Katherine Center specializes in feel-good romances, and this book was made available on NetGalley as a balm for hard times. I am so grateful for that, because indeed, I read the book in a day, and it is pure sweetness, with a lovable heroine, dashing hero, an array of good friends, and a happy ending.

It’s the story of Samantha, a librarian at a private school in Galveston; when the beloved old principal dies at the start of the book, a new principal is hired — a man from Sam’s past, who she loved from afar years ago. But this once carefree, happy, delightful young man is now a bitter, gun-toting, security-obsessed douchebag who wants to turn their lovely school into a fortress. Sam is determined to get him fired - but then she finds herself falling for him again.

Look, this is not Ms. Center’s best book. That’s How To Walk Away. This one has a big gaping plot hole right in the center of it. I would think anyone can tell, from what I wrote above, what the hero’s real problem is, but Sam goes six months without finding out. (Does no one in Galveston have google? How could no one know the Big Secret From The Past?) There are weird character inconsistencies, Sam has a health issue that feels manufactured to add conflict, like it was written into the book in a later draft, if I were being truly objective I would give it three stars but...

...the publisher made a happy book available to spread happiness. And we all need a lot more happiness right now. I'm gonna say thank you, be grateful for a force for joy in the world, but also suggest if you haven't read Ms. Center before, you start with How To Walk Away, because that book was fantastic

I loved Katherine Center’s last 2 books, How to Walk Away & Things You Save in a Fire. But at 20% (Chapter 5), I just cannot get invested in this story. This doesn’t seem like Center’s previous writing style and the characters lack their usual depth. I do not plan to finish this book, so I don’t feel it is fair to publish a rating or review on my Instagram account or on Goodreads. I’m clearly in the minority here because this book has fantastic reviews on NetGalley and Goodreads. Maybe it’s just bad timing for this one. I will still pick up whatever Katherine Center writes in the future.

This is a light read with some real-life issues mixed in with the romance. The overall message is one of finding joy and accepting the help of others to help you get through the tough stuff. The characters were stereotypical and the plot was predictable, requiring suspension of disbelief in some scenes. That said, it's still an optimistic, feel-good story.

Another great story from this author. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters in it as well. Thanks for sharing!

This is a story of woman who fights to keep the joy and color from being drained from her life. Literally. Maybe that doesn't make sense yet, but I'll do my best to explain.

Samantha "Sam" Casey came to Galveston Island a new person. Escaping the potential heartbreak of an unrequited crush, she reinvents herself to a brighter, more positive personality than her former self. And at the Kempner School, she not only finds a new place to shine, but finds herself two people who she considers family, Max and Babette Kempner.

When tragedy strikes, she could withdraw, but instead, she finds a new purpose, saving the school she's come to love. To her own shock, she's saving it from the man she thought she adored, former co-worker and crush, Duncan Carpenter. But Duncan isn't the man she thought she loved. While Sam reinvented herself into something better, Duncan has seemed to go the opposite direction.

It took me a nanosecond to figure out why he changed, and I honestly couldn't figure out why no one else clued in, or why the author took so long to reveal the truth. Nevertheless, day by day, Duncan begins to drain the life and color from the school Sam and her fellow faculty have built into something special. The author did a great job of developing a connection to Sam early on, so these moments felt more impactful. You could feel how the school changes had a profound effect on Sam. And I love how hard she fought back against the change instead of just quitting.

When Duncan's truth is revealed, it changes the dynamics between the couple, especially as he confesses his feelings for Sam, under a drugged state. These confessions change the course of the story, as Sam teams up with Babette and fellow teacher, Alice, to save Duncan and their school. These moments are sweet, as the author begins to explore the potential this couple might have.

"Joy is an antidote to fear. To anger. To boredom. To sorrow."
With time, Sam brings joy into Duncan's world, and it changes everything.

This is a slow burn romance, so you'll have to be patient, but the ride, while bumpy, is a sweet one overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. This book publishes July 14, 2020.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center is a fun read. In the novel Sam is a private school librarian in Galveston, TX. She loves everything about her quirky, free thinking campus. Enter Sam's old crush from a previous teaching position, Duncan. Duncan used to be a fun, loving teacher that everyone loved. Now he's a very formal, rigid personality who is all about rules and school safety.

What I liked about the book:

- Engaging story line that makes you want to know more
- Dynamic characters that you can't help but love
- Quirky and interesting setting that really sets the stage for the book
- Great supporting characters

What I didn't like:

- Some of the events that occur at the school are a little over the top. If you have any familiarity with a progressive elementary school environment, this book will requirea fair amount of suspension of belief.

While this book wasn't a complete home run for me I do think it is a very well written story that many people will absolutely adore.

There's something really special about Katherine Center's books and this is no exception. We meet Samantha Casey, finally settled in her beloved school when her life is thrown upside down. The new principal is her old crush and he's most definitely changed, and not for the better.
Duncan is there to remove everything Sam loves about there school, but she isn't backing down without a fight.

Sam was a little hard for me. She was really... loud. Lots of colors and patterns, all to symbolize her blossoming into the person she was always meant to be. Of course there are some unspoken issues, but overall Sam's fun and lively personality was really charming. That said, I feel like she was a little too much. There was so much attention drawn to her clothes and mismatched attire and pink bangs, I felt like saying - we get it! She marches to the beat of her own drum!
I also wasn't sure about her past friendly acquaintance with Duncan. She met him while she was at another school in California and had these BIG feelings for him. She even moved to start over away from him. Seems a little much for someone you weren't even dating. But maybe that was the point of Samantha? She was always just a little too much?

On the flip side, Duncan was obviously strict and rigid and oh, something is def. going on there. I really liked their chemistry and it was very very easy to see how they were attracted to each other. I liked Sam MORE with Duncan and liked Duncan more with Sam. Together, they just worked and so the romance and chemistry part of the book was perfect. My favorite was when Sam had to help Duncan after some surgery. Yup, my favorite part of the book.

Center has a great way of allowing her secondary characters to be fully formed and interesting and this book was no exception. I loved Clay and his mom and his not so great Dad. I liked the school and quirky teachers and all of the fun activities the school did. I love Babbette and even Sam's carriage house had personality and flair.

Overall, this is a charming and sweet book that I read so quickly, I wish it was longer.

Loved this one so much! I’m in grad school to teach, so any books that take place in a school setting in any way, already get a little bonus point for me. These characters were so relatable and I found myself laughing along with them. The story was heartwarming and touching, and the perfect read with everything going on right now. It definitely isn’t a steamy romance by any means, but it is definitely about love and friendship. This was my first by this author, but I’m already looking up her other ones! Plus, such a gorgeous cover!

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This would be a great summer read. Quick, easy reading. A feel good story centered around the idea of joy. And honestly, reading it at this moment—as I enter week 8 of working at home, social distancing during this pandemic—it was not only the type of book I needed to read, but also a lesson I needed to remember: choose joy on purpose.

This is my first book by Katherine Center. In the book, we follow the story of Samantha Casey, a school librarian who picked up ,left her last job and moved to Galveston, Texas. She finally found a place where she fit in and felt at home when suddenly her world is flipped upside down again. Duncan Carpenter, her crush from her last school shows back up at her new school. She thinks at first this is great, but then she realizes that he isn't the Duncan she used to know.

The author does such a good job writing about disabilities, heartache, tragedy and love. So many emotions in this book and I experienced them all as I was reading.

I loved the message....
"It's a deliberate kind of joy. It's a conscious kind of joy. It's joy on purpose."

Yes! Everyday we have to make a choice. Do you choose joy?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the dARC in exchange for my honest review.

My favorite thing is that this book was about a teacher and a school. I quickly fell in love with the characters and felt many emotions while reading this book. Sam is a school librarian and she lives at the house of the school's principal Max but then suddenly he dies and they need to find a new principal, Duncan Carpenter. Duncan is an old colleague that Samantha had a crush on many years ago and was the reason that she left her last school.
The book was an easy read with interesting and well developed characters dealing with trauma and healing. I can't recommend this book enough and I will certainly look forward to reading more of of her books in the future.

Wow, what a book. I was completely hooked on the first few pages and devoured this completely.

Trigger warnings: school shootings, death of a loved one, car accident

This is such a beautiful, difficult story of recovering from trauma. I just can’t say enough good things. I loved how the author portrayed recovering from trauma through community and therapy, and this small town setting was so perfect.

The beloved town principal has passed away shaking the community and those closest to him to the core. How small town is it? Well his wife is the art teacher, and the girl who lives in his guest house is the librarian at the school. Oh and his son in law is the head of the school board and he just hired a new principal from California. The new principal has some secrets and trauma of his own and as he begins to heal, so does this community. The strength, love, and community is beautiful.

My six word review:
Small towns, education, and mental health

Ever since I read How To Walk Away, Katherine Center has been one of my auto buys. And my thoughts on this one? I 👏🏻 LOVED 👏🏻 IT 👏🏻 The writing was amazing as always. No doubt, one of my favorite books of this year!⁣
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• Enemies-to-Lovers. It has the perfect amount of hate to love ratio and that's not easy, am I right?⁣
• Principle/teacher relationship. Is this considered as forbidden love? Anyway, I loved it. Give me more.⁣
• Duncan. Our damaged hero was...AH-DOR-ABLE 💗💗 He has a rough exterior and gives everyone the stink eye. But inside he's a lovable creature. Lets all give him a hug.⁣
• Samantha. Funny, witty, and dorky. Her inner dialogue was spot on. To keep it brief, I loved her. ⁣
• Galveston Island. I did not know this was a real place! I ALSO did not know Texas had islands (sorry). That being said, I loved this small community. Definitely gave off the "small town romance" vibe.⁣
• There's definitely deeper issues that are tackled (school shooting) and I liked how it was handled. Even though the book focused more on romance this time around, I liked the overall message the author was giving at the end.⁣
⁣

Katherine Center is back with another new rom-com. Alright so her books are more women's fiction but I like to think of them as contemporary romances. I discovered Katherine Center about a year and a half ago when I picked up How to Walk Away from Book of the Month. When she was prompting her newest book last January, she had a signing at my local bookshop and I knew I had to go. Let me just tell you she is a joy to be around! She's funny, honest, and all over the place, which I love.

Her writing, and this book is no different, is fun, relatable, and have great character evolution arcs. They're always filled with romance but also with great life lessons about over coming obstacles and being your own biggest fan. I also love that her books generally take place in Texas, which is where I live, but I also love that they don't feature the typical big cities such as New York.

What You Wish For has all the things I have come to love about Katherine Center books but this one was just a four star for me. I liked it for sure, but I just did not love it as much as I loved her last book, Things You Save in a Fire.
I loved the characters from Things You Save in a Fire but I could not bring myself to really love Sam. She's extremely dramatic and emotional. Since I'm not really either of those things (maybe a little dramatic) it was hard for me to connect with her. I also found that the situation between her and Duncan was a little weird. Their story didn't seem quite as natural as other love stories I've read of Center's.
I did really enjoy the setting being in Galveston Island and the fact that Sam is a major book worm.
Overall this is a great book and I highly recommend it. I especially suggest you read it at the beach since it takes place on Galveston Island. It should most definitely be on everyone's summer reading list!


I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on What You Wish For. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books. Huge thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgallery for my ARC.

This is a story about Samantha who decides to run away from a man she loves and take charge of her life by moving to Texas and renting a place from sweet old Babette and Max. Not only have they given her a place to stay but she's also the librarian at their elementary school.

Sam used to live in the shadows always wearing grey and just existing but when she moved to Texas, she brightened up. Literally. She wears all the colors possible and loves to make the kids smile (think red skirt, yellow shirt, purple headband, polka dot scarf - yes please!) She believes happiness is something one chooses and she needs happiness in her life. She finds it ironic as she escaped to Texas because she loved a man who didn't know she existed, Duncan. And he used to wear bright colorful pants, host dance parties for the kids, have 'hat Friday's' and just be an all around fun person for kids. Basically the opposite of who Sam was.

One day Max dies and Sam hears that her old friend/crush, Duncan, is coming to take Max's place as the Principal, she can't be more thrilled! Duncan is the class clown and would be the perfect candidate to carry on Max's legacy. Doubtful he'd recognize her as this colorful woman now but when Duncan shows up for his first day, Sam can't believe it's the same guy. In walks in a dull and stoic man who can barely smile to the staff. No colorful pants or socks in sight, only grays and he doesn't care about anything being fun, his only goal is to ensure this school is safe. Sam's job now is to figure out what happened to Duncan's shining personality and find a way for the old Duncan to come back so he doesn't ruin Max's legacy.

For two people who have seemed to switch personalities, they both find a way to help the other cope with their traumatic pasts. One helps the other to see the good in the world and the other helps by showing you can't be naive to the bad in the world. Either way, everyone's colors start to show and they're all pretty bright and colorful! You won't be sorry reading this as you truly get what you wish for.

This was my first Katherine Centre, so I was very excited to get started!

Overall a cute, sweet but predictable book set in a small town school in the US.

Sam is a librarian at a small town school.
A new principal comes in after their beloved principal passes away suddenly. Even though it’s a man Sam knew in the past, this version of him feels like a completely different man. What is he hiding?

There were a few plot points that I felt dragged things out unnecessarily. Hard to say without providing spoilers. It did feel long, and a little overly dramatic at times. I haven’t read any of her other books so I’m not sure if this is just the author’s style?

I am fast becoming a fan of Katherine Center. What You Wish For was a great story with memorable characters. Samantha is a school librarian ( My former job) at a small private school in Texas. She has epilepsy and hides this from just about everyone she knows. Her principal and mentor, has a heart attack at his birthday party and dies, leaving the school searching for new leadership. Enter new principal Duncan Carpenter, a former teacher and colleague of Samantha's whom she had a huge crush on. But this new Duncan is nothing like her old Duncan, who was fun personified. This one is boring and scared of everything. Sam makes it her business to find out why and when she does, she understands the new Duncan more. But she and the faculty are still not happy with all of the changes he is determined to make. It takes the disappearance of a child to bring Duncan, Sam and the school together. This is a wonderful, fun love story.

This book- just was the perfect blend of lighthearted read to suit the moment while reminding us all of the profound message that we can choose to embrace joy. Even in trying circumstances. We have the power to find the joy, and bring little elements of joy to the people around us. A truly wonderful message that feels so important during these days of self isolating at home. Being kind can always bring us comfort and it’s an easy gift to give the world. We can choose to believe in the best in people and believe that they mean things with the best intent...

Katherine Center has done it again. I absolutely adored this book! Not only is her writing beautiful and poignant, I felt like this book was so relatable. Although I don't have personal experience with either of Duncan and Sam's traumas, I understand their grief and fear. I was rooting for them, personally and together, throughout the entire book and was pleasantly surprised with how this book ended. The supporting characters were written with purpose, but didn't overshadow the MCs. Katherine Center always takes you on a personal journey in her books, and I learned to always choose joy after reading this one.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a happy ending and second chance reads.

Perhaps this novel should be subtitled How to Survive Trauma. Caring friends, an open mind, a willing spirit, courage. All of these come into play for several characters in What You Wish For. Galveston Island serves as the background for the story and its descriptions are spot on. The main characters, the school librarian and the new school principal, are engaging, funny, and heartbreaking. Katherine Center does a wonderful job introducing them and peeling away the layers as we get to know them.