ALC Review: Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Hello Stranger
Author: Katherine Center

Narrator: Patti Murin
To Be Published: July 11, 2023
Audiobook: 10 hours 39 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 30- June 3, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

Love isn’t blind, it’s just little blurry.

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life—placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition—the next, she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality with every face she sees.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls into—love? Lust? A temporary obsession to distract from the real problems in her life?—with not one man but two very different ones. The timing couldn’t be worse.

If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to find her way. But perceiving anything clearly right now seems impossible. Even though there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.

Jessica’s Review:

I enjoy Katherine Center and enjoyed Hello Stranger! It’s far from perfect but if you want a fun rom com/chick lit/ book where you know that it will go, then this is your book and Katherine Center is your girl to read! Sweet but not spicy reads, she is an author that is becoming an auto-read for me.

We have Sadie who is finally getting somewhere in her career with becoming a finalist in a competition and then…life happens.  She has to have brain surgery and after she wakes up she cant see faces anymore! And what is a painter who paints portraits of people to do? 

I admit I was a little leery when I saw the book description and saw that there is a love triangle, but it really wasn’t.  This was a fun little journey to go on and see what happens with the competition. We have some supporting characters that I totally adored as well! And of course, Sadie has her oldest friend: her dog Peanut!

I called the twist early on in the book, but this isn’t a thriller, it’s a romance. Even if you ‘call it’ like I did, just sit back and enjoy the journey! I did have some issues, but can’t go into because that would involve giving away spoilers and if I ultimately don’t have to, I won’t!

Patty Murin is the narrator and she is another one of my favorites! And it seems like she and Center are two that just go together so well! I look forward to future and past Center novels that they have worked on together. 

This is the one time I wish I had a physical copy so I could share a line I absolutely loved towards the end of the book.  I listen while I drive, so finding it is next to impossible! I tried. It’s a line that makes sense with the story and what I believe Center was trying to reach her readers with.

Be sure to read the author’s note and acknowledgements to learn about the real disorder that Sadie has: Prosopagnosia. I had never heard of it and this was a way to learn about this disorder.  Center very much did her research for this novel.  Not just on Prosopagnosia, but research on painting and veterinarian work.  Center also gives some insight to the romance genre that just makes sense as to why we even pick up romances in the first place!

Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an ALC to listen to and review!

Pre-order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK