Thank you to the publisher for a free e-copy. But I think I will be parting ways with Katherine Center from here.

I found this book to be a bit much on the cliches. It took to 50% for things to really start happening and by then you figured it all out anyways. I felt it weird that Sam was so ashamed of herself for being epileptic like it made her unlovable. Duncan's nightmares + her reluctance just made for bad dialogue and cliche everything else.

I DNFed the last book by Center and apparently How to Walk Away was just a one off for me.

Thank you to @stmartinspress for sending me an ARC of What You Wish For. I read and loved Katherine Center’s previous two novels, so I was excited to read this one as well. I didn’t even need to know the synopsis to know I’d read it! In the end, this one was super uplifting and joyful. I think that it’s the perfect time to read it. Do know, there are some trigger warnings here and if you want to know more, please DM me (it might be a little bit of a spoiler). Shout out to @katieladyreads for posting about this one and motivating me to move it up my TBR! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ happy stars from me!

I enjoy Katherine Center's books and will likely read whatever she puts out next. They make me happy and I am so thankful I got to review this one!.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center came out this summer and I’m shocked it took me this long to pick up. I thought it was going to be something I read as soon as I got it, but things kept getting in my way. ⁣I read it on my kindle due to having a @netgalley copy and it was easier to focus on a kindle book than a physical book this week.
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This is my third book I’ve read by Katherine Center. We follow Samantha and Duncan in Galveston, Texas (I love when books are set here!) Samantha is a school librarian in this community that she has recently run to and found home. History comes back to haunt her when Duncan comes in to be principal. She expects him to be the Duncan she knew and loved, but things are different. Will this be their second chance at love or will Samantha run away again?⁣
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❤️Review❤️⁣
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Unfortunately this is my least favorite out of the 3 books I’ve read by her. I spent the first half really not liking either character. I understand that their past influenced their actions, but I didn’t find it helpful. There were aspects that I started to enjoy, but then the last 20% just felt so unrealistic and rushed. I’ll continue reading her books, but this one just felt like it bit off more than she could true with how many different types of problems she tried to address.⁣
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3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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#bookstagram #favoriteauthors #gorgeousbooks #bookofthemonth #books #bookreviews #booksbooksbooks #booksintexas #2020books #newbookreleases

Although I enjoyed this one by the end, there was an awful lot of hiding from each other, pretending, and general weirdness around Duncan and Samantha's relationship that seemed forced. Important topics were brought up and I appreciated that. I did really love the kookiness of the school characters, the paintings, and the kids.

This book was beautifully written, heartwarming and filled with characters that you fall in love with. It also had the deeper storyline that dealt with a loss of a loved one, trauma, health challenges, love and friendships. A well rounded must read.
In addition, I really loved how Katherine used a secondary characters from a previous book as main character in this one ( Helen’s brother Duncan ) from HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS!
I also thought it was cool how the female fire fighter that assisted Margaret in HOW TO WALK AWAY - Cassie was the main character in THINGS YOU SAVE IN FIRE. Definitely makes me wonder who will be in the next Katherine Center book?

4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging story
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020
An engaging story that transported me to another place for a bit. The characters were good and the story was as well. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Another great book by Katherine Center. I always find the characters to be real and the story to be realistic. This was and easy read for me even when the plot got hard.

This was a sweet love story about two people with a lot of baggage learning to accept each other for the ways their experiences have affected them. There were a lot of great messages about unconditional love, understanding why people are the way the are, and taking leaps of faith.

The characters took way too long to get together in my opinion. I feel like I spent the whole book in anticipation of their relationship and only got a glimpse of it at the end.

If you’re the kind of person who’s into slow burns, this book will warm your heart for sure.

Look out for it’s publication on July 14th.

I really enjoyed this one, I read it fairly quickly. I do appreciate the focus Center had around therapy, that was something missing for me in her previous book, Things You Save in a Fire. The school shooting aspect is something that was bothersome to me as a teacher. Just terrifying. It did have A LOT going on at the end…It was a nice escape and quick read.

A great, light-heartened rom com read that was written in similar fashion to Carter's previous books, but had the freshness of new characters and storylines. Very quick read! 3.5 stars! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Another enjoyable read by this author. I always love the covers of her bookstore the stories inside make me want to read more. Thanks for the advanced copy from netgalley and the publisher.

This was a delightful, easy to read, unoffensive story and you might not know exactly how much I enjoyed it by my rating. The content was sweet and slightly (ok...maybe more than slightly) cheesy and not objectionable to me at all. I'd feel very comfortable with my teenaged daughters reading it. There were three things that made me rate it down a star. 1) I work in a school and the things that happened in this school were just so far beyond what was even believable that I just had to deduct a star for that. 2) Everything seemed over the top in the descriptions. It wasn't enough to describe something with just a couple or even four examples but it was often OVER THE TOP and truly unbelievable (i.e. how fun Duncan was and the number of examples supporting that; or the description of the mural in the cafeteria). 3) The expression "fair enough." I don't know that it is an expression that I use in my daily life but if I ever do, I will definitely remember back to this book because it was used 21 times. Twenty-one. After the first four or five times, I began to take notice...and then I began to REALLY take notice of it.

So, while there were those things that caused me to rate down, I did enjoy this book and it was definitely the light, easy-reading that I needed during a stressful, "back to school in a live educational mode in the midst of a pandemic" time. Reading it allowed me to truly escape the reality of the world at this crazy time in history and just be along for a fun ride and sometimes, those are just the kind of books you need to read!
#NetGalley #WhatYouWishFor #KatherineCenter #ARC

This was a sweet unexpected book. I loved the small community that cared about each other. The school they described was charming. I love the romance and the friendships.

This was a really good book. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. Just as good as her first two. Very enjoyable.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is exactly the book you’ll want in your lap on a cloudy fall day while the leaves are dropping and you're sitting with a cup of tea. Get away from all those political, horror, slasher genres you’ve been binging and bring yourself back to the things in life that make you smile but that these days the Corona virus has made us forget.
It’s a sweet story about regret and how getting bogged down by it doesn’t make for a happy life. The theme is how to bring joy into your life no matter what you may be facing. Friendship between coworkers and passion in their jobs are paramount factors that can’t help but make you want to be a part of this little group. The underlying romantic hum throughout keeps us turning the pages……waiting. Relax, put your feet up and enjoy.

I love Katherine Center’s writing and wonderful characters. WHAT YOU WISH FOR is a delightful story that sends a beautiful message to its readers—to celebrate life everyday with joy! Wow, all I can say is, this story blew me away! Keep the tissues close by as you are reading WHAT YOU WISH FOR by Katherine Center. She will have your emotions all over the place. Once I started reading, it was very hard to stop! I loved every minute I spent reading WHAT YOU WISH FOR. I’m so excited to read more by this author that as soon as I was finished, I placed all of her other books on hold at my library! The twists and turns made it impossible to put down, as I had to know what was going to happen to Samantha after so much heartache! Wow! What an awesome story.

WHAT YOU WISH FOR begins with Sam Casey working as a school librarian at a brilliant elementary school on Galveston Island off the coast of Texas. Sam loves her job. She got the job after running away from her last job because a man she was falling for was reportedly getting engaged. Fast forward a few years and that same man is now coming to her beloved school to become the new principal. You know right from the start this isn’t going to go well. When Duncan shows up as her new boss, though, he’s nothing like the sweet teacher she once swooned over. He’s become stiff, and humorless, and obsessed with school safety. Now, with Duncan determined to destroy everything Sam loves about her school in the name of security—and turn it into nothing short of a prison—Sam has to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that’s become her home is gone.

I don’t want to say too much for fear of giving away all of WHAT YOU WISH FOR but once I started reading this beautiful and heart breaking story, I could not stop! Everyone should have this unforgettable book on their fall reading list. I was instantly emotionally invested in all of the characters from page one and I can not wait to read more by this wonderful and heart tugging author. I love how the author used positive messages throughout the story such as embracing joy and not live in fear. This message could easily be transferred to our current world problems. I also enjoyed the laughable moments throughout the story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martins Press through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What happened to Duncan Carpenter? He has fully changed and Samantha Casey does not view him as inspirational as she once did. She had a huge attraction to Duncan, not just because of his good looks and charm, but by the way he cared for his students and really connected with them. She left the their first school because of her crazy attraction to him, when he was set to marry his girlfriend. She didn't want to watch it or interfere in any way, so she found a sweet water front small town to work in. She loves her new job and brings a little flare to everything she does. When it is announced that Duncan Carpenter is coming she cannot believe it. The changes he brought to the school are now the changes she expects and she resents it. She quits her job, but then a child goes missing. They must work together to get to the bottom of it. Truths come to light and she can see why he changed. Is it enough to keep her at the school? Read on and see for yourself.

Katherine Center is a new favorite author of mine, and I will always grab anything she puts out! This novel was her usual mix of growth, learning and love. I found this one to have a little more humor than her previous book and a little pinch of mystique to it. I binge read the book in one night because I had to know what happened between Sam and Duncan! Another part of Katherine's books I love is that I walk away learning a lesson. I won't give the whole secret away but Sam really helped me to embrace and chase joy each day.

This was a rare “read it all in one day” book for me. Was it my favorite book by Katherine Center? No. Were there a few unlikely aspects to overlook? Characters and circumstances that were a bit much? Yes. So it wasn’t perfect. But… there were moments and messages that made reading <i>What You Wish For</i> both memorable and worthwhile – and, in the end, that’s what made me so glad I read this book.

Due to my unusual reading patterns during the early months of the Co-Vid pandemic, I did not get to this book as quickly as I normally would have. Perhaps I misread the publicity because, as it turned out, this was a great read for me at this time. Even though the characters dealt with heavy burdens, the book was uplifting and full of whimsical energy. Its theme - choosing joy – could not have come at a better time.



FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.