Sadie Montgomery is an artist who wants to win a competition with a portrait. Sadie has a medical emergency which leaves her with face blindness. This book helps shed light on this phenomenon. I loved this book and am so glad I read it!

Struggling portrait artist Sadie has a few weeks to paint a portrait to enter into a prestigious contest that has both portrait and professional stakes. A random health scare turns her life upside down.

Witty, charming, and ever so much fun, Center use of dialog - internal and social - is entirely engaging. With its twists and turns, even when you know what's coming, the ride getting there is heartwarming and deeply satisfying.

I needed this book! Wow, I love how it was a genre mix between romance and contemporary fiction.. I don’t read normally read romance books but I LOVED Katherine Center’s newest book Hello Stranger. The characters were richly developed and the plot was unpredictable. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a hard to put down fiction book that will leave you feeling great afterwards.

4.5/5⭐️

🎨Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
🎨Pub date: July 11th, 2023

Run, don’t walk, to get this book! Hello Stranger has everything required of the perfect rom-com; the chemistry, the swoon-worthy neighbor, the banter, the family drama, and some hilarious moments that had me cracking up.

I loved so much about this book and really enjoyed it. Like I’ve always said, if a book makes me laugh and cry, it’s a winner for me😍 Katherine Center, you are a gem among romance book writers and I can't wait to read more from you!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reader digital copy of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest review!

#netgalley #bookstagram #books #romancebooks #bookreviews #hellostrangerbook #faceblindness

Katherine Center is on my list of authors to automatically read so I didn't even know what this book was about before I started in! I love the feel of her characters, loveable, flawed, complex. I can't put my finger on it exactly but she managed to create a novel with a hard topic feel comfortable and sweet at the same time. I just wanted to keep reading and can't wait until her next one comes out!

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist that's going to make it big. She's a finalist in a portrait painting competition that will set her on the map and the rest will be history. Sadie is so ready for a big break, until she ends up taking a literal one. After a whirlwind of events that lead Sadie to agreeing to brain surgery, she comes out of it with a temporary case of face blindness. She can't work on her portrait, she's fearful to go out in public, her dog Peanut is suffering health problems and Sadie somehow manages to fall for two guys that she technically hasn't properly "met". Everything is hitting Sadie all at once and she only wishes she could have a better sense with what's in front of her.

Before jumping into this one, I already knew it would be one that tugged my heartstrings in all the right places. And right I was! This fun little plot gave us readers a look (pun intended) into acquired prosopagnosia, facial blindness that indeed affects a significant amount of the population in the world. Besides being a bit educational, this book was like a warm hug that I didn't know I needed. The characters were all a great bunch that were loveable and kind (The majority.. minus one evil stepsister!). Sadie and Sue faintly reminded me of Rorie and Suki in the Gilmore Girls and it was fun to read their friendship banter. Peanut the beloved dog deserves a mention, especially with his excellent taste in cuisines.

I enjoy this author's storytelling style and this one made no less of an impact with that. Katherine Center isn't one to rely on certain tropes to carry on her stories but rather lightly tap into multiple core themes that then beautifully tie together to bring us a satisfying story, unique to many. I really look forward to reading more of her work!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this wonderful book for my honest thoughts.

This one releases in July and I highly recommend picking it up!

I devoured this book in a few short hours, I was hooked! I found it really interesting and learned a lot about prosopagnosia (face blindness); I found the premise unique. All the characters except one are delightful and so likeable / relatable. The story is full of healing, self-discovery, family drama, and the sweetest romance. I found myself with a huge grin on my face through most of the book, it brought me so much joy!  

Thank you @stmartinspress and Netgalley for this gifted book! Pub date: 7/11/2023.

SHE’S DONE IT AGAIN! I love Katherine Center books and this one is right up there with How To Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire. I loved the twist, I loved the inner voice of Sadie, I appreciated the artistry of the plot and her authors note made me teary 🫶🏼 cannot recommend this book enough

I was so excited for this one but man the execution was so odd to me! It felt very random and ridiculous at times and for the love of god lock Parker up! Clinically insane for what she did to Sadie.

I kinda expected the "twist" but thought it was cute. I just think my expectations were much higher than they should've been.

I did love Joe/Oliver's kindness, Mr. Kim, and Peanut ofc.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC copy. Last year The Bodyguard was one of my favorite books of the year and I was so excited to read this one. Not disappointed! The story is really great. Loved the characters, and interesting story line. Also love the humor and banter. Something about Katherine's writing really catches my interest. Also love the relationship that develops. Overall awesome read and would for sure recommend.

Another awesome book from my new favorite romance novelist. This book was great fun, romantic without being cheesy and plotted perfectly. I read The Bodyguard” last month and LOVED it and this book was a great follow up. I loved the main character- Sadie- and was hooked on her story by the end of chapter one. Each of the supporting characters in the book were unique and fully developed and Center kept me guessing on the true romantic lead until the very end. And how the story wrapped up? SO perfect. This book left me feeling happy. That’s exactly what I want from a romance book.

I really enjoyed Hello Stranger. First of all, I'm not sure I've seen a more beautiful cover. And I absolutely loved the unique premise of this book. The main character is a portrait artist who goes face blind! The anticipation (IYKYK) in this book is off the charts. My only complaint is that some of the characters were a bit shallow. I would have loved more complexity. If you're a closed door romance fan, I highly recommend this one and The Bodyguard!!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the eArc! Hello Stranger comes out this summer!

Thank you SMP Romance and Netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

I love going into books blind! This was not what I was expecting all all, but I absolutely loved it!! It was a very unique premise, and definitely kept me on my toes. I thought one thing for sure was going to happen, and it did, but it was full of lots of other surprises! I think it would have been fun to get a chapter from Joe and Dr Oliver from their first few interactions with Sadie at the end of the book as bonus chapters!

Hello Stranger is a quirky, uplifting rom com with a lot of heart! It was a quick read with a really cute plot.

Sadie Montgomery was going through a rough patch. She wasn’t the successful artist she had hoped to be, she didn’t have a great relationship with her family, she just had brain surgery that left her with face blindness, and her dog had just become ill. As Sadie tries to piece her life back together she starts to fall for two men - her gorgeous veterinarian - Dr. Oliver Addison, and her annoying neighbor - Joe. As Sadie tries to adjust to her new normal, she hopes to find herself and happiness along the way.

Thanks to #NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC of #HelloStranger in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh - I absolutely loved this book! It was the reading equivalent of a warm hug. Katherine Center is the queen of writing flawed, complicated, and completely lovable characters, and I am convinced that she can do no wrong. This one will definitely be a reread for me.

This high-concept story about Sadie, a struggling portrait artist who must deal with face-blindness as a result of unexpected brain surgery, kept me thoroughly entertained (and educated).

Already plagued by financial issues and a fraught family situation, Sadie now has to figure out how to paint a winning portrait for a lucrative contest in which she is a finalist, without being able to see faces as anything but fractured Picasso paintings. She can't even see her own face clearly in a mirror. Sadie doesn't know if she will ever be the same, but she manages to strike up relationships with the local veterinarian and with a fellow apartment complex dweller who initially impressed her as obnoxious, while coming to terms with her evil stepmother and stepsister and her estranged father. I loved Sadie's supportive friend, Sue, and Sadie's budding relationship with Joe, and I felt that her challenges added nuance to her character. I also admired her determination to find different ways to make her art.

The obligatory crisis with Joe near the end of the book might have been averted with some cool-headed communication, but there is a fun twist that I didn't see coming (unlike quite a few other reviewers). Ultimately, Sadie learns more about herself and what she wants out of life, not to mention the lessons that she relates at some length to the reader in the last chapter. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would classify it as contemporary romantic fiction.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is a unique and ambitious take on a romance and coming-of-age story.

Center’s writing style feels more nuanced and developed in this. There’s so much detail but not too much where you get confused or uninterested. The way the story is written reels you in pretty quickly.

The story is so interesting and different. It’s something I never would’ve thought to write about. There are twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.

I love when a romance novel includes other genres that aren’t exactly the focal point. Coming-of-age is one of my favorite genres. This book does a great job of telling Sadie’s story in that regard by taking the reader on her journey of accepting herself and her condition.

I love the banter between Sadie and Joe. I’m a huge sucker for banter, especially when it’s done right. Center knows how to write witty and entertaining banter. There were so many scenes with the two of them that had me incredibly giddy.

I like that we got to see different aspects of Sadie’s life such as her family and her friends.

I might just cave in and get the physical copy when it gets released.

Katherine Center's latest novel, Hello Stranger, is nothing short of awesome! I loved this story and the characters so much. The plot was filled with fun anticipation and swoon-worthy moments but in a nice clean way. I looked forward to reading this book and even took it in my car and sat in the Home Goods parking lot to read it! Honestly, this may be Center's best work yet. It's a good clean romance. It's a perfect beach read but, don't wait until summer - grab it when you can, you won't be disappointed.

Katherine Center is an automatic read author for me, so when I saw that Hello Stranger was available I jumped at the opportunity and I was not let down.

Sadie really goes through it in this story, in such a unique way that made me really feel for her and her situation. Imagine finally getting your big break and then by some twisted turn of events lose the skills you need in order to perform for that break. Sadie doesn't give up though when she's faced with huge obstacles and less than helpful family members.

Joe is also a super likable character. He's a self proclaimed "helper" and really you can't help but to cheer for him. I loved Sadie and Joe's dynamic and watching their relationship unfold. The twist in the story was one that I actually saw coming but that didn't take away anything from my enjoyment of the story.

I will continue to pick up anything Center writes because in my mind she can do no wrong.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Most definitely pick this one up when it comes out this summer!

Advanced Book Review! Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I’ve read a few of Katherine Center’s more recent books and I’ve really enjoyed them so I was so excited to get Hello Stranger as an ARC from NetGalley.
This was such an interesting book. Basically, Sadie is a portrait artist who is having a tough time – and I mean it literally seems like things are always going wrong for her – when she ends up needing brain surgery and is left with face blindness following the surgery. She not only has to learn how to navigate the world with this new challenge, but figure out how she’s going to continue her career as a portrait artist and enter an important portrait competition when she can’t see faces.
I feel like face blindness must be such a difficult condition to explain and I thought Katherine Center did a good job of helping the reader understand. Honestly, my thought when I was reading was good for her for taking on this challenge to create this great story.
Because it’s written in first person, I feel like we’re there with Sadie and as the reader we also don’t really know who anyone is for a while, as Sadie is trying to figure it out. I did find this a little bit confusing at the beginning but I’m actually assuming that’s what Katherine Center was aiming for, so that we could really put ourselves in Sadie’s shoes.
I haven’t read a novel with this story line before so that was great to read about something new.