In light of the recent pandemic, this ARC comes as a welcome happy surprise. This book is about leaving pain behind and choosing joy.
It isn’t quite the typical love story but that just makes Duncan and Samantha’s romance sweeter. Samantha the quirky librarian afraid to share her medical condition and Duncan Carpenter afraid of loss like that in his old job. You can’t help but cheer them on as they come together.
My only regret is that this reads a bit more young adult than true romance but still a touching story.
This ARC provided through Netgalley for a candid review

WOW! What a powerful story. Be Joyful, always pick joy. Joy is always an option everyday. Duncan has such a good reason to give up on joy. But he has lost himself in fear. Sam fights through fear every day. The story covers so many of the headlines in recent days. Yet there is humor and love. I like the cast of quirky characters...okay not that awful father. I like the blend of past personalities and what brought on change. I like the book from beginning to end.

I have not read this author before. You can be sure I will be reading more of her books. Her writing is fantastic. She pulls you end and keeps you entertained. A great book!!

I've really taken a liking to Katherine Center's novels. Each of them vary greatly but are fabulous in their own right. This book was no exception. I found the beginning to be a little wordy and repetitive, but once you come to a point of understanding the characters it really unfolds and moves quickly. A lot of the imagery was really powerful and stuck with me. I will absolutely continue to read her books - they're such a treat!

Samantha Casey enjoys her job as school librarian under the leadership of an amazing principal Max and his wife Babette. When Max suddenly dies during his birthday party a new principal is needed. Duncan, who was a much loved principal at Samantha's previous school is hired on. Samantha was also in love with Duncan all though Duncan never knew it.
When Duncan comes on board as principal Samantha is amazed that the previous much loved and amazing principal has now changed into a cold, hard , depressing man. The staff decides to bombard Duncan with love and fun in hopes of changing him into his previous persona.
This book is engaging as you read to find out what changed Duncan, can he become "himself" again, will Samantha and Duncan find love this time. The characters of Duncan and Samantha were well developed and you find yourself rooting for them to come together in their relationship and for the sake of the school.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC.
I love Catherine Center. I've read two of her pervious books and just devoured them. I was really exited for this one. I'm sad to say that I didn't love it. I'm not sure if it's because I work in a school and some of the details just seemed really unrealistic for a school setting or that the main character was not relatable to me. It definitely dealt with a heavy topic of school safety and I think that was done well, but honestly, I missed the romance. It needed more in my opinion, so much more!

A breezy, cheesy fast read that touches on too many serious issues from school safety and bullying to chronic disease and saving the whales. Sam, the protagonist is an intelligent young school librarian who isn’t very smart. She was happy in her job and town, but fell madly in love then quit her job and moved away when it became obvious he didn’t know she existed. When the book starts, she has settled into a new town, home and job that she loves. However she is still mourning the unrequited love and the mourning has stymied her emotionally. This “light RomCom that isn’t” was not for me.

Center, Katherine - What You Wish For
Samantha Casey, Sam, is the librarian at the free-spirited elementary school on the historic island of Galveston, Texas. The school is off-beat, colorful and full of fun and energy thanks to the head of the school, Max.

Enter Duncan, the new Principal and Sam’s former crush. Unfortunately, for the school, he’s nothing like Sam remembers him. These days he’s ruled by the motto “safety first.” Everything else be damned.

Naturally, what follows is nearly all-out war between Duncan and the rest of the school faculty. Sam volunteers, sort of, to try and turn the situation around.

Cute story that has you falling for the characters from the get go and rooting for them all the way through.

This book brought 2 firsts for me. The first book by this author whom I am sure, it is not going to be my last, and my first book review by Net galley. I am new to Net galley and when I joined and was given the opportunity to read it before it's publication I grabbed the opportunity and I am glad I did. Samantha Casey is the woman who has the best job ever. She is a librarian in a school. She faces fears in her life due to her past but still she encourage others to look ahead and never back. It is a romance, light reading which for some time I could forget the life we are living at the moment. Duncan is the man she always loved and always thought he didn't give a damn for her..... Well it is a beautiful story, a light read to read after a psychological thriller maybe???
I would like to thank Net Galley for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just what I wished for - an easy-to-read, fast-paced, feel-good story. Although one that does feature some sensitive plot elements including grief and trauma.

There was so much to love (warning there is a spoiler or two ahead).
- A sensitive, but realistic portrayal of epilepsy, a condition which doesn’t get a lot of attention but one which I have a lot of experience with since my husband developed it 20 years ago.
- Clay. I had a quiet, nerdy boy so I have a bit of a soft spot for them.
- The Kempner School. I homeschooled my four but if they’d gone to school this would have been the sort of school I’d have wanted them to attend.
- The moment when Tina kicked her useless husband to the curb. I just wanted to cheer and shout “You go girl” and “About time”.
- The whole community uniting together for a common purpose, greater than itself. And taking the lead from a child. The fact that it was connected to the natural world was another plus for me.
- The emphasis on choosing joy is one I think we could all use right now, which is why I posted a picture of this quote rather than the book cover. Which is gorgeous by the way.
- It has some interesting things to say on the issue of school shootings and school safety.

If I was so inclined there were definitely things I could criticise. There was nothing subtle about many of the characters or plot developments, especially early in the book. Some were a little too obvious and over-the-top for my taste. And the plot was reasonably predictable. Sure there is romance so you always know how that aspect is going to end, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out why Duncan changed from when Sam first knew him, or how a major difference between the two of them would resolve.

But for me this didn’t matter. The book is not meant to be literary fiction. It’s positive, warm-hearted contemporary fiction with a strong romance element and I was more than happy to enjoy it on those terms.

Katherine Center is becoming one of my favorite authors and I fall in love with her one book at a time. This was a book I didn’t know I needed at a time in my life I needed some joy.

At the beginning I was not 100% on bored with Sam. There was something about her at the start that felt like she was trying to be the perfect person. But after the announcement that Duncan was coming back into her life, I was completely on the Sam train. I saw her vulnerable side, related so much to her desired to be loved, and it felt like I was reading my own diary when she was describing the crazy things we experience with unrequited love.

Duncan came in guns blazing. It took me a while to finally understand him and to find the heart hidden beneath the scars of an unthinkable past. There were times early in the beginning where we saw little snippets of the old Duncan and in those times I appreciated the laughter and joy he brought to a room, but the new Duncan annoyed me. The way he commanded a room and demanded actions through scare tactics. I was dying to know his story.

To be honest, I struggled with the first half of this book. Both characters were stronger willed and would not compromise. There was no leeway for anything and their interactions drove me crazy, it was like watching two dictators fighting for power. It wasn’t until halfway through the story where I started to see softer sides of each of them I started to enjoy the story. I also didn’t like how Sam put Duncan on a pedestal. She idolized Duncan too much. She put too much pressure on Duncan to live up to that ideal version of him in the past, instead of learning about the person standing in front of her today. I feel like this book could have really benefited from a dual POV just to get a better sense of his feelings and his story.

This is the type of book I needed right now with a wonderful message to find the light in darkness. With the combination of Alice’s use of math humor displayed through t shirts and jokes with Max’s joyful wisdoms and calm energy, it all gave me a different way to approach the heavy material in book. Also when can I review her Alice’s autobiography? The title alone makes me wish she was real and we could be best friends.

This book is poised with all the essential elements I love about Katherine Center books. The writing was emotionally imaginative and sprinkled tastefully with humor and heart. The charters were strong with complexity that were detailed and well thought out. She made this situation in the story relatable while providing hope and encouragement. She took Dumbledore’s words “happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light” and made a wonderful story. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this eARC.

The only other book I have read by Katherine Center was Things you Save in a Fire. I enjoyed this one a lot more!

This is a cute G rated, lighthearted romance. TW for gun violence and a graphic description of a school shooting so it isn't all "fluff".

I loved her friend Alice the math teacher who was constantly throwing out math jokes and the whole secret operation to make Duncan more human again (juggling, eating certain foods etc). The super smart 10 year old (Clay) really adds a lot to this story. Add in an adorable dog (Chuck Norris the failed guard dog) and this book oozes cute..

A tough (but soft inside) guy and a happy (but sad inside) girl finally figure things out in the end. This will make a perfect summer beach read! I totally grinned at the end of this book. It really was a feel good story.

Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced digital copy of this book.

I was so excited to be given a chance to read an arc of this book. Katherine center is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint! Ms. Center has the unique ability to tell a story and the reader can't figure out exactly what will happen. It leaves me wanting to keep turning the pages. This was a book that I definitely wished for!

I really enjoyed this book! Katherine Center definitely writes a compelling romance with appealing characters. I loved the message of always finding the joy in life, and the ending was perfectly satisfying. My only issue with the book was the totally unrealistic depiction of the behind-the-scenes school culture. I get that it was a private school, but still not believable to anyone who's worked in education. Other than that, super charming story; I flew through it in a day.

This is my first Katherine Center book and not my usual genre.. It is a very entertaining and well written book about loss, love and how you adjust. I thought the first half of the first chapter was less smooth than the rest of the book, but overall it was a delightful read.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors. I recommend How to Walk a Way and Things You Save in a Fire constantly. I was so grateful to receive an advanced copy of What You Wish For, my most anticipated book of 2020. There were many things to like about this book. One--it takes on the subject of education, a rare topic in books. Two--it explores the ideas of people living with trauma and how they deal with it (a hallmark of Center's books). I loved how readable this book was (another selling point for me of Center's work). It flowed, it was easy, and it seems like it could have wide appeal. There were a couple things I struggled with when reading this book. There were a few elements that felt unbelievable. Some of the premise around the school that the main character, Sam, works in, just didn't do it for me. Her relationship with former fling, Duncan, seemed overwritten and somewhat trite. I had a hard time with how the main character was constantly wishy washy about all things. I had a hard time building empathy with her because the character development just wasn't there. Overall, this was not my favorite from Katherine Center, but with that said, I'm still a huge fan of her work.

This was such a lovely book to read to distract me during this crazy time. I enjoyed it so much that I read it all in one sitting. It was funny, sweet, very cheesy at times but I loved every second of it! My favorite part of Katherine Center’s writing is how she combines a bit of romance while still covering heavy topics such as grief, loss, fear but it also taught us to find joy in the little things, to ALWAYS choose to dance and to stop living your life in fear.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a digital ARC of this because I am SO happy I got to pick this up! All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I appreciated the opportunity to read an ARC of this beautiful book. Thank you Net Galley! This is my first Katherine Center book and now I want to go back and read all of her books. Two things I learned from reading What You Wish For: 1. You can’t let fear control your every move. You have to be courageous and 2. Joy is the cure for everything. Pay attention to the things that make you feel better!
If you are looking for an uplifting book this is a perfect read for you.

What a delightful book! The characters drew me into the story and kept me there turning the pages to see what would happen next. This is a light easy read that provides a nice distraction to world events. Ms. Center has a great balance of personal strife and romance, without being sickenly sweet and sappy. I give it 4.5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc copy of What You Wish For by Katherine Center. Wow - what a wonderful story! The characters come alive on the page, making you want to know them and to live where they live. Sam, the main character is a librarian at a private school in Texas. The teachers and students are her family. The atmosphere at the school is the main theme that runs through this entire story - how to find joy no matter what life throws at you, to know you aren’t alone and to learn to work through fear and rely on those around you. The complex story of Duncan, the new school principle, was emotional but how he unveils himself to Sam and they both work through what has happened to them and what scars they gave is worth every word you read. Katherine Center has written her best book yet! I was sad to finish the book and leave these engaging; loving; complex characters behind. Thank for a story that will stay with me for a long time.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors because I know that I'll always get fabulous characters that my heart connects with, great quotes that I want to remember, and a theme that reminds me to always have hope. What You Wish For was no exception.

Much of the book takes place in a school setting and that was fun since I'm a teacher. The two main characters, Duncan and Samantha, meet years ago as teaching colleagues but Sam moved away and took her secret love for Duncan with her.

Years later, Duncan and Sam cross paths again but Duncan's not the same fun loving person that he used to be. Sam (and some loveable secondary characters) want to help him choose joy and find happiness again.

This book showcases many different relationships and reminds us that your true family isn't always the one you're born into and that choosing joy and happiness can be a choice.

If you've loved Katherine Center's books in the past, I think you'll also really enjoy What You Wish For. Besides, if you've read Happiness for Beginners you also get a glimpse into Jake and Helen's life. What could be better?

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Katherine Center for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.