Thank you to NetGalley / St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I realized at the end of this book that I had been smiling for countless pages, and that’s the best way to describe how I felt about Hello Stranger! It had so much depth with the various relationships - family, friend, romantic, self, and even pet.

Such a unique and beautiful romance book! I knew I would love it as soon as the plot and main love interest was introduced! It is a love story about finding yourself through your view on the world. Our main character develops a condition for facial blindness and it’s her story from before the accident to finding where she truly belongs. Definitely pick this up if you loved Katherine Centers last book the bodyguard as it has the same romantic feels ❤️❤️ BIG THANK YOU to Netgalley and St. Martin’s publishing for my most highly anticipated arc of 2023 thus far!

I loved The Bodyguard and so many of her other books. This one was super unique, but not nearly as funny as her last release. This was one large miscommunication trope but for good reason in my opinion. I don't think it's going to be nearly as loved but I enjoyed it!

Katherine Center’s writing style flows SO well. I got so wrapped up in the story that I forgot I was reading. Just love it! This rom com felt original and fresh. There was a good amount of medical set up at the beginning, but it was necessary to give you context for the condition that Sadie was living with throughout the novel. Can’t say much about the love story without giving spoilers, but it was soooooo cute + the ending felt like a hug. Loved.

Thanks to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really liked the premise of this story. It was so unique. I loved following Sadie as she navigated being an artist with face blindness. It was great to see her evolve as an artist and a person and to accept the hand life had dealt her. As a lead character, she was great. I was rooting for her every step of the way.

This one also had a twist I didn't see coming for a little bit of time (eventually it came to me). Any book that has that happen is a good book! Either way, it was still really entertaining to read.

This, like Katherine Center's other books, had romance, humor, emotion and charm. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes her books. I will definitely continue to read her work.

On a final note, will there be a redemption story for Parker? Honestly, I am rooting for one.

Hello Stranger, by Katherine Center was different than I had anticipated, I was expecting more of a love triangle and less family drama, but overall I enjoyed the story. I really enjoyed Sadie and Joe and I like the journey that the author took us on. For the most part, the characters were likable and relatable and I enjoyed how they meshed together. Hello Stranger is a nice, quick read.

As always, Katherine Center can do no wrong. This is the 4th book of hers that I have devoured. Her characters are so likable, and relatable without being over the top or too cheesy.
Thank you NetGalley for my ARC!

This was a really fun read. Nice, feel-good story about Sadie - a struggling portrait artist - who ends up with face blindness right as she's gearing up for the possibly biggest break in her career.

As Sadie is trying to navigate her new world in which she does not recognize any faces (and being determined to not tell anyone about her condition) she develops a crush on her delightful new vet, Dr Oliver Addison, and strikes up a friendship with Joe/Helpful in her building.

She's also trying to figure out how to still submit a freshly painted portrait to the portrait competition final, as per the rules, when she can't see faces. I thought this was a really fun part of the story.

If I'm really picky, I didn't care for the whole story arc with Parker. And to me, that didn't add anything to the story, so it could have been left out. But still, overall, 5 stars for this fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

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.

————————————————
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Hello Stranger! This book was so sweet. I loved the plot and it felt very unique. At times, I felt myself get frustrated with Sadie, but overall I loved the book!

4⭐️

Just finished up Hello, Stranger by Katherine Center and I am sad that it is over. Center is a relatively new to me author and I’m burning my way thru all her books. Was super excited to receive a galley of Hello Stranger but now I’m a little sorry that it’s over! Really really enjoyed Sadie Montgomery and Joe and despite the serious nature of dealing with face blindness, this book really kept me laughing!

Hello, Stranger is another well written, contemporary romance by Katherine Center. The h, aspiring portrait artist Sadie Montgomery, is dealing with an especially frustrating post-surgical complication – face blindness -- following a serious accident. This leaves her unable to see faces clearly; if she concentrates hard, she can see individual features, but faces as a whole appear as an indistinct, deconstructed jumble of parts – almost like a modern painting by Picasso. The condition can even affect her ability to accurately recognize individual voices. And her doctors have no idea if this situation is permanent or, if not, how long it will last.

The timing is particularly devastating for Sadie as she finally earned a finalist spot in a prestigious portrait competition, after years of struggling financially. Now she is facing the challenge of trying to meet a tough deadline to create a portrait good enough to submit to this national competition – something that would be hard enough under normal circumstances, but seems impossible when dealing with face blindness. In addition, Sadie has been trying to earn the respect of her father, a celebrated surgeon, who has never understood or supported Sadie’s decision to drop out of medical school to become an artist like her deceased mother. Sadie’s father remarried a year after her mother’s death and she is not close with either her stepmother, Lucinda, who always takes the side of her half-sister, Parker, a vindicative, manipulative schemer.

Sadie’s dog, Peanut, is also having some health issues and her vet, Oliver Addison, is one of the bright spots in her life, along with her best friend Sue Kim, Sue’s parents and Sue’s boyfriend, Witt. Sadie also keeps running into a guy in her building, Joe, who is constantly helping her – and others in their building.

This story is skillfully plotted with a clever twist at the end and some enjoyable humor throughout. However, as a reader I felt somewhat detached throughout the story, much more so than when reading previous Katherine Center books. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the story is written in Sadie’s voice, and due to the hurt she has suffered due to her mother’s death and her estranged relationship with her father, stepmother and stepsister, she has become very closed off from new relationships, even before dealing with face blindness. I also felt that the appearance of her former childhood friend, Augusta Ross, at a critical moment, was too much of a coincidence; and that Parker got off way too easy, given all the trouble she intentionally and unrepentantly caused.
In short, this is well done, but not as emotionally engaging as other books I've ready by this author.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC!

Best rom com of 2023! You fall in love with Sadie, a struggling artist who develops acquired face blindness when she has a tight deadline to meet with a new portrait. She has lots of family drama with an evil stepsister, father who doesn’t like her career choice, aging pooch that her dead mother gave year as a child, douchebag neighbour. This book had me in tears at one point. I did figure out the twist but still enjoyed the amazing ride of this romcom!

Very cute and fun read. Will be adding this book to my permanent collection.

Thanks to St Martins press, netgalley, and the author for the arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. .

Another fun novel by Katherine Center. This story about 2 “strangers” meeting and falling in love was full of fun and conflict. The characters in this book are strong, complex and realistic. Lots of complicated relationships just like real life. I admire how she takes a serious topic and addresses it with humor.
I admit I did figure out the male stranger “ issue” about 3/4 through the book. I still wasn’t certain until it was revealed at the end. Loved this twist. Thanks for another great read. I read it in less than 24 hours. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #HelloStrange

Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me, no matter what subject she takes on, I know that I will close the book feeling more hopeful and joyful. Hello Stranger has one of the most unique storylines I’ve come across in Women’s Fiction in recent days. Our MC, Sadie, is struggling with face blindness following a medical procedure, and it’s has ramifications in every corner of her life. I hesitate to share too much of the plot, but just know that there is plenty of swoon, a few unexpected twists, and lots of imperfect humans muddling along into becoming their better selves. 5 big stars for this one! Thank you to @NetGalley and St.Martin’s for my gifted ARC!

Katherine Center has done it again!!! She really is the master of romantic fiction for me. She manages to write fresh, unique love stories that never feel cheesy. Hello Stranger will undoubtedly be another hit, I am going to recommend it to all of the readers in my life!

Four stars because it kept me hooked and turning the page! But it needs some work… I read an ARC copy through NetGalley, hopefully it gets some more editing before its release.

I enjoyed reading Hello Stranger written by Katherine Center. I fell in love with this author last year when I read The Bodyguard. I know this was an ARC, but there were quite a few editing errors that need to be corrected before publication. For example, Sadie was wearing her mothers dress to her art show, but the text said something about wearing Sue’s dress as she walked downstairs to leave. Overall, it was a really cute read and I had a hard time putting it down. Looking forward to reading the next Katherine Center book for sure!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sadie is a constant disappointment to her surgeon father, ignored by her stepmother, and bullied by her stepsister. (Seriously, her step sister is cruel for literally no good reason).

However, things are looking up. Sadie is a portrait artist who was just chosen for a prestigious portrait competition. Unfortunately, on her way home from picking up party supplies to celebrate her news, she had a seizure in the middle of a street. Although saved by a Good Samaritan, thank goodness, she needs brain surgery for a cavernoma.

The surgery is successful, but comes with a side effect. Sadie can no longer see people’s faces, she is face blind. A portrait artist on the cusp of her big break…can’t see faces.

A neighbor, Joe, makes a terrible first impression but keeps trying to help. A vet saves Sadie’s dog Peanut, asks Sadie out, but then seems to disappear. Who will win Sadie’s heart?

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. The love story was sweet, if predictable, and both MCs are pretty great. You just want to root for them and hope for the best. The side characters are well written, too. I wish we got to know more about Lucinda and Robert. (I’m still irked at Lucinda for sharing medical details, but … she won me over in the end) Parker was extremely villainous. Sue was, surprisingly, not that great? She had her hits and misses, but still, a best friend should’ve been bit more thoughtful and considerate. Mr. Kim was charmingly naive about Lucinda but sweet and kind. The winner of the best supporting character award was Peanut.

If you like rom coms, I highly recommend this one!

Hello, another great read by Katherine Center! This one was interesting because it reads more like a story of self-discovery and healing with a side of romance rather than pure romance, but I didn't mind that at all. I loved Sadie, although, especially towards the end, I was DYING for her to catch a break. Poor girl had been through too much. Also, I'm usually, like, an ace at spotting twists. Didn't see the twist here coming at all.

In terms of comparisons between her past stuff, I would put this at a similar level to The Bodyguard in terms of being more lighthearted than How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, What You Wish For, etc. I loved those for how heavy they are and how they show how you can find love through trauma, but I don't mind this new, more fun route she's going with her stuff at all.

✨Ｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ✨

Hello Stranger 📚 by @katherinecenter

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ugh, I want to go back and re-read this right after finishing it. I read this in less half a day, which happens with most of Katherine Center's books. Being one of my favorite authors this was on the top of my most anticipated reads for 2023! Thank you to @netgalley for this #advancedreaderscopy to read it before it's publication date!

Katherine Center's characters are always so likeable, realistic, and endearing. And the romance is 👌. She also tends to throw in an interesting plot, and this one tackles facial blindness (prosopagnosia). Katherine Center always ends with some powerful message that leaves you thinking (and most of the time crying) long after you finished reading.

This would be the best book I've read so far this year...definitely recommend!

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