This was such a charming and engaging, closed door romance.

Sadie is a portrait artist and a finalist in a big competition which means that knowing faces is important to her livelihood. When she has to undergo emergency brain surgery, one of the side effects is “face blindness” which means she can’t recognize any faces.

Left without her livelihood and tormented by family members, Sadie finds her life complicated by possible romantic entanglements with not one but two different men- if only she could see their faces!

Center clearly put in a lot of work to understand the brain science and experiences of someone with this condition let alone an artist. While it didn’t work for me 100% of the time I thought the story was really thoughtfully and intriguingly done. Although ostensibly a romance, this book mostly felt like Sadie’s story as she came into her own.

Some of this book strained credibility and a lot (most) of the characters felt more like caricatures than anyone with real nuance but I had a really enjoyable time reading this

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie, after having a seizure, finds out that she needs brain surgery. After the surgery, she learns she has (hopefully temporary) face blindness where she does not recognize faces. She has to learn how to go through life without being able to know who she is talking to.
To add insult to injury, she is a portrait artist (hard to do when you don't recognize facial structure) and has just won the opportunity to compete with a new painting. Sadie has to figure out how to paint a portrait with her new found face blindness. Thankfully she has the help of her best friend and her neighbor.
Opinion
This story is quite unique. It is the first book that I have read by Center, though I must admit to having some on my bookshelf waiting to be read. If the rest of her books are anyway near this good, I know I will devour them.
I was intrigued by the face blindness. I have no idea how I would function without being able to recognize people. Being able to write about such a disability shows what a master writer Center is.
The pace of the romance is quite slow but it was so perfect. When things fall into place at the end, a feeling of triumph went through me.
This book is well worth the read.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

🌺🌸🌼🌺🌸
✨Happy Pub Day✨
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📖Review
5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
📖Book 68/100
📚Hello Stranger
💫Genre: Romance
✍️Katherine Center
E-Book 5🌟✔️
Audiobook 5🌟✔️
Narrator: Patti Murin

📝Synopsis 📝
Sadie a struggling artist gets the opportunity to compete as a finalist in an art competition her late mother competed in and placed. Not only does she have to proved herself to her father, she also has a step mother and step sister who’s gaslighted her a bit too much.
Last but not least, she wasn’t expecting to suffer from a neurovascular issue and fall for not one but two guys🫢

💭My Thoughts 💭
This was my first Katherine Center book, and I loved it so much and her writing style. This was a cozy read that had me giddy turning pages, and I even happily listened to the audiobook version right after…NO REGRETS! I loved the plot and character development, heck I even liked Lucinda (until the end)…but that evil step-sister was intolerable and a great addition to the story. I loved that this particular story brings light to Face-Blindness, and enlightened me with so many facts about this condition. I don’t want to give major spoilers, but if you love:
Heartwarming books✔️
Unique Plots✔️
Family Drama✔️
A love triangle✔️
Swoony Characters✔️
Then this one is for you!

✨Thank you @netgalley & @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio
for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
📌Publication Date:
July 11, 2023
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#bookreview #booktok #books #booksarelife #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #booklovers #booklover #fictionbooks #romancebooks ##netgalley #HelloStranger #netgalleyreads #bookworms #bibliophile #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

4.5 hearts

Hello Stranger was a journey of personal growth for Sadie. I didn't figure out her name until later in the books because a person doesn't call themselves by their own name. We are mostly shared her thoughts and point of view. Sadie had a rough childhood with her mother's death, her father's withdrawal into grief and then the evil stepmother and stepsister.

She loves art which is her mother's legacy, and treasures some of her mother's things. Then she needed brain surgery or she might die suddenly like her mother did. I really appreciated how kind and positive she stayed with all the past and present problems she has. I don't that I would have been so strong. But some of the family issues seemed a bit over the top. How could they be so evil?

Even though part of her development has her thinking she didn't give enough, somehow she had her amazing friend Sue and her parents so she wasn't without any support or love. Her reluctance to accept help or tell anyone about her challenges seemed believable. Thankfully, she has Peanut to calm any distress.

Like most other books by this author, the heart is this character Sadie and how she struggles, survives and even triumphs in her life. The romance is a bit of a side story. I liked how helpful Joe was and eventually connected him to his profession while Sadie didn't. Their miscommunication was miserable and sad. Really, Sadie was so honest and forthright, it felt unfair.

I really enjoyed Hello Stranger and recommend it. The emotional ride while sometimes a bit silly or unrealistic, is also inspiring. It was so easy to root for Sadie all along.

Hello Stranger had such an unique idea and I think Katherine Center did a really great job in their writing of this subject. I really enjoy Katherine Center's writing, and this book showed that. There were definitely moments where I wasn't enjoying the main character, Sadie. There were moments where I felt that Sadie was hitting the "woe is me" bit a little too hard. But then again, she was going through a pretty traumatic accident. I loved Joe's character sooo much <3. I loved the relationship that Joe had with the people he surrounded himself with, and loved that Mr. Kim called him Helpful. I did guess the ending about halfway through, but that didn't change how much I was kicking my feet and giggling at Joe and Sadie's reunion at the end. I found that the ending really wrapped up the book in the best way, while everything wasn't being back to normal or wasn't perfect, it was still good. Overall, I really liked this book and will continue to fangirl over Katherine Center's books/book men.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The story of Sadie, an aspiring artist, is heart-tugging, realistic and original. Sadie has a hard time with family relationships, especially with her famous surgeon father and her stepmother Lucinda. But things just get worse when Sadie is diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition and her father insists that she put her artistic life on hold and have surgery to correct it. Sadie’s diagnosis of face blindness is not new to me but the way the author personalized it and gave the condition a touch of humor as well as compassion captivated me. This is a romance with heart and hope and is not to be missed. The plot is fast-paced, somewhat complicated at times by twisted family relationships, and totally engaging. I enjoyed getting to know Sadie and her dog Peanut and cheered for her to make the right decision for her relationships. Lots to love about this book!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Thank you @MacMillan.Audio and @SMPRomance for the #gifted ALC and eARC of HELLO STRANGER. And yes, I loved this book so much that I also bought the @BookOfTheMonth edition as well!

Katherine Center has been an autobuy author for me for awhile now and every time I get her joyful little newsletter or read one of her books, I love her even more.

While I guessed the ending pretty early on, I still absolutely adored this one. The concept of a portrait artist who gets a case of face-blindness after having brain surgery was fascinating. I kept imagining how challenging it would be to look at a loved one’s face and have no clue who they are. And how wild would it be to fall in love with someone without knowing what their face looked like?!

KC writes with so much joy despite challenging topics. You can’t help but fall a little in love with her characters. The audiobook version also included a mini chat with KC at the end where she talks about how people read books for the feelings of anticipation we get. In thrillers we get stress and tension anticipation. But in romance books, we get oxytocin boosted anticipation of watching two people fall in love. And that is why romance readers love romance books. They literally give us happy feelings! How cool is that?!

HELLO STRANGER is out July 11!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5653237734
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuhYCRbLiE-/

In the author's notes Katherine Center feels that when you read romance novel you should feel like "This love story really created fantastic anticipation". Well Ms Center, you did create that fantastic anticipation. I learned more about face blindness. How bizarre that disease is especially for the main character Sadie who is a portrait artist. It is hard for her to see the faces that she is painting. There is a competition that she has to submit a portrait. Her BFF got kidnapped by her fiance and eloped so she uses Joe, the "helpful" tenant in her apartment building. Things get heated up during the sessions but Sadie tries to keep the heat down. She has a horrible step-sister who has bullied her her whole life. The book revolves around Sadie and the accident that contributed to her face blindness. During this book Sadie learns a lot about life and about herself. It is a very fun read.
Thanks to @netgalley, @stmartinspress and @katherinecenter for an ARC of this book.

Katherine Center is quickly becoming a must read author for me. Her books are always funny but with a certain amount of depth that just gives me all the feels.

I adored both main characters. I thought Sadie handled the situation she was in well. Honestly, better than I would have probably handled it. She had a few pity parties, but who wouldn’t?? And Joe… Nicest guy ever!! Seriously. I just loved him. This book has amazing side characters! Sadie’s bff, Sue, and her family were great and I loved the way they supported Sadie. The antagonists were easy to hate until I didn’t hate them anymore.

I loved the “you only see what you want to see” message. And the ending surprised the heck out of me. I guessed one small part of the twist but I was shocked in the best way. The entire book was charming and witty.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was fabulous. I thought she did a fantastic job expressing humor and more serious emotions when needed.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC and ALC. All opinions are my own.

This is the 6th book I've read by Katherine Center, and I have to say, it is just as good as her other books. I love how she is able to tackle difficult real life issues, yet still give the reader a happy ever after. I laughed several times, and cried (twice). Thank goodness not as many tears as some of her other books. The research on the topic of facial blindness is amazing, and I love that she clearly named some of her characters after those that helped her in her research. One thing about Katherine Center books is that they always leave you thinking about them for several days after finishing. This book was no different. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for a quick delightful read that will pull on your heartstrings while taking you through a (small) emotional journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins press for the eARC.

I absolutely adore all things Katherine center and this book was no different! I highly recommend reading this one as I couldn’t put it down and it’s one of my new favs from her!

One minute Sadie Montgomery is celebrating the fact that she was a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition, and the next thing she knows she is waking up in the hospital, with the doctor telling her she needs brain surgery. When the surgery is over, however, Sadie discovers she is experiencing a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. Panicking, because the portrait she is supposed to paint for the competition is due in just a couple of weeks, and it is impossible to do when she can't even see faces, Sadie's world is turned upside down. As she struggles to cope, she falls for two very different men, neither of which she has seen - her new veterinarian named Dr Oliver Addison, and a guy in her building named Joe.
This was rom-com at it's best. I loved it. It had the boy-meets-girl and falls in love, there is a breakup, a decision to make between two great guys, an awesome best friend, an "evil" stepmom & and an even evil-er step-sister, and a lot of obstacles thrown in that have to be navigated. Katherine Center is the queen of rom-com's and I think this is her best one yet. I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC!

I’m going to be honest! I went into this pretty blind! I haven’t read the author’s previous book, “The Bodyguard,” but because that one was so popular and this one was so anticipated, I decided to request it! I’m kind of glad I went into this blind because I was intrigued from the beginning. Immediately we learn that the main character, Sadie, is a portrait artist, just like her mother was, who has a tough relationship with her dad and is struggling to make ends meet. Very quickly, she has an accident that requires her to get surgery. Afterwards, she is diagnosed with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, or face blindness. If you’ve read “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” this is essentially what Adam had. Of course, I was captivated immediately.

This book is incredibly easy to read and the plot is unique, props to the author! As the book progressed, however, I found myself not caring about/for pretty much any of the characters and I was getting a little bored. Sadie came off as whiny, the love interest was just okay, the best friend was kind of a bad friend, etc,. I also thought this was going to be romance heavy but it leaned more towards contemporary in my opinion. I didn’t believe the romance. I didn’t see how Sadie could’ve fallen in love with Joe from their interactions and I thought it was very bland. The twist at the end did get me though, I will say that! There are no steamy scenes so if you like that, you’ll enjoy this! I still think it’s worth a read, I so far seem to be in the minority of people who didn’t think this was the best. I would definitely pick up other books by the author!

This is my least favorite Katherine Center book, this was sad to say since I am usually a fan of Katherine Center's writing. I just found this to be very predictable. I honestly had predicted the outcome from the time the blurb had come out. The acceptance part of her illness came to her when she had already gotten rid of it almost and to me that felt almost ingenuine. That's not how it works in real life, I feel that if the author wanted some sort of chronic illness or illness portrayal, she could have done better research. It seems as if some research was done for the scientific part but none for the emotional toll it does on the body.


Thanks to Net Galley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review, as always, all words are my own.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is such a cute book with a unique premise that I've never seen done before in a rom-com.

Sadie Montgomery has an accident that reveals that she has a brain condition that requires surgery. After what she thinks is a successful surgery, she's left with face blindness. Meaning faces now look like jumbled Picasso paintings to her. Did I mention she's a portrait artist?! On top of dealing with this, she also has family issues, and she is falling for two very different guys, all while trying to successfully win an art competition that means so much to her.

This book was a breath of fresh air, and I loved it so much! I literally went to bed past midnight binge reading the 90% I had left of it. Worth it!!!

Go check it out! It's a must-read ❤️

Sadie is a down-on-her-luck artist, struggling financially and emotionally (from the loss of her mother, her father's disapproval/lack of feeling). When she is involved in a serious accident, and it's discovered that she needs brain surgery for a genetic abnormality, she develops prosopagnosia (face blindness) following said surgery. She's left frantic (is it permanent?) and at a loss as she is under deadline to paint a portrait for a prestigious (and lucrative) national contest.

As she fights her way back through trial-and-error, she is helped along the way by support from her dog Peanut, her best friend Sue and her parents, her neighbor Joe, her neuropsychologist Dr. Nicole and Peanut's vet Dr. Addison. However, she's also met with heartbreaking challenges from her father, stepmother and stepsister.

Center is a master at rom coms. But hers are more than just that because they add more depth, more emotional involvement than that genre usually offers. While I laugh-out-loud at her dry wit and swoon over her love sparks (and this one has some truly epic/sweet ones), it's ultimately the "humanness" she brings to her characters, their messy/complicated/relatable lives that draw me in and make me think off the page (which is not something I do too much with the average, run-of-the-mill rom com).

She's become an auto-buy author for me because she has something to say...and says it in such a charming way.

Recommended.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing the free early arc of Hello Stranger for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Oh, oh, at first, I thought this book was going to be another "disease of the week" novel. But I should have known better because Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors for a number of reasons: She writes a lot about Houston, a city I lived in for 14 years and also because she writes with humor and feeling. This one deserves 5 Stars for sheer delightfulness!

Sadie is broke. Were it not for the Kim family, parents of her friend Sue, she might well be homeless. She lives in an illegal shed on the roof of a downtown apartment building she also uses as a studio (owned by Mr. Kim.). It's a good day because Sadie has just learned that she is a finalist in a portrait painting contest.

Suddenly, everything changes when she wakes up in the hospital, suffering from a malformation of a blood vessel in her brain that has leaked and needs immediate surgery. This is where you will learn about the several manifestations of face blindness. And that's all you need to know. Except maybe for who saved her life, why she is alienated from her father and stepmother, and suffers from a stepsister more evil than Cinderella's.

Do not, under any circumstances, skip to the end. It's got a hell of a twist.

Sincere thanks to St. Martin's Press for an ARC copy. And to Katherine Center, congratulations on producing another fun read. I don't, however, see how this one would be made into a film.

Loved the storyline and the characters. I feel in love with this book! I couldn't put it down and couldn't wait to see what would happen with Sadie and Joe!!

Hello, Stranger is the 3rd book I've read by Katherine Center and she's earned a place among my favorite contemporary romance writers. I liked the unique storyline and that's pretty impressive to pull off in this popular genre.

Your life can change in an instant. That's something Sadie Montgomery is all to aware of now that's she's in the hospital and diagnosed with a condition known as face blindness. Simply put, when she looks at a person's face, she sees a jumbled mess. The issue may be temporary, but in the meantime that really puts her career as a portrait artist in jeopardy.

For a variety of reasons, I don't want to go into the romantic elements of the story other than to say the chemistry is good. Questions do pop up especially in the final chapters but the author does a pretty good job explaining everything. Sorry for being vague, but if you read the book, you'll know why I'm hesitant to go into much detail.

A good read and worth checking out if you enjoy this genre.

If you have read Katherine Center books before, you’ll know that Hello Stranger is a fun read with great dialogue and a fun - if a bit outlandish! - plot. If you haven’t read any Katherine Center, what are you waiting for?

This book follows Sadie, who is finally on the cusp of professional success as a portrait artist… until she needs brain surgery just before she begins a portrait that will be entered into a prestigious contest. She wakes up to find the surgery was successful, only she is now suffering from face blindness and can no long see anyone’s face… a serious issue for someone who paints faces for a living! As she learns to navigate through a world without faces, Sadie’s life gets even more complicated when she finds herself falling for two separate men - and she doesn’t even know what they look like!

This was definitely a great summer read, and a very quick one. It wasn’t my favorite book of Center’s - Sadie was a bit tough to root for at times, and I figured out the plot pretty early on. However, it was definitely a fun read and I really learned a lot about face blindness.

Thank you to St. Martin for the ARC!