Hello Stranger by Katherine Center 👋🏻

Sadie is a struggling artist who finally lands one of the finalist spots in a portrait competition. But at the same time as this wonderful news, she finds herself needing brain surgery. They said the surgery was minor. But when she recovers, Sadie discovers that she can no longer see faces. After some tests, they confirm that she has a “hopefully temporary” condition known as face blindness. Yes, that’s right, a portrait artist now unable to see faces.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ; I devoured this book in 24 hours! Not only does it have a unique plot, but was also heartbreaking, twisty, and funny all in one! I loved reading about Sadie’s journey and learning about the real life condition of face blindness. Plus, the two love interests were so much fun!! This was my first book by Katherine Center, but definitely not my last (already have Happiness for Beginners on my shelf)!

Thank you so much @stmartinspress & @netgalley for the e-ARC! This beautiful book releases in July! ⭐️

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

Sadie Montgomery is a bit of a free spirit - following in the footsteps of her mother as a painter. She is determined to prove her doctor-father wrong, and show him that she can make it on her own. That is until she has a seizure in the crosswalk in front of her apartment and wakes up unable to recognize anyone and struggling to figure out how she's going to paint her masterpiece.

This was good, but not my favorite Katherine Center book. I recently just finished another book that was centered around face blindness, so I felt that this storyline wasn't super original. It did have the romance that Center is known for. Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed Center's other novels.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I hate to rate this so low, especially because I loved the author's note at the end about why we read romance novels. But the last couple Center books just haven't clicked with me for some reason. For one, I just found this premise kind of insane. K.C. seems to continually skirt the line between unbelievable vs. dramatic-but-believable. This book fell in the former category for me.

I appreciate that she always tries to give love and hope to a character in need of healing. But the subjects she writes about are serious and sometimes they feel like they're written by someone without firsthand experience. Which I assume is the case, but as a reader I shouldn't pick up on that?

If you want a HEA, if you appreciate art and/or love animals, you may really enjoy this one. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me, but she's struck gold before so I'll continue to hope the next one hits home.

This is my first Katherine Center’s book that I’ve read and it will not be my last!! I’ve already purchase “The body guard” and I’m 95% sure that I have some of her other books in my TBR pile at home. I’ll have to shift them to the top of that pile now!!! In other words I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! “This love story really created fantastic anticipation” - Kathrine Center 😊

Hello, Stranger is another solid romantic comedy from Katherine Center. Center always has a way of adding elements to the story that elevate it from the typical boy-meets-girl book.

Halfway through the book, I was sure it was going to end up a solid 3 star for me. It started out a bit slow for me and only towards the 75% mark was a truly sucked into it. And it was not even Sadie’s blooming relationship to the MMC that bumped it up to 3.5 stars. Yes, that was cute and romantic. It was Sadie’s healing from past family traumas, grief, and her recent health troubles which elevated the story for me. These elements of the story added the emotional depth I needed to connect to Sadie and the overall story on a deeper level. And I think this is where the strengths of Center’s books always lie, with the FMC healing a part of herself. Of course the HEA is always delightful. With much of the book focusing on Sadie's healing journey (physical and emotional), the love story felt a little insta-love/rushed. However, that did not stop me from enjoying the book and their relationship.

This story had it all, I laughed out loud, I teared up, and I swooned. Another solid title from Katherine Center that will have broad appeal. I will definitely recommend this to fans of the author and of sweet stories.

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc!

This was the second book I have read by Katherine Center and I really enjoyed it. This is emotional, inspirational and highly enjoyable, heartwarming read. If you are looking for a book that has a whole lot of humor, swoony romantic vibes, fantastic main and supporting characters, and a whole lot of heart, this is the book for you.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for allowing me to read this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

This book was so adorable! I think the concept for this book was SO unique! I've never read anything like it. I also LOVED that we had some little plot twists in there. I was rooting for Sadie the entire book & just hoped that she would find some peace throughout this process. There were some characters I loved & some characters I absolutely hated but overall it was a book I'd recommend!

Katherine Center is another auto-buy author for me. Her writing just flows in a way that is easy to read and yet captivating at the same time. The twists and turns of a romance that gets complicated - this one would be a fun beach read for the summer.

Katherine Center's books have quickly made it to the top of my "Must Read Immediately" list, and the delightful "Hello Stranger" is no exception. This book is another win for a modern romantic genre. While "Hello Stranger" will definitely bring smiles through the hope and anticipation of the love story (IYKYK, re: author's note), the plot isn't all rainbows and misunderstandings. We experience a lot of heartache with Sadie, through career goals and her connection to her dog, as well as some devastating history in her family relationships. Sadie was a dynamic character with depth, imperfections, and fears, yet was able to indulge in some idealistic quick wedding planning for a new crush while struggling to embrace vulnerability in closer scenarios. I loved seeing how her medical condition added to her story and her struggles. As the answers of who's who in the love dynamic unfold, we, the readers, experience the best kind of well-timed anticipation while rooting for the best ending for each of this book's characters.

I liked the premise of the book and it had potential. The brain absolutely fascinates me and I love to read fiction and on fiction on the possibilities.

I just never found myself connecting with then main character, or most of the characters. And it felt like the continual “series of events” and misfortune and unlikelihood of it all just was a bit too much for me. It felt too unrealistic in a book that seemed written to be as if this could happen to you.

It was a forgettable read for me.

I liked this book quite a bit which is saying something because I was rather meh on the one previous book but the author I’d read. But the concept — that a portraiture artist experiences a health issue and loses the ability to see faces — is a really solid setup.

Sadie and the character Joe are both really likable and engaging. Her best friend is a bit flighty for my taste and the character of Parker is a bit over the top but I realize stories like this sometimes keep larger than life villains.

But the face blindness is able to take traditional tropes of the genre about miscommunication and mistaken identity in a whole new direction on that is very well executed. The ending is quite solid.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised and would recommend.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of Hello Stranger after loving The Bodyguard, and it didn’t disappoint! I thought this was a delightfully unique storyline, and I enjoyed Sadie’s journey.

Katherine Center writes with a humour and banter that I love. I found myself laughing out loud numerous times. She layered difficult topics and themes with humour and care.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who is finally potentially getting her big break when she has to have a surgery that leaves her with face blindness. This causes her world to turn upside down and she has to reevaluate who she really is.

Joe was absolutely wonderful, and I thought the pacing was done well (I flew through this) so even though I anticipated the outcome, I enjoyed the journey getting there. Even with the miscommunications, which can frustrate me, these felt funny or purposeful once you had the big picture.

I wish the storyline with Parker was explored a little more. However, I appreciated that it wasn’t an “all is easily forgiven” type of situation. Overall, I liked the added family drama dynamics.

The author’s note at the end was thought provoking and interesting. Also, this cover is absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to add a copy to my shelves!

Thank you St Martin’s Press for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks for the advance copy, NetGalley!

I thought this was a super cute, quirky and easy read. I found the characters to be enjoyable and the storyline to be unique - I have to say this was a hurdle that I don’t normally run into in romance books! I love a HEA and I felt that this one satisfied all of the things I wanted it to. Will absolutely recommend this one to my friends!

Thank you netgalley for this ARC
This was cute, quirky rom com that’s a fast and easy read. The concept of an artist struggling with facial blindness was a unique plot that I have never encountered in a book. There are twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.

Fun escape-from-everyday-life-book to keep that keeps you turning the pages and rooting for Sadie.

Sadie is a struggling artist who just after finding out she is a finalist in a major art competition that her mother was also in, suddenly finds her world turned upside down. She suddenly requires a surgery which results in a temporary "facial blindness" condition - which makes her final art submission all that much more challenging. But miss independent Sadie slowly learns to accept help from people that have her best interests at heart and gains more than she could have ever imagined. Will be highly recommending this book when it's released in July!

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC of this great book!

This was….not it for me. I can’t really think of much I enjoyed about it at all. The author’s note was probably the only part.

Maybe it’s my slump or mood but I probably should have DNF’d.

The Parker storyline took it from a 3 star to a 2-2.5 - she was atrocious and so over the top. Her entire part felt unnecessary.

A unique storyline - yes - but not one that worked for me. The only reason I stuck with it was to see if I predicted how it all would unfold.

While the author mentions that we should shy away from the word predictable when it comes to talking about romances ….I don’t mind predictability because I look forward to the HEA and that’s why I read romance. For me though, usually how they get to their HEA is unpredictable -whereas this one had zero surprises.

I requested this book for my daughter to read.

This is what she had to say..

A quick and light read.. a sweet romance… interesting and different with the disability that she had.
Picked up on the twist early on!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC!

This is a perfectly serviceable romance novel that fans of Katherine Center will love as much as they do her other work, so I'm giving this four stars to account for my negative bias. With this, my third Katherine Center book, I've determined that she's not the author for me, which boils down to loving her premises/plots but not loving the writing itself. But, if you like her writing style, this is another fun one.

I'm becoming more and more of a Katherine Center fan the more of her books I read. This one was sweet and hilarious and kept me up all night on a Thurs, all-day Fri Zoom calls notwithstanding. I loved the premise of face blindness happening to a portrait artist and all the angst and world-ending things that ensue! I would've loved to get to know Joe a little more, and maybe Parker should've been really put in her place, but none of that took away from this feel-good and endlessly funny story. I loved it! Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was a charming story about overcoming adversity, romance, learning to ask for help, and expanding your horizons to see things in a different light. Change is uncomfortable, and Sadie is experiencing a lot of change. She recently placed as a finalist in the North America Portrait society's contest, a contest that her mother also placed in. Unfortunately, her mother died before she could submit her portrait, a painting of Sadie at age 14.

As a struggling artist, winning this could be Sadie's big break. However, before she can even get started, she has an accident, which leads to brain surgery. After the surgery, she has some brain swelling that results in 'face blindness'. There is a lot of medical detail in this book describing multiple types of 'face blindness', causes, and various therapeutic treatments, one of which is to wait it out. Obviously the author did a lot of research here. Sadie struggles to find ways to still paint a portrait, without seeing faces, with the help of her friend Sue, and various unconventional practices.
The first half of the book is awash in Sadie's inner narrative, which gets tiresome at times along with her family history, and evil stepsister. She comes across as very needy, yet doesn't want to accept peoples help.
She also has an adorable elderly dog, Peanut, who falls ill, and leads her to the office of the handsome local vet, Oliver. She's torn between Oliver, and the guy in her apartment building Joe. Since she can't see either of their faces, she memorizes their bodies, gaits, and clothing. There is a big twist coming and and I thought that was the case about 30% in, so it was no big surprise. It did seem a bit implausible as well, and the explanation of the twist didn't alleviate that feeling for me.
Ms Center is the master of the 'feel good' romance trope, and I really enjoyed 'The BodyGuard', her other book. This fell a bit flat for me. The main character was not strong, a bit whiny, and unlikeable. She missed some major cues from Oliver that would have explained a lot. There were some great minor characters that could have been developed more-Lucinda, her stepmom; and Parker, the stepsister. Why was she so mean?
There have been a few thrillers lately focused on face blindness, so the concept was not new, but she gives it a unique twist here that resolves into a happy ending for all concerned.