Hello Stranger is the fourth Katherine Center book that I've read. I really liked the premise of the book and it introduced me to face blindness. Seeing her adapt to her new normal and find new ways of seeing and interacting with people was very interesting. She gains a whole new perspective and learns that sometimes it is easier to find something when you aren't looking.
Sadie's family is basically terrible. Things were wrapped up a little too quickly related to them in the epilogue. Kind of a 3.5-4.0 rating for me. But I'm always excited to read more from Katherine Center - can always rely on her for a feel-good romantic comedy that is likely to make me cry at some point.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

I could not put this book down! I love Katherine Center and she did not disappoint!! Sadie is such a beautiful person just trying to find her way and work through a difficult situation and her "mystery" men/man is just the sweetest guy. I already want to read it again!

Thank you St. Martin's press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sometime, over the course of the last year, I decided that Katherine Center basically writes books for me. That is, they are perfect for me, and I am going to greedily throw my hand out for a new one every time she releases. There is something about the way she infuses emotion into her writing, the pull on my heart she elicits, the way I smile so big every time I am lucky enough to be reading a story she’s imagined for me. Quickly, almost immediately actually, she became a new favorite author to me.

And all of those things that I have fallen so in love with can be found in Hello Stranger, but it felt a little muted to me. The story was interesting, but the romance didn’t wiggle its way into the depths of my heart the way it usually does. I didn’t feel that delicious ache and dippy swoon in my belly. I adored Joe – who is basically the perfect hero – but felt more reserved about Sadie who I found to be mostly frustrating and insistent on not getting out of her own way. Lack of communication – or miscommunication – is one of my least favorite plot devices, and so instead of butterflies and fluttering pulse, I just grew increasingly more impatient with Sadie in particular, but both characters overall as the story progressed and it became clear what was unfolding between them.

That said, the payoff in the end did feel pretty great. And the overall story was interesting - as Sadie worked her way through her brain injury and sorting through her family baggage. I think I just wanted to see more of the softness – the great big heart - that Sadie showed others, directed towards Joe. And I wanted more honesty and vulnerability a little earlier in the story. I wanted more falling in love and less stubborn independence.

So, this will not go down as my favorite Katherine Center book. But it was still a good book. It had many of the hallmarks I’ve come to love about these books: the writing, the banter, the great big love story. I’m happy to have read it, and I am absolutely already in line for the next one, whenever that may be. ~ 3.5 Stars

❗️ARC Review❗️

I wouldn’t say I disliked this book but I was slightly disappointed. I previously read The Bodyguard by Katherine Center and thoroughly enjoyed that book. Hello Stranger just didn’t have spark an interest in me. I thought the book was very rushed at the end and I was not the biggest fan of the main character Sadie. However, I did enjoy the veterinarian aspect of the book because I work in the vet field. I thought the dog references were funny and cute. Would I read this book again, probably not. That being said though, I would still recommend other books by Katherine Center.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who after a surgery suffers from face blindness. She can't recognize faces. So we follow her journey as she deals with her diagnosis and how it affects the many facets of her life. There's the portrait competition that she was hoping would be a boost to her career. Also her interest in two different men.

The storyline was unique and so intriguing. I found myself rooting for Sadie as she continued to push through the obstacles that came along with her diagnosis. There were a lot of dips and turns between humor, grief and perseverance. I enjoyed the romance aspect and the direction the author went with it from start to finish. There were a lot of moving parts which helped to hold my attention the full time. As the story progressed, I was curious about certain aspects and how it would end.

Sadie's family was so awful and it really bugged me at times. Especially her stepsister. But it did make her relationship with her best friend Sue, Sue's parents and her cute dog Peanut that much more meaningful.

4.5 stars

This was a fun listen and I really enjoyed it. But I also found myself feeling a little frustrated with our FMC, Sadie.

I enjoyed the premise of the book - Sadie loosing her ability to recognize faces right when she is about to paint a portrait. I liked seeing her connect with new people and develop a relationship with Joe.

I was frustrated by her interactions with her family. And felt like that story line was wrapped up a little too nicely.

I think my favorite part of the book was Sadie’s interactions with her best friend. Those were fun.

Overall I liked this one, but also felt like it could have been better. It will be a great easy summer read. (3.5)

BOOK: Hello Stranger
AUTHOR: Katherine Center
PUB DATE: 7/11/23 by St. Martin's Press
PAGES: 336
RATING: 5 stars!!
GENRE: Contemporary Fiction/Romance

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Marten’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

…..”there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.”

AUTHOR RECOGNITIONS: BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She's the New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Her summer 2022 book is The Bodyguard. The movie adaptation of her novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and her novel Happiness for Beginners is in production as a Netflix original movie (starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes) right now. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. She’s been compared to both Jane Austen and Nora Ephron, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Her books have made countless Best-Of lists, including RealSimple’s Best Books of 2020, Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, the Indie Next Great Reads List, and many more.

SYNOPSIS: Following in her mother’s footsteps, Sadie receives news that she’s placed as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. But just as this news is received, she has an accident, and is diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She’s able to see things and bodies, but she can’t make out faces. They are jumbled pieces of a puzzle….a Rubik’s cube! As she tries to adjust to this “new norm”, she meets not one, but TWO love attractions! She finds it difficult to handle this condition, but chooses to listen to her wise doctor on how to best navigate in the interim.

REVIEW: This book was SO good, I devoured it. It creates fantastic anticipation, so it’s quite the page-turner. It’s not only a sweet Rom-Com, it is a feel good story that will have you looking to be more kind and helpful to others. Run, don’t walk, to read this when it comes out July 11th!

Happy Reading!

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center was one of my favorite romance novels last year so I was eager to read her latest book Hello Stranger. Hello Stranger is a charming, original love story and did not disappoint. Sadie Montgomery is the protagonist artist who places as a finalist in a national art competition when she's suddenly stricken by a neurological condition which causes face blindness. As she struggles to cope as well as rise to the challenge of the art competition finals, Sadie is befriended by two men and a possible love triangle.

The novel is an entertaining read with just enough emotional angst between Sadie, her potential love interest and family drama. 4.5 stars and definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced digital readers copy.

I Love the cover and I really enjoyed this book! My favorite Kathrine book will still have to be things we save in a fire but this was still a good read. I went into this book blind like I do with most books. I never look into what it’s about or what people are saying about it. It has some humor that i felt could be worked on, but overall it was another great book by Katherine! No spice! I did see the twist early on but was still able to enjoy it. I didn't struggle to get through the book so thats a plus. I honestly couldn’t put it down. I loved that there was a Trinidadian character since thats where my family is from and I loved that I could also connect to it with the main character Sadie being rebellious to her father. So without saying too much here is a little of what its about for anyone who likes a view of the story before reading.


Sadie is a young woman who after losing her mother to a bursting lesion on the brain has rebelled against her fathers wishes of finishing premed and switches to studying fine arts. Sadie then becomes the typical broke starving portrait artist we always hear about when it comes to a career in art. One day she is at the grocery store and has forgotten her purse this beautiful man comes to her rescue to purchase her items. Little did she know this man would come to her rescue again when she has a seizure in the middle of the street. Once she wakes in the hospital shes told she needs brain surgery and finds out from her dad that she has inherited the same brain lesion her mother died of (Cavernoma). Fortunately the surgery is a success…or is it? Sadie suddenly realizes she can’t recognize anyones face and is suffering from “face blindness”. How will Sadie manage living as a portrait artist who now sees faces as puzzles? Will it last two weeks, six weeks , or the rest of her life? Will she run into a certain beautiful man again? Will she recover her broken relationship with her father, stepmother, & stepsister? You’ll have to read it to find out!

I had no expectations going into this read, I honestly didn't even read the synopsis. I love Katherine Center's books so I knew I wanted to give it a try. I was hooked!!! I finished it in one day, I couldn't put it down.

The face blindness after brain surgery angle was new and refreshing. There is a lot of medical discussion, so if that is a trigger for you than maybe stay away. There is also an EVIL stepsister, who was an extreme bully. While I wasn't a huge fan of the whole Parker storyline, the rest of the book more than made up for it.

I don't give out 5 stars a lot, I have to have really loved the book, and the characters. And this book did it for me. I will be thinking about this book and the ending for a long time and it will definitely be a top recommendation for me!!!

this was good! i really loved her first book and while this didn't exactly measure up, it was still a fun ride and i for sure will read more from this author in the future. it was funny, emotional, and heartwarming at the same time. katherine center writes amazing female characters that are relateable and down to earth.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I devoured this book in less than a day! I love the way Katherine Center is able to blend "real life" tragedies and hardships into stories of hope, growth, and love. Themes of forgiveness, grit, acceptance, and kindness are common.

It was interesting to learn more about face-blindness through the main character's experiences. I mean, a portrait artist who develops face-blindness is a great plot conflict, and the scene where Sadie is painting Joe's portrait by touch rivals the pottery scene in Ghost!

Clean romance (some innuendo) and just a touch of language.

I adore Katherine Center's books, and Hello Stranger is another great addition to her collection! Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who has acquired face blindness after an unexpected brain surgery, which makes it impossible for her paint faces in the same realistic way she always has. What I love about Katherine's books are the layers of emotions she weaves into each novel. This one has themes of hope and redemption and reexamining how we've judged others. There is also a really fun romance as well. This is the kind of book that is hard to put down, and I read it in just a few sittings. (Also, don't skip the author's note. It's a fantastic essay on romance novels, and I was highlighting it up!)

I cannot wait for a new Katherine Center and this title did not disappoint. Not only does it have her trademark colorful cover, it isn't your traditional happily-ever-after. In each of her titles, the main character has an incident which leaves permanent scars, sometimes literally. How they adjust to their new lives and how those around them adjust make for a beautiful, but heart-rending story. A portrait artist with face blindness? Wow. It was a beautiful read and again, I can't wait for her next title. Every one is better than the last.

A strange and lovely romance that was a bit of a slow starter for me. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the main character, Sadie, a struggling portrait artist. She seemed a little self-involved and I found her personality frustrating. When a near-accident leads to the revelation that she needs immediate brain surgery, Sadie comes out of surgery with prosopagnosia, also known as "face blindness", where all faces just look like a jumble of puzzle pieces, including her own. Not ideal for a portrait artist who has just won a spot in the finals of a portrait competition. As Sadie navigates her new reality and hopes the prosopagnosia goes away as her brain heals, she develops a raging crush on her new veterinarian, and also grudgingly becomes friends with a man in her apartment building who had previously made a terrible first impression on her. I ended up really enjoying where Center took this story. The only element that I struggled with was the utter vileness of Sadie's stepsister. I know there are terrible people in this world, but Parker was such an over-the-top villain that it didn't feel like it fit the story being told. The Author's Note at the end about romance and romance novels was absolutely wonderful, don't skip it. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital review copy.

Another five star review for one of my favorite romance authors. I cannot explain the excitement I felt when I received the invitation to read this! I started on it immediately. Katherine Center really knows how to play with your heart strings. This one was such a fun story with so much depth.

I love how creative, refreshing, and different Hello Stranger is from any other romance I've read. I had never heard of prosopagnosia before reading this book and seeing how Sadie dealt with this, being that she makes a living by painting portraits, was both heartbreaking and hopeful. It was so rewarding to watch her change, grow, and figure things out, little by little. She faced her illness with courage and humor as she navigated the world of faceless strangers.

The book was so hopelessly romantic and swoony; it gave me literal goosebumps at times! Sadie's relationship with two different men whose faces she cannot see is both entertaining and so interesting. The two men are her new vet, Dr. Addison, who helps her dog, Peanut, through a health crisis, and Joe, a neighbor who doesn’t exactly make the best first impression. The love story is immersive & you really get invested into Sadie's journey. The anticipation was strong with this one and I devoured it! I absolutely loved how all the pieces of the plot came together so perfectly. Such a satisfying, sweet, hopeful story.

Be sure to read the Acknowledgements from Katherine Center at the end of the book! ❤️ It's like she organized my thoughts about romance and put them into the most beautiful words! What she says about anticipation is literally why I love romance so much. It gives you something to look forward to.

Cannot recommend enough! Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Katherine Center for my advanced copy!

So fun to get an ARC of this one from NetGalley! I love Katherine Center and was excited to read this one!

I feel like Katherine Center does such a good job of writing feel good romance with depth and this one was no different. I will admit that reading a book about face blindness did give me pause but it turned out to be so interesting. It's not something I've heard a lot and reading about how the narrator navigates this huge shift on her life and perception of people definitely has be wondering how I might react on that situation. At the core, this book is a love story and that part of the book was very sweet but I felt like watching Sadie navigate her new normal and seeing her find herself really took center stage. Would definitely recommend this one and look forward to Katherine Center's next book!

Katherine Center is one of the most dependable authors, I can always count on her to give me a feel-good romcom with a little bit of depth. Hello Strangers is no exception. I had heard of Sadie's diagnosis before and it was really interesting to read from the perspective of someone experiencing it. There were no surprises, but I think that's one of the points of a romcom. Also, the author's note at the end is a must read!

This book was delightful! At first, I disliked Sadie’s character for being so stubborn, but grew to love her and she changed throughout the book. The love story was charming and inventive, as was the plot. Katherine Center never disappoints!Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. This was a treat!

I loved this book! It was extremely cute and I couldn't help but laugh and cry! I thought the plot was a little bit out there and had to google if face blindness was a real thing. After the first 30ish percent, I thought the book got a lot better and I finished it really quickly. At times I felt it could be a bit wordy, but I still really enjoyed it. I figured Joe and Oliver and the good samaritan were the same people pretty quickly, but it didn't ruin the book for me at all. Over all, I liked this book a lot and the giddy-ness it made me feel. 4/5 stars