I happily received an advance copy of Hello Stranger from Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press In exchange for an honest review. Excited was an understatement since I haven’t read a Katherine Center book I didn’t like. This story follows the struggle of Sadie, a portrait artist, who is on the verge of her big break. Following in the footsteps of her deceased mother, Sadie has been honored with an opportunity to win an award in a prestigious portrait competition. Without giving anything away, Sadie has a life changing event that has impacts on her personal and professional lives. This story follows Sadie as the navigates her new normal striving to win the portrait contest, find love and happiness and cope with challenging family dynamics. A heartfelt novel that is cute, funny and just plain brain candy, Hello Stranger kept me turning pages into the wee hours.

I'm so excited I got this one. I loved the Bodyguard, but this one was amazing. I loved learning about what happens to Sadie. I didn't even know it was a real thing and got me thinking about how crazy life would be if I had that happen. I loved the message of loving yourself and the relationship that she had with Peanut. I won't give away the twist, but I definitely laughed out loud a lot during the last couple of chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this fantastic book!

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, and her books are auto-reads for me. Sadie was absolutely hilarious and so relatable. Like one of my favorite fmcs ever. And seeing her personal journey and the anticipation of the ending felt so personal to me. This was a love triangle, but I didn’t hate it, which really speaks to how much I love this author. I didn’t see the twist coming at all, but now I really want to read it all over again.

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

Absolutely loved this book! Loved all exploring all the layers Sadie was dealing with and seeing how she handled them. Can't wait for Katherine Center's next book!

Sadie has always been interested in art and wants it to be her career. She finally gets a chance at her big break. But then, she is almost killed in an accident and suffers loss of facial recognition as a result. This is detrimental to her art since she paints portraits.

Over the course of the story, Sadie learns so much about herself including the role art has in her life and that asking for help is important for everyone.

It’s a story of hope and forgiveness with a little romance and a twist I did not see coming, at all. I’ve read several books by this author and this one is my new favourite.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for making this ARC available to read. This is my honest review.

Have you ever read a book that felt like you were reading your own diary? That’s what this book is like! I loved the way it was written exactly like Sadie’s thoughts; crazy, random, and so relatable. Katherine Center’s books are always so sweet with and amazing storyline and Hello Stranger was no different.

Through boy troubles, parent struggles, and evil step-sister probs, this book has it all and should definitely be added to your TBR once published.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Love isn’t blind, it’s just a 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 pile of disconnected features.
The timing couldn't be worse. If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to have it all.

Thank you to @St. Martin’s Press and @netgalley for the digital ARC of this book 💛

Katherine Center does it again (and again and again)! Her books are always so well written & the right mix of sweet, realistic characters dealing with serious issues...Hello Stranger did not disappoint. While I had never heard of prosopagnosia before, I liked learning a little more about it. I also loved her neighbor Joe and his whole character arc! I would absolutely recommend this book (and all other Katherine Center books) to anyone and everyone. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall I did enjoy this book. Sadie has to go through a really bad time in her life to get to the good. It's a bit cathartic for her in the end and I think worth her going through it. She learns a lot about herself and what she can accomplish. Sadie and Joe's relationship is fine to witness and even more interesting when truths a revealed.

Oh. My. Goodness. WHAT A BOOK!
I absolutely devoured this book and I can't wait for everyone else to be able to enjoy it! This book is absolutely amazing. The ending made my jaw DROP! Katherine Center knocked it out if the park!

Sadie is an aspiring artist waiting on her career to take off. And waiting, and waiting. When Sadie finally gets news that's she is a finalist in a portrait competition, the same competition her late mother was also a finalist in, she sees this as her opportunity for a big break in her career! Shortly after getting this great news, Sadie is told she needs a minor brain surgery for a weak blood vessel in her brain.

As a side effect of her surgery, Sadie develops prosopagnosia, or facial blindness, she can no longer see people's faces.

As you can imagine, this is a problem given that she is a portrait artist for a living. Along her road to recovery, Sadie finds herself falling for 2 separate men. Her devastatingly handsome veterinarian and her douchey downstairs neighbor.

After being stood up on a date, she confides in her neighbor and slowly realizes they might have more than just a simple friendship. But what to do about the handsome veterinarian? Sadie is navigating a new way of life facing the facial blindness, all while still trying to make her dreams come true, and sort out her love life!

ARC from NetGalley

I've never met a Katherine Center book I didn't like, and this one was no exception! The story was cute with just enough drama sprinkled in. Of course I cried, like I do during any of her novels. The only two things I didn't particularly enjoy were (1) the predictable "plot twist" at the end (seriously, I'm the worst at sensing a plot twist and I called it almost right away), and (2) the characters felt kind of...meh. I didn't dislike them, but I wasn't sad to see them go.

The Bodyguard is still far and away my favorite of Katherine Center's books, but I still enjoyed Sadie's story and would definitely recommend it.

I fell in love with this book by the end of the first page. I love the way Katherine Center writes. She uses humor while still having a serious topic/storyline. This book had me laughing, shocked, angry, and sad, some of thesse often aat the same time. I read it in 3 days and it would have been faster had life not ended up in the way. I definitely give it 5 stars and would give it more if I could.

A beautiful story about Sadie Montgomery, a struggling portrait artist, that has an accident that ends with her having Face Blindess. This diagnosis rocks her as she is just about to start work on a portrait for a contest thay could win her a lot of money, and hopefully win her some points with her dad. She is now an artist that cannot see a face as a face, but instead, as fragments. Her best friend, Sue, helps where and when she can.

In the meantime, her dog Peanut becomes sick. She rushes him to the vet where she meets dashing, Dr Oliver Addison. She can't see his face but can tell he is handsome and kind. She's also trying to deal with grumpy, troublesome, Joe from her apartment building. He slowly grows on her and shows his helpful, fun side. Which man will win her heart in the end?

I loved this book. And this author. I read the bodyguard last year and hated myself that i wait to read it for so long so as soon as i saw this on netgalley i had to request it with no hesitation. And no regrets this way the characters were great and so very relatable and the plot was so good i was hooked by thr girst characters I cant wait to read more from Katherine center. I'll even read her grocery list. So worth the read 5 stars this way

After finally getting the career break she’s been looking for, Sadie ends up in an accident and after surgery learns she now has face blindness and for a portrait artist it’s career ending. Struggling, Sadie must learn to live navigate her “new normal” and finds an unlikely alley in her building but doesn’t know who he is.

Some thoughts I had while reading
-Sadie has had it rough- losing her mom at such a young age, her dad casting her aside and creating a new family, and then her face blindness
-Sue is selfish and not a very good friend; how can you forget what your best friend is going through constantly
-Joe, her neighbor, was surprising in a good way and turned out to be just who she needed in her time of need even when she didn’t realize it
-Sadie’s family is insanely dysfunctional and I don’t like how their issues would wrapped up quickly; I wouldn’t be so quick to welcome them back into my life after everything they did and didn’t do
-I understood Sadie’s struggle to grasp for the good things especially after her accident
-I learned more about face blindness after finishing Hello Stranger

I still enjoyed the story but it didn’t become my new favorite Katherine Center book. I think it’s gonna be really hard to knock off Things You Save in a Fire, although The Bodyguard came close.



Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Sadie, a portrait artist, was diagnosed with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness. Follow Sadie and her journey to find herself and her place in the artistic community with her new found disability. This book has the most unique plot line, but there is just something missing that I cannot exactly put my finger on.

I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. I know it’s only February, but this might be my favorite book this year.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! I can’t wait to recommend this book to all of my friends and family.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this arc in exchange for my honest feedback.

I absolutely adored The Bodyguard, so I was anxious t get my hands on this one, and once i did I read it in a day. Sadie's accident and subsequent surgery and losing her art really set up high emotional stakes. I loved how much care the author gave to the complexity of having such a condition and that Sadie didn't just give up on trying to paint her portrait for the contest. I truly felt the tension of trying to navigate life with facial blindness and how disorienting it would be to not recognize anyone. The story captured the loneliness and disorientation of falling in love, but also the way that it can be difficult for people not suffering from a condition to understand it, even if they have good intentions. I really loved this book.

Katherine Center is one of my go to authors, I always love her books. I have to admit that I was a little nervous when I started her newest book, Hello Stranger because I really struggled with the book in the beginning. Sadie is a cute and endearing character but all of the talk about her face blindness (prosopagnosia) became repetitive to me. After taking a break and coming back to the book I am happy to report that the second half is reminiscent of the Center I know and love. Once Sadie starts learning how to live with her condition the book really takes off. It was interesting to see her develop a relationship with a man when she can't see his face so she has to rely on her other senses to determine the type of man he really is. There were some cute mishaps with her face blindness but there were also some deeper moments, especially when Sadie had to deal with her family and her mother's death. Center is an expert at blending lighthearted content with more serious topics.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC.

Sadie Montogmery is following in her late mother’s footsteps as a photorealist portraitist. Unfortunately, like her mother, she’s inherited a neurological condition that requires brain surgery. At her father’s insistence, she gets the surgery to discover she’s left with face blindness: she can see the whole world around her, but the part of her brain that recognizes faces? Yeah, that doesn’t work anymore. Every human face is now a jumbled mess of puzzle pieces. Oh, and did I mention she’s just won a seat in the most prestigious portraitist competition in town? And it’s in six weeks? The face blindness might subside or it might be permanent; nobody knows and now, Sadie is screwed.

To add insult to injury, the manwhore next door, Joe, is suddenly always around to catch her at her lowest and her beloved dog (her sibling, really) falls gravely ill. But, maybe her luck’s about to change: her new veterinarian is her soulmate. Love at first sight, she is now convinced her future is with Dr. Oliver Addison, DVM. As she tries to reassemble the pieces of her life, she finds comfort in her self-constructed fairytale with Dr. Addison, only to realize maybe the most reliable and lovable person is right in front of her: Joe. After developing a friendship with Joe, she becomes at odds with which path to pursue - Dr. Addison or Joe - only to realize, maybe she doesn’t have much choice in the matter.

--

Wow wow wow, did I love this book. I won’t lie, I had just finished Katherine Center’s “The Bodyguard,” when I read “Hello Stranger.” Having not been head-over-heels in love with “The Bodyguard” after all its positive buzz, I had lukewarm anticipatory feelings about “Hello Stranger” before cracking it open.

Boy, was I wrong. “Hello Stranger” is a complete, champagne-in-the-veins delight. Seriously, I was buzzing throughout the whole latter half. Now, I will say it was a tad predictable; at about the 70%-point, you totally know what’s going to happen. Nevertheless when it does, you’ll still be bouncing off your bed with giddiness.

Not only did I feel like the plot of this book was original, but as somebody who totally geeks out over neuropsychology, this book was also interesting and, dare I say, educational. With every twist and turn that Center introduces, you find yourself leaning in closer as to reveal Sadie’s happy ending. And again, while you can see said reveal coming, somehow Center manages to keep your attention, without being boring or trite. Unique, hysterical, and butterfly-inducing, “Hello Stranger” will definitely be on my favorites shelf from here on out.

5/5 stars. Would recommend.

I was so excited to receive the ARC of this because I really liked the The Bodyguard. I feel like Katherine Center writes really well development characters, especially the female leads. They are always so complex and mature and relatable characters.

Sadie was such a character, I loved her personality and I felt like I related to her from that start. She was so funny, I laughed at her silly antics, cried at her struggles, and swooned right along with her as the least likely candiate became a potential love. Joe was also another highlight to this book, well there are not enough words to express my love for his character.

Usually any type of love triangles I do not like and try to stay away from them, but it was done so well in this book and that is why I think Kathrine Center is my new favorite romance author.

I debated whether this was a 3 star book or 4. I think I'm going to give it a solid 3.5. This is my second book from Katherine Center and I love her writing. In a whole I enjoyed the book but I felt at times the book felt disconnected. There wasn't a flow. I enjoyed the main character, Sadie at times. I loved her independence but she reminded me of a spoiled child that obviously needed emotional and mental support. But I also wanted her to be successful because of her misfortunes. "Joe" who's real name is Oliver is adorable and so kind. Again, another character I enjoyed but the ending felt rushed. The family drama was unrealistic. I didn't enjoy how it all ended between all of them and how the childhood friend that was bullied came and cleared Sadie's name. Overall, I thought the book was cute. I'm now curious about Katherine Center and her other books.