Hello Stranger
A Novel
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4.6 • 14 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The glorious novel from the beloved author whose bright, hopelessly romantic New York Times bestsellers have been called “My perfect 10 of a book” (Emily Henry) and cheered for their “speedy pacing and sexual tension for miles” (People).
Love may be blind. But what if . . . what you see isn't what you get?
It’s all starting to come together for struggling artist Sadie Montgomery. She was just named a finalist in the national portrait competition of her dreams. But when she winds up with a rare, but real, condition where human faces look like jumbled puzzle pieces . . . it is, to say the least, not good.
With only a few weeks to paint the best portrait of her entire life, Sadie will do anything to reverse her condition and get back to work, but it’s anyone’s guess when (or even if) that'll happen.
Enter her dog’s charming veterinarian (who may or may not be Sadie’s daydream fiancé), and her bowling-jacket-wearing, Vespa-riding neighbor (who she can’t seem to stay away from)—both vying for her attention and adding to the chaos.
It’s a lot, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Because the truth is, seeing the world differently has its upsides. And love has an undeniable way of giving us courage. And the best way of looking is always, always with the heart.
"With its emphasis on its central character, combined with its “swoony” romance, “Hello Stranger” is a hit. Sadie is everything you could want in a protagonist — the right amount of quirky, sunshiney and stubborn, and the men she’s in love with are equally fascinating. All the side characters provide humor and comfort, and even those characters who you aren’t really supposed to like are annoyingly intriguing and captivating. Center created a brilliant cast of characters, set to a plot that’s sure to keep you reading." --Michigan Daily
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
When the first of many twists takes place in the very first chapter of a book, you know you’re in for an extraordinary read. Katherine Center’s imaginative romance centres on struggling portrait artist Sadie Montgomery, who enters a prestigious painting competition in the hopes of finally showing her estranged family that she’s a success. The only problem? Emergency brain surgery has left Sadie with face blindness, and at this point, she can’t even recognize her best friend, let alone create the best portrait of her life. Sadie’s situation is wildly compelling—and that’s even before two magnetic crushes enter her life. We adored the fizzy fun of these dual romances and the unusual heroine caught in the middle. Hello Stranger is charming, sexy, and full of surprises.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With a thoroughly modern millennial heroine at the helm, this emotional contemporary from Center (The Bodyguard) tugs on the heartstrings and grabs attention. Portrait artist Sadie Montgomery, 28, may finally get her big break when she's selected to enter a prestigious competition. Unfortunately, the contest coincides with a minor medical procedure that turns into emergency brain surgery, and the recovery process leaves her unable to make sense of human faces. Though warned by her neuropsychiatrist that her (possibly) temporary face blindness may make her interpret her other senses incorrectly, Sadie works to get her painting back on track with the support of her best friend, Sue, and her neighbor, Joe, who she can only recognize from the bowling jacket he wears all the time. She also tries dating her hunky veterinarian, Dr. Addison, hoping a relationship will help her settle back into normal. But is she seeing the whole picture? Center takes Sadie's life seriously and her struggles with adulting resonate even before her face blindness sets in. Meanwhile, a dash of humor and an endearing love story make the pages fly. Readers will be hooked.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic book! Loved it!
Wow! This is a fantastic book. So interesting and compelling. And a great love story too. I knew nothing about face blindness, so I feel like I learned a great deal. It’s obvious that a lot of research went into this book. Sadie was a bit of a mess already before the face blindness rocked her world. “You can either pretend to be okay or you can actually be okay, but you can’t do both.” And was she ever doing a lot of pretending to be okay. Pretty relatable. I couldn’t help but love her a main character.
It was quite a journey as Sadie dealt with ongoing grief from her mother’s death, her dysfunctional family and vicious stepsister, her precarious financial and professional circumstances, navigating the world while never seeing people’s most identifiable features, and a contest that required her to paint the one thing she couldn’t see - faces. Not to mention a budding romantic relationship, or even two. She had an awful lot to figure out. I loved every minute of it. I really felt like I came to understand Sadie and her thoughts and feelings over the course of the story. Particularly how impacted she was by events earlier in her life. Being face “blind” actually helped her truly “see” so many things in the end.
I really enjoyed the romance aspect of this story too. I don’t want to say too much, but I couldn’t wait to get to the resolution, but also didn’t want it to end. I wasn’t surprised by the twist, but I’m actually not sure that the author really intended that anyways. It was definitely a surprise for Sadie, which was what mattered. I appreciated how the loose threads of questions that I had relating to Sadie’s condition and certain elements and events all got explained eventually and woven back into the narrative so I wasn’t sitting back and wondering how certain things could be justified. I really loved this book. It’s one I will read again for sure. I absolutely recommend it, as long as you don’t mind the language. This is a fade-to-black story with a moderate amount of strong harsh language.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a complimentary copy of the book. This review is written voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are my own.