Very sweet and charming romance that offers some unexpected developments that make me want to go back and reread from the beginning. Some readers may catch on sooner to a major surprise in the romance. I was pretty clueless though, but also pleasantly surprised by the crafty plotting of this book.


Sadie is an up-and-coming portrait artist who suffers a health episode in the opening chapter from a neurological birth defect. She has a successful brain surgery but is left with a slow healing process that leaves her unable to distinguish facial features. This aspect is well handled and provides for plenty of emotional moments, both sad and humorous, as Sadie attempts to adjust to her new normal. I do think the plot here is a little too on the nose since Sadie is a portraitist and is competing in a potentially life-changing competition at exactly the moment when she collapses and can no longer see people's distinct facial features. Setting that detail aside, I did enjoy her coping mechanisms, and I really enjoyed her attempts to date two different men simultaneously given that she cannot see their faces. I'm pretty sure I would lay low in such an event rather than decide, hey, now is a good time to hit the dating scene. But, this is a romantic comedy, and so we watch Sadie date faceless men and navigate feelings that she may not be able to trust given the challenges she encounters.

While I enjoyed the romance/s, I rather less enjoyed Sadie's family drama - including her neglectful father, her difficult stepmother, her diabolical stepsister. I think mainly I did not really like these parts of the story because Sadie was diminished by them. She is supposedly nearly 30 but still using her father's credit card to shop, and still squabbling with her stepsister over which child is more loved in the family. She felt a bit childish to me and I found the book maybe more new adult than I expected.

Still, the ending so caught me off guard that I forgot my earlier criticism. This book definitely ends on a high note. I have a hit and miss relationship with this author but do want to read more from her.

Anything Katherine Center writes, I will read. Hello Stranger is inventive, quirky and heartwarming! The book could be summed up in its final line: "The more good things you look for, the more you find." The FMC character development was amazing. I do think the MMC was a bit of a manic-pixie-dream girl though. The best part of this book though was the Author's Note at the end - I teared up!

This is the most amazing novel I've ever read!!!!!! This in my opinion is Katherine Center's best novel yet.

“Maybe five years ago, I was listening to a radio show called ‘This American Life,’ and they did a Valentine’s Day issue where they were doing a bunch of little love stories in the episode,” began New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center in an interview with The Michigan Daily. “One of the stories was about a woman who had fallen in love with a guy who had face blindness — and one of the things that stuck with me about it was this idea that she loved the way he looked at her … that story in that radio show did not end happily — they did not stay together — but there’s always this part of me that hears unhappy love stories and wants to fix them. And so I just held onto it.”

This was the inspiration for her upcoming novel “Hello Stranger.”

Sadie, the protagonist of “Hello Stranger,” finds herself victim to a tragic accident early on in the book that leads to her suffering from face blindness. She’s no longer able to put individual facial features together in a full picture and, as a result, can’t recognize her friends and can’t see the faces of new people she’s meeting. And because she’s adamant about not explaining the situation beyond those closest to her, there’s bound to be some miscommunication and conflict.


The biggest conflict in the book presents itself as Sadie wrestles between two figures in her life romantically — Joe, the guy next door who makes a bad first impression but makes up for it, and Dr. Oliver Addison, the handsome and charming vet who she takes her sick dog to for help. Love triangles are difficult to navigate on a good day — but when you can’t even recognize the guys in your life, that makes things a bit more difficult.

There are questions that come with this kind of a love story, Center explained. “What is it that we fall in love with when we fall in love with people? Do you need to see someone’s face? How do you love somebody? If you can’t see them the way that you’re used to seeing them … what is it? How does it all work?”

Because Sadie is dealing with these deep, personal issues while also trying to find love, Center successfully navigates two genres with her book, making the characters more nuanced and the story as a whole more meaningful. The romance in “Hello Stranger” is, to use Center’s word, “swoony,” but watching Sadie personally grow throughout the course of the novel is just as riveting. She endures a trauma early on that impacts the rest of the novel and informs all of her decisions, opinions and feelings. It makes her a more realistic character — someone to root for. A person in her own right, not solely characterized by the romance in her life.

“I think of myself as writing sort of half women’s fiction and half romance,” said Center. “The part where there’s struggle like Sadie’s … that’s more women’s fiction. It’s about personal growth … finding it, figuring out who you are and what really matters. Those are big, deep life questions … And then 50% love story … That’s the enjoyable part. That is the part, as a reader, that lights my particular fire … that sense of longing, that sense of anticipation, that anticipatory joy as you think about that happy ending that you’re moving towards and can’t wait to get there. That’s why I come back to them over and over and over again.”

These dual-genre books that Center loves to read and write make for some of the most well-crafted contemporary novels of the day. Traditional romance novels have been frowned upon and looked down upon for a long time because people assume them to be one-note, but some of the most successful, interesting novels of recent history have proven otherwise. Not only is it possible to write a book that features characters that have their own, significant stories alongside their romantic subplots, it’s actually happening — and happening a lot.


BookTok, for instance, has been a vehicle for the increased interest and respect for these novels. Seeing fellow readers unapologetically laud romantic stories and highlight and sticky note their favorite parts (in pastel, aesthetically pleasing color coordination, to boot) has made others feel freer to express their opinions on books.

“Books like romance … have traditionally been, in my opinion, quite tragically pooh-poohed by the literary world,” said Center. “You weren’t going to get reviewed in the New York Times writing romance. Those gatekeepers don’t really exist on BookTok, they don’t really exist on Instagram. If you love a book, you just get on there, and you post about it, and you talk about what you loved. You’re not waiting for some old guy to let you through and read about your book.”

“Hello Stranger” has already begun to make a splash on BookTok and Bookstagram — just like her last book, “The Bodyguard,” and a big part of that is because of how wonderfully she balances those two genres that mean so much to her — and her readers.

With its emphasis on its central character, combined with its “swoony” romance, “Hello Stranger” is a hit. Sadie is everything you could want in a protagonist — the right amount of quirky, sunshiney and stubborn, and the men she’s in love with are equally fascinating. All the side characters provide humor and comfort, and even those characters who you aren’t really supposed to like are annoyingly intriguing and captivating. Center created a brilliant cast of characters, set to a plot that’s sure to keep you reading.

“I believe very strongly in this sort of psychological concept of post-traumatic growth — that the hard things that happen to you in life will … inevitably change you. You can be stronger and better on the other side.”

Sadie comes out stronger on the other side, and watching her journey is nothing short of inspirational.

Daily Arts Writer Sabriya Imami can be reached at simami@umich.edu.

This was beyond cute, but a little sad at times. I loved the relationship that grew between Sadie and Joe. They were friends and it blossomed into a wonderful love to write home about, solely based on interactions, conversations, and body language. Too bad it didn't work out with the Veterinarian lol. The book was easy to read, kept me engaged, and made me feel all the feels. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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

I enjoyed Katherine Center's previous book, The Bodyguard, so I was so excited for this one! The characters were wonderful and relatable, and I couldn't help but root for Sadie. Watching her love story with Joe unfold was delightful, and I also learned some new things about propagnosia (face blindness).

This is a perfect blend of messy family dynamics, sweet romance, and hilarious moments sprinkled in!

I love the story lines that Katherine Center produces and that it's not just the typical reasons behind the tropes. I did find it quite obvious it was the same person throughout- not sure if that was supposed to be a big aha moment, but I still was sucked in to see how it would end up.

I'm slowly making my way through Center's backlist. This book had a great twist that was unlike anything I'd imagined. Of course, I figured it out about 45% of the way through the book, but I am ok with that!

I really enjoyed Hello Stranger! This is my second Katherine Center novel and it didn’t disappoint. I’ll admit the beginning was a little slow going for me but after about 50 pages I was hooked. I really enjoyed getting to know Sadie and Joe (and Peanut!) along with the supporting cast and it opened my eyes to new challenges I’d never really given much thought to!

This unfortunately was not my favorite Katherine Center novel. I found it quite boring and predictable (and yes I do understand all romance novels are predictable by nature). The upsides were that there were some interesting parts- reading about Sadie's condition and face blindness was something I did not know much about before. And I adored the people Sadie had in her corner! Overall, Sadie herself was not a character I could connect with.

This was a cute and fun read!

Loved the bit so typical story plot and the little twist. It took me a minute to figure it out but once I did it was like… 💡

Overall, definitely recommend this. It’s a light and easy ready and keeps you interested.

Katherine Center does it again!! A “hallmark” feel good story, but was such a uniquely genuine turn of events (who know about face blindness?!), she always brings such a special depth and humanity to her characters.

I loved reading this book and experiencing the FMC emotions, while also finding myself laughing out loud at the hilarity of so many scenarios. Center also masters witty/goofy banter that is just such a joy to read!

2.75/5 stars.

I thought for sure I would like this book but unfortunately was left disappointed:( I really liked the idea of the plot and the books overall message however the execution fell flat for me. As a character driven reader, connecting to the characters is one of the biggest aspects I look for in a book. If I’m not invested in the characters, why would I be invested in their story? This made it very difficult to read as I really did not care for the main character. I couldn’t quite believe that despite her getting to know “joe” she didn’t ask him one question about what he does for a living??? Or joe bringing up her coming into the vet clinic?? The amount of conclusions that was jumped to in this story was astonishing. I understand the miscommunication in the book was a big point of the story and was used to perpetuate the plot, however I just couldn’t wrap my head around how outlandish it all seemed. I did enjoy the the originality of the plot and learning about Prosopagnosia but because I couldn’t connect to the characters I couldn’t stay invested in the story.

This was my first book by Katherine Center and I can see why so many readers are big fans!
Sadie is a portrait artist who has recently been selected to participate in a coveted competition in her home city. The night she plans to celebrate her entry into the competition her life changes forever. Sadie finds herself in the hospital after suffering a seizure-like episode that reveals a serious situation in her brain. After surgery, Sadie suffers from a side effect known as “face blindness”, she can see everything around her just fine, it is just human faces that are distorted in her mind’s eye. This is the worst case scenario for a portrait
artist.

As Sadie tries to adjust to life with face blindness, she also tries to reinvent her artwork. She interacts with people both new and old who don’t necessarily know about her new condition. Those that do try to help and
some take advantage of Sadie.

There is some truly hysterical dialogue and internal monologues that had me laughing out loud. All in all, this was a feel-good story about family, friendship, and finding love. I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to
reading more of Center’s previous work.

I loved this one! I thought it was so adorable and I’ve been so surprised to not see it making the rounds more on bookstagram. It’s pure delight!

Struggling portrait artist, Sadie Montgomery finally gets a break. She has been chosen as one of ten finalists out of a field of 2,000 to compete in a national portrait competition. As Sadie is gathering supplies for an impromptu party to celebrate her success, she has a seizure while crossing the street. A Good Samaritan gets her out of the way of an oncoming car.
Sadie soon discovers she needs brain surgery. As result of her operation Sadie has prosopagnosia or face blindness. Sadie shares the news with only her best friend and family. Sadie needs to figure out how she is going to be able to paint the original portrait required for the competition in the next six weeks.
Being a romance there are two men Sadie becomes involved with. One is Joe who is a tenant in her building and the other is the young vet who is treating her sick dog Peanuts. As her relationship with Joe starts to grow Sadie still feels a lingering attraction to the vet.
I really enjoyed HELLO STRANGER. The inclusion of prosopagnosia put an interesting spin on the love story. The ending does not disappoint.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me access to an advanced digital edition of HELLO STRANGER by Katherine Center.

Love is face blind.

I loved this book's premise but HELLO STRANGER didn't quite do it for me. This book is sweet and interesting and kept me engaged from beginning to end. But it was easy to get frustrated with these characters. This book has a major just-talk-to-each-other! problem (if you hate that sort of thing. And yes, I personally HATE that sort of thing).

And there is a series of twists that I saw coming from a mile away. As in...from the first chapter I easily discerned the ending of this book. And HELLO STRANGER has zero steam. Just kissing.

It's still super-sweet and I loved experiencing a heroine with face blindness, but it wasn't a standout for any other reason.

I really loved this book. Katherine Center's writing is always so much fun. Her characters have great banter and chemistry. There were a couple of overly convenient things that made me roll my eyes, but overall it was a great story with a happy ending. Just what I would expect from my favorite romance author.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for the purpose of review.

This book was absolutely adorable! It was very predictable, but such a fun journey to get to the ending. Some parts were a little juvenile, but it was still such an enjoyable read!

Hello Stranger was an enjoyable read. It dealt with some heavy topics (including bullying) but balanced out nicely with some lighter moments and the sweet romance that Katherine Center is known for. If you're already a fan of hers this book will not disappoint!