Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. There hasn't been a book I've read by Katherine Center that I haven't enjoyed. Each one pulls me into the storyline from the first chapter and keeps me intrigued the whole book.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I love Katherine Center’s romantic comedies, and this book did not disappoint and is a great addition to her works. Sadie is a portrait artist about to compete in a national portrait art show, when she suddenly develops face blindness or prosopagnosia. While she’s struggling with this condition in the midst of this important competition, she also meets two men she’s attracted to and wants to date: her new veterinarian and a neighbor Joe. Can Sadie find love with this complicated developed condition? I love Center’s writing and banter. She makes it look easy, and she really knows how to pull you into the story. There were only a couple of things that I didn’t love about this story: the step-sister is a little too evil for my liking, and I found the face blindness condition kind of hard to understand when meeting characters. But overall, this was a great story, well researched and thoughtful, and I definitely recommend it for fans of Center, romantic comedy, and sweet, thoughtful contemporary fiction. The author's note is very nice as well, I highly recommend it, especially for fans of the romance genre!

I absolutely love Katherine Center's writing style - she gives just the right amount of detail and I never feel like there's a lot of extra "fluff" where I just wish the writer would get to the point. She's engaging, funny, and creates characters that elicit a strong like or dislike (I'm talking about you, Sadie's evil stepsister) in the reader. This book had the added bonus of being about a topic I never knew existed, face blindness, so I learned something new. I'm not going to say anything about the plot because I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that this was a very compelling story that had me feeling all kinds of emotions throughout. Once I started, I did not want to put this book down.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy for review.

Katherine Center is one of my favorites, so I wasn’t surprised that this one was another hit!

Sadie Montgomery has been diagnosed with face blindness — and the timing couldn’t be worse because she was recently named as a finalist in a portrait competition. While trying to cope with her condition and figuring out what to submit for the contest, Sadie falls in love.

This was such a unique plot! Sadie is a relatable and lovable character. The face blindness aspect made the romance more complex because Sadie couldn’t see the face of the man she fell in love with. It also put new things into perspective for her and I loved how her character evolved throughout the story.

Read if you like romances with —
💙 unique plots
💙 family drama
💙 dogs!
💙 humor

HELLO STRANGER is another heartwarming story that was engaging from start to finish!

I’m not gonna lie- I was worried about this book. I was worried that it was a bit of a downer bc the heroine couldn’t catch a break. Why was this book making me so sad and uncomfortable? Would I have to give @katherinecenter a not stellar review? She’s my fave, how could I do that to her? And then it shifted and shit turned around for our heroine…and holy crap, that was the whole point! This character had to crash and burn so she could rise from the ashes- a tenacious fiesty phoenix wearing roller skates.

Sadie is struggling portrait artist who is THIS CLOSE to catching a break when she has brain surgery and whoopsies it wipes out her ability to see faces. This premise could have taken the book straight to wacky-romcom-hijinks-town. But Center wouldn’t do us dirty like that. Instead, she takes us on an emotional journey with Sadie as she staggers through a faceless world trying to piece the puzzles of faces and of her life together. Sadie is the embodiment of a person telling everyone that she’s fine while surfing floodwaters in a dumpster that’s on fire. I’ve never felt so seen by an author in my life.

Hello Stranger is about healing from trauma- past and present. It gave me a strong case of the morbs at first, but truly blossomed into such a magnificent and heartwarming story. I will say this is very low steam, unless you count the steam rising from my face from the “eye feelings” that this book elicited. You’ve done it again, Center- you made me feel feelings beyond lust! Brava!

Smut- 1.1 stars
Romance- 4.7 stars
Story- 4.5 stars
Reading a book and feeling feelings beyond perviness- a hesitant 7.3 stars

4.5 stars!

Katherine Center does it again! I love her way of writing romance. This was predictable but not in a way that was annoying, it was super cute and emotional. I enjoyed Sadie as a character and of course, Center's male love interests are always incredible as well. I've always been intrigued by face blindness and find books about it intriguing. The fact that our FMC paints portraits of people and has a potentially life-changing competition added so much to the drama of having her condition, even if it is temporary,

In true Katherine Center fashion, she also adds a dash of self-discovery, a hefty dose of family drama, and a few loveable side characters (including an adorable dog named, Peanut), which all add to the charm of this book. The romance was 10/10 and the humor helped to lighten up the vibes as well. This book was emotional, heartwarming, and highly unputdownable. Katherine Center will continue to be an auto-buy author for me!

Before reading this book, I had never heard of face blindness/prosopagnosia, so the plot really intrigued me. (Yes, it’s an actual medical condition). You can tell Katherine Center did a lot of research on the topic, and she explained it in a way that’s easy to understand. The heroine, Sadie, is a very likable character, and it was interesting seeing how her other senses came into play when her sight was altered. (For those who don’t know what face blindness/prosopagnosia is, Katherine described it as seeing disjointed puzzle pieces of someone’s face where their actual face should be). It’s hard for me to imagine not being able to know someone immediately just by seeing their face, but there are people out there who have to deal with this every day. I loved the dynamic between Sadie and her family, and the relationship between Sadie and the hero, Joe, was sweet and endearing. I’ve always been a fan of Katherine Center, and this book is another hit. I would gladly recommend it to everyone.

If you love Katherine Center, you will love Hello Stranger.

I struggled to get into the book and it wasn't until about 50% of the way in that I felt invested. The pacing in the first half felt off and we were not seeing individual growth or much in Sadie's relationships.

That being said, I am so happy I stuck with it because the last half was worth it. In that we got to see some growth from Sadie and a blossoming relationship with Joe.

Did I see the twist coming, absolutely. Did I still enjoy seeing it play out? Absolutely.

3.5 rounded up to 4 because of the epilogue and writers note! She explained why “predictable” should be “hopeful anticipation”. I completely changed my rating and point of view because I looked forward to the characters figuring out what I did earlier on. I know some people ignore writers notes but in this case it made the book something much better and personal for me… so DONT SKIP IT! Book itself is 4 stars but her note is 5. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it!

Ever since Things You Save In a Fire, Katherine Center has been an auto-buy author for me. In Hello, Stranger, she continues her winning streak with a story of Sadie, who suffers from acquired face blindness at the very worst possible time.
I love Katherine Center’s female characters. In this story. Instead of waiting for someone to “save” her, Sadie is a strong woman who learns to work around her affliction. She also uncovers lots about herself and her dysfunctional family.
Having heard of face blindness before, I also appreciated the descriptions of how it feels to have it. It’s obvious through the story and the endnotes that Center did her research to “get it right” in the story.

Katherine Center has done it once again. Absolutely loved this book and the story told. I had never heard of face blindness until reading this book. Katherine explains in great detail what face blindness is and how it affects different people. I enjoyed the FMC and the MMC and their dynamic relationship. The ending was cute and I enjoyed the twist at the end!

This book was all I could ever hope for in a contemporary romance. Funny, emotional, twisty and heartwarming. The character development, disability representation, plot twists, it was literally all perfect. I was a little worried after reading The Bodyguard and being let down, that I wouldn’t like this one either but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Although it was slightly predictable, I didn’t expect the twist reveal the way it happened and I loved the tension and emotion that the characters were experiencing. The miscommunication in the book wasn’t too cheesy or obnoxious and it felt real. There are no bad things for me to point out - this book is easily my top read for 2023 so far

I loved this book so much!!! I am a huge Katherine Center fan, I have loved every single one of her books that I have read so far! I am so thankful I got to have an early copy of this one because reading it was an absolute delight. It had everything that I love about her books: a main character that you want to root for, themes and lessons that make me think deeply and engage with the world around me in a different way, a love interest that makes me blush (but also feels realistically imperfect!), and great plot that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I stayed up way too late reading this one and can't wait to recommend it to everyone I know. Her books just bring me joy and make me smile and remind me to be hopeful and kind. Can't wait for her next!!

I struggled with how to review this book without giving everything away only to realize that just like Sadie's "face blindness", the story should be approached with "plot blindness". I've read books about this disorder before but this book really made me feel the frustration and emotions that the character feels. I thought this story was truly unique and the writing is amazing.I highly recommend this book!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is a delightful, fun, and sweet romantic comedy. This story follows Sadie Montgomery who is a struggling portrait artist. She has just found out that she has earned a spot as a finalist in a portrait competition that could change her life. Her mother was also a finalist in the same competition before she passed away. This competition means a lot to Sadie, so when she finds out that she needs surgery a few weeks before the competition, she is still determined to compete.

When she wakes up from surgery she finds out she has “acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia” also known as face blindness. She is a portrait artist and how is she supposed to paint and compete without being able to see faces?

Sadie has little support from her family but her best friend and dog are always there to offer her support and love. Sadie deals with her new challenges and has to ask for help from two new men in her life.

This book is filled with loveable characters that will warm your heart. I loved reading Sadie’s thoughts and her relationship with her best friend. I felt like I was right there with her as she navigated her new world while trying her best to stay positive.

If you are in the mood for a heart-warming, enjoyable read that this is the book for you. Even though this book deals with tough issues it still feels lighter and warms your heart.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

If you want a feel good, clean, language free contemporary romance - THIS IS IT

We follow Sadie who is a struggling artist and has made it into a prestigious portrait competition. This is her chance for a big break! But then she has to get some brain surgery and everything changes.

At its core, this is a message of hope, finding the positive, and that perspective is everything. I really enjoyed it.

Sadie is trying to figure out how to live her life after her surgery caused her facial blindness.

She of course meets some nice men and falls for one of them.

Loved the romance, loved the life lessons, and loved the dog.

I recommend!

I wanted to love this as much as “The Bodyguard” but unfortunately it did not meet the expectation I had. It was still a cute story that readers of the grunt-sunshine troupe would enjoy, just loved the main characters of the other book more!

I'm probably in the minority but Hello, Stranger is my least favorite Katherine Center book so far. I read to the end to see how everything worked out and I admit that the little twist, when I figured it out, what a good one. However, it was hard to truly enjoy a book when I hated the characters so much. For nearly 30 year olds, it was like Sadie and Parker, especially, were permanently stuck being teenagers. I felt like I was reading teen fiction and their behaviors grated on my nerves. The real winners were Mr. and Mrs. Kim. It's very readable though and I managed to read it all in one day.

I am torn because I really loved this book, but a couple things just didn’t add up for me. So, I am just going with the need to suspend my disbelief and leaving it there.

Funny thing is, I had a friend with facial blindness for about six months post brain surgery and I had to introduce myself to her every time I saw her. And I feel like Center did a great job of describing this condition.

This was an absolutely fascinating book. The interconnectedness of the characters and plot lines was super cool. Sadie’s life choices and family relationships were all a bit of a mess, and then they get worse. Her dad ignores her, her step mom is trying too hard, and she really does have an evil step sister. And then the one thing that she does have going for her, her talent, is compromised.

This is a really complicated story, but so worth it.

After undergoing a medical procedure Sadie has awoken with a condition known as face blindness, which is a real problem since she is a portrait artist. This condition comes at the worst possible time as Sadie is up for the one of biggest awards for her profession. Heartwarming story of perseverance in the most difficult of situations