So I absolutely loved the Bodyguard. This book was over a really interesting concept, but I felt like I was struggling to connect with the character a bit. Like, I could obviously tell she was going through a lot and didn't want to tell people about not being able to recognize faces... but I also didn't really understand why she wouldn't to some when it would obviously help her. The big twist was a bit obvious but I did enjoy the ending. It was cute overall!

This was such a unique story that had me coming back for more! Once I started it, I loved how the author brought awareness to different areas such as invisible illnesses, grief, and feeling behind in life. Sadie is a MC that many will relate to. Let’s be honest though, Peanut is the selling point. Who doesn’t love dogs?! Some parts were predictable but overall was a refreshing new take on a romance novel! Definitely would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced digital copy!

Believe it or not, this was my first Katherine Center book! I loved it. I really did.

Romance novels are hit or miss for me, but I enjoyed this one from beginning to end. This CLEAN romance story follows Sadie, a portrait artist, as she acquires face blindness and has to learn how to navigate her life without visually recognizing anyone’s facial features. As you can imagine, Sadie’s professional life as a portrait artist and her dating life are both highly impacted. This book is full of twists and turns, funny moments, and sweet moments. 💗

I’ve already recommended this one to a couple of friends. Go ahead and add “Hello Stranger” to your summer TBR!

Hello Stranger follows the life of portrait artist Sadie Montgomery. She hasn't necessary had an easy life but she's self sufficient and has just gotten her big break in a portrait competition. This is her moment. Until she needs brain surgery and her uninvolved father shows up to force the issue. The surgery is a success, except for one small issue. It leaves Sadie without the ability to see faces. With her world changed, possibly forever, this book follows her as she redefines her life, not just as an artist, but as a person facing a traumatic past.
I loved this book. I loved Sadie and her dog Peanut. My heart hurt for the trauma she endured, but also for the struggles she brought on herself. As a self proclaimed pessimist, I could easily identify with Sadie. This novel attacked some core thoughts on how I few life. There's a neuropsychologist in this book that encourages Sadie to grow out of her comfort zone and accept her life as it is, and I ate up every word she said.
That said, this book is a romance. There are plenty of swoon worthy moments, and I identified with Sadie even more when she'd planned her marriage to Dr. Oliver Addison moments after meeting him (obviously I'm not the only one who's done that). Sadie quickly learns that preconceived notions aren't always correct and unsupported bias can lead to missing out on meaningful human relationships (thank goodness for her furry friend, who is ever the constant love of her life).
I easily guessed how this book would end, but that doesn't mean I didn't love the journey getting there. This is another emotionally packed novel from Katherine Center, with her lovable humor sprinkled all the way through.

I just finish Hello, Stranger. Less than 12 hours after I started it, because I could not put it down. Not that it was suspenseful, but it was purposeful and important, and you felt that from the very beginning.

This story follows Sadie, who is a struggling portrait artist, she's had a hard go at life and at the moment she is just trying to get by and make something of herself to prove her father wrong. WHOOO BOY! The day she finds out she was selected out of 2000 people to be showcased in a prize gallery with a 10k dollar prize she knows this is life changing. What she didn't know was her life was about to change, and not in the way she anticipated.

Sadie ended up needing a minor surgery, with supposedly no issues, a 4-day hospital stay, and she will be good as new. But nothing is EVER that simple when it comes to doctors and our medical system.... Sadie comes home from the hospital with prosopagnosia and six weeks to finish a portrait to change her life.

Everyone in her life has let her down, and in my opinion so did her friend Sue. Big Time! Sadie wants to continue her life as normal in a "fake it till you make it' fashion. She has to deal with some really trying circumstances and rely on virtual strangers throughout this process.

This book literally had me smiling, laughing, crying and reevaluating my life and current headspace. I really enjoy the authors level of depth and research. that goes into her books. Her characters are always so relatable, and she always does a fantastic job of giving you enough information to have you eating out of her hand but also keeping you in the dark about the true purpose of the journey you are on. And this book is no exception. Dare I say that this book is my favorite read for this year so far! I will be buying it and rereading it.

I do have Netgalley to thank for the Advanced E- Reader copy of this book. I feel truly privileged to get to read this book. I have to add that my opinions are that of my own and have not been swayed in any way by the author, publisher or Netgalley.

Cute story with a somewhat predictable plot twist (but still fun). Loved the character development and learning about the condition Sadie had. Also, can we all agree to just hate Parker? lol

This was fantastic! I was very curious about how the author would craft a story about such a specific issue. Very well done! I was cheering for Sadie the whole way!

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

5 stars

Absolutely delightful book. Just what I needed. I laughed out loud so many times plus there were so many tender moments.

Sadie is a portrait artist who is up for a huge art competition, which could help her struggling career. However, due to emergency brain surgery she has (hopefully) temporary face blindness. Sadie doesn’t want others to know about her condition and antics ensue. The characters are so wonderful (well, almost all of them…I’m talking about you Parker). I adored this book and highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book, finished it in just a few days. The characters were all very well developed and I was able to feel as if I really knew them all personally. The major issue that Sadie Montgomery is dealing with (face blindness brought on from surgery) is something I had never really heard of and I’ve never read a book with this included so it was refreshing to read something totally different in that regard. Her dog also has the same condition my own dog does which I’ve never seen before either and it was just another way to feel more connected to the book. Overall this was a great read, good story line, good characters, nice balance of trying times and happy/silly times, and lots of emotions/feelings. I would definitely recommend this one!

A contemporary romance about a portrait artist who has sudden onset of facial blindness? Yes please! This is a fun and unique twist of a book.
I very much enjoyed reading this book, I was fully engrossed could not put it down. Katherine Center did a great job at capturing the frustration, terror, and reality of having facial blindness. She described it so well that when I was picturing characters, they all had somewhat of a blurry face and I could only picture specific details like straight teeth, or color of eyes—but nothing was linking together to form an actual face in my mind. She verbally painted it perfectly.
Center also did a great job at creating a non-reliable narrator that you still trust. We saw the world through her eyes, through her brain. There were times I was getting so frustrated with how she was thinking, then Center brought back to the reader that she was processing things in a new way that was causing her to not be totally reliable—but in the most relatable and understanding way.
I cannot recommend this book enough, it’s a beautiful romance (absolutely no heat, only a few great kissing scenes—which usually that’s a negative for me, but it so works for this book) with a character suffering from something that is rarely heard about. I learned new things while reading this book, and when I put it down I had a big smile on my face. All romance lovers need to pick up this book and read it now.

This books was amazing. I am a huge Katherine Center fan to begin with. The cover is just beautiful and I love the colors, the tile is very appropriate to the story. And the story!! Very well researched and has everything I look for in a good book. A love story, a struggling but positive female character, loving, funny, and supporting characters, a mean rival, and the second chance in family relationships. I absolutely loved this book and will highly recommend it to everyone I know.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book! I was super excited to pick this up after recently reading The Bodyguard by the same author.

Synopsis: Sadie Montgomery is a struggling artist who is about to have her big break in a prestigious contest. Unfortunately, life gets in the way and she has an accident that leaves her with a rare case of face blindness (prosopagnosia). Sadie fights to save her career and paint her most important portrait ever while also finding romance in unexpected places with two different men.

What I loved: This is a fun and sweet story imbued with a lot of hope. I enjoyed the uniqueness of reading about someone with fave blindness. It also weaves in poignant messages about friendship and family.

What I could’ve lived without: Some of the plot points felt too convenient to be believable. The characters felt a bit one-dimensional and at times irrational. A lot of the main character’s problems could have been solved by her being a liiiittle less stubborn. I had a hard time believing that her stepsister is evil just for the sake of being evil. I also didn’t buy that a person who is obsessed with their dog would leave them in the kennel for longer than strictly necessary or that a best friend would abandon her friend when she needed her most. The overuse of the word “slinky” also rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall this was a fun and entertaining read and I look forward to reading more books by this author! ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Hello Stranger is a classic Katherine Center- meaning it is an enjoyable, romantic comedy, that deals with some matters of substance while still being uplifting and light-hearted.

This story centers around Sadie Montgomery, a 20 something artist working towards the chance of a lifetime when she has a medical emergency that leaves her unable to distinguish human faces. That definitely threatens her future as a portrait artist! Sadie has to learn new ways of interacting with people around her and despite challenges even ends up to meet new people and a potential love interest.

This was a quick read which I was able to enjoy in one afternoon. Perhaps the part that stuck out to me the most was the beautiful afterward where Katherine Center describes her view on the opportunity and role of a romance novel. I couldn't agree more! I highly recommend this novel for any reader looking for an uplifting romance novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press New York for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a moment when I started this book when I was worried that it was all going to be a little too unbelievable. (Portrait artist who loses her ability to see faces?) But I’m a big Katherine Center fan and I’m glad I stuck with it. Interesting plot, developed characters and a well thought out ending. 4/5

I don't even know where to start... This is my introduction to Katherine Center's books and writing in general. I had heard of her books quite often before but never got the chance to pick one of her works. And I'm so glad I finally did she might just become one of my favorite romance authors. I'll have to pick up another one of her romances very soon!

The story follows Sadie, who is finally getting somewhere with her art when she gets diagnosed with face blindness following a brain surgery. As a portrait artist, this is more than unfortunate. Heartbroken and set on realizing her and her late mother's dream, Sadie has to work through her new condition with the help of her best friend Sue and a new acquaintance, her neighbor. Her dog's new vet's existence definitely helps (he's 100% how Sadie envisions her future husband, but he doesn't need to know that).

It got me giggling and kicking my feet. By the end, my cheeks hurt from smiling, and I had to stare at the ceiling for a little bit.

It comes out on July 11th, 2023 🩶

Thank you to NetGalley and St-Martin's Press and Katherine Center for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Note to the publisher: a second post will be released about a month before the date of the release!

I requested Hello Stranger because I LOVED Katherine Center's last book, The Bodyguard. Hello Stranger has a really interesting premise. I had heard of facial blindness before, but knew next to nothing about it and had certainly never considered how difficult everyday life might be without the ability to recognize faces!

I enjoyed the book very much. It's light, which will make it a great summer release, and I think this will get good buzz as a "pool bag book." I loved that Sadie is a gifted artist and her dog companion is a great side character (possibly the one constant in her life, when other people always seem to let her down). My one criticism of the book is that Sadie's stepsister is awful and evil, almost unbelievably so. I didn't feel in the end that Parker got what she deserved. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as The Bodyguard because I didn't quite know which love interest to be rooting for. This ties in, though, to the major plot line dealing with facial blindness. Sadie herself is off kilter and confused about the people around her due to her condition. I figured out what was happening about halfway through the book as far as the vet and her neighbor, but that did not make reading to the end any less enjoyable.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a feel-good rom-com! It was a great read and I am so delighted to have read and enjoyed another book by this author.

PS to the publisher: The cover art for Katherine Center's books is just gorgeous. They always stand out from other books in this genre. I am very picky about the books that I buy because I read so much and limit myself to books that have attractive covers. This one would definitely make the cut!

I loved this book! It was such an easy read and I learned about something I had never heard of! Face blindness! The main character, Sadie, is a portrait artist. She has brain surgery and the part of the brain that recognizes faces is swollen and she acquires face blindness! The author puts you in the shoes of Sadie and makes you imagine what life would be like if you were face blind. The love story is great! I’m now going to go and read Katherine Center’s other books! Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Best Katherine Center book yet! Unique premise that made this book super intriguing. Highly recommend for a unique romance experience!

Thank you to Netgalley & Stmartinspress for the advance copy of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center! I was so excited to see this book - I am a huge fan of hers. Her last book The Bodyguard was one of my favorites books in 2022 I highly recommend adding it to your TBR 📚. I rated it 5 stars - I instantly fell in love with the characters and loved the main character Sadie. She is a bit of a pessimist which would normally be a negative thing for me but she was so likable and I got invested in the story where I wanted to see what happened to her.

This is my eighth of author Kathleen Center's works & I enjoyed it, but I do prefer the stronger female MC's of a couple of her others a bit more. This was still quite enjoyable and uplifting, however, hence the 4 stars. Really enjoyed the love triangle between face-blind FMC Sadie, her sweet doggo's vet & her bad-boy neighbor. OH! Peanut, the senior dog, just stole the book for me! It's a quick read & fun and a good palate-cleanse from some heavier novels. My sincere thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the complimentary DRC, ratings & opinions my own.