I'm on the fence about this one, this book left me feeling very confused about my feelings. I loved a lot of things about this story, the disorder Sadie has is very interesting, the relationship between Joe & Sadie was sweet except for the lack of actually talking about the basic things people talk about on day 1! I am not a huge fan of miscommunication, secrets and unnecessary drama and this book has all of these things. So in the beginning I was leaning towards 5 stars, then the middle I was down to 3 stars but the ending redeemed some of it and I settled on 3.75 stars... did I say the way this book made me feel was confusing??

I loved Joe, he was generally a really nice guy even if he was a little clueless about what was going on around him. Sadie on the other hand felt a little selfish to me. She was so wrapped up in her own stuff that she didn't even try to get to know details about Joe. I figured out what was happening about from the minute Joe & Sadie started "hanging" out at the coffee shop and because of that I noticed EVERY clue that they ignored so that made it hard not to yell at this book during some parts.

Patti Murin was great. She is really good at different voices for each characters!

#NetGalley #AdvancedListenerCopy #AudiobookAddicts #HelloStranger

This book was so much fun! After Sadie has a brain operation, the swelling causes her to have face blindness (it's actually a real thing!) and she is left with not being able to recognize faces. This makes for a difficult task when she convinces herself her Vet is her soulmate and simultaneously starts falling for her obnoxious neighbor.

Overall I had a great time reading this book. The concept was so unique, which really set it apart from most rom-coms I have read in the past. It was packed with romance, comedy, heartbreak, family struggles, and grieving. While the topic of grief can really bog down a romance, Katherine Center handled it in such a way that the book never really felt somber. I especially loved the small breadcrumbs laid out throughout the book, setting it up nicely for the "twist."

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of this!

This review is for the audiobook version: Having already loved and adored “Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center, I jumped at a chance to recreate this wonderful experience via the audiobook narrated by Patti Murin. Murin was the amazing voice of Center’s “The Bodyguard” and she’s narrated multiple Christina Lauren romantic comedies. Patti has excelled again, giving an emotional, sometimes sarcastic, warmth to sweet, adorable Sadie, plus bringing to life loyal, fun-loving best friend Sue and the evil pair (with hysterically appropriate voices) of stepsister Parker and stepmother Lucinda, plus the “faceless guys”.

Katherine Center has created a romantic masterpiece, sure to be a summer bestseller and even a best book of the year. I suspect that hardcover and ebook readers will also want to experience “Hello Stranger” again as an audiobook and they will be delightfully rewarded! 5 stars!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review!

Sadie Montgomery is a struggling portrait artist about to get her big break-or so she hopes. Things are looking great, until they're not. After a potentially life-saving surgery, a week in the hospital, Sadie is back home and everything should be back to normal. Except it's not. Sadie can no longer see faces. Troubling for the average person, life-changing for a portrait artist. She tries to hide this from everyone, only a few people know what she is currently experiencing. Sadie is hopeful the doctors are correct, and as her brain swelling from surgery goes down, she will be able to see faces once again and get back to her usual life. With her world in chaos, things continue to get worse. Sadie's beloved dog, peanut suddenly gets sick. Thankfully the dashing Dr. Addison is able to help. Not only does he save Peanut, but he also asks Sadie on a date. While trying to avoid her obnoxiosu neighbor Joe, who somehow manages to show up just when she needs a little help, Sadie finds her self falling for two men. How can this possibly be? Through a tough few weeks, Sadie learns how to access her creativity in a new way, deal with her past that refuses to stay in the past, and find love in the most unexpected places.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center was fantastic. There’s just something about her writing that just grabs my attention and sucks me in. This was an easy 5/5 start rating for me. I didn’t realize face blindness was a real thing until I read this book and I find it utterly fascinating. The romance in this book was great and hilarious. I love the dynamic between the two. I would not mind a sequel to this book.

The narrator did a fantastic job and I just hope they continue to narrator her books.

Thanks for the early arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am so bummed that my ride along with Sadie Montgomery has come to an end. I was first introduced to #KatherineCenter thanks to #TheBodyguard being highlighted by #BOTM. Little did I know that her style would immediately hook me. But what are the chances that book lightning happens twice? I was so excited to find the answer to that when #netgalley and #macmillilanaudio approved me for an #ARC. Even more exciting, apparently book lighting can strike twice because the author has done it again!

Sadie is ... well she's kind of a mess but also a lovable mess that you can't help but root for. And root I did. I couldn't stop listening to this book. The narrator, the main characters, the supporting characters... heck, even the bad guys left me wanting more. Many times there are multiple story lines in a book and it can be distracting and in the end lead me to thinking the extras weren't needed. That was absolutely not the case here. All of the pieces were expertly woven together and I had so many "ah ha" moments when the bigger pieces started falling into place.

If you are looking for a great summer read, do yourself a favor and make being a stranger with this book a thing of your past.

💭Thoughts:
Katherine Center does it again! She has such a wonderful way with words. I really loved this book! I found myself completely emotionally invested in what happened to Sadie. I couldn’t imagine dealing with face blindness. It was such a unique plot point for a romance novel.

I loved the narration in the audiobook. Patti Murin always does such a great job. The voice she gave Parker made me laugh every time. She really was the epitome of a mean girl.

The story flowed well and I loved the little twist at the end. I actually didn’t see it coming, though I should have. It wrapped everything up so nicely and put a big smile on my face!

Katherine Center is an auto buy author for me for a reason! She knows how to write romance! I highly recommend this book!

Sadie has always wanted to be an artist, and her father wanted her to be a doctor. This is hard for her dad, because Sadie’s mom was an artist as well. He tells her he will not support her if she chooses this life so of course this caused tension.

She enters a portrait competition, and finds out she is a finalist. Winning this contest can be life changing for her! She is thrilled at the potential to win the contest. Unfortunately, she needs minor surgery. When she wakes up she discovers she can no longer see faces. This becomes challenging as people come to see her. Her best friend Soo Hyun is always supportive and encouraging. Sadie’s family, not so much.

Sadie does not want anyone to know about her face blindness. She gets home and recognizes her dog Peanut, so that is a positive thing. When he gets sick she takes him to an emergency vet. Dr. Addison ends up asking her out on a date. Adding to this novel is her neighbor Joe, who is annoying, but helpful when Sadie needs it.

As relationships form, can she navigate the face blindness? She is trying to face her past and look forward to her future. How can a portrait artist paint if she does not see faces?
Centers novels are always sweet with a happy ending. If you want a nice feel-good novel, this one is perfect. Love this Texas novelist and cannot wait to meet her this summer.

Such a fun little romcom. I adored that this book was written by a Houstonian and SET in Houston — I'm a local, if ya couldn't tell. Now, this book is kind of silly and not entirely believable, but it's totally a fun ride with some great characters. The mystery of who our main character is going to end up with — the dreamy vet or obnoxious (at first) neighbor had me reading on for sure!

This book was so dang good!

The narrator did an exceptional job bringing the characters to life and keeping me enthralled with the story!

This sweet romcom was so easy to read (or in my case listen to) and Katherine Center has a great writing style that I personally really enjoy!

Now there were a few things that did bother me such a a fatphobic joke and sometimes wanting to yell at some of the things these characters were saying/doing but other than that I really enjoyed this book!

I think I read a different book then everyone else?

I need to note the 20 year old “don’t help me I’m independent! except I really need a lot of help please and will never appreciate it” is a massive turnoff for me. So bam, right out of the gate I struggled with our FMC, Sadie.

The premise however was interesting especially since I’ve never even heard of prosopagnosia. Basically Sadie entered a portrait contest, had brain surgery, then couldn’t see faces anymore. Insert bizarre love triangle that was fairly obvious.

I enjoyed the Bodyguard quite a bit and will absolutely be back for more Katherine Center but this one wasn’t for me.

Sadie’s life is not going well except for being a finalist in a portrait competition. To celebrate she goes to the local store to buy wine. One the way home she collapses in the middle of the road, wakes up in the hospital and is told she needs brain surgery. The surgery goes well but when she wakes up, she can’t differentiate faces. Sadie has to deal with her neighbor Joe, her vet Dr. Addison, and her mean step-sister. Will Sadie be able to have her eye sight fixed and her portrait completed before the competition.

I LOVED Sadie even though times I wanted to yell at her, but she was very realistic. How many of us want to ask for help or admit weakness. This a sweet rom-com, with a cast of relatable characters. Joe sums it off “you can’t see when you’re not looking.”

The narrator was great and did a outstanding job with the voices. I started listening at normal speed and then sped up to 2.5.

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC of Hello Stranger!
I love Katherine Center books and couldn't wait to read this one! Sadly, it just missed the mark for me. The idea that Joe and Sadie never had any sort of conversation that "clicked" that he was the vet is just too far out there for me - even with the date blindness.
I'll look forward to her next book!

I love Katherine Center’s writing but holy I’m frustrated with a a fat phobic comment. Fatphobia is so common and a cheap thing to use even if it ended up not being what we were lead to think it was. Not to mention, I KNOW that would be enough to alienate a chunk of readers right off the bat. That being said I did enjoy this one. I just think this comment took away from how beautiful this book was as a whole. I will say I’m not totally sure what a good alternative for it would have been either given the nature of the book.

‘I’ve been pretending to be okay pretty much since the day my mom died.’ wow mood.

Flew through this one! While I don't know anything about "face blindness", I cannot say whether or not this was an accurate and fair representation of the condition. I can however say that it made for an original spin to a romance. I loved Joe & Sadie. I loved Sadie's humor. The writing style had me chuckling throughout, especially when it came to the incessant rambling or Sadie talking to herself. Great story and great ending that, a part of me feels like I should've expected.

The whole dynamic with her step sister didn't really provide the most value to the story, in my opinion.

The audio was great - no issues! Narrator kept a very good pace (especially when you're like me and listen at 2X)

This book follows Sadie, a struggling artist who, due to a *simple* brain surgery, ends up with onset prosopagnosia. The doctors say it should be temporary, but have no guarantees. On top of that, her dog gets sick. What makes this even harder? Sadie is a portrait artist who has made her way into a major art competition. And maybe she’ll find love along the way…

A romance with a fun twist, HELLO STRANGER is my first Katherine Center book but certainly won’t be my last. This book was very fun as an audiobook and the narrator did phenomenally with capturing the emotions and tones of each scene. HELLO STRANGER manages to be fun and flirty while also tackling heavy topics such as family dynamics, parents death, and a potential lifelong neurological condition with care. I do think this book held mostly dynamic, well-rounded characters, but I think the “evil-stepsister” troupe lacked a little development.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Katherine Center is a favorite author of mine and she knocks it out of the park again with this book. I really loved learning so much about face blindness and the ways it can impact how we perceive people in new ways. Joe is simply the best and the way the story concludes had me a little misty-eyed with happiness. Sadie is truly a champion of her own life and such a strong female character. I loved everything about this book and can't wait to add it to my library!

I'm always up for reading a new Katherine Center novel. They always leave me feeling uplifted and and like I just got hugged by my best friend. We meet our lovable heroine Sadie Montgomery as she faces incredible challenges after sustaining a brain injury that leaves her with prosopagnosia (face blindness). You can Google it if you're unfamiliar - I remember seeing a news story about the condition several years ago and just couldn't imagine what it would be like to experience it. I thought Katherine Center did a wonderful job bringing it forward in her story. Imagine being a portrait artist who suddenly has face blindness. Center worked family dynamics, past drama, and learning how to deal with a new kind of normal in such a way that made it a one-day read for me. I loved her author's note that addresses Romance novels - something that resonated with me. All in all, a warm hug of a book. Recommended.
I liked Patti Murin's narration. I thought she did a good job giving voice to each character and made the listening experience enjoyable.

Sadie finally feels like things might be going her way when she got into the finals of the portrait contest, only to have to have fairly emergent brain surgery that affected her ability to see faces commonly known as face blindness. How does somebody who draws faces for a living make it when the faces are now a puzzle that is unable to be put together? And more importantly, how can she get her veterinarian to fall in love with her when she can't pick him out of a lineup?

This book was absolutely unputdownable. I laughed, I cried, and I listened/read well past my bedtime like I did when I was a kid. I could not stop thinking about Sadie, and the phenomenon of face blindness had me SO intrigued. I'm dying to know more about it and through my research it seems that the author did such a great job understanding some of the trials and tribulations that individuals with this condition can potentially experience. What great representation for a fairly large part of the population that I haven't seen represented before. I found this book to be just a fantastic light but thought provoking read, and absolutely enjoyed every second that I took to devour it. The narrator truly allowed the story to come to life and allowed for this to be such a quick listen/read. I cannot wait for this book to go on sale so that I can share it again and again with all my friends. Absolutely stellar book that was just a true joy to read.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Katherine Center writes the coolest love stories. Hello Stranger has a super unique premise--a portrait artist, who has just learned she's a finalist in a prestigious competition, has a seizure, which requires brain surgery--but as a side-effect of the surgery, she now has acquired face-blindness. She can't see faces. Period. She strikes up a friendship with a man in her building, who she can only identify because of his unique bowling jacket. But she also has a crush on her new vet--Dr. Addison. As her feelings for Joe get stronger, she has to decide which man she really wants, all while trying to paint a portrait for the competition even though she can't see faces to save her life. There's also family drama, with a side of trauma and gaslighting, but it's handled well, in a way that I don't think people will find triggering.

The ending is absolutely delightful. And honestly, this book has my favorite author's note of all time. It's more like an author's manifesto about the romance genre as a whole, and I may or may not have cried at the end.

The narration is fantastic--Patti Murin delivers a wonderful performance. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and netgalley for my ALC in exchange for this review.