Once again, Katherine Center made me fall in love. It took a little longer to get there with this book than some of her others, but ultimately,
that's where I ended up.

There were many times that I felt annoyed and frustrated with Sadie for not being more open about her medical condition. Truly, miscommunication is one of my least favorite plot devices in romance, and wow, did this book have a huge one. Also, her family was just plain horrible. But despite all of that, I ended up adoring Hello Stranger. The payoff at the end was filled with hope and beauty and so well deserved. This was such a wonderfully thought-provoking book. It was truly a joy to read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! This is the second book I’ve read that’s dealt with the medical condition known as “face blindness” and they definitely make for interesting reads! The writing was funny and entertaining as all of Katherine’s books usually are and I found the love story endearing and sweet! Definitely will be a favorite if you’re a Katherine Center fan!!

2.5 Stars!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited to receive a copy of this book! I love Katherine Center’s books. I thought the cover was adorable and that I was going to jump into a pretty cute romance, but this one missed the mark for me.

“Hello Stranger” follows the story of Sadie who is suffering from face blindness. She is grieving the death of her mother. She finds herself in the middle of a love triangle between her veterinarian and neighbor, entering an important art competition, navigating the family dynamics of her dad, stepsister, and stepmom, and her best friend has flown out of the country to elope. There’s a lot of “drama” going on in this book and has very little “romance.”

I’m usually pretty fine when I pick up a book thinking it will be a cute romance and instead, it ends up being pretty hard-hitting contemporary book with heavy topics. The reason I’m usually okay when this happens is because the characters are so well written, and their character development drives the story to the finish. The hard-hitting topics usually pull at my heartstrings and emotions, and I end up rooting for the characters through gorgeous and addictive writing. This didn’t happen with this book.

Characters- This is one of the areas I struggled with in this book. Sadie was incredibly immature, and I really didn’t care for her character. The way she jumps to the worst-case scenario about people was very insecure and it was frustrating to read from her point of view. Her family wasn’t fun to read about either, and don’t even get me started on her best friend.

Plot- This was pretty ridiculous. I didn’t care for it, nor was I even remotely surprised by the ending. In fact, I told myself about the 50% mark that if XYZ ended up being the ending, that I would rage quit the book because there would be no way that would ever be the ending because it would be a terrible story. And then, sure enough, XYZ ended up being the ending.

Sadly, this book had too many negative things going on for me to enjoy the book. I didn’t even feel comfortable reading it. I hate unnecessary love triangles, and not only was this one unnecessary, but it was also so messy and ridiculous. The amount of miscommunication that happened in this book was unbelievable at best and ruined this book for me. Sure, you can blame it on the character being immature and not being able to recognize faces and voices, but that was pretty convenient.

I am a Katherine Center fan! I have very much enjoyed her other books, and I would still recommend this one for people looking for a very easy (and cheesy) read, but the plot and characters didn’t work for me at all with this book. I’m pretty disappointed. In fact, the more I type this review, the more I realize how much I didn’t like this book.

This was a bummer!! But I will still pick up this author’s next book!

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’m a pretty big fan of Katherine Center- having read How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, What You Wish For, and The Bodyguard ( this one being the one I’ll be the most pissed about if it doesn’t get made into a movie!)

What I liked:

Gosh, this cover. I love it. I want to have it on my bookshelf just so I can gaze at it every once in awhile.

Sadie. She was the best. She had crappy moments and yet she kept on… even when it was hard.

The ending. ❤



Bottom line: Katherine Center has another winner on her hands. Already eagerly anticipating her NEXT book.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center was a phenomenal read! I’ve read several of her books and this one might be close to tying my favorite of her novels, Things You Save in a Fire.

Like Center’s other novels,this is a beautiful love story. This one tells the story of Sadie and Joe.

Sadie is a struggling artist and also happens to be a finalist in a prestigious portrait contest that could finally be her big break.

Joe on the other hand, is her neighbor, who she wants nothing to do with because he’s obviously a man-hoe.

One day though, everything changes for Sadie. She finds out she had a a medical condition that could kill her, so she has to undergo brain surgery. Unfortunately after the surgery, Sadie has face blindness… which isn’t great since she’s a portrait artist and can’t paint faces if she can’t see them.

Despite this news, her friend still forges ahead with throwing Sadie a party to celebrate her being a finalist in the competition. But, since Sadie can’t recognize anyone at the party, she heads up to the rooftop to roller skate and she ends up crashing into Joe, who helps calm her anxieties. From there, she starts to realize that maybe he isn’t as bad as she thought. Over time, their connection grows, but will everything change once he finds out she’s been keeping her face blindness a secret? Or if she regains facial recognition and can finally see his face? Only time will tell.

Overall, I loved this book. I adored Sadie and Joe. I also empathized with Sadie’s challenges with her face blindness. It’s hard to imagine dating and painting faces when you can’t see them. I appreciated the storylines outside of the romance involving the portrait competition as well as her complicated relationship with her family. I will say I detested her evil stepsister, Parker though. I give Sadie credit for handling herself as well as she did despite everything Parker put her through.

Again, I loved every second of reading this novel and I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next!

Loved this book! Such a cute story, the main character has trouble recognizing faces and is a portrait artist. Center as always has written some great characters with a plot that keeps you guessing. Center is my favorite rom com writer.

That was frustrating but satisfying all at once

The idea was totally unique. Not to mention the face blindness condition which totally the center of attention of this story. Love how everything unfolded, even the author’s note was pleasant. Not gonna lie I read the first 10% and dropped it for months bc it’s not really interest me but I devoured the rest in a night. Definitely gonna check Katherine’s other books (published & upcoming)

Sadie is a portrait artist who is a finalist in an art competition that is her big break. Disaster strikes when a freak accident forces her to get brain surgery that results in temporary face blindness. She can’t exactly paint a portrait if she can’t see faces. While she’s spiraling, she ends up freakishly fixating on her vet and hesitantly falling in love with her douchey neighbor, all while her evil step sister moves into her building to cause nuisance to her already stressful life.

Every person I’ve seen reviewing this has absolutely loved it, but that was not my experience. I’m bummed, too, because The Bodyguard is a 6 star book for me.

Firstly, Sadie is depressed for basically the entire novel. It can be tiring to read from her perspective and I had to take long breaks from this book because of it. Her friend, Sue, is a terrible person. She didn’t do a single nice thing for Sadie the entire time and I’m scratching my head over why Sadie stays so loyal to her. Sue only does things that benefit her, even if it hurts her friend. Terrible! Joe is the only character I like, and he is the reason why I enjoyed this novel at all.

I couldn’t ignore the Cinderella story-ness of this book, although I haven’t seen anyone else comment on this! Hello! Sadie lost her mother, her dad is essentially out of the picture, her step mom has unrealistic expectations, and her step sister is the devil in heels. Her portrait competition is the magic ball, and she says she’s going to hang out until 11 PM there… close enough to midnight for me! I even think the dress she wears at the end is blue… Anyway I liked this aspect, although her family would trigger me quite a bit. I’m sensitive to these things, so I recognize it’s a me-thing, but it did sometimes hinder my enjoyment.

The romance was cute and what made me settle on my mid-rating, although the first half of this book is more literary than romance. I didn’t like how insta-love it was between Dr. Addison and Sadie, but I can accept that after a terrible string of events a person would cling to someone like that easily. I wish there was more romance, and I’m looking forward to Center’s next release.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, this is a hard one to rate and write a review for. I've really come to enjoy Center's previous novels, so I'm disappointed that this one fell rather flat for me. I DNF'd around 50%.

The main character, Sadie, has a seizure and is recommended to have brain surgery. While the surgery is a success, it has the unexpected side effect of prosopagnosia--face blindness. I've heard about this neurological disorder before, and I was super intrigued to read a novel from the perspective of someone struggling with it, especially since Sadie is a portrait painter. Unfortunately, while this premise was exciting, I have to say the execution . . . left a few things desired.

Let me start with Sadie, who is quite whiny and childish. When told she should do the brain surgery to avoid future seizures or even fatal complications, she elects to push it off--so she can potentially win a painting competition instead. While I understood her desire to do the competition (Sadie's in a financially tough spot, and her own mother was a finalist in the same competition before her untimely passing), and her fear of potentially missing it as a result of the surgery, the logic just didn't work for me. I simply couldn't fathom someone being so utterly reckless with their health; the competition wasn't a big enough justification, in my opinion.

I also didn't understand her relationship with her family. She is clearly estranged from her father, yet he's the first one she wants to call when she learns she's a finalist in the competition--but then she is also annoyed with him when he tries to be a bigger part of her life. I also didn't understand how he was able to just schedule the surgery on her behalf, without her consent; that felt like a very ethically gray area. I also hated how Sadie constantly referred to her stepmother (Lucinda) and stepsister (Parker) as "evil." Granted, while neither Lucinda nor Parker are particularly kind, this just felt so petty and unwarranted. And speaking of Lucinda and Parker, their characterization as evil is just so over-the-top ridiculous; they felt more like caricature villains to add extra tension to Sadie's life, rather than real or complex characters.

Finally, the prosopagnosia. This was such a hard part of the novel for me to enjoy, as it seemed like the rules were constantly changing. (Disclaimer: I understand there aren't "rules" for a neurological disorder and that it can likely manifest differently for everyone in real life. However, this is a novel, and I felt that Sadie's prosopagnosia constantly changed to put her into silly and over-the-top situations.) For example, Sadie is able to immediately recognize her best friend Sue--and yet, is constantly unable to recognize Parker, despite running into her several times and even living in the same apartment building.

And then there's the "love triangle" with Joe and Oliver. Joe is a sleazy guy living in Sadie's building, who seems to be a womanizer and all-around terrible dude that Sadie detests; Oliver is the perfectly charming and handsome veterinarian whom Sadie falls in love with as he saves her precious dog. Well, spoiler: they're the same guy! And Sadie is somehow completely unable to realize they share the same voice, hair, or other non-facial features. And this isn't an issue entirely with the portrayal of prosopagnosia, but with Oliver himself. Hasn't he noticed that Sadie acts wildly different towards him, for no apparent reason? She practically yells and insults at him as Joe, yet essentially melts and only gives him heart-eyes as Oliver. She also constantly refers to him as Joe in certain situations, and he never corrects her. When Oliver is late to their coffee date, and "Joe" shows up, he doesn't apologize for the delay. "Joe" also never asks how Sadie's dog is doing. These are all perfectly rational reactions and questions to ask, yet the author constantly avoids Oliver/Joe from doing them, to stretch out the big reveal.

Altogether, this was sadly a disappointing and frustrating read.

i didn’t love this book, but i didn’t hate it either.

i could relate to sadie to some degree (regarding her family), but that was about it. i was very interested in the storyline in the beginning, but the majority of the book became extremely repetitive, thus my interest dwindled. i will say, the plot is very unique and i enjoyed reading about something new.. then it just became way too much. there are clues to the big twist planted early on in the book, but there also plot holes surrounding those clues. it’s not that big of a deal, but something i noticed and thought about often while reading and piecing it all together.

overall, its an adorable, cheesy, and lighthearted romance. i would recommend to those who love simple rom-coms!

~ thank you to netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie would finally get her big chance to make something out of herself, her big break! However, life had other plans. She is a portrait artist; then she has a medical emergency and she has to have surgery for. However, this surgery leaves an unfortunate side effect she can no longer see faces. I love how the love story was brought on, and I loved that Oliver/Joe was the same person. I feel for her the struggle of her family and her step-sister is horrible! The book has an amazing ending that makes everything worth it, and it's not too unrealistic! This is an author I had always meant to get to, and finally getting to read one of her books has made me realize that I am missing out! I'm going to check out more of her novels!
I want to thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for giving me the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this book!

Hello Stranger introduced me to a disease that I had no idea existed, acquired Prosopagnosia, face blindness. And it was quite fascinating to learn more about it. Also, I thought the author did a fantastic job of researching the topic and turning it into a great plot arc. Well done!!

But I was not a fan of the heroine, couldn't even point to exactly what irked me, but she didn't endear herself to me - which is never a good thing.

I also would have liked to have more interaction between the couple, and less of Sadie's inner monologue. Her inner musings were just so blah, and meh, almost childish and definitely vexing at times. Also her relationship with her family had me rolling my eyes at times - I was not a fan of it! And I must have spaced out here and there because I can't even remember if the couple slept with each other or not.

It is hard for me to like a book when the main character is annoying and problematic. I was happy towards the end with some revelations that came out and that's what bumped it up to three stars for me. I also found the writing to be choppy, short sentences and wording that didn't make sense. It was confusing because I've loved every other book by this author. It feels like her deadline was coming and she through things together. Just my opinion but read at your own risk.

I haven’t met a Katherine Center book that I haven’t adored. I love that you are always promised a happy ending and some fun along the way. Hello Stranger is no exception. I have a friend with facial blindness so it was nice to see a book explore this topic. I enjoyed the storyline, the best friend, the (obvious but fun) mystery and the medical conflict. Thanks for another delightful rom com!

Katherine Center is edging her way into being one of my favorite authors. Hello Stranger centers around Sadie a portraitist just about to enter a career- changing endeavor. Suddenly, she collapses on the street and wakes up in the hospital realizing she has a rare brain malfunction that makes her unable to recognize the faces of people. The story unfolds as she tries to maintain her career, which is very difficult not being able to see faces, and is falling for her neighbor and her veterinarian.

I highly recommend Hello Stranger to people who love a good story with elements of romance, self development, and a fun twist.

I really enjoyed this!!
My first Katherine Center book. 🙂

-single pov
-likable and (very dislikable characters - I’m looking at you Parker. You suck)
-quick listen!

This book was easy to digest and had a great story line. I thought it was super unique and I learned more about face blindness. I didn't even know that was a thing!!! I loved how the ending all came together w/ our main characters.

Loved the audiobook. I thought it was great!!
Without giving too much away, this book does deal with medical issues so if that’s an issue for you please look up TWs.

Can't wait to read more books by this author!

Katherine Center is becoming a must read author for me! I loved Hello, Stranger! A little bit of a rom com, with some laugh out loud moments, but a lot of heart and love. Definitely recommend!!!

Hello Stranger is my 2nd read by Katherine Center. I enjoyed The Bodyguard and had a feeling this one would be a winner as well and it definitely was. Center has a way of writing unique, but highly relatable characters that you find yourself loving and rooting for like a best friend. In Hello Stranger we meet Sadie Montgomery who is a struggling portrait artist who suddenly finds herself diagnosed with face blindness at a promising point in her career and while falling in love with two different men.

Read if you love:
Swoon-worthy Romance
Funny Side Characters
Evil Stepsister Antagonists
Love Triangles
Adorable Dogs with Impeccable Taste in Food

If you're a Katherine Center fan then you are going to absolutely love this one. If you're new to her books, but love a romcom with substance and laugh out loud humor then you're in for a real treat & will find yourself immediately picking up more of her work.

🎬 Also check out Katherine Center's Happiness For Beginners on @Netflix It was super sweet! 🥰

A special thank you to the author, NetGalley and St Martins Press Romance for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

From the author of THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE and WHAT YOU WISH FOR comes the newest sweet romance story. The characters felt real, particularly Sadie the struggling artist. I do think she fell into some typical tropes I don't really enjoy (i.e. this girl is struggling and needs saving!) There were some interesting aspects like the surgery storyline, the stuff about family, etc. which i did enjoy but made this feel less like a romance. Overall, it was well written and interesting, but not my favorite of hers and definitely not a classic romance.

Katherine Center books are always such a breath of fresh air. They will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy by the end, but are not complete fluff, in that you oftentimes have to fight through some fairly emotional, tough stuff to get there. This book was no different. I loved it very much.

First off, don't the let the far-fetched synopsis about a woman with face blindness keep you from reading. It does seem a bit crazy at first (though prosopagnosia is indeed a real thing), but makes for a very entertaining and endearing read. I felt so much for the heroine of this book, and loved seeing how things turned out for her.

If you are looking for a great contemporary, unique, rom-com read, please pick this one up! I don't think you'll be disappointed. <3

I definitely didn't love this one as much as I enjoyed The Bodyguard, but it was still a good read. The book was very engaging, but there was just a lot going on.