Each one of Katherine Center's books is like a treasured gift. They are not just romance novels though the swoon factor is definitely off the charts. They make you feel good inside, make you believe that no matter what life throws at you, you will be okay. Hello Stranger is no exception. Full of humor, romance, and touchingly true insights, this book is soul food.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

What an absolute dream!! Ever since my first Katherine Center book, I have been HOOKED. I am not usually a fan of any type of romance stories because I find they are usually a little cheesy and I have a hard time keeping my attention on them, but Katherine Center always finds a way to make things sweet without being lame. They are realistic situations, so the reader can put themselves in the shoes of the characters. Not only that, but every story has some sort of mystery to them without being dark. You run through every emotion reading this book; fear when the main character, Sadie, experiences a health scare, sadness when she wakes up with a strange condition, happiness when she forms a new friendship, and anger when she receives unfair treatment from her biggest rival. There were certain parts where I even laughed out loud. I have zero complaints about the story or the author, besides the major book hangover and broken heart I experience when I finished a story and realize I have no more to read!!

Perfection.
I loved this book!

I live for Katherine centre books and I was ecstatic got an early copy of this one!
I love every character Katherine creates especially her female leads! All her ladies are perfectly imperfect, charming, funny, lovable and their inner monologues are amazing. Sadie was no expection.

I love how the romances are not always the star of her stories and you got so much more depth and plot in her books. The plot here was so unique and interesting and the family relationships themes are top notch!

This book was so emotional and uplifting and left me even shedding a few happy tears.

If I have not convinced you yet.. Read this if you love:
*Relatable and loveable Female MC
*Emotional and Hopeful Stories
*Fantastic Writing and Banter
*Unique and well researched plot-lines
*Adorable dogs
*Family, Friendship and personal growth themes.

Thank you Katherine Center, NetGalley and St Martin's Press.

Clearly I highly recommend!

This book gives great insight into prosopagnosia, a disorder I’ve never heard of before, while giving me all the warm fuzzy feelings that I like in a book. I even enjoyed the author’s note at the end of the book! I don’t have to read the back of a Katherine Center book to know that I will enjoy it. Anytime I see her name on a book I grab it without hesitation.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for this advanced readers copy!

A great read! It starts a little slow but you can’t wait to see what Sadie does after the accident. She is someone you root for and want the best for all through the book. Her relationship with Joe takes on so much. The end!!! Wow I loved it and how things you didn’t know were right in front of you the whole time. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. A quirky, heartfelt story full of rich characters.

I adored this book. Possibly my favorite of hers. It was sweet, but had depth. And led me to learn about face blindness.

Katherine Center is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I mean, she worked the word “tintinnabulation” into a romance! “...tintinnabulation of ice cubes hitting the tile.” I love words too much to not love this!! Also, her romances tell a story. She doesn’t just string together a bunch of sex scenes and call it a book. For a non-steamy romance fan, this is perfect!

In Hello Stranger, Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who discovers that she needs brain surgery just as she may be getting her big professional break. Following the surgery, she suffers from face blindness…a devastating turn of events for an artist who focuses on faces. We follow Sadie as she tries to navigate her new world and the relationships with her hot vet, obnoxious neighbor, toxic step-sister, perplexing step-mother, and distant father. All while trying not to miss the professional opportunity of a lifetime.

Sometimes I feel like I’ve read every take on a romance that could ever be written, but then comes Hello Stranger! This was such an original, layered storyline. There are so many relationships to follow it’s impossible to be bored, I could not put it down. Can we talk about Parker, though?! She is the mean girl to end all mean girls. Cinderella’s step sisters have nothing on her!! But we do know that hurt people, hurt people…so there’s that. By the end of the book it’s clear that we can be so absorbed in ourselves that we can easily miss what is right in front of us. Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this early copy in exchange for my honest review.

I read this in two sittings. At first, I wasn't sure about the start, because it begins with a failing artist with a bad relationship with her dad...then she has a seizure...then she needs brain surgery. It's a lot, for a character you don't know that well yet, but stick with it! Right after the surgery is where it really hooked me.

This is a fantastic, quirky but hearttugging story of friendship, kindness to strangers, stubbornness, art, pets, and love. The love story unfolded in an unexpected manner, with terrifically immersive scenes, and the ENDING! It was a surprising, romantic delight and a great new way to do a black moment/climax for a romance.

The hero is a heart-stealer for sure, and it was fascinating reading about the interaction of neuropsychology and muse when she was trying to paint through her face blindness. What a fantastic premise to use to investigate this quite unique neural condition!

The thing I love most about Katherine Center books is that she writes romance in completely her own way. It's not really the "style" of contemporary romance, or Women's Fiction. It feels like its own thing, very genuine and authentic, but still delivering hopeful, heart-swelling romance.

Imagine finding out you just qualified for the a major art show...then you have a seizure. Thinking it's no big deal, you then need to have a minor surgery. You wake up and you can't see faces. You don't recognize the people in front of you. Oh and painting portraits is how you make a living!

Sadie found herself in this exact situation. Not knowing how to complete a portrait for an art show, she works though different painting techniques. Hopeful every time she has a new brain scan that swelling will have subsided and she will be "normal" again.

Along the way, Sadie meets and started a friendship with a neighbor Joe. She also develops a crush on her dog Peanut's vet and decides they are to marry! Sadie and Joe grow closer and help each other see a different side to life and cling to hope of the future.

If you are looking for a fun, whitty, sometimes serious romance full of hope, I highly recommend. Lots of twists to keep you reading and hard to put down!

I really liked this book. It was predictable, but most romances are. The relationship between Sadie and Joe was really sweet. Sadie’s relationship with her Dad and Stepmom also had a nice arc. I love everything Katherine Center writes and always love supporting her. I look forward to every new book she writes!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC. I love Katherine Center. The Bodyguard was one of the my favorite books last year. This is a very different Katherine Center book. It focuses less on romance and more on a girl with facial blindness finding her way. I enjoyed it,

This was a cute read if you're looking for a feel-good book! It was a really interesting story packed with a lot of lessons. I flew through this in two days and loved the characters!

I did guess how the end would turn out so some of the twists weren't very surprising. But other than that, this is so enjoyable and what I'd expect from one of her books! I can't wait to read her backlist.

Imagine your worst nightmare coming true. Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist. One day, she has a neurological event that leaves her unable to see faces. The doctors say this facility might return-- or she might always be face-blind. This could be a problem as Sadie is a finalist in an important portrait painting contest. She needs to see faces.

Sadie is determined to keep this health information from as many people as possible, as if this it were somehow her fault. She works to recognize people by cues other than their faces.

Will her ability to see faces ever return?

I read "What You Wish For" by this author and enjoyed it very much. It was cozy and sweet and the premise was intriguing. "Hello, Stranger" ratchets up the stakes with a very high-stakes problem.

I enjoyed "Hello, Stranger" immensely. It is one of those books that you just keep reading because you just want to know how it all turns out. I highly recommend it.

I received this Advanced Readers' Edition from NetGalley and am giving an honest review.

Center Strikes Again. This is another feel-good story from Center that takes an unusual situation and uses it to show how even suddenly-forced differences can be used to tremendous effect - without ever feeling like she is white-washing the difficulties of the given condition at hand. Indeed, Center goes into detail showing the various struggles here, but also how they can be overcome and adapted to. Along the way, we also get a strong and relatable tale of finding yourself and finding what truly matters to you... and some pretty hilarious sequences as well. :) Overall a strong and interesting book that puts a more "real" spin on this particular condition than the *few* other books I've read that feature it (which tend to do into more paranormal/ thriller spaces). Very much recommended.

Katherine Center is an automatic read for me, and this book did not disappoint! Sadie is trying to hit her big break as an artist & with a portrait competition coming up she needs to focus. But when she’s nearly hit by a car & taken into the hospital to ensure she’s okay, she finds out she needs a surgery, on her brain, weeks before the competition. She needs this competition, and she needs to win it, for herself, for her doctor dad, annoying step mother, & worst of all, life ruining step sister. She needs to prove them wrong, & prove to herself that she can do it. But this surgery has to happen in order for her to survive, but with it comes costs, some that no one could have anticipated. One being that she cannot see faces - can’t recognize people by the way their faces look, & although it should be temporary, this causes huge issues for her art, especially since she’s competing in a portrait show. Worst timing ever.

I loved this & highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, for this free review copy.

I am a huge Katherine Center fan and this one was fantastic! It’s about something I have never read about before, prosopagnosia, or in other words, face blindness. I thought this was so interesting to learn about, and it would be heart breaking to have to learn how to live with this. I always love when books teach me something new.

Once again, the characters were great. I love that Center makes these characters so relatable. Sadie was one that you instantly fell in love with and cheered for. And Joe was the perfect gentleman and the perfect character to help Sadie through some of her struggles.

This book had the perfect amount of romance, family drama, quirks and parts that just made you laugh out loud. I can’t recommend Center’s books enough, and I hope you enjoy it as much as me. Hello Stranger is on sale July 11th, 2023. Yes, it’s a few months away, and I couldn’t hold off any longer to read it! Make sure you pre order it, or ask your library to. It’s worth the read! 🥰

Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free review copy. All opinions are my own.

Screaming, crying, throwing up OMG THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING. HE WAS THE SAME MAN ALL ALONG, I mean I literally guessed this from the beginning but I was still so shook when it was revealed Katherine Center basically does not miss and this book is the latest in a long line of absolute tear your heart out, gorgeous, swoon-y romances. The best thing about her books is that the heroines always learn to love themselves just as much as they fall in love with the most perfect men. Safe to say I am OBSESSED with this book now.

Joy. Heart. Laughter.

That's what you get when you read a book by Katherine Center. And the author wouldn't have it any other way. In her essay "Read for Joy," Center explains, "When I talk about reading for joy, I'm talking about reading from the heart."

Katherine Center continues the joy-heart-laughter triage with her newest novel Hello Stranger.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist living in the rooftop storage room of an apartment building owned by her best friend's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kim. Sue Kim is the bestie all of us introverts secretly yearn for, someone who "always optimistically, energetically, and joyfully searched out ways...to extrovert" while at the same time offering unconditional love and support. And Joe is Sadie's annoying neighbor who just happens to turn up and offer the exact help Sadie needs when she finds herself in a difficult spot.

And speaking of difficult spots, Sadie undergoes lifesaving brain surgery, which is successful but results in prosopagnosia, or the inability to see faces. Throw in a once-in-a-lifetime national portrait competition (can you even paint a face if you can't see it?), a sick dog, a father from whom Sadie is largely estranged, a toxic step-sister whose raison d'être is to torment Sadie, and you have the makings of a rollicking good time. Or one of those just-one-more-chapter resolutions that turns into an all-night readathon.

Hello Stranger delivers on its heart and joy promise. Your heart will grow two sizes, reformed Grinch-style, as you embrace the funny, indomitable protagonist Sadie who refuses to abandon her dream or the lure of love. You'll welcome joy at those times Sadie triumphs, cringe when she epic-fails, and cheer when she dusts herself off.

So we've covered heart and joy, but we mustn't forget laughter. Hello Stranger contains oodles of smile-worthy moments and some laugh-out-loud, don't-read-this in a-hushed-hall guffaws. Most of the laughter takes place in scenes with Sadie and Joe, which is exactly where you want it.

[One slight flaw in the plot is a scene of implausible coincidence, but I had so much fun reading said scene (think heart and joy) that I'm willing to overlook some pesky statistical improbability.]

I've recently become a Katherine Center fangirl (okay, so technically not a girl for some decades now, but whatevs), and Hello Stranger ranks in the top tier of my favorite Katherine Center novels.

Hello Stranger will be out in July, so pre-order it now and you'll be able to fill your soul with heart, joy, and laughter this summer. But that's a few months away. In the meantime. you can get started reading Katherine Center with another one of my favorites, What You Wish For.

Enjoy!

I received a copy of Hello Stranger from NetGalley.

Another five starred review is coming up for one of my favorite romance authors who knows how to play with the strings of our hearts with her uplifting, feel good, sentimental stories and sweetest characters!

This time Katherine Center approaches neurovascular issues such as cavernoma, prosopagnosia ( face blindness), informing us about how many people suffer from diagnosis, coping strategies, effects of the daily lives of the people!

I haven’t known there was so much people suffer from face blindness and interestingly some of them are living their lives without knowing their condition.
This is absolutely another heart warming story contains a lovely mystery:

This twisty, entertaining, lighthearted romance is centered on Sadie Montgomery who is struggling artist, barely making ends meet, living in her art studio because she’s broke. Her estranged father is successful surgeon who never approves the life choices she’s made. After losing her mother, Sadie’s life completely changes. Her father marries with Lucinda and she gets bullied by her evil incarnation step sister Parker for over and over. ( Parker is worst kind of villanelle who earns ten million slapping points: Because of her Sadie gets kicked out from her school, losing her reputation, her boyfriend. Even her own father picks Parker’s side: she also loses her entire family)

When she has a seizure in the middle of the street, being saved by a Good Samaritan from being hit by a car, she opens her eyes at the hospital, seeing her Martha Stewart’s evil step sister a.k.a. stepmother is giving her worried looks. The doctor’s diagnosis takes her breath away: There’s a malformed blood vessel in the brain: called cavernoma. She might be living with this lesion in her entire life and now she needs to have a surgery. The timing couldn’t be so bad because she becomes finalist at highly prestigious portrait competition and she has not much time to finish her task.

But having a surgery is not the worst thing that will change her future. After the surgery she realizes she cannot see the people’s faces. She cannot differentiate between her best friend Sue and arch nemesis Parker. Everybody looks like stranger to her.

How can she draw a portrait when she can see people’s faces? As she tries so hard to cope with her own situation she finds herself between a love triangle. She falls for two men and she still didn’t know how their faces look like. One of them is womanizer bad boy/ helpful Joe lives in her apartment and the other one is good hearted veterinarian who saved her dog Peanut’s life!

Her doctor tells in a few weeks she may get healed and start seeing the people’s faces but what if her condition is not temporary? She can lose her entire career she’s worked for and she may also lose the chance to look into the eyes of her potential soul mate : helpful neighbor Joe or veterinarian with perfect gait! Eventually she has to make a choice!

I foresaw the big twist but it was still entertaining to read the surprising revelations! This is emotional, inspirational and highly enjoyable, heartwarming reading that highly deserved my shiny five stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this perfect digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in December, and I’ve vowed to always read a Katherine Center as soon as its available. This is another delightful rom-com from Center, although my favorite remains Wish You Were Here. Hello Stranger is about a portrait painter who suffers a freak accident… which renders her unable to see faces. It happens just weeks before a major contest deadline approaches, a day after she meets a cute stranger, and you can guess where the story goes from there. It’s not too fluffy, not too swoon-y, and just right for when you are in a reading slump and need a pick-me-up (which was me in early December). It comes out in July 2023 — add it to your library list ASAP.