Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center.
I’ve been a fan of Katherine’s other books that I knew immediately I would love this and I was right. While I was able to figure out the twist, it wasn’t right away; but it didn’t disappoint me in any way. Something about Sadie drew me in, and I couldn’t help to root for her. From a less than stellar childhood, to the loss her mother and sure that leaves her with an unfortunate temporary side effect.
The uniqueness of this story lies beneath the surface and the message it delivers about our minds and the things we can see.
If you’re a fan of any of Katherine’s stories don’t hesitate to dive into Sadie’s world.

As the author writes in her end note, romance novels are predictable in a good way – they have a positive outcome based on the thread of hope running through the storyline. Katherine Center’s novels may have this predictable quality, but her plotlines are fresh, engaging and often inspiring. I have been a fan of hers ever since reading “How to Walk Away.” This latest offering delivers her signature style and was a very satisfying read.

Sadie Montgomery’s life began to go off the tracks at age 14 when her mother unexpectedly died of a stroke. Her father subsequently remarried, and Sadie inherited an incredibly mean stepsister, eventually being banished to a boarding school through no fault of her own. Her estrangement with her father was compounded by her dropping out of premed to pursue a fine arts degree. A talented portrait artist, Sadie has barely made a sustainable income, but now her big break has arrived: she is a finalist in a competition that could provide both a monetary prize and launch her career to a new level. Just as things are looking up, Sadie undergoes brain surgery that leaves her with a condition called “facial blindness.” With no guarantees that she will ever regain her ability to perceive facial features and recognize people, Sadie faces the possibility that she will be unable to enter the final competition and may have to sacrifice her passion for creating art forever.

I loved Sadie as a strong, independent protagonist with all-too-human frailties. She is an underdog to root for as she navigates her new reality, taking risks and redefining her approach to art. Her transformative journey is laced with humor, pathos, and hope. Several other strong characters stand out…her elderly pup named Peanut, her best friend Sue, and her landlord, Mr. Kim. Of course, there are the romantic interests, but I’ll leave that to be discovered in the reading.

Overall, this was a great read, and like many of Center’s novels, I was sorry to see it end. The stories are always complete, but the characters seem to have so much more to share. I highly recommend the author’s work.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Thank you #netgalley !

If you live Katherine center books then you will love this too.

This is heartwarming and a sweet romance. Yes it’s an a +b=c romance model. This is also not a spicy book.

It’s also so much more than a romance . This book speaks about loss of someone you love ( in more than one way ) . This book mentions ( not in depth ) a true medical condition and how it can change someone’s life. I love Katherine centers writing and the humor in the book . I like the characters she writes .

This book has a cute dog in it and no the dog does not die ! The book is about the same length as her other books !!

Can I give a book a million stars? Because Hello Stranger deserves them ALL! I'm still buzzing with the joy that comes from finishing this lovely book that completely swept me off my feet from cover to cover.

Sadie is an artist surfing the ups and downs that come with life. She's just reached a major career (and life) milestone when she earns a coveted spot in a portrait competition. But first, she has to undergo a minor brain surgery procedure (if one can ever be considered minor), which is a success except for the residual swelling that leaves her with the inability to clearly see faces. Not ideal for a portrait artist. The opposite of ideal.

Sadie--and the entire cast of characters with their struggles and triumphs--felt SO real. And Joe. What a complicated and phenomenal character. The juxtaposition of a character with a compulsive need to help with one' who is incapable of accepting it was brilliant.

I'm a huge Katherine Center fan. Her books made me fall in love with rom-coms and Hello Stranger just became my all-time favorite.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to be an early reader. I still feel like I won the lottery getting to read this one.

I was beyond excited to read this but I feel like it fell a little flat compared to her other books. Sadie is a struggling artist who is not just struggling at art she’s struggling at life. She’s emotionally stunted herself and has no family relationship. Though she has “family” it’s not what she wants and she doesn’t even realize it. The love story is quirky and in the end predictable. I feel like this book was a bit rushed and under developed. It’s typical chick lit and I’ve come to expect more from this author. It will by no means stop me from reading everything she writes it just left me wanting more.

Hello Stranger was such a feel good read. I could totally see a romcom movie when I was reading about Sadie and Joe. There are struggles, there is humor, there is all the usual feelings as your read, but it keeps you reading, keeps you rooting for Sadie, and keeps you loving the story. Loved the premise - it even made me google face blindness - who knew such a thing is real. A great read!

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.

I love Katherine Center 🥹.

I had no doubts that I would absolutely love this book and here we are! This book was everything, it was informative, dramatic, heartbreaking, twisty, and funny all in one! I loved reading about Sadie’s journey through face blindness and the love story in this book was just oh so perfect. Absolutely incredible characters, even the ones that you wanted to punch 😂

Sadie’s side stories regarding her family dynamics and the struggles that she has been through were so powerful, my eyes definitely watered near the end. So many emotions! Truly did not want this story to end! 💙

So very very VERY grateful to St. Martin’s Press for sending me this advanced ebook copy to review. Definitely a romance one should mark their calendars for and rush to get !

Out July 11th, 2023 !

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me an advanced copy of Hello Stranger! When I received the email, I did not even stop to read the blurb before downloading because Katherine Center always delivers. Well, let me tell you, Hello Stranger is her best yet! The plot is totally unique from any book or movie I've seen before. We meet our main character, Sadie, just when everything in her life seems like it's finally going right. Until, suddenly it's not. After a "minor" brain surgery, Sadie develops facial blindness, which makes her life as a portrait artist much more difficult. As Sadie learns to navigate life with her new (hopefully temporary) condition, she meets her swoony new vet and sets out to make him fall for her. She also might not hate her neighbor Joe as much as she originally thought either. In typical Katherine Center fashion, Hello Stranger will have you laughing out loud during one chapter and shedding a tear during the next. This book packs the steam without getting overly spicy, so you can feel comfortable reading it in front of your grandma.

I don't think this review has done justice to how much I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is one of my new favorites, and I will be recommending this to everyone.

I simply adore Katherine Center books! I have read at least five and each one is better than the last one I read, if that is even possible. Try as hard as I might, I am unable to pick a favorite — they are all my favorites! It’s easy to devour her books because they are just so delicious, delightful and deeply satisfying. You will always find wit, sincerity and wisdom in Ms. Center’s words and an uplifting story that will fill your heart.

The best part of a Katherine Center book is, of course, the storytelling and the characters. While there are a couple of “downer” moments, the overall story is upbeat and entertaining. The book centers around two characters that the reader gets to know very well. The ensemble surrounding them are also important and well drawn.

Sadie Montgomery has finally gotten her big break — she is a top ten finalist in a portrait contest of 2,000 people. This is Sadie’s wheelhouse - portraiture - so it should be relatively easy to win, right? Not so fast. Her timing couldn’t be worse because she is in desperate need of brain surgery and while she wants to wait until after the contest, her father pressures her to do it right away because her mother delayed and died from the same thing.

Sadie goes through with the surgery and there are complications that challenge her artistic abilities to the extreme. Hard as she tries, and she does attempt many different techniques, it proves very difficult to overcome. In the meantime, her dog is sick and her evil stepsister, who truly is evil, moves in to her building. Poor Sadie! But on the positive front, she has a very dear friend Sue, whose parents are the landlords, and has made a new friend in the building who helps her out a lot when she seems to most need it.

You cannot help but root for Sadie as she tries to overcome these hurdles and finally get her big break by winning the contest. I just adored Sadie and am definitely going to miss her now that the book is over. But the journey was so terrific that I cannot recommend this book highly enough! I promise you will love Hello Stranger and you will have a tough time putting it down. I know I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. I was engrossed from start to finish. It was a fast-paced, heartfelt, hopeful, funny, and entertaining read. I was really drawn in by several of the characters. I loved how the book ended. Much thanks for the ARC.

I just completely adore Katherine Center’s writing. The humor she imbues in her stories continue to be infectious every step of the way. I didn’t know how badly I needed to laugh until I read this book. The plot is both ridiculous and so endearing, and I need everyone to experience the same sort of joy that I did when reading. Sadie and Joe, this one’s for you.

This was a very cool, interesting book. I honestly have never heard of face blindness, much less read a story about it. The characters jump off the page, as is always the case with Katherine Center, even if this book was missing some of the deeper emotion I get from her other books. There were parts I thought were a little predictable, but for the most part this story was very entertaining and I did not want to put it down.

Wow, what a great story! I love Katherine Center booksand this one ranks right up at the top of the list of favorites. I was not anticipating the little twist at the end, but what a great way to tie it all up! Thank you for the chance to read this early.

This author has been on my auto-read list for some time now and her latest book doesn't disappoint at all. I can't believe she is successful yet again with this heart-warming, adorable romcom which is a perfect dose of sunshine in this dreary world. It felt like a warm hug and I don't regret picking this one right away over all other books.

Sadie is someone who felt very real with all her struggles, insecurities and also with an attitude of enjoying little things in life in spite of the unfair, cruel world. She is a portrait artist who ends up with face blindness after a surgery. How can a portrait artist survive if she can't see or identify faces?? That's such a hopeless situation and it was tough for her to continue that way. She then meets her pet's handsome vet Oliver and casts him as her future husband in her dreams right away but also starts off being friends with cute and helpful neighbor, Joe.

I hate love triangles but this is one funny love triangle that I had no qualms reading. I knew what was happening after a certain point but the whole anticipation as the author says about romcoms was delightful. Was Joe an amazing boyfriend? Oh yeah! Absolutely! There is some comedy of errors at the end causing major chaos, drama and confusion in the triangle but as it ends on a joyful note, it felt like it ended with some sunshine for the readers.

Okay the twist is unparalleled. I just have to say that up front. WOW. I never saw it coming. This book was beautifully raw and sad and real. I wanted things to get better or magically come together but that’s not how life plays out is it? Excellent read and incredibly written!

I loved this book so so so so much. I studied psychology and so parts of this book I hard learned and it was so interesting to see it in a block and all the obstacles the main character had to overcome.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to honestly review.

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this wonderful book. Katherine Center is such a wonderful author who never lets me down. This was such a good read with an interesting plot and honestly a “twist” that I maybe should have seen coming but didn’t. I will definitely be recommending this one to all!

3.5 stars. I love Katherine Center’s novels because they leave me with all of the feels. Usually weeping at the end. This one is less emotional, but still enjoyable. The author has used a particular medical disorder as a plot in her books before and this is no different. It is definitely more uncommon medical problem without giving anything away. The characters are great and i found myself rooting for Sadie. In the author’s note she talks about why we love romance novels and how we use predictable to describe romance novels. She goes on to formulate that predictable in romance is positive anticipation and gives you hope. I love this explanation and I look forward to the next Katherine Center novel for my dose of hope. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

did it again! This is only my second novel I read from Katherine Center but it’s just as amazing as The Bodyguard. I love how unique this concept is and it felt so fresh especially for the romance category.



SPOILERS

1. I don’t think a character has ever made me so irate as Parker did. Especially when she tricked Sadie in the beginning. I was fuming.

2. I cried so hard when Sadie recited the voicemail and when everyone sang happy birthday to Nora. So beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time.

3. My favorite scene was the big reveal discussion. I was laughing by both of their reactions to each other’s accidental mistakes. It was priceless.

I enjoyed this book as I always do with Katherine Center. However, it felt very predictable to me. I knew from the beginning what the "twist" was, and I found myself reading faster just so I could get to the big reveal.