Katherine Center is an auto buy author for me, and I didn’t even read the synopsis before requesting Hello Stranger on NetGalley! I’m glad I didn’t because for a romance, this one is perfect to go into blind (pun intended!).

I loved the writing in this book. Center blends romance and women’s fiction so well, and can totally draw her readers in from page one! I always find reading about face blindness to be intriguing, but having a portrait artist that can’t see faces was a new take on it which was done really well.

Sadie, the main character, struggles with her new face blindness after an accident and has to figure out a way to paint a portrait for a contest she’s in. There’s a great scene in the book where she’s painting her neighbor and love interest, Joe. Joe is one of my new favorite characters, and everything about him was adorable.

There are some touching moments in this book as well as some laugh out loud funny moments. There’s a bit of a twist which I saw coming, but I loved reading the book to see when Sadie would figure it out. All in all another great story from Center, and I highly recommend it.

I listened along to the audiobook while reading my eARC, and I really enjoyed Patti Murin as the narrator. She brought Sadie to life and you could totally feel her angst with dealing with her face blindness.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review. And thank you Katherine Center for joining our book club for an amazing chat!

Struggling to find the right words for this one. Might be the timing of my reading—there's been some personal emotional upheaval of late—but as much as I ADORE Katherine Center, this one didn't speak to me on the same level as some of her previous works.

Still, it's a beautifully written story about unique characters, and I do love the way Center makes her settings, situations, and storylines just a bit different to your "typical" romance book. (Not to take anything away from "typical" romance books, because they're my jam.)

There's a warmth in this book that comes with the hopeful premise of finding yourself and your purpose again after a setback, and while a love triangle doesn't usually appeal to me—and there are shades of one here—I found it didn't bother me or lessen my enjoyment.

All in all, another example of why Center is one of the best authors publishing today, and a book that I think will appeal to many even if it's not *my* personal favorite of her excellent backlist.

there’s one thing Katherine Center will do without fail, it’s write a laugh out loud funny book. I highlighted so many hilarious lines and caught myself audibly cackling every 5 minutes. Her characters have so much personality and wit about them that the feeling is contagious!

This one is special, y’all. Sadie is an aspiring portrait artist who faced some pretty scary health issues, which led to her having face blindness. Basically, she can acknowledge individual facial features, but can’t see or recognize people’s entire face. Not really great for someone who paints faces for a living… but she’s on the verge of her big break and HAS to find a solution.

This story, while it is the journey of Sadie finding love (with not just one man but two 👀) it is such a journey of self development and realization for her. An amazing read full of heart and love on all sides. If you’re looking for a feel good read with relatable characters and hilarious antics, I highly recommend Hello Stranger!

Read if you love:
😶‍🌫️Mistaken identity/amnesia
🔺Love triangles (very well done!)
🐶Pets that are more like people
🧠Science/neurology
🤣The COM in RomComs
🎨Art galleries
🫶🏼Happy endings
👨‍👩‍👧Complex family histories

Rating 5/5 stars

Hello Stranger is one of my favorite reads of this year! This was my first Katherine Center book and I've got to say, I'm hooked.

Using face blindness as a main plot point is something I don't think I've ever seen before and it was such a good one. Sadie, our FMC, makes a living off of commissioned portraits, but after a near miss and a hospital stay, she discovers that she has a condition that causes face blindness...temporarily...maybe. Out of a job and on a deadline, we watch as Sadie learns how to navigate in the world with her new reality while also dealing with a pretty awful stepsister, an annoying stepmom, and a distant father.

I absolutely adored this book! The romance, the personal growth, the found family. I don't think there was a single thing I didn't enjoy! There's even a few twists at the end which were just the cherry on top.

Overall, this was a fun read and I would definitely recommend Hello Stranger for your next summer read. I'll be diving into Center's backlist next!


Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC! All thoughts and opinions are wholly my own

This book was absolutely made for me. While I can't attest to it as someone with prosopagnosia, I think Katherine's explanations and portrayal of the disability were fantastic and easy to understand for someone not versed in neuroscience.

This is a beautiful, swoony romance with painful relationship dynamics and a main character with relatable self-doubts and fears.

SPOILER!! I found it obvious from the start that the good samaritan, the man in her building, and her dream man at the vet would all be the same man, but I found it delightful to watch it unfold still.

I truly can’t wrap my head around the magic that is Katherine Centers books. After reading Hello Stranger, I have so many thoughts, and so many feelings. However, what I’m going to suggest is you go into this one just knowing it’s going to be a delight. It’s focused around a girl with prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces), following an accident. I have read about this before in a thriller and it blew me away, but reading about it in a romance setting was even better. The love story (absolutely bonkers, the brain is a scary and fascinating place), the friendships, the grief, the ability to grow and ask for help, the precious elderly Peanut, the horrific family members. You will not regret reading this! Thank you so much to Netgalley for the pleasure of reading this ARC. I am already counting down until Centers new book!

adie has just received the best news of her life - she’s a finalist in a prestigious portrait contest, one that her late mother also participated it. But before she even has a chance to celebrate, she receives a shocking medical diagnosis requiring brain surgery. The surgery goes well, except for the little bit of edema causing another diagnosis - face blindness. While she can still essentially see, faces are a jumble to her. Not only is this a big problem with her impending contest, she’s struggling financially, her family is an ongoing issue, and now her dog is sick. Oh and she’s majorly crushing on two very different men.

While this was a little predictable, I always appreciate Katherine Center’s well-rounded characters and thinks she writes a perfect (mostly) closed door romance.

Oh my heart! Y’all, Katherine center can write comfort + joy + hope like nobody else!

“Hello, Stranger” tells the story of Sadie, a portrait artist at the cusp of an important moment in her career, who has an accident and suffers from a neurological condition that causes face blindness. Somehow she has to figure out how to be a portrait artist when she can’t distinguish faces. During her recovery, she also finds herself feeling attracted to 2 very different men and in the midst of a love triangle. It’s fun and heartfelt and such a creative story filled with top notch banter and all the swoon. I absolutely loved every minute of this book + didn’t want it to end.

Thank you SMP and Netgalley for my copy.

An unexpected accident leaves Sadie with face blindness, just as she's entering an art competition which could change her life. Her stepmother is trying to help, but they've had a strained relationship over the years, her evil step sister shows up claiming to help, but she's really sabotaging everything, and there's the neighbor Joe, who's suddenly a nice guy.

Nothing makes sense, and she's on a deadline. Besides her best friend who lends support, her dog Peanut is the one loyal companion she can count on.

What Sadie learns as she navigates life with face blindness is some perceptions are based on misunderstandings, it's okay to rely on others for some help, and sometimes love can happen in the most unexpected ways.

This book is a joyride of romcom magic! A must-read.

**received a netgalley from the publisher**

Katherine Center is so delightful. This story is so creative, the characters deep and lovable, and it’s just a wonderful time in these people’s world.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this read. This book was well written and I just like what Katherine Center does in her books. Her books are always a hit and enjoyable to read. She takes you on a ride right from the start that you do not want to let go of.

Having known about and researched prosopagnosia (face blindness) previously for other reasons, I went into this curious as to how Center would handle it. The vulnerability, emotion but also humor she was able to infuse into Sadie’s journey was written so beautifully and respectfully of her condition. The chemistry between Sadie and her love interest (I don’t want to spoil it for you) was perfect.

My favorite thing about a Katherine Center book is I know I’m in for a wonderful ride. Each one leaves you happy, satisfied and hopeful. I can sit down to read one of her books and lose myself for a couple hours, not wanting to put it down. Hello Stranger was no different. It’s a story of healing, hope and love and one you don’t want to miss.

One of my most anticipated releases of 2023 is Hello Stranger by Katherine Center! I'm so grateful to the publisher for giving me the chance to read it early! I finished reading the book during this weekend, and I absolutely loved it. Am I surprised? Not at all. Katherine Center became an auto-buy author for me after I read The Bodyguard last year, and something tells me that I'll always love reading her novels! 🥺

Sadie was an absolutely remarkable character. I loved reading about her from the very beginning of the book. The story features face blindness through Sadie's story, which is a topic I never read about, or even know that much before. So, I really appreciated how the author brought awareness to a health condition that is rarely talked about, but effects people greatly. It was interesting to see how Sadie dealt with her neurological issues while navigating her artistic dreams. The self-discovery theme was rightfully portrayed as well.

The romance was soo beautifully written as well! (Again, not surprised at all) I'll not talk much about it because I don't want to spoil it for you ~ but let me tell you this, there are some unexpected twists involved, which I really enjoyed! The book really kept me hooked through and through. Katherine Center's writing style is so addictive ~ it's hard to put it down once you start reading it!

I cannot wait to read more of her novels! This is a new favorite for sure!

This book held my interest from the very first chapter all the way through the author's note. Katherine Center shares in her note that she wants to create anticipation and hope for her readers. As soon as I read this note, I knew without a doubt that she had done exactly that in Hello, Stranger. This unique story swept me away and gave me a new perspective of the world we live in!

Thank you to St Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie is a starving portrait artist who has just received word that she's a finalist in an art contest. Just when she thinks her big break is within reach, she has a medical emergency resulting in brain surgery. The worst part is that she now has face blindness - how is she supposed to do portraits if she can't see faces?!

Things go from bad to worse when she has feelings for two different men - the dreamy veterinarian Dr. Oliver Addison and the cheery, helpful man in her building, Joe.

This was my first read from Katherine Center, and while I enjoyed the writing style, it was also very predictable. Sadie is also a very unlikable person as she never stands up for herself, refuses other people's help, won't talk openly about anything, and the worst part, she is very self-absorbed. If she would just ask other people about themselves more, she could have saved herself a lot of headaches along the way.

Even though this wasn't my favourite read, I still loved the other characters, so I will be sure to try other books from Center to see if this was just a one-off for me.

3.5/5 rounded up to 4

Happy pub day to Hello Stranger, the delightful new release from the always inspiring @katherinecenter. I was lucky enough to listen to an advanced copy of this thanks to @macmillan.audio, and I’m over-the-moon grateful to @stmartinspress for this physical copy that arrived today along with the Hello Stranger pouch and colored pencils. I adored this book, and am thrilled I’ll be able to pore over all my favorite parts—of which there were many.

Sadie Montgomery is a barely-making-ends meet portrait artist who has just gotten the best news of her life when she ends up needing brain surgery. The surgery goes well except that when Sadie wakes up, she can no longer recognize faces. Doctors are hopeful this face blindness won’t be permanent, but there are no guarantees, and Sadie must figure out how to move forward when she can’t do the thing she’s spent her life doing. Of course there’s also a romance. In fact, Sadie is interested in two different men and things go a little off the rails.

I said this book was delightful and that really is the perfect word. I was just so happy the whole time I was reading it. There’s so much joy in Katherine Center’s books, and even when the plot veers towards ridiculous, I still found it…well…absolutely delightfully. Having never been face blind, it’s hard to know how realistic the events in the book were, but they seemed plausible (the author’s note addresses this beautifully), if not a tad far-fetched, and overall the whole book was just so much fun. I did think the evil stepsister was a little too evil, but who cares? Not me. I was too busy collecting my newest book boyfriend, who may rival Duncan as my new favorite Katherine Center love interest.

I told the story of the book to my family at dinner and my youngest said it was her favorite book she hasn’t read yet. If that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what it is.

I think all fans of Katherine Center (and who’s not?) will love this one, although it is a little more eccentric than The Bodyguard. I loved the audio, but think you’ll probably need a hard copy as well to soak up all the joy in the writing.

I cannot say enough good things about Hello Stranger. It’s about a portrait artist who, after an accident, has a surgery that leaves her with face blindness. She has 6 weeks to paint a face for a contest entry and she can’t see faces.

She has friends and a therapist who help her, but I love how not seeing faces helped her see so much more about people. This was my second book by Katherine Center, but I loved it so much that I immediately followed this by another from the author’s backlog.

While in the midst of celebrating a huge achievement in her life, the heroine ends up at the hospital and diagnosed with a condition that hinders her artistic dream as a portraitist. As she lives through this "temporary" condition, she works through major life issues involving her professional and personal lives. Along the way is resolving these issues, the heroine will learn more about herself as she goes through this journey.

This is another nice Katherine Center novel. I appreciated the journey that the heroine goes through in this book, though there were times that the character was not endearing in my eyes. There was a myriad group of secondary characters, with a few likable ones and some that were not in favorable light. I also would have liked some more details in some areas of the book, which would help improve certain parts of the story. I still enjoy the author's writing style and look forward to reading more Katherine Center books in the future.


** Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own. **

This one didn’t quite work for me. A lot of things didn’t quite add up (like wrong names, weird timelines, etc.), so I’m hoping those got fixed on the final edits. It was also a bit too cheesy for my liking.

Overall, a quick, lite, happy read for a recent plane ride. I’m bummed since I typically love Katherine Center books (despite the cheesiness). I’ve seen many rave reviews about Hello Stranger, so I think I picked it up at the wrong time “It’s me, hi! I’m the problem, it’s me” vibes for sure.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

🚨Release Day!
“Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I always enjoy her reads and this was no different. Sadie is a portrait artist who ends up with face blindness(it’s a thing which was interesting to learn about). Sadie is on a deadline to prove herself and paint the ultimate portrait but everything is stacked against her and the only one whose available for her to paint is the yucky neighbor….
Rom-com book with a fun lead who you hope is soon seen by those around her for how great she is even when she’s lost her focus.

#julesbookshelf #netgalley #arc #hellostranger #bookstagram #goodreads #katherinecenter