What a wonderfully written piece. I've never read anything by Katherine Center, despite most of her books on my Want to Read list, but I will for sure pick them up soon.

Even without any spice, the characters still had a beautiful connection and got to know each other as people. I also immensely enjoyed the bits and pieces of psychological information - they're small but also important to the tale.

I did get an ARC copy, so there were a few errors here and there. Nothing too jarring but enough that I hope the final draft gets one more read-through before it's published. I'm definitely volunteering as a tribute - any reason to reread this again, of course.

thank you Netgalley for the free copy

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of Hello Stranger. I absolutely adore Katherine Center's books and this is no different. It was cute, fun, and a feel-good read. I would highly recommend this to others and can't wait to buy a finished copy!

Another amazing read by Katherine Center. I adored this new book so much! Sadie is an artist and has just found out about the opportunity that could change her life. A random accident has left her with the need for brain surgery. Her life is flipped upside down with a side effect that she didn't see coming! Sadie makes fast friends with the questionable (in her eyes) neighbor downstairs and is forced to view life now a bit differently.

I did not the see the twist coming and flew through this book so quickly.

Thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC.

I’m confident when I pick up a Katherine Center book, I’ll be smiling when I reach the end. And her newest novel Hello Stranger supplies in abundance!

As soon as I heard the synopsis for Hello Stranger, I was excited to pick it up. I love when an author takes a little-known but real life experience and plots a fictional story around it. In Hello Stranger, we meet Sadie, who ends up with a case of face blindness after having to undergo minor brain surgery. (When is brain surgery ever minor??) The doctors have assured her it should go away within a few months as the swelling around her surgery site goes down. However, Sadie relies on facial awareness more than most people since she’s a portrait artist and she’s just received the honor of being chosen in the top ten finalists for a portrait painting contest. The top prize is $10,000, and Sadie desperately needs that money. She desperately needs to be able to paint. And she needs the big break winning will give her in the art world.

Not to mention, maybe her father will finally validate her chosen career.

Her happiness and well-being depends on this contest!

This is a fun story with some depth, as well. I couldn’t help but laugh as Sadie’s misfortunes land her in more and more unfortunate circumstances. But I was laughing while also feeling the unfairness of how life seemed to be piling up on top of her all at once.

I didn’t want to put this one down, reading furiously—until about the midway point when something happened that took me out of the story. And I hate when that happens. It wasn’t anything with the main characters, but a situation with a side character that frustrated me. It seemed too much like something that was put in to serve the plot, when so many other things could have occurred and felt more organic to the story. I tried to push past it, but I never seemed to get back to that initial glow.

Here’s the thing I’m discovering (and feel free to skip this paragraph where I try to psychoanalyze my reading experience): When I love an author and read a lot of their books, I get really hyper-focused. (I do the same thing with Emily Henry books). I pay attention to every detail, devouring every word, and if they don’t add up to me, or they don’t give me the it’s-so-damn-good chill bumps, I find myself a little disappointed. Which really isn’t fair to the author, but I don’t know how to…. expect less?? Center’s previous book The Bodyguard was my favorite read of 2021 (I’d read it early, as well), and it’s hard to live up to that!

I still really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I just have a few things I would change—and it’s quite possible I’m being overly picky.

Let’s start with what I enjoyed:

I can’t get into much about the plot because of spoilers, but it’s creative and different and refreshing.

Sadie is hard to love at times. She can come across as a bit immature and selfish, but it’s rewarding to watch her change and figure things out.

I loved the romance—even the bit of the triangle we get. If you’re not a fan of love triangles, I don’t think you’ll mind this one. The core romance is heartfelt and swoony and gave me all the feelings I look for in a love story—with one particular scene that gave me those chill bumps I anticipate.

Now what I would change:

I wish I could have gotten a little more time to get to know Sadie before her brain surgery. I couldn’t tell if the way she was acting was her usual self or a result of her new circumstances.

I can’t say I loved all the side characters, which is rare for a Center book. There are a few that seemed to change too much from the beginning to the end, and a few that seemed over the top.

I felt like the story could have benefited from a little more editing or polishing, as well. I read an advanced copy, however, so maybe there will be some changes.

While not perfect, Hello Stranger delivers a romance to remember and the joyful reading experience I’ve come to expect in a Katherine Center book. If you’re a fan of unique love stories with charming characters placed in unconventional circumstances, you should give Hello Stranger a try!

Center is an auto-buy for me. She didn't disappoint with this one. Loved how she weaved the issue of face blindness in with a romance. I loved the unexpected twist at the end, although I was able to guess that was the case.

The love triangle between Sadie, Dr. Addison, and Joe was so well done and enjoyable to read. The banter that each one held up was sweet and funny. I loved Sadie’s picking on Joe. However, I felt that a few areas of the story dragged on in the beginning and could have been shortened or removed. The first third of this book is what made me give this 3 stars. Once the story picked up towards the end, I enjoyed it much more. All in all, I liked this book just okay. It’s not one that I would recommend.

I have been fascinated by prosopagnosia since I read Rock Paper Scissors and found out it wasn’t something Alice Feeny made up for her story.

Sadie is an immediately likable character with a very unlikable family. This book confronts so many things. Sadie is dealing with her past traumas, grief and a traumatic brain injury. She also has a looming deadline and a geriatric dog on her hands.

It was so interesting to see the world through Sadie’s unreliable brain and you suffer with her as she tried to navigate her new life.

This book was an easy five stars for me. Katherine Center writes books that are just fun to read.

This book was AMAZING!!!! I seriously love Katherine writing. I read this in a day. I highly recommend all of her books.

Before the twist even came i thought that might be the case and oh man. I couldn't even imagine going through all that Sadie did. I don't wanna say to much and give away the whole book.

Thank you Netgalley!

Hello Stranger was such a cute book- one that at the end you feel like hugging. It centered around Sadie, a struggling portrait artist who has to have brain surgery which ends up resulting in face blindness. Unfortunately for Sadie, she was an art competition coming up but now can’t see faces.

At first the premise was a little out there for me, but it really grew on me as the book went on. I loved Sadie and Joe and loved some of the side characters like her best friend Sue as well. Katherine Center is great at creating characters you are drawn to and end up rooting for! Hello Stranger does not disappoint. If you like feel good romances, this is a great book for you!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center is always a winner for me. She has a way of teaching you about something interesting while also building a compelling, realistic and hopeful story around it. This book was no exception. I was fascinated by the topic and the rich characters; I couldn't put it down! I only wish I had someone to talk to about it.

Another Katherine Center win! This was an adorably tragic rom com and I devoured every second of it, as quickly as possible!
Her way of writing is so easy to get into & I look forward to every story she writes! This one definitely doesn’t disappoint. Just read it if you want a smile.

Thank you NetGalley, Katherine Center & St Martins Press for allowing me to read this book!

If you love Katherine Center, this book is very much in the vein of all her others. Was it predictable? Yes. Did it feel slightly theatrical? Also yes. Was I excited to pick it up every night? 100%. I like to read sweet books before bed and this totally fit the bill.

This is the second book I have read about facial blindness, and it really is such an interesting plot point. Making Sadie an artist created an additional conflict for Center to resolve.

I did love the romance. although it wasn’t super mysterious, it had a nice buildup.

If you love or even like Center’s other books, this is a great one!

“We’re all just muddling through, after all. We’re all just doing the best we can. We’re all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down, is a little bit lost.”

Katherine Center really can do no wrong. I loved this book. Sadie is so easy to fall in love with and Joe? Yup him too. Mr. Helpful is someone many of us woman would probably consider the perfect man.

While Sadie is dealing with her new medical condition, family drama, and an artist crisis, she is also learning how to adapt and change in her new normal. Oh and we LOVE Peanut

Katherine Center puts a twist on romance novels that keeps me wanting more. The way she can weave together unique challenge, heartbreaking struggles, and love into one beautiful book is magical.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist trying to prove to her father, the world, and maybe even herself that she has what it takes to be a famous artist. She finally has her big break becoming a finalist in a huge competition. She tried to prove to everyone she is okay and doesn’t need their help after the struggles of losing her mom at an early age. But when an accident leaves Sadie unable to recognize faces, she must learn to lean on the help of strangers.

Hello Stranger will be published 7/11/2023.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie Montgomery has been down on her luck for awhile now and things were just starting to look up with a spot in a coveted portrait contest when something out of the ordinary happened. Sadie winds up finding she has a brown condition and needs elective brain surgery. After the surgery is complete, Sadie realizes she can no longer see faces. She is face blind! This is a hard pill to swallow for anyone but with Sadie being a portrait artist, it’s especially hard. Sadie’s doctors have told her there is some swelling on the brain and they are hoping her facial blindness will subside but when? I’m time for the contest? Over these weeks, Sadie meets 2 different men that she likes and works on honing her craft.
This was a cute story of resilience and romance. It is light and easy to read. I really don’t know anything about facial blindness but the ending was a bit much but easy to accept. I would definitely recommend this when it comes out. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC copy of this book for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the story, the twist, and Sadie’s character. The love story was adorable - I saw the twist coming but it still made me so happy when they both figured it out. I liked the dynamic with Sue and Sadie, and the Kim’s were great characters, showing that loving family. Also, I liked that Lucinda kind of redeemed herself with the dress. It made her seem more human and caring. Parker was the perfect evil step sister.

I wish there had been more about the hovel - to me, it was a shed, but she seemed to have a bathroom and kitchen, etc. so it got confusing. I feel like the beginning chapter should have had better descriptions of this “hovel.”
Chp 2 - Lucinda is called Miranda

The way this was unlike anything I have ever read was just a breathe of fresh air. Romance can be run into the ground as far as things becoming very similar within the genre but this was just so fresh and new and I loved every second of it! Thankful to have been sent the ARC and would love to review for this author in the future!

Review on my TikTok is up now!

This was my first Katherine Center romance novel and I was pleasantly surprised. Sadie Montgomery an artist following in her mother’s footsteps faces the struggles of adulthood and life estranged from her father and “evil” stepmother/sister. She has placed in the top 10 for an art competition and everything is going smooth until she has a seizure in the middle of the street and has to get brain surgery. After her surgery she develops acquired face blindness and must figure out how to get through life and her art competition with these new challenges. Enter the only love triangle I actually approved of when she finds herself liking her dog’s veterinarian and the man that lives down the hall in her building. I really enjoyed how much Sadie changed and how she finally realized that her ability to see people’s faces didn’t change who she was or who she had to be. It was a great book, very entertaining twists some being more predictable than others but I really enjoyed this book! Thanks to NetGalley and Katherine Center for the chance to read this ARC!

Just when I thought I had learned everything in the medical field from Grey’s Anatomy, along comes Hello Stranger and teaches me about prosopagnosia. That led to a rabbit hole on Google so I could dive further into this diagnosis. I found the diagnosis and the book, Hello Stranger, wildly fascinating. I can’t imagine having a seizure that turns into a necessary brain surgery then finding out mr wrong was actually Mr. Right and Mr. Right that was wrong is also Mr. Right. So much juggling.
This book is going to be a hit.

*Publish date 7/11/23 - Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Wow! Another book I simply loved by Katherine Center. This novel was heart wrenching (I cried), heart warming (I was rooting for Sadie), mysterious (unexpected twists), and ended in a way that just made me smile!

Sadie Montgomery had been dealt some hard blows in her life - starting with the death of her mother when Sadie was just 14. Her dad remarries soon afterwards, but the new step mother and step sister form bonds that leave Sadie feeling even more alone. Fast forward a few years, and we find Sadie as a struggling artist who just received news that could be her big break. She is a finalist in a prestigious competition for portrait artists that will take place in six weeks. Then, through a series of unfortunate events, Sadie finds out that she needs to have immediate brain surgery to repair a genetic condition. The recovery time is estimated to be just a few days, so Sadie has the surgery. There is a rare complication that results in Sadie being able to see the individual components of a face but not the see a face as it should be composed (prosopagnosia). This is problematic on its own but especially for a portrait artist who is a finalist in a portrait competition! Sadie's journey in learning to cope with this condition is enlightening and you see how friends and family both support and hinder the healing process. As with all of Katherine Center's books, the characters are endearing, the plot is engaging, and the ending is satisfying. There is hope, There is kindness. There is love. The last line says it best: The more good things you look for, the more you find.

Highly recommend this book! 4.5 Stars