I just love Katherine Center. Her books are so well written with a lot of emotion. This one tackles a school shooting so if that topic is touchy for you I'd steer clear of this one. You will laugh, you will cry. One part towards the end of the book had me crying like a baby.

I love Katherine Center's books, and this title did not disappoint! I also loved that the protagonist is a school librarian, a profession near and dear to my heart. There were so many interesting topics introduced in this book - living with chronic illness, gun violence, the importance of allowing children to navigate their reading journey. Plus it was very romantic! A perfect vacation read!

I really enjoyed this book. It's the second I've read by Katherine Center (the first was "Things You Save in a Fire" - also very good) and I look forward to reading more. This book took off swiftly and I was quickly invested in the characters and their relationships; I hoped they would get happy endings and wanted to see what happened to get them there (or not). The book isn't without its villain, but watching that character unfold was just as entertaining as the others and his placement was critical to the storyline. Thanks Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book I think did a great job of being a romance with some backbone. It was light and fluffy when it needed to be and there was great banter between the two love interests. However when it needed to it was more serious without taking away from the enjoyment of the read.

I love the face that it touches on sensitive topics such as school shootings, PTSD, Epilepsy and fear of being unloveable due to your past.

It was my first Catherine Centre book and I’m glad I picked it up. I’m keen to read more from this author.

“We tried our best— again and again and again— to choose joy on purpose.”
✨
Review time! I loved WHAT YOU WISH FOR by Katherine Center, which was my seasonal book club’s summer pick. It was just the right thing at the right time for me— a predictable, sweet story of a small-town librarian and a sort of second-chance love, and a reminder to choose joy and find the good in hard situations. We had a great conversation in a beautiful outdoor/social distant setting, and it was so great to sit and talk books with some friends.
✨
“She knew that joy and sorrow walked side by side. She knew that being alive meant risking one for the other.”
✨
It was my first Katherine Center book, and I look forward to more.
Thank you, Net Galley for the digital ARC!

In true Center fashion, a cute rom com that deals with real issues. I love all her books and this was no exception. Dealing with the idea of school shooting and epilepsy the author shows just how much life's trials can change you in good or bad ways. One of my favorite things she talks about in this book is the idea of Color psychology. with the method that color can bring you joy or calmness even when you don't feel it. The only reason this wasn't a five for me is because i did find the main character to be a tad whinny and her dealing with her issues at the end of the book did seem a little forced rather than a natural flow.

“Pay attention to the things that connect you with joy.”

Katherine Center has done it again, with giving us another heart-warming story about a woman who defies the odds, and finds herself along the way.

Samantha Casey is an elementary school librarian who loves her life and her job, which did not come easy.

When the school Principal (and dear friend and mentor) Max unexpectedly passes away, his successor is chosen, and it's none other than Duncan Carpenter, a former colleague of Sam's from another school many years ago whom she had a major crush on.

But this Duncan is very strict on security procedures and enforcing rules in the school, unlike the former Duncan, who was carefree and full of life.

I liked how we find out why Duncan became so hell-bent on school security and how Sam and her colleagues get him to ease up on the regulations.

Finding joy in everyday situations was rampant in the story, It was very evident in Sam's story of how she got to that point with Duncan.

Since it did have the romantic element, it never disappointed me there!!

A big "Thank you" to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review. 😊

It’s impossible for me to resist a book with a school librarian lead, but I’m not going to lie, I wish I had waited to read the final published version for some of the unevenness of the ARC to be edited out.

I loved the same day surgery scene and the way it finally broke into Duncan’s story and how clueless Sam was about her friends’ plan to force her to confront her own baggage with the daily changes. The emphasis on choosing joy in a dark world feels so damned pertinent right now.

But Sam was a little slow to warm up to -- I felt uncomfortable by how hard she tried to insert herself into Max & Babette’s family and how unresolved Tina’s non-confrontation about it was. Duncan’s plot was better written, though there was some back and forth toward the very end that seemed a little unnecessary. And like, the main reveal is a huge suspension of belief — a librarian has not Googled her biggest crush at any point in the past 4 years? Even after it’s announced he’s her new boss? Suspicious.

All that said, it did make me want to get to all of the Katherine Center books sitting unread on my Kindle. And it was worth bumping it up in the queue in response to a funny email from my therapist.

3.5 stars
I was a fan of Katherine Center's, "Things You Save In A Fire, and looked forward to her newest book, What You Wish For. As we have learned that sometimes what you wish for isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Samantha Casey is a school librarian that loves her job, loves the kids that she helps and loves her principal, Max, and his wife who are also her landlords but more importantly mentor and family. Samantha or as her friends call her, Sam, lives by the motto, Choose Joy. Everything on the exterior about Sam exudes joy including her vibrant wardrobe but when tragedy strikes and beloved principal, Max, dies, Sam will have her joyful outlook tested.
In a strange twist of fate, Sam's former crush is hired to be the new principal What could be better than bringing the man that Sam fell in love with but left when she didn't think that those feelings were reciprocated.
Duncan Carpenter was the one that could make Sam's heart skip a beat. Sam's first thought when he arrived was to leave, she couldn't take the thought of working with her unrequited love that she was sure was married by now with children.
Sam loved him but she was a wallflower afraid to show her feelings. But this Duncan is not the Duncan she knew. The new Duncan is tough and bent on making the school "safe" even if it means sacrificing any joy.
The book was predictable and a fast read loaded with several heavy subjects including death, school shootings and epilepsy. The characters were a bit much and at times stereotypical.
While I don't think this was Katherine Center's best book, it is one with a simple message to find joy, which might be just what we need now.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #WhatYouWishFor

I loved this sweet story about a librarian who gets a second chance with the man she fell in love with years ago. I absolutely flew through it and will be purchasing a copy to add to my library's collection of books by this author.

I am not a lover of supposedly ‘romance novels’ and have never watched a soppy lifetime movie. Katherine Center is an anomaly for me - love her books! After reading a hundred psychological thrillers in quarantine, this was a welcome change, in a joyful way. Stayed with me after I finished and I’m glad I broke my pattern. Joyful and hopeful was just what I needed.

This was a really big disappointment for me. I have loved this author’s other works and was so very excited to read this book. However, the characters were very childish and stupid, and I couldn’t get past the fact that the main character, a grown adult woman, literally uprooted her entire life over a crush.

Everything was just so obvious and frustrating instead of endearing like Center’s other books. I still recommend this author, just not this book.

Again, it is nice to see that tragedies we have become used to in the news are being reflected in the fiction of our time. School shooting, PTSD from gun violence ARE FACTS of our lives. As much as I want to live in a country with better gun laws and where we don't have to worry about our children in school--we do. This was a nice, sweet if somewhat saccharine?

I love Katherine Center novels and her positive attitude. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Samantha Casey or Sam as she is known loves her life at the private school in Galveston where she is the school librarian. She lives in the apartment behind the head of the school and his art teacher wife and loves them like family. Tragedy strikes when her beloved principal dies and chaos ensues as a new principal is hired. Duncan Carpenter is the reason she left her last school and now he has been chosen to lead her beloved school. Sam had a major crush on him at her old school and he was the most innovative and progressive kind of teacher but the Duncan that arrives here is a rule enforcing despot that threatens to destroy the school she loves. Sam struggles to resolve her past issues, find out what happened to the man she once loved, and save her school.

3 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well, this was my first Katherine Center novel. I’m not familiar with her writing style, so obviously I can’t compare this to any of her other books, but I just thought it was so-so.

When I first read the premise of this book, I was hesitant because I felt like maybe it wasn’t going to be my kind of thing. Not really sure why, but it sounded cute enough. The beginning grabbed me and I wanted to keep reading it, but eventually it became over the top cheesy and I found myself somewhat disappointed.

Samantha- the school librarian - loves where she works, her friends and the entire community. When something happens to the principal, the Board of Directors decides to bring in a new guy. Enter Duncan - Samantha‘s old crush from her previous school. However, Duncan is not the same person that he used to be. While I will not divulge why he was different, I will say the constant comparisons between the new Duncan in the old Duncan grew tiresome for me.

Like most romances, it’s super predictable, but at times I found myself bored with the story.

While I did not love this book, I am interested in reading some of Ms. Center’s previous books.

I would recommend this one to anyone looking for some light romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Katherine Center for my advanced copy to read and review.

This book was meh and a bit of disappointing. I really love her previous titles but this book is not for me. Thank you for letting me read and review this title.

Thank you so much @StMartinsPress & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC & ALC (Advanced Listening Copy) in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 14 July 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Samantha Casey is a school librarian who is exuberantly enthusiastic about her job and her makeshift school family, until the new principle starts at her elementary school. Samantha actually knew Duncan from her previous school, and she was madly in love with him, except to him, she was invisible.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Samantha's positive, joyful and refreshing personality shining through in all of the conversations

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- too much preaching & reminiscing about all of the silly & fun behaviour that happened in her old school... maybe I am just too grumpy but I felt like I was told a lot about it rather than shown it
- I didn't find Samantha's infatuation (borderline obsession) with Duncan endearing
- Duncan's sister and friendship group seemed ultimately irrelevant to the story (& I wanted more of them!)

THE AUDIOBOOK SPECIFICALLY:
- I will start by saying this was my very first audiobook and while it definitely won't be my last, I also wasn't overly enthused by what I heard.
- I personally did not connect with the 1 narrator covering the voices of all of the characters. I really struggled to connect with the male love interest (Duncan) as his voice felt like a bad impersonation of what a guy should sound like. Everything he said came off standoff-ish and ultimately I didn't root for this romance.
- I tried to physically read this book after listening to a couple chapters of the audiobook but I couldn't read without hearing the narrators southern accent in my head

Samantha restarted her life in a small school and after losing one of the most important people in her life she finds herself facing the past to which she fled. Although sad and apprehensive about the arrival of the new school principal, she finds support in her friends Babette and Alice.

Duncan is a man marked by tragedy who receives a tempting proposal to be the director of a school and to be able to organize and improve this school.

Samantha already knew Duncan but now he is very different from the fun and sweet man she met. This two get into a real cat and mouse fight over his behavior until the day she needs to help him in a post-surgery period.

I had already read a book by this author and I fell in love with her writing but this time the story didn't captivate me so much. Some moments I loved others not so much. I thought she put too much drama. Samantha's breakdown near the end was crazy. Really needed that? Wasn't it enough what happened before this episode? I was very surprised and in shock


3,5/5 stars

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Samantha Casey is the school librarian of the Kempner school in Galveston, Texas. The school has always been a place of happiness and warmth and joy. Max and Babette Kempner, the founders of the school have become parental figures in her life. When Max, the principal of the school suddenly passes away the entire school community is left in the aftershock. Duncan Carpenter comes in to be the new principal and he intends on bringing a lot of changes with the goal of protecting the school. Sam actually Knew Duncan and the Duncan that's there now is completely different from the man she used to know and had a crush on.

What You Wish For was one of my most anticipated books of the year. The premise sounded like it would be a cute small-town romance between a librarian and the new principal with deeper emotional elements. In a way, we did get that but the romance wasn't at the forefront of the novel, it was a side element. And that's fine. This book is more of a realistic fictional portrayal of people who've experienced trauma and pain and tragedy and how they learn to deal with it. There are a lot of wonderful characters. The actual plot jumps around a lot and there's no suspense. The first third of the book felt slow but overall, it's a quick read. I really enjoyed the last third of the book.

It feels important to mention that Sam has epilepsy and insecurities from her past, and Duncan has physical and emotional scars from being a victim of a school shooting.

Content/trigger warnings: blood, death, loss of a loved one, grief, mentions of epilepsy and seizures, gun violence, abuse, medical trauma

I loved this book. Katherine Center has a delightful way of making characters come to life. Sam was an outstanding character, so many layers to her personality, too much grief in a young life, and her world rocked as an old crush is returned to her works. Her friends are the best, her job makes her happy but she’s guarded. She can see it in others and help, but curing ourselves so much more difficult.
I wish I could run off to a beach vacation right now. The water plays a huge role in this book. A place of life and what should be peace.
This is past midnight ramblings, but grab this book. Loved it.