Katherine Center is a mastermind at writing books. The readers become a part of the story, immersing themselves into the world of the characters, feeling the ache in their heart when the story comes to a close. With such a unique plot, my interest was immediately piqued. This one sitting wonder of a book had my heart captured in the first chapter. Struggling portrait artist, Sadie, has her first chance at a big break when she is diagnosed with prosopagnosia after having brain surgery. Following along this beautiful love story, Sadie navigates the world without the sense she thought she needed most, falling through life and a series of events that will make your heart swoon, break, and bloom. Sadie must learn who she is and what she is willing to do to fight for herself and those she loves. I could not help but read this all in one sitting. Katherine Center knows how to write a book! This is a must read for any romance lover!

Rating: 4.25/5
Warnings: difficult family dynamics, gaslighting, brain surgery and complications, death of a parent (in past)
Steam: Closed Door

Thank you to SMP Romance for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hello Stranger had all the parts of a Katherine Center book I love and adore.

Things I loved: relatable characters with real jobs/problems. well done love triangle (yes, I know), funny dialogue. 100% unique plot. lots of personal growth. I loved how everything came full circle in the end.

Things I didn't love: I mean, please communicate friends. the romance did feel a bit rushed overall but I did like the characters.

Hello Stranger may have just become my favorite book by Katherine Center. Facial blindness is a condition that I had never hear of before. She has created a story that demands your attention and compels you to keep reading. Sadie is a portrait artist and a finalist in a competition when she suddenly succumbs to this condition.
She develops feelings for two men despite not being able to see them clearly. Additionally Sadie is dealing with serious family issues. The author’s writing keeps you engaged and plays with all your emotions! I applaud Katherine Center for creating a story centered around a little known condition. #HelloStranger #KatherineCenter #NetGalley

This book filled me with joy. Just when Sadie is about to be in a portrait competition, she ends up with a condition called face blindness. She struggles with the after effects. I really liked these characters. I really enjoyed the way the relationships were portrayed. And who wouldn’t want a Joe in their life?

Hello stranger
by Katherine Center
3.5 stars
Oh I love her books so much, this one I wanted to love but I just couldn't with the MC it was just to much. She was so sweet and dealing with a lot but also seemed a little stuck up and annoyed me. I understand what she was going through, but to know this person you fell in love with before you meant months before hand you dont recognize nothing about him really now. This was just a miss for me even though I still enjoy her writing style. It was just the characters in this that didnt do it for me this time.
Thank you Net Galley and St Martins Press for the eARC for an honest review.

Katherine Center clearly hates her heroines (a portrait artist who ends up with face blindness after having emergency brain surgery, really??), but I love her and will continue reading everything she writes. HELLO STRANGER is yet another great example of her ability to write realistic stories of people overcoming challenging circumstances and finding sweet, sweet romance along the way.

📚📚 BOOK REVIEW🌟 🌟 💫
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley and Katherine Center for a copy of “Hello Stranger” for my honest review.

Katherine Center's 2022 release "Bodyguard" was my first introduction to her world of romance, and I am just glad the author stuck to her instincts with an equally cheesy, romantic yet thoroughly joyful follow-up "Hello Stranger". You go in balancing your expectations- if you are in the mood for a breezy entertaining quick read- this book doesn't disappoint. That's my short review- a detailed review with minor spoilers ahead, so read on at your discretion.

"Love isn’t blind, it’s just a little blurry."

Sadie Montgomery has had a fairy tale life- albeit for all the wrong reasons- tough family dynamics- a step-sister making her life a living hell- a father who possibly blames Sadie for her mother's demise- an artistic career where she is barely able to meet her ends meet and a terrible breakup. Just when things start looking up with a selection in North American Portrait Society competition finals, Sadie is diagnosed with an inherited condition of Cavernoma which requires her to undergo brain surgery, a week before the competition. A complication ensues, resulting in an acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia- partial face blindness!

Life's not all bleak though, as love blossoms, not once but twice- one in the form of veterinarian Dr. Addison and the other in the condo's neighbour Joe. The hate-to-love journey between Sadie and Joe forms a majority of the book but it's the humour, especially the interactions between Sadie and her friend Sue, which makes this a fun read. Eventually, who does Sadie choose- whether she can mend relationships with her father- whether she can get an unlikely win forms the crux of the tale. The story and the reveal are fairly predictable which probably is the only negative if I have to nitpick. But to the author's credit, there's never a dull moment. The author's sole purpose here was to give readers a tale of hope and love and she succeeds with aplomb.

“I’d faced some tough truths about life and myself and my family. I’d failed miserably at the only career I’d ever wanted to succeed in. I’d fallen madly in love with two people and then lost them both. I’d lost everything, in a way. But then found other things. In other ways”

#NetGalley #BookReview #Bookstagram #HelloStranger #KatherineCenter #StMartin’sPress

After hearing a lot of hype around Katherine Center and her books, especially The Bodyguard, I was excited to pick up my first Katherine Center book. Hello Stranger did not disappoint. The storyline revolves around Sadie Montgomery, who randomly finds herself diagnosed with face blindness after she has emergency brain surgery. We see her trying to navigate her new reality, trying to continue and succeed in her career and also falling in love.

I really enjoyed the story and it kept me very entertained even though some of the aspects of the story just seemed very farfetched, but overall it was a very enjoyable book and I can't wait to read more of her stories.

I absolutely loved this latest release from Katherine Center!! This story focuses on Sadie Montgomery, a struggling artist trying to make ends meet while defying her doctor father’s aspirations of her following in his medical footsteps. It finally looks like things are turning around when she becomes a finalist in the North American Society competition (a competition her late mother had also participated in when she was younger). However, everything changes following an unfortunate accident and subsequent surgery that results in her developing facial blindness. What follows is a story of romance, grief, and self-discovery.

While closed door/low steam romances aren’t usually my thing, there’s something about her writing and characters that just really work for me. While the facial blindness aspect obviously led to a lot of shenanigans and miscommunication, the story itself had so much depth and heart. Don’t let the cover or plot fool you though – this book deals with a lot of heavy themes including loss of a loved one, identity issues, and complicated family dynamics. The romance itself was so cute and wholesome. Normally a romance with this much miscommunication would drive me bonkers, but it didn’t get to me too bad since it made sense with the facial blindness context.

Katherine Center has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary romance writers, and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

***Better late than never - Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!***

Thanks to LibraryThing and Revell Books for an advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

I loved this sweet and moving coming-of-age novel that takes place in 1950s Michigan. Told alternately between 11-year-old Flossie and 16-year-old Bertha, the sisters couldn’t be more different. The back of the book’s summary explains that “they are left reeling when their father is accused of being a member of the Communist party. Bertha finds a haven with the All-American Girls Baseball League. Flossie finds herself in an unexpected friendship. Both are about to discover how much good there is in the world – even in the hardest of circumstances.”

This is a book that had me both laughing and crying, and one I will be thinking about for a long time. I highly recommend it!

"𝘐𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦."

Katherine 👏🏻 Center 👏🏻 does it 👏🏻 AGAIN. 👏🏻

I will start by being 1000% honest, it took me awhile to get into this book - which is why it's getting 4.5 instead of the full 5 - all the medical stuff gave me full on headache 😅

But boy did it get GOOD.

I definitely don't want to give anything away, so I will refrain from rambling too much, but... WOAH. lol

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for this review!
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #hellostranger #katherinecenter #stmartinpress #netgalley #arc #advancedreadercopy #houstontx #neurologicaldisability #faceblindness #familydrama #familyloss #changeyourperspective #romance #ebook

This was my first Katherine Center and I will definitely be going back and reading her backlist. This was a lovely story. The characters were well written, the plot was intriguing (I was so fascinated by Sadie’s face blindness!), and the romance was just right.
Also not to miss is Katherine Center’s authors note. It’s a beautiful wrap up to this novel.

𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 is my new favorite Katherine Center book. She has such way with her writing that it just pulls at your heart strings, makes you feel all the emotions, and connect with each & every character. This is one book that will stay with me forever!
And let’s not forget about the best character of them all, Sadie’s elderly pup named Peanut! 🐕 (have no fear, no harm was done to any animals in this book!)
I knew absolutely nothing about face blindness prior to this and you can tell that Center did extensive research regarding the disability with information she included about it💯
Katherine Center can do wrong! This is such a heartwarming, witty, and phenomenal read that I recommend to every single one of my followers & fellow readers!👌🏼

This was a fun and totally different type of romance from anything I’ve read before. I can’t get much into the story because the main things are spoilers, but I loved the MMC- swoon! Sadie, the FMC, was nice but I did find her somewhat annoying, especially for a 28 year old (sometimes I’d think, is this an adult, or a teen?), but she’s still cute and lovable. I would’ve loved this story more if it didn’t use one of my least favorite tropes- miscommunication. I can accept that from a teen, but adults should know better and communicate clearly. Otherwise this would’ve gotten five stars from me.

"Hello Stranger: A Novel" by Katherine Center is a heartwarming and enchanting romance that explores the power of connection and second chances. The story follows two characters brought together by serendipity, and their journey is filled with genuine emotions and humor. Center's writing is heartfelt and evokes a range of emotions, making it an uplifting and delightful read. With its charming romance and well-crafted storytelling, "Hello Stranger" is a captivating novel that leaves readers with a warm and joyful heart.

This was my first read from Katherine Center and when I say I immediately went to my library app to tag more of her books, I'm not exaggerating. I will definitely be back for more.
I had never heard of face-blindness before and found this so interesting. I plowed through this book, to the detriment of my household--that's when you know it's a good one.
I found Sadie relatable, the story brought me to both laughter and tears. And somehow I didn't see the twists i the plot coming, which made it all the more WOW.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read eARC and review.

This was cute as hell 😫

I totally called the twist early on and I’m not even mad it.

I loved Sadie and Joe so much.

Sadie’s step mom and step sister can suck it. They’re both terrible. Dad was no better tbh even at the end.

I recently discovered Katherine Center and she has become a go-to author for me. I enjoyed this book, though it wasn’t my favorite of hers. Her characters were likable, the humor was aplenty, and the romance was adorable. Definitely a grab for your summer reading list!

Katherine Center has become a new favorite author of mine and each time I read one of her books, I’m reminded why. While this was not my favorite book of hers, it still was a precious romance that was filled with humor and of course, the pull on the heart strings!

After I finished Hello Stranger, I read three more Katherine Center books. Hello Stranger captures the true disaster being an adult in your twenties can be. Yet, it also conveys the way those beautiful twenty-somethings still have hope and can still fall in love. If you are looking for a sweet romance with a wonderful HEA, Hello Stranger is for you!