Sadie just got her big break, she landed one of 10 spots in a portrait competition. The timing happens to align with a surgery she needs to have. During recovery, she realizes she can no longer see faces. As a portrait painter, she is struggling to cope with face blindness. Her dog, Peanut, is her light in the darkness. When he gets sick, she rushes him to the vet and meets Dr. Addison who later asks her on a date. Joe lives in her building and leaves a terrible impression on Sadie, but over time they begin to develop a friendship.

As Sadie struggles to find her path, she doesn’t want anyone to know about her face blindness. She discovers that life doesn’t always turn out how you plan, but it could be better than you ever thought.

I adored this book. The relationships and characters were well developed, and I felt like I understood all of them. I was sad to see the book end. The relationship Sadie has with her dog is highly relatable, I know I would be utterly heartbroken if anything happened to my dogs.

The witty banter between characters was highly entertaining and unique to each person.

Katherine Center’s backlist books will now be added to my TBR.

PLEASE don’t skip the author’s note and acknowledgements. Katherine describes romance novels as “predictable”, but why does it have such a negative connotation? She prefers the term “anticipation” instead. Romance novels give you positive anticipation. There is nothing wrong with hope and positive anticipation. The reference to neurosurgery being like ice fishing had me ROLLING!

I can’t wait to read more of Katherine Center’s books.

Title: Hello Stranger
A Novel
Written by Katherine Center
Narrated by Patti Murin

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this audiobook through Netgalley.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone over the age of 16!

Sadie is a struggling artist that is barely scraping by. She’s not exactly on the outs with her family, but they aren’t close. Her family is really her best friend, Sue, and her parents.

She experiences a seizure out of nowhere and due to swelling in her brain - her face reader signed off… that is to say that her ability to see and recognize faces went kaput… at least temporarily. Her acquired prosopagnosia keeps her in a constant state of winging it when it comes to knowing people.

This is the story of how a woman already struggling finds herself struggling even harder, and the romance that sweeps into her life at just the right time.

This is a story of ups and downs, hopes and disappointments, triumphs and pitfalls… and for those reasons I will be forever grateful.

Katherine Center is a genius and deserves thousands of readers scooping up this book - and, yes, it is THAT good.

Patti Murin is a really good narrator. I’ve only listened to two books she’s narrated - but I would be happy to listen to dozens more. Her ability to bring characters to life, bring their emotions to life, and say the difficult words perfectly is incredible. (Examples: Prosopagnosia and Fusiform gyrus). I really appreciate when narrators take the time to learn how to say the difficult words - Thanks Patti!

I also recommend this book to romance book clubs, romance lovers, and anyone desperately in need of a reminder of why hope is always a good thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy of Hello Stranger by Katherine Center and Narrated by Patti Murin.
I was very excited to get this one early and really enjoyed it. The audio version was a perfect weekend listen.
I did find myself pausing to googling face blindness and found this topic very interesting. It is all well described and I could picture the paintings.
This is a feel good romance without the spicy side and a bit of drama. The only downside to this book for me was Sadie is self consumed for the majority but I did still enjoy it. I have enjoyed all of Katherine Center’s novels I’ve picked up so far and am excited for the ones I have not read yet.

Hello Stranger is a great, feel good, romantic book!

Sadie is an artist who just placed as a finalist in a big competition. Unfortunately, she also suffers an accident that same day and has to go through a brain surgery that compromises her face recognition skills. Not being able to recognize faces she struggles to paint the winning portrait she is supposed to paint. In midst of all that she also gets more involved with her estranged family.

The writing in this book is really good, it is definitely a page turner. It has the right amount of "ohh what's going to happen next?" and "sooo cute". The relationship with the family for me is the weirdest part. If her father was such an A***hole why didn't she sue him for child support? Like she didn't have to be this broke. I don't know. She sounds way too naive at some points and her stepsister is way too mean.

I'd say 10/10 for the romance and 8/10 for the family drama

“So weird to think that this feeling had been there all along, hibernating in a box under my bed, just waiting for me to wake it up. Maybe I should have tried these skates on sooner.”

Sadie Montgomery is a Houston based portrait artist who is on the verge of her lucky break. Her dreams are just within reach when an accident sets into motion a series of events, resulting in a condition of prosopagnosia (face blindness) - the inability to recognize different faces. Alongside her companion, a 14 year old dog Peanut, Sadie copes with past heartache and new challenges on the eve of a game changing opportunity.

Take a highly unusual love triangle and add a sprinkle of Cinderella and a dash of Sleeping Beauty and you have a classic and fresh Katherine Center storytelling experience. This auto-buy author’s signature optimism and thoughtful takeaways created a breezy and fun read, perfect for the season.

After realizing THE Patti Murin was narrating this, I requested an audio copy which was absolutely fabulous. Both reviews have been submitted - many thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinions. I loved the experience!

I wasn’t super impressed with The Bodyguard last year, so I was as surprised as anyone to find myself texting my sister while reading this book: “This new Katherine Center book is just amazing… it’s like a 00’s rom com.”

4.5 Stars rounded up for Center’s afterward. Remarkable insight on the Romance genre!

Sadie Montgomery is in a rough spot…
✅ Living in a hovel.
✅ Only two real friends (and one is her dog).
✅ Doesn’t talk to her family.

Her luck finally seems to be turning when she beats out 1,990 applicants in an art competition for a shot at $10,000, but then she:
- has a seizure.
- has brain surgery.
- can no longer make sense of faces.
- finds out her dog is incredibly ill.

Scrambling for a distraction from all of this. She thinks she’s falling for her dog’s vet, but maybe her weasel of a neighbor will turn out to be more than she bargained for.

On top of nailing the vibe, this book did a great job of walking the line between being a rom-com and seeing a young woman navigate loss, heal from long trauma, and learn to stand on her own feet.

Would recommend for anyone who likes enemies to lovers, medical enigmas, and TRUE rom-coms. I laughed out loud multiple times.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced copy of this audiobook. All opinions above are my own.

I have been a casual Katherine Center fan for a while but I didn't love her last book so I was tentative about this book, especially with the somewhat outlandish premise. I was proven wrong. Yes, you must turn off your skepticism a bit and just ride the vibes, but this book filled me with warm fuzzies, even if I figure the twist midway though getting to the end was just a wholesome and fun

This book was an adorable surprising delight. I think my favorite Katherine Center book yet! Nice twist at the end.

Love Patti Murin as a narrator (chef’s kiss).

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC! 2.5 stars.
This certainly had some charm to it and I loved the overall message regarding confirmation bias. I also thoroughly enjoyed learning about prosopagnosia (face blindness) and thought it was a unique plot device for a romance novel, however; the foreshadowing for the “twist” etc, while I’m glad seeds were planted it was painfully obvious and just a drawn out miscommunication trope.

The fat phobia at the beginning was striking and highly off putting, even though ages later it turned out not to be actual fat phobia, what a weird and just plain bad way to move along a plot twist. The character of Parker was a caricature and highly unnecessary - that entire plot point was a little too glossed over and didn’t fit.

Finally, while parts of this were good, the characters were underdeveloped, the various threads didn’t quite fit together and I wasn’t loving it.

After brain surgery leaves her unable to interpret facial features in context, Sadie can’t even recognize her best friend. Which would be terrifying for anyone, but especially for a portrait artist - one who is a finalist in a prestigious painting competition to boot. And her face blindness doesn’t discriminate - everyone, from her evil stepsister to the objectively gorgeous veterinarian (even the weasel butt from the elevator who fat shamed his one night stand!) is a total mystery. She can’t paint like did pre-surgery, but she can’t let this opportunity slip by - but can you paint a face if you can’t even see it?

This book was ADORABLE AS HELL. This concept works so well as a book, because the reader is also left without the ability to see each character’s face.

Can we just give it up for Mr Kim?? From his nicknames, and his support, he’s a gold star supporting character.

The relationship dynamic between Sadie and her family is so interesting - the evil stepmother and stepsister keep her at arms length from her father, and the loss of her mother as a child made her feel so isolated. I liked how her relationship with her stepmother evolves slowly throughout the book.

The romance was also so much fun! The anticipation of how it was all going to turn out had me speeding through this book with reckless abandon.

This book also had the audacity to point out how valid the miscommunication trope is, and have me kinda agreeing.

To avoid spoilers, I’ll leave it there, but her therapy sessions after brain surgery had so many incredible bits of wisdom - one being “You don’t see what you’re not looking for”. Mic drop.

I would highly recommend this book, especially as an audiobook! I really enjoyed the narrator, and how it took away any visual stimuli from the experience and threw me more into Sadie’s world. Pick this one up!

This was my first book by Katherine Center and I will definitely be reading more from her! This was such a fun & feel-good read! Interesting plot, lovable main characters, and a sweet romance and family story. Although romances are generally predictable, I was shocked by a twist in the ending which made me like it even more. This is a great one that left you with a warm and fuzzy feeling!

Genre: contemporary romance

Sadie Montgomery has followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a portrait artist, specializing in hyper realistic portraits. She’s definitely on the starving artist range of the spectrum, and renting a not-quite-livable studio space/apartment from her best friend’s parents, but still feeling like she’s only one break away from better luck. She thinks she’s found it when she’s invited to enter the same portrait contest that her mother participated in before she died. But a nonconvulsive seizure reveals an underlying lesion that Sadie needs to have removed from her brain. A bit of routine brain surgery leaves an unfortunate complication - Sadie develops prosopagnosia, more commonly known as face blindness. Sadie is bereft, unsure how to process the loss of her livelihood (even if the doctors assure her it *may* only be temporary), until she meets the absurdly handsome veterinarian who helps rescue her dear elderly dog Peanut.

I hadn’t yet read a Katherine Center book, but had heard so many great things about her heartwarming love stories. I’m really glad I picked this up! Hello Stranger is told from Sadie’s POV, giving us insight into the confusion, depression, and terror she feels at the lack of recognition of people she’s known forever, from her best friend to her evil stepsister. Working with a neuropsychologist helps Sadie cope and learn some tricks, but it isn’t enough to help her feel less alone.

I don’t tend to read many contemporary love stories that aren’t totally bonkers, but when I do, I love ones like this that are wholly heartwarming with rich multi-dimensional characters who struggle with navigating their lives and find love in both the expected and unexpected places.

Thank you to St Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio, and Netgalley for an eARC and ALC for review. Hello Stranger is out 7/11/23, and I can’t wait for you all to read it, because there’s not much I can talk about in this review…

Sadie is looking for her big break and finally is almost there when she gets in an accident that leads to finding out that she needs brain surgery. Even though she tries to avoid having brain surgery, her dad (whom she is not super fond of) schedules it for her and it leaves her with facial blindness. The rest of the book goes through her trying to regain her ability to see faces and her struggles along the way. My favorite quote was "Seeing the world differently helps you see things not just that other people can't - but that you yourself never could if you weren't so lucky."

I thought the story was a little strange at first, but 1/4 of the way in, I was hooked. I loved the artistic piece, the evil/crazy step-sister, the "two" love interests, and friendship shown in the story. There were parts that I literally laughed out loud at and others that I wanted to be able to give Sadie a hug. I did really enjoy the narration.

Thank you netgalley for the ebook and audiobook arc of this amazing book!!!

Katherine Center has such a warm way to write tragic things with a dash of humor. I love her tone and wit. The charm that oozes from these pages just melted my heart.

Katherine Center is an auto read author for me until the end of time!!!

this book was so infuriating, but so great. i loved it so much!! did i sob?? yes, but overall it was worth every tear!! katherine center is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. i'm not sure if this is technically a cinderella retelling, but it definitely felt like it!! sadie and joe are just my new favorite bookish couple. i cannot wait to share this book with everyone!! 💕🥰

The reaserch on faceblindness was amazing.
More I though about book after reading I starated to appriciate it even more. It is amazing to think how your brain works. Author made a funny story about something so impprtant ❤️❤️❤️. Sadie finally has a life oppertunity in her art career, but a little problem set her back she finds out that she will need brain surgery. Brain surgery is successful but Sadie becomes face blind - may be temporary may be permanent. I loved all the neurology reaseach about face blind. This story is about Sadie falling in love with two guy while not able to recognize their face. Story is told only from Sadie side as she is trying to do everyday things while trying to ajust her lifestyle with hee new impairment. I loved the author's note how important romance books are.

I’d like to preface this with I have also read the book and I truly believe reading and listening and both unique experiences. That being said, listening to this was just as fun as reading!!!

Katherine Center seems to always take a different approach to love stories and I am quickly become a huge fan!!

Sadie was such a fun character to journey with in this book. Her facial blindness was interesting and frustrating to follow along with. It’s almost as if her lack of recognition made it difficult for my own imagination to run with the story. I loved it! That being said, I couldn’t help but fall for Joe’s character the most. My heart has a soft spot for good guys.

I did have a little trouble at certain parts. It seemed as if Sadie DIDN’T have facial blindness and spoke as if she could recognize the people around her. Throughout the book these were the parts I was expecting her vision to come back and her facial blindness to go away. This was not the case though, it just felt inconsistent.

I WILL say you might find the twist a little predictable, but Katherine wrote it so well that I now feel the need to go back and see if I can catch it at just the right moment!

Another great read from Katherine Center. Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this audio ARC. I was incredibly excited to read this book, as I have loved all of Katherine's other books.

This was sadly not up to the other books she has written. This is primarily because every character was overly annoying, rude, or judgmental. If I don't like all the characters, it isn't a book for me.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for this alc. I adored it. Romance really feel me so good and this one was a special one. I adored everyone even the evil character but it has to be there. Maybe I needed a little more to fall in love with the book but when I did I could not let it go. So much passion, not all perfect made me feel everything so real. A story when the main character has to learn to live in a different way and build new connection. After a brain surgery she is not able to recognise faces and for an artist like her is essential. But she made it to make a sense of everything. And the ending melted me down for real.

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martins Press for the free ARC!

After loving The Bodyguard, I was so excited for this book. Especially when you add in that I’ve seen so much love for this book going around. I really enjoy Patti Murin as a narrator as well so this had me feeling a lot of excitement heading into it.

Unfortunately for me, it missed the mark a bit. Since I have seen so much love for this book, I’m going to chalk this up to it’s just a me issue. If you like silliness and a good plot twist, then this would be a good book for you. It just wasn’t the book for me.