Simply put, I loved this book. I can't wait for it to be published and for everyone to experience Sadie's love story.
Sadie is a portrait artist who gets dealt the worst hand of all time - 'temporary' facial blindness due to a medical dilemma.
How is she supposed to paint faces when she can't even see them!? Oh, and there's a twist, she's a finalist in a prestigious art competition and she needs to submit a new portrait painting in only a few weeks. She struggles to cope with her new condition and an unfriendly neighbor/evil step-sister, but she finds support in the people around her, especially her friend Sue and her helpful neighbor, Joe.
Sadie's journey of strength, evolution, and self-acceptance is inspiring. No matter what, in this book, she ultimately wins. I listened to the author's note, and I couldn't agree with Katerine Center more on her idea of romance novels. They are underrated.
What makes them so magical, so good, so easy to lose yourself in, is the fact that they give you hope. And in romance, love is hope. This story isn't predictable, it's full of anticipation. Anticipation for a happy ending, and most importantly love.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillain Audio for my audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review 🎨-
Okay someone pinch me because May has had so many books that I’ve loved. I don’t want it to end!

Hello Stranger by @katherinecenter was no exception.

The premise of this one was so fun, the banter was on point, and it was such a fun read. Even with all the laughs, the book does touch on some emotional moments. Overall, I loved it and recommend you check it out!

Thanks to the amazing gals who threw the buddy read schedule to the side and binged this with me:
@whatdomsreading @wittyreading @karas_reads @no.shelf.control.k @lit_with_kristen @booksmorganreads @naesreadingnook @queenchichireads @letsget.thisread

Thank you @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for my advanced copies.

Hello Stranger is out July 11, 2023.

Q- Do you read authors notes in books!? The authors note was so good in this one. It felt like validation for all us romance lovers.

This was quite possibly the cutest book! I was apprehensive that Katherine Center could top The Bodyguard but I absolutely loved this. I read it in 24 hours. I feel like the characters and the unique plot line really hooked me. Very cute! 4.5 Stars!

First I need to say that Patti Murin is a phenomenal narrator and she is MADE to narrate Katherine Center's books, I loved her narration of The Bodyguard and her performance in Hello Stranger was FANTASTIC.

Where to start with this book? I learned a lot, I swooned a lot, I cried A LOT. I've read so many good books this year, but this one hit me in such a different way. It was sweet but with depth, emotional yet hopeful, funny but dealt with hard issues with such care.

Our story follows Sadie, a loveable and slightly struggling artist, who has a seizure on her way back from a wine run to celebrate being named a finalist in an esteemed portrait competition. The same competition that her late mother placed in when she died.

Sadie wakes up in the hospital to the most unwelcome sight: her evil stepmother, Lucinda. And to make matters worse, she finds out that she has to have brain surgery six weeks before the competition to fix a cavernoma in her brain that caused the seizure and could be life threatening. At least according to her emotionally distant father, an esteemed cardiothoracic surgeon.

Sadie wakes from the surgery to something even worse than Lucinda: she can't see faces. A rare side affect of the surgery? Acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia, or in layman's terms, facial blindness. It's likely temporary, but it could be permanent. Not great for a girl who needs to complete a portrait of someone's face to win a competition that could save her money problems and boost her confidence as an artist.

Annnnd as if things couldn't get worse, Sadie's aging dog, Peanut, (whose face she can thankfully see!) her constant companion, is sick and needs emergency help. Enter Dr. Oliver Addison, hunky vet (she can tell by his GAITE, ok!?) who saves the day and later asks her out. The only problem? The man in her building with the bowling jacket inscribed with the name "Joe" is also slowly making his way into her heart. And Joe is saving the day in a different way -- by modeling for Sadie's portrait and letting her use some unconventional methods to understand his face. This story is perfect and I'm jealous of anyone getting to read it for the first time.

Easy five stars for me -- and as a romance lover I'm begging you to read the author's note at the end. Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. Out 7/11 BUT PREORDER NOW!

I absolutely love Patti Murin as a voice actress, and I found this performance extremely enjoyable! I actually preferred the audio over the visual format for HELLO STRANGER. Thank you for the ALC!

_____
I've been a huge fan of Katherine Center for quite some time, and her latest novel, HELLO STRANGER, was among my highly anticipated 2023 reads. Similar to her other work, the female MC experiences a challenge to overcome, and for Sadie, it was face blindness. I've never really taken the time to consider the condition, and I was grateful for the research and information provided. Additionally, there were a few moments that were swoon-worthy (ahem, the painting scene), causing me to want to keep turning the pages to reach the HEA.

That said, I struggled with this one for several reasons. The first and most impactful issue was the extensive use of the miscommunication trope. Yes, I understand that it was essential to this particular plot, but there were so many interactions that should have acted as clues or given both Joe and Sadie pause. Beyond that, the book is filled with highly unlikeable characters, and even those that were supposed to be good had their moments, including Sadie. I felt that she was incredibly (and unnecessarily) rude to people in her life, which was disconcerting when not all warranted it. I also disliked how often she jumped to extreme conclusions rather than simply having a conversation.

Overall, I had a positive reading experience. If you enjoy audiobooks, definitely pick this one up, as Patti Murin narrates. While this may not have been my favorite Katherine Center novel, I am still looking forward to reading what she has to offer in the future. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my early copies in exchange for an honest review!

The audio reading is very well done. It was engaging. The book as a whole is heartfelt and makes you smile. This story captured my heart and put me in a good mood after listening to it. Perfect read or listen on the beach for the summer.

I adore everything by Katherine Center and this was no exception. It was my first time listening to one of her books in audio format and it was truly a delight. This story felt like a warm hug and the facial blindness premise made for a fun setup. I'd recommend to fans of KC and romance readers in general!

A struggling portrait artist gets her big break at the exact time she has brain surgery and develops facial blindness. Completely ridiculous in a feel good way. Read this if you're a fan of evil stepsisters, pampered dogs, wacky misunderstandings and light hearted rom-coms.

Outlier Alert!

It's a sad day when I'm disappointed by a book written by one of my favorite authors, but that's exactly what happened with Katherine Center's new book Hello Stranger.

Unfortunately, I predicted every single aspect of the plot from the very beginning and found the book to be both over the top, and ridiculous. In addition, there were so many holes in the storyline that made my eyes roll continuously, even though they admittedly existed for a reason.

After an accident, Sadie Montgomery is struck with face blindness. By some miracle, she manages to find love when she can't even see the features of anyone in front of her, (let alone the guy(s) she falls for), which is astounding considering that's virtually impossible for most of the female population.

While the writing was good, I felt that the characters had no chemistry and lacked the banter I'm used to seeing from Katherine Center. While this book was not my favorite, I remain a fan and look forward to seeing what Katherine Center comes out with next.

A buddy read with Kaceey.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the arc and to MacMillan Audio for the alc.

I had never heard of “acquired apperceptive prosopagnosia" or "face blindness" before this story, and I actually really enjoyed learning about it and how it changes a person's interpretation of the world around them. We really do see what we want to see.

Sadie is a quirky, fun FMC who I grew to really enjoy as the story progressed. She isn't perfect, but that's what made her enjoyable in my opinion. Her existing relationships are incredibly complicated, and I found that while I really liked Sadie and her love interests, I didn't quite care for her friend, Sue, or her father and step family.

Though the side characters outside of the love interests were a bit of a let down, Sadie does a good job of keeping the story interesting on her own! Her face blindness and silly mistakes while dealing with it lead to some pretty funny moments that I enjoyed.

I really enjoyed Katherine Center's other book, The Bodyguard and was really glad I ended up enjoying this one too. She does a great job of writing and the story flows really well. This was such a fun book to read and it was paced very well!

Audiobook
I went back and forth between the ebook and audiobook for this story. Patti Murin is the narrator and she did a great job of it! Her pacing was perfect and she really brought the characters to life. I could clearly understand her at various speeds up to 2.0x.

This was such a fun read. I had heard of face blindness but never really understood what it was and this presenting it in an understandable and touching way. I loved the male MC so much! So many cute aspects of this book that I just ate up. Would definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed the plot of this, face blindness after surgery is a cool concept.
Even better when you add in that the MC is a portrait artist.
I really enjoy Katherine Center's writing and had kinda high expectations for this.
It was a little frustrating how naive and flighty the MC was, but overall I enjoyed this one.
Much love to NetGalley, & Macmillan Audio for my DRC.

THIS IS MY SECOND KATHERINE CENTER, BOOK AND I REALLY REALLY ENJOYED IT!! THE MAIN CHARACTER HAS ACQUIRED PROSOPAGNOSIA (AKA FACE BLINDNESS) AND WHILE IT’S A ROM-COM, IT IS SUPER UNIQUE, JOYFUL, AND FUNNY! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS BOOK WAS THE AUTHOR’S NOTE AT THE END AND HER TAKE ON ROM COMS- ESPECIALLY THE REFRAME OF “PREDICTABLE” TO “FANTASTIC ANTICIPATION”.

Sadie Montgomery is preparing for a portrait painting contest that could be the big break for her career when she is in an accident that leaves her with a rare form of face blindness that prevents her from accurately deciphering faces. Hello Stranger tells the story of Sadie trying to piece her life back together and make sense of the situations and relationships she finds herself in.

I have enjoyed Katherine Center's books in the past, but while this was a fine story, it fell a little flat for me. The romance was lackluster, there was far too much miscommunication, it was incredibly predictable, and I found Sadie unlikeable as a main character (which isn't a dealbreaker for enjoying a book, but combined with everything else, it didn't help the situation). The narration on the audiobook was just okay.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for gifting me with an ALC to review!

I think Katherine Center must be just the warmest, most optimistic person. Her books always have so much heart, even for people who are doing terrible things.

I really enjoyed Hello Stranger but I think your enjoyment of this one will definitely have to do with how crazy miscommunication makes you. Also, like everyone in Sadie’s life kind of sucks except for love interest Joe and her best friend’s parents, who are also her landlords. Sadie’s stepsister is an actual nightmare and I deeply wanted to punch her in the face.

Overall, super cute and satisfying read!

I loved the narrator Patti Murin, her voice really matched the perky, optimist-despite-all-odds tone of the book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my review copy! All thoughts are my own!

I love Katherine Center’s books because she always takes terrible situations, and brings beauty out of it. Her author’s note at the end was amazing!

Huge thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook!

Katherine Center is one of my FAVORITE romance authors. Every single book I read of hers I LOVE! this was honestly one of my most anticipated reads this year - and I thought it was amazing!

Sadie Montgomery is a talented portrait artist who recently has been accepted into a prestigious art competition... Unfortunately a few weeks before the competition sge has a seizure and almost gets hit by a car and finds out some very life changing news. I thought the storyline was so interesting (I've never read a book about Prosopagnosia, so I feel like I learned a lot about that. The misunderstanding... Omg I was DYING 😂 I loved Sadie's love interest(s), and her best friends family, but her family definitely sucked. This book never lost my attention, was impossible to put down and I loved it so much!

Read if you enjoy:
• family dramaaaa
• unique plot
• plot twist
• funny moments
• sweet guys

I read this as an audiobook and it was sooo good! I thought the narrator did a great job with the story and made it a super fun and interesting listen. I couldn't put this one down!

Author: Katherine Center
Narrator: Patti Murin
Length: 10h 30m
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Pub day: July 11, 2023

This book was a hilarious, cute, feel-good, swoony rom-com that I definitely recommend!

[it was okay]

This book started out really strong with a unique premise but as it went on, the story became a bit predictable and bland. I did love the main character and was rooting for her. The writing and narration of the audiobook were also great. Even though the story wasn’t a complete hit for me, I still recommend picking this one up, hopefully it’ll work better for you!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic narration. I laughed, cried, and thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook!

Thank you #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC audiobook.

I am normally not a rom com reader but I have been enjoyed Katherine Center's The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger is just as good. I enjoyed the self deprecating humor of the main character and also learned more about the medical issue she had to deal with. Narrator was very good. A good audiobook to listen to to escape all ugliness that is in the news today.