Hello Stranger is Katherine Center's upcoming summer romance release. Following The Bodyguard was a huge task in my opinion, nevertheless this is another win for Center!

Hello Stranger is a 'love triangle' story with a twist. Sadie, a portrait artist, finds herself having a diagnosis of facial blindness after a freak accident. To add on to that major bummer, Sadie is participating in a portrait contest that could be her big break... it's pretty hard to paint a portrait when you can't even see yourself in a mirror. Amid the chaos Sadie meets a handsome veterinarian who she's quickly drawn to while possibly starting a friendship with her neighbor, Joe. This book is light-hearted, fun, compelling, but with a lot of substance (trigger warning for death of a parent).

Long story short, Hello Stranger is an absolute delight!

I absolutely adored 'Hello Stranger' just as much as I loved Katherine Center's debut novel. (Which was a lot!!!) Everything about this book was unique, right down to the plot twist at the end. I normally pride myself on accurately predicting plot twists, but Center had my jaw falling on the ground. The main character, Sadie, is a breath of fresh air and her character development was artistically done if I do say so myself. All in all, this book was fantastic and I cannot wait to buy a copy on release day to put next to 'The Bodyguard'. Is it too soon to ask for another book?

I’m giving Hello Stranger all the stars for giving me all the feels! I’ve already decided that I’m destined to love anything that Katherine Center writes, but Hello Stranger was even more than I was expecting. Sadie is a struggling artist that has literally landed a once in-a-lifetime opportunity to produce a prize winning piece. She’s barely holding her life together, but her world is turned upside down when she narrowly escapes getting run over and subsequently discovers she needs a minor brain surgery. Begrudgingly, Sadie agrees to the procedure and when she wakes up, she’s no longer able to see faces. Which is particularly challenging for a portrait artist. You literally cannot help but love Sadie as a main character. She has been through so much and has so much charisma. She’s determined to keep her life together and I was rooting for her the entire time. Despite her new predicament and a race against time, Sadie finds herself simultaneously falling in love with two men. Sadie’s gumption is admirable and I found myself literally laughing out loud at parts and crying at others. Hello Stranger was a beautiful, emotional and touching novel. Fans of Katherine Center will be thrilled and new readers will delight in their discovery of this spectacular author. Out in July, I’m already notifying everyone to put it on their to be read pile!

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I always do the happy dance when I have the chance to review a novel by Katherine Center. Center is an expert writing about memorable, gutsy women, who may have a few flaws, but they’re still quite endearing. While the protagonist always has some adversity to overcome (as well as some laugh out loud moments), there is always time for romance. You finish one of her novels always feeling so much better.

Sadie is one such protagonist. In “Hello, Stranger,” we learn she is a painter who lives in her famous mother’s shadow. She is about to compete in the same contest her mother placed in years ago when she discovers she needs surgery. Believing it is a minor “in and out” procedures, Sadie comes out of the surgery unable to remember the people she sees. (Google “acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia” or face blindness). But Sadie’s expertise is portraits and how can she do that when all she sees is a mismash of shapes?

Like most of Center’s work, the reader is introduces to a variety of intriguing characters, including a couple of romantic possibilities, an elderly dog, Peanut, and and evil family members. Center is a skilled writer who keeps her readers engaged. The author manages to balance the more traumatic sections with plenty of humor. You cannot help and feel warm and fuzzy after reading this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Hello Stranger is Katherine Center’s greatest masterpiece! I enjoyed every minute and couldn’t put this book down. Katherine Center has such a magical way of writing. I can ALWAYS count on her books to put a smile on my face and leave me feeling full of warmth and gratitude. Hello Stranger is such an amazing love story full of hopefulness. It had me feeling smiley and light throughout the few days it took me to read it. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read the very last sentence. I know there will be a reread of this one in my future.

Obsessed with this book! It was so good. I wish I could read it again for the first time! I fell in love with the characters and may or may not have cried a few times. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I have yet to read a Katherine Center book that hasn't reduced me to tears. This book was no exception. It was absolutely ridiculous and quirky and silly, and it still got me.

I think what it is, is that the characters however esoterically flawed they may be, like did I ever think I would relate to someone with something I had pretty much never heard of? no, you still manage to root for them. The scenario itself was kind of absurd, but at its root, you have someone who wants to belong and wants to be loved, and has a terribly hard time finding their footing in life and that's the brilliance of katherine center. I loved this book, it was wonderful.

I am a total fan girl of Katherine Center's books and this one was such a fun read! I loved Sadie and I could not stop reading because I had to know how everything was going to work out. I wasn't surprised by many of the twists but it was still really fun. And I loved learning more about face blindness too, so interesting!

There were a few things that might not technically be plot holes but felt like it. There wasn't enough build up with the vet that would make it make sense for her to feel like she had to go break up with him, not sure if a scene was edited out but I think at least one more scene after she and Joe start getting close where she can tell he likes her would have helped sell that. I also was confused because she had phone numbers for the vet and Joe but they were the same number, so how would she not have noticed that?

There is a reason Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, her books always make me happy, and hopeful, and Hello Stranger is no exception. I just loved following Sadie on her journey of self awareness as she dealt with something that forced her to look at things differently. I loved her quirkiness, and how she finally decided to lean in to her circumstances a bit. It’s another book that by finishing I almost feel like I am saying goodbye to someone that had become a friend through the course of the story. I cannot recommend it enough for anyone that just wants to read something that will bring them some joy!

A perfectly timed book and exactly what I needed to pull me from a reading slump. As soon as I started reading, I knew it would be in my top ten of this year. Every Katherine Center book I have read are the most enjoyable. This one just might be my favorite. The author’s note at the end is not to be missed. I love how she suggests describing love stories as creating “fantastic anticipation”. That is my sentiment of “Hello Stranger” after devouring it in less than 2 days.

Hello Stranger is a delightfully engaging story filled with some favorite romance themes and some great points about art/creativity, how we see others, and the good (and bad) of relationships. I really enjoyed how the plot set up a portrait artist, Sophie, to experience a truly complex challenge with face blindness, to see how she grew and learned from the challenge, and how a hard time in her life also lead into self growth and healthier relationships.

Strengths
1. Engaging characters and a fun plot, even with some sad notes. Katherine Center always delivers a fun and charming story and relatable characters but also brings in challenges from characters' past and present. I like how she uses the present day challenges to move her characters into resolution/closure on past experiences.

2. This book is not just about romance. I loved the friendship in the book, the characters in the apartment building, the pet dog (!!!!), and I loved to hate the step sister. The secondary characters made it easier to connect with Sadie as a dimensional character.

3. The focus on faces and how we recognize and "see" people. There were some really interesting points in the narrative about what it means to know and recognize people we know. How this intersected with portraiture was particularly cool (for lack of a better word, I did think it was cool to consider how an artist would cope with this experience!).

I am so glad I got a chance to read an early review copy. Thank you to St. Martins once again for the kindness of an early read.
Recommended for: fans of this author and rans of rom coms in general (Emily Henry, Ava Wilder, Kerry Winfrey, Ashley Poston). I think this will be a popular book for summer book clubs in 2023!

First and foremost, Center creates the most relatable characters I have ever read. Whether the MC is a female firefighter struggling to succeed in a male-dominated profession, a thirty-year-old divorcee struggling to find her place in the world, or an executive protection agent assigned to a reclusive movie star, I always feel as though I know the ins and outs of each of these characters. I know what makes them tick and what demons lurk in their shadows. By the time I finished reading, they have become my best literary friends.

Sadie is no different. From the moment she busts out a Smokey Robinson performance in the middle of the corner store, I knew Sadie was my kind of person. At every turn, I felt as if I knew her. I laughed at her silly antics, cried at her struggles, and swooned right along with her as the least likely candidate became a potential love. As for Joe, well there are not enough words to express my love for his character. And let’s not forget the loveable Peanut who dare I say, eats better than I do.

f you are looking for a book that has a whole lot of humor, swoony romantic vibes, fantastic main and supporting characters, and a whole lot of heart, this is the book for you. I would give it 10 stars if I could. Somehow Center always manages to speak to my soul.

I really enjoyed learning about Prosopagnosia. A condition where a person cannot recognize faces. Sadie is a good character who misses her mom who passed away years ago--who has a troubled past thanks to her evil stepsister.

The plot is not just about Sadie's unlikely condition due to a brain surgery that took away her ability to paint portraits. But, she awakens to the fact that you have to embrace your differences and her limitations. She doesn't want help, but does she?

I liked the romantic lead "Joe" and how their relationship develops. Sadie is not one to trust, but her new condition has her feeling more vulnerable and open than what she usually is. And you learn first impressions could be the wrong impression so maybe get to know the person first.

It's a classic Katherine Center read-- fun and fast read, a character with a limitation or struggle, an unlikely romance, and a goofy best friend, and a troubled family.

I'm giving it 3.5 stars because I felt as if I read this Center novel before, just different struggle and character name. I still enjoyed it. It'll be a good beach read.

I was THRILLED to have the opportunity to read this book by one of my favorite authors. Katherine Center never disappoints. This book checks all the boxes: cute, good characters, side characters with actual personalities and lives, family drama, reconciliation, dealing with grief, puppies with gourmet palates, etc. It was a pleasurable read and about a condition that I was unaware could be acquired. A face blind portrait artist is such a compelling choice of heroine. I did figure out the twist long before it was revealed, which may have been intentional on Ms. Center's part, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of this novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, Katherine Center is on fire! The BodyGuard was one of my favorite books this year and Hello Stranger is just as good if not better!! I really loved the unique premise, the humor, the storytelling and the writing. You are in for a treat with this one!

A delightful love story with a side helping of self-love and forgiveness. Katherine Center has done it again! I love her stories because they’re always full of wit and humor and—even better—wisdom about life and love the art of loving. This new book is no exception!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center outdid herself with this story! She always has strong female leads, but Sadie, a portrait artist, loses not only her ability to see/recognize faces but her connection with her mother, also a portrait artist, who died when Sadie was 14. Her struggles are unimaginable. She's alone and unwilling to share her dilemma with anyone but her best friend.
I experienced so many good and bad emotions while reading this story, and I couldn't put it down. 5 stars -- more if I could!

Interesting concept and well done execution! I know of face blindness, but I'd never looked into how it worked before, nor thought about how limiting it might be if it occurred suddenly. I loved Sadie, though she did get a little mopey sometimes, but who can blame her? Joe was a perfect foil for her and their dynamic was excellent from the start. The misunderstandings and miscommunication partially due to her facial recognition issue were cleverly done and not frustrating because as the reader you were just as lost as Sadie. I hated how awful Parker, Lucinda, and her dad seemed, though Lucinda and her dad did redeem themselves by the end. Parker can rot for all I care, but that's the point. Overall, a really lovely read, though the steam was basically nonexistent (a couple kisses, but nothing more on the page).

Hello Stranger, Katherine Center
Sadie, a struggling artist, is about to get her big break...until she literally almost breaks! An underlying brain injury leaves her needing surgery. No "brainer"...she'll be back up and on her feet with plenty of time before the competition. Quickly after her surgery, she learns she's left with a face blindness condition, unable to recognize the faces of anyone. How will this ever work when she's supposed to be painting a portrait for her competition? Along the road to recovery, she develops a huge crush on her dog's veterinarian, and who's this guy in her apartment building she keeps running into? Can she really develop feelings for both men at the same time, all the while never being able to see their faces?
This is just the cutest book and I was rooting for Sadie the entire time! I really enjoyed this and I hope you do too! This releases on July 11th.

LOVED this fun story about Sadie, a budding artist and her inability to recognize faces following brain surgery! Sadie wins a spot in a prestigious portrait competition that will lift up her emerging career. Unfortunately, after procuring the spot, she is extremely limited in her ability to paint. Her aging dog, Peanut, is also having medical woes, requiring Sadie to visit the "very hot" vet regularly. She meets a fellow, Joe, in her apartment building that helps her in lots of ways. Adventure ensues, and we learn about "confirmation bias" and how it causes us to be blind to so many things.

Hello Stranger is a delight to read - just the right number of characters, each well developed and relatable. The story has fun twists and turns, and ultimately the ending is wonderfully surprising. Highly recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review Hello Stranger.