Very cute rom com again. I loved the face blindness aspect of this, and even though it was completely predictable, it was such a page-turner and such a pleasant passage of time. I will always love her books!

Katherine Center, the queen of comfort reads, returns following The Body Guard with her latest gem, HELLO, STRANGER —a heartwarming story of an artist whose life takes on a significant change where nothing is as it appears.

LOVE ISN'T BLIND. IT IS JUST A LITTLE BLURRY.

Sadie Montgomery is a struggling artist who is broke and barely making ends meet in her little studio apartment. Her estranged surgeon father was unhappy when Sadie chose not to continue her medical career and followed in her mom's footsteps instead. He refused to help her out in the future due to this decision or offer his support. Plus, her evil stepmother Lucinda is horrible (her father remarried) and an evil stepsister.

Sadie paints portraits and is so excited that she has earned one of the coveted finalist spots in the competition that could earn her money to catch up. It would be life-changing. It was the same competition her mom placed in years ago. She died when Sadie was fourteen.

Tragedy strikes before the competition. She has a seizure in the middle of the street. A Good Samaritan saves her from being hit by a car.

Her evil step-sister Parker is at the hospital, and she receives the bad news. A malformed blood vessel in the brain: called a cavernoma. A lesion and needs to have surgery. The timing could not be worse.

A cavernoma is a cluster of abnormal blood vessels, usually found in the brain and spinal cord. They're sometimes known as cavernous angiomas, cavernous haemangiomas, or cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM).

After the surgery, she realizes she cannot see people's faces. Everyone is a stranger to her. How can she draw a portrait when she can see their faces?

Sadie's family is no help with the situation. A wicked stepsister and a stepmother, and her father constantly siding against her. Fortunately, she has her best friend, Sue, and her family, who have informally adopted her and serve as a great support network.

How will she cope?

Then she finds herself in a love triangle of all things. Two men, one a helpful Joe, who lives in the same apartment, and the goodhearted veterinarian who saved her dog Peanut.

As Sadie tries to save her career, confront her haunting past, and handle falling in love with two different guys, she realizes that happiness can be found in the places—and people— you least expect.

An uplifting, witty, emotional, heartwarming bittersweet story tackling highly charged topics of neurovascular (cavernoma, prosopagnosia-face blindness), coping mechanisms, and survival, blended with some light-hearted fun romance. You will root for Sadie until the end.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Patti Murin for a highly entertaining and lively performance. I enjoyed the author's note.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for an ALC and St. Martin's Press for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #SMPInfluencers

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Pub Date: July 11, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
July 2023 Must-Read Books

This is my second Katherine Center book, and I don’t know why I’m so slow to read her others, especially the ones being made into movies - The Bodyguard was one of my very top books of 2022, and now Hello Stranger is one of my very tops of 2023! She’s such a spectacular writer and a very talented storyteller! This book is just so incredible! I purchased copies of several other books last year after loving Bodyguard and now I pledge to get them actually read!

This book has such an incredibly unique storyline, with the face blindness aspect (a side effect after surgery to remove a cavernoma, discovered after a whole interesting situation at the beginning of the book), and not being able to tell who anyone is, let alone not being able to work (being a portrait artist) just when Sadie is accepted into the top 10 winners for a huge competition… the competition her mother was in at the time of her passing, so it’s a huge thing.

The friendships, the neighbors, the family dynamics - everything that Center has included in here has been so carefully crafted and planned, and she so carefully researched the face blindness (prosopagnosia) to make sure she did it justice.

This book is just a dream to read! 5-stars for the book and 1000% recommended by me.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, and this is my honest feedback.

We all know that sometimes we just don’t see clearly when it comes to love, but for Sadie Montgomery … she literally can’t see clearly.

In an unexpected chain of events, one week she’s painting photorealistic portraits and qualifying for a prestigious art contest, and the next she finds herself experiencing prosopagnosia, or face-blindness. Talk about bad timing! How is she going to paint a portrait for the contest when everyone’s faces now look like a puzzle?

On the brighter side, despite not being able to distinguish faces, she really likes her dog Peanut’s new vet, Dr. Addison, but there’s also her questionably-behaved neighbor Joe in the picture. Neither of them know that she can’t tell who they are by their faces, though she has definite ideas about which one she wants, until that starts getting fuzzy too!

Katherine Center shows again why she’s a master of her genre. This is funny, charming, and filled with entertaining characters. Sadie can be prickly at times, but I was always rooting for her as she worked through her painful past and present circumstances. Her best friend Sue was hilariously blunt, Joe was fun, and even her cruel stepsister Parker somehow made me laugh.

From the premise to the ending, it’s well written and engaging. The only downsides: I thought there was a little too much explaining at the end and a few story elements that my overthinking brain had to just roll with and not question too much, but as Center so brilliantly explains in her author’s note, it comes with the territory of the genre. Definitely read or listen to her thoughts!

I both read this and listened to the audio narrated by Patti Murin, who I absolutely love! I think it would’ve been harder to find the humor in some characters - especially Parker - if I’d only read it, but Murin’s voicing for her was snarktastic, and she does gender voicing perfectly, which I always appreciate.

It’s a great read, a wonderful listen and a whole lot of fun. I highly recommend it!

★★★★ ½

Thank you to @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the eARC!

4.5/5 stars

This book played with my emotions so much. I was literally laughing out loud at some parts & then tearing up at others. It’s a very creative & interesting story line that made for a great romantic comedy. Katherine Center’s characterization is great. I loved our MCs & was rooting for them the whole time & truly hated our antagonist. I was originally thinking 4 stars but then I literally couldn’t stop thinking about this book so I bumped it up to 4.5!

There were only a few things that I wished had been different! I felt like the resolution with Sadie’s family was lacking. I needed more closure & I really wanted justice for Sadie & all the things that happened with Parker. Also, this is a closed door romance (which is totally fine with me!) & at times I felt like I needed more between Sadie & her love interests.

This eARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review!

4 Stars
I read The Bodyguard by Katherine Center and loved it so I had high hopes coming into this one. I loved Sadie and her character growth so much. I enjoyed reading from her perspective as she overcame her struggles and pushed herself to stay optimistic (it was great to see her point of view as she realized what happened even though it was obvious from the beginning). Also, I love the Kims, Mr. Kim is literally the sweetest man alive, he made me cry happy tears. This was a unique romance read that warmed my heart.

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

This was undeniably heartfelt. I laughed and smiled, far more than I expected I would.

Sadie grew so much through this experience and as a reader, I felt like I was on this journey with her.

Some parts were definitely bittersweet but overall realistic. Years of hurt and misunderstandings are hardly solved overnight. But baby steps.

This book was a pleasant, easy-to-read romantic comedy. The exact kind of thing most people are looking for in the summer.

I was debating between four and five stars, and my final questions to myself, whenever I’m on the fence, are always: is there anything significant you would change about this? And would you be willing to gift to anyone, no matter who they are? The answer is yes, so we’re going with five stars.

Katherine Center is an auto buy author for me and when I saw the blurb for Hello Stranger, I couldn't wait to read it. For me, it was perfect. I adore how much Katherine builds up the anticipation of romance and the push and pull of the relationships she writes within her pages. This story follows Sadie, a portrait artist, who suddenly finds herself unable to see faces in their true form after a crazy medical situation. A challenge that becomes compounded by the fact that she is a finalist in a prestigious Portrait competition with a deadline to paint a new portrait. With the help of her doctor, friend Sue, dog Peanut, neighbor Joe, and vet Dr Addison, Sadie is on a personal journey to discover her own strength and support system while life is a little bit upside or jumbled up. This book will take you on a sweet romance journey filled with tough family relationships, white Gerber daises, vespa rides through town, false first impressions, and inner strength to stand on your own two feet.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine, and St Martin Press for my free eBook. It wasn't expected for me to leave any positive feedback. These opinions are 100% my own.

A unique spin on a romance novel about a woman dealing with face blindness. I enjoyed the love triangle aspect, but more so, appreciated her journey in rediscovery and dealing with her “new normal”. I loved the ending.

I absolutely adored Katherine Center’s newest release, Hello Stranger, and the tie-in to the title is on-point and impactful. This story is now one of my favorite reads of the year.

Hello Stranger has the perfect mix of sweet love story combined with heart-wrenching family dynamics, strong female friendship, challenging personal issues to overcome, and thought-provoking themes. The main character is funny and optimistic, but also realistic, relatable and inspiring. I learned new things about “face blindness”, which is something I knew and have read little about, and the insights gleaned were interesting and valuable.

Hello Stranger follows Sadie Montgomery who as gone her own way in life, despite her father’s dogged resistance, choosing to follow her dreams of becoming an artist like her late mother. In addition to her career choices, she has had to go it alone without the support of her family, who has alienated her and kept their distance, repeatedly choosing to believe her “evil step-sister” over Sadie. It has not been an easy road, losing her mother at a young age and then essentially losing her family, but her friendship with Sue, and Sue’s parents, has kept her going.

Tragedy strikes yet again when Sadie has a seizure on a street intersection, saved by a Good Samaritan. When she has to follow-up with brain surgery, comes out of it with a new obstacle to overcome, prosopagnosia, or face blindness. As a portrait artist, this is especially debilitating, but she handles it with grace, determination and optimism. Along the way, Sadie learns more about herself, tackles some long-held issues, finds restoration and a degree of healing within a certain relationship, as well as a discovering love in an unexpected place.

Katherine Center portrays her characters’ interactions, choices, thoughts and emotions with such authenticity and realism. Her stories consistently have deeper themes for the reader to contemplate; her characters are humorous, likable and engaging; and her plots have unique elements that make each story feel fresh. Hello Stranger was heart-warming and an absolute joy and pleasure to read. Katherine Center is without a doubt, an auto-buy author for me.

I thought this book starts a bit slow. That only lasted for a couple chapters and then it really took off! I really liked all the characters and felt sad for Sadie. It’s another really good book by this author! It was hard to put down! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Gosh, I really wanted to love this book. The cover is gorgeous, but this was all over the place. Parker should've gotten an a** kicking at the end, or atleast a punch to the face. Joe was so sweet and likeable, Sadie was a hot mess. Sue didn't help the situation, like a best friend should. And then Sadie's dad, checking out after her mother died. Are you freaking kidding? I'm getting pissed all over again. 100% missed the mark with me.

I’m happy to see that there is a lot of love and many positive reviews for this book. Unfortunately, I am an outlier and did not enjoy it nearly as much as the other four books I have read by the author. This one just wasn’t for me.

Katherine Center sure delivers “all the feels” in Hello Stranger. Sadie Montgomery lost her mother, her Dad, a surgeon, does not like that Sadie did not follow him in the field of medicine, she doesn't like her stepmother, Lucinda, and her evil stepsister, Parker, is out to get Sadie at every turn…..

When we first meet Sadie, she finds out that she has been selected to participate in a portrait contest. Her mother participated in the same contest and won. Sadie has an accident and has brain surgery. She is faced with having prosopagnosia, a condition where she cannot recognize faces. What is a portrait artist to do? While suffering through her trauma she develops two love interests. Dr. Oliver Addison, a handsome veterinarian treats Sadie’s aging dog, Peanut. Joe, the Weasel, lives in her building and wears a red and white bowling jacket everywhere. And then we have Parker who moved into the building and Parker’s goal is to mess with Sadie. I found myself rooting for Lucinda as she really (I think) is trying to have a relationship with Sadie. I loved Mr. And Mrs. Kim who are the landlords and their daughter, Sue.

I think this is Center’s best book. Lots of twists and turns and something I did not see coming in the last 25% of the book that brought tears to my eyes. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

There’s nothing better than when a new Katherine Center book comes out AND it doesn’t disappoint. I’ve loved this author from the beginning and will read everything she writes. Sadie’s character was very unique, and you could tell alot of research went into learning about facial blindness. I especially enjoyed that you knew the book would end happy but it was certainly messy along the way.


Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hello Stranger was a good Katherine Center novel. I actually enjoyed it more and more as I read through it. The story is about Sadie Montgomery who is a starving artist that finally earns a top ten spot in a prestigious show giving her the break she's been waiting for when she discovers she has a rare brain condition that needs operated on immediately.

Even though the surgery is successful, she's left with a side effect causing her to have face blindness. Being a more visual person and a portrait artist, this is a very debilitating consequence that brings on issues in personal and love life. However, she does get to know people for who they are and not what they look like as well as learn a different approach to art.

I at first thought that Sadie was a little whiny until I picked up on her humor and then I flew through the book and particularly enjoyed the additional information on face blindness included after the book ended as well as the author's note and opinion on romance books. I whole heartedly agree with her even though I may have been more of a book snob in my younger years.

Katherine Center is one of the top 5 romance authors I've ever read for writing a not-always-likeable main character who is still relatable and fun to read. This book is such a fast and constantly enjoyable one. In keeping with the author's note, this book brought me both positive anticipation and joy in execution. I was astonished at how well the author carried out such a complicated and unique concept while somehow making it seem completely effortless. (Not relevant to my review, this was the most UNproofed ARC I've ever read, but it didn't even distract me from how good this is.)

One thing I love is Katherine Center’s writing! It’s so easy to follow and her books go by so fast! I loved the bodyguard so I was super excited when I got this ARC and it did not disappoint. I’ve never read a book about face blindness before and it was really interesting, I did some research on it after I finished the book too. I really liked the main character, at times she could be frustrating but when your life turns upside down, I don’t blame her. I kind of guessed the plot twist but I still throughly enjoyed it!

This is another win from Katherine Center. There's something about her writing that sucks me in so quickly. I thought Hello Stranger's concept was really compelling and the romance was so sweet. It was the perfect dose of happiness.

ℒℴ𝓋ℯ 𝒾𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓃𝒹, 𝒾𝓉’𝓈 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁ℯ 𝒷𝓁𝓊𝓇𝓇𝓎．

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who just found out she’s a finalist in a major competition. Unfortunately she has a life threatening condition that caused her to need brain surgery immediately. This left her with a condition known as face blindness. Suddenly, she is unable to recognize anyone’s face, including her best friend and even her own face. How can she possibly enter into a portrait contest now? While struggling with her new (hopefully temporary) way of life, she meets 2 potential love interests even without seeing their faces.

This story was heartbreakingly beautiful. I loved Sadie’s inner monologue. It was such a unique storyline. I devoured this book! Mr. Kim and Joe were absolutely top tier. And the twist ending had my jaw on the floor!!