Hello Stranger by Kathrine Center had me laughing out loud, almost to tears, the entire book!

The story follows Sadie, a portrait artist, who finds out she is a finalist in a portrait contest. After an emergency brain surgery, Sadie is left not being able to see faces. Hello Stranger tells the story of Sadie’s recovery and how she handles her new found problem and how she finds love along the way.

The characters in Hello Stranger are so lovable. The story is fast paced, heartwarming and hilarious I couldn’t put the book down. I cannot recommend this book enough! It left a giant smile on my face.

I’ve been a Katherine Center reader for a while now, but Hello Stranger takes the cake as my favorite of her novels!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh gosh, I LOVED this book. Our main character discovers she has a rare condition that affects her day to day life in a major way. A lovely cast of characters swoops in to help her during one of the biggest moments of her career. A touching story, made me melt at times, and I just love the emotion Katherine Center was able to create. Counting down until her next one.

“This love story really created fantastic anticipation” what a great quote and a fantastic modern love story. The characters are unique and endearing. This is a must read for anyone looking to cheer up their week!

Sadie is a portrait artist who has finally gotten her big break. She is one of ten finalists in a portrait competition and she has six weeks to complete a new portrait and submit it. Right after finding out she’s a finalist, she has a seizure and is told she needs brain surgery. After the surgery, she discovers she can no longer see people’s faces and has acquired face blindness. Which isn’t super convenient for anyone, let alone a portrait artist.

At the beginning of the book, I thought “this is one of the most bizarre plots I’ve read and it’s not even fantasy”. But it truly sucked me in. Sadie can be super dramatic, but I got a kick out of it. It was more her inner thoughts or kind of joking with her best friend or neuropsychologist. While dealing with her new normal and trying to figure out how to be a portrait artist with face blindness, she develops an unlikely friendship with her neighbor down the hall.

This is definitely a feel good romance, with no spice, but the story keeps you hooked. Cute, quick read.

Sadie’s brain surgery couldn’t have come at a worse time. She is a finalist in a major art competition in the upcoming weeks. Adding to the issue? Her surgery has left her with the inability to recognize faces. Also terrible timing? The fact that she is developing feelings for her neighbor Joe and her veterinarian Oliver.

This is a cute little rom com. It does delve into some heavier topics and family drama. There is a bit of a miscommunication trope in this although it’s not done in the typical miscommunication way. Enjoyable and easy to read.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was the third Katherine Center book I have tried and unfortunately the writing of each just turns me off. I find it stylistically lacking and overly cheese. I hope others enjoy but unfortunately, it’s not for me.

✨Book Review: Hello Stranger✨

Pub Date: July 11, 2023

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Buckle up everyone…I have a LOT to say about this book!

I don’t know how else to say this other than…THIS BOOK IS ADORABLE! Whatever summer plans you have, make time to read Hello Stranger by @katherinecenter.

This love story is definitely filled with anticipation!

Sadie is about to get her big break! She is a finalist for a big art contest and has about a month until her portrait is due. The bad news? She just had a terrible accident that left her suffering from Prosopagnosia (face blindness). (For those of you who’ve read Rock, Paper, Scissors, it’s the same disease from that novel.)

Part of Sadie’s journey is one of growth and self-discovery but another part is romantic. Even though she can’t recognize faces, Sadie falls for her dog’s veterinarian and is already planning the wedding! (I can totally relate to Sadie’s obsess ion with her sweet pup, Peanut!) At the same time, she is trying her best to avoid her awful apartment neighbor who she only recognizes by his jacket and stay away from her evil stepsister! On top of all that, she must re-learn how to be a portrait artist without being able to see faces.

Sadie’s banter and self talk were so fun to read! I could hear her voice jumping off the page. My favorite parts were her self dialogue where she was becoming a better, stronger version of herself. Sometimes the toughest struggles in life are exactly the thing we need to grow.

There were so many times where I found myself mentally applauding Sadie as she embraced her journey through face blindness and ultimately found herself. Katherine Center filled this book with so many nuggets of wisdom that Sadie uncovers along the way.

* “That’s the great thing about life; it makes you rethink it all.”

* “It takes a certain kind of courage to be brave in love. A courage you can only get better at through practice.”

* “The more good things you look for, the more you find.”

On top of this being an incredible book…I also got to Zoom with the author! Thank you to @kelseyandherbooks for organizing the buddy read and Zoom call with Katherine Center! She was a delight!

My favorite quote from our chat:

“The love story is where the hope comes from but the struggle is where the wisdom comes from.” -KC

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Thank you St Martin Press for the ARC! This book was 4.5/5 stars for me. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I feel like it’s one of those books that you can guess the ending. But if you’re in the market for a feel good story, this is it!

After loving The Bodyguard last year, i was so excited to read Hello Stranger and Ms Center did not disappoint! I think Katherine Center is my new favorite author, there were so many laugh out loud moments. I loved the plot, i loved Sadie and Joe, and I loved Sadie's journey throughout the book! 5 stars! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc

KCenter does it again!! I was so excited to receive this ARC from Netgalley and it did not disappoint!!! I couldn’t put it down!!!

I highly enjoyed this book! It was entertaining, sweet, cute! And also has a lot going on which I loved! Sadie’s character went through a lot during this book, and I loved being in the head of someone going through face blindness, it was interesting, the ending I didn’t expect, but also did ya know? Anyway total 5/5 loved it, and love Katherine Center!

Sadie Montogmery can't seem to catch a break.

She has to have surgery that leaves her with temporary face blindness. This wouldn't be so terrible if she wasn't a portrait artist that also is in the final stages of a competition that requires her to paint a portrait. Not only that, she has a terrible family and dealing with a psychotic stepsister, all while having to also come to terms with the loss of her mother. And on top of that, she's broke and living in a hovel. Falling in love seems like the last thing she needs.

What I loved about this book: Joe and Peanut. They were great. Joe is just so well written. That's what I love about Katherine Center's books. You can tell these mmc's are written for the female gaze. Joe starts out being someone Sadie doesn't care for, but as time goes on, and she learns more about him, she starts to fall in love. I appreciated her outlook on life, trying to make the best of things, it would also be something that would annoy me at times.

The Kim's are also AMAZING :)

Things I didn't like: Her stepsister. My god was she terrible. Like terrible terrible. Really, I just didn't like her family. Her father was awful to her and even towards the end of the book, I still thought he remained terrible. Her stepmother was also really bad. I don't like how she wouldn't keep her daughter accountable. Sadie's best friend was also, I don't know, at times, awful as well. There's a point in the story where she throws Sadie a party but was told, by Sadie that she didn't want a party or to see people because of her condition. But her friend doesn't seem to care. And seems to always forget she has this condition.

Overall, I really did like this book. Be warned, there isn't really any spice and there's also some twists and turns that I didn't catch on to, but that's bound to happen when you start the last half of the book at 12AM!

I would definitely recommend reading this!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book!

I had been reading a lot of books with heavier topics lately and this book was a breath of fresh air!! Sadie is so sweet and I really enjoyed learning more about face-blindness, it’s not something I was ever aware of! This is my favorite Katherine Center book so far, it was like a warm hug. Can’t wait to pick up the physical copy!!

I love Katherine Center!! Her books always make me feel all the things. Sadie is wonderful. The story is wonderful. Pick this one up this summer for a vacay read!

First off, I’m super grateful for St. Martin’s Press for offering me the chance to read this book early. I was immediately interested because the plot of an artist suddenly not being able to see faces, sounded so unique to me. I loved how Center explained face-blindness and the attention to detail was so well executed. I felt for Sadie and seeing things differently from her perspective really makes you realize how strange it would be to not see faces anymore. This book flew by and I loved Joe and the side characters a lot. I kind of knew what the twist was going to be, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. This book would be perfect to cuddle up with under your favorite blanket and just zone out.

Thank you to @stmartinspress for the eARC. Hello, Stranger is out this July.

"Maybe life was full of surprises. Maybe disappointments could turn out to be blessings. Maybe tonight would be end up being fun, after all."

I stayed up until almost 3am reading this book because I had to finish. Not because it was so intense. Not because it was so gripping. Not because I loved the characters so much I couldn't let them go. I stayed up because I had to know how it ended. Because it was so random, felt so haphazard and had my head spinning so fast from subplots and ancillary characters that I was dizzy. I just couldn't figure out how it would all come together. I didn't really connect wtih Sadie or any other character. In fact some felt so cliche and cartoonish. I wish I felt more sizzle between the main characters too. It wasn't bad by any means and was certainly an enjoyable, funny-at-times, meticulously-researched novel. I just didn't care about anyone enough and as @carolyn.reads.books said, it expected the reader to suspend a lot of reality. It was a great buddy read - some loved it, some didn't but it all touched us differently. If you're thinking about reading I say do it but maybe go into this one blind (no pun intended!!).

I was so excited to read another book by Katherine Center after having loved The Bodyguard so much! Hello Stranger did not disappoint. Hello Stranger follows Sadie Montgomery as she copes with a traumatic brain injury that causes her not to be able to recognize faces. Sadie feels a lot of shame around this, so instead of sharing this, she opts to try to recognize people through other features. In doing so, Sadie meets Joe, her neighbor, and Oliver Addison, her new vet. Sadie then spends time with both of them, and starts to develop feelings for both of them. With Joe's help, the book follows Sadie's journey to attempt to paint a portrait without being able to see faces.

This book is definitely romantic, but also has a very strong women's fiction element, with the large majority of the book being focused on Sadie's journey individually. I really enjoyed the arc about Sadie's family, and especially her relationship with her dad, and her grief about her mom.

I highly recommend for anyone who enjoyed The Bodyguard or is looking for a funny contemporary book.

Holy smokes. This book was SO good.

I read The Bodyguard last summer, and much like most of the internet, fell head over heals in love with Katherine's writing. It's hard to follow up on such a successful hit, so I wasn't sure what to expect with Hello Stranger.

This book is everything. I loved it even more than The Bodyguard.

It gave me all the warm fuzzies along with some serious WTF moments that had my head SPINNING by the end! I could not put it down.

Sadie is such an incredibly relatable character, and watching her accept herself throughout the course of this novel was such a special experience. And Joe? HUBBA HUBBA.

A closed-door romance isn't something I typically gravitate towards, but let me tell you-- I did not miss a single thing. I swooned, fell in love with the characters, and got everything I needed between the pages of this book.

A must-read for any women's fiction or rom-com lovers!

This was such a great book! I love Katherine Center novels because they are such a breath of fresh air and they just makes me happy.

Sadie is a portrait artist who, after a medical emergency, is temporarily stricken with facial blindness. She is a finalist in a portrait contest that has a $10,000 prize and would transform her career. How can she win if she can't recognize facial features?
Along for the ride is her beloved dog, Peanut, her quirky best friend Sue, Peanuts handsome vet, Dr. Addison, her annoying neighbor Joe, her distant father, step monster and 'evil' step sister.

It is hopeful and heartfelt and I loved every minute of reading it. Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the early advanced copy of this book. It releases July 11, 2023

This was my first Katherine Center book (I know, I know!) and I am now hooked! I definitely plan on reading her novels as soon as I can.

Hello Stranger revolves around Sadie Montgomery, a struggling portrait artist who seems to have just hit her big break: she is a finalist in a national portrait competition that could change everything for her. But there's one big problem. Six weeks before the portrait is due, Sadie undergoes emergency brain surgery (at her father's insistence) and wakes up with temporary face blindness. Along the way to recovery, Sadie questions what truly makes her happy as she falls in love with two different men.

I thought this premise was unique and fun to read and Katherine Center was also great at weaving the roller coaster of emotions that Sadie was on. I felt like I was right along the ride with her. I won't give away any spoilers, but the twist at the end was so clever! I pretty much shouted to my husband "I KNEW IT!" at the end and felt so satisfied, which is what you really want when you're on the last few pages of a book.

All in all, this was a very satisfying book and I felt like it was a great introduction to what I hope will be one of my new favorite authors. I highly recommend it and I can't wait to purchase the book when it hits shelves this summer.

thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the arc!!