5000000 Stars

I absolutely loved Hello Stranger. Katherine Center took me through all the emotions in this wonderful and fantastic new book.

Sadie Montgomery, a struggling artist living at the top of a apartment building. Things seem to be going her way when she lands one of the coveted finalist spots in a portrait competition. It happens to coincide with a surgery she needs to have. Minor, they say. Less than a week in the hospital they say. Nothing about you will change, they say. Upon recovery, it begins to dawn on Sadie that she can see everything around her, but she can no longer see faces.

Oliver "Joe" Addison, HE WAS SO AMAZING. I loved him so much. The plot twist at the end. OH MY GOD. Joe and Oliver had end up being the same person. "That was you? You bought me that cheap wine?" "Were you the one to push me out of the crosswalk?" He was. He is amazing.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I cannot recommend Katherine Center enough.
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this perfect digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Publication date is July 11, 2023

I don’t think I’ve read a Katherine Center book that I don’t like. This one might be one of my new favs! It was such a unique-one-of-a-kind-rom-com that I think everyone should read!

This story was about a girl named Sadie who unfortunately found out about a rare brain condition called Prosopagnosia which and causes facial blindness. Crazy right?! As a previous Ortho/Neuro nurse-this disorder intrigued me. Not only was this story about her coping with this disorder but in true Katherine Center fashion it was about finding yourself as well. And of course finding love. Here a some quotes that I wrote down while reading just to show you a glimpse of the personal depth this book went into:

“Isn’t it lucky when we’re drawn to people who can teach us to learn?”

“We’re all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down is a little bit lost.”

“The more good things you look for, the more you find.”

This last quote really hit home for me. The writing was excellent, short chapters, great character building, witty, clever, romantic, heartfelt, quick read and overall a feel-good book!

5 ⭐️ all the way for me!

First of all, I want to thank Katherine Center, St Martins Press, and NetGalley for the ARC of this wonderful book! The story of Sadie and her love interest, Joe, had me drawn in immediately. I couldn’t get enough of them. It was a beautifully written love story with lots of twists and turns along the way. This was my third book of Katherine Center’s that I’ve read, and i loved it just as much as the other two

Last year I had the pleasure of reading the arc for Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard. I was obsessed— I positively loved it. When the opportunity arose to snag an arc for Hello Stranger I knew I had to jump on it. It was so worthwhile.

Now, I will say ,the book and I needed a good moment to truly warm up to one another. I read about 20% and found myself setting this one aside to read other books. Yesterday, I came back to it and I could not put it down until the very end. I read from afternoon to late night (technically early morning) and devoured the rest of the book. I ate it right up.

This book and I didn’t instantly warm up to one another, but after getting to know each other, we became the best of friends.


》Sadie《

Sadie is our star, our protagonist and fabulous lead. Her voice is so warm, welcoming, relatable, and hilarious! I love how she thinks, the way she analyzes things is similar to myself, making her all the more relatable. I love her optimism, her strengths, and her vulnerability. She’s a beautiful lead through and through.

》The Romance《

I don’t want to give too much away about the romance! It might be pretty clear what’s happening early on, but all I will say it was a total joy to witness. If I could ask for anything is wishing there had been more overt romance on the page. It’s a slow burn, but a beautiful one.


》Family Matters…Not《

Why not a 5 star for a book I enthusiastically enjoyed? That dang stepfamily and father! Whew! They were the woooooorst. The stepsister was pure evil. The stepmother had like one decent moment, but not enough to erase how otherwise awful and superficial she was. Then there’s the dad; he may have had potential, but sticking with his wife and stepdaughter was an instant no for me. (view spoiler)

Too often in recent contemporary romances I see a lack of awful characters getting their comeuppance. Why does ever lead have to be the bigger person, take the higher moral ground, and forgive? For once, just once, let me read a character who says, it’s not enough. Not enough has been done for forgiveness.

It bothered me a lot, but at the same time this qualm shows just how much I came to care for Sadie. I had her back the whole time— love that girl! I wish her all the best!


》A Smile to Remember《

Regardless of personal nitpicks, I left this one so wholly satisfied and content. I left with a big ol' smile. Sadie rose so beautifully, her humor was infectious, her candor refreshing, and her enduring spirit inspiring.

This is her story— and she owned it.

Katherine Center CAN DO NO WRONG! Truly <3.
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I've been on a Katherine Center kick lately. I just recently finished Happiness For Beginners and because there are so many books on my TBR, it's usually a while before I circle back to the same author. However, when Netgalley gave me the opportunity to read Center's new novel Hello Stranger (releasing later in 2023), I didn't hesitate. Her books just always make me feel so good - I can't ever put them down and I love her characters so much. It was no different with Hello Stranger. In between taking care of my kids/doing my job - you bet I had this book in my hand - swooning over new book boyfriend Joe or being aghast and how evil Parker is (iykyk, and you will when you read this!).
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What I love the most is how hopeful Center's books are. They always give me such an optimistic view of life and a desire to try harder, to see the bright side, and to never give up on hope. Her characters go through intense experiences, so much more than I deal with, and they handle these experiences with a perseverance that I found admirable.
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Additionally, the romance in this book was just so perfect and swoony. The chemistry is spot on and from someone who isn't always a lover of romance, this may actually be my favorite part of the novel.
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I rec this book to anyone who wants to feel good when they read :).

I’ve read a few Katherine Center books, and this one definitely fell in line with what I expected. I didn’t love Sadie at first, but she has a lot going on. But as the book continued I became more and more invested in her and her storyline! A very cute closed door romance.

This book is absolutely delightful! I picked it up and truly lost sleep until I finished it {in a day!}

Sadie is a portrait artist and she's just earned a spot in a prestigious art competition. She has six weeks to paint her masterpiece so she can win the prize. Unfortunately, she has a near-miss with death and she develops prosopagnosia - aka face blindness.

She spends the next few weeks muddling through life - trying to paint, and navigate her challenging family. She falls for two men - Joe, the neighbor, and Dr. Oliver, her vet.

The story is simply delightful and has such a fun spin than most romance books. Absolutely recommend!

“Hello Stranger” is so much more than the typical ‘girl meets boy, they fall in love, live happily ever after’ type of story.

It’s about loving yourself and accepting the pieces of you that you feel are flawed. It’s about really seeing and rediscovering, or truly discovering yourself for the first time. It’s giving yourself a fighting chance in this crazy life and the wrenches often thrown into our plans.

In some ways, it’s still of a coming-of-age story, finding yourself and accepting things as they are, not what they could have been or should have been.

Center’s characters are intriguing, complex There were still plenty of moments to swoon and squeal over. But, like life, love is much more intricate than a perfectly timed kiss or first date. There were also multiple laugh out loud moments, scenes that tugged at your heartstrings.

It’s heartwarming, witty, all around refreshing in storyline and writing. Katherine Center has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and love what she’s doing for this genre. She always makes you think. I finished this book several days ago and still find myself thinking about the ending or other moments in between. That’s the sure sign of a good book, friends.

You can pre-order now on Amazon! Or purchase when released on July 11. However, you read it, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.

This was fine, but not as great as I had expected based on all the hype her first book received. My main issue with the book was how extreme everything felt. The main character couldn’t just be in a spot - no, she had to have everything in her life falling apart. Her best friend couldn’t just be flaky, she had to be nonexistent. Her family couldn’t just suck, they needed to be Cinderella level awful. There were definitely parts that were cute and funny, but a lot of the book just felt a touch too over the top.

This is another wonderful story by Katherine Center with all the quirky characters and unique plotline. There is great character development where the characters are charming and swoon worthy. If you want a book that hooks you from the beginning and offers humor, romantic swoon worthy vibes, and amazing characters this is definitely recommended.

Hello Stranger took me a minute to get into, but once I did I was glad I stuck it out! Sadie is just getting started with her life plan and then has everything turned upside down, almost literally! Her character uncovers and experiences a lot of challenges. Give Hello Stranger a chance, you will be glad you did!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie is an artist who experiences a seizure and needs *minor* brain surgery. When she wakes up she experiences life from a different view—literally. This is problematic for an artist in a highly sought out competition.
I adored Sadies personality and overzealous sense of humor. Any author that can make me laugh out loud multiple times is one I will continue to read.

I loved reading as Sadie navigated her new life, perspective, boys, family and evil step sister. And as Center said and I will continue to use, this love story created fantastic anticipation.
“Isn’t it lucky when we’re drawn to people who can teach us things we need to learn?”

Spice level: 1 out of 5

Do not skip the authors note and acknowledgements! It speaks volumes about romance novels and the face disorder Sadie acquires. “Tragedy is given, but joy is a choice”

Katherine Center simply has a way with words leaving the reader contemplating their own experiences by the end. She always interweaves a life lesson into her books and this was no exception! Hello Stranger was a coming of age story navigating loss in more forms than one. Sadie, a second generation artist, ultimately learned that sometimes we have to lose a little to gain a lot in life. This book was an easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️’s for me!

Katherine Center is always a must read author for me! I felt so lucky to get this ARC from St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley!

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!

I loved this book. I loved the premise of this book. Looks aren’t everything in a relationship and this book proved it. Sadie’s character development was admirable and her strength was amazing

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my gosh! This is my first but definitely not my last book by Katherine Center! I absolutely loved her writing. It just pulls you in from the first page and you don’t want to stop reading it. You just want to keep going to figure out how the book is going to end and just get lost in the story. I thought this was such a cute premise and so different from a lot of the other romance books that I have read before.

You get so drawn into the characters lives and I feel like they are so relatable! You also see so much growth throughout the characters as the books go on and seeing Sadie start to live her life with the prosopagnosia just shows how much she grows throughout the book. Overall, HIGHLY recommend! Such a great book to get lost in and enjoy the ride that it takes you on!
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This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

Hello Stranger was the perfect light love story that I needed. Katherine Center is a remarkable author who gives the reader insight into different issues and at the same time portrays love.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this novel!

Katherine Center never fails to disappoint with her well-drawn and relatable heroines, and Sadie Montgomery is no exception, despite the uncommon obstacle she faces. Sadie's struggles with face blindness are portrayed with sensitivity and compassion, and her journey of coming to terms with her condition is both realistic and touching. And while I usually read for the romance, it was her journey that kept me turning the page. Hello Stranger is as heartfelt and uplifting as it was tragic. It’s a testament to the power of resilience and a reminder that even in the face of adversity, there is always hope.

This was a very unique premise on a book. I also find it rare that a romance novel actually helps you to learn something- Hello Stranger gave me insight into a diagnosis that I have never heard of. I appreciate when a book isn't all fluff and that added substance was nice.

You’re a struggling artist, trying to prove the world wrong about your abilities when a personal tragedy strikes. Out of nowhere, you experience a seizure, causing you to lose the ability to recognize facial features. This would suck no matter what, but imagine how devastating it would be if you were a portrait artist expecting to win an art contest and you suddenly can’t recognize faces. Essentially, the main character (Sadie’s) life is ruined. Can she live her life without being able to recognize people? Will she win the art contest? In the midst of this, will she find romance?

Heads up: If you don’t like the chatty, casual style of writing then you will not like this book.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the book and found myself laughing aloud many a time, I still think The Bodyguard was her better book. The main character in this tale was just a tad bit annoying to me.

When I saw that Katherine Center was releasing another rom com-esque book, I immediately knew I had to get my hands on it. And let me say… it did not disappoint! This book is an absolute delight.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who is finally about to get her big break— until an unexpected accident and surgery leave her with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia (AKA face blindness- yes, the psychologist in me nerded out at the neuroscience parts of this book!).

Readers will get to follow along Sadie’s journey to navigate her new challenge recognizing faces while also trying to prepare her upcoming art competition, navigate family drama, and date a mystery man from her apartment building.

Not only is Sadie an extremely lovable character, but her friends and support network will come to feel like your close friends, too (Sue! Mr. Kim! Even Lucinda, by the end…). Plus, this book has a twist that I did *not* see coming. Most importantly, Sadie’s story made me reflect on what it really means to be seen and to have hope during difficult times. For real, I simply could not have been more delighted by this book!

If you are looking for a rom-com that will keep you turning the page, giggling to yourself as you read, and feeling all the most warm and cozy feelings (despite whatever you may be going through in your own life)— this is the one for you!

I loved everything about this fun rom-com and couldn't put it down.

This is the story of Sadie who in an instant was thrown off her path in life. She develops the rare condition of face blindness and has to change the way she lives temporarily - as a portrait artist (quite difficult when you can't see faces!) and in trying to find love (also, difficult without being able to see faces). Sadie struggles to adapt, but while trying to avoid change she learns in time to lean into it. Sadie is sort of a mess, but a heartwarming mess you want to root for.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this perfect digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.