4.5 stars

Katherine Center has become a favorite after listening to How to Walk Away and reading Things You Save in a Fire I am a fan. Her books make you feel connected and What You Wish For is no different. I have been anticipating this release and when I saw it I immediately downloaded with excitement! I read this book slowly for many reasons and I’m glad I did. While there is a love story within this book I don’t feel it’s the primary focus or theme to the book. I’m also okay with that. These characters are very relatable and not necessarily them but their feelings and emotions. I could feel and empathize with/for them. How can you not...it’s issues we are facing in today’s world. What I love the most about this book is the focus of joy...to choose joy over anything/everything. It’s tough to choose that when we’re constantly trying to battle so much more but choosing to find joy through the sheer madness of life is so much better than swimming in misery. Each of these characters whether they’re the main or side characters has to dig deep and find their own joy. It’s not always when life can be cruel but instead of letting you get ruined by it taking time to find something that can make happy is so much better for your soul. I truly enjoyed these characters and hope they ignite some joy for you, the readers.

What You Wish For was everything I expected it to be, as Katherine Center never lets me down. Filled with multi-layered dynamics of insecurities, pain, professional environment and how to balance how you communicate your needs to others. So many special relationships between teacher and student, mentor and student as well as stories of love, loss, self-made family and forgiveness. The wonderful weave of characters is so true to life as we learn to navigate others who are often cut from a different cloth both personally and professionally. When we are able to share vulnerability and find comfort in our imperfections we are able to connect with others on a much deeper level. What You Wish For was the perfect story acting as a balm for the outside world.

So good! Wonderfully written. The characters came to life and will stick with me for a long time. I actually had tears in my eyes near the end because it was so beautiful. Very moving and a lovely read.

Thanks St. Martin’s Press & Netgalley for my gifted copy of What You Wish For by Katherine Center!

This is my 3rd Katherine Center book and I enjoyed it so much!! This is exactly in her style and what I expected from her. So good!

There were so many beautiful quotes from the book, relationships between characters that were unique, emotions were powerful, and a quest for joy was authentic. Rarely do authors give an audience authenticity, joy, and true feelings. But this, was different. Prepare yourself to face death, life, joy, laughter and everything in between!

Quick, easy, and much needed to escape our crazy world.

Don’t miss this one out on July 14th! I am SO excited about this one!!

Round up to 4.5

This is my second Katherine Center read - I love her writing style, her very deft human studies, the way she presents joy and sorrow. In this case, the setting on Galveston Island is lovely and intriguing, and the school, teachers, and students outlined in a way that the reader even appreciates the unlikable among them.
Fun, enjoyable, uplifting read.

I am really looking forward to reading this! I enjoyed Katherine Centers last book and will update this review after I have read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for access to the free review copy.

This is my fourth Katherine Center book, and I've thoroughly enjoyed them all. She writes stories that not only make you stop and ponder the "what would I do" scenario, but also urge you toward the end to find out the actual outcome. What You Wish For, is the story of working through fear, of overcoming setbacks/challenges, but ultimately, of choosing joy above all else.

Samantha is a school librarian in Galveston, TX. Duncan is the new school Principal. Their individual pasts, along with their intertwined history play out during one school year. Family, friendship, romance, misunderstandings, and books, all weave through this story. While I guessed most of the 'twists', this book kept me engaged from start to finish.

Now to wait for her next release.

This novel filled my love Chakra with happiness!! I am lovestruck with Center’s writing style! Its so superb and the characters leap right off the page and into your heart creating that exuberant feeling you would get when you were a kid, playing on a hot Summer’s day and hear the Ice cream truck rounding the corner hoping for a sweet cool refreshing treat. What You Wish For gives you all the feels. Its the camaraderie that characters build with you that makes you feel apart of the novel. Throughout this read ,I felt such a welcoming space full of laughter, support, love, and courage,from the characters. What a fun journey to take!!

Katherine Center’s latest novel has a strong theme of choosing joy even when times are tough, and I’m not sure I could have picked this up at a more appropriate time. This book was exactly what I needed in these dark days! Center has become a must-read author for me as I’ve really enjoyed her previous books, and this new release is no exception. There are also some fun connections to previous novels that you can try to spot (but you certainly don’t need to have read those to fully enjoy this one). Highly recommend!

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

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I have read many of Katherine Center's novels and for me when I see she has a new story out it is a must read! She always has unique plots and such fabulous characters, that I know the story will be terrific and What You Wish For went above and beyond my expectations!

Samantha Casey is an elementary librarian in Galveston, Texas. Samantha not only lives on the property of her boss, but has adopted him and his wife as family. When her "dad" passes away, not only is she devastated personally, but her career is upended when the school board hires Duncan Carpenter. Samantha used to work in the same building as Duncan and had a massive crush on him. However, when she reintroduces herself to Duncan, it is as if he has never met her before. Samantha can handle that, but it is as if Duncan has been totally replaced by someone unrecognizable to Samantha. What happened to him, and more importantly what if the changes he wants to make at the school drives Samantha away from everything that is important to her?

This book has it all! Love, love, loved it! 5 stars!

This gets a solid 3.5/5 stars from me and I wish it had made it over the threshold to 4. So much potential.

It had a choppy start and I was impatient with the initial lack of character development, but about halfway through K. Center seriously won me over. While I still think the characters needed more fleshing out and acted 2-dimensionally at times, the overall message was charming and uplifting- and deeply hopeful! - and that will stay with me. There are a few profound insights that are so timely and necessary. Loved the Clay character the most, and Babette was a close second.

I am new to this author and will check out her other work. I am glad I read this. Thanks for the advance read #netgalley

Love, love, love "What You Wish For"!! I have loved all of Katherine Center's books but "What You Wish For" is by far my favorite. It sucked me in and wouldn't let me go until I finished it. I loved Sam and Duncan's love story and the message of finding joy was so timely. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you Katherine Center for the fabulous book and thank you Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading an ARC.

I don't really know if I can still call this a beach read, since there are things like epilepsy and school shootings that come up, but since those two features are combined with happy-goofy school setting and woman-wearing-colorful-clothes-and-man-who-used-to falling in love, it's probably the category that fits best.

This was a fun, if predictable read, with a few snickers and most of the pain sanitized and excised. I was a little disappointed, in fact, that the villain of the piece didn't turn out to be more interesting or complex. In any case, I appreciated a new setting (Galveston!) and the author's sense of humor. And the book wasn't riddled with heavy-duty sex scenes that make recommending it to a family member embarrassing.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book!

I was only introduced to Katherine Center this past fall, but she has quickly become one of my most anticipated romantic authors [and I am not a romance reader!]. Her ability to craft characters that we can all relate to is wonderful!

A novel with such a strong theme of “purposefully choosing your joy” couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time [enter Covid-19]. On top of our world’s most appropriate theme currently, she sent this adventure towards joy under the premise of a librarian in a beautifully creative school.

This school (and librarian) comes to a clashing tussle with it’s new principal Duncan, who’s focus on safety and security comes amidst the community’s largest loss. Samantha finds Duncan’s arrival unnerving, as only a ghost from her past can be.

Center uses a setting close to my heart, as only schools and teaching [and the love of reading!] can, and she brings it beautifully to the forefront, woven with choosing joy in the midst of pain every single day.

This novel is a quick, easy, escapable type of literature you may just enjoy immensely! If you enjoy reading about redemption, struggle, pain, life as a teacher, then this might just be the read for you.

Thank you to @katherinecenter @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the gifted copy of What You Wish For in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, so I jumped at the opportunity to read her newest book, and she didn’t disappoint!
In society today there are a lot of books on how to be happy and seeking out joy. That is the theme of this new novel, choosing joy. Whether it is from recovering from a traumatic experience, the death of a loved one, or learning to live with health issues you cannot change, you always have the option to choose joy. It's a lesson we should all take to heart.
This story is told entirely from Samantha's perspective, as she has had to learn to choose joy to make her life better. When Duncan comes back into her life, she learns quickly that he’s not the same person she once knew. The pieces are easy to put together and the story is predictable overall, but that didn’t take away my enjoyment of this book.
I do love it when authors connect characters from past novels…if you have read Center’s other books, see if you can catch it! Overall, I would rate this book 4 stars. It was and easy and enjoyable read…pulled at my heart strings and couldn’t put it down!

Recommend to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance novels.
Est Pub: July 14, 2020

Katherine Center has a way of writing that draws you in and doesn't let you go until the end of the book. I read her books so quickly and don't want them to end. This is a great book about overcoming fear, facing uncertainty and choosing to believe in love and happiness. It's not an easy journey, as the characters in the book show, but it is worth it in the end.
The world needs this kind of book right now - one that reminds people to hold onto joy in the face of uncertainty.

🌼 Oh, Katherine Center, how I love you.
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🌼 This is my 4th book of hers and I was STOKED to find it on NetGalley available as a read now!!
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🌼 I laughed (literally. Out loud. And had to read a couple scenes to my husband) cried, and straight up cringed (in the best way - I LIVE for embarrassing moments) while reading this. The main characters have both been through some STUFF. One has learned to find joy in the every day and the other has reverted to drowning out all possible joy in the name of safety, both emotional and physical. These two find each other and...it's magic.
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🌼 If you're already a Center fan, you'll definitely love her newest novel. If you haven't read any of hers, try this first because it's my favorite so far!! She just writes these amazing female characters. They have gone through hard things, but learn from them instead of wallow in them. They are strong women, but also aren't obnoxiously anti-men. I just love the voice of the characters she writes and I will read I single book of hers!!!
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🌼 This book is clean as far as sexual content goes, there's a scene that stops before it goes too far and there is a handful of language, the amount I'm used to in most books I read 👌
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🌼 This one will be on the shelves July 14. But if you're on Net Galley, RUN to grab the ARC!!!!

I read this book prior to publication and there were a few places where edits were still needed. The majority of the plot development took place within the mind of Samantha Casey, the main character. I thought it was a bit too much within her head. The premise of the book is that an old crush of Samantha moves to the island where she lives and becomes the Principal where she works. He has drastically changed though, and many of the new policies that he begins to institute will destroy the things that make this school so special. Within that framework there are subthemes of the value of people, nature and beauty. A main theme is how to find joy, hold on to joy, in the midst of circumstances that can destroy hope and joy. A decent read on a rainy day.
#netgalley #amazon

What a delightful and realistic look into the world of education! I loved how realistic the characters seemed and how their issues are ones that people deal with daily. I found myself instantly transported to Kepner school and the descriptions of the school made it seem like a place everyone would want to go to school!

I will share one mild spoiler... there is discussion of a school shooting. Now as an educator, I hate when I read a book and get surprised but a school shooting in a book. However you could see this one coming and it really well covered from all angles.

Overall a fantastic read and great escape back into school in a time when many educators are forgetting what its like to be in a school building.

Katherine Center. You the real MVP.

Seriously. We live in such a chaotic time right now and Center's new novel, What You Wish For just hits the mark of a great novel. Read it. Just read it. Read all of her novels. There. Just do it.

What You Wish For follows quirky school librarian, Samantha Casey. Sam works at a lovely and vibrant school in Galveston, Texas under the supervision of her second parents, Max and Babette. When Max suddenly passes away, a new principal must be chosen by the school board. In enters, Duncan Carpenter, one of Sam's former colleagues...and crush. Sam expects to reunite with the bubbly and wacky Duncan, but she is faced with a new man...a man that is determined to make the free-thinking and wonderful school a prison of safety precautions. As the community begins to find chaos, Sam and Duncan must decide which path they will take to find joy amid the fear.

Y'all. I just feel THINGS. All the things for this novel. Sam stole my heart and ripped it out with her touching backstory. I will not give anything away. Duncan won me over...eventually as he was meant to do. All of the characters in Center's newest novel are just the right mixture of out of this world and down to earth. It is one of the treasures of reading her novels. The plot is timely and heartbreaking, yet once you finish the book, you want to hug it. Yes, hug it because it leaves you with such a sense of hope and wonder for the world. The main reason I loved this book is because it reminds readers to find joy in all the simple moments of life. As one of the character's motto implies: find a reason to celebrate. And I am here for it. There was romance, drama, and just normal life. The beautiful thing about Center's writing is just that: she writes about normal life, but you are left feeling like you read about something completely incredible.

It is easy to say this is a 5 star read for me. I highly recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. What You Wish For comes out on July 14, 2020.