Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Hello Stanger is absolutely, adorably brilliant! With a very creative story, witty banter between the characters, romance, family dysfunction and heartbreak it makes for a wonderfully warm-hearted uplifting read!

The premise is Sadie Montgomery, a portrait artist just as her late mother was has just been selected as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. Just as her mother had been! This she thinks, will finally get her father, an acclaimed doctor to finally recognize she made the correct choice when she decided to not go to medical school, something he has yet to forgive her for. Considering he has basically shunned her since her decision and seems to want to have nothing to do with her. He only dotes on his second wife Lucinda and her daughter Parker, otherwise known as the evil stepmother and evil stepsister as there has always been conflict between them, especially Parker who bullied her so much in high school she ended up getting expelled. Could this make him proud?

So, to celebrate she and her best friend Sue Kim and her dog Peanut are going to have a little party at her illegal apartment in the building of Sue’s father. She goes to the corner store to pick up a few items, wine, dog treats and flowers which were her mother’s favorites to include her in the celebration. The next thing she remembers is waking up in the hospital!

It’s discovered Sadie has a brain issue which needs to be corrected as soon as possible, but with the competition coming up she wants to postpone the surgery. But her father convinces her to do it as soon as possible. But after the surgery she discovers that she has something called face blindness where facial features look like blocks rather than faces. They believe this is being caused by the brain swelling after the surgery. Hopefully it will disappear as the swelling goes away. HOPEFULLY?? She has to compete in a portrait contest in a few short weeks and can’t see faces. How will that work?

As she begins her life trying to use the tools the doctor gave her to help recognize people, but absolutely not telling them about her brain issue, she is just grateful that a nice man with glasses and scruffy hair who wears a jacket with the name Joe lives in her building. Although she wanted to be independent, she realizes she does need some help. And Sadie loves she always knows who he is by that jacket!

But when Peanut gets sick and has to go to the vet, that’s where she sees (or attempts to see) the man she is going to marry! He has what looks like slicked back hair and a beautiful voice! And he asks her out on a date!

But the day of their coffee date he never shows, and never texts to apologize. How could her possible husband be that inconsiderate? Although she still has the hots for the vet, Joe seems to be stepping up in her life by helping her by posing for a portrait which Sadie has no way of knowing is good or bad.

As things heat up with Joe, the competition gets closer and she has no idea what her entry looks like and her evil stepsister tries to intervene in her life just as she did when they were young, she must make some decisions. Is the vet worth the wait or is Joe the one. Should she still be an artist when she can’t even see what she’s doing. What would her mother have done? What advice would she have given her.

As decisions are made Sadie sees her life in a different light. She begins to understand what had been motivating her before her issue and quite frankly she does not like what she sees.

And then the night of the competition takes place, and the chaos really begins!

Hello Stranger is uniquely wonderfully different in the best refreshing way possible. It has heart, soul and a beautiful story! Katherine Center’s books continue to amaze me as they seem to get better and better!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #HelloStranger #KatherineCenter for the advanced copy.