I've read three of her books and am starting to think none of hers will ever come close to Happiness for Beginners. As much as I wanted to love this one, I just didn't enjoy it like I wanted to. The romance seemed forced and way too fast, which made it unbelievable. The story brought more awareness to a disease not many know about, and I learned a lot. I'm glad to hear she did her research on this, because I'm always a little wary of reading books about illnesses the author has no direct experience with. Hopefully there were some sensitivity readers involved.

Cute story about finding your way in life after a major change occurs. Dealing with family issues and how to use her art in a new direction due to her sight awareness issue.

Many thanks to my friends at @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for the #gifted copies of this book.

Heartwarming. Adorable. Uplifting.

Sadie’s life is full of “the hard.” A freak accident led to a blood clot, and the surgery to fix it led to face blindness. Difficult for any person. Impossible for a portrait artist. Utterly tragic for a finalist in the life changing North American Portrait Society competition.

Oh, how I rooted for Sadie! I went through the gamut of emotion alongside her as she faced challenge atop of challenge. And when she fell for two guys? I wanted to roll my eyes. Instead, I felt my heartbeat pick up.

This is a refreshingly unique tale brimming with humor and heart. It reminded me to always be on the lookout: “The more good things you look for, the more you find.”

Like every other book I’ve read by Center, this one radiated joy. Her writing is laced with comfort and hope, which allowed a supported exploration of the hard stuff. And in so doing, her books reach into the soul, delivering the warmest of hugs every time.

There’s no doubt in my mind, @katherinecenter wields pure magic. Her author’s note at the end reminded me of this.

“Romance novels all run on a blissful sense that we’re moving towards something better.”

I vividly remember the overwhelming JOY that reverberated in my soul after reading my first novel by Center. Happiness. Bliss. Delight. I found myself completely surprised by the mood lifting power she wielded with her writing.

It was like crack. I needed more.

And that feeling of BLISS is why I keep returning to her novels year after year. Each book is like a warm hug. Always uplifting. Exactly what I need.

🎧 Patti Murin excelled in depicting Sadie and her wide range of emotions. But it was her portrayal of Joe’s snarkiness that made me swoon.

I’ve been wanting to read a Katherine Center book for a while now, and I finally had time to sit down with my Netgalley audio review copy and do it! Hello Stranger brought out a lot of conflicting opinions and emotions in me. At times I wanted to DNF, and at other times I couldn’t stop reading. I loved Sadie and I hated her. I went back and forth between being so invested and being so irritated at these characters. lol. Let’s see if I can make this review make sense!

Probably my biggest issue with this book was how self-absorbed and self-centered Sadie was. Face blindness is not something I’d heard of before I read this book, and it sounds scary and frustrating especially for someone who was not born with this condition. It sounds heartbreaking to go your entire life loving and appreciating faces, only to wake up from surgery and not be able to see them or recognize anyone anymore. And the author did a really good job of explaining what this is like. I empathized with Sadie and felt so bad for her, but then I quickly grew tired of the constant complaining and whining. This girl didn’t care about anyone or anything other than herself, and I can’t fathom that. I would feel so lonely going through something like this, and I would crave closeness with people. She refuses to tell anyone she’s face blind, which is her prerogative and not something she owes anyone, yet she also refuses to make adjustments to her social skills to try to compensate for this. She memorizes hairstyles, gaits, and clothing styles but she never asks anyone about themselves or shows genuine concern or interest in anyone she interacts with. It’s all about her. She goes through a bit of a love crisis, not knowing which man in her love triangle to commit to, and if she had showed either of them any real interest or gotten to know them on any sort of deep level it would have been so much easier for her. But instead, she focused only on herself and didn’t get to know either one of them well enough to actually know them.

This brings me to my next issue: communication. Nobody in this book can effectively communicate with one another. Assumptions are continually made. Judgments are made without knowing all the facts. Life is very confusing for multiple people in this book because they won’t ask questions and they won’t think critically about their interactions and use a little common sense to decipher them. Feelings are hurt, lives are ruined, and things happen that shouldn’t because there’s not one character, main or secondary, who can communicate. I stayed up past 5AM yesterday morning because I figured out something important very early on and got so irritated that these people couldn’t figure it out on their own that I couldn’t sleep until things were resolved. So I guess that’s a point in the author’s favor, but when a book is compulsively readable because the reader is furious is that still a good thing? LOL.

Another issue I had was this author’s writing style. It’s very repetitive, which I believe was made worse by how the narrator chose to read it. For example, and this is not a direct quote, let’s say that Sadie is thinking to herself and about her newfound hop. It would go something like this: “I have hope again. Hope that I can X. Hope that I can X. Hope that I will X. Hope that life will X.” And when the narrator reads these kinds of passages, she sounds like a robot. I would have much preferred “I have hope again, that I can X and X, that I will X, and that life will X.” The repetitive “Hope that..” over and over again really annoyed me and I found myself rolling my eyes. This same thing happens multiple times in the book, including the author’s note at the end, and I feel like it’s done in an effort to sound profound or sweeping, but I got very bogged down in all the extra words.

So… why did I continue if I had several really big issues with this story? Well, good question. I did almost DNF, but I really wanted to know how things were going to work out. I really loved Joe. He’s sweet and helpful and selfless, and I found him to be so endearing and patient. I loved Mr. and Mrs. Kim, who own the apartment building Sadie and Joe live in. I hated Sadie’s evil stepsister, Parker, who might be the worst villain I’ve ever read about who was not either a monster in fantasy novel or a serial killer in a thriller. Parker made me so mad, and the narrator made her voice so grating, that I wanted to throw things. At the same time, I really wanted to know how that relationship turned out. I wanted to know who Sadie ended up with, if she ever killed Parker, and if her dad ever grew a heart. Since this is a romance (although, there was no actual romance until about 40% and the bulk of the story felt like women’s fiction), we have to assume there will be a happy ending. So I wanted to know what that looked like for Sadie. Did her face blindness go away? I had many questions. This is such a unique storyline, and I was so intrigued (and ok, infuriated) that I couldn’t stop reading.

In the end, I’m glad I read this. The ending was really sweet, even though I knew exactly how it was going to go and we could have gotten there so much easier… but that clearly wasn’t the point. lol. This was not supposed to be an easy journey for me as the reader, just like it wasn’t supposed to be an easy journey for any of these characters. Nearly all of them are suffering in some way, and they all go through it. Some aspects of the story didn’t feel realistic at times, and some felt impossibly confusing just for the sake of making the story work, but it got me to read it. lol. I have only myself to blame for the emotional tsunami this author put me through because I could have quit! BUT. I didn’t. When I finished the story I was smiling. I was basking in the swoons and the sweetness and the pure relief that things were resolved and I’d be able to finally sleep. So there was good and there was bad, but one thing’s for sure: I will never forget this story.

"Hello, Stranger" by Katherine Center is a contemporary novel with a heartwarming premise. The author skillfully captures the complexities of relationships and personal growth. However, at times, the plot might follow familiar romantic tropes, and the pacing can feel uneven. Despite these aspects, Center's writing style and character development contribute to a pleasant reading experience, earning "Hello, Stranger" a respectable three stars.

This was more fun than I expected. It's not the first book I've read about face-blindness, but I liked the way it was worked in to this story. I found the main character to be a little bit stubborn, but also surprisingly forgiving. There was a bit of family drama, a bit of finding yourself, and (of course) a romance. I enjoyed both the print and the audio versions - great narrator! This was my first Katherine Center novel, but probably won't be my last.

Every face, including that of her own, is unrecognizable. Like a pile of mixed-up puzzle pieces. Or like pickup sticks. Sadie has "acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia...face blindness." How did this happen? One day Sadie experienced what was called a nonconvulsive seizure. Because of this event, Emma underwent several tests and it was determined that she had a malformed blood vessel in her brain. And this required brain surgery.

When Sadie awoke, she was in turmoil. She was utterly confused. Her friend Sue came to visit. At least it sounded like Sue. But Sadie could only recognize one feature at a time, like the eyes, nose, etc., but she could not put the composite of those features together to form a recognizable face. This does not bode well for someone who has a career as a portrait artist.

Meanwhile, Sadie has a double crush - that of her veterinarian and that of her neighbor Joe. She decides to put those feelings for her vet aside and spends time with Joe, working on a portrait without actually being able to see his face. Sadie's face problems continues to cause issues, but she holds out the hope that once she fully heals, her ability to recognize faces will return.

Sadie has other issues - one being her evil stepsister. It seems she just cannot get away from her. Dealing with Parker, all while slowly falling for Joe gives this story plenty of form. Katherine Center is a fabulous writer. and she did a great job with Hello Stranger.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Hello Stranger was an overly predictable romantic comedy with some life lessons thrown in. It was cute, but definitely did not meet the expectations I had built after reading Center’s “The Bodyguard”.

The book follows Sadie, a portrait artist that, after an accident and resulting brain surgery, wakes to find she is face blind. Comedy ensues, a step-sibling villain emerges, and Sadie finds herself torn between two very different men.

What really disappointed me was the inconsistencies in the plot. I never expect romantic comedies to be literary masterpieces and often they do have parts that I just have to pretend make sense. But, Hello Stranger just had so many? I ended up being really frustrated with the characters, particularly Sadie, and that made the whole book kind of a drag for me.

I won’t let my reading experience of this book sway me from reading more of Center’s books in the future. I’m hoping this was just a fluke.

This was such an incredible book! It has everything that you want in a romcom. It hits all the troupes. It's not too spicy, I would say that it's rather cozy. But, it's really good and has really great family dynamics that are fun and interesting. AND of course you've got a hot guy in the mix.
This book is absolutely a hot summer read.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8bjLDe5/

DEVOURED. EVERY. SINGLE. WORD.

I have to admit the first K. Center book I read I wasn’t impressed, but YEAR AFTER YEAR I AM SHOOK with the stories we are given and this one did not disappoint. LOVED IT. BEYOND LOVED IT!! I did not guess anything coming and I really found the premise unique, and also educational. I had no idea an affliction such as our MC suffered from even existed- which yes, I will admit that makes me lucky and blessed. I about DIED at some of the situations in this because they were PERFECT and so relatable! I was rooting for our vet, I was rooting for our MC to tell family members where to shove it, I was rooting for all. the. goods!


Do I have this book in every single format? Sure do. The audio of this was brilliant and even though there were some very serious situations and topics throughout, the writing and plot was phenomenally done to continue to engage the reader and have them wanting more of love, of retribution, of achievement and of healing (in all forms).

192272626262 percent will and do recommend this to everyone!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for and advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely adored this book! The premise is original and so interesting. I was sucked into the story immediately and so entertained. Katherine Center had a beautiful way of writing and this story was no different. The narrator was fantastic and made it easy to listen to this book. I would highly recommend it!

This book was a struggle for me. There was a love triangle and miscommunication trope in this, and it did not work for me. I found the main character annoying and I could not connect to her, or cheer for her as the book progressed. This book was not there for me.

I had no problem with the narrator of this audiobook, and the narrator made no difference as to my liking of the book.

I want to thank Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for an ARC, and advanced listening copy of this book.

HELLO! What a cute book to listen to, it's been a while since I laughed, giggled, (and then) cried to a book but I am so glad that "Hello, Stranger" gave me all the feels.

This slow build romance is so delightful. I think the main characters were developed perfectly. I wish I had more of the family drama.

*Amazon Editor’s pick: Best Book of the Year 2023!
*Loved this story!
*Couldn’t put it down
*Learned a lot about Prosopagnosia or face blindness
*I loved how Sadie grew as a person because of her disability-she had to learn how to ask for help from others
*Audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️-the character voice distinctions weren’t that great and there was no emotion expressed in the reading

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the Audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Katherine Center has become a favorite author for me, and her books always feel like a warm hug when I finish.

The characters and storyline were so well written, and I thought this was a fascinating take on prosopagnosia, facial blindness.

While the story does have a bit of a love triangle, I didn’t mind it once I finished because it all came together so well for that HEA I’ve come to expect with Center’s heartfelt and emotional storylines.

I paired the audiobook with the book and loved the immersive reading experience so much.

*many thanks to St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I’m really glad that I managed to get the Advanced Listener Copy of this book, I was having issues getting into the ARC of the book but the narrator does a really good job, and was very engaging to listen to.

Sadie is a struggling portrait artist, after a bad break up she’s living in a hovel on the roof of her best friend’s parents apartment building, when she finds out she’s made it to final round to a portrait contest. In the midst of getting supplies to celebrate Sadie has a seizure and soon has to go in to have brain surgery. After the surgery she is horrified to find out she can no long see faces, in the wake of this she finds herself trying to cope. Meanwhile she keeping running into her awful neighbor Joe and find herself falling for her dogs new veterinarian.

I had a really fun time with this one, and the message was pretty great. I really adored Joe and Sadie’a dynamic.

Katherine Center does it again! I am such fan of Katherine and her writing and to say I squealed in excitement when I was approved for this book does not do it justice.

Sadie is a likable whimsical character just trying to make her way in life when she experiences a medical emergency requiring her to have brain surgery. The problem is she is a finalist in an art competition for portraits and she is experiencing facial blindness. She is on the cusp of getting everything she ever wanted and she enlists the help of her best friend and her new neighbor to overcome this obstacle. She then meets a charming vet who seems perfect for her, or he would be if she didn't start to develop feelings for her neighbor. This book is funny, sweet and overall an easy read. The main character can get a little frustrating at times but her family dynamic really makes those parts of her personality make sense. I will say I guessed the twist but that's not too uncommon for me. That being said I am so happy I got to read it and I wanted to see how the story would come together.

I would recommend this book to any Katherine Center lover looking for a cute romance. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Book Review: Hello Stranger
Stars: 4 of 5
Author: Katherine Center @katherinecenter
Publisher: St. Martin‘ s Press @stmartinspress
Thank you NetGalley @netgalley for the audio Arc of this book.

This is the story of Sadie, an artist, who has an accident and ends up with facial blindness. Sadie is a portrait artist and just before her accident she finds out she is one of ten finalist for a competition but how can she paint in a contest if she can see faces.

Sadie's life has not been easy. Her mother died when she was a teenager. Her father a prominent cardiac surgeon remarries a not so nice woman with a bratty daughter. She also has difficulty living up to her father's expectations.

Things start to go Sadie's way when she meets two men. She starts to get know them and all is progressing well except how do you tell some one you can't see their face.

Sadie encounters many frustrations and struggles as she learns what may be her new normal. She also must learn to trust others which she has always found difficult. Who knows maybe this face blindness is what Sadie needed to turner life around.

The author does a fabulous job of describing the many aspects of living with such a cognitive disorder that only affects 2.5% of the world's population.

I love this tale. It is a very heartwarming and humerus story if struggle and love, The ending was perfect. Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors and this now is well worth the read.

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The author took a unique premise and gave it life in a way that still honored people who really have the face blindness condition she uses in her story. She clearly did her research and captured the many different ways of looking at one's own disability without overly romanticizing the condition or trivializing it. The pacing was good, and the characters were fun.