Thanks to Ms. Center and to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m going to start this review by saying that I LOVE Katherine Center. I have loved every single book of hers that I’ve read. Every single one. This book, while I had some reservations about it immediately finishing it (hence 4 stars instead of 5), still holds up to my standard for her work. Clay is an impossibly adorable, serious child, and I loved the emphasis on the ocean. The ocean almost acts as a character itself, witnessing pivotal moments in the story. I would definitely recommend this book.

I don't read many romance/chick lit books, but I make an exception for anything that Katherine Center writes! I think it's the sense of humor that she adds to her books and the realistic (for the most part) characters, situations, and dialogue! What You Wish For did not disappoint! The two main characters both had believable issues, and the issues were totally unexpected when I found out about them. The dialogue was superb - and I expect the author actually talks the way the characters do - that's the only way she could get it so perfect! And I love epilogues, too, so I was glad to see that.

If I am being completely honest, there was one part that didn't really make sense to me and which I thought was totally unnecessary - the jumping off of the pier part. I sort of lost interest there - it just seemed too "out there" to really happen.

A sincere Thank You! goes out to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free review copy.

I loved Katherine's last two books, and was really looking forward to this one! It did not disappoint, and it will be another book that has a permanent place on my shelf!

I am a HUGE fan of second chance romances, and this reminded me a lot of them! We have two main characters, Sam and Duncan. They used to work together at a school in CA and Sam had the biggest crush on Duncan! After moving to Texas, her school needs a new principal and Duncan is the new replacement. She notices very quickly how different he is, and has some quick thoughts that she should just quit. While nobody seems to like Duncan and all his over the top changes, Sam soon finds out why he is the way he is, and tries to helo him find his old self.

While this book felt so different from her last books, it was still so well written and kept my attention! What You Wish For comes out July 14th, so make sure to pre-order or have your library order it! ☺

What You Wish For is an awesome book. Great story, characters and setting. I highly recommend this book. I received an arc from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center intrigued me because the description said: “Samantha Casey loves everything about her job as an elementary school librarian…” I was a school librarian myself for 14 years, and it was probably the best, most fun, most demanding job I ever had.

Sam worked in a private school on Galveston Island in Texas. The founder and beloved principal died recently. He was replaced by someone Sam taught with in another school who she knew would be absolutely amazing although she had some trepidation about him coming to her school as she had been secretly in love with him.

But the clever, funny guy she remembered Duncan Carpenter to be had disappeared inside a gray suit wearing, militant type who basically wants to turn the school into a prison with gray walls covering everything, including a butterfly mural. He planned on having students and staff wear gray uniforms. He cancelled all field trips. His goal: make this the safest school ever.

The staff soon was rebelling. The teachers wanted their new principal fired. Before giving up on him, Sam and two of her colleagues came up with a plan to try to redeem this once funny, carefree, playful guy who had turned hard-core radical in the name of school safety. Can they turn this stern-faced principal back into the juggling, dancing, goofy guy who Sam remembered?

My first experience with Katherine Center was earlier this year with her book Things You Save in a Fire. Her writing is lighthearted and uplifting. Based on the two books I’ve read by her now, I would describe her as a new voice in women’s fiction or chick-lit.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 25, 2020.

I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective.

This book brought tears to my eyes on numerous occasions. I sat down to read it and found myself emersed in the story quickly. Before I knew the story was done, but the characters and the message of the book still linger.
It's a beautifully tragic story that brings these two former colleagues back working together in new place, in a new time. Much has changed for both, some for the better and some for the worst. Sam had always had a crush on the popular, happy-go-lucky Duncan in the past, but a lifetime of ridicule and humiliation when she was younger die to her epilepsy had made her a shy mouse. She knows she is invisible to the awesomeness that is Duncan Carpenter. So to prevent further heartache, she runs from one coat to a island community of Galveston, TX to teach. There she blooms and learns to ". . . bite and scratch and claw my way toward happiness everyday" instead for letting fear smother the life out of her. ". . .it's a hostile kind of joy."
Everything is perfect until her beloved mentor and principal does unexpectedly and is replaced by Duncan.
Duncan's past has changed him. Here is no longer the happy-go-lucky man of his past. He has a job to do and nothing with stop that. He has shut down his emotions, cut off all human contacts. He is a shell of his former self, but he is determined to protect his student and teachers, even if it means they go to school in a prison-like place everyday to do, they will be safe. What changed him so drastically? Can these two broken people find a way to help heal each other??
This book had a lot of "hot topic issues" that we see (sadly) more and more in our world today. I don't want to run it for you, but what teachers could or have faced and how bullying effects lives. They are issues with long reaching impacts on not just the individuals but communities and families. I felt the power of love in this book. It's the kind book that gives you the warm-fuzzies while at the same time enriches your life for having read it if you take the life lessons to heart

"The world keeps hanging on this idea that love is for the gullible. But nothing could be more wrong. Love is for the brave."

** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. **

Over the past year, I have become a huge fan of Katherine Center and was eagerly awaiting the release of her new book What You Wish For, Art to come out this summer. When I found out @netgalley had released copies for review, I was extremely excited and put all other reading on hold to gobble up this one as fast as possible. •
Sadly, I was a bit disappointed. It had everything typical of a Katherine Center novel, but fell short with a few plot twists. Not to mention, I thought the main character was a bit whiny, which may have been intentional, but was nonetheless hard for me to sympathize with. Of course, the love story was cute, but overall, the build up of the story over promised on the ending, which left me feeling disappointed and as if I had missed something all along.

Sam Casey’s life before she moved to Texas was bleak. She wore gray and brown more than anything else, she was meek and timid, and she didn’t have many friends. What she did have was a crush on a coworker named Duncan Carpenter. Duncan is passionate about his job; he makes learning fun, he wears crazy colors and patterns, has dance parties, and will wear every tie his students give him regardless of how crazy it is. After making a huge change and moving to Texas and experiencing a traumatic car accident, school librarian Sam decides to find joy in her life. She wears bright colors, does whimsical things that strike her as enjoyable, and befriends her students and fellow teachers. After a tragedy, a new principal is needed at Sam’s school. Who else would they happen to hire other than Duncan Carpenter?
Sam stresses over whether Duncan will remember her or not; she definitely remembers him. But the Duncan that they hired is not the same Duncan Carpenter that Sam remembers. This Duncan wears plain gray suits and hardly smiles. He wants to turn the school into a fortress; creating gates, locked doors, new security protocols and painting over the beloved murals and colorful hallways. Can Sam and her fellow teachers convince him to change his ways before he changes their beloved school into something unrecognizable?
Center’s newest novel has heart, guts, and comedy. Sam is a lovable protagonist who’s been dealt a hard hand in life but is learning to cope. Flashes between the former and the current Duncan makes readers root for Sam as she strives to get him to see the world as wonderfully and colorfully as he once did.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC of What You Wish For. I love all of Center’s books, so I definitely enjoyed this one! I liked the story, the setting, and the characters. Alice cracked me up again and again with her math t-shirts and math quips. 5 stars and 100% recommend it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A great book for quarantine--just what we need right now. So cute, so positive, A quirky elementary school librarian in Texas meets her match in the new school principal. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for a review.

This book pulls at your heartstrings. Each and every one of them. It has joy, comedy, romance, trauma, and a feel good ending that goes exactly where you wanted it to go in exactly the right way. Katherine Center does an amazing job making her characters relatable and infuriatingly stubborn in a way that totally pays off in the end.

The romance between Sam and Duncan is fascinating and hooked me in. And there's one scene that flips my feelings for him on its head. At the beginning I hated him. He was a stick in the mud and so dense. But I think the contrast between that and the growth he goes through to make him where he is at the end of the novel is worth all that anger.

The beginning was a little slow for me, but I loved all of Katherine Center's other book so I stayed with it and all of a sudden I was done with the book. Like, where did that come from? I couldn't put it down.

Katherine Center has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This is my third from her and it was just as good as her others. Here we follow Sam, a librarian at an Elementary School in Galveston, TX. After a tragedy her school hires a new principle and he is someone from Sam's past but he is nothing like what she remembers. I enjoyed both Sam and Duncan's stories and the journey they both needed to go on to grow. Katherine's books always have something going on besides the straight storyline, so trigger warnings for school shootings. Katherine's stories always have a way of just sucking me in! Highly recommend this one if you are looking for a sweet second chance and enemies to lovers story! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.

After reading Things You Save in a Fire, I was so excited to received Katherine Center's upcoming novel What You Wish For from St. Martins Press Publishers, expected release in July. While I didn't connect as much with this book and characters as I had with Center's other novel I read, I can appreciate the subjects this story touches on. From PTSD to grief, there are many underlying layers to be found in What You Wish For. There is also a focus on finding the joy in life. One of my favorite quotes that I saved in my journal is:

"Pay attention to the things that connect you with joy."

Not just to find joy but to connect with joy. How often do we forget to connect with what brings us joy?? I know I sure do. This may not have been a favorite read but I know I'll be reading more by this author. I already have How to Walk Away waiting for me on my Kindle :)

Other favorite quotes:

"I'm telling you. I know all about darkness. That's why I am so hell-bent, every damn day, on looking for the light."

"Love makes you better because it's hard. Taking risks makes you better because it's terrifying. That's how it works. You'll never get anything that matters without earning it."

A really sweet read full of completely lovable characters. Lots of attention to detail, thorough writing, in depth story, and well- just- too many words for me. Everything was described and dissected to excess IMO. That’s the only reason for retracting 2 stars, it just didn’t hold my attention through all the wordiness.

Side note: The authors writing is very reminiscent of Cathy Lamb.

Samantha Casey is the librarian at the Kempner School on Galveston Island. She rents a carriage house apartment from Babette and Max Kempner, who founded the school where she works. Kempner School is a magical place where kids are encouraged to be creative and to enjoy learning, and the decor and art on the walls reflects this. Unfortunately, Max dies unexpectedly, leaving Babette bereft, and leaving her very serious son-in-law in charge. He hires Duncan Carpenter as the new principal, which thrills and bothers Sam. She knew him back in CA, had a crush on him, and was drawn to his positive energy and enthusiasm for teaching. When he started dating someone seriously, Sam decided that it was time for her to make a change, and took the job at Kempner. Four years later, Sam is about to see him again, but his photo looks a bit different from how she remembers him.

It turns out that Duncan is different. After a few fits and starts, Babette and Sam decide to shake him up a little, to try to bring some joy back into his life. Duncan, Samantha, and Babette all end up growing a lot as the story unfolds. They each find new life and joy through the things that they experience over the course of the school year that this book portrays.

This story is beautifully written. Ms. Center captures the spirit of the school, the enthusiasm of its teachers, and the feeling of living on Galveston Island perfectly. She doesn’t shirk away from shining a reflective light on a couple of important issues the world is presently facing, without being preachy. She allows the reader to make his or her own choice. The tension and pacing are even; however, it’s not a high-tension book, but the story does flow nicely and the reader stays engaged. The main characters are lovable, yet quirky. Babette’s grandson steals the show at one point in a beautiful and poignant way!

I love everything Katherine Center writes and this book was no different. I enjoyed the quirkiness of Samantha and how the school was unconventional. While the love story and plot was fairly predictable... I gave it 4 stars because it was light and well written.

I loved this book!! I highly recommend it, and I will definitely be recommending it to our book buyer and our patrons. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it.

This is such a beautiful book. There’s a lin in th book that has such profound meaning, “choose joy on purpose”. It’s a very important message in this book. Duncan is a scared man physically and emotionally. He used to be a rally fun guy until a school shooting change everything for him. Samantha usd to try to stay in the shadows until sh lard to let color in her life. I was so engrossed into this story. I cried and I laughed. On of th best books I’ve read this year. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Initially I wasn't sure this was the best book to read for my first Katherine Center, after I read that Duncan first appears in another book. It seemed cute and I was interested in the storyline from the very beginning, but I just wasn't totally sold on it right away. Eventually it won me all the way over & I was smiling as I was reading the dialogue and loving it. The setting really came to life, and it was a great overall message- especially to read right now. I look forward to getting into the author's backlist.

I throughly enjoyed this story. It is not my favourite by Katherine Center, I think I enjoyed How to Walk Away more. However, I did overall enjoy the characters and storyline of this one as well.