By Katherine Center.
The story was so compelling, I couldn’t stop reading. The characters touched my heart. Their emotions brought tears. Another wonderful book by Katherine Center.
Sadie is a free spirit. She roller skates. She sings in the grocery store aisle. She lover her dog, Peanut. She paints portraits for a living, and is a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition—the biggest achievement of her life.
When Sadie has a seizure in the crosswalk, she ends up in the hospital and undergoes brain surgery, which affects the part of her brain that recognizes faces (yes, it’s a real thing). The doctors say it’s likely temporary. Still, it poses a challenge when she has to create her entry for the portrait competition and everyone’s face looks like a mismatched jigsaw puzzle. And on top of everything else, Peanut becomes ill.
The animal clinic has a new veterinarian, Dr. Oliver Addison. Sadie can’t “see” his face, but her other senses help her determine he is kind, GQ suave, and potential relationship material. When he asks her out, they plan to meet for coffee. But he has a work emergency, leaving Sadie alone in the coffee shop. She runs into her obnoxious neighbor Joe. She couldn’t discern his face either, but recognized his vintage bowling jacket, floppy hair, and hipster glasses.
As Sadie moves forward in her faceless world, trying to figure out how to paint what she can’t visualize, Joe always seems to be around. He’s surprisingly nice, and supportive. And, maybe, he isn’t as awful as Sadie first thought. Maybe he could even be amazing. But Dr. Addison is also on her mind.
She has to decide between the two, and expects everything will work out with the man of her choice. But, of course, life is never that easy.
(Published in 2023 by St. Martin’s Press, and imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.)
One of my favorite reads, “Hello Stranger,” is a tender, heart-felt romance by Katherine Center.
Tweet
