A small island community in Texas is rattled by the sudden death of their beloved school principle. Struggling with the loss, the school meets their new principle (Duncan), who is obsessed with safety and turning the open, whimsical place into a gray dungeon with bars on the windows. For an added twist, the main character Samantha previously worked (and was in love) with Duncan who had been quirky and playful at their previous school.

While I tend to read a lot of historical fiction and psychological thrillers, sometimes you just need a break from the heavy material. This was my fun, rom-com read of the month… and it was adorable! Yes, you’re expecting a happy ending and know everything is going to turn out alright, but part of the fun is just going along for the bumpy ride awaiting that happy ending to make you smile in the end. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie - you just can't turn it off and you can't help but feel giddy and smile at the end!

That being said, this novel certainly delved into some serious material too from a missing child to the overall theme of school safety. As we unfortunately know too well, school safety has become a hot topic and am extremely important one over the past decade or two with schools shootings taking place way too often. Also, throughout the entire book, various characters grapple with loss and grief from the loss of the previous principle to Samantha looking back at how she became an orphan. Katherine Center did a beautiful job of tackling the more solemn themes within the story while keeping the tone light-hearted and fun.

Personally, I'm not the most optimistic as I tend to be a realist and very straight-forward, but there were so many great themes and quotes in this story that I will definitely keep coming back to. As Katherine continuously explored throughout this novel: "Joy cures everything." We just have to keep searching for what makes us happy and take the leap despite the risks.

As I got about halfway through this book, I thought I wasn't going to like it as well as some of the others I've read by this author. But I was wrong. So many beautiful, wonderful things this author has to say about stepping into or out of fear and choosing joy. Even if it is difficult. Even if it is painful and oh, so much work. It's always worth it to choose to find joy in life around you.
I shed quite a few tears, wanted to shake Duncan for being such a hard-hearted jerk, and rejoiced with the characters as they journeyed through life. Because it's true--if you don't seek the good, you will never find it. I learned quite a bit from Sam and the other characters, and I just need to remember to put it into practice in my own life.
Katherine Center has become one of my favorite authors for her heartfelt stories that magnify the good that can come from walking through the rough, seemingly insurmountable pain of life. Go read this book.

I really enjoy this author so it is not a big surprise that I really enjoyed this title. Katherine Centers style of creating wonderful characters, places and situations that are all in some way relatable and plausible never cease to draw me in and ultimately offer some much needed hope. We start out meeting Sam. She is in Galveston because she ran away from an unrequited love and has built a mostly lovely life for herself. She is a passionate librarian who loves her books, her school and the wonderful principal of the school and his wife. Max (the principal) and his amazing wife Babette have all but adopted her and shown her the love and stability she has craved for most of her life. Then Max unexpectedly passes away and in a moment everything on their charming island and in her world changes. So begins a struggle between a new regime, a power struggle with people so intent on “saving the school” that they almost destroy it, hidden agendas, power hungry people filled with anger and hate wanting it all no matter the cost to anyone around them even their own children, old friendships tested, secrets. possibilities, realizations that blood isn’t always what makes a family, broken trusts, lies, learning to stand up for ones self, to take risks no matter how scared you are, trust, terrible husbands, divorce,
realizing that sometimes being alone doesn’t mean being lonely and when you least expect it and let go a little good things can happen. I’ve never been disappointed by this author and can’t wait for what comes next.

I loved this story. It was a perfect mix of drama and romance. All the characters were likeable, except of course Kent Buckley. It wasn't overly romantic and overly dramatic either. It offered a great relief, I used it as an in between book as I had finished reading a heavy topic book. This was perfect. Good summer read too.

This was my first Katherine Center and definitely won’t be my last. Three and a half stars to this one! I just fell in love with all of the characters. The writing is so well done, it felt as though I was right there with Alice, Sam, Babette and Duncan and all the others, on their brightly colored island.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Publishing for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

When the principal at a quirky elementary school suddenly passes away, a man from Samantha Casey’s past comes back into her life to run the school. Sam remembers Duncan as a funny and loving teacher, but when Duncan shows up, it’s clear his main concern is changing everything the children and teachers love about their school in the name of safety. Sam must find a way to bring back the fun-loving Duncan she knows is still in there.
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This book starts off a bit slow but for me, the ending totally made up for it. I will say that going into this one blind, I had no idea until around 20% into reading that the school wasn’t a traditional one. This was a one-day read for me and after finishing, I felt all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I love the way Katherine Center develops her stories and characters. I know I’ve said this before, but her books are so much more than just romances. Out of the three Katherine Center books I’ve read, I’d rate this after Things You Save in a Fire and before How to Walk Away. Can’t wait for the next one! 4.25/5
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CW: school shootings, death, emotional abuse

I’ve started and stopped this review like twelve times now. I literally have so many drafts saved. What You Wish For has been my hardest rating for a Katherine Center novel yet. The others were no brainers, I loved them. What should have been my best Katherine Center story yet left me in emotional turmoil (dramatic!). I literally could not decide between three and four stars. Mind you, I read this story back in March. As the release day weights upon me (tomorrow), I figured the time has come.

And it is a 3.5 knocked down to a 3 star rating.

First, I would like to say that I genuinely did enjoy the story. It was fantastic. Everything that I love about Katherine Center presented itself in this novel. This woman really can turn all the romance haters into lovey dovey mush. And I am definitely no exception. But it is an indulgence that occurs like once or twice a year. That being said, I thought the storyline was strong. Center included some heavy topics that you hear about on the news and media. As always, she handles the subjects with care and class. She really presents two sides of the argument without pointing a finger or placing blame. A fair representation for all readers in my opinion on this particular hot topic. Also, I really liked the school environment Center created. Readers really can understand and feel how this school felt and fell apart after their beloved principal passed. While we never knew him, Center really did a great job having readers feel the loss alongside our characters.

While I truly loved the overall story, I TRULY disliked our narrator and protagonist, Samantha Casey. Which is so strange considering, I find many similar qualities with said character. Librarian – Samsies. Quirky – Yeah. Passionate – you know it! Yet, I had a hell of a time liking this woman for MANY reasons.

1. She acts like she knows Duncan. She NEVER really did at her previous job. She knew OF him. But she had no relationship with Duncan before her current role. Yet she goes around barging into his office and making a fool of herself in front of her co-worker for a man she actually didn’t really know at all. It is weird. Normal humans don’t do that.
2. She acts like a high schooler. Don’t know if this trick has spent too much time in the school atmosphere but Samantha Casey would fit right in with children and teenagers. From her inappropriate outburst to how she handles grown situations, a toddler could work these things out better. Duncan leave, leave. He leaves. WAHHHHHHHH, you left. No home girl this isn’t elementary school, grow up. Use your pretty little head and maybe you wouldn’t be such a terrible, horrible no good character.
3. Selfish. Here is where Samantha Casey really, really grinds my gears. She is either incredibly dense or so fucking self-absorbed that she could not see what was happening with Duncan. Any NORMAL human would have read the writing across his forehead. But Samantha Casey did not have the social stamina to pick up on the NUMEROUS hints. Furthermore, her reaction in serious situations are fucking ridiculous. When I think about what Duncan is going through, like real shit, I get absolutely infuriated with Samantha’s audacity. Duncan expresses some major things that happen to him and she did what?!?!? How fucking dare this woman act so childish and selfish after the shit he went through. I wish she would of drowned……there I said it.
4. Lastly, I can’t help but feel as if Samantha Casey is on the spectrum. She possesses many qualities that an adult on the autism spectrum would also experience. Difficulty interpreting feelings and thoughts. Doesn’t quite pick up on social queues. Difficulty regulating emotion. Known to be “eccentric” in the work place. Always wanting a best friend but never actually having that experience. All common symptoms of adults with Autism at home and in the work place. Had this been the case in this novel, I would have felt completely different about Samantha Casey. But she was not on the spectrum, therefore, she just came off as irritating and rude.

As a librarian, I speak on behalf of all those in the profession, we don’t want Samantha Casey. She is the WORST. And furthermore, she NEVER deserved Duncan. I genuinely hate that he got stuck with her. In my head, alternate ending. She jumps off the pier again and Duncan throws his shades on looks to the sun and smiles happily.

Overall, I think Samantha Casey ruined this novel. But the story itself was so easy to love. I think many will be torn over this one. Katherine Center novels are no brainers when it comes to ratings. But the character flaws were too many. I simply can’t get on a board with a story where I have zero respect or interest in the characters behavior or personality.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced read.

The Kempner School on Galveston Island was a haven for librarian Samantha Casey and the other teachers, who relished their work with elementary aged children. Max and Babette Kempner had designed an off-beat, creative space for children to be educated and nurtured, and they were delighted at the trajectory and success of the school. After Max’s sudden death, the board president, Kent Buckley, son-in-law of Max and Babette and a complete and total jerk, wanted to make changes, and he hired an expert on school security named Duncan Carpenter as the new principal.

Duncan and Sam had worked together four years earlier, at a school in California, and the Duncan Sam remembered was a fun-loving guy who captured the children’s’ attention through his ability to relate to them and their interests. This Duncan was serious, even severe, in a three-piece suit, and had completely lost his ability to read a room, managing to alienate all the teachers at their initial staff meeting by pulling out a water gun painted to resemble an actual pistol. His emphasis on school security threatened everything that made the Kempner School successful, and made Sam wonder how the joyful man she had known – and fallen hard for – had changed into this paranoid, suspicious person, and she was determined to find out.

What a fun story this was to read! I loved Sam, with her bright colors, pink bangs, and polka dots, making her library a safe and comfortable place for the children, and her plan to help Duncan break out of his shell, with the help of Babette and fellow teacher Alice, was genius. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the Kempner faculty and the way the town pulls together in sorrow and in celebration.

I wish to read this again and again! The theme of choose joy, choose love, choose to celebrate, is consistently written throughout without being heavy-handed. It's such a perfect book to read while everything in the world is uncertain. We can actively choose to find joy and share it.
Sam has psuedo adopted Max and Babette, the founders of the school she works at, as her family. She basically lives in a happy bubble until Max unexpectedly dies and Duncan comes back into her life. Duncan is no long goofy and she wants to turn back time and bring the old him back. After Max's death, she knows everyone needs his old carefree, happy leadership.
Every character added value to the book as a whole, from math-pun-t-shirt-wearing Alice to brainy-whiz-kid Clay. I read this so quickly and adored every sentence. Katherine handles difficult topics with finesse. This feel-good book will not disappoint.
Thank you, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

What You Wish For is an entertaining and inspiring book. Samantha Casey is a school librarian who loves her job and her life. Suddenly Samantha is confronted with the reason she left her last job, Duncan Carpenter. Samantha was secretly in love with Duncan, the goofy and gorgeous 4 th grade teacher. When Duncan arrives at Samantha’s school as the new principal his personality has completely shifted. He is obsessed with security and keeping the children safe. There is nothing fun about him-but he is still very handsome. Samantha and the staff must take drastic measures to save the school’s beautiful spirit. Center crafts characters that resonate with her reader. They are all people with problems and unimaginable strength. This book will bring you joy and teach you how to find more. What more could you ask for?

This book was a very enjoyable read. The beginning was a little slow, but I ended up liking the second half a lot. I really enjoyed all the characters (except one...you know who you are), and I also enjoyed the story. I love how Sam was able to bring Casey back to himself and how he trusted her to do it...and the entire "after surgery" portion had me literally laughing out loud. I'm very close friends with someone with a similar drug tolerance and let me tell you, she nailed it! Bottom line, if you can get through the beginning the second half really picks up and makes the book worth reading. 4 stars!

A quick summer read!

Sam, a librarian at a fun elementary school in Texas, has her world shaken up with the sudden death of the beloved school principal and then the newcomer, Duncan, who Sam knows from her old life. Fans of Katherine Center will definitely like this book. I did prefer Things You Save in a Fire, but would 100% recommend this one as well! I typically don't read Romance, but I really love Katherine's writing & plot lines!

Thank you to Katherine Center, NetGalley, & St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy!

I want to thank both the author and St Martin’s Press for my ARC of this title.

As an educator, this story really spoke to me. I could just see myself in their school and as a lover of books, I wanted to spend hours in the school library.

I loved that storyline wasn’t oversexualized the way so many books are. I felt that the love interests between people was sweet.

This book had so many great lines on letting go of grief and trauma. Chapter 5 especially spoke to me!

I would recommend this for all readers.

Katherine Center had quickly become one of my favorite authors! I loved What You Wish For ❤ I laughed out loud more than a few times, I gasped a couple of times, I yelled at Duncan and Kent(in my head 😉 ) and cheered for Sam. Clay captured my heart early on but especially with the whale episode! The cast of characters who are co workers are also like a family. Supporting one another and doing what is best for each other. Overcoming trauma, dealing with illness, working through grief. A special story that will stay with you as do all of Katherine's stories 😁

Title: What You Wish For
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

Samantha Casey is a school librarian who loves her job, the kids, and her school family with passion and joy for living.

But she wasn’t always that way.

Duncan Carpenter is the new school principal who lives by rules and regulations, guided by the knowledge that bad things can happen.

But he wasn’t always that way.

And Sam knows it. Because she knew him before—at another school, in a different life. Back then, she loved him—but she was invisible. To him. To everyone. Even to herself. She escaped to a new school, a new job, a new chance at living. But when Duncan, of all people, gets hired as the new principal there, it feels like the best thing that could possibly happen to the school—and the worst thing that could possibly happen to Sam. Until the opposite turns out to be true. The lovable Duncan she’d known is now a suit-and-tie wearing, rule-enforcing tough guy so hell-bent on protecting the school that he’s willing to destroy it.

As the school community spirals into chaos, and danger from all corners looms large, Sam and Duncan must find their way to who they really are, what it means to be brave, and how to take a chance on love—which is the riskiest move of all.

This book made me think being a teacher might be fun…which is really saying something, considering that’s possibly the least likely of things for me to want to do. And I have an English degree. I just know that’s not the job for me. It takes a special kind of person to be a good teacher. I am not that person.

I loved this book. It made me laugh, it made me smile, it just made me feel good. Sam was great. I loved how much she had changed as a person and come totally out of her shell. She seemed like such a fun person to be around. And Duncan used to be fun...he’s just forgotten that in the wake of everything he’s been through. I can’t speak highly enough of this book—absolutely recommend it!

Katherine Center is from Texas. What You Wish For is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Katherine Center’s books are hopeful. Characters are workin on overcoming something, on being accepted, on finding love and moving on.. Her characters Duncan and Samantha both have obstacles blocking their way and they are able to help each other as they deal with some debilitating issues in their pasts so that they can be happy and move forward.

Katherine Center’s latest novel, What You Wish For, is a beautiful story about love and loss, friendship and “found” family, and perhaps most importantly, it’s a story about overcoming fears, embracing joy, and living life to the fullest.

The story follows Samantha (“Sam”) Casey, an elementary school librarian at a prestigious private school in Galveston, Tx. Life is pretty good for Sam when we first meet her. She loves her job – the school itself is fantastic with a vibrant, creative atmosphere, and Sam loves interacting with her students and with her colleagues. She even loves her bosses, Max and Babette Kempner, the beloved founders of the school who also happen to be Sam’s landlords. Over the years, Sam has come to think of Max and Babette as family.

When tragedy strikes unexpectedly and Max passes away, Sam’s life, both personally and professionally, is thrown into turmoil, especially when she learns that the man hired to replace Max as Principal is none other than Duncan Carpenter, a teacher from her old life that Sam had a mad crush on, so much so that when she realized she had missed her chance with him and that he was marrying someone else, she immediately resigned her position and moved to Texas to get away from his happily ever after with someone else. When Duncan arrives, Sam is shocked that 1) he doesn’t even recognize her, and 2) he immediately starts dismantling everything about her beloved school that made it so special.

What You Wish For really took off for me from the moment Duncan walked back into Sam’s life. He’s so awful and not at all like Sam has described him to her friends that I, like Sam, was obsessed with trying to figure out what had happened to cause such a radical change in his personality. I was even more hooked by the story though from the moment Sam and Duncan have their first meeting. It’s borderline hostile and he clearly doesn’t remember Sam, but even so, the chemistry between them is intense and the sparks are flying. This was a relationship I was eager to see evolve!

Aside from the relationship between Sam and Duncan, I also just loved all of the secondary characters in this story. I already mentioned the lovable Max and Babette, but there’s also Alice, the hilarious math teacher who wears math pun t-shirts to work everyday and who is also Sam’s best friend. Then there is Babette’s adorable grandson, Clay, who is a bookworm and loves to hang out in the library with Sam. Oh and there’s also an adorable labradoodle named Chuck Norris who will absolutely melt your heart.

The last thing I want to mention is a major theme running through the story that I really loved. It was Max’s life philosophy, which he imparted to Sam over the years anytime he sensed her struggling. Max believed that no matter what is going on in your life, no matter how scared or stressed you may be, it’s important to always choose joy. That while it may not solve all of your problems, it’s a great place to start. I thought that was such a beautiful philosophy, and one that is especially relevant right now, with everything that is going on in the world.

What You Wish For is my third Katherine Center novel and she has yet to disappoint. Her stories are always so moving and filled with unforgettable characters, and they never fail to leave me with a full heart and a smile on my face. If that sounds like your kind of read, you definitely want to give What You Wish For a try.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest, voluntary review. Katherine Center has never disappointed me when it comes to excellent writing and fantastic characters. Her stories draw you in and will captivate you until the very last page. Congratulations Katherine for another superb book! Enjoy! 📚

This was the first book by Katherine Center that I read but it certainly won’t be the last. I loved Max & Babette’s story as well as Duncan and Sam”s story. The characters and story was very well written. After an unexpected event Duncan arrives at the school where Sam works to become the new principal. Sam remembers him from a previous school and his fun loving personality. However, upon his arrival he is nothing l8ke she remembers he is hard and strict. I loved the character development and couldn’t wait to see how all their stories would end.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters had a lot of depth to them. It was just what I want when I pick up a Katherine Center book!