I am a big fan of Katherine Center and her strong female protagonists. The characters seemed a bit much and a little silly at times (not what I am used to with Center) but Sam was definitely lovable and as a reader I just wanted her to find peace. Duncan's backstory was a little predictable but not as dark as I was imaging. A pleasant read.

Katherine Center is one of those authors who manages to impress me with each new book she releases. Somehow, she is able to take the saddest, most serious topics and write an inspirational and upbeat story about them. That's what she did with What You Wish For.

Sam Casey is someone who has been through a ton of crap in her life. She's finally managed to get to a point in her life where she's truly happy with her situation and then everything changes. I loved Sam's positive outlook on (almost) everything and how she's willing to take charge and fight for what is most important. Sam was quirky, but her quirkiness wasn't odd or crazy. It was relatable in the way she explained herself. I loved how she accepted herself and her insecurities. I especially loved how she dealt with her feelings for Duncan, then and now.

There's so much more to this story than just Sam's life. There's a huge part of this story that involves her school community. I won't go into it because I don't want to spoil anything, but I loved it. I loved how Duncan was woven into that, how Sam and her friends came together. It was all fun to read about.

I honestly am not sure what else to say about What to Wish For. It was just such a good reading experience. It shows once again how talented of an author Katherine Center is and why I will continue to reach for her books when they are released.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a nice surprise. The relationships with the characters were well thought out and you felt engaged throughout the book.

Sam loves her job as the librarian for an exceptional school. The owner of the school dies suddenly and a replacement is brought in to lead the staff and students. Sam realizes she knows the new principle as her crush from a previous job. She feels hopeful that Duncan will help heal the staff and students while they are grieving, but she discovers that Duncan has changed and he wants to apply serious changes to the school. The changes make him unpopular and many on the staff hatch a plan to get rid of him. But Sam soon learns that Duncan has been keeping a part of his past from her and the school that has ignited his behavior. She modifies the plan to get rid of him and decides she must help him. Will he accept her help? Will she share her secret with him?

The story felt complete with the host of supporting characters that brought alot of dimension to the two main characters. I started this book this morning and could not put it down. I loved each character, with their flaws, and how the ending had such a fearless ending.

I really enjoyed Katherine Center's Things You Save in A Fire. This book did not disappoint.
Katherine Center's book, as with all of her books, are fun and touching. You find yourself drawn in to quirky worlds of imperfection and warmth.

Samantha is a school librarian that moves to Galveston from Cali in hopes to forget her love interest. She moves into a garage apt. being the schools principal and art instructor. Many events occur and soon Sam's love Duncan is working at the school. Yet, now he is into her?? Will they be able to let go of their past??

This book was truly wonderful. It had me feeling all the mixed emotions. Thank you for the chance to read it.

Usually I don't read a lot of romance books unless there's a mystery or something else going on in the book and the romance is more in addition to, rather than being the main event. However, with all the current stress in the world, this book was very appealing to me in both cover, description, and the actual book. What can happen when we aren't afraid to show our vulnerable places and open up to those around us?

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review. I don't know at what point something goes to press and it becomes too late to make edits... but any school librarian worth her salt does say not MY library. She says _our_ library. That is School Librarianship 101. Sam said MY library a lot throughout the text. While I may take a break from Katherine Center in the future, that doesn't mean I don't appreciate her contributions to this emerging genre of contemporary romance... or maybe the genre always been there, and I haven't been paying attention.

Kempner school is a place every student would love to attend. The owners are amazing and the teachers are some of the best and put student needs first. When one of the owners, Max, dies this changes everything.
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One of the teachers at the school is Samantha, and she is like a daughter to the owners of the school. She came to the school after having to move from her old job because she had a crush on her colleague, Duncan.
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When Max dies a new principal is hired at Kempner and it turns out to be Duncan. Samantha could not be more nervous/ excited as she never stopped thinking about Duncan. He was such a fun, care free guy but now he is an uptight, straight lace person and Samantha needs to figure out what changed.
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This will be an unpopular opinion but I definitely enjoyed this one the least of her 3 books. I didn’t get hooked in right from the start and I thought the book at a confusing beginning and took some time to figure out what was happening. I think the overall premise was not very interesting to me but I did like character Samantha a lot and her math nerd friend, Alice, was a great character. I also liked the character development of Duncan. The part of the story dealing with why Duncan changed was also really well done. The book had a happy ending which is always nice. Overall this one was just okay for me.

As a teacher, I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and felt invested in their journeys. This school reminded me of my own in terms of the community feel. The library sounds like the most magical place! I especially loved all of Alice’s math t-shirts.
The only thing that bothered me was that in this day and age of technology, it seemed unrealistic that no one at the school (especially Sam or Alice) would Google Duncan to find out what happened in his past.

This is one of my favorite books written by Katherine Center. Her characters are brought to life through incredibly written dialogue and descriptions. It is a story of perseverance, triumph and love.

I have been an avid Katherine Center fan and was so excited to read her third book! This story follows Samantha Casey, an elementary school teacher who loves her job on Galveston Island, Texas. Her life changes when one summer, her dear friend and the principal of the school dies, leaving the position open. They hire Duncan, a man Samantha worked with in the past and had an enormous crush on, and she worries that she won't be able to handle working with him again. Come to find out, Duncan has changed a lot since the days Samantha worked with him and is no longer a fun-loving principal, but rather a very strict, no nonsense, terse man. Samantha makes it her mission to bring back the fun Duncan she once knew and save the school she loves. This book has a cast of quirky and fun characters that are easy to appreciate. I also love the setting and reading about their life on Galveston Island. The subject matter ends up being quite heavy in this one, but I thought it was handled really well. I wish the romance happened a little sooner in the novel, as I felt like the middle of the book felt a little flat as it was building towards the end. Katherine Center is an author I will continue to read over and over again!

I have read 3 books by this author and this is my least favorite. It wasn't terrible but it was average.

As always, Katherine Center's characters are almost immediately lovable. The protagonist's love for her career and school have you rooting for her right off the bat, while also wanting to know the deep, dark secrets that have changed someone she once loved. This book was filled with everything you need for a lovely read: tears, humor, and characters to fall in love with. I have recommended it to all of my teacher colleagues!

Katherine Center has done it again! I am a huge fan of her work and this new novel certainly did not disappoint. The main character, Sam, is an elementary school librarian who is grieving over the loss of a friend—and now her old crush has come back to take his place as principal. Poor Sam has a lot of soul searching to do now!

My only suggestion would have been to introduce the characters a little earlier in the beginning. I didn’t fully grasp who anyone was at first, such as the fact that the recently deceased friend was a principal and his wife worked at Sam’s school as well. The book had a nice flow to it otherwise and has become one of my favorite books of the year!

I was unfamiliar with this author and honestly didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did.

She adeptly juggles several sensitive and important issues, developing characters as human as we are, and handling their narratives with comedic grace.

There's a lot more to this novel than I'd anticipated.

3.5 stars. Quick and easy read with a timely message of choosing joy. Heavy on the cheese factor. While I enjoyed it, it could have been better as I found myself being annoyed with the main character several times throughout the book. That was the primary reason for a lower star rating as I loved the other characters, the setting of their charming school and the story line.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy!

Katherine Center could write the blurb on the back of the shampoo bottle and I would read it. This was one of her best books so far, and I thought nothing could come close to Happiness for Beginners. Her main character, Samantha, is a librarian working at an elementary school. She loves what she does and who she surrounds herself with, but a recent loss and reconnection with an old crush makes her rethink who she really is and what she is hiding about herself. I love how Center writes real and relatable characters without major drama and heartache. It’s light without being fluffy, and it just simply makes me happy. A solid 4.5 stars - I just wish there was more to the ending, but overall, I absolutely loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed this NetGalley arc and thank them for giving it to me in exchange for my honest review.

This is the third Katherine Center novel I have read and lets just say I am a fan!

From the moment I stared reading this book I was immersed in the story and completely invested in the characters. I read it in less than 24 hours, which I hardly ever do. I liked that Duncan and Sam were relatable characters, each with their own flaws.

Katherine Center returns with the story of a female heroine battling life’s lemons the best she can. I really enjoyed how the book touched on serious issues, like gun violence and PTSD, in an authentic but uplifting way. I always finish her books feeling inspired and content; What You Wish For was no different. I recommend this one to anyone needing a pick me up or fans of her previous titles like Things You Lose in the Fire and How to Walk Away.

4.5/ 5 stars


What You Wish For is my first book by this author. I would describe it as a combination between Women's Fiction, Chick Lit and romance.

I love this cover so much! So between loving the cover and hearing such good things about this author I was very excited to start this book.

The narrator is 28 year old school librarian Sam (female-1st person POV). The story takes place on Galveston Island in Texas.

Samantha is a librarian at a very special and unique elementary school. I loved everything about her job, her school and her co-workers.

The first chapter felt overly-descriptive to me. The author was describing so much vs things just playing out in dialogue. I didn't love this. But it was only for the beginning.

After that the book got really good and I really enjoyed it.

A new man, Duncan, comes to work at Sam's school. I found the reason for him arriving to be heartbreaking. But I really enjoyed his backstory. Duncan was a very complex character with a very painful past. But I found his story to be extremely powerful and important.

There were some amazing supporting characters in this book. Two that I loved (Babette and Alice) and two that I despised (Tina and Kent Buckley).

I absolutely loved this town, the teachers, and Sam's friends. I thought that Sam was a really interesting main character. And I really enjoyed her very much.

The book is lighthearted at times. But it also deals with some important issues. The story deals with things such as overcoming traumas, dealing with illnesses and death. So there are some heavy topics. But I loved how the author handled it all.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. And I can't wait to read more by this author.

*Apparently Duncan is a supporting character in Happiness for Beginners. It is his sister's story.

Sam is a school librarian. She lives in the carriage house of the school's owners, Max and Babette. Max is very well loved and when he dies unexpectedly the board announces the new principle, Duncan Carpenter. Duncan was the reason Sam left her last school.

I started out liking the story but then when Duncan shows up he is not who she remembered, a fun loving guy who loved playing with the children and wore crazy clothes. This Duncan wore grey suits and was all buttoned up, no sense of humor. Then it comes out that Sam really never had a relationship with Duncan, just a massive crush and I thought really? There is one scene where she avoids him in a grocery store that was just too immature for a 28-year-old woman. But then something happened and I warmed up to her as she attempted to befriend Duncan and find out what changed him. That's when I realized I was really interested in Duncan and Sam. I was rooting for Babette to stop being sad over losing Max and I loved the quirky math teacher, Alice. This was a fun and quick read and I would recommend this to others.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a copy in exchange for my opinion.