This book got me out of my covid reading slump! While not a genre I normally read, it was the perfect quarantine read to lift my spirits and distract me. Normally I think I would be more critical of the writing, character development and plot, but because it was a comforting outlet in a difficult emotional time I found it to be a joyful read. The message of 'intentionally choosing joy' resonated with me right now. I often read Center's books as a buffer between heavier titles and I knew I could rely on her again with What You Wish For. Thanks for the chance to read it in advance!

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. This is a very light and enjoyable romance novel about lost love and unexpectedly finding it again . The plot revolves around a school librarian who resettles in a new community to escape from a relationship that never developed and to start a new life. Life goes on until the new principal is the librarian’s lost love. There are several plots developed throughout the book. The characters are interesting. Parts of the dialogue were very slow and repetitive. Overall, it was an enjoyable story, but, very predictable.

Katherine Center is really the end-all, be-all for me. This book was so perfectly adorable, and an excellent way to bust a quarantine-influenced reading slump. Her most recent books have been my most-recommended titles, and What You Wish For will definitely follow suit.

First of all, I love Katherine Center’s writing and her books! This one was a little slow to start for me, but it ended up picking up and then I was pulled in. A great read while i was stuck at home during quarantine. I give this one 3.5 stars. Liked the storyline and the setting of the school, but felt like the author tried to hard to force the love connection. It was a little much for me. Not my favorite Katherine center book, but worth the read. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this prior to release!!

Sam is an elementary school librarian. She moved to Texas from California a few years ago and finally found her place: the perfect school, a great friend, and her bosses who are more like second parents.
Her life changes in an instant when Max, her school's principal and second father, dies.
His replacement? Duncan Carpenter...who Sam never thought she'd see again.

What I liked:
Katherine Center has such a great way of writing not just a story, but introspective characters. You really love them, or you really don't. And I appreciate that! My favorite part of the book was how Duncan totally handled Sam's epileptic episode....and due to their misunderstanding it made their connection so much stronger.

What I didn't like:
In the beginning, I had a hard time seeing where this story was going. Also, I found it a bit farfetched that Sam, after knowing Duncan was to be the new principal, just wanted to entertain the idea of quitting her job.....just because of a crush on Duncan? Come on.

Not my favorite Katherine Center novel.....

I read and loved “How to walk away” and “Things you save in a fire”, I even gave as gift “How..” to my sister and so I was excited to receive a digital copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley but this time the book didn’t convince me, I gave it 3.5 stars and I would divide between first half of the book (two stars) and second half of it (five stars). I was almost giving up and do not finish the book; then I read some of the reviews saying the second half was better and I gave a try and they are right.
My problem with the first twelve chapters of the book is that the main character seems to be saying always the same thing Duncan was different, he changed, he was so funny, so happy now he is not. Then everything changed and I loved the end of the book, there was more action and it was more interesting.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is a such a great story about Samantha, a librarian in a small Texas elementary school who finds out a man she had moved there to get away from was coming to be the new principal of her school! But things are not as she expects them to be. He seems like a different person. I loved this book! I cared about the characters and rooted for them to overcome their challenges. I loved the relationships between the characters and didn’t want to stop reading. It’s a great story but also gives you some ideas to think about and even apply to your own life.

Katherine Center delivers yet another good book with a great underlying message. This book was super fast, feel good read for me and I enjoyed it a lot. The message of the book is overcoming fear and choosing joy. Joy is a choice and we all have that choice to make. It was a good reminder.

Sam Casey is an elementary school librarian in Galveston, Texas. When the school loses their beloved principal, the replacement is a former crush of Sam's, Duncan. When she realizes that Duncan is not who he used to be, she sets out with the help of others to help him find who he used to be and save her beloved school. Along the way there is love, friendship and losing and finding yourself.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Don't miss picking up this book when it releases in July 2020.

I enjoyed this book so much! Katherine Center has become one of my favorite authors after getting lost in my first of her books a few weeks ago. What You Wish For is a story that makes you feel everything. Sam is a relatable character who, like everyone else, is simply trying to find a way to cope with her past and move forward; something she learned after running from it. This novel also touches on the current issue of safety in schools. As someone who works in a school with children every day, I experienced understanding and heartbreak along with the characters. During such an uncertain and uncomfortable time, I finished the book feeling at peace. It's healing. It's full of reminders to find the joy in the little things, and in the world, and to make an active choice to do it every day.

"Joy was cumulative. It wasn't about finding one big thing - but about collecting as many tiny pieces as you could."

Delightful, heartfelt and filled with joy and hope, What You Wish For by Katherine Center was exactly the kind of story I needed in my life right now. And since this was my first book by Center, I am already excited about all of those back titles that I now need to catch up on. 

It is easy to understand why this author is so well loved. She writes simply, but beneath those simple sentences, much deeper meanings are hidden. She tackles extremely heavy topics with an ease and grace that resonates and makes the reader think. And alongside those profound life lessons, there is a light heartedness to her storytelling that just makes us readers feel good.

"I am not happy because it comes easily to me. I bite and scratch and claw my way toward happiness everyday. "

Life hasn't been very kind to Samantha Casey, but she's finally found her place in the sunny town of Galveston, Texas, and as an elementary school librarian she is trying to be as happy and contented as humanly possible. When the beloved school principal Max suddenly passes away, his replacement turns out to be Duncan Carpenter - Sam's long time ago, unrequited crush. Now, Sam is both giddy and nervous at the prospect of seeing Duncan again. But after just a few days working with him, she is absolutely dumbstruck. Who is this rigid, unsmiling and unapproachable guy? The Duncan she fell in love with used to be one of the nicest and kindest person she knew. Where did he go? What happened? How can a person change so much in a matter of years? As the story unfolds, we gradually get all the answers.

I loved the characters in this story so much. From Max's wise words to Babette's calm demeanor, Alice's nerdy jokes to little Clay's trivia knowledge, the absolutely adorable Chuck Norris, and of course our main characters Sam and Duncan. There's also the right amount of romance in the story that I savored. Some might say that the characters were a bit overblown, and you know what, maybe they were, but it was totally fine. I loved them in all their quirkiness. And there's a beach scene towards the end that added so much to this book. Personally, I think that when heavier and more serious topics are dealt with plain simple words they are more impactful rather than when they are made an absolute big deal of. Really, I deeply admire Katherine Center's emotional intelligence and her way of making her reader feel good.

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

The underlying theme in this book is choosing joy, prioritizing happiness and opting to leave pain behind when doing that doesn't even seem like an option. And it all comes down to having the courage to live joyfully and celebrate life despite all its sufferings and heartbreaks. All in all a wonderful story that I highly recommend.

"But that's the thing about joy. You don't have to wait for it to happen. You can make it happen."

I'll give it a 3.5. Initially, I thought the writing felt a bit juvenile but either the writing improved or I got more interested in the story because it stopped bothering me partway through. The quirky librarian had a real story behind her rather than just being a colorful cardboard character. Definitely a light-hearted, easy read. Predictable but you kind of expect that with these books. A good distraction in these crazy coronavirus times.

(As a note to the editor (if that's a thing), Clay is sometimes referred to as nine years old and sometimes as ten years old.)

Thanks for the Arc!

I really adore Katherine Center as an author. I think I read her back list pretty quickly. This was book was lovely. While I never find the books particularly deep, they seem to hit the spot. I do have an important factual comment. She mentions the Beefeater guards in London being outside of Kensington Palace. They are in fact at Buckingham Place and the Tower of London not Kensington. Thanks for letting me read it. As always a pleasure.

This is a great story of overcoming fear and find joy in the little things. Recognizing that hard things happen, but that we cannot let those things control our lives. We can find joy in our relationships with others and within ourselves.

This was my first Katherine Center book, but it definitely won’t be my last. I loved this story! A quick, easy read that addresses more serious issues, this was exactly what I needed right now. Highly recommend!

I'm trying to branch out a bit with the books I read. Normally, I wouldn't choose a contemporary fiction or romance like this book, and I haven't read others by this author. This is a newer experience for me. And I wanted to like the book. I found the description to be interesting so I decided to try the book out.

Overall, it read more like a YA romance than a contemporary romance, to me. Some of the description of events and places just felt like too much. I couldn't help put feel that the author had never actually been in a school. It all seemed just - wrong. I also had a hard time trying to connect or care about any of the characters.

Overall, I wanted to like the book just just couldn't. But I'm willing to admit that maybe, as much as I wanted a light read right now for a break from the world, this wasn't the right time to read the book. Or I'm simply not the right audience.
A 2 star rating for me means that the book was ok, but I didn't really like it, and it won't really be memorable to me at all. I feel bad rating ARC books this way, but I was asked for my honest review.

This book was really good! Katherine Center did a great job. There was a little bit of enemies to lovers (my favorite) but also an intense background story for one of the characters. I loved Duncan and Sam's characters. I loved how eccentric Sam was. I love that Duncan's eccentric side was what made Sam like him.

I think my favorite part of the book was the roller coaster part. thats where i fell in love with the book. I picked up on Duncan's secret pretty early on but it didn't take away from the story.

Well done, Katherine. Cannot wait to read your next book!

What You Wish for was another fabulous book by Katherine Center. Samantha Casey is a school teacher who loves where she lives and loves her job as a school librarian on a small island. A horrible tragedy happens when they lose their principal who everyone in the school loved. Duncan, an old crush of Samantha's, comes to the school as the new principal. To Samantha's surprise he has changed from a fun loving teacher to a man obsessed with school safety and does not allow any fun. Samantha and her coworkers have to figure out how to save the school they all love and to show Duncan his old fun loving ways.

I highly recommend this book!!

*Thank you netgalley for the free copy for review*

After reading two of Center’s other books, How to Walk Away and Happiness for Beginners, I was thrilled to get a chance to read this book. I always appreciate her stories that are light and fun but still have a serious element to add to it. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like this book quite lived up to what I expected based on her other books. The characters seemed too over-the-top to feel real and I found a lot of it to be cheesy and predictable. Still, it was entertaining enough and it was a cute little romance with messages about overcoming trials and finding joy.

I was thrilled to receive an early copy of Katherine Center's most recent novel, What You Wish For. I have thoroughly enjoyed her prior books and was excited to dig into this one. In What You Wish For, the main character, Samantha, is a quirky school librarian who wholeheartedly embraces positivity. A crush from Samantha's past, Duncan, re-appears in her life as the principal of her school in Galveston, Texas. However, Duncan is not the Duncan she expected. Instead of the care-free, goofy guy from her past, he is rigid and serious. Sam and Duncan work as adversaries and allies to improve their school (and each other).

While I found the novel to be a sweet, breezy read, I was disappointed with the character development. I typically find Katherine Center's characters to be believable. Unfortunately, the characters in this novel seemed to be caricatures of people; simultaneously predictable and over the top. That being said, I am still a fan of Katherine Center's work and give this book three stars, a solid beach read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with this advanced copy.

I had wished to read this book and what I wished for did come true! ;)

I have loved Katherine Center's writing ever since I read Happiness for Beginners a few years back, and I've loved reading her books everytime a new one come out.

What You Wish For follows Samantha Casey, an elementary school librarian and Duncan Carpenter, the school's new principal. Sam remembers Duncan from the last school that she worked at a few years back and she's a little embarrassed and scared by his arrival as she used to have a huge unrequited crush on him that never went anywhere.

Though she wasn't expecting things to be the same as before, she would have never though that the arrival of Duncan would bring in so many changes to her beloved school. And what is even more surprising to her is the man that Duncan has changed into. Gone is the fun loving, joyful teacher that she knew and he has been replaced by a serious man who is set on imposing new rules and measures in their school.

With a flurry of events, Sam is left with two choices - either to run away like before or to stay and fight for what she loves.

Katherine Center is exceptional at writing realistic and human characters and this book has them too. I loved Sam and her friend Alice along with the late principal's wife Babette! I was also really excited that Duncan, Helen's brother(Helen is the protagonist in Happiness for Beginners) was the main character in this one! I was quite sad to see the changes that time and the events had brought him in, but it was equally fun to see Sam and the others help him get back to his old self.

On the other hand, what I did find a little disappointing was the way the plot moved in this book. It felt more like an inspirational rom-com at times, rather than a usual Katherine Center book. Some things weren't subtle at all and I felt like the author was pushing in one too many things on the characters.

The way the author showcased epilepsy and the after effects that shootings have on one's psyche was really beautiful and deserves appreciation! With all the news that we see and the school shootings that keep happening, it's really important to remember that the victims suffer from long-lasting pain! The theme of 'choosing joy' was also a significant part of the story and I loved that!

Additionally, I also loved Helen and Jake's cameo in this book! Though, I wouldn't say I loved this one as much as I loved Happiness for Beginners or Things You Save in a Fire, it was still a beautiful read that left me feeling happy and content. And if you haven't picked a Katherine Center book yet, what are you waiting for?