Let me just start by saying I can’t help but want to immediately reread this book with a fresh set of “knowing” eyes. Hello Stranger made me me feel equally emotional and angry while still laughing hysterically.

The book opens with Sadie Montgomery celebrating being a finalist in a portrait contest. On her way to her party she has a seizure and is rushed to the hospital. They discover that she needs to have brain surgery. It goes well… except with one major side effect… she develops face blindness.

This story follows her struggles as a portrait artist who can’t see faces… and also just her regular struggles as someone who can’t see faces!

Because the universe is cruel her beloved old dog has some severe health problems and is rushed to the emergency vet. He is saved by the “attractive” (by body and vibe alone) Dr. Oliver Addison, who immediately asks her out. She can’t live in peace though because her weasel of a neighbor Joe offers to help by being the subject of her portrait submission… and she has to find a way to paint him without letting him know she can’t even see his face.

I had been in a reading slump before this, and this was JUST what I needed to be excited about reading again. I can’t wait to finally read the other books by this author.

This book is not only a romance book but one of deep healing. I love reading Sadie's point of view. She is a character with a lot of sass, a great sense of humor, a particular way of seeing everyone around her and she is deeply in love with her little senior dog, Peanut.

What I like most about this book is how Sadie grow. The way she has to cope and learned how to live with her new vision of the world around her. How she learned to trust herself and find her own voice.
Usually, I'm not a fan of misunderstanding trope, but this one was delicious and hope everyone will read it.

Joe is my favorite of all. Gosh, I love that his wife divorces him because he was too much helpful to everyone. It's original and It made me love him even more.

Thanks to let me read this one. I enjoy it a lot.

This was not at all what I expected, but I enjoyed it nonetheless! What a fun and sweet read. I love Katherine Center and she did not disappoint

This was a solid 3-3.5 read. I’ll start by saying that I will still recommend and with it only taking me a few hours, I think it will be a favorite for many. I really loved The Bodyguard and was expecting something similar, but this was a bit too much of a highly unbelievable teenage fantasy for me.

Let me explain… a woman experiences a very rare brain disorder causing face blindness - that’s not the part I found unbelievable - I found this interesting and refreshing (if not similar to several hallmark movies). The part I found unbelievable and teenage was that she actually has an evil stepsister who supposedly framed her for wild suicide-inducing bullying getting her kicked out of school and shipped away to boarding school… and then that evil stepsister follows her around and continues to make her life miserable (yes she moves into the building she lives in and purposely fucks with her since she can’t recognize her). Anyway that part of the story is forgettable to me so I don’t feel bad sharing it now - she gets her moment at the end with her bully being publicly shamed.

I literally think that entire plot should be removed as it was so insane to read. The high stakes of the main plot are more interesting and very twisty in their own way!

Ultimately a 4 star read, but pushed down to 3 stars because of that insane stepsister. The romance was fun and the facial blindness was very interesting - those parts were very compelling!

Another favorite by Katherine Center!

This book was so amazing. You can’t help but to fall in love with all of the characters, Especially Emma.

Emma experiences something that not many understand. She loses the ability to recognize people by their face after having brain surgery. And her reaction to this is so relatable. Emma shows us the struggle that happens when you’re coming to terms with things beyond your control, and sometimes our reactions are less than stellar.

I loved Emma’s relationship with Peanut. Being a dog lover I thought this was an adorable part of the story. I really enjoyed Emma getting to know people with her other senses, like Joe.

I felt like it brought awareness to the topic of prosopagnosia in an easy to understand way. Before this book I didn’t know anything about this neurological disorder.

I will absolutely be buying myself a copy when this publishes and I highly recommend this book and the author!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and the author for an ARC of Hello Stranger in exchange for my honest review.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes! This is a 5 star review for me! I went into this book mostly blind (no pun intended) and I'm so glad I did! So no spoilers from me. Our heroine, Sadie Montgomery, develops a touch of facial blindness. Which isn't good when you're a portrait artist. This is a feel good story full of hope with sweet, quirky and uplifting characters! The romance (or love triangle???) is a slow burn in just the right way @ There are a few instances that I felt were a stretch of the imagination, but it's all good because the story is just so perfect I could not get enough and I devoured this book over the weekend. Beautifully written and evocative story.”

Such a fun read! This is probably my favorite book this year. It has heart and made me laugh out loud. Devoured this book in 2 days.

I really enjoyed learning about face blindness and thought it was a great plot line. I loved that Katherine showed how people didn’t understand what it meant not to see faces. Also, that it happened to an artist added to the poignancy.

I thought Joe and Peanut were the stars of this book. I was engaged every time they were on the page. While I enjoyed Sadie, her family drama was a lot! Her sister was just incredibly toxic and abusive.

Sadie felt like she could not tell people she was face blind, and I didn’t really see why. I understood she was being independent especially given her family situation, but her reasons for staying quiet were not strong.

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I was totally engaged. I really enjoyed the resolution, and it ended just the way I want a romance to end.

I really enjoyed the bodyguard by this author and was really excited to read this one! I’ve only read books with face blindness as a plot of a thriller and thought it was cool that it was now in a romcom. That being said I felt it was a little too medical at times and felt that the author was trying too hard to not bother or upset anyone that may have experienced something like this. If you’re squeamish around medical events than you’re gonna have to skip quite a bit. As for the romance part, the main character kinda annoyed me and I don’t like assumption based characters. That being said, I can see why it’s getting so many 5 stars but it just didn’t live up to the hype for me. Her other works are better

Hello Stranger is a quintessential Katherine Center novel: full of humor, some heart break and lots of sweetness. Sadie Montgomery is a struggling artist. She has basically been estranged from her father since her mother died when she was in high school and he quickly remarried her "evil stepmother." Sadie has just caught wind of some luck however and has won a coveted spot in a portrait completion, where the grand prize is 10,000 dollars. Just as she is celebrating her good fortune however, Sadie has a seizure and the resulting surgery leaves her with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia-- better known as face blindness. The timing is horrible seeing as Sadie needs to produce a brand new portrait for the competition in just a few short weeks. While she is dealing with her new diagnosis, she falls into a love triangle with the vet who saved her dogs life and her neighbor Joe, who she can recognize by his always worn bowling jacket. Heartwarming and uplifting, if you have enjoyed Katherine Center's novels in the past, you will be sure to love this one too!

This book follows the life of Sadie Montgomery, a struggling artist who is determined to compete in a prestigious competition despite facing a major obstacle: she has acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, or face blindness, after undergoing brain surgery. As a portrait artist, Sadie's career is in jeopardy, and she must find a way to adapt to her new condition if she hopes to succeed.

Despite the challenges she faces, Sadie is kept afloat by the love and support of her best friend Sue and Sue's family, as well as her beloved dog Peanut. When Peanut falls ill, Sadie meets Dr. Oliver Addison, an emergency veterinarian who she can't see, but can tell is handsome and kind. As she navigates her new reality, Sadie is also forced to confront her difficult family relationships and accept help from her neighbor Joe.

I was looking for a fun pick-me-up (after reading a few tear jerkers in a row) and this was soooo perfect. I’m also an artist from Houston so I could be a bit biased on the MC/storyline vibes, but Center was able to put things into words about an artist’s life that just felt so relatable and true. The amount of research was masterfully woven into the story. It felt natural and seamless.

Sadie's journey is full of shenanigans, and the romance is super sweet with a touch of spice. Overall, a comfort romance that’s silly and sweet; leaving readers feeling entertained and hopeful. I couldn’t put it down.

This was my first book by this author and I can definitely say this won’t be my last. The premise of this story sounded interesting to me, with Sadie Montgomery having face blindness! I loved the story and it was such a different premise than most rom coms, but was still just as silly and cute. I really enjoyed Sadie’s story and overall thought this was a really cute story! I would have loved to have seen some more character development, but even so, loved the characters that were well drawn out like Sadie, her bestie, and her two love interests. This was such a cute, and happy novel that really gave me some positive feels!

This novel was very much a fun time, but does require the reader to suspend their disbelief about a couple aspects. I find myself in this same position with many contemporary romances as they are often a bit ridiculous and unrealistic, but I don’t really read romance for logical storylines or plots. I read romance to be swept away and to believe in impossible things. Somehow in romance ridiculous things usually bother me less. I thought “Hello Stranger” was very funny and had a unique premise. That being said, there were some ridiculous things that bothered me about this novel. At the age of thirty, who actually has an evil stepsister who is also at least in her twenties, possible thirties, who is dead set on ruining said main character’s life? The whole Parker situation felt old, tired and done to death. I don’t feel like it added anything to this story and instead just felt like a roadblock thrown into the story to cause more chaos, as if a brain tumor and major brain surgery and resulting side effects weren’t already serious enough on their own. I loved the character of Joe, but the whole not recognizing his voice aspect was also pretty hard to believe. If you can look past these aspects, you have a pretty enjoyable read with some heart and a unique premise. I don’t think the plot was completely polished, but I enjoyed the read for what it was- a cute, short romance with minimal spice. This was my first Katherine Center novel and I feel like it’s probably not her best book, but it was a good introduction to her work and I’ll probably check out more of her work because I really did enjoy the humor.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the author for this ebook in exchange for a free review.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC of the newest Katharine Center. I am a bit biased because Center is one of my favorites and I’ve read all of her books. This was a sweet, fun, happy romance that was quick to read and hard for me to put down. Center’s afterward about her discovery of romance novels and it being ok to like them was similar to my own, and I’m glad I did!

Only 4 stars because I wish there had been more with Sadie’s stepmom, dad and stepsister.

I will definitely recommend this to library customers when it comes out!!

This book was great! I couldn't put it down! The premise was fresh and new, which is hard for me to say as I read so much each year! Sometimes it feels as though I keep reading similar stories, but this was a so original!

Getting to read an ARC of a Katherine Center was an absolute gift. Thank you NetGalley! This book was so interesting and I did not predict some of the surprise plot twists. I liked some of the deeper story lines like things she learned about her mothers health that were similar to her own. The "wicked stepmother and evil stepsister" felt a bit Cinderella like for a bit, but I liked the evolution. The wicked stepsister is honestly just WICKED. Her struggle through most of the book was interesting and something I had never read about in any book. It made the story so interesting. I would recommend this to anyone who in a fan of Katherine Center or looking for a new author to try. I really enjoyed it.

Rating 4.5

I picked this up off of NetGalley as a "Read Now" ARC and I'm so happy I did - The hype I've seen around this story has proven worth it (especially for someone who's never read a Katherine Center story before and heard only wonderful things).

This story is more than just a romance - it's got grief, disorders (facial blindness) and an evil step sister. Sadie has spent her life trying to make a name for herself as a portrait artist following in her late mother's footsteps and has actually won a spot in a national competitions betting out 1,990 other contestants - she just has one final showcase to beat the last 9 and win some money but also truly connect with her mom. And she was on track to do just that but after a freak medical incident and a good Samaritan who was able to keep her from being run over by a car, Sadie remains alive but facing an entire new world - one in which she can't see a single face clearly.. which is a problem when you paint faces!!

Sadie and her best friend Sue do everything they can think of to help her over come the situation and still enter the competition, which includes working with Joe (the neighbor who's given off every wrong vibe possible). Sadie has to navigate a new world where she learns how to identify people based on things other than their face and voice (hair, gait, smell etc). But this world comes with it's own new set of problems, including navigating a first date with Dr. Addison (her new Veterinarian), interactions with her evil step sister (Poison / Parker), finding new ways to paint faces (like drawing grids on them!) and figuring out how to process her own grief and unknown situations including family dynamics.

This story is more than a romance - it's truly a feel good story including therapy, grief counselling, processing emotions, standing up for ones self, and realizing how to navigate the unknown. The romance and watching Sadie fall in love was just a bonus to watch happen! I will highlight though, that at times this story can get a little heavy on the grief and heavy on the therapy so if you're sensitive to that (especially about family drama, and late mothers...) then tread carefully. The story truly is worth trying to navigate though and these sensitive subjects are handled with grace and class.

Thanks to NetGalley who, in collaboration with St. Martin's Press, released this copy with a Read Now options so that many of us get to read this early copy of the story!

This is my second Katherine Center book and I am realizing she is one of my new favorite authors. I love the romance aspect, but also out the relationships are showing between the main character and other characters of the book ie parent, community workers, friends, etc. It gives the book such a well rounded feel, and made me want to room for the main character in all areas of her life throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGally and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved reading this book. I thought the topic of face blindness was very interesting and I’m intrigued to learn more. I had not read a book about this before so I liked how unique the story was from that aspect.
The twist got me! Looking back there were some subtle hints.

This is another delightful read by Katherine Center! Definitely recommend.

Sadie is an aspiring artist on the verge of her big break as a top 10 finalist in a major portrait competition. The same competition her mother was invited to but never made it to before she passed. It's a surreal moment to be following in her footsteps. However, on the night she celebrates her big news, an accident takes her on a new path where she develops Face Blindness. Where her brain keeps her from processing and appropriately piecing together the elements of someone's face. A portrait artist rendered unable to see and paint faces.

We follow Sadie as she navigates her new diagnosis and finds unlikely relationships, love interests, coping strategies and a new perspective on life.

While this is technically an adult novel, this would be enjoyed by a YA audience as well. It is swoony and romantic at times without being spicy.