I really enjoyed this book! The characters were all so loveable and the story hooked you from the start. I didn't know face blindness was even a thing. Sadie, very suddenly, find her world turned upside down by this condition. As an artist who specializes in portraits this is a devastating blow. We are along for the ride as she tries to navigate her knew life. Meeting a very intriguing man along the way.

I love that this book was much different from the typical romances I read. The main character, Sadie, acquires prosopagnosia, or face blindness right at the beginning of the book. It is such bad timing because she is a finalist in a portrait painting contest, so she NEEDS to be able to see faces to be able to finish her entry for the contest. She is hoping this is her big break, so it is really important and a lot is riding on her winning the contest.

All the while, she is struggling after losing her mom and then having a falling out with her father.

To make matters worse, her sweet elderly dog Peanut, who is EVERYTHING to her, gets sick. While at the vet she falls for Peanuts vet, Dr. Oliver Addison. In addition to this, she starts falling for a helpful man named Joe who lives in her building.

Which guy will she choose? Will she win the portrait contest? Will Peanut be okay? Will her face blindness ever go away?

While there wasn't a LOT of spice I really enjoyed the book. It was a great story that kept my attention and I got through it very quickly because I needed to know what happened at the end!

I also love the colors of the cover, I feel like they are so bold and will stand out when you see them in public or on someone's shelf.

6 stars!
I loved the book Hello Stranger and gave it 5 stars, but I love the audio even more! Patti Murin has the PERFECT voice to bring Katherine Center's characters to life. Her comedic timing is spot-on. Katherine Center's dialogue has this special banter between the characters and Patti Murin captures it perfectly! Plus, she does the BEST male character voices of any female narrator I've ever heard! Patti Murin and Katherine Center are a match made in audiobook heaven! I loved this audio so much and I'm so sad that it's over!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to enjoy this audiobook in return for an honest review!

A good read and audiobook! I liked learning about a medical condition that I haven't heard before. However, Sadie's constant self pity was a bit too much for me to like her. She has many reasons to feel unhappy. But I read contemporary romance stories for mostly happy giddy banter. The narrator did a great job and made the story brighter than it is. I do love the ending though and able to guess about Joe. I like the story when Joe entered the scenes.

This story followed Sadie. She's a broke artist trying to prove her dad wrong because she quit medical school for art school. She wants to win this art contest to win some money but unexpectedly, a medical condition appeared and demanded her to undergo brain surgery. After that, well, meeting people becomes a challenge for her. She thought to stay home and wallow in her bad luck but of course can't. She needed to go pick up her pet peanut from the vet office. There's family issues and love issues. I think it would be cool if Sadie painted jigsaw puzzle portraits but she didn't.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read, listen, and review!

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors and this was another fantastic book by her! The chemistry was great and I loved the love story, but, as always with Katherine Center, the emotion, and the true meaning of the story is what gave me all the feels. I I truly felt connected to Sadie, and felt all of the emotions she went through throughout the book. The message of finding courage and asking for help in our times of struggle is something that really resonates with me, probably resonates with everyone. I did find Sadie‘s stepsister to be childish, and I would have light more closure on the family dynamic.

I listen to this an audiobook, which was narrated by Patti Marin. She did a fantastic job of really bringing Sadie to life. She did great and giving different voices to the different characters, and really added to the overall enjoyment of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advance copy of this audiobook I highly recommend everyone check this one out!

Struggling portrait artist, Sadie Montgomery is reveling in the biggest achievement and opportunity of her professional life when she ends up needing brain surgery. She wakes up from said surgery with face blindness. As she learns to cope with her (hopefully temporary) condition, much heartache and hilarity ensues.

Okay, to be fair, it's not hilarious for her, but as the reader, sliding the puzzle pieces into place as the story goes on, it's priceless. Sadie's facial blindness and her inability to see things clearly are a poignant reminder that we are often lacking in perspective. I love how Katherine Center weaves real life lessons into her stories.

Patti Murin does an amazing job narrating this story. She captures the wit, the snark, the attitude, and all the feels. I'm not always a fan of narrated romance books, but she more than does the story justice, she makes it even better. <3

Ummmm this book is incredible. I just cannot stop thinking about Sadie and Joe and the entirely refreshing and unique story. It filled me with so many butterflies! Endless hopeful anticipation! Loads of second hand embarrassment! It truly is a romance at its core and was such a fun and enjoyable read. I don’t want to give too much away, but I highly recommend this book. Even though I saw the “twist” coming a mile away (I’m confident that is intentional) it only made the story that much more entertaining. Pick this one up ASAP (especially on audio; the narrator does an INSANELY good job or testing Sadie and the wild range of emotions she is experiencing).

HELLO STRANGER, let me start with saying how beautiful the cover is! Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors that I always have to read! Her writing is always wonderfully done, and this one didn't fail!

📆 pub date: 7/11/23

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

This book was thoughtful, sweet, funny, and had a beautiful message. I really enjoyed the premise of this story since I was already familiar with prosopagnosia and it truly sparked my interest.

It had a lot of amazing moments and grief/family relationship struggles were a large part of it. Those elements were well done & absolutely made me emotional. This also reminded me a lot of the movie A Cinderella Story.

I couldn’t rate this higher than 3-4 stars because it was just horribly repetitive and predictable. The decisions the main character made, and even things she said, were very cringe. I understand characters have to make certain decisions to further the plot, but Sadie’s choices truly did not make sense to me. She made her life unreasonably difficult by not communicating, especially with the love interests in this book. I never enjoy the miscommunication trope, and this book is just one big miscommunication.

Most things did not make sense, and then to add insult to injury the author spent many pages of the final chapter explaining why so many of those choices made no sense, in an effort to clear up any confusion. It was all tell, no show, and what should have been a swoony romantic ending to bring our main characters together turned into all dialogue.

“Omg you didn’t know?”
“How did that happen?”
“What are you going to do next?”

I didn’t get butterflies, I didn’t grin from ear to ear, it felt so sterile and lacking emotion. Even the plot with the “evil stepsister” that was so heavily focused on throughout the book was abruptly ended. I expected so much more closure from that situation.

I appreciated the message behind this story, and I truly enjoyed the excellent narration on audio. I highly recommend this as an audiobook for sure.

I did enjoy the beginning to middle sections, but the ending really took me out of the moment and left me feeling unsatisfied.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan audio for this ARC & ALC in exchange for my honest opinions.

What a unique book!
I really enjoy when I learn something new in the midst of reading a good book. I didn't even know face blindness was a thing and especially how it worked.
Sadie started off on a really rough foot and made a lot of opps assumptions. It was enjoyable to watch her on the journey of recovery and figuring out life in general. It definitely wasn't enjoyable for her during that time.. except a few parts! Reading the book I was dragged right along with her and how she viewed the world and tried to find ways to help.
Not only was it fun watching Sadie, it made me really think about what assumptions I make about people... and I can see their faces! Just like in the book I wonder if there would be some pleasant surprises.
I would recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC copy. These are my honest opinions

4.5/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

Sadie Montgomery is riding the high of her greatest career accomplishment yet -- being selected as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition -- until her brain, quite literally, knocks her off her feet. When diagnosed with a "probably temporary" condition called face blindness, Sadie's dreams of winning the portrait competition are as muddled as all of the faces around her. Add in her beloved dog, Peanut, suddenly becoming ill and a series of other unfortunate events and Sadie's life is a bit of a mess. Luckily, she has two very helpful and (assumedly) handsome men nearby: her vet, Oliver, and her helpful neighbor, Joe. As Sadie's life is falling apart and she herself is falling in love (with two different men), she realizes she might have been "blind" in other ways, too.

First of all: Patti Murin on the audio = absolutely brilliant!! She has the perfect voice for a sweet, coming-of-age romance like this: soothing, dreamy, engaged, and realistic. No notes on this choice -- it was perfect.
I also loved Katherine Center reading the author's note; I know many people skip these notes, but listen to this one. It's a great take on romance and how being predictable isn't a bad thing... cool to hear this in her own voice, too.

Now, onto the story. I love love LOVED Katherine Center's last book, THE BODYGUARD, and this one had similar delightful vibes but fell just a teeny tiny bit short of that for me. I, personally, wanted more about the romance and less about Sadie's family, though I totally appreciated the journey she went on in those familial relationships, too. Sadie's character was absolutely adorable and so easy to go on this ride with. There were some giggly moments in this book and some dreamy ones that made me tear up. Not to mention, this book had such a unique premise, with the MC's primary conflict being that she suddenly can't see faces?! Wild, and so creative on Katherine Center's part. It was fun to read a romance that took some different turns than I was expecting, though still filled with the delightful anticipation (IYKYK) that I love in a romance. Another great one from Katherine Center, and I can't wait to see what she'll do next.

Katherine Center you won my heart again with Hello Stranger. Sadie suffers from facial blindness just as her art career is about to be recognized at a prestigious national competition. While she deals with this loss she is slowly falling for her Vet and neighbor but must decide which one she wants to continue a relationship with. I read and listened to this advanced reader copy and thought that @pattimurin did a great job narrating this book in such a way that I was kept engaged. This book will publish next month (July 11th) and highly recommend you pick up a copy. *Thank you @katherinecenter @netgalley @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my own review.*

PICTURE THIS:
👩‍🎨 You’re a portrait artist
🏆 You’ve just been selected as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition - your dream come true!
🏥 You find yourself in the hospital in need of brain surgery
😰When the surgery is complete you feel great. Until you realize you can’t recognize anyone’s face; not your best friend’s, not even your own.
🧩 How can you possibly continue making your livelihood or win the competition, if all faces are like jumbled puzzle pieces you can’t put together to make sense!?

This is the predicament our protagonist, Sadie Montgomery finds herself in, in Hello Stranger. The condition is called Prosopagnosia and it is a real condition. I was shocked by the information Center shared about the condition and just how many people out there suffer from it. Do you know anyone who has or is currently suffering from this?

Sadie is a character you can certainly root for. Life has dealt her some extremely harsh blows since the age of 14 and she has struggled, yet persisted. When she finds herself in this situation, you really feel for her. But even though the situation is heavy, Center keeps the story light and entertaining. It’s a sweet and clean romance with a slow burn. I love breaking up heavy reads with fun romances and this definitely did the trick.

Hello Stranger is a book that I should have disliked. It has so many aspects of other stories that I never like. For some reason, it all worked for me here and I enjoyed this book.

The story follows Sadie. Sadie is suffering from facial blindness after having brain surgery. She can see everything clearly except for people's faces. The writing around this was so well done. I liked how Sadie would adapt and learn and I love the way it was all described.

Sadie refuses to ask for help even in the shape she is in, she does not want to admit she needs anyone. That’s when her neighbor Joe comes in and breaks down her walls and starts to help her. I liked watching their relationship grow throughout the story. Joe has been through so much but he remains to be an example of what we should all try to be.

The ending was so obvious and honestly so stupid but that didn’t mean I didn’t like it. It opens up so many questions and possible inconsistencies but I just didn’t care I was happy with where everyone ended up. Definitely check out this one.

I was lucky to receive an ARC.
I've been a fan of Katherine's books and couldn't wait to read it.

This was a unique and heartwarming story.
There's a plot twist so it's hard to throughly review, but I did figure it out and was rooting for the H the entire time.
Sophie was a little selfish and self-centered for most of the book. I was frustrated with her, but loved her and the H in the end.

We can always count on Katherine to not write a run of the mill book.
I love that she doesn't stick to the normal romance formula.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early.

If you are looking for a good, clean romantic comedy, then look no further than "Hello Stranger," the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center.

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who has just achieved her dream of placing as a top-ten finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. On the way to celebrate with her friends, Sadie suffers a nonconvulsive seizure in the middle of the crosswalk in front of her apartment building. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan saves her life. Unfortunately, she learns she has a brain lesion and must have surgery. After the surgery, Sadie is diagnosed with temporary face blindness. Although she can still see, every face now looks like a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. There are only six weeks until the competition, and Sadie needs to win the prize money. But how can she paint an award-winning portrait when she can't see faces? As Sadie struggles to cope with her new condition, hang on to her artistic dreams, and work through family issues, she meets not one but two men: her new vet, Oliver, who takes care of her beloved dog, and her neighbor Joe, who doesn't make a great first impression but slowly begins to redeem himself.

This was such a lighthearted, delightful book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The plot was unique and fun, and I couldn't help but smile. Just a really enjoyable, feel-good book. I highly recommend it.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Patti Murin. I've listened to several books with the same narrator and always love her performances. There was also an author's note at the end read by Katherine Center, which you don't want to miss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, 'Hello Stranger' blew me away! Katherine Center does it again! I listened to the audio book, and the narrator, Patti Murin, did an amazing job of bringing Sadie's story to life. Her narration added so much to the story!

I felt so emotional listening to this book, and I had to keep pausing to cry! It was so emotional, and I loved every second of it.

Sadie's journey through grief and its different stages was so moving. She experienced grief from her mother's death and all of the things in her life that changed after that day. She also experienced grief from her medical diagnosis. She couldn't do the things that she did before, and she had to find a new way to proceed her in life and her career.

The story beautifully connected grief and love together, and it showed that it's okay to ask for help. Asking for help doesn't make you weak. It's a way to be strong, and that is something that all of us can benefit from.

I really connected with Katherine Center's Author's Note at the end of the book. In the audio book version, it was read by Katherine Center. Don't skip it- Listen to it! It was so meaningful to hear her reading about the joy of reading romance novels- the anticipation!

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for an ALC of this beautiful story.

4.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy of Hello Stranger! I have yet to read a Katherine Center book I didn't adore. Hello Stranger follows Sadie and her journey as a portrait artist with recently-acquired face-blindness. Don't let that sentence deter you - it's a lot more upbeat, happy, and hopeful than it sounds! She meets her uber-helpful neighbor, Joe, and the hot new vet at her dog's clinic. There are so many funny and sweet scenes between these characters. We also get a look into Sadie's past and see her work through some family drama. All in all, a great read by KC and one I'll definitely be recommending to fellow romance readers!

I always enjoy Katherine Center’s books, and this one is no different. Absolutely adored it. First book I read on vacation and I absolutely flew through it. I thought it was funny, sweet, adorable, paced well. Loved everything about it. I wish I had more words, but there’s a reason Katherine Center is the writer and I’m not 😉 I’ll just keep saying I loved it. Love, love, love, loved it. Need more. Narration was fabulous!

I am a Katherine Center fanatic. I started this audiobook and then abruptly stopped. The entire concept of losing your life and everyone being a stranger wasn't sitting well with me. I will pick it up again because I do tend to be a mood reader.