, like Sadie's dog Peanut, and I was interested in reading about her painting and her experiences with prosopagnosia. I did like seeing Sadie's growth in the very end of the story, and I enjoyed reading about her relationships with others like her friend Sue and her family. However, I just felt like this book was too long, and I was tired of Sadie's monologue. To me she came off as whiney and kind of superficial. I know she had a lot going on, but I felt like she was constantly complaining and it was just a lot to read through. I would've liked if she'd had a little growth throughout the whole story and not just all in the last 10% of the book.

I'll give other Katherine Center books a try, because I did read another of hers and I did enjoy it. However, this one just wasn't it for me.

Thank you, St, Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars
I read The Bodyguard by Katherine Center and fell in love with her writing style. I was so excited to be approved to read this book early! Overall, I enjoyed the story. I didn't swoon as hard for this couple as with Hannah and Jack in The Bodyguard. I felt like they were lacking a solid emotional connection. Despite this, I did enjoy reading about face blindness and the complexity behind it. Watching Sadie grow as a character throughout the book with her struggles was fun. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a lighter, fun read.

P.s. the cover is absolutely gorgeous

Hello Stranger is a story with big emotions. After the main character, Sadie, is struck with a medical condition that impacts the way she sees the world around her, she begins to confront questions about who she is and wants to be. This is a unique romance and I liked the way it made me think about confirmation bias and assumptions I make in my own life. Even though I didn't relate strongly to Sadie, I was rooting for her and interested to see how her story would evolve and resolve. As a bonus, I love Sadie's relationship with her dog Peanut!

This book was a light-hearted, fun romance. The premise was certainly unique, and I’d never read anything quite like it before in a contemporary romance. I was able to guess the twist, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. A solid read.

4⭐️

Thanks so much Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.

I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about this book, and I have to say I can’t disagree with that. This book was super fun and light romance read. I thought the fact she couldn’t recognize faces AND she was a portrait artist was a really interesting take.

I also really enjoyed the main character, Joe (who may or may not be Joe?) and of course Peanut. The characters were just super likeable and made this that much of a better read.

I was able to guess the plot twist at the end, but it’s okay because it didn’t ruin the story as a whole.

Overall, it was definitely a fun romance read that I read in the span of probably a day or two. I’d definitely recommend.

Cute book!
From the beginning I truly loved this book. The romance is super cute and reading about Sadie and what she went through was sad. But, it didn’t hit a home run for me. Something was missing. But overall I did enjoy it!

THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING. I loved it so much...I figured out the twist at around 70% but I didn't even care. That's how good it was. HIGHLY recommend.

Okay, this book was super predictable yet super cute, and I really enjoyed reading it. I flew through it! I really like Sadie’s POV and understanding from her side how this diagnosis affected her and her life/livelihood. I loved her found family with the Kims and how they loved her and helped her. Getting to see the relationship with Joe blossom was sweet.

I knew I’d enjoy this story because I enjoyed The Bodyguard, and I loved how different this story was that I am used to.

Why oh why did I put off reading this book? It was an absolute delight! Katherine Center is definitely one of my favorite romcom authors and HELLO STRANGER is my new favorite.

First of all, where can I buy a Pajanket? Because I need that in my life. Second, this story was full of so many emotions but it was still lighthearted and fun. I loved every page.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. ⭐⭐⭐

This is a slow burn which builds up to the final.
Sadie who has face blindness must rely of her other senses, which only gets her in trouble. The message I got from this book is this... Don't judge a book by its cover. Get the full story before making judgement.

I received Dan advanced copy of this book for my honest review from NetGalley

“Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life—placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition—the next, she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness.”

This book was a DELIGHT.

I might have liked it even better than The Bodyguard, which is saying something.

The characters were fantastic, the plot of prosopagnosia was clear, and interesting, without being tedious, and THERE WAS A DOG.

Was the ending predictable? Sure, but it was also SATISFYING – exactly what I wanted.

My only complaint was that I do wish the step-sister got more of a karmic b!tch-slap.

8/10

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for this gratifying ARC.

Another knock out of the park for Katherine Center. Getting lost in Sadie’s world was such a cathartic dose of reality that everyone can relate to in some capacity from money woes, career crisis, to finding out about a her medical emergency! This isn’t my first Center book and I can see why; her books are light and easy reads. Overall this was joy to read and I can’t wait for more!!