Hello Stranger: A Novel
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?
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Community Reviews
I absolutely adored this title. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Katherine Center and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Sadie is an artist who has just been chosen as a top ten finalist in a very competitive art competition. She was one of the ten chosen out of 2000 entries so it's kind of a big deal - this could make or break her career. Upon venturing home from the grocery store one morning, Sadie has an unexpected seizure in the middle of the road and is saved by a good Samaritan who then calls 911 to have her sent to the hospital. Upon her hospital admission and a barrage of testing, Sadie has an enlarged blood vessel that needs to be operated on sooner rather than later. Obviously, Sadie is totally against this because she only has six weeks to complete her painting for the competition. She decides to have the operation basically by the force of her father who happens to be an MD. Sadie's surgery goes incredibly well and she's the poster child for healing after brain surgery... until she realizes that she can't see faces. Well, she can... but they are all out of order, kind of like a puzzle. Why is this a problem? Well, for obvious reasons of recognizing people, but also... Sadie is a portrait artist. Her piece for her competition must be a portrait and well, that requires her to be able to see one's face...
I loved this title. Was it predictable in a sense? Absolutely. Did that take away my enjoyment of reading? Absolutely not. The way it was done was perfection. I also learned something new because I totally didn't even know this disorder existed! I loved the happy ending and all the routes we took to get there. Well done, Katherine Center! This was my first book by her, but it surely won't be my last.
Sadie is an artist who has just been chosen as a top ten finalist in a very competitive art competition. She was one of the ten chosen out of 2000 entries so it's kind of a big deal - this could make or break her career. Upon venturing home from the grocery store one morning, Sadie has an unexpected seizure in the middle of the road and is saved by a good Samaritan who then calls 911 to have her sent to the hospital. Upon her hospital admission and a barrage of testing, Sadie has an enlarged blood vessel that needs to be operated on sooner rather than later. Obviously, Sadie is totally against this because she only has six weeks to complete her painting for the competition. She decides to have the operation basically by the force of her father who happens to be an MD. Sadie's surgery goes incredibly well and she's the poster child for healing after brain surgery... until she realizes that she can't see faces. Well, she can... but they are all out of order, kind of like a puzzle. Why is this a problem? Well, for obvious reasons of recognizing people, but also... Sadie is a portrait artist. Her piece for her competition must be a portrait and well, that requires her to be able to see one's face...
I loved this title. Was it predictable in a sense? Absolutely. Did that take away my enjoyment of reading? Absolutely not. The way it was done was perfection. I also learned something new because I totally didn't even know this disorder existed! I loved the happy ending and all the routes we took to get there. Well done, Katherine Center! This was my first book by her, but it surely won't be my last.
This was a lot of fun! I got sucked in immediately in the first few pages. It definitely has a heavy use of the miscommunication trope, and some other things you kind of need to suspend your disbelief for, but overall I really enjoyed the story, writing, and pacing. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.
What I liked: A quirky rom-com about a portrait artist with temporary face blindness. It’s a love triangle involving crushes on the veterinarian and the overly helpful downstairs neighbor. What I disliked: Too much emotional drama from the evil stepsister, estranged father, and flaky best friend.
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