This was… fine.
The main topic of the book (face blindness) made for a very fun and interesting read. However, I just didn’t vibe with some of the characters and the story felt a bit choppy at times.

Sadie was a bit annoying and stubborn at time and don’t get me started on Parker.. I mean, what she put Sadie through? She was crazy, and the fact that everyone turned a blind eye and did absolutely nothing about it in the end was insane to me.

This was so darn cute, I read it in a day. It deals with heavy subjects (serious family drama, death, unexpected medical issues) but manages to have the light-hearted, hopefulness of a good ole rom-com.

Sadie is desperate to win a portrait contest to prove to her dad (and perhaps herself) that she is a successful artist. But, in the aftermath of a seizure, brain surgery leaves her with face blindness. Now she's a portrait artist who can't see faces. Could be temporary, could be forever, who knows! Meanwhile, Sadie simultaneously starts to develop feelings for her hunky vet Dr. Addison (love at first "sight") and her neighbor Joe (quite the opposite). The thing is, Sadie doesn't like to ask for help, and she never wants to appear weak, so she keeps her condition from them.

I liked the premise, I definitely haven't encountered this plot before. I was vaguely familiar with face blindness before, but I learned a lot. The ending is pretty obvious, but I didn't mind because it was a fun, feel-good journey. Some of the story could use some refinement. First, evil stepsister Parker could have had a redemption arc maybe, there was a brief attempt to give her a villain origin story, but overall she felt underutilized (or maybe underdeveloped) and one-dimensional. I felt the same way about the celebrity girlfriend in The Bodyguard. Second, the ending was way overexplained.

This needs to be a movie, someone page Hello Sunshine and Zoey Deutch ASAP.

Katherine a enter has done it again!
I love how this author features diverse characters in such a genuine way.
A young artist discovers she needs brain surgery, but when that life saving surgery takes away her ability to paint portraits, she is lost. But not only cant she paint but she can’t tell her evil step sister from a stranger or the cute neighbour from the man who saved her beloved pet.

The sweet romance explores self discover, grief, and learning to makes the best out of an unfortunate situation

I had the opportunity of reading Hello Stranger as a ARC thanks to @netgalley. I went into this book not knowing what to expect except for a romance story but it was so much more beyond that! 🫶🏻 The book was so amazing and its protagonist incredibly relatable. This is one of those books that will make you feel good and have you reflecting about all the things we take for granted. This was my first Katherine Center book and I’m excited to read more of her novels! A fantastic and quick read that I really really recommend!

This book was so incredibly delightful. Fun characters, a fun twist, just a good solid romance romp with a great ending. If you liked The Bodyguard, you’ll love this one too!

I've been on such a Katherine Center kick since The Bodyguard and the premise of Hello Stranger was so intriguing. Sadie, a portrait artist, gets the chance of a lifetime when she is selected to compete in a huge competition. However, after an accident leaves her with the inability to recognize/"see" faces. I love learning more about a subject I'm unfamiliar with through fiction, and this book was no exception. The ending totally took me by surprise, and I'm not sure if I really liked it, but I can see how it would work for so many! I'd definitely recommend this book!
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love Katherine Center’s books. They just make me feel good and I fall in love with the characters every time.

Sadie feels like everything is falling into place with her art. She’s got her big break with the National Portrait Society with the chance to win money for something she’s been striving to do. Not only to prove to herself that she’s on the right path but also her dad. The night she’s going to have a celebration that was sprung on her by her friend Sue, Sadie forgets her wallet and a do gooder tries to pay for her wine and dog treats. As she’s walking back to her apartment she has a seizure and her whole life changes in a matter of minutes.

This shows you that sometimes with the bad and stormy there is positive things that do indeed happen.

Thank you #netgalley for the advance copy

Unfortunately DNF’ed this one. Maybe its due to the headspace I’m in currently but I just could not get into the story. I found the formatting SO distracting, with every single sentence on a separate line. I’m not sure if that’s an ARC issue or just the way this is written (haven’t read anything else from this author), but it felt more and more infuriating as I read father.

This book was amazing. Simple as that. Katherine Center wrote a book that delicately balanced grief, trauma, emotional crises/turmoil, humor, friendship, and love. It was exceptional. I love when books make me feel the emotions of the main character and I viscerally felt all the emotions. All the side characters had very distinct personalities, I too am a huge stan of Dr. Nicole. The love interest(s) had such a dead-pan sense of humor and was so incredibly lovable. BUT the main star, of course is Peanut. I love my dog pretty much more than anything in the whole entire world so it was very easy to feel and relate to Sadie in her bond with Peanut. Overall, this book made me cry, laugh, and swoon and I had an amazing time reading this. This is the type of book you mourn when it’s done because you miss the characters. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read the ARC!

4.75-5 stars

This was such a fun read! I thought the premise of a portrait artist with acquired face blindness was so interesting and made for a great story. Sadie was so endearing, and I found myself really rooting for her and her hot mess self. This book did such a good job of weaving grief, complicated family dynamics, and chasing your dreams but feeling like a failure throughout while still very much being a romance. I think this works well, because it’s told from Sadie’s perspective, so the reader is experiencing everything alongside her. Did I mention that Sadie’s best friend Sue is a gem, and her parents love Sadie like she’s their own? We love to see it. And of course, there’s Joe, Sadie’s neighbor with a heart of gold and an “intriguing torso,” like come on! This book has it all, including a hot veterinarian and an adorable dog companion. The only thing that I had a hard time with was the Sadie’s stepsister who truly seemed too cruel to be believable. I would have like to have seen her more consequences.

I highly recommend this romance for anyone looking for a fun time.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

"Hello Stranger" by Katherine Center is exactly the kind of substantive romance I needed to read, and am highly recommending it as a book to seek out this summer. While I consistently enjoy Center's creative story telling, this particular novel was an unexpected delight. From fun, complex characters, to learning about rare neurological side effects of certain brain conditions ("sciency" fun), to family disfunction, relationships and love, "Hello Stranger" is a refreshing example for just how varied the scope of romance novels can be. Ultimately, Center's work reminds us of why we read; Yes, a desire to feel hope, joy, and love (romantic, platonic, familial), BUT also to be captivated by the unfolding of a beautiful story that still offers a surprise.

Rating: 4
Laughing:3
Crying: 0

I loved this story - it was different from other books I’ve read. It reminded me of The No Show, where I was trying to figure out how or IF all the characters were connected.

I love how Katherine Center writes, and so many parts of this book just had me smiling because I loved the dialogue. Sadie was funny in a way I don’t think she meant to be. Some of her quirks were relatable, and I kept thinking, I could see this happening to me.

My favorite part of this story was Peanut, the pad thai-loving adorable dog. I loved the role that he played, and I loved Sadie’s relationship with him. I felt like, for most of the story, I couldn’t quite figure out how I felt about Joe, there wasn’t anything swoony about him (to me), but I was happy that he was in Sadie’s life; I liked him in as a person in this story. He was Sadie's constant.

If you’re looking for a feel-good story, I’d recommend picking this book up; it comes out on 7/11/2023!

Katherine Center somehow hits it out of the park every single time. She had the unique ability to create such unique story lines that should sound far fetched… but makes them come alive and feel so real and possible. This book exceeded my expectations & I am officially a Katherine Center Stan for life.

I absolutely loved this book!! Hello Stranger was my first book by this author but I’ve now added all her books to my TBR!!

They story was sweet, swoony and fun, too! Poor Sadie saw her life falling apart but didn’t want to let anyone see her vulnerabilities.

“…from now on, I would not burst into any more tears at that clinic. I would show up looking a hundred percent “Fine, thank you. and yourself?” As a point of pride.”

I loved the humor, the emotion and all the wonderful (& evil) characters in this story. This was a wonderful and entertaining read and I can’t wait to discover more books by this author.
-5 Stars!-

I was so happy to get an ARC copy of Katherine Center's new book. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and I think this is my favorite one so far.
The main character is a portrait artist who develops face blindness from an accident and has to figure out how to keep her life together. She has a difficult family story and is fiercely independent so she doesn't want to accept help.
This book was lovely, just bright and hopeful and fun.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

Loved the writing style in this book and tend to love all of Katherine Center's books. The story was very cute but the ending was a touch odd and fell a little short for me overall I did like it.

Thank you for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

Favorite Quotes:

“But I find the antidote to that is just keeping a sense of humor. And staying humble. And laughing a lot. And doubling down on smiling. We’re all just muddling through, after all. We’re all just doing the best we can. We’re all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down, is a little bit lost.”

“I don’t know how to describe it, but my chest would seize up so bad I thought I might suffocate. It hurt so much, it scared me- and I was afraid to feel that pain. So I turned away.”

“You can’t replace mothers like appliances.”

Genre:
Fiction, Romance (moderate level)

Summary:
Sadie Montgomery, is a young struggling artist trying to make a living. Finally, she lands the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to compete with some of the best portrait artists. Out of two thousand artists, Sadie is a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition, a chance to win $10, 000. Sadie is very excited, and ready to celebrate…however, her life takes an unexpected turn at exactly the wrong time. Sadie is independent, determined, and struggling to cope with her new temporary reality. Katherine Center is one of my favorite romance authors. She is my go too when I need an escape or quick getaway from life. I really enjoyed “Hello Stranger”. The story itself is more predictable than normal for the author, but nonetheless a great overall escape from my own reality.

Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#Katherinecenter
#StMartinsPress
#NetGalley

I was eager to dive into the latest from Katherine Center because I devoured last year’s “The Bodyguard”. “Hello Stranger” did not disappoint! While I initially thought the storyline was going to be a bit difficult to pull off, Katherine delivered with a layered + sometimes complex series of events . I particularly appreciated her exploration of the varying dynamics within Sadie’s family. There was a lot of a heart in this story + not just of the romantic variety.

I really enjoyed this book and I read it in one night! Katherine Center is becoming my go-to for a cute, feel good, romcom. The plot was really clever, I loved the banter with Joe, and thought the incorporation of grief and growth of the characters was really important. This was definitely a good slow burn (just don’t expect any spice). I also can’t pass up a story that includes rescue animals, like Peanut! Some things in the plot seemed too coincidental, and the ending was a little repetitive, but overall I would recommend this book to any fan of the genre!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center is back again! This one was pretty good, not a new favorite of hers but I still enjoyed it.