How your life changes as a portrait artist when all of sudden you have face blindness. Sadie had just entered a portrait compensation when she is faced with face blindness and how she tries to remain in the running. Her step mother tries to help but they have strained relationship and then her evil stepsister tries to sabotage everything. I must say I loved Joe, her neighbor, always willing to help Sadie. Plus, you will fall in love with a Peanut a faithful companion to Sadie.

This is my first book by Katherine Center and will not be my last. Many laugh out moments and a bug smile at the end.

This wasn't my favorite read from Katherine Center. It was not at all a realistic premise and after getting past that hurdle, it still didn't do it for me. The main character was not at all likeable and the pace of the novel was a bit too slow. The ending brought me up to a solid 3 stars, but the majority of the book was a 2-star read.

Hello Stranger was my first book post-op and my first book by Katherine Center and it was so fitting as the books main character was also recovering from surgery (something I didn’t realize till I started reading it) though mine was wrist and hers was brain 🧠 big difference.
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Anyhow, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t pick this book up for the cover (peep the little white dog who looks suspiciously like Lila)
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Unfortunately though, the surgery and the dog were the two parts of this story I enjoyed most. This book fell short for me as I felt it lacked romance and intrigue and was mainly based on miscommunication which is my least favorite trope since I am very direct person
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The writing style at first felt quirky and easy to read, but by the second half it turned repetitive and a bit irritating with its casualty. One too many rhetorical questions for me 🤷‍♀️
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Did I enjoy this book in the moment? Yes
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Would I recommend it to others? Maybe to the right reader
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Do I remember much of it only 2 weeks after finishing it? Nope, honestly cannot even remember the characters name 😅

4.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this book! The concept was so unique and once I got into the story, I couldn’t put it down! I read the whole thing in one evening 😅

Center’s voice really connects you to her characters, much like in The Bodyguard. The premise of the book was also clearly well-researched, which took a bit of an unbelievable story and made it made it something you didn’t have to spend the large part of the book trying to understand. Even though I was able to predict the main plot twist about 2/3 of the way through the book, I still was hanging on to every word trying to figure out how it would happen and whether my suspicions were correct!

I definitely recommend checking out this new release! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoy Katherine Center's writing!

Her characters in this book were developed, animated and seemed to feel real.

This book gave me a a. lot of anxiety because I knew on the earlier side what the twist was.

I am not usually a fan of the miscommunication trope but this book did a better job than most!

Overall, I enjoyed the different components of this book, our main character had her goals and her issues that didnt center around romance.

Thank you to Netgalley, for the e-arc. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really wanted to like this book. Especially since I LOVED The Bodyguard so much. I was super excited to see I was approved for a book by Katherine Center.

Unfortunately, this book did not hit its mark with me. I only made it about 32% before DNFing. I did like the unusual storyline, where she couldn't recognize faces... however, the pacing just seemed off? 32% in and I still have no idea who the potential love interest is. She's also super obsessed with her dog, which I get, to an extent.... Her relationship with her dad is non existent, but all of a sudden, he cares enough to make her get brain surgery? I'm not sure. This one just didn't work for me :(

Hello Stranger equals Hello Fun!

Katherine Center’s newest book gives us a darling rom-com with a unique premise. A portrait artist experiences face blindness, a problem for anyone, but especially for an artist. I don’t want to give too much away, but just go get this one right now if you need a heartwarming, LOL summer read.

I absolutely loved this one!

Sadie is a portrait artist with a sudden onset case of face blindness. As she struggles to adapt to her world with unrecognizable faces, she also has to re-imagine her livelihood, and forge new relationships.

Fascinating storyline, engaging writing. Didn't love that she was going after two guys at the same time not being able to even tell who they are. She was a little too emotionally unstable for my tastes, but I guess that's kind of the point of the story.

Okay, extra points for that one! At first based on the book blurb I assumed <spoiler> it was one guy, but as the story progress, I really did start to think I was wrong. </spoiler>

Please note that I received thos book feom NetGalley. This did not affect my rating.

I absolutely loved this book!!! I read it extremely fast, which is unusual for me. The characters were well written and the storyline was very well written. The flow was perfect!

Sadie's storyline is very believable. The tension between her and her stepsister, Parker, was so believable, I was hoping the karma train would come for Parker.

Everything about her relationship with her father and her stepmother, Lucinda felt so authentic.

I loved Sadies's doggie, Peanut!

I am not always the one who likes romance novels. I find them drawn out, boring, predictable, and just lame. I usually roll my eyes so often, I end up with a headache, bur not thos time. I actually e joked this one and will recommend others read it as well! Tha k you publisher and NetGalley!

Katherine Center has a way with telling gritty stories that have a happy ending. (Do yourself a favor and read the author's note at the end of this book, she explains this so much better than I can.) Suffice it to say, she builds hopeful anticipation like a master, even in the midst of trauma.

In Hello Stranger, Sadie Montgomery is a struggling portrait artist who just got a big break for a competition. When she is struck with face-blindness after brain surgery, she doesn't know how she will complete the portrait required to compete. As she tries to re-find eye for faces, she must also address her relationship with her father after her mother's death when she was young. All the while learning how to identify the people around her without being able to see their faces. She does find people to help her along the way, and even falls for a couple of them! Ooops, that is a bit inconvenient. But she also learns to second-guess what she thinks she knows (couldn't we all do better at that?).

This book was a treat from start to finish. Anyone who has been bullied by a mean girl will doubly appreciate the little gotcha at the end of this story. Almost makes me wonder, will we see Parker's story somewhere down the road?

I am thankful to @netgalley for an electronic copy of this book. I purchased the audio and multiple hardback copies for myself.

Sadie Montgomery, a struggling artist, finally gets her big break — or she hopes… After brain surgery, she’s left with “probably temporary” face-blindness. She doesn’t have long to prepare her final submission for a major competition. Sadie needs the money AND validation (hello, disappointed family), but how can she paint a portait when she can’t see faces?

Her condition forces her to look at life in a different way, — including the two men who enter her life —which leads to self-discovery that Sadie wasn’t expecting.


What I liked:
🎨 Sadie & Joe’s relationship — I loved that he was so willing to help her, and that little bits of him were unraveled along the way

🎨 Writing — engaging from start to finish. It’s charming and sweet sprinkled with bits of humour.

🎨 Slow burn — I’m not typically a huge fan of these, but it worked for me here. I anticipated the ending, but still enjoyed how it fell into place.

What I didn’t like:
🎨 Not much romance — if you’re looking for spice, this isn’t it. There’s not really anything until the latter half of the book.

🎨 Evil step sister — couldn’t stand her (which is the point, I suppose)

I really enjoyed The Bodyguard, and this was a great follow up to that! I really enjoyed, and even selected as my BOTM! Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? Katherine Center manages to create stories that remind me of what it means to be a human at the most basic level. And that's my favorite thing about her writing! She's not "just a romance author"... she's fundamentally epic at writing human beings in general.

This story tells a tale where love really is blind. Face blind at least. In lay terms, Sadie had an irregular blood vessel in her brain, which caused her to collapse... in traffic, in front of a really handsome man... The surgery to repair this blood vessel caused her to wake up with face blindness. The rest of the story is Sadie trying to find ways to live her life as normally as possible. She finds associations to match people to who they are, and its really quite fascinating. The romance was just a complete bonus. I mean, how does she choose between a modelesque veterinarian and her downstairs neighbor who she thought was a sleazy (but very helpful) petsitter? Seriously, just read this! It's amazing!

This book was nothing short of incredible. I cannot stop thinking about it and I read it months ago at this point. I’ve always loved Katherine Center’s books – and I refuse to pick a favorite because they’re ALL just THAT good, but this book left me without words.

Sadie creates portraits for a living… at least until a routine procedure leads her to being diagnosed with temporary face blindness. Suddenly everything she took for granted is infinitely more difficult and no one seems to be who she thinks they are.

While I 100% predicted the ending of this book, I was amazed throughout. I loved the significance of the title – especially after going into this book blind (no pun intended), and each step of Sadie’s journey just pulled me in deeper. I couldn’t put it down, and better yet, I didn’t want to.

This book is so much more than a romcom – although I can promise you’ll both laugh and swoon. It’s heartbreaking, healing, and all-around enlightening, too. If you haven’t read a Katherine Center book yet, stop putting it off and get started, because I promise you you’ll want to buy her entire backlist once you get started.

I adore Katherine Center's writing and love the way that she makes a story more than a romance. She weaves in real life conditions and hardships with witty banter and hilarious situations. I appreciate how she can develop relationships with depth without having to add open door scenes. I am definitely on my way to being a KC completest.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I honestly was not sure what to make of the beginning of this book. It was strange and slow and I just couldn't get into the characters. However, I stuck it out because I love Katherine Center! I am so glad that I did!! This book was so fun and the way the story comes together is simply amazing. If you want a great, feel good book where the characters actually deal with real issues like adults, this book is for you :).

I'm so happy to have found a new-to-me author, Katherine Center. I read her last release, The Bodyguard, last year and knew she was going to be a new favorite. When I had the chance to read/listen to her newest release, Hello Stranger, I jumped at the opportunity, and I'm so glad I did.
Once again, I was entertained, I loved the characters (aside from the evil stepsister), I rooted for Sadie to get her life back on track and to get her happily-ever-after. I'd heard of face-blindness and knew a bit about it, but definitely learned a lot more about it than I'd known previously. And don't miss the author's notes at the end, both the notes about prosopagnosia (face-blindness) and the Author's Note about how she became a romance reader and writer. I can't say it any better than she said in her notes: “This love story really created fantastic anticipation.” I loved it!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

I loved Sadie’s story of face blindness and seeing how she overcame it. Especially loved the Joe story unfolding! Katherine Center is a top 5 happy rom com” author for me.

Sadie is an artist who just won a spot in a prestigious portrait painting competition when she finds out that she has a malformed blood vessel in her brain resulting in a need for immediate brain surgery. After her surgery, she has brain swelling that leads to (hopefully) temporary face blindness. Not only does this impact her participation in the competition, but it throws her life upside down. She ends up falling in love with two different men and dealing with an evil stepsister.

This book is so weird but in the best way possible. The idea of temporary face blindness as a romance trope is just wild enough that it works. I think Center did a nice just of explaining face blindness and the emotional impact without making it seem rude. Sadie has a lot going on in her life pre-brain surgery and it just gets even more intense afterwards. She hasn’t had a relationship with her dad or step-mom since she was a teenager and she has a step-sister who makes it her life mission to make Sadie’s life miserable.

My one issue with this book was Sadie’s continued participation in the portrait competition. I understand it’s important to the story and her growth, but no one in her life thinks to suggest she reach out to the judges and organizers, explain what happened, and ask to be deferred to the next year? Like, she can’t see faces! Why would she think it’s a good idea to continue in this competition??

I adored the romance in this story though. Joe and Sadie were so cute. It was very interesting to read a book where the lead male’s face was never really described. She ogles his torso a little bit, but it was kind of fun to read a romance where the physical aspect wasn’t the leading factor. Even though her interest in her vet was a little bit physical because she was attracted to his gait.

It was fascinating to see Sadie grow and deal with her emotional issues. I would’ve liked if we could’ve had a few more of her therapy sessions and delved a little deeper into the grief with her mom. I also wouldn’t have minded a little bit more of the happily ever after because I wanted more of Sadie and the man she got together with.

I rated this book 4 stars but it’s definitely closer to a 4.5 It was unlike any romance novel I had read before and I really enjoyed it. Sadie and Joe were so cute. Center does a good job of writing romance novels which mix heavier topics with romance, but I do think she could’ve gotten into it a little more. I will always add Center to the top of my to-read list. This may not be my favorite of hers, but it’s very high up there. I like it more than The Bodyguard from last year and would highly recommend checking it out.

I really enjoyed this book, after a few chapters. Took me a little bit to get there (had to put this down for other books) but once I was there, I was hooked! The premise is interesting because I've never heard of the condition before so that was a fun deep dive session for this enneagram 5 gal. The character development in this book is great, I was a bit meh about Sadie in the beginning but definitely warmed up to her around the middle of the book and totally get her actions/drivers by the end. All in all, a great read especially if you're a fan of Katherine Center!

Thank you so much NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!