**Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC of Hello Stranger in exchange for an honest review!!** !!!! 5 million stars!!!!!!! I loved this book! I decided to read it because I thought it sounded like such a fun plotline and it was such an interesting read. Sadie was definitely having a lot of struggles in her life and her diagnosis seemed to be just another issue to deal with until it became more. It was very interesting to consider what your life would be like if you couldn't do the one thing you excelled at. I think this might be the fastest I have ever read a book. I even stayed up until 2am to finish reading it. I don't want to give away too much of the plotline because I think this is really a book you have to experience for yourself. Sadie's sudden facial blindness was such an interesting premise and it really felt like you could feel the underlying fear that you would feel if you were put in this situation. The Author's note at the end definitely made me cry. "Happy love stories-they all run on a blissful sense that we're moving toward something better." I felt that positivity throughout this book and I honestly just want to re-read it as soon as possible so that I can see which hints I missed. I love Katherine Center's books and I'm so happy I got to read it!! It's my favorite book of the year!

I wanted to love this one, but I didn't. I enjoyed it for sure, but it was only okay for me. I don't get why it's marketed as a romance, for one; there is a love story in the book, but it feels second-place to the main storyline of Sadie's face-blindness journey. Secondly, I saw the 'twist' with the love interest coming a mile away, and it didn't feel realistic to me. Lastly, it was slow. Too slow for my tastes. I kept wishing for something more. Thank you to NetGalley and St-Martin's Press for an advance copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

📆 pub date: 7/11/23

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

This book was thoughtful, sweet, funny, and had a beautiful message. I really enjoyed the premise of this story since I was already familiar with prosopagnosia and it truly sparked my interest.

It had a lot of amazing moments and grief/family relationship struggles were a large part of it. Those elements were well done & absolutely made me emotional. This also reminded me a lot of the movie A Cinderella Story.

I couldn’t rate this higher than 3-4 stars because it was just horribly repetitive and predictable. The decisions the main character made, and even things she said, were very cringe. I understand characters have to make certain decisions to further the plot, but Sadie’s choices truly did not make sense to me. She made her life unreasonably difficult by not communicating, especially with the love interests in this book. I never enjoy the miscommunication trope, and this book is just one big miscommunication.

Most things did not make sense, and then to add insult to injury the author spent many pages of the final chapter explaining why so many of those choices made no sense, in an effort to clear up any confusion. It was all tell, no show, and what should have been a swoony romantic ending to bring our main characters together turned into all dialogue.

“Omg you didn’t know?”
“How did that happen?”
“What are you going to do next?”

I didn’t get butterflies, I didn’t grin from ear to ear, it felt so sterile and lacking emotion. Even the plot with the “evil stepsister” that was so heavily focused on throughout the book was abruptly ended. I expected so much more closure from that situation.

I appreciated the message behind this story, and I truly enjoyed the excellent narration on audio. I highly recommend this as an audiobook for sure.

I did enjoy the beginning to middle sections, but the ending really took me out of the moment and left me feeling unsatisfied.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan audio for this ARC & ALC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I love romance novels and this one is one of the best I’ve read. A creative twist makes this story even more compelling and loving.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the advanced reading copy!

Sadie Montgomery is riding the high of her greatest career accomplishment yet -- being selected as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition -- until her brain, quite literally, knocks her off her feet. When diagnosed with a "probably temporary" condition called face blindness, Sadie's dreams of winning the portrait competition are as muddled as all of the faces around her. Add in her beloved dog, Peanut, suddenly becoming ill and a series of other unfortunate events and Sadie's life is a bit of a mess. Luckily, she has two very helpful and (assumedly) handsome men nearby: her vet, Oliver, and her helpful neighbor, Joe. As Sadie's life is falling apart and she herself is falling in love (with two different men), she realizes she might have been "blind" in other ways, too.

I love love LOVED Katherine Center's last book, THE BODYGUARD, and this one had similar delightful vibes but fell just a teeny tiny bit short of that for me. I, personally, wanted more about the romance and less about Sadie's family, though I totally appreciated the journey she went on in those familial relationships, too. Sadie's character was absolutely adorable and so easy to go on this ride with. There were some giggly moments in this book and some dreamy ones that made me tear up. Not to mention, this book had such a unique premise, with the MC's primary conflict being that she suddenly can't see faces?! Wild, and so creative on Katherine Center's part. It was fun to read a romance that took some different turns than I was expecting, though still filled with the delightful anticipation (IYKYK) that I love in a romance. Another great one from Katherine Center, and I can't wait to see what she'll do next.

Katherine Center celebrates finding inner strength in her latest novel, “Hello, Stranger.”

Center reminds us that there’s more than one way of seeing things, that we need to hold on to our dreams, that families are messy, that timing is never perfect BUT there are always those who will step up to the plate to help when we least expect it.

Center’s friend, and a literary hero of mine, Brene Brown, wrote that “Katherine Center writes about falling down, growing up and finding love like nobody else.” Amen. I couldn’t summarize this book any better than that, so … that’s it. Go source this book. It’s 5-star.

There is no doubt that this book will also be adapted for the silver screen.

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I sent my feedback for the audiobook as I decided that was the better option for me to finish this book! I loved peanut, the dog and part of that storyline. Overall, the story seemed to be a little far fetched. However, I love all of this authors other books and finished the audio of this one very quickly!

My favorite romance ever.. I had downloaded an arc from netgalley and just in the last 36 hours got the chance to really read it.

I couldn't be more in love with an author or her story right now.

I will say going into this , I had know idea the synopsis after a month or so if requesting it and coming back to read it.

I'm such a huge neuropsych and Oliver Sacks nerd, so serendipity of finding a romance with a very likable character who develops prosopagnosia( face blindness ) was such a treat

Ahhhh I'm swooning. I might be updating this review with more flowing swooning lately and I desperately need sleep now.

Btw even the talented Katherine Center's acknowledgment section got devoured x fangirling !!!!!!!! Must sleep now

Thank you- one of my new favs!!!!!

Katherine Center you won my heart again with Hello Stranger. Sadie suffers from facial blindness just as her art career is about to be recognized at a prestigious national competition. While she deals with this loss she is slowly falling for her Vet and neighbor but must decide which one she wants to continue a relationship with. I read and listened to this advanced reader copy and thought that @pattimurin did a great job narrating this book in such a way that I was kept engaged. This book will publish next month (July 11th) and highly recommend you pick up a copy. *Thank you @katherinecenter @netgalley @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my own review.*

To the great disappointment of her surgeon father, Sadie changed career paths from medicine to art early in her college career. Now in her late 20s, she’s scraping by, selling custom portraits on Etsy, and living in a tiny hovel in the rooftop of her friend’s parents’ apartment building in Austin. When she’s a finalist in a portrait artist competition, life throws a wrench in her chance at respect. A non-convulsive seizure leads to neurosurgery which leads to swelling in the exact area of her brain that recognizes faces. Add in a handsome veterinarian, a seemingly shady neighbor, and an evil step-sister, and you’ve got a story with lots of shenanigans mixed with some more serious themes.

While I was reading this one I wasn’t so sure about it, but it has stayed in my mind, so I must have liked it a lot. I think the fact that I was genuinely surprised at the end is what delighted me so much and made me want to go back and read it over again. The pacing felt slow from about a quarter of the way through until the halfway point. I felt like the interactions between Sadie and her step-sister were immature for their age, but I see why the bitterness stayed over time. Parker was almost unbelievably cruel. The romance was sweet in this one. I only wish we’d gotten more background on the MMCs family and life. I liked that this one was about more than the meet-cute or the FMC’s growth, but was also about our prejudices, confirmation bias, and perceptions of the world, whether we are face-blind or not.

Surprisingly, my favorite part may have been the author’s note at the conclusion about the importance of the romance genre. Loved it!

This book was absolutely adorable and I loved it! The main character was so utterly quirky and adorable, and she took everything in stride, from her bad relationship with her father and her awful stepsister, to her medical issues and facial blindness. The romance was so fun and although I guessed the twist early on, I think I was supposed to! Katherine Center is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors of romantic comedy. She just makes me smile until my cheeks hurt.

Imagine being a portrait artist, finally getting some recognition and ending up with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia (also known as face blindness or the facepocalypse😆). Well, that’s precisely what happens to Sadie in Hello Stranger. Add to the fact that she falls in like with two different men and you have a pretty decent romantic tale.

This is my first book by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. I love feel good fiction once in a while and this fit the bill, I wanted to hug this book when I had finished it! I am not a huge romance reader but this book was so much more than that. It’s about growing up, not letting life’s pitfalls stand in your way and learning to let go of weights that hold us back and yes it is about falling in love too. The plot played out as I anticipated it would (I will not say predicted…read the acknowledgements to find out why) but it in no way ruined my enjoyment of the book as the journey to get there was so much fun.

The book is well researched and the author describes Sadie’s experiences so well, I could easily imagine them in my mind’s eye. Center uses humour to help Sadie get through her ordeal and it was so much fun. Other reviewers have said this is the author’s best work yet and I can certainly understand why, I enjoyed this one a lot.

📚Book Review 📚
Hello Stranger
by Katherine Center
Pub Date 7/11/23

📚📚📚📚📚

Portrait artist, Sadie Montgomery, places as a finalist in a Portrait contest, but life has other plans. She’s hit by a car and needs brain surgery which leaves her with prosopagnosia, or Face Blindness, a condition that makes recognizing faces impossible. Sadie’s aging dog is having health issues, one of her neighbors seems to be a man whore, her evil step sister moves into her apartment building, her best friend is busy, and she’s falling for not one but two men. How will she paint her winning portrait if she can’t see the face she’s painting? What more can go wrong?

I was captivated, immersed in Sadie’s story from chapter one. Hello Stranger is a funny, serious, romantic, and feel good book. Everything about it felt real and plausible. Definitely my number one favorite book so far this year.

Thank you @netgalley @katherinecenter @stmartinspress for an electronic book ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) in exchange for an honest review.

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I was lucky to receive an ARC.
I've been a fan of Katherine's books and couldn't wait to read it.

This was a unique and heartwarming story.
There's a plot twist so it's hard to throughly review, but I did figure it out and was rooting for the H the entire time.
Sophie was a little selfish and self-centered for most of the book. I was frustrated with her, but loved her and the H in the end.

We can always count on Katherine to not write a run of the mill book.
I love that she doesn't stick to the normal romance formula.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early.

If you are looking for a good, clean romantic comedy, then look no further than "Hello Stranger," the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center.

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who has just achieved her dream of placing as a top-ten finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. On the way to celebrate with her friends, Sadie suffers a nonconvulsive seizure in the middle of the crosswalk in front of her apartment building. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan saves her life. Unfortunately, she learns she has a brain lesion and must have surgery. After the surgery, Sadie is diagnosed with temporary face blindness. Although she can still see, every face now looks like a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. There are only six weeks until the competition, and Sadie needs to win the prize money. But how can she paint an award-winning portrait when she can't see faces? As Sadie struggles to cope with her new condition, hang on to her artistic dreams, and work through family issues, she meets not one but two men: her new vet, Oliver, who takes care of her beloved dog, and her neighbor Joe, who doesn't make a great first impression but slowly begins to redeem himself.

This was such a lighthearted, delightful book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The plot was unique and fun, and I couldn't help but smile while reading. Just a really enjoyable, feel-good book. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center is a hit or miss for me and while I loved The Bodyguard last year, Hello Stranger was a little more of a miss for me.

While Sadie's story was interesting, I just didn't like Sadie's character. I found her immature and selfish. This book was a major miscommunication trope and it was just too much for me.

Katherine Center did it again! I loved this book, just liked I loved The Bodyguard.

Sadie is an artist, a struggling one, but an artist at best. She made it into a prestigious portrait contest as one of the 10 finalists, so that calls for celebration! After getting supplies, Sadie has an accident that causes her to have face blindness. NOT what a portrait artist wants to hear. What will she do?? She has a very small relationship with her family, her best friend is busy, so who is she going to paint? Will she ever be able to see faces again?!

Center has you fall in love with her main characters, and many side characters. I'd say all, but there is one that I don't know if anyone can truly like! You root for the best for Sadie, and face palm many times in her pursuit to make it through this competition. She's quirky, and fun, and you want her relationship(s?) to make it for the long run. I loved this story, and it was a quick devour.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book I’ve read bty Katherine Center. Now I need to find all her books. It had me hooked until the end and it blew my mind. Such a cute story of love and friendship and dealing with the blows life throws our way.

Thanks Netgalley for an advanced copy.

Adorable. Very lighthearted and silly. The use of face blindness was so interesting to learn about even if the twist at the end was a little over the top.

This was an absolute winner from Katherine Center! Hello Stranger was a bounty of joy and really allowed me to savor and adore the story. This was a work of art (get what I did there?) and was such a genuine story, I had so much fun! I loved being able to see Sadie blossom into her own and really take on the world. The progress in the story is wonderful and the romance - it'll make you swoon so hard. Just be prepared for a few twists placed along the way - they really help the story reach its fullest potential.

Definitely read this one if you enjoyed Katherine Center's previous book - The Bodyguard!