what I’m reading: hello stranger by katherine center.

Sadie Montgomery is a portrait artist who has just won a finalist spot in a competition that has the ability to change her life. She’s not going to let surgery to fix a blood vessel in her brain keep her down. But when she wakes up from the surgery and discovers she has developed face blindness that may or may not be permanent, she’s not sure what to do. How can she paint a winning portrait when every face she sees is a jumbled mess? And what happens when she starts to fall for two different guys, neither of whose face she can see?

I picked this book up after reading The Bodyguard, which I really liked. Although I  enjoyed Hello Stranger, I have to say that it is nothing like The Bodyguard. Where The Bodyguard was light and fun (even when dealing with a stalker and dangerous situations), this book was more somber and touched on a number of sorrowful themes. There was romance and laughter but it also pulled at my heartstrings.

The character of Sadie was a bit up and down for me. I really had to question her maturity when we find out she is broke and has to live in her studio because her job of selling commissioned portraits on Etsy only makes a couple hundred dollars a week. I understand being a struggling artist but I just couldn’t help but think, why doesn’t she get a job with a regular paycheck and paint on the side? And who is paying her hospital bill after having brain surgery? I’m sure she doesn’t have health insurance… I had a lot of questions about money.

This book has a great villain in the form of Sadie’s step-sister Parker. As soon as she was introduced, I knew I would hate her. She was a bit over the top and cartoonish, but that’s okay.

There is a lovely message in this book about overcoming challenges and persevering. There is also a super cute dog named Peanut that I definitely wanted more of.

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