“Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center
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.”
Review: “Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center is a fun, feel good story. This is the perfect book to help get you out of a reading slump or distract you from real life. It was easy to get lost in the book. I finished it in 2 days, which is difficult when you have kids, and even stayed up late to read it!
In the beginning Sadie seems like your typical starving artist, trying to catch her big break. Once she’s in an accident and has brain surgery that all changes for her. Sadie now suffers from prosopagnosia or face blindness. She now has to find her way in the world with this condition that tests her every move.
The face blindness aspect was really interesting. I’ve only heard about it in a college class and in Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney. This aspect made the story unique from other romance novels. You can tell that the author did a lot of research on it. I felt like I could feel what Sadie was going through. It was interesting to read about how Sadie handled her diagnosis and tried to decipher who was who. I also enjoyed her trying to figure out how to paint portraits when she was unable to see faces.
Sadie is a very relatable character. I think we’ve all been in situations that have made us feel uncomfortable and we had to figure out a way to cope (or not cope). Sadie was a real person with real emotions and feelings. I liked seeing her work through her condition and try to find her way. I enjoyed Sadie’s character development throughout the story. She went from getting her big break to one of the lowest points in her life. She was able to overcome her fears (with some set backs) and forced herself to keep going and attend the art show even though she knew she wouldn’t win.
The majority of the characters are very likable. You can’t help falling in love with Sadie, Joe, Sue and the Kims. I enjoyed seeing Sadie’s relationships develop. The people in Sadie’s life are often the voice of reason. Sue and Dr. Nicole help her navigate the world around her and try to give her coping techniques. It’s easy to fall into a story when you enjoy the characters and are rooting for them.
Now Sadie’s family on the other hand is not likeable. Her family is far from perfect. The way her step-sister, Parker, treats her is horrendous. I also disliked Sadie’s Dad, he didn’t have many redeeming qualities. Personally I wish there was more growth from the family members. Parker is pure evil. I can slightly understand her behavior as a teenager but the fact that she continues to be vindictive and evil as an adult seems crazy to me. I kept hoping for her to have a change of heart or for her to get what was coming to her. Also, I wanted the dad to put in more effort. There was some resolution with him in the end but I wanted more. The step-mother, Lucinda, seemed to have the most redeeming qualities. Besides the obvious (face blindness), the family dynamics was the main cause of drama in the story.
The main romance trope in this story is miscommunication. I will start off by saying that miscommunication is one of my least favorite tropes. It’s one of those things that makes me roll my eyes and say “really?!”. Now with that being said I will say that I think it’s well done in this book. The miscommunication has an actual reason behind it beyond something silly. Sadie literally can’t see faces and had brain surgery so it would make sense that the world and people around her can be confusing at times. Overall I think the miscommunication trope was done well and wasn’t too over the top.
Selfishly I wish there was some spice in the book. Joe and Sadie have such amazing chemistry, I wanted more than just some hot kisses but the lack of spice doesn’t bring the book down. If anything it makes their connection stronger and shows how genuine their relationship is.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I loved the main characters and flew through the story. Personally I preferred Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard to Hello Stranger but I think that comes down to personal trope preference. The Bodyguard is fake dating which is one of my favorites. Both books are well written and extremely enjoyable. I will definitely be reading more Katherine Center books. I highly recommend this book for someone who is looking for a light romance, enjoys miscommunication and doesn’t need spice in the story.
*please note that I received an advanced copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.