Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book!

Last year the surprise rom com that I end up loving was The Bodyguard so I was super excited to learn we were getting a new one from Katherine this summer!

First off, can we get some commotion for the cover?! Just like her prior work, this one is bold and colorful and truly does stand out. And now after reading it, all the items on the cover make sense.

Back to the book, one thing I love between last year and this year's book is Katherine has provided a fresh take on romance storylines. In The Bodyguard, the female was the guard and in this one the FMC has a rare brain lesion and from the surgery has acquired prosopagnosia.

Did I see where this was going? Yes absolutely!
Was I still hooked from the beginning? Yes!
Did I find myself feeling emotional while reading? Yes!

I like how this story followed Sadie before, during and after her diagnosis. Though being almost 30, you could tell the trauma of losing her mom and her effects of that still weighed heavily on her life as an adult. She was constantly striving to impress and make her father proud after all the years of feeling like a disappointment to him.

"We're all just muddling through, after all. We're all just doing the best we can. We're all struggling with our struggles."

Joe.
I was trying to hate him. Especially after that disastrous moment in the elevator (which I am glad they cleared up that moment later in the book). I won't say too much but my only qualm with his storyline is WHY DIDN'T HE SAY ANYTHING.!? There were plenty of opportunities for him to question Sadie's actions or connect things but did not. Despite my side eye from the elevator moment, I did love the relationship he had with Sadie throughout the book. I definitely thought they could have bonded on a deeper level though if that happened then the story would be over.

Sadie.
As I mentioned above, she was just trying so hard to still work through her grief after all the years and then to somehow make a living out of doing her favorite thing - painting. I thought it was a nice connection to her mom to include the art show. I like that she tried different ways to incorporate her new diagnosis in with her art. BUT I wish she would've told she interacted with often about the condition. Once again though, if she would have then we would have had a totally different story. I love how much she loves her dog Peanut. It goes to show that the love for our pets is unconditional no matter what the circumstance. My heart went for her when it come to dealing with her stepsister Parker. She truly was terrible even as someone in her 20s. She knew how to press all of Sadie's buttons and Sadie let her. I think Sadie could have used a lesson on boundaries when it came to her family. Though I am glad by the end there was a little more balance and hope for the future.

If you are looking for a steamy romance, this one is not it. And honestly I did not even miss it.
There may have been a moment or two where it could have happened but like I said I did not miss it. There was other things happening that kept me intrigued enough to not need it.

I think this book is perfect for summer and by the pool.
If you love unconventional romance with art references, check this one out!

Also don't skip out on the author's note at the end. It gave extra info on prosopagnosia as well as a short vignette on writing and romance that I thought was really relatable.

I cannot fully put into words just how much I LOVED this story!! This book was everything that I could have ever wanted and more. Seriously I could not recommend this book more! This was the first Katherine Center book that I’ve read and she absolutely blew me away. This book’s main character, Sadie, had the most unique challenge as a portrait artist that kept you absolutely hooked wanting to know what she would do next. I loved reading her story and watching her navigate her way through each challenge her life sent her. To make things even better the men in this story were absolutely SWOON WORTHY!! And don’t even get me started with the TWIST at the end?! I kind of saw it coming but I was still pleasantly surprised to read it and watch all the puzzle pieces finally make sense. All in all one of my favorite books I’ve read this year!! Thank you Katherine Center and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Such a good story! Sadie is a young portrait artist who lost her mother as a young teen. She doesn't have much of a relationship with her father, her stepmother or her horrible stepsister, Parker. Sadie has followed in her mother's footsteps in pursuing her passion for art. Sadie wins the opportunity to do a portrait for a yearly contest that could make her career. Her best friend Sue decides to throw a party and while Sadie is out buying wine for the party, she suffers a seizure after leaving the store. While in the hospital, the tests done reveal Sadie has a lesion on her brain. It is recommended that she have it removed ASAP. Sadie only has six weeks to do her portrait for the contest and wants to wait. Sadie's father insists she have the surgery right away and tells her that her mother died as a result of the same medical condition. Sadie has the surgery and becomes "face blind" afterward. It's probably temporary but for a woman who paints faces for a living, this is a huge issue. 4 1/2 stars.

I am a fan of Katherine Center and one thing that I like is that all of her books are different. Well written, and rich characters, this story is about Sadie Montgomery, a portrait artist who is on the brink of fame by proving her talent and self-worth to her father who always doubted her. However, on the cusp of success, she befalls a terrible accident leading to brain surgery to prevent a life threatening situation. However in a rare turn of events, the surgery leaves her with face blindness - not a good thing for a portrait artist. Sadie must rely on other senses, a person's voice, their gait, and more in order to identify others. Her therapist wants her to focus on the positive, something hard for Sadie to do. However, she does and falls madly in love with her veterinarian, convinced that this is her future husband. But then there is also the helpful guy in her building which makes her confused. Day by day, Sadie struggles to appear normal to others who faces appear as strangers even if she has known them her whole life, which is a challenge. Add in an evil step-sister who has always been jealous of her, and that throws road blocks in her way. Lots of laughs and yet empathy for her situation, this is a story that is easy to read as you want to walk along with Sadie on her journey hoping for her success both in her art and in love. A great selection for a fun summer read, it has a pleasant feel-good vibe. I recommend this book, a 5/5 stars.
Many thanks to #netgalley #katherinecenter #hellostranger #st.martinspress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Hello Stranger is one of my new favorite books — no questions about it. I haven’t gotten this wrapped up in a story in a while. It was really really hard to put this book down. I was so drawn to the characters, especially Sadie, whose mind it was so fun to live in. I also think this book does a great job incorporating the idea of face blindness and allowing readers to understand the experience. This was absolutely a comfort read, heartwarming and beautiful. I love Hello Stranger SO much and would recommend to any and all fans of art, romance, and the mysteries of life!

I am so thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

As a fan of Katherine Center, this book did not disappoint.
Sadie is a struggling artist, following in her mother's footsteps and avoiding her father and his new family. There is a lot of family drama as Sadie finds herself in the hospital with a diagnosis that could kill her if not treated. She is diagnosed with face blindness. As a portrait artist, this makes her struggling career nearly impossible. She had just been accepted into a long hoped for artist contest and without being able to see faces, she needs to create a masterpiece.
This is the big dilemma that is the focus of the entire book. However, add a dreaming vet, a man in her apartment complex with questionable morals and we have the perfect set up for a cute romance.
Sadie comes to realize that things are not ever what they seem. She makes some funny mistakes in not being able to recognize people and it adds to anticipation that as a reader I had already figured out. Watching Sadie stumble her way to truth is quite entertaining though.
I really like the characters and the storyline. I appreciate when there is something like face blindness that is highlighted in the book. This is something that is very hard to imagine or understand and yet it gives some great insight and perspective.
This is overall a very fun, sweet, romance.

I have been wanting to dive into a Katherine Center book and I’m happy I did. We have a Sadie who is quirky as hell, full of humor anda a starving artist, for real though. She lives in her art studio and she’s a finalist for this huge art competition that can make her career. Then she suffers and accident, finds out that she has something hereditary in her brain and has temporary face blindness.

This topic was something new to me, but I loved how the author makes it very clear in the situations that Sadie is going through. She meets these two men in the middle of everything, and I was all for how this was going to play out, and even her art. It’s crunch time! There were a few things that saddened me but I found it to be a good combo to bring into this book, Bullying, and the characters that played a part in it. And also how the people who support you the most are not always family.

I loved Peanut, now that I’m a dog mom a fun and loyal pup-best friend is a must to make any book all CUTE!…… everyone deserves their happy ending and even if it looked like Sadie wasn’t going to get hers she did, and it was heartwarming to see, even through it all in her life she ended up winning.

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I loved this!!! Such a heartwarming romance from Katherine Center. This was super lighthearted and enjoyable. I also liked Sadie a lot. I really enjoyed it and am excited to explore the rest of Katherine Center’s books!

This book was lovely. I woke up the next day after finishing it wanting to do a reread. I adored the ending, it sold the whole book for me. Of course there is a HEA and I thought it was wonderfully done.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Very interesting premise for a novel. I am mixed in my views on this book. Some parts really captivating me, but other parts left me wanting a bit more. I am usually a huge Katherine Center fan, and while this was not my favorite, I enjoyed the romance.

Pros:
-Premise-I first thought this book was going to be about amnesia which is a tired trope. However, this book centers on Sadie who develops facial blindness, so she remembers everything, just can't see people's faces. As a professional portrait painter, this makes her job infinitely harder. This was a unique idea and caused me to really think about what I would do in her situation.
-Peanut, Joe, Mr. and Mrs. Kim-all very cute and endearing characters. I would like there to be a whole book on the Kim's and the people in their building because they are adorable.
-The romance between the main characters-About 40% into the book, the romance starts. I feel that's a little bit too long to get into that for me, but I understand Sadie has a lot going on. The moments shared between the two main characters are very cute and filled with chemistry.
-The romance with a backstory=One thing I always enjoy about Katherine Center's book is that the romance is deeper than just a meet-cute. There is always a deeper situation the characters are dealing with that they have to overcome.

Cons:
-Parker (the evil step sister)-honestly I don't think this book needed it and she felt like a stereotype.
-Sadie's inability to remember voices- So I get the not being able to see faces, but you would remember voices of people. I can recognize voices even if I have only met people once, so if you are spending lots of time with them, you would recognize their voices. If you lose one sense, your other senses are usually heightened so this was just a plot device I wasn't buying.
-Sadie's decision not to tell people about her facial blindness-honestly the whole book would've been solved if she would have just had a conversation with people about her facial blindness.
-Lack of dialogue-This book had a lot of introspection on Sadie's part, and there wasn't a ton of dialogue driving the plot forward or creating more witty moments between the characters. I would've liked more conversations and less science as explained through the characters.
-IMHA-I do not want to spoil anything, but having had a pet pass away from this illness and having worked in the vet field for 14 years, I don't think the author needed to add this to the book. One, it was just another whomp whomp for Sadie which felt a little forced, and two it was almost too specific, but not completely accurate. Two, most people do not know what this is, so I feel like it was another thing too scientific/medical for this novel. It just felt like too many things were added to this novel.

Overall, I enjoyed the read. I became really invested in how Sadie would complete her portrait and learned some things along the way (like Chuck Close having facial blindness-which as an Art History teacher I am very ashamed I didn't already know and now have countless activities regarding facial blindness that I want to do with my class). I am still a huge Katherine Center fan and cannot wait until her next book comes out!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

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

I really enjoyed The Bodyguard when it came out, so I figured I'd give this one a shot as well. And I found myself really enjoying Sadie's story and how she was able to persevere through everything she faced.

I think everyone has hit a rock bottom before in their life. But I don't know too many people who have hit a "I no longer recognize faces" rock bottom. It was a very interesting way to frame a rom com. Was I hoping that Sadie would just tell people what she was going through? Sure, but I honestly think that Center did a great job showing us why Sadie only relied on herself and why she would play this one close to her chest.

I loved Joe. He's the absolute best. Parker sucks so much, but I feel like she was just a bit exaggerated for the purposes of the story. Sadie's dad was a bit disappointing, and I wish there would have been more time developing the relationship between him and Sadie before a reconciliation could be possible. But overall, I really enjoyed the book and I am eagerly looking forward to more from Katherine Center.

When a portrait artist loses the ability to see faces, she uses creative thinking to continue to create art. Along the way, she makes an unlikely connection and learns to think on the bright side of life.
Hello Stranger was a fantastic portrayal of self-discovery and unexpected love. I enjoy the way that Katherine Center portrayed this story so much! It contained the charm and heart-warming content that Katherine Center is known for, with fantastic attention to detail, and included a delightful surprise ending to the story. Plus, who doesn’t love a book that includes rollerblading and a pad thai-loving dog?!

I've loved the books by Katherine Center that I've read, and this was an entertaining story as well. The issue of prosopagnosia (face blindness) was really interesting, and there were many laugh-out-loud moments. I do have mixed feelings about the book, however. I didn't connect to Sadie as a character very well, and there was so much time in her head - so much explaining and telling, rather than showing. I did like the ending, especially after reading the author's note, so I wish that the flow of the latter part of the story had been present all the way through. I will certainly look forward to her next book, though! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance digital copy.

Highly enjoyable, my second read from Katherine Center. Before diving in I read the Bodyguard because it was on my TBR.
Loved the ending, swoon.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @stmartinspress and @smpromance for an early copy of Hello Stranger by @katherinecenter. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Hello Stranger tells the story of Sadie, a portrait artist who is celebrating the biggest achievement of her life – placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition but has found herself lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with face blindless – which may or may not be temporary. She can see almost everything, except faces are now puzzle pieces. As she struggles to cope with her new reality, she falls in love (?) with two different men, or lets herself get distracted by them. If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to find her way. But perceiving anything clearly right now seems impossible. Even though there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

This novel is a fast-paced and heartwarming romantic comedy that is quite enjoyable and hilarious. Sadie, the FMC, is quite relatable for me, excluding face blindness of course, but her internal monologue, how she overthinks, pictures different scenarios that are out of this world, well, I do that sometimes too. Maybe more often than I would admit 😅 With everything getting out of hand in her life, Katherine Center was able to emit Sadie’s feelings and panic, which made me empathize with the character and had me shed a few tears regardless of how bizarre I thought all the unfortunate events were dumped into this character almost all at the same time.

Even though I had an inkling of how the story would end (which by the way I was right lol), I enjoyed how the story flowed and most especially Sadie’s character development. Her relationship with “both” MMCs and her reactions to them were funny and sweet, but I found Sadie’s relationship and reconciliation with her stepfamily a bit underwhelming, but I guess a great contribution to her character arc nonetheless.

Rating Hello Stranger ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases July 11th, 2023!

This was such an interesting read! It was my first from Katherine Center and I really liked it! It really wasn't a romance and that it what I liked most about it--it was just different.

Sadie is a portrait artist is who experiences a dramatic life change due to a medical condition. Trying to navigate a world without faces, Sadie has to focus on other things to make her way around. There were misunderstandings a plenty, but it all ended well.

5 out of 5 stars.

I received a free ARC from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley; and I am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.

So I this is like the fourth Katherine Center book I’ve read! (Thanks, Netgalley for the early read.) I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I was already expecting to purchase, and it’s currently on its way to my house with my book of the month shipment but I’m grateful for the early read! The concept of this book was really cute- a portrait artist who ends up with face blindness (THE IRONY). The idea that there may be two suitors also really dug my interest. Conveniently, I also received a yes to this book via audiobook from NetGalley and for that reason, decided to go ahead and just listen to the audiobook.

This was by far my favorite Katherine Center read. There’s something about a book with topics and themes personal to the author that just hit the reader at such a different level.

I really enjoyed Sadie’s overall journey and what the face blindness allowed her to overcome/breakthrough in a way. To me, it felt like she was overcoming the need to hold herself back and to become more than the shell she was permitting herself to live in. And I think breaking through the “shackles” you may put yourself in is incredibly important lesson in life.

There were some issues with lack of communication and miscommunication I just could not get behind. If you have strong feelings toward someone, why would you not ask for clarity? Or talk through things? The blind acceptance was frustrating to say the least.

Sadie unfortunately was surrounded by mediocre people or awful people. It almost seemed like she settled for herself..including in friendships.

Emotionally, this book has my heart. Sadie grips you with her struggles of parental death, an evil step sister, then has to go through some pretty life altering events. She was hit from every direction and I felt that all the way through.

3.75/5

I'd anticipated a fun light-hearted read—based on my one other KC read, The Bodyguard—so the somber tone threw me. While Hello Stranger leans more toward Women's Fiction, Sadie's journey with Aquired Apperceptive Prosopagnosia aka "Face Blindness" as a portrait artist was a completely new perspective I haven't come across before.

Joe is definitely the perfect support Sadie needed (obstinate as she was to accept help...) and a bright spot in all the personal and familial struggles Sadie is challenged with (I didn't find any satisfying resolutions to these issues...).

Overall, it provided a unique look into a condition I'd never heard of before while providing an easy to read, no heat story that still builds a little bit of twist into the relationship element.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
Contemporary romance.
Sadie is a portrait artist. She’s won a spot in an upcoming contest that’s she’s feeling good about. But she has a seizure that causes her to have brain surgery and suddenly she can’t see faces or recognize anyone. Features are out of place for everyone. Sadie needs to find alternative ways to identify people and then figure out what to do with her portrait painting career. Hair, clothing, posture and gait are some of the ways she’ll need to use to identify people she sees everyday. Including Joe, the man on her floor who always wears a leather jacket with that name stitched on the front.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook narrated by Patti Murin. The performance of the audiobook was marvelous. There were distinct voices for Sadie, Joe and several of the secondary characters. For me, the timing was perfection. I clearly heard the anxiety, the fear, the confusion and ultimately the hope in the story. Of course, those feelings are in the written word as well, but I think this book comes across phenomenally well by the narrator.

From the author notes: “Romance books are unapologetically hopeful and optimistic. Joyful. Positive. The lead to Emotional bliss.”
Yes, that’s why I love them.
And I loved this book for the same reasons. The heroine had a temporary physical disability that meant she couldn’t recognize faces. But she didn’t give up. She still painted to the best of her ability and ultimately she found love.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.