Love isn’t blind, it’s just a 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.
What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is a romantic comedy about Sadie Montgomery, a painter who temporarily (or not) loses her ability to recognize faces after minor brain surgery. She’s supposed to be painting a person’s portrait for a life-changing competition, and she meets someone she feels she might want to date. But how can she do either when she can’t see his face or the face she is painting? Her life is just so up in the air, waiting for her ability to recognize faces to return, and it’s just not even an okay place to be for someone looking for a break.
My Reading Experience:
Face blindness, or prosopagnosia, is so fascinating to me. I loved the care with which it is handled in the story. Any plot gaps or just too far-fetched instances in the story are all explained by the end as part of what people with this neurological disorder can experience – like not recognizing people by their voices. I can understand that, as all your senses get thrown off when one is malfunctioning. It’s just less cut and dry than it seems. I also loved how being unable to see in the usual manner helped Sadie see herself for the first time.
I enjoyed how the story is not wrapped up in a perfect bow at the end. Sadie’s life is messy, due primarily to her insistence that nobody knows about her temporary-ish disorder, so how could everything end so perfectly? But it does end on such a high note, even through all the chaotic and unfortunate reality, with attitude being the prime focus that I have to applaud. Even when you fail in life, or something doesn’t work out as you hope, your attitude about it is everything. Will you suck on those lemons or make some of the most wonderful lemonade anyone has ever tasted?
The closed-door romance between Sadie and the vet and Sadie and Joe is the best potential triangle ever. And I’m not too fond of love triangles per se. I loved how she couldn’t see either of their faces but had to grapple with interest and feelings for both men and navigate through that. It provided some of the funniest moments in the story for me.
Characters:
Sadie Montgomery lost her mother at a young age and has spent so much time trying to be just like her deceased mother that she lost out on finding out who she is as an individual. The silver lining to the very ill-timed and challenging neurological consequence of her brain surgery is that she has to take the time to discover who she truly is.
Dr. Oliver takes care of Sadie’s beloved dog, Peanut, when she fears his age is catching up to him. She instinctively knows the doctor is handsome and obviously cares for animals, so when he asks her out, she starts planning their wedding and the white picket fence around their house.
Joe lives in Sadie’s building and always wears an obnoxious vintage bowling jacket with his name embossed. When Sadie overhears his phone conversation in the elevator, she believes that Joe is one of the worst people. That is – until she gets to know him better due to her disorder and need for help.
Sadie’s family is the worst, particularly her stepsister, who is just plain evil. They are characters that I just loved to hate.
Narration & Pacing:
The story has a medium pace, but it is consistent, allowing the story to take the lead. The story engaged me thoroughly, and I read it fairly quickly with no annoying lags. The narration is in first-person through Sadie’s eyes which it really had to be. It would have lost something special if the narration had been done differently.
Setting:
Houston, Texas, is the setting though I didn’t feel it played any significant role in the story. I even kept forgetting that’s where the story was located, instead getting more New York vibes for some reason. I’ve even been to Houston and still did not recognize it in particular in the story.
Read if you like:
- Strangers to lovers closed-door romances.
- Big city setting
- Fascinating medical conditions and overcoming challenges.
Overall Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
| Originality | 8 |
| Writing Quality | 10 |
| Pace | 6 |
| Character Development | 8 |
| ‘Couldn’t Put It Down’-ness | 6 |
| Setting | 10 |
20 responses to “Hello Stranger by Katherine Center #BookReview #RomCom”
It must be so hard to deal with this, sounds a great read, lovely review 💕
I think so. It just sounds so discombobulating.
It sounds terrible and frustrating conditions. I sure would like to read this and see how character copes with it. Amazing review, Tessa!
It’s fascinating and written in a way that felt authentic.
Fantastic review! I’ve had my eye on this ever since I listened to The Bodyguard. Is it as good? :/
I think it was better or at least to me.
Excellent!
Oh, this sounds perfect. I also like that it doesn’t end neatly. Wonderful review, Tessa💜 I recommended this for library purchase before they disabled the feature so hope still springs eternal.
I hope they get it in!
Came in today!
Yay!
I’ve been waiting for your review. I really enjoyed how Center tackled this and turned it into a storyline. I agree with you about her step sister! Wonderful review!
Thank you!
I’d never heard of prosopagnosia until fairly recently, and I can’t imagine dealing with something like that. This does sound like a run read. I laughed over her planning the wedding and white picket fence as soon as the vet asked her out.
She’s a great character. Definitely a dreamer but in all the most charming ways.
Do you happen to know why the author chose this disability to include in their story (or any disabled character at all?) Do they have any direct (or even indirect) knowledge or experience with people who experience this (whether acquired or developmental, as for some people it can also be a developmental condition)? There are so many books out there with disabled characters that nondisabled people think are great, but people who actually live with that disability (or sometimes a different disability, or disabilities, related or otherwise) find to be terribly stereotyped and ableist. So I’m just wondering what this book’s (and author’s) “credentials” are, so to speak, on the subject.
I copied the section about it from the acknowledgement for you: “My most extensive research, of course, was on prosopagnosia. I knew very little about the condition when I started, and I had a lot to learn. For that, I owe much to neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks’s writings about prosopagnosia, a condition that he himself had. I also listened to every episode of Jeff Waters’s podcast FaceBlind—some many times—and found it profoundly helpful. I could not be more thankful to two people I reached out to cold after hearing them interviewed together on a podcast about face blindness. Dr. Joe DeGutis, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who also co-runs the Boston Attention and Learning Lab, made time to talk with me and patiently answered my questions. The charming and delightful science writer Sadie Dingfelder, who met Joe while learning about her own prosopagnosia in his lab, also talked with me at length about face blindness. Sadie’s Washington Post article “What It’s Like to be Face-Blind” was a massively helpful resource, and I’m so happy that when I described my idea for the plot of this book to her and asked, “Could that happen?” she replied with so much enthusiasm, “That could totally happen!” I’m also beyond grateful to her for taking time to read an early draft of this book. No discussion of prosopagnosia would be complete without mentioning the very helpful website FaceBlind.org, run jointly by Dartmouth, Harvard, and the University of London—where you can learn much more, and even participate in online research studies.”
Thank you! It sounds like she did her research, and also made sure the final result came out appropriately. I might add it to my TBR.
I read another book a while back where the main character had Prosopagnosia. It is fascinating. Great review.
Excellent review, Tessa. The whole idea of “face blindness” or prosopagnosia is hard to imagine, especially as it affects her whole livelihood. I liked the ending as well, even though it still has some areas that aren’t completely worked out.