I absolutely adored this title. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Katherince Center and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sadie is an artist who has just been chosen as a top ten finalist in a very competitive art competition. She was one of the ten chosen out of 2000 entries so it's kind of a big deal - this could make or break her career. Upon venturing home from the grocery store one morning, Sadie has an unexpected seizure in the middle of the road and is saved by a good Samaritan who then calls 911 to have her sent to the hospital. Upon her hospital admission and a barrage of testing, Sadie has an enlarged blood vessel that needs to be operated on sooner rather than later. Obviously, Sadie is totally against this because she only has six weeks to complete her painting for the competition. She decides to have the operation basically by the force of her father who happens to be an MD. Sadie's surgery goes incredibly well and she's the poster child for healing after brain surgery... until she realizes that she can't see faces. Well, she can... but they are all out of order, kind of like a puzzle. Why is this a problem? Well, for obvious reasons of recognizing people, but also... Sadie is a portrait artist. Her piece for her competition must be a portrait and well, that requires her to be able to see one's face...

I loved this title. Was it predictable in a sense? Absolutely. Did that take away my enjoyment of reading? Absolutely not. The way it was done was perfection. I also learned something new because I totally didn't even know this disorder existed! I loved the happy ending and all the routes we took to get there. Well done, Katherine Center! This was my first book by her, but it surely won't be my last.

Fun meet-cute with a twist. I had never heard of prosopagnosia (face blindness) before but I resonated with how it was applied and given representation here. The main character feels very true to many women my age and the what-is-my-life-going-to-be-and-with-whom struggles. The author made Houston feel romantic, which was funny having growing up there I did not picture it as a setting for a quirky, artsy twenty-something. I do think the book pushes your ability to suspend your disbelief at the end when the two love interests are actually one person, but you're so far in at that point, that as I reader I just accepted it and was satisfied with a happy ending

struggles to cope - she was recently named a finalist to the North American Portrait Society competition but she can no longer see faces, she has fallen in love with two people, and her evil stepsister has moved into her building.

This was cute! It was probably the “cutest” of all of Katherine Center’s books. I figured out the twist pretty quickly, but I still wanted to keep reading!

3.5 stars rounded down. It had an interesting twist, but I wanted more from the ending. Also, found the main character to be juvenile at some points…could be due to her childhood? Overall, an entertaining read, but I won’t be reaching for it to reread!

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is a romance following Sadie, a portrait artist, who ends up with acquired prosopagnosia (facial blindness) after having a seizure and resulting neurosurgery. Needless to say it makes her romantic life a little bit complicated, not to mention the fact that she was supposed to compete in a portrait competition when everything goes down.

I will admit, I was slightly disappointed by this book. I loved the last book I read by this author, The Bodyguard, but this just didn’t really do it for me. It took me a while to get into this book because I found the protagonist kind of annoying. I think the idea was unique and the writing itself was good overall, but at times the “catch” of the book seemed so obvious that it was painful to read. If you are going to pick up something by this author, I don’t necessarily think this would be the best place to start.

“ᴡᴀꜱ ʜᴇ ꜰʟɪʀᴛɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ ᴏʀ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴘᴀɪɴ? ʜᴀᴅ ʜᴇ ᴀʟʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ᴡᴏɴ ᴍᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ, ᴏʀ ᴅɪᴅ ɪ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ?”

This was a very unique story that drew me in from the start. The female MC Sadie is a portrait artist and suddenly has an obstacle preventing her from painting faces. This in itself caught my interest as I had never heard of her condition - face blindness - so it was interesting to learn about and how we form our own opinions of those around us based on presumptions from their face. When that one element of recognizing someone or judging someone goes away - what do you do?

This book had so much substance to the plot and subtle twists that it kept you engaged. I loved the side characters in this story from the landlord, to the bestie, and of course the love interestS. Is there a bit of a love triangle going on?

I thought the story did a great job of dealing with toxic family dynamics and overcoming grief. How do you build a life for yourself when you lose your support system, and are still grieving the loss of someone? It was very interesting seeing Sadie navigate all of these dynamics and work to overcome and balance her life. She never came across as a damsel in distress, and very much was find a way forward person.

This was my first book by @katherinecenter , and I will definitely be checking out her others!

Read if you like…
🎨Forced Proximity
🎨Witty Banter
🎨Family drama
🎨HEA

Thank you to Netgalley, Katherine Center, and publishers for the arc.

Thank you to @netgalley for this copy! I liked The Bodyguard so much I chose this for my BOTM and am glad that I did!

I loved how unique this story and plot was. I could instantly connect with Sadie, because who hasn’t had moments in their life where EVERYTHING feels like it’s going all wrong. Thankfully I cannot relate to her diagnosis, which raised great awareness of a condition not well known. I’m not a fan of love triangles but it was mild and added for a fun twist. You’ll know when you read, I don’t want to give too much away. The connection between Sadie and Joe was adorable. There is zero spice in this but I didn’t notice nor felt it was needed. All books need a PEANUT! Glad this one featured a pup. I recommend it to those looking for a different romance and who are ok without spice.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

My first introduction to Katherine Center was “The Bodyguard,” which I absolutely adored. “Hello Stranger” hits many of the same notes and I can see why she’s exalted for comfort romances.

⇢➤ Plot: Sadie is a semi-starving artist finally getting her big break in the art world: a portrait contest where she’s one of ten finalists. She goes to celebrate but is in an accident outside of her apartment. The accident reveals that she needs imminent brain surgery. The surgery is a success, but a build-up of fluid against her fusiform gyrus leads to facial blindness. Sadie must complete her portrait against all odds— while also reconciling familial trauma, and more alarmingly, her growing feelings towards two men she can’t actually see: her veterinarian Oliver and her neighbor Joe.

⇢➤ Pros: This is one of the best resolutions of a love triangle I’ve seen. I hate the trope, but it works here.

Center’s ability to weave a character’s life story through small quirks and possessions is great. From her style of art, to wanting to keep a flower behind her ear like her mother, Sadie becomes a cohesive character and built largely through the lens of grief. Much like Hannah’s red cowboy boots, Sadie’s roller skates represent joy in unlikely places. She is an amalgamation of paint, loss, and second chances.

Joe and Oliver, too, are intricately detailed— their drive to help, their love of animals, and their backstories make them into believable love interests. Even Sadie’s father, a side character, had a moment that brought me to tears.

I cannot speak on the representation of individuals with facial blindness, but the author goes into detail about the research and effort she put into learning about the condition. Center’s knowledge of neurological function is impressive. I didn’t expect to read a romance that included “fusiform gyrus” but it flashed me back to undergrad neuropsychology in the best way.

I binged this in a day and stayed up to read it into the night.

⇢➤ Cons: Parker, Sadie’s stepsister, is cartoonishly evil. I enjoyed getting some insight into her character towards the end, but she read like a female Ted Bundy for 90% of the book. I would have gotten a restraining order as soon as I turned 18.

Miscommunication is a frequent subplot that works most of the time, but is endlessly frustrating. Joe’s introduction is the most egregious mishap. From the first overheard conversation with this man, I hated him, and that misunderstanding isn’t cleared up until 70% in. That made it hard for me to genuinely enjoy his character or the moments they shared when I kept flashing back to the elevator conversation.

Finally, while she is a character largely framed by tragedy and is meant to evoke sympathy, Sadie had moments where she is just unlikable. Chalk it up to brain trauma and her mother’s death, but barely congratulating your best friend’s marriage and yelling at Joe for everything BUT the elevator conversation? Her priorities were not always clear or understandable. I wanted to see more of her evolution and growth.

Overall, this is still a fun read filled with unlikely scenarios and persevering love, which is just what I want out of a romance. Also, I want a dog like Peanut.

⇢➤ Recommended for fans of: “Love Theoretically” by Ali Hazelwood and “Part of Your World” by Abby Jimenez.

I love and devoured The Bodyguard by Katherine Center so I was super excited for this book. I should not have been excited, this book is so boring and I had to push through to keep going through this book. Idk, I didn't even really like the premise. I can not recommend this book especially following The Bodyguard. 2.5

Sadie is an entertaining main character. She almost gets hit by a car but is saved by a guy. Then that leads to her finding out she has something wrong in her brain that needs to be removed. After it's removed, she wakes up to find that she can't see faces clearly. They appear to her like an abstract picture. Of course she then meets two guys and can't tell anything about their looks. One is her neighbor down the hall. The other is the vet that saves her dog, Peanut. She doesn't know if her face blindness will ever fix itself and she is trying to win a Portrait contest that she qualified for previously. Needless to say all of this adds up to quite the adventures. Highly recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

I really liked the story, but the “Author’s Note” at the end is everything!
Hopefulness for a thousand, Alex!

Fun, interesting, and slow-burn rom-com. It took me maybe a bit to get into the story, but once I did I was all in for it. The characters were great with real-life quirks and annoying traits. LOL.
I'm not sure if I could deal with a diagnosis such as prosopagnosia with any kind of grace...especially if my livelihood depended on my being able to paint portraits.

This is the second book I've read with this interesting diagnosis. Kudos to authors who take the time necessary to properly research "face-blindness"/prosopagnosia before writing about it.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

Wow! This is a fantastic book. So interesting and compelling. And a great love story too. I knew nothing about face blindness, so I feel like I learned a great deal. It’s obvious that a lot of research went into this book. Sadie was a bit of a mess already before the face blindness rocked her world. “You can either pretend to be okay or you can actually be okay, but you can’t do both.” And was she ever doing a lot of pretending to be okay. Pretty relatable. I couldn’t help but love her a main character.

It was quite a journey as Sadie dealt with ongoing grief from her mother’s death, her dysfunctional family and vicious stepsister, her precarious financial and professional circumstances, navigating the world while never seeing people’s most identifiable features, and a contest that required her to paint the one thing she couldn’t see - faces. Not to mention a budding romantic relationship, or even two. She had an awful lot to figure out. I loved every minute of it. I really felt like I came to understand Sadie and her thoughts and feelings over the course of the story. Particularly how impacted she was by events earlier in her life. Being face “blind” actually helped her truly “see” so many things in the end.

I really enjoyed the romance aspect of this story too. I don’t want to say too much, but I couldn’t wait to get to the resolution, but also didn’t want it to end. I wasn’t surprised by the twist, but I’m actually not sure that the author really intended that anyways. It was definitely a surprise for Sadie, which was what mattered. I appreciated how the loose threads of questions that I had relating to Sadie’s condition and certain elements and events all got explained eventually and woven back into the narrative so I wasn’t sitting back and wondering how certain things could be justified. I really loved this book. It’s one I will read again for sure. I absolutely recommend it, as long as you don’t mind the language. This is a fade-to-black story with a moderate amount of strong harsh language.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a complimentary copy of the book. This review is written voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a big fan of The Bodyguard, I was so excited to read Center’s newest book! And this was just such a beautiful read that I needed right now, I loved it so dearly. This is the kind of book that I would recommend to someone who is maybe going through something difficult in their life or just needs a little pick me up. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments of angst AND moments of total cringe (in the best way?) but it’s just something very special.

Hello Stranger is a unique and emotionally engaging story that explores the challenges of knowing and connecting with others. Sadie Montgomery, a portrait artist, develops face blindness after surgery, which hinders her ability to perceive faces and pursue her dream. Center skillfully blends humor and serious topics, creating a credible story that balances laughter and profound life lessons.

Center's research on acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia is evident, and the condition is presented believably, prompting readers to explore it further. Sure, there are a few moments that stretch the boundaries, especially in the love story department. But hey, who doesn't enjoy a little bit of "what are the odds?" in their reading adventures? And despite those minor quirks, Hello, Stranger delivers an endearing tale that'll give you warm fuzzy feelings, kind of like a modern-day "You've Got Mail."

Katherine Center's writing style shines throughout, creating relatable characters and a gentle touch of romance. If you’re looking for a delightful book with laughs, life lessons, and lovable characters, Hello Stranger is your newest must-read novel!

This is my first Katherine Center novel but definitely not my last. It wasn’t quite the romance read I was expecting but I loved the offbeat subject of facial blindness.

Sadie is fast becoming a well-known portrait artist - just like her late mother. She’s placed in the final round of ten portrait artists in a very competitive competition. After a series of unexpected setbacks and surgery, Sadie finds herself with facial blindness - as in, faces are all blurry and she has to use her other senses to find her way through her life and somehow win her competition.

Only a few people know about her facial blindness and she keeps it a close secret. Sadie finds herself interested in and engaging both her elderly dog’s vet, Oliver, and her slightly questionable neighbor, Joe and neither know about the facial blindness. Her best friend, Sue, saved her with her levity.

Sadie’s family is a bit heartbreaking. While all this is going on, Sadie also had to deal with her stepsister, Parker, a sociopath and the continued after effects of her mother passing.

The novel is a lot more serious than I expected but I liked the overarching feel-good romance. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. Hello Stranger is out now.

I think Katherine Center must be just the warmest, most optimistic person. Her books always have so much heart, even for people who are doing terrible things.

I really enjoyed Hello Stranger but I think your enjoyment of this one will definitely have to do with how crazy miscommunication makes you. Also, everyone in Sadie’s life kind of sucks except for love interest Joe and her best friend’s parents, who are also her landlords. Sadie’s stepsister is an actual nightmare and I deeply wanted to punch her in the face.

Overall, super cute and satisfying read! Check out the comments for the book synopsis.

I loved the narrator Patti Murin, her voice really matched the perky, optimist-despite-all-odds tone of the book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my review copy! All thoughts are my own.

I would give this 3.5/5 stars.

This is my first Katherine Center novel, although I have owned a copy of The Bodyguard for a while now. I thought that the overall writing was fine. The writing style itself wasn't a distraction from the story. But I thought that they story was maybe just a little boring?

The main character Sadie ends up in an accident which lands her in the hospital. While there they discover that she needs to have surgery to remove a blood vessel from her brain. The result of the surgery causes her to have temporary face blindness. This poses a big problem for Sadie who makes a living as a portrait artist. The story follows her recovery as she learns to adapt to her new circumstances.

I thought parts of this book were cheesy. You're going to tell me that she couldn't recognize that the veterinarian was the same guy who she spends most of her time with? Or that he never once alluded to him knowing her when she would show up at the clinic?

Overall I thought this book was a middle of the road romance.

Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard was one of my favorite books of 2022, so the bar I had set for Hello Stranger was really high.

While I didn’t think this was quite on par with The Bodyguard, it was a great, fun read with lots of thoroughly likable characters. I heard other reviewers say that the plot twist didn’t feel believable to them but I don’t share that opinion. My only complaint was that I thought the villain sister storyline didn’t ring true to me.

Anyway, this is a very sweet rom com that I’d recommend to anyone who loves this genre or who loves Katherine Center.

I just finished Hello Stranger by Katherine Center and here are my thoughts on it.


Sadie finally feels like her career is getting somewhere! She managed to get a slot as a finalist for the North American Portrait society. She knows she has a great shot at winning and the prize money will go far! Plus her dad will see how successful she is.

One day while she is standing in the street, she has a minor episode that lands her in hospital. She needs brain surgery. It all goes well except when she wakes up she has something called face blindness. It has her seeing people's faces as jumbled up messes.

The fear she feels at not being able to see normally again and trying to navigate her dating life has Sadie wondering if her life as a portrait artist is well and truly over.

I had the worst hangover after this book. It filled me up so hard that I couldn’t shake it off! I loved it. I actually had no idea that face blindness was a thing! It was fascinating and after I did some research, I found that the book was really well researched and handled with such care that it shows a level of genius in the writing you don’t often find in the romance genre.

The character development was beautifully done and you could really feel Sadie’s panic at trying to adapt to her new normal and wondering if this will ever go away. I loved Joe! He was such a sweetie pie and he seemed to roll with all the weirdness with very little question. He had no idea what was going on but he was such a love with what he didn’t understand.

Loved that the book touched on art because I am a huge art lover. This book checked every single box for me and I was sad for it to be over. I finished the book in one afternoon and now I’m on the hunt for more books by this author. The romance in this book was so gentle and kind that I could have fallen in love myself.

5 stars. I think this is my favorite read of the year.