3 ⭐

I feel like Wednesday Addams, and this book was Enid forcing me into a reluctant hug that I somehow enjoyed.

This is the first book I've read by Katherine Center, and a huge deviation from the thriller/suspense/etc that I've been into for the last several years, so I didn't really have any particular expectations going into this one other than hoping for something fun and happy for a change.

I will say, it was a nice palate cleanser and the plot was decent, but for the most part is just had a way of grinding my gears.

I had a hard time connecting with the main character, Sadie. I got the sense that she was incredibly immature and it rubbed me the wrong way given that she was 28. I definitely thought she was around 19-21. I had to look at her through a new lense after her age was clarified, which probably made me dislike her behavior even more.

Sue seemed equally immature and unfortunately oblivious to Sadie's traumatic situation, to the point that I said out loud "What in the actual hell is your issue?!"

Parker. I could have done without that whole character. I picked up this book to get AWAY from the crazy, and here she is being a heinous sociopath just for funsies.

Lucinda had exactly one redeeming quality-- her willingness to help with her credit card and the dress.

I LOVED Dr. Nicole-- if she had her own book, I'd read it in a heartbeat.

The love interest twists were interesting. I need more of this. I was definitely Team Joe.

All in all, I feel like rating it a 3 is fair. It was easy to finish, I enjoyed it for the most part, but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center puts a new spin on confusion over identity. How can Sadie trust who’s who when she has just contracted face blindness? And how will she continue her career as a portrait artist? This romance contains likable characters, humorous situations, and light doses of life lessons. Sure, the premise may contain a few holes, but the overall execution is so charming, I didn’t notice. I highly recommend Hello Stranger to anyone looking for some light-hearted and endearing entertainment.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book. My review is voluntary and reflects my honest opinion.

Sadie wants to be an artist and she is excited when she is chosen to enter her portrait in a competition. She can really use the money if she wins. She is living in a studio in a building owned by her best friend Sue’s parents. Mr. Kim is like a father to her. While picking up items from the store and walking across the street she suddenly loses her balance. A good Samaritan keeps her from being run over. While in the hospital being examined from the fall, the doctor discovers she has face blindness. She can only see portions of people’s faces. Once home from the hospital, her dog Peanut gets sick, and she takes him to the vet. She meets Dr. Addison and believes he will be her future husband. She is excited that he asks her out on a date but then he has an emergency and does not show. Joe lives in her apartment and when she must have a model to sit for the portrait competition, he volunteers. It is hard to draw a face when you cannot see all of it, but Joe is patient, and they develop feelings for each other. She does not want anyone to know about her face blindness which adds a lot of conflict when it comes to the two men in her life. I loved this book. All the characters are ones you would love to be with except for the evil stepsister and stepmother. The struggles Sadie goes through with her doctors, parents, and friends bring you into her story. The men in her life and her friend Sue are wonderful examples of friendship and caring. Learning about face blindness was very interesting. This is a great love story with surprises throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Let me start by saying I loved this. Absolutely adored it. I went in with pretty high expectations since The Bodyguard was one of my favorite reads last year. This book did not disappoint! It was very fast paced, easy to read, and had a FMC that I connected with so easily. I loved Sadie so much and her attitude. She never gave up when things got hard and when she felt like quitting. I loved how she wasn't afraid to stick up for herself and be who she is. I loved her dog Peanut, the relationships she developed, and how this all wrapped up in the end. I also loved the writing style and how it felt like Sadie was talking directly to the reader. This book had me laughing out loud and smiling to myself. Easy 5/5 for me.

Goodreads review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5082846741

This book follows Sadie Montgomery who is a struggling artist. She is finally hoping her big break will come in the form of a portrait competition which helped propel her mom in her career. Unfortunately, after Sadie is chosen to participate she has a medical emergency which leaves her with a condition known as face blindness. Basically she sees someone face but cannot make out the shapes or recognize the person. It all looks like a Picasso painting. For someone who make her living on painting realistic portraits this causes a major issue.

I won't talk to much about the plot line as to avoid any spoilers but overall this was a good Katherine Center book, but not my favorite. To really put the pieces together at the end the way the author intended you have to make some pretty big leaps in reality.

While I struggled with some of the aspects of the story, this was a very entertaining read with some great characters that definitely kept me engaged and turning the pages. I loved Sadie and seeing her growth throughout the book. I also loved her relationship with the people in her building and her new vet.

This is a good read, but definitely plan to make some jumps in logic to get there. Fans of other Katherine Center books will enjoy this one.

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

Katherine Center never disappoints!

I loved the character, Sadie, and the writing. I truly felt I was Sadie's friend going along for the journey of self discovery, navigating challenging medical/health situations and of course falling a bit in love.

The book had me laughing out loud, smiling at the book and thinking deeply about what makes me happy and why I do certain things - is it for me or for someone else?

This book was the perfect romantic comedy for a lighthearted read. I can honestly say it had me completely guessing and in shock with every turn of events. The ending tired it all together in a sweet and romantic way that was totally unexpected!

Katherine Center can do no wrong and Hello Stranger just solidifies that!

The Bodyguard was one of my favorite books of 2022 and I was dying to get my hands on Hello Stranger. This books makes me want to instantly go back and read all of her previously published books to see what else I am missing. *Adds everything to TBR*

This book was absolutely amazing from start to finish. As soon as I finished all I wanted to do was start over again. There are very few books that make me do that.

I loved Sadie, Peanut and the all the work you can tell that Katherine put into researching acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia.

I'll admit that when I first started getting into this book that it seemed a little far-fetched. I mean, a portrait artist who gets into an accident and has to have brain surgery which then produces face blindness as a side effect... come on, right? But surprisingly, the author did a phenomenal job at creating a fun and quirky story line that had the most satisfying ending. If you are looking for a fun read with a complicated and messy main character with a side of romance, this is the book for you. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book is unique in that it focuses on Sadie, who after surgery, develops acquired prosopagnosia, or face blindness. A lot of the book focuses on how difficult it is to adapt to a world where everyone feels like a stranger all while dealing with the uncertainty of starting something new with someone. Overall, this book is a fun, light, 3.5-star read. However, the big twist is predictable even before picking up the book and the source of a lot of the tension in the book is caused by characters who are over the top villains "because it's fun." Some of that characterization is filled in towards the very end of the book, but feels over the top and cartoonish throughout. Most of the characters seem immature relative to their ages. What keeps this book enjoyable is the added uncertainty around her romantic interests caused by her sudden inability to rely on her brain to tell her who she is seeing. Overall, it's worth the read, but isn't hitting my best-of Katherine Center list.

"Seeing the world differently helps you see things not just that other people can't, but that you yourself never could if you weren't so lucky. It let's you make your own rules. Color outside your own lines. Allow yourself another way of seeing."

This is my second Katherine Center book and I would say it’s probably my favorite so far. I laughed, cried, smiled and just FELT SO MUCH with this one.

Center did an amazing job with the character development throughout this story which always makes me feel that so much more connected with the story.

This entertaining, finding yourself, light romance is centered around Sadie, a rising portrait artist who just got the spot in a portrait competition for $10k. This same competition is the same one her late mother was working towards before she passed away. Needless to say, winning this competition is important to her for a lot of reasons.

Sadie lost her mother when she 14 years old. Her father then spiraled and removed himself from her life while he was suffering himself. He married a Martha Stewart lookalike that came with an evil stepsister. Those three then turned completely against Sadie and never believed anything that Sadie said. Eventually sending her to boarding school. Sadie grew up feeing alone and never wanting to ask a single person for help.

Sadie was walking home one day when she suddenly had a seizure in the street and a Good Samaritan saved her life. At the hospital, she was informed she had to have brain surgery. She thought that brain surgery was going to be the biggest hurdle to cross over before the competition; however, when she woke up with face blindness it was life changing.

Sadie underwent therapy, learned that it was okay to ask people for help, and accept help, from others, mended relationships and fell in love. She saw life in a different way than she ever had before.

This was a 5 star for me that I devoured in a short time. Throughly enjoyed this novel by Katherine Center.

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

I love all of Katherine Center's books, so I was excited to read this one! Although it wasn't my favorite of hers (still swooning over The Bodyguard), I still really enjoyed this book. My one complaint is about the evil stepsister. I felt like her character was a little far-fetched and it seemed to "cheapen" the book by making it too over-the-top. Other than that, it was a solid read for me. Also, not to be missed, the author's note at the end. She nailed it.

5 stars. Every time I read a new book by Katherine Center I think… this book, this one is my favorite. Only to be eclipsed by the next book I read from her. So I’m here today to say that Hello Stranger just may be my favorite book Center has written. Yes, parts of it were predictable. And it kind of played out exactly how I thought it would, but I don’t care. Hello Stranger felt like getting a warm hug and it will surely be one I read over and over again. Like The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger was less emotional than Center’s other books. Sadie, the main character, is faced with a medical condition that drastically alters her life, but it’s not necessarily life or death like in Center’s other books. Like a lot of Center’s characters, Sadie has a difficult relationship with her family, so part of the book is about improving those relationships. And of course, the romance. I loved helpful Joe. Center truly writes some of the sweetest characters, and Joe is right up there with the rookie with regard to how sweet and patient and kind he is to Sadie. Center is one of my favorite authors, and books like this are exactly why. Even though her books deal with some serious subject matter, I always walk away feeling good. Because at their core, Center’s books are about love and hope and finding happiness. And I think that’s something we could all use a little more of.

Thank you so much to Center, St Martins Press, and netgalley for the advanced copy.

I love a good Katherine Center set-up and this was no exception. She has a special way of bringing things full circle and I loved how this one ended. Appropriately funny and sarcastic, but also heartfelt. I love when good guys finish first.

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress for the eARC!
•••
Hello Stranger • Katherine Center
[releases July 2023]
•••
I have slowly been working my way through Katherine Center books and was thrilled to get to read her newest! What these books do best is have romcom elements along deeper themes that make you connected to the characters. This one has a very unique plot line that made me interested but also make me scratch my head a few times. Due to a large plot point, parts of this book had me wondering at the plausibility. I did enjoy it very much (read in a day), but this one won’t make my list of my faves! .

This novel was absolutely delightful!

"Hello Stranger" is about Sadie, who's had a tough go at life. After finally getting her big break drawing portraits she is in an accident and ends up with brain surgery that gives her a Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, which her art heavily relies on. This spins her life an entirely different way. Through her healing she meets Joe, her neighbor, and Dr. Addison - both of whom end up in her head, and heart. As she figures out her new normal, she learns a lot about herself that would never have been possible without the surgery she curses.

I just love a book that makes you feel ALL THE FEELS. This book made me laugh out loud, smile till my face hurt, frustrated at times, and HOPE. There was an awesome twist, that I didn't see coming, until it was right there. As with all of Center's books, I absolutely adored the female lead - Sadie. She was so endearing, funny, and I rooted for her throughout the whole book.

The best part of Center's books is the feeling you have after reading. It's just pure happiness. This is a book I can't wait to buy, because it'll always give that fluttery feeling, and I need those kinds of books when life gets to be too hard sometimes. 5/5 glowing stars!

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I'm so appreciative!

As usual, I love Katherine Center. This book was great! I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. So many great characters that kept me hooked!

This book was sweet! Sadie is an artist, struggling on a lot of levels, who has a brain surgery that leaves her face-blind. This causes a whole lot of chaos for a lot of reasons, namely that she begins to develop feelings for her neighbor Joe and vet Oliver simultaneously.

It’s no surprise by the end of the book that Joe and Oliver are the same guy, but the book does a lot of self-referential justifying to get there. It’s a fun, sweet romance story, but the last bit feels like the end of a crime story where the bad guy lays out his whole plan in a monologue.

Will keep reading Katherine Center, and I did really love Sadie!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for this ARC! I love Katherine Center books and Hello Stranger was a lovely story!! Some say love is blind, Sadie would say Love is Blurry.

I loved the humor and character growth in Sadie. Forced to overcome several tragedies, including the loss of her mother and the life she knew, Sadie created a life for herself. While not the most optimistic person, she learned that how you see things in life is a choice. And when you can't physically see things, you have to use your other senses to help you!

Katherine Center does it again! This book was such a fun ride. It centers around face blindness, which is a condition I knew nothing about, and I love learning a little something while having so much fun swooning. I loved anticipating what came next and falling in love with Joe. KC had an author’s note at the end about romance novels that explained why I love romance novels and I wish it was published somewhere for me to share widely. Can’t wait for her next book!