This is my second Katherine Center book and it did not disappoint. This was definitely a slow burn romance but it was just the sweet little love story that I needed in my life. I liked the depth of the characters and I loved Sam’s relationships with all of the people around her. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a sweet romance with little steam. ❤️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Thank you @stmartinspress for sending me this copy! This book is available now!

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was lovely. It was so heartwarming. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I am definitely putting them on my must read list.
The book itself kept me so intrigued and interested in the plot. I enjoyed it so much!

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

Really enjoyed my first Katherine Center book. It made me happy. I immediately checked out more from her from the library!
Lots of emotions while reading but overall joy when finished.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the review copy of this audiobook!

THIS BOOK WAS GREAT! It was so heartwarming. This is actually my first read by this author and it will not be my last. I loved this story so much. It gave me all feels I was looking for. This plot and story were done great and so easy to follow. I loved the narrator. Kept me intrigued in the story the entire time. This will be a book that will stick with me.

I highly recommend this read!

This was a great book! I have always loved Katherine Center's novels. I always give her books fives stars. With this book I felt like I could really connect with all of the characters.

A heartwarming and hopeful story to get us through!
What You Wish For, It’s about conquering our fears and being accepted for we are.

Samantha Casey is the librarian of an elementary school in Galveston, TX. A few years ago, she moved to Galveston to escape an unrequited love. The man she fell for was funny, engaging, lovable but he had chosen another woman. Not that he knew how Samantha felt, so it wasn’t really his fault. Samantha is renting a garage apartment owned by Max and Babette Kempner. Max is the principal of the school she works for. During an anniversary celebration, Max unfortunately dies. The whole school and the community are distraught with grief. Then, they learn a new replacement has been hired. The new principal is none other than Duncan Carpenter. The man Samantha left California for. Samantha is thinking of leaving because there is no way she can see him and not show her feelings but when they finally meet, Duncan is nothing like the man she remembers. Long gone is the happy personality, the vibrant ties, the carefree attitude. He is darkness when he used to be light.

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I liked Samantha for the most part. She was hiding a painful personal problem but she was trying to make her life as positive as she could. She went from wearing grey to wearing all the colors she wanted. It was a way to remind herself of joy. Feeling joy. Experiencing joy. Sharing joy. There were moments she came across a little self pitying and childish for me, but overall she redeemed herself and came around for me.

Theresa did a wonderful narration for this story, bringing a light-heartedness and accessibility to the characters that really brought them alive. Much like the plot, I feel like she took some overly childish turns at times but it suited the story.

All in all I found What You Wish For to be a great late summer read to help get ready to snuggle up and get cozy for the fall.

I listened to the audiobook version of What You Wish For and the narrator Therese Plummer did a great job. An enjoyable listen, although very predictable chick lit / romance, a bit too predictable for my taste. The part I enjoyed the most was actually the author's note at the end read by the author herself, validating loving what you love. Simple and sweet, if you're into that you'll probably really like What You Wish For.

Loved the narrator in this audible. Made the story so easy to follow along and made the story that much better.

What you wish for⭐️
Sam is a librarian and she loves her job and the kids and her boss. The principal, Max is like a father to ber and his wife, Babbet is like her mother. So when the staff is celebrating an anniversary and Max their beloved friend and principal dies everyone is heartbroken. But sams heartbreak is short lived when her rival and ex colleagueDuncan becomes the new principal and starts changing the school everything is shot to hell.
Their happy bright colorful nurturing school is now a prison. Grey. School uniforms are reinforced. Staff is to wear netural color. Bars on the doors and windows. The butterfly merial painted over.
Duncan claims he is trying to protect the students keep them safe from the world while taking away all happiness.

I love Katherine Center. She has a way of drawing you in and making the world feel real. Their problems feel real. She is like Jodi Piccoult, just wonderful.

Thank you to Netgally for sending me an ARC copy of what you wish for by Katherine Center.

This book was super good. It was super original and I flew through it. It didn't feel like anything I've read in the past. Can't wait to read more from the author!!

I got to have a unique experience in reading this book as I read part of it and listened to part of it on audiobook format thanks to the new Audiobook feature on Netgalley! I think I enjoyed that experience more than I liked the book itself because I was able to form the characters in my head when I first started reading it on my Kindle and then the beautiful narration on the audio brought some of the characters into sharper relief.

If you have read any of Katherine Center’s books before (see my previous review of Things You Save In A Fire), you know that she is excellent at writing female lead characters that have deep stories and emotional ties and traumas that make them incredibly interesting. Samantha is no exception and her quirky personality is evident through every awkward interaction with Duncan throughout the book. I liked seeing both of those characters evolve throughout the story as we dug deeper into the personality changes that both of them had between their last meeting and their new relationship.

So why the three-star rating (I wavered between 3 and 4 for a while)? Honestly, a lot of the relationship seemed unbelievable. The author wants us to believe that there was a burning ember in Duncan that reignited but I honestly didn’t feel any kind of organic spark between them. I could totally see this playing out as a movie (socially awkward librarian gets staunchy principal to open up) but something in the middle got muddy for me.

Overall, this was a fun read. You could call it a light-hearted/beach read/chick-lit type of book so it came in at the right time for me when the world was pretty bogged down inside itself so I am grateful to have had the levity this book provided.

Thank you Netgalley, St Martins Press Publishing, and the Author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What You Wish For tells the story of bright and colorful Samantha "Sam" Casey and Duncan Carpenter through their troubled past that brought them together.

Sam and Duncan showed us that there were so many memories that would haunt you, so many injuries and traumatic events of your life that would come back and hurt you, but there would always be people to support you and be there for you.

I gaveWhat You Wish For five stars because while it started off slow and nearly made me put the book down, I continued the story and truly found something much deeper through the words spoken and started to fall in love with this story.

Sam Casey lost someone close to her, the principal and founder of the school she works at as a librarian. It wasn't until there's a new principal hired where she discovered that Duncan Carpenter is the new principal, but a different man. And now, she wants to know where the old Duncan she knew in the past has gone and she's made it her mission to find the old Duncan somewhere in this new, cold, and reserved Duncan.

This was a powerful story that I discovered was something I was not realizing I was looking for. While I found Sam a little hard to get used to in the beginning, her story and her past made me realize the hidden meaning behind her actions. Her connection with Duncan, even though they knew each other in the past, sparked the pull they felt toward each other no matter how many times they pushed each other away.

Their story was so strong in this even though it seemed like you were slowly anticipating for them to be with one another. But in truth, they had found each other with their pasts being the problems that were in the way and they were the ones to discover that it was ok to let one another in.

Their slowburn romance only built their slow to come friendship more powerful throughout this book and only made me eager to find out what would happen to them. Their connection toward each other and even their understanding of each others' pasts were something that they understood about each other made them being together much stronger.

While Sam and Duncan were hard to deal with at first, I found their story to be a powerful love story that had so much realism to it and so much deeper meaning to that you never realize could be in a story.

What You Wish For is something that I never expected for myself to discover that I would love as much but then I fell in love with Sam and Duncan's story no matter how slow or how serious the topic and theme was of this book.

This book held a powerful message behind my very first Katherine Center book and I'm glad I got to read this.

Thank you again to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I got both audio and ebook copies of this book, so this review is based solely on the audio portion.

It was so beautifully done. I'm a huge Katherine Center fan, so I jumped at the opportunity to get both versions. The narrator brought such life to Sam and Duncan. I teared up several times because the audio made me feeling everything so much more. I loved that these felt like real life people and not just the characters. I would gladly listen to this again in the future.

I missed the opportunity to listen to this one. Didn’t realize how the audiobooks worked. I’ll leave a review with my ebook copy!

4 🤩 for a sweet, heartwarming story about school librarian, Sam, and (old crush new) principal, Duncan. A nice listening escape for my work commute that gave me smiles and feel goods in between so many thrillers I have read lately. I could relate to a lot about Sam. She is funny, quirky, interesting, and good-hearted. A character that is easy to connect to. Loved Chuck Norris, the dog too. Duncan has a lot to learn, well, so does Sam. But, they will figure it out (as we all have to do). I enjoyed the journey.

I enjoyed this NetGalley listen and think you will too. I am thankful to NG and the publisher for this audiobook and highly recommend it. It's a great escape from the crazy world we are living in right now. I have never read this author before and I do want to add more titles by her now.

After reading Things you save in a fire, I knew I needed to read Katherine Centers newest book "What you wish for" It was a great story that mixes in a tragic event and puts in a good message, choosing joy, in a way that makes you feel like you are there cheering on the characters. You want them to choose joy in all things, even when doing so is hard. I loved this book and am now solidly a fan of Katherine's and cant wait to pick up her next novel as well.

Achieved before I could listen to it. Super annoying. If they’re gonna take a book away from me, take it out of my ratio as well.

Fun love story without it being too hot and steamy. I found myself loving the characters and rooting for them.

This was my first Katherine Center book. I decided to read it because I’ve heard a lot of great things about this author. This was a nice break from all the psychological thrillers that I’m constantly reading. I would classify this as “feel good fiction.” The plot was light and entertaining and the characters lovable, with the exception of a well-drawn, hatable villain. The narrator immediately captured my attention and I was captivated throughout by her voice and the personality that she brought to the characters. I’m very happy to have read this and it will be a top choice when I make book recommendations to library patrons.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center really grabbed me right at the very beginning, and I never put it down until I finished it. This much needed heart-warming and everyone ban together mentality for the better good was so needed right now. Samantha Casey, the school librarian at a highly ranked school in Galveston, TX, had found her home and family there. She became the go-between for the faculty and the new principal, who had been hired to make it "better and safer" after he made some extreme suggestions and changes.

This novel really spoke to me as a teacher too. I could relate to all of the different characters and how they reacted during lose, abrupt changes, and the teacher camaraderie that pushed them through tough times. This novel made my heart hurt during upsetting and positive moments, which produced every emotion under the sun. I devoured it, and I know everyone else will love it!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing to listen to this book for an honest review.