What a delightfully feel-good read this was! I have really enjoyed other Katherine Center novels and was excited to get her newest romance. It did not disappoint. I learned so much through Sadie's journey with face blindness, something I had never heard of before picking up this book! There were so many warm, fuzzy moments for me in this book, as well as some of those characters we love to hate. I was cheering for Sadie throughout and I appreciated the added layers of insight brought to this novel by her therapist as well. Things like confirmation bias, and being willing to ask other people for help. All in all, a hopeful story with depth and characters that kept me coming back for more.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC !
All opinions are my own.

This is my second by Katherine Center and I am definitely a fan of hers now! Hello Stranger was such an enjoyable and fast paced romance. I was completely invested in these characters, especially Sadie! The book was told from her point of view and I loved her character growth and interpretation of the world by the end of the book given her prosopagnosia diagnosis. Sadie, having this face blindness diagnosis, made for such a unique and interesting storyline. While, I did predict a reveal regarding her two love interests, I enjoyed seeing it all play out. This diagnosis did make for some plot holes that I feel were hard to miss but overall I walked away from this book smiling and happy. There were also themes of loss, found family, forgiveness, finding your authentic self and letting go of others expectations. I loved that by the end another major takeaway was about stopping and slowing down in life, because you may be missing something or someone life changing if you don’t stop to appreciate what’s around you. Overall, I highly recommend this book and think there’s something in it for everyone to appreciate!

Many thanks to St Martins Press and to Netgalley for this gifted eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center.

I have to admit, I'm a bit late to the Katherine Center party. I only met her through The Bodyguard and was excited to read more. Hello Stranger being my second book really made me a lifelong fan. The story focuses on Sadie Montgomery, a portrait painter on the cusp of her big break until...a burgeoning brain bleed sends her to surgery.

While medically, she's on the mend, the procedure has left her temporarily (maybe permanently) face blind. As she struggles to finish a portrait for a competition, she's trying to move about the world unable to recognize even her closest friend, Sue, or her evil stepmother and stepsister. She's even struggling through the relationships she's developing with the veterinarian who saved her dog and the weasly neighbor man who maybe is a lot more than he seems.

This one hit me in my feels hard. I could really relate to Sadie's feelings of trying and failing because of a lot of things outside her control. The added layer of people continuing on with their lives and somewhat oblivious to the person being crushed by life's circumstances made me tear up. I worried if she'd get her HEA, but the end was extremely satisfying.

Content Warning: On-page descriptions of medical and veterinary procedures, toxic family dynamics

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for granting me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Center has been a favorite of mine, even though I don’t typically pick up a romance. She always has an underlying life lesson behind her books and this one is no different—keep hoping, persevering to the end and allow help in your life from those whom you love.
Though the end was blatantly obvious, it was still a great read and it made me chuckle a few times over Sadie’s idiosyncrasies. Peanut is the real MVP of the book!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

Hello Stranger is a very cute and heartwarming romance that is perfect for summer. It follows Sadie Montgomery, a portrait artist who is diagnosed with the “probably temporary” diagnosis of face blindness. As she struggles to cope with this new reality, she finds herself falling for two guys and finding a new artistic style.

This was a very unique storyline that did have some predictable parts. However, it is entertaining throughout and Sadie is very easy to root for. Her family, however, is impossible to root for. They are the worst. The romance is very cute and full of banter. Overall, this is a very breezy and fun summer read.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love books that teach me as well as entertain me. As someone who works directly with medical issues and their cures, I was fascinated to learn about facial blindness for the first time and trying to wrap my head around the condition. This is going to lead me to some intense googling and researching.

This was my first Katherine Center read and it was really great! It was funny, intense at times, had tons of emotion, and also made you reflect about some of the bigger picture themes.

I loved Sadie’s character and the ties to her mom. I loved watching her take what is probably the worst instance of her life and finding the light through it all in the end. The things that don’t kill us do in fact make us stronger. Not to mention the hilarious twist at the end - I did predict it but it didn’t make it any less enjoyable. I loved the comical way in which Oliver became and remained “Joe” as well.

I’m normally a huge fan of Katherine Center, but this one just wasn’t for me. I had to DNF.. I couldn’t emotionally connect with the characters and found the writing to lack her usual depth. Thank you for the opportunity to read early!

Another great book from Katherine Center!

What I loved about Hello Stranger was that a great portion of this book focuses on Sadie, our main character. It focuses on her relationship with herself, her relationship with her work, her relationship with her friends and family, her relationship with her dog, Peanut, and not just her romantic relationship.

I also found the premise of the facial blindness interesting. It wasn't something I knew much about, but it was very interesting to see how it developed the story, and how it taught Sadie that it's okay to ask for help and not everyone is a terrible human being.

This one definitely had me in my feelings over everything Sadie had to go through, and I could not put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

What if you couldn’t recognize who people were? We discuss that in this contemporary book-

Accident - Sadie has just found out she is a finalist in a portrait competition when she suddenly finds herself in the hospital

Face Blindness - After surgery, she finds herself with face blindness, where everyone’s faces seem a jumbled mess. But at least it’s temporary

Portrait Painter - ironic, as she is a portrait painter, so how can she compete if she can’t see faces?

2 Men - and how is it that she is falling for 2 different men at the same time?

This is the first book I have read by Katherine Center. If you think I should read The Bodyguard, let me know. I did really enjoy this book, the characters were fun. The discussion about not being able to see faces being a comparison to people not noticing things in front of their face (and also needing to ask for help) was very insightful. However, it’s pretty apparent how this will all end, and I really kept talking to myself about how Sadie just didn’t “SEE” what was happening. Because she couldn’t. It was still a really cute read.

This is one of the best romances I have read this year! Recommending it to all my friends! Incredible story telling.

I loved this book. I was expecting a nice, relaxing beach read. While it definitely delivered, it also had a lot of heart. All the elements of the sub plots with her family dynamics were well told. I found her face blindness to be interesting as well. I would recommend this book and I will definitely seek out more by this author.

Hello Stranger is another solid read in the romance category from Katherine Center with a commendable primary plot line but a few flaws as well. The main character, Sadie, is a portrait artist who receives word she is a finalist in an art competition – a big break for her. As she is preparing to begin work on her entry for the final competition, she unexpectedly has to undergo brain surgery. It leaves her with a condition (hopefully temporary) called prosopagnosia or face blindness. Her struggle to cope with her condition, as well as mask it to all but a few, is compelling and pretty unique.

While Sadie’s struggle with her condition is laid out in detail, there were some puzzling inconsistences in this character. Some of the secondary characters and story lines are less developed and even a bit far-fetched. These issues were a bit distracting (prompting even an eye roll or two) but didn’t derail the overall story. Among the other highlights were Sadie’s genuine devotion to her dog, Peanut, as well as a bit of unexpected humor here and there.

Overall, Hello Stranger is another light, entertaining read from Center and includes her trademark dose of hope and happiness. While it is not among my favorites from this author, it was still enjoyable especially if you’re able to put aside any incredulous tendencies and keep your sense of humor on hand. On top of all that, Center keeps a few twists til the end just to keep things interesting!


FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We can always count on a Center novel for something fresh, unique, and intriguing. Our heroine is a down-on-her-luck, mostly solitary portrait artist who, just when she gets her big break, is afflicted with face blindness. She sees everything else clearly, but people's faces are a jumbled, unrecognizable mess to Sadie.

In the midst of dealing with a new, hopefully temporary, normal, Sadie finds herself growing close to not one, but two men – her very kind neighbor and the hottie veterinarian of Sadie's dog, Peanut. That, along with trying to finish a portrait as a finalist for a national art competition is a bit overwhelming.

This one kept me reading late into the night because I was desperate to see how things would work out for Sadie. I was fascinated by the concept of face blindness, and I love how Sadie's story highlights the way that adversity can make us stronger and challenges can help us grow. Women's fiction and romance lovers of all kind will enjoy this compelling, insightful, heartfelt story.

I really enjoyed this latest work by Katherine Center. The main character Sadie, a portrait artist suffers from face blindness after a brain surgery. She struggles not knowing how long it will go on and if she will ever recover.

It was an interesting premise to base a romance novel on, but I found it a bit predictable at times. The book definitely had heart and heart breaking moments as Sadie is still reeling over the loss of her beloved mom. The relationships she has with her dad and stepmom were difficult and her step sister Piper was the worst. I liked the contemplating Sadie did and liked seeing her trying to adjust and change her mindset so that she might recover.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book

I loved the idea behind this book, however, I couldn’t fully get into it, or connect with any of the characters. The characters seemed too non realistic/immature to me. I wanted to sympathize with Sadie, but I just couldn’t. Even before her accident, she was very self absorbed and whiney. Parker as the villain was the typical evil stepsister, but for being in her late 20s, she still talked and acted like a middle schooler which was very hard to read and believe. The love triangle between Dr Oliver Addison, Joe, and Sadie made me cringe when she started planning hers and Dr Addisons wedding after their first meet. I do have to say that I liked the ending and how it all came together, but that was only the last 50 pages, and not enough to save this book for me. I loved the Bodyguard by Katherine Center last year when it came out, so I’m hoping her next release is a better fit for me!

This was my first Katherine Center book & I thoroughly enjoyed! (So it certainly won’t be my last!)

This book played with my heart & was very sweet 💕

Three ways to describe this book: light hearted, feel-good & leaves you with a smile on your face!

After reading and loving The Bodyguard last year, I was thrilled to receive an early copy of Hello Stranger! Some might find this romance to be a bit predictable, but I didn't see the "twist" coming and loved every chapter in this book. I'll now be reading Center's backlist and adding her to my list of auto-buy authors.

In Hello Stranger, Sadie feels like the pieces in her life are just starting to fall into place when a series of unfortunate events leads to a diagnosis of face blindness. This is a especially tragic because Sadie is a portrait artist and on top of navigating family issues and taking care of her sick dog, she now has to save her career without being able to see faces. As she tries to find her way, she falls in love with two very different men adding even more complicated emotions. Throughout all of her struggles, Sadie learns perseverance, hope, courage and the importance of trusting and leaning on others around her.

Hello Stranger explained prosopagnosia in great detail and being able to understand the condition, helped me connect better to Sadie's character. I definitely felt for her especially as she was taking care of her elderly dog and trying to forgive and reconcile with some members of her family. I think some readers might find Sadie and her evil stepsister, Parker, to be a little immature, but I was entertained by the Cinderella vibes. Overall, I found it to be a charming, enjoyable romance and it met my high expectations after reading The Bodyguard!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Katherine Center for the ARC copy of this book.

I adore this book! Katherine Center is easily one of my favorite authors and all of her new books automatically go on my TBR because I know each one will be amazing. Hello Stranger did not disappoint. I loved "watching' Sadie's journey throughout the book. So much character growth. I don't want to say too much about the plot and storyline because I feel like its important to go into the story without much knowledge. There is a great twist at the end too.

I cannot say enough positive about the book and highly recommend it! Now, it is easily one of my favorites!

the title of this book should be HELLO PERFECT!!!

i LOVED this story so much. we follow sadie, a portrait artist with a troubled family life. her mother passed away when she was a teenager, her stepsister is the devil, and her dad and stepmom she's not close with either. sadie is trying to make ends meet while getting ready for a competition where she placed in the top 10 for portrait paintings - this could be her big break!! UNTIL she finds out about a neurological condition that she has that leads to her having face blindness. she can see everything else clearly except for their faces - a jigsaw puzzle of features. this leads to obvious trouble for our portrait artist! but BOY does she find herself through this journey and the growth is just so beautiful. the ROMANCE?? not heavy in the story. this is about sadie and her life and she's so funny and lovable and i love that the romance isn't the focus. but with that being said, when the romance happened it was perfect. the situation and coincidences and how everything comes together is genuinely perfect to me.

long story short, i could go on and on about how i swooned over this story. but i will just implore you to get a copy for yourself and see.

HELLO STRANGER PUBLISHES NEXT WEEK!!! enormous thank you to netgalley and st. martin's press for the arc

this was adorable. I loved the storyline and it was such a heart-warming, feel good book! I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters were great 🥹 this was the first book I’ve read by this author & I will be reading more! I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for an adorable romance read!

This book is available July 11th, thank you to the author and publisher for the chance to read an advanced copy 💕