I LOVED this book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I can’t not wait to have a physical copy. 📕❤️

Sadie is a portrait artist that through a series of unfortunate events loses her ability to see faces. You can only imagine the damage that dies to her career and perception of the world.

What I really loved is how the people in her life changed after her accident. But they didn’t really. She was just able to “see” them. There’s the best friend who’s empathy only goes so far, the father who ignores the chaos his choices have created and more. There is another character that you wish you had in your life and that’s Sadie’s dog, Peanut. 🐶

I felt a lot of emotions throughout this book. I think that’s one of the reasons I loved it so much. It was just hearts and flowers. There was sadness, anxiety, laughter, love, etc.

Hello Stranger was so much fun to read! I was so engrossed that I read the book in a single day. I LOVED Sadie as a character. Her struggles are different from anything I've had to deal with and yet I still connected with her. I found her voice to be so well done. I loved that she could be vulnerable, smart, creative and funny. I thought she and Joe were a fantastic pair. Joe, oh Joe. Mr. Helpful was so swoon-worthy. I was extremely invested in the two of them. The scene where Sadie paints his portrait was TOP NOTCH!

However I really disliked the plot involving Sadie's step-sister and father. Seriously I groaned every single time Parker appeared on the page. I didn't feel like the trajectory with her father was well developed, he just suddenly did a 180 one day. These aspects brought the book down to 4 stars for me. But still, I really truly loved reading this! I highly recommend this book.

I loved hello stranger. It was my second Katherine center book. It won'tbe my last. I Iike Sadies character. Her love interests were predictable I thought. I did see the ending coming about half way thru the book. I will definitely recommend this book.

Katherine Center’s new book HELLO, STRANGER, is the story of portraitist Sadie Montgomery, who is suddenly stricken with Prosopagnosia, a rare condition in which a person cannot recognize faces. And after years of failing to hit the big time as an artist, she is now a finalist in an art competition. Winning this contest could be her ticket to success.
As Sadie stumbles through the adjustment to this new life and readies her paintings for the competition, other unique characters help her to find her way, to “face” whatever comes next. There’s Joe the weasel, the handsome Dr. Oliver, her faithful friend Sue, and evil step-sister Parker, who always says just the thing that she hopes will break Sadie. I wonder if we all have someone like her in our lives.
The author’s exhaustive research added much to this book. But most of all, I love the humor and life lessons that she shares between the lines. Sometimes disappointments turn out to be blessings, and if we look hard enough, we can find good in even bad times. The message comes through strong enough to clearly hear: Cherish life just the way it is—blurred, less than perfect—but still a gift.
Why do I read every one of Katherine Center’s books? They make me feel good. 5 stars!

I saw the way this ended coming a mile away but loved the journey! Nice change of pace from the run of the mill meet-cutes.

** spoiler alert ** Sadie Montgomery has lived through some trauma, is effectively estranged from her father, at odds with her Martha Stewart-esque stepmother, and target of her stepsister. She is a struggling portrait artist who has won entry into a prestigious competition. Things are looking up for her, until she has a seizure while crossing the street and is rescued by a handsome stranger before being flattened by a car.

Sadie finds out that she has a brain condition and needs surgery. She’s pushed into having the surgery before her competition because her father tells her that Sadie’s mother died from the same affliction. The surgery goes well — except for the fact that she wakes up with face blindness due to edema on the brain. How long will her new condition last? Unknown, but her neuropsychologist (who is sweet and fun and nurturing) encourages her to cope.

Meanwhile, Sadie comes home and has to pick her dog up from the vet. There’s something about the vet, whose face she sees as a cubist painting, that she likes. She becomes infatuated with him, even more so after he saves her geriatric dog, Peanut, who loves pad Thai, croissants, and bolognese. The vet, however, stands her up on a date, and Sadie connects with her neighbor, Joe, who wears vintage bowling jackets, has hipster glasses, and poses as a model for Sadie’s portrait for the competition. She develops feelings for Joe, and their scenes together are funny and heartwarming. Sadie confides much in him, except for the fact that she has face blindness.

Sadie is forced to change the way she has painted for years and create a new style to account for her condition. She doesn’t win the competition, but she has some personal victories along the way that improve her life.

She decides to break up with the vet, and then Joe mysteriously ghosts her. The end is funny and cute, and it made me smile.

I saw the spoilers from early on in the book, but it was funny seeing the book through Sadie’s unreliable view. It must be hard to recognize folks when their faces look like a Picasso painting. I really liked Sadie’s character. She was relatable, and personally I love a character that doesn’t have it all together and is quirky. Joe was lovely, handsome, and funny. I thought their characters worked well together.

Much thanks to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This was my first Katherine Center read, and I will be adding more to my TBR.

Katherine Center is an author that I have come to depend on for an accessible story with a good plot and relatable characters. This book did not fail to deliver and offered an enjoyable story.

29 year old Sadie is a portrait artist who just got her big break in the art world: a spot in a portrait contest with a $10K prize. She has 6 weeks to create a portrait for the show. Unfortunately, she also just had brain surgery and is now suffering from facial blindness post-op. We follow her ups and downs as she tries to deal with this new aspect of her life.

While a very creative idea for a story, the writing style was not for me. I felt like so much of the storyline was just the characters fleeting, manic-like thoughts. She seemed so juvenile with her love interests (her vet Dr. Oliver Addison and her neighbor Joe). For example, after she is asked out on a date, she is asking herself if this means they’re dating now? Once you start dating, you inevitably get married… so they’re essentially engaged right? They hadn’t even gone out yet! I was cringing. Also, I’m a sucker for twists, and I called the twist in this story very early on.

All that being said, I did find it to be a cute story and a fun read. It went by quick and even though I found it predictable, I still wanted to see how it wrapped up. I felt the ending was a little over explained as well, but I suppose I prefer that than leaving the reader with questions.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the way neuropsychology was woven into this book in a unique, easy-to-understand way. I have zero idea how scientifically accurate any of it was, but I enjoyed it and implicitly trust that Katherine Center transformed facial blindness into the most creative literary device while staying somewhere within the realm of possibility.

Center also wrote the most beautiful Author's Note at the end about the value of romantic fiction and how "tragedy is a given, but joy is a choice... love is healing. It's unapologetically optimistic. It's the thing that puts us back together." I think Hello Stranger hits the nail on the head of that emotional experience, and it made me feel giddy, sadness, and loving exasperation. To set expectations though: romantic fiction is not a romance, and outside of the romantic relationship(s) that Sadie experiences, there's a lot of painful family turmoil that she also has to walk through.

This heartwarming and funny romance follows Sadie as she tries to paint a portrait for important art show/competition. During this time she deals with family drama, friendships and romance all while trying to regain her ability to see faces.

My favorite Katherine Center story!

I’ve become a fan of Katherine Center, because her books just make me feel good. They’re comfort reads for sure.. and this one was no different. The plot was interestingly different and had me pulled in from the start. The romance is light and cheesy, but the writing and humor fill the gaps.

The MCs (Sadie) growth and character development was much needed. While I did enjoy the relationship between Sadie and Joe.. there was some forced hurriedness that made it a little less believable. Regardless, this was a light feel good romance that I enjoyed.

I quickly devoured this charming, delightful rom-com. It’s easy to anticipate the “plot twist” early on, but the journey is no less enjoyable for it.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC of Hello Stranger in exchange for my honest review!

Katherine Center has been hit and miss for me, but WOW this one knocked it out of the park. This book has all the right elements that make you feel SO good. It is unique and original with a storyline that had me begging to keep reading! It is balanced with love, drama, laughter, and light. Was it a little cheesy at times? Absolutely, but that’s what made it so endearing to me.

This book is available on July 11 and is absolutely worth the read! 4.5 stars!

I’m not necessarily a fan of romance novels, however Katherine Center did well in having me enjoy my read. There was enough of a mystery as to why did the other characters do what they did. Sadie has acquired face-blindness just before a major art award is to be given. She has a multitude of problems.

I had read another book about face-blindness (can’t remember the title); I liked Center’s book much better. At the end she tells more about this condition and gives a link for you to take your own test.

I plan to read more of Center’s novels.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱 “Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
publishing set for July 11

This ARC (advanced reader copy- thanks @netgalley) is a cutesy, happily ever after story, filled with laughs and what a perfect rom-com pallet cleanser after some heavy reads for me this month.

Sadie Montgomery, a struggling portrait artist who entered into a art competition for the chance to win $10,000. She needs this win- first to demonstrate to her father that she can be successful and second because everything else in her life is just barely holding together.

Sadie has a seizure in the crosswalk and awakes in the hospital, being told she needs to have brain surgery, which leaves her with prosopagnosia or face blindness. After surgery she can see, thankfully, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. And her brain is working overtime to rectify this- talk about a headache.

When her elderly dog goes to a new vet clinic Sadie feels a connection to Dr Oliver, even though she can’t see his face. After a panic attack, her neighbor Joe rescues her by talking her down, and she begins to fall for him too. Just calm down and let your brain figure out what these guys look like 😆

Sadie’s inner monologue was funny, immature, lacking common sense and at times unbelievable, but I laughed along with it.

Beautiful author’s note… All stories have an emotional engine that drives them. Mysteries run on curiosity. Thrillers run on heart-thumping adrenaline. Horror stories run on fear. Romance novels use positive anticipation for the future. Relax and look forward to the predictable happily ever after. An escape, a lovable character and an often silly story.

#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book! I've loved a lot of Katherine Center's books, so I jumped at the chance to read this one. In looking back at it as a whole, some of it is just plain unbelievable. I get the whole "world is turned upside down, you can't see faces anymore" thing as a complete upheaval in someone's awareness. But to not realize the thing I did withon the first couple of chapters was bananas. I was also floored by how shitty her family situation was and how long that was allowed to continue. However, this was still a fun read and I flew through it.

This is a great book. I have never read anything from Katherine Center before but will in the future. I felt like this was an easy read with heart. It also had aspects (health issue) that were new to me and that made the book more interesting. I liked the characters, felt invested in their journey, and really enjoyed the story.

💫💫💫💫/5

I was so excited for this one after the magic that was THE BODYGUARD, and I loved this one too! It's not the perfect read THE BODYGUARD was for me, but I adored Sadie and Joe's story. You're likely to see the twist coming, but Katherine's prose is like a hand steering you through the dark, promising adventure and delivering every step of the way. Infused with Katherine's signature wit, heart, and sizzling romance, HELLO STRANGER was such a fun read to break up the winter blues.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of its July 2023 release in exchange for an honest review!

I always enjoy reading Katherine’s books, but Hello Stranger wasn’t a favorite of mine. It’s a really unique concept in that Sadie temporarily loses her ability to identify faces after brain surgery, and the story definitely tugged at my heart strings a few times, but I also found myself thinking the book was just too long. I kind of had an idea where the storyline was headed and was ultimately proven right, but I also feel like if Sadie wasn’t so immature and shared what was happening in her life, the conclusion and miscommunication could’ve been wrapped up sooner. Hopefully Katherine’s next book will be a hit for me.

“Sometimes when I’m watching a movie and there’s a simple Big Misunderstanding between two people —he thinks she’s a space alien or something — I want to shout, “Just talk to each other!” But of course nothing in real life is ever simple like that. Every real human interaction is made up of a million tiny moving pieces. Not a simple one-note situation: a symphony of cues to read and decipher and evaluate and pay attention to. Its a wonder we ever get anything straight at all”

Katherine Center’s “Hello Stranger” was a quirky rom-com that at many moments had me rolling my eyes, and at others, nodding along to Center’s randomly plopped wisdom about relationships and life in general.

What are the chances that a portrait artist has to have essentially emergency surgery weeks before her *career changing* competition that leaves her unable to see faces, and therefore unable to paint faces? Eye roll. The premise of this one was just a little too much of a stretch for me. Center makes you want to cheer our protagonist Sadie on the whole time, but I had a hard time with the mental gymnastics that I had to do to accept these circumstances.

Things I loved: Center’s writing style. The ending and how everything came together so well. How apparent it is that Center did her due diligence researching Prosopagnosia. The Author’s Note.

Things I could have done without: The high level of cheesiness. The evil step sister that was too over the top.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of “Hello Stranger” in exchange for an honest review.