Healing as the colors in the sunshine and the shadows of her eyes: HELLO STRANGER.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
My rating: 4+ of 5 stars

Struggling artist Sadie Montgomery finally gets her big break when she places in a portrait contest. But everything goes awry when Sadie is injured, and the doctors reveal she needs brain surgery... now. The surgery goes fine, but leaves Sadie with the inability to recognize faces (face blindness). Something that happens to affect her career painting faces just a BIT. Sadie frantically tries to adjust to her new life while preparing for the contest. She meets two men--one amazing: her dog Peanut's new vet; and one not so much: her annoying neighbor, Joe. Can she recover in time to win the contest and the man of her dreams?

I think HELLO STRANGER might be my favorite Katherine Center book to date, and I'm not just saying that because I read it in sunny Cancun! It was just so sweet and charming, and I really loved Sadie. A lot of terrible things happen to this poor woman--her mom died when she was young and her doctor father checked out on her, leaving Sadie with a hard time accepting help from anyone. She has an absolutely horrible stepsister, Parker (I mean, seriously awful) and then, finally, she gets a break and boom, face blindness? Sometimes I had a tough time reading because I couldn't handle all the bad things been thrown at poor Sadie!

Even worse, once she gets out of the hospital, her beloved dog Peanut (given to her right before her mom passed away) gets sick. Seriously, world, we haven't given this woman enough to deal with? The only positive is that she meets the dreamy vet, Dr. Addison. Thank you. Sadie needs a win here. But she has to contend with Joe, of course, whom she keeps seeing in the elevator with a variety of women (or coming out of various apartments--all female--in her building).

Sadie's story is sad sometimes, but overall it's so sweet. The romance is just lovely, and I found myself laughing and smiling while I read. The supporting cast is awesome--Sadie's building super is just a trip, along with his family, and even her stepmother and Parker provide some great comic relief. This is truly a tender story about accepting a new life, learning to ask for help, and, yes, falling in love. 4+ stars.

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway (thank you) and also received a copy from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in return for an unbiased review. Look for HELLO STRANGER on 7/11/2023!!

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