2.5-3 ⭐️ First time reading a NetGalley advance copy! The covers for Katherine Center books are stunning. I didn’t love this one but I didn’t hate it. Writing style was a little choppy in the beginning. The main character couldn’t have had more bad luck, yet everything managed to be quickly wrapped up in a nice little bow by the end. Would I recommend? Only if your book stack is empty. Will I read KC’s next book? Absolutely.

This is up there as one of my favorite Katharine Center books. Are they a little predictable? Sure. But what’s unexpected is the amount of hope, positivity, and perspective you get on life. I was constantly highlighting little phrases that I wanted to stick with me when life throws unexpected curve balls my way. I love how they’re light, while at the same time dealing with a heavier topic. It adds depth to otherwise cheesy chic lit. There’s even a fun little twist at the end that just leaves you feeling happy all around. It’s not your basic romcom.
Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy!

Thank you so much for the early copy of Hello, Stranger. Katherine Center is one of my absolute favorite authors and true a top notch creative and human. This story was so surprising to me…introducing a medical condition I had never heard of previously which became integral to the plot and movement of the narrative. Sitting in bed with covid this week meant a break to soak up the goodness of this book, the “hopefulness” that Katherine speaks of in her author’s note at the end. I sure felt that! Thank you for a lovely book to brighten my really rough week!

This was such a unique and really well written book!

THINGS I LIKED
- the dialogue style: Joe and Sadie have a really fun way of talking to each other it’s a sort of unique style that feels like a language between them that the rest of the world doesn’t have
- Sadie’s vulnerability: it was beautiful to see her character ARC and the times when she was most vulnerable were the best. Her overcoming her grief was really amazing
- the face blindness elements: really unique and well handled. Felt like the author actually knew what she was going through and felt real to me.
- act three: a really great act three breakup and conclusion. I was crying at Sadie’s voicemail that she left. The authors note also brought me to tears.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
- Sadie’s family/sister subplot: took up too much of the narrative and was quite annoying. her stepsister is too mean it’s almost a caricature like nobody acts like that. When her dad just apologizes after a lifetime of emotional neglect and trauma… nah
- the first few chapters: the pacing felt a bit off in the beginning and wish this had hooked me in quicker.
- Joe’s character: felt kind of bland. It felt like his only personality trait was being nice. I wish he had been a bit more jaw dropping

Overall thought this was a lovely read and made me really emotional. One of the more unique and compelling romances i’ve read this year so far. Thank you to Netgalley and st martins for the ARC!

I felt that the characters were very realistic. I fell in love with Joe. I had both sympathy and anger toward Sadie ( the main character). I was totally unaware that there was a condition known as face blindness existed. It was enlightening to get perspectives from the different characters involved with Sadie. I enjoyed the book and connected with Sadie as to her love of Peanut, her dog. Thanks to the author for introducing me and readers to a subject that educates as well as entertains. I would recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Another great book by Katherine Center, I have enjoyed all her other novels, and this one certainly held up. A great storyline. A well developed main character. Love the originality of this storyline. This is a great fun easy read I will highly recommend it to friends and family. Thank you for my advance copy

I've read many Katheine Center books and have enjoyed them all, so I was looking forward to her latest release. This one did not disappoint.

Sadie is an artist who recently got a big break by landing a spot as a finalist in an art competition. But, when Sadie has to have a sudden surgical procedure on her brain, she finds that one of the side effects from her recovery period has left her with a condition that leaves her with face blindness. Sadie now has to find a way to cope with her sudden condition that makes completing her art project all the more difficult.

Sadie was a strong character who has her struggles as she learns to cope with her recovery. She has a good support system with her friend Sue, who tries to help Sadie cope with her sudden condition. Sadie also finds a helping hand from her neighbor Joe, who seems to be around whenever Sadie needs help. As Sadie learns some coping mechanisms to help with her face blindness, she is determined to complete her painting and continue with the art competition.

I really enjoyed the relationship that forms between Sadie and Joe, what started with Sadie disliking Joe, turned into more as she gets to know him better. Joe was such a nice guy, who was someone who always lends a helping hand to anyone in need.

On a side note, I love when dogs are in a book. It was fun to see Sadie's dog Peanut.

This was a fun, quick, and cute read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Contemporary Fiction

This book deserves every good thing said about it!

Sadie Montgomery is on the cusp of what she hopes will be a major win in her life. She is one of 10 finalists for a national portrait competition. The winner gets $10,000. She needs this money. She has been struggling financially ever since she decided to give up a career in medicine for art. Her father, a successful doctor, cut her off and she has been living hand to mouth ever since.

Six weeks before the competition, Sadie has a seizure and discovers that she needs brain surgery. The surgery is successful, but afterwards she can no longer see faces. How is a portrait artist supposed to paint if they cannot see the face of their subject?

While Sadie navigates this temporary/possibly permanent change in her life. The relationships she has with her father, step-mother, step-sister and even friends change. Sadie refuses to tell anyone but those closest to her about her condition, so her interactions with her neighbors and strangers makes for interesting encounters. Along the way, Sadie gets a crush on her veterinarian and an unlikely man in her building. The development of these relationships is sweet and creates some extraordinary twists.

I loved these characters! I loved this story! This book cements Center as a go to author for contemporary relationship novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

Really cute book about memory loss and love. A lot of great characters (and one terrible one ughhh!) with a plot that kept things moving briskly. Katherine Center is wonderful!

How do we find our way when we feel lost?

This question is at the heart of Hello Stranger, as Sadie is forced to confront learning how to trust other people in a world where she doesn't even trust herself. Center's writing pulls the reader in as you feel Sadie's initial confusion and slow build of confidence in herself after a rare medical condition rocks her world. You'll love following Sadie's journey as she finds herself, finds family, and looks for love in this heartfelt novel from Katherine Center.

Let me start by saying that I finished this book in less than 24 hours. I loved it so much!

This story follows Sadie, whose life seems to be a complete mess. She’s struggling to find success as a portrait artist, suffering with grief from the loss of her mother fourteen years ago, and also trying to navigate her messed up family drama. 6 weeks before a competition that could change her life and jumpstart her career as a portrait artist, Sadie discovers that she needs brain surgery. After basically being forced by her estranged father to have the surgery, she develops acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, aka face blindness. How is a portrait artist supposed to paint portraits if she can’t see people’s faces?! To add insult to injury, after coming home from her surgery, Sadie’s elderly dog falls ill and her evil stepsister, Parker, moves into her apartment building. The only thing that doesn’t seem to be falling apart is Sadie’s love life.

This was such a fun, easy read. It was funny, frustrating, heartwarming, and just ahhhhh! I did guess the big twist at the end, but the anticipation was *chef’s kiss* Like Katherine Center says in her Author’s Note, “This love story really created fantastic anticipation."

Also, as a Korean American, I loved the little bits of Korean culture she added to the book.

I loved every minute of this book and rated it 5/5 stars. If you like love triangles, close proximity, family drama, and/or dogs, this is a MUST read.

Thanks to @netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC to read and review. ♡

Adorable and creative love story. This author is a great write who has different stories that are funny, charming, and playful. I never really liked these kind of stories until I read “Bodyguard” last year. She is a better writer than Coho. If you want something cute and uplifting read her books. :)

Joyful and smile-inducing, as always, Center's latest tackles art and identity alongside themes about grief, forgiveness, the complexities of human interdependence, and the many ways we see--or don't see--the world and people around us. With a compelling plot about a portrait artist who can no longer see faces due to the after-effects of brain surgery, our heroine is forced to rethink the ways she sees and the ways she creates. Although the book never mentions the pandemic, these themes hit especially hard at this time, as I think any of us who create art for a living had to rethink our own relationships to the act of creation. Like the heroine, most of us also rethought our relationships to ourselves and the people around us. Of course, we also get a sweet love story, full of heart-fluttery attraction, funny banter, and longed-for kisses. Center gives the reader lots of clues about where the love story is going, such that we know before the heroine does what she's not seeing and how her biggest obstacle to happiness might be no obstacle at all. It's a hard structure to pull off--letting us get ahead of the mystery--but Center does it well, making me root for the heroine to reach for her joy, so we could celebrate together. I love that Center's books embrace the necessity of kindness and compassion. Her love interests are handsome and adoring, but their defining trait is often their kindness, their sincere acts of care. And her heroines' struggles are so relatable as they try to appear flawlessly independent and "okay" to the world before gradually coming to the conclusion that no one is always okay and everyone needs help sometimes. I'm grateful for the early read on this one, and I'll be back for whatever Center writes next.

*Thank you to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for the ARC*

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is actually my 4th book of hers that I’ve read. I’ve always enjoyed her work, particularly The Bodyguard & Things You Save In a Fire, so when there was an ARC for her new book, I didn’t second guess my request. Now? Now I’m feeling a little uneasy because I have to review an author that I previously liked so, so much! I literally “saved” a couple of Center’s other books to read on days where I’m recovering from a book hangover or in a reading slump. All this to say, Hello Stranger felt like a different beast from what Center’s written before. True there are some common themes: the FMC overcoming a tragic past, struggling with another set of problems in her current life, being the “underdog” who’s been wronged, and of course the love story. But the biggest difference for me were the other FMCs were extremely likable and the story itself didn’t feel like a writing assignment on facial blindness, brain surgery, portrait painting, or Peanut, the dog. I even felt like there was ad for a Pajanket slipped in there. *sigh* Anyways, enough griping.

Hello Stranger centers around Sadie, a struggling portrait artist who is going THROUGH IT. By it, I mean everything. Her mom died when she was young, leaving her with her absent dad, who latched onto another family so fast, Sadie felt replaced by her evil stepmother & stepsister. She was squatting in her art studio/hovel. She had no love life. And when she finally felt like she was getting her big break (being a finalist in a portrait competition) she gets into an accident which subsequently causes her to undergo brain surgery, which causes her to have temporary, possibly permanent facial blindness. Oh noooo! Facial blindness for a portrait artist?! If you’re unfamiliar with facial blindness, fear not, for you’ll go on Sadie’s googling journey with her, along with TESTIMONIALS from other patients with the same condition. Say less! In fact, I’ll take my own advice. Sadie was just so blah for me, even before the accident, I went from disliking her to not caring what happens to her at all. I didn’t enjoy the writing, the storyline, or the absurd plot. I think the facial blindness aspect could have been really interesting and way more entertaining if it didn’t just feel so…boring. It felt like Center was just throwing hail Mary’s with over the top drama and twists to inject SOMETHING into the story but it wasn’t enough to save it. 2.5/5 stars cause I’m sure there are people out there that would enjoy this, I just unfortunately wasn’t one of them. Also, the ending was too predictable, so I’m rounding down. Hello Stranger publishes in July ‘23.

This was such a unique story. I had never heard of face blindness before this book. Sadie has to have brain surgery to fix a blood vessel issue she wakes up with face blindness, which means she can’t recognize people’s faces. This is a major problem because Sadie is a portrait artist with a deadline for a big competition coming up. This book has a lot of parts to it that I really enjoyed, I loved Peanut the elderly dog who had fancy food tastes, Sue the best friend was fun, there was humor, and of course I enjoyed all of the interactions with Neighbor Joe! I liked that it had some serious aspects to the story as well as the humor that balanced out nicely. The family dynamics were interesting(I hate evil stepsister Parker), but I enjoyed the stepmother Lucinda. If you liked Katherine Center’s other books you will also enjoy this one, it’s solid read that I didn’t want to put down.

When this title became available on NetGalley I immediately downloaded it and began reading. I knew I was going to love it (I mean, Katherine Center wrote it), but I just didn’t know how much!

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who has just landed a spot in a prestigious portrait competition which may be the big break she’s been waiting for. After meeting a handsome stranger, Sadie has a seizure which uncovers that she needs brain surgery which cannot be put off until after the competition.

Sadie wakes up from her surgery with “Face Blindness” and can’t recognize people she’s known for years, but she still knows her dog Peanut’s face anywhere! When Peanut needs emergency veterinary care, Sadie meets Dr. Oliver Addison who she instantly falls in love with. Sadie is excited when Dr. Addison asks her on a date only to be disappointed when he stands her up. While the handsome doctor may not be available, Sadie’s annoying neighbor, Joe, always seems to be around. As Sadie begins to form a friendship with Joe she realizes that maybe there’s more to their friendship than she originally thought.

From the beginning I knew that Sadie was going to be a character that I cared about. I loved the progression of her relationship with Joe as well as watching Sadie learn to navigate life unable to see faces.

This is everything! If you’re looking for a swoon worthy RomCom with a bit of depth that will make you laugh, then cry, this is it. The characters are fun, likable and are someone you could actually see yourself meeting in real life.. all besides Parker. The dynamic between Sadie and Mr. Kim is my favorite! I found myself so excited for the book to end just for the final realization and it did not disappoint!

What do you do when you are a portrait painting artist and develop face blindness after surgery? For Sadie it includes some denial, some hibernation (or hiding), and some self pity. Thankfully she can still see Peanuts face, her dog who will live forever. Throw in some family drama, and a love triangle and you have the makings of a good book.
For me it was meh read though. Sadie got to be annoying, Parker needed to get over herself and Sue is a supposed best friend but can’t remember Sadie can’t see faces ?!

I really enjoyed this book. Read it in an afternoon. Loved the plot and the character development. Was sad when it ended!

Romance books tend to fall into two separate categories for me. The ones that make me smile and the ones that make me cringe. This one made me smile!

Our main character is Sadie. She loves her dog, painting portraits, and living the artist life in her hovel/studio. Things are going well until a problem with her brain leaves her unable to paint portraits or even recognize those around her -- including a possible new love interest or two!

I like books where I learn something new. This book introduced me to prosopagnosia and helped me understand what that might be like to wake up one day and not be able to recognize any faces around me.

While this book gave me memorable characters, fun mistaken identity scenes, a feel good ending, and the knowledge that Sadie's dog Peanut will likely live forever, I was a little put off by the flatness of some of the side characters and the cruelty of one character in particular.

My favorite parts were Sadie's coming to terms with how prosopagnosia was going to affect her art, and the love triangle with Sadie, Oliver, and Joe.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advance copy of the book for my honest review.