What a lovely heartwarming story! Katherine center delivers yet again with her latest novel.

When Sadie has a seizure, she is saved from being hit by a car, by a complete stranger. When she wakes up in the hospital, she is warned that she has a cavernoma, a malformed blood vessel that will require surgery, and soon. But Sadie has just learned that she is a finalist in a very prestigious art competition, for which she must paint a brand-new portrait in the next 6 weeks. What could go wrong?

When Sadie wakes from the surgery, she slowly realizes she has face-blindness - an inability to see faces as complete objects rather than just their constituent pieces. As she makes her living as a portrait painter, this is disastrous. It may or may not be temporary, so she struggles to find a way to produce a portrait for the competition. Her friend Sue helps, until she leaves for her wedding, at which point Sadie's friendly neighbor Joe agrees to help.

Meanwhile, when her dog gets sick, she starts to fall for the vet that treated her pet. Unable to read faces, she begins to rely on her other senses, and realizes the growing attraction between vet Dr. Oliver and herself is mutual. But she's also starting to fall for Joe too...

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a wonderful job of keeping the characters distinct, and giving the proper feeling to the story.

Great characters, wonderful plot and a twist that I didn't 'see' coming (pun intended), all in all this was a great read.

Thank you Netgalley, Katherine Center, and publisher for allowing me an early audiobook for an honest review! I have become a big fan of this author. Such a heartwarming story that I absolutely loved. I kinda had a feeling it was going to go the way the story was but I still enjoyed getting to read the story. Such a unique story with a wholesome message. I also loved that it took place in Houston where I am from. Great book!

This was one of the most interesting love stories I’ve ever read. I enjoyed the banter between the main character and love interest as well as with the side characters. Such an interesting premise with the facial recognition breakdown. My favorite Katherine Center book so far!

I just adored this book!

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who is just reveling in the fact she made the top ten finalists for a prestigious art competition for portrait artists. However, quickly after she finds out she needs brain surgery due to some neurological issues.

I will say I spent the last year undergoing testing for my own neurological issues and while she does express fear/anxiety I almost feel it’s underplayed as I can confirm—it’s fucking scary.

Anyway, Sadie’s brain surgery is successful, however, it has left her with facial blindness that her doctor says is “probably temporary.” Which as you can imagine as a portrait artist (and human being) is horrifying.

The plot from there is very easy to see where it’s going with her two romantic interests: her dogs cute (she thinks) veterinarian and Joe from her apartment building but it doesn’t make it any less fun or enjoyable! A really fun and sweet read.

I felt the narrator did a good job and was a good choice for this title.

5/5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely devoured this book! I’m a huge Katherine Center fan (I’ve read The Bodyguard like 5 times by now), and I’ve been waiting so long for Hello Stranger!

Honestly, I had huge expectations for this book, huge. And after reading it? Katherine kinda became my favorite author of all time!

I genuinely can not express how much I’ve loved this book. I just can’t stop thinking about it! I had the pleasure to listen to this as an audiobook but I can not wait for the physical copies, definitely going to buy it so I can highlight my favorite passages (there were so many!).

It’s been a while since I’ve read something that REALLY hooked me up. But this book? I was into this from the start, ended up reading way too fast, and finished in two days and now I totally miss the characters.

This book is so freaking good! I laughed, cried (I certainly cried way more than I thought I would), wanted to throw my book against the wall so many times (sadly my book was really my phone so…), and fully swooned over the romance. Where can I find a guy like Joe in real life?

This was an instant favorite and I can’t wait to buy my physical copy!

This was another fun read and it was nice trying to get a more understanding of the medical side of the story and the MC trying to figure it out in the midst of the ups and downs.

Ohhhh Katherine Center 🥰 Can we be friends? I lovvve Katherine’s writing so so so much. The way she incorporates depth, but also a lightness to her characters is something I just adore in her novels. I adored this book and loved the plot of this one too. I was also completely fascinated by the face blindness and I felt all of Sadie’s struggles that came with it. The romance storyline was predictable for me, but I totally enjoyed the ride still. I laughed, I swooned, I loved and I recommend it to you!

Sadie is an artist. She is on her way to the store when she has a stroke and ends up in the hospital. She has something in her brain which causes her to have brain surgery. Once she comes out of surgery she can’t recognize faces. She has face blindness and needs to learn to cope until hopefully the face blindness goes away. She is competing in a portrait art contest, how can she do that with face blindness? Can she paint a portrait without being able to distinguish parts of a face?
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an ARC audiobook. The narrator did a great job telling the story with voices and expressions. I enjoyed this book. I like Sadie’s character. She’s a starving artist but following her dreams. Sadie doesn’t like to accept help, but in the duration of the novel she grows and finally excepts help. She also learns to look at faces differently. I like how it’s a romance but the book doesn’t just focus on that, it’s about finding love when you are not looking for it. I loved how everything came together in the end. I enjoyed this book more than the bodyguard!

This is a story about hope, forgiveness and love. The characters are relatable and enjoyable. I didn’t want to put this book down. I was anticipating the plot twist and couldn’t wait for it to happen. Don’t skip the authors note.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH NETGALLEY AND MACMILLAN AUDIO FOR THIS INCREDIBLE AUDIO ARC!

In case the all caps above wasn’t clear:::
I loved this story. It was the gooey inside of a cinnamon roll, a hug from a friend you haven’t seen in years, and the moment your hear “I love you” from a child for the first time. I knew about one aspect of facial dysphoria. I had no clue about the kind that affects our leading lady, Sadie.

Patti Murin was wonderful. Her performance was the cherry on top of this sundae story! I’m off to buy some flowers and a puppy to name Peanut!

this book took me by a huge surprise. i honestly had no clue what this was about and went in blind, this was such a cute romance and even though i had suspected that little twist in the end, even as the story progressed, it was still enjoyable to read and to see it all unravel. i have never heard of face blindness before, and it was so fascinating to read about.

the narration was really good too although it did kind of glitch here and there more towards the middle. not sure if it was just me/my headset or the audio itself.

“I guess that’s the great thing about life; it gives you chance after chance to rethink it all.”

WHAT WAS IN THIS BOOK!? It was so good! I haven’t been liking romance books lately, but this was done so well! Even though I guessed the twist, I wasn’t upset about it. The author’s note at the end made me teary because she nailed why the romance genre is so important to all of us! I highly recommend reading this when it comes out!

I absolutely adored listening to Hello Stranger by Katherine Center! What an interesting premise that the FMC, who is a portrait artist, loses the ability to see faces. Sure, there are some predictable plot points but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The story's development and it's ending are so satisfying. It is deliciously sweet (no spice) and must be added to your summer reading list. Patti Murin is always a joy to listen to narrate a story. Highly recommend!

📚 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀!
HELLO STRANGER by Katherine Center follows Sadie, a portrait artist who is struck with acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, or face blindness, just as she's experiencing a significant breakthrough in her career. Center skillfully weaves together a romantic tale as Sadie finds herself torn between two very different men. While romance is a central theme, the book goes beyond that, exploring themes of personal growth, resilience, and the importance of letting go. Center's writing is captivating, and I found myself fully immersed in Sadie's journey. The author's meticulous research shines through, as she vividly describes Sadie's experiences, allowing readers to easily visualize them. Humor plays a significant role in the book, helping Sadie navigate her challenges, and adding to the overall enjoyment of the story. I particularly appreciated how the plot unfolded, with a satisfying ending that didn't diminish the pleasure of the journey. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a feel-good novel that explores love, self-discovery, and the beauty of unexpected encounters.

My first experience with this story was reading the ebook. This second time around I had the pleasure of enjoying the audiobook. And enjoy it I did! The clear-voiced narrator was perfectly expressive and slightly changed her voice to fit the varying characters.
I was tickled to hear certain humorous elements of the story, after having already known the ending. It added an extra element of enjoyment for me!
Still don’t care for the character of her best friend though…

I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

At first, even the characters' names bored me along with everything else. But, while reading and finding out little things about the characters I got sucked in. The way Daniel would stop and spend time with stray cats really just won me over. I grew to enjoy the characters and even yearn for them to be together.

There were, however, some things I definitely did not enjoy. Everytime the female MC would get dressed or see her reflection she would make a comment about her weight. She would say these out loud sometimes and other characters would ask questions like did you say something and of course she would just say no. This happened so frequently that along with the main plot of finding their friend and getting him help I was sure another major plot point would be Kate's support group helping her realize she needs help too. I was just waiting for the big eating disorder shoe to drop and it never did. Without there being a point to including all of the harsh judgemental comments Kate makes to herself it just furthers the idea of body criticism. This, in my mind, took this book so far away from the realm of comedy.

Hello stranger by Catherine Center

I was able to consume this book via audio and it was amazing. They did a great job on the voice actor, which really made it that much more enjoyable.

This story follows Sadie, a struggling artist, as she goes through a rollercoaster of ups and downs. From finalist in a portrait contest, to face blindness you find you're self rooting for her.

I love a good happily ever after and redemption character arcs. If you like a good romance with no spice, this book is for you. Now excuse me while I go read her other books. 🤣

I received this book as an arc and I couldn’t stop listening to it! I loved it from start to finish. The characters were all very real like and the different relationships are so relatable! I can’t wait to recommend this to my patrons at my library and I will also be reading her other books! It is a very clean romance novel and filled with hope!

4⭐️

If you like cute romances without spice, this is the book for you. I consumed this book through audio and the reader was really great (and hilarious) to listen to. She embodied the character and I was attached and rooting for Sadie from the get go. That’s also attributable to the writing style of Katherine Center, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Although this book can be classified as Adult Romance, I would have no problem allowing a teenager to read it.

The real star of the show, though, was Peanut, the hilarious and lovable dog that has been in Sadie’s family for years. I don’t usually love animals in books, but I was a Peanut fan from the first sentence.

Overall, this is a Hallmark-y rom com that gives you some good feels while also exploring complicated medical obstacles and family issues surrounding grief and sudden loss.

3.5/5 stars. Cute story. Predictable in quite a few places, but still leaves you smiling.

Love is blind is a phrase that many of us have heard over and over and again throughout our lives and Katherine really put her own spin on that in this novel.

Sadie, a struggling artist, has dreamt of little else besides following in her mother's footsteps. Soon after being selected as a finalist in a competition she has a seizure and find's herself in a rather strange situation - she can no longer see faces. EEK! Can you imagine being an artist that prides herself in her ability to create realist art and then all of that being. snatched away in an instant only to be able to create works that would make Picasso proud?

To keep this short and sweet, Sadie struggles to find herself again(as an artist), to separate her feelings for Joe and the sexy vet, and figure out her unresolved feelings for her family. This is a HEA, feel-good story that fans of contemporary romance really need to give a chance.