Beautifully written and such interesting characters. I loved the unusual twist on what could have easily been a typical rom-com trope. I always enjoy Katherine Center books!

I enjoyed reading Hello Stranger. I found the story interesting and Ms. Center always creates fully developed characters that draw you into the story. This book continues to reinforce my opinion that it’s never a mistake to read a book by Katherine Center.

This might be my new favorite Katherine Center book! It was so unique, so fascinating, and drenched in psychology, neurobiology, and the human condition. I had never heard of face blindness before, and I am so glad Center chose to write a book about it. The love story in this was beautiful, and the end just put a perfect bow on all of it. Thank you for the author’s note.

I love Katherine Centre books! This what not my favourite of hers but still overall an enjoyable romance. The main character having a condition known as face blindness was something I hadn't seen done before and made for an engaging, original story!

Loved this book and how the characters came together so perfectly. One of my favorite reads this past year!

This book was so thought provoking and taught me a lot about what it would be like to live with face blindness!

Really enjoyed!

My first encounter with Katherine Center was her 2022 novel, The Bodyguard. I absolutely adored that book and was excited to read her other
novels. I had high hopes for Hello Stranger. Having a main character with a
condition like facial blindness had to be interesting, right? Well, I ended up
being so incredibly annoyed by the main character that I couldn’t even bring
myself to finish the book. I don’t DNF books very often but I just couldn’t
take any more of this main character. Even before she had to have brain surgery
for a leaking blood vessel in her brain which then caused her facial blindness,
I couldn’t stand her. She was selfish, very whiny, and rather rude. I was
hoping to have a bit more sympathy for her after the brain surgery but that
just didn’t happen. There were just some strange inconsistencies with which
Sadie could and could not recognize based on voice after the surgery too. I
ended up looking up some spoilers to see if it was even worth me continuing and
that is essentially what made me decide to not finish the book.

Before I say anything else, I will add that I appear to be in the minority of not liking this book at all so take my review with a grain of salt. It was also a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romance in 2023. And now for the part that ultimately caused me to DNF this book.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SPOILER ALERT – DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU HAVE NOT
READ THE BOOK ALREADY OR DO NOT CARE IF THE END IS RUINED.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are seemingly two male love interests – the neighbor
and the veterinarian…. Yeah, no…. They are the same person. Sadie just doesn’t
realize it supposedly because of the facial blindness. For real? She couldn’t
recognize that his voice and stature were the same? And as far as he goes… as
the vet he saved her dog’s life but as the neighbor he never once mentioned the
dog or said anything to clue her in on the fact that he is also the vet?! Come
on. That’s just utter ridiculousness.

I received this advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love Katherine Center’s writing, and she is easily one of my favorite authors, so this was a much-anticipated read for me. I went into this book without having read the synopsis in quite a while, so not fully knowing what to expect. While the beginning was a little slow to click into place, when I figured out where this plot was headed, I was HOOKED. This book reminded me of How to Walk Away, in that the main character is so relatable and I could empathize with her so much. Sadie was the sweetest character and fully melted my heart with her love for her mother. I felt so many emotions right alongside her as she coped with the diagnosis of face blindness. There was so much heart behind Sadie’s story and her struggle, and it was a joy to see her journey unfold! I absolutely adored this whole book, and every character, from Peanut to Joe to Sue and Mr. Kim, the Hazels, and even Lucinda and Sadie’s Dad! This was a fun romance with a deeper storyline that made this book entirely wonderful!

That was such a fun read, I loved it a lot. The characters especially main character are really cute. I love Katherine Center's books, and this was no different!

Summary:
It’s all starting to come together for struggling artist Sadie Montgomery. She was just named a finalist in the national portrait competition of her dreams. But when she winds up with a rare, but real, condition where human faces look like jumbled puzzle pieces . . . it is, to say the least, not good.

With only a few weeks to paint the best portrait of her entire life, Sadie will do anything to reverse her condition and get back to work, but it’s anyone’s guess when (or even if) that'll happen.

Enter her dog’s charming veterinarian (who may or may not be Sadie’s daydream fiancé), and her bowling-jacket-wearing, Vespa-riding neighbor (who she can’t seem to stay away from)—both vying for her attention and adding to the chaos.

It’s a lot, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Because the truth is, seeing the world differently has its upsides. And love has an undeniable way of giving us courage. And the best way of looking is always, always with the heart.

Interesting topic to learn about for this plot and didn't see the ending. Loved the dog and friends.

I read 'The Bodyguard' a while back and loved it so my hopes for this book were high, I can gladly say that this met my expectations with the same fun writing style, hilarious banter, and deep topics! Center creates these stories that don't only focus on the romance but a rather niche problem/realistic topic that the FMC faces, then adds a little romance into it. This makes the story focus on the plot rather than the romance happening, which I absolutely adore!

Sadie was a great FMC who was figuring out who she was, the harsh reality of her new (temporary) normal, and rediscovering where she fits in her world. I loved the topics that were explored that had their own meaning but also with some humour added to it.

This was creative, fun, easy to read, and engaging to the reader in all the best ways. I highly recommend!

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center was a fabulous read!

Sadie ends up in the hospital with a hopefully temporary face blindness condition. As an artist this is not going to work for her. To make tings more complicated she thinks she is falling in love her dog Peanut's vet, but maybe the man in her apartment as well? The family themes in this one were icing on the cake. Such a fun read!

Seeing the world differently helps you see things not just that other people can’t—but that you yourself never could if you weren’t so lucky. It lets you make your own rules. Color outside your own lines. Allow yourself another way of seeing." If this quote from the epilogue didn't make you love this book even more ugh I don't even know what to say.

Katherine Center let me tell you how she had me devouring this book. From page one I was thrown in immersed from the beginning. So I am new to the book world so a lot of these authors I am experiencing for the first time and omgeee Katherine Girl. The characters that you wrote are so relatable that could see myself being best friends with Sadie getting all the tea and fully supporting her while she went through the things she did. I am trying to keep this spoiler-free. Listen I would have been living it up, eating up every moment, living vicariously through her, especially when she met that hot-ass vet who saved her dog. we would have been talking shit with her about her evil-ass stepsister and her dysfunctional ass family.

But let's get into it what I loved about this book was there were so many different layers to my bestie Sadie her life wasn't just straightforwards my girl had medical issues that threaten to mess her life up and put a whole ass dent in her plans but that didn't stop her she learned how to deal with them and kept it moving because what she's a diva queen yass bissshh. Listen because of said medical issues dating and making friends has become kind of difficult for my bestie but she's pushing through girl.

okay, Imma stop right here this book had me laughing and crying, it's heartfelt, relatable, and it gives you all the feels. Just go download it now on KU or buy it for yourself I promise you won't regret it.

Katherine Center books just hit right for me! I really enjoyed this one — a book about face blindness is new for me, but the story worked! I was rooting for Sadie to make a full recovery and just found myself hoping for a happy ending. A unique story, a love triangle, funny and relatable moments and more. So much fun reading this one.

Loved this story! Such a great representation of face blindness. I did figure out the plot twist though about 1/2 way through the book, but this didn’t spoil the story.

Loved this so much! This was a delightful story and so heartwarming. Definitely gave me all the feels. A book to savor and enjoy from start to finish.

Absolutely loved this book. The character, the unique storyline, and the romance were all a perfect combination. The medical situation felt very relatable to me and had me researching and reminiscing on my own medical journey!

Thank you Net Galley for “Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center in exchange for an honest review. This was my second book I’ve read by Katherine, and I couldn’t be happier that I loved it as much as the first (“The Bodyguard”). It’s cute, it’s different, and the woman knows how to write romance. She always knows how to include fully fleshed out characters, they never fall flat for me. I would recommend this book to any romance lover!

Holy smokes! I did not want to put this book down! Katherine Center has written another gem. This book takes you along for the ride as main character Sadie struggles to find her way in the art world amidst suddenly developing face blindness. On that journey she falls in love with two men and has to figure out who is right for her. A must read for sure!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Hello Stranger was a lovely romance. I loved that the book was different than most romance books I have read in the past. I loved that there was a bit of a mystery to who the two men were in the story until the twist at the end. Highly recommend.