I thought this book represented so much and I loved that! It was creative and unique which was my initial impression when I went to pick this book up. It was cozy and cute. But even with all that, I felt like the romance was quite forced and cringe. I also felt like the story was so slow that at times I lost interest with the overuse of wordage. I’m probably a minority here in regard to this book but I still enjoyed it nonetheless!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press this Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

I have only read one other book by Katherine Center, which I enjoyed, so I was excited to read this one. I was truly not disappointed.

Sadie is a portrait artist, content with her meager happy life. Until one day, everything changes when she is told that she needs to have brain surgery and everything is unended. Sadie wakes up to find that she has Apperceptive Prosopagnosia or face blindness. And as a portrait artist, she has no idea how she will move on.

In the meantime, she meets her new vet, Dr. Addison, and begins planning her imaginary wedding. While getting used to her new, hopefully temporary situation, Sadie also meets her neighbor, Joe, who she had already judged after overhearing a phone conversation.

Sadie must find a way to adjust her painting and hope that her brain gets back to normal.

I loved that the overall feel of the book was optimistic despite the heavier undertones. The characters were all likeable (well except Parker but she was the villain that you love to hate.) The supporting characters added the perfect balance to the story. I did feel that the ending was a little rushed, and the conclusion was set up to be predictable. But it was really a delightful book.

Definitely recommend.

Sadie Montgomery is a struggling face artist, who is mourning her mother. She knows her father and stepmother view her as a failure. She has become insular to avoid being hurt. When Sadie becomes a finalist in a major art competition, she has accident which affects her vision. With the help of her friends, she must learn to trust her instincts in art, and her personal life. The reader roots for Sadie on her journey is self discovery.

This was a meet cute romance that I enjoyed! I’d give it 3.5/4 of 5 stars.

I enjoyed Sadie’s overall character. I felt at points she displayed some immaturity, specifically within her inner-dialogue. She was also a bit of a pessimist at points, but it’s probably not easy to see the optimism in most things with the post-surgical diagnosis she received. As the book went on, I appreciated the change of view she had on both her diagnosis and how it impacted her life. It started to create a bit more clarity to her overall being, and gave her some more optimistic views on life.

I also felt there was a bit of miscommunication between Sadie and the main character. I won’t dive into this further, as I don’t want to give too much away. I DID enjoy the ending, and the overall plot of the story was unique for the standard rom coms I’ve read. However, reflecting back, I’m unsure how some important details weren’t ‘discovered’ earlier between the main characters.

About halfway through the book, I felt it really started to pick up and I was excited to keep reading! I also enjoyed the family drama that was sprinkled into the mix.

I have not read any other Katherine Center books, but “Bodyguard” is on my list, and I’m looking forward to it. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me an early copy of this book and allowing me to read it!


This review was also posted on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5319574813

Another super cute, sweet romance from Katherine Center! I love the way Center turns the worst thing that happens to someone into a lovely romance. I found this story so adorable.

Katherine Center never disappoints, and Hello Stranger is no exception. I loved the unique storyline and the family themes that were explored in this book. It was beautiful to see how Sadie's relationship with her dad unfolded. I did struggle a little bit through the first half of the book, but once I got into it, I FLEW. I absolutely loved the epilogue - I felt it was very inspirational and loved seeing how Sadie adjusted to her circumstances. Overall, it's a perfect read if you need something light.

Such a good romance! The characters were likable and believable. The story was great and the steam was perfect!

I love Katherine Center & her newest book does not disappoint! It was SO good. So encouraging.
Release date: July 11,2023.
Thank you NetGalley!

Synopsis~
Love isn’t blind, it’s just little blurry.

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life―placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition―the next she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls in love―not with one man but two. The timing couldn’t be worse.

Making judgment calls on anything right now is a nightmare. If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to have it all.

Katherine Center is an instant buy for me! There isn’t a book of hers that I have not enjoyed. This book was extraordinary. Strangers to lovers is such a great romance trope & Katherine Center mastered it! It was a tear jerker at times but also made me blush with cuteness. I love books about family as I relate to them. Katherine’s books make you laugh, make you cry, make you appreciate life & your family! This is the second book I’ve read about prosopagnosia, I’ve never heard of this condition until this year. So it was interesting to learn the trials and tribulations of someone struggling with this condition. And it just goes to show you that love is possible for all!! Sadie is such a wonderful character. This book went by so fast. My favorite is still Things You Save in a Fire but this one is definitely a close second and still a 5 star read!!

A great sequel to this amazing series! It was a little too fluffy for me (I prefer something with a little more tension and spice) but the storytelling and characters were phenomenal! It very much gives me the vibe of ‘Part of your world’ so I would recommend this book to anyone that loved that book!

Another Katherine Center hit that leaves you feeling so HAPPY.
This book was the distraction that I needed right now. Everything that you would hope for: a unique plot, romance (with an unexpected love triangle), and family issues.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist that is set to have her big break in an upcoming competition. She is finally ready to prove to her family and herself that she is not a failure and can find success as an artist. After a fluke accident, urgent brain surgery is necessary against Sadie’s wishes.
Unfortunately, the surgery leaves her with a rare condition of prosopragnosia- otherwise known as ‘face blindness.’ Not an ideal situation for a portrait artist..
Sadie must not only learn how to navigate and continue with her upcoming competition, but also adjust to dating without recognizing the face of who she is interacting with.
Sadie finds herself caught in a love triangle between her charming neighbor Joe, and her handsome dream-husband veterinarian, Oliver. Oliver is handsome, successful and takes incredible care of her beloved dog, Peanut. But Joe is always there for her, charming and comforting. She chooses to move forward with one relationship while breaking the heart of another..

This story is filled with an interesting and unique plot, characters that you’ll fall in love with, and an unexpected love triangle with twists and turns. I had never heard of prosopagnosia before so it was really interesting to learn about this condition through this book.
One of my favorite parts of the entire thing: the author’s note. Don’t miss it!

A fabulous read for the summer!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this one, not my favorite of hers but it was a very intriguing storyline. As usual she has created a great cast of leading characters, Sadie and Joe were both awesomely written and incredibly likable. I liked Sadie so much that I'll never forgive her for forgiving her extending family so easily, she at least could have made them grovel a bit!

I might be the last person on earth that is able to say, I had never read a Katherine Center book previous to this. Though she has a lot of books that seem right up my alley- this just happened to be the first one I had the pleasure of ready.

Face-blindness is a recurring theme I have noticed in novels over the recent years. Typically in thrillers, I don't know how I feel about this as a plot device. Regardless, it seemed to be handled gently and respectfully in this case.

Overall a good romance and all around story and I look forward to reading from this author again.

This book was such a treat! I loved the storyline and getting to see things from the point of view of someone with prosopagnosia. The main character, Sadie, is a portrait artist that develops prosopagnosia (face blindness) and as a result she struggles to identify people in her life. She gets to know her neighbor Joe who she initially writes off as being a jerk— only to realize her initial impression of him was wrong. She finds herself falling for him while also pining for her handsome vet. The story was unique and took twists that I didn’t see coming! This story made me laugh and cry. As someone who lost her mom, I appreciated the details about Sadie’s mom who passed away and how she continues to honor her mothers legacy. It warmed my heart. I will definitely be reading more of Katherine Center and am thankful for this ARC!

I very much enjoyed this book!

I loved the premise and how different the story was surrounding the face blindness.

I was rooting for Sadie and Joe the entire time and although I had some ideas I’d how it would end, I was still very happy how things tied up.

I adored this book! I devoured it in just about 24 hours. I was so excited to get this as an ARC because I have loved so many of Katherine Center’s other books. There were a few errors and a timeline/location with a secondary character that didn’t line up, but that didn’t affect my overall love for this story. I found one plot point a bit hard to believe, but since I have never experienced face blindness, it’s hard for me to judge the believability of that sequence of events. I read a lot of romance and this book had me SWOONING!! It was also refreshing to read a closed door romance. Highly recommend!!

I loved this book. I found it easy to relate to. The story line was great.I would recommend it to friends and family.

This book was a perfect read of an original plot, hopeful romance, and enough flubs and miscommunications to make it wonderfully not sappy. Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who has just been listed as a finalist for an art show that could give her the break she has been looking for. However, Sadie has never thought of herself as lucky. Throw in a cavernoma, brain surgery, and acquired prosopagnosia (face blindness) along with a touch of dead mother, distanced father, and an evil stepsister and you have the perfect storm for a delightfully entertaining romance.

Katherine Center is an auto-read author for me. Her books are all relatable and her plots are original without being far-fetched. This one is my new favorite. I love that I learned about a topic I don't know much about while also falling in love with the characters and rooting for them to figure out so they could end up either their happy-ever-after. This was a very heart-warming read and these characters will stick with me for quite awhile.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I loved the unique story line. Nothing felt overly predictable. And the characters! Sadie was such a a great MC. Sometimes I feel like authors try to write the "quirky female lead" and miss the mark, but Sadie was truly such a great character. The chemistry and build up between her and Joe was perfect.

Fell in love with Sadie & Joe and truly enjoyed this story. I felt for her a lot and admired her independence and determination. She was love able and relatable. This was a very unique concept that was executed very well, kept me intrigued the whole time. Read in one day, couldn’t put it down.