I stayed up half the night finishing this book. I think it’s Katherine Center’s most brilliant novel yet. It’s also super frustrating. Why? Because (1) it deals with the condition called “face blindness,” which is extremely hard to understand, and (2) it addresses the consequences of face blindness, mainly “confirmation bias,” which means that if you think something is true, you are selective about the available facts to convince yourself of that truth. (Think of those perpetual hot button topics like politics and religion, the ultimate examples.)

A teeny tiny percentage of people will ever experience face blindness. BUT 100% of us yield to confirmation bias. We do it constantly. And THIS is the brilliant part. Katherine Center does to the reader what face blindness does to her main character, Sadie—essentially creating a puzzle, purposefully leaving out information, forcing us to use our confirmation bias crutch (without realizing we’re doing it,) then offering those missing puzzle pieces we didn’t know we needed in her best ending EVER of any of her books. (I’m playing my CB card here and calling it a fact.) 😁

I’ve done so much thinking about HELLO STRANGER since finishing it early this morning. It is a book you really have to read twice—once without all the puzzle pieces and then again with the complete picture. And yes, I’m leaving out a plot summary on purpose because making these discoveries is part of the experience. Just know that if you still want to punch the wall after reading half of it, keep going! It’s SO worth it.

And don’t worry! Along the way you’re still wittily treated to Sadie’s journey of self-discovery, an annoyingly cute neighbor, a dashing vet, an adorable dog, a looming work deadline, an evil stepsister, and the karmic satisfaction of being helpful and compassionate despite immense challenges.

Katherine Center does it again! The banter is so good, and so realistic! I will read anything she writes!

3.5 stars (rounded up)!

I thoroughly enjoyed Katherine Center's last novel "The Bodyguard." In fact, it was one of my favorite books from last year! Unfortunately, I don't think "Hello Stranger" is quite as good.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story and thought it was wholly unique. I've never read a book about Prosopagnosia (face blindness), so this was a first for me. The way Center works this condition into the context of her book is seamless! It brings about a bunch of different dilemmas and problems that the main character, Sadie, must navigate as someone recently diagnosed with Prosopagnosia. Sadie's entire way of life as an artist is turned upside down with her surgery and subsequent diagnosis. She is about to enter a very esteemed and important art competition, but she suddenly finds herself unable to see (let alone paint!) faces. With a plot like this, the miscommunication trope *actually makes sense* despite how much I personally dislike it. I think it is used effectively between Sadie and main male character, Joe, although it makes the ending of the novel quite predictable. Unfortunately, I found Sadie to be a major buzzkill of a character, which damaged my enjoyment of the book a lot. Even before her medical issues, I found Sadie to be a little insufferable and quite immature. Because of these personality traits, a lot of Sadie's interactions with Joe feel devoid of the significant chemistry to get me to root for them as a couple. I found their pairing to be lackluster. Luckily, this book is a breeze to finish, aided in large part by Patti Murin's awesome audiobook narration. It's hard to stop listening to one of Katherine Center's books once you get started!

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ALC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

This is my first book from Center and I really enjoyed it! I thought the premise was very unique! Usually when characters are “face blind” it’s not acquired, so seeing it from this POV was very interesting to say the least.

The main character was fun and spunky; but she grows so much within the novel, in her un-willingness to ask for help, her relationship with her family, and in her acceptance of who she is as an artist.

The romance in the book was adorable, and definitely one of the more interesting relationships I’ve read!

This book also had one of the best author’s notes following the novel.

This was my first Katherine Center book and it did not disappoint!! Face blindness is so fascinating and Center did a great job capturing the challenges and triumphs.

I really enjoyed this one! It reminded me of a twist on Cinderella and I loved the mysterious elements thanks to the face blindness. The Bodyguard was my first Katherine Center book and I loved it so I was nervous going into this one. I really enjoyed this one but it didn’t have as much humor to it as the Bodyguard but it still was really good! This might be one of my favorite new releases of the year! It was nice to read a cleaner romance book too that surprised me along the way - reads like a good mix of romance and women’s fiction. The author’s note was so good too-so glad it was included in the audio!! Definitely one I would recommend to anyone!

Content notes: toxic family relationships, medical content

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book early!

Once more, this was a very enjoyable story by Katherine Center. I love her writing style. I wasn't excited by the blurb for this one, but having read Center's work before I was really looking forward to reading it anyway. As expected, Center made it work.

This is a slower moving, closed door romance with some cute giggles. I enjoyed getting to know our MC, Sadie, as well as the surrounding characters. It was fun to root for Sadie and I looked forward to her figuring it out and getting together with her person.

There is an interesting author's note at the end where Center discusses predictability vs positively valanced anticipation in romance novels that is certainly worth a read. I've considered this concept before, but as you would expect Center put it into words much better than I ever could. Center also includes a quick bit of information about prosopagnosia that is interesting. So, when you finish the story, keep reading.

I listened to the audio of this one. It was narrated by Patti Murin and it was excellently done. I would recommend this format.

I am already looking forward to reading whatever Center writes next.

I liked the unique premise of this rom com and thought it highlighted some great moral dilemmas. I like how she fell in love with "two" people essentially, but I won't spoil that part. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it to be heartwarming.

3.5 stars

A solid page-turner, though not perfect in my eyes. The concept and ideas in the story are super unique and compelling, though everything falls flat in the execution.

The characters are very two-dimensional without the genuine backstory and internal arc of those from The Bodyguard. I can't make hair or tail of Sadie's family and their treatment of her. It was brushed upon towards the end, but I find it unsatisfactory. Sadie gave me mainly a damsel in distress vibe with Joe there to clear the evening up for her. He threw me off guard with the way his whole personality morphed over and over as a puppet for the plot.

As in The Bodyguard, Center continues to shine in her writing, her style being effortless and very addictive. Some scenes in the book shine brighter than the rest which awed me as a reader. Parts where Sadie makes a doormat of herself made the characters go down in my eyes, but let's be clear, I still adore Katherine Center's flow of words.

I can only speak for myself, and I found the twists very predictable even though this was only my second novel by the author. As I said before, the plot was a little weak.

Once again, Patti Murin's voice astounded and captivated me. (She narrated The Bodyguard too, so if you enjoyed her in that audiobook, you will love her this time too)

Putting all of this aside, this is only the second novel I have read about face blindness, this one covers the issue in more depth, so I'd say go for it if you want some knowledge along with the entertainment.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A cute rom com with an ending that left me smiling. What brought this down a star for me was just the predictability. I saw the end coming pretty much from the beginning, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the story as it went. I found myself laughing and smiling often. But also rolling my eyes some, as the main character finally came to the same realization that I came to many chapters before. Overall, worth the read/listen and a great romantic comedy to leave you feeling good! I listened to this as an audio and enjoyed the performance of the narrator, Patti Murin. This is one I would definitely recommend listening to!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for providing me with these gifted copies in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

First off - the narrator is excellent. I loved every bit of her reading.

Second - Katherine Center is such a gifted person when it comes to writing books that are topic heavy but heart light. Meaning her books have substance and by no means deal with trivial issues for the main character. Yet somehow, I always feel so hopeful and joyful after reading her books. This one gave me the same feeling I had after reading Lisa Genova's work. I may have gone down a rabbit hole researching faceblindness.

Third - I LOVE an epilogue. It makes me happy.

I first fell in love with Katherine Center after listening to The Bodyguard and absolutely knew I had to get my hands on the audio of Hello Stranger the moment I read the book blurb.

With an amazingly unique storyline, Hello Stranger is full of love and heart, heartbreak and disappointment. A cast of characters including an adorable doggie, an insufferable sister, and swoony yet mysterious neighbor, Hello Stranger will hit you right in the gut before showering you with hope and love.

A total five star read.

I gave this one 2.5 stars on my personal rating system. Unfortunately it just wasn't the book for me. The plot felt very clearly laid out from the beginning and I didn't feel connected to the main character, nor the love interest.

This was a very cute story! Sadie is a relatable character, minus the face blindness! I’ve heard of face blindness but it was interesting to learn more about it. I like that she fell in love without really grasping what Joe looked like. A good story I listened to in one sitting.

4.5 stars

I became a fan of Katherine Centre last year after reading The Bodyguard and I've been making my way through her entire collection. Her writing is phenomenal and this is no exception!

I loved the FMC, Sadie, she was extremely relatable because she was such a disaster sometimes!

I ADORED the neuropsychologist Dr. Nicole and her talk about the art of self-confidence… it really stuck with me because do I ever need to work on that. She taught Sadie to fight with herself instead of fighting with others and I loved that.

I had some thoughts on where the book was going but I definitely did not see the ending and all the reveals!

My one beef with this book is why did Sadie not confront Joe even after they started talking and she thought he was a terrible person on the elevator?!


Thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio & St Martin's Press for advance copies in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center is a go-to author for me! I love her work and this one was no different. The narration of the audiobook was fantastic - It kept me interested and it was easy to follow the dialogue. I thought the story was great. The main character was likeble and the plot line was fascinating! I actually studied the topic of prosopagnosia during a course in graduate school. It was neat to read about in fiction as well! The author clearly researched the topic and I thought it was well executed. I enjoyed the author’s note regarding romance and the comments made about people reporting that they are predictable, as they should be! I thought it was a great point and it applied well to the story. While readers may find it predictable, it is still incredibly enjoyable!

Another fantastic book from Katherine Center! She has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to reading her books. They're a little formulaic in terms of the plot, but the characters are always endlessly endearing and relatable. Center tends to highlight a traumatic or life-altering event in each one of her books that one of the main character experiences. In this one, Sadie, a struggling portrait artist has brain surgery and an immediate result is face blindness, meaning her brain can properly see faces. Sadie has to re-learn how to do things she always took for granted in her life. I really liked the relationships in her life and seeing how they shifted. Patti Murin perfectly narrates the audiobook. She has such a relatable delivery, which perfectly suits Katherine Center's conversational tone.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

So...I already read the digital version of this book, but I was so charmed by it that when I was also approved for the audio version, I excitedly dove right in for a second read. The narrator was perfect for Sadie. This book is another gem by Katherine Center. I also learned a lot about face blindness through this book, and through the Google deep-dive I did once I finished reading this book (the first time).

Thank you thank you thank you to NetGalley for early access!

This book was a delightful romp into the life of the perky, loveable Sadie. After a long term injury that affects her vision, Sadie, an artist, has to learn new ways to interact and essentially to see. Throughout the story, Sadie has a series of adventures and interactions with a variety of interesting people.-including possible love interests. Dealing with her injury and a difficult family situation, the question becomes will Sadie get her vision back? Will she fall in love? Will she be able to continue with her art? This book will answer all of these questions with a surprise at the end. Like me, hopefully you will fall in love with Sadie (and Peanut) and her steps and missteps for a satisfying and dare I say extremely touching read.

Katherine Center does it again, another meetcute (or two) and more loveable characters in zany situations. You’ll see the ending coming a mile away but you’ll enjoy the ride anyway. There are some heavy topics covered so take a peek at the content warnings but everything is covered gently.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content Warnings: Death of parent, Bullying, Medical content