This author is what I needed during Coronavirus lock down....

Do I think that school shootings, epilepsy, and saving whales from ocean pollution seem like a bit much, Yes, but I still loved it. Mindless fiction is there for a reason and today this was near perfection for me today. Her characters always seem real despite the crazy scenarios they end up in and I usually end up weeping at he end.

Thank you to Net Galley for sharing this ARC in the middle of a pandemic for my honest review. We need this medicine right now more than ever.

Let’s all dance and live a little bit more during these dark times.

I wished for a memorable read and it was granted. While reiterating Max's mantra, 'never miss a chance to celebrate', the characters are on a journey to find themselves. The book gives homage to living life to the fullest and making the most of every day.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to the novel in exchange for an honest review. Katherine Center tackles difficult topics such as violence in schools, chronic illness, PTSD and death in a thoughtful way.

I fell in love with the characters, community and school. I couldn't put the book down and finished the book within an afternoon. I longed for the characters to realize their dreams and for lives to continue beyond the final chapter.

This was a sweet story. I immediately fell in love with the characters. Katherine Centers characters are so easy to love. I found myself laughing and smiling while reading.. i instantly got sucked into to Sam and Duncan’s story.

I absolutely loved this book! Katherine Center is the queen of lighthearted banter and handling really serious subjects without being heavy handed. Sam was a likable and absolutely adorable character with a really tough past to overcome. And after Duncan showed up at that first teacher meeting pulling the antics he did, I thought there was no way I was going to grow to love him as much as I did. A sigh-worthy page turner.
My favorite book of 2020 so far.

A huge Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Katherine Center for the opportunity to provide an honest review in exchange for an ARC copy of this ebook.

This book was a Texas sized Winner! Ms Center has a true talent for writing her characters to life. Of course, being a Texan myself, I loved the setting of Galveston so that was the icing on the cake for me. This story was just so engaging, emotional and inspiring. Our main character Samantha is a librarian at the local elementary school. She loves her job, until her principal suddenly dies and the school is thrown into turmoil with a new principal that was a former crush. It gets complicated quickly and we are thrown into the new curriculum !
I loved this story right from the start! I was completely pulled into the Island life with Sam and her friends. The story was well written and didn't feel like a fake fairytale but a real life and possible love story. I was just balling like a baby by the end, tears of joy! This was a fast light hearted read that I also applaud because it didn't need a hot sex scene to make it fantastic.
I recommend this book to all fans of Romance, Contemporary Fiction and Chick lit. I could also share this with my mature teens. A true five star read!

Katherine Center did it again. I love her books because the characters are so well-drawn, they always make me feel something. What You Wish For is a story about Sam, a school librarian at a small private school. She rents a house on the property of the school founders, and her good friends, Babette and Max. When Max dies unexpectedly, a new principal is brought on board, Duncan Carpenter. .Sam already knows Duncan from her last school. She had a huge crush on him and he was the main reason that she left that school. She also has a medical condition, epilepsy, that had been in remission but recently came back.

When Duncan comes on board he initiates vast changes that will change the complexion of the sweet, magical school. Sam finds herself at odds with the new principal at every turn.
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I really enjoyed this book. It has Kathleen Center's optimistic view of the world, in spite of challenges. I always hope for a sequel when I finish one of her books because I am so deeply invested in the characters.

Highly recommended.

“What You Wish For” is filled with so much love and of course sadness but within that there was JOY. The characters are believable both to be hated and loved or just frustrated with. You can see how we all live through difficult and different times and we will recover eventually. As the book states in many different ways....pay attention to things that give you joy. We all live in a world that is changing daily but there is JOY everywhere as the author Katherine Center gives us in this book. I too was part of a whale rescue last summer and it gives you a totally different view of life. So enjoy this book as much as I did and Remember JOY.

I received this book today on March 19, 2020 and finished it on March 19, 2020. I couldn't put the book down. I fell in love with the main character, Sam, as she navigated her world taking so many turns in just a few short weeks. We got to watch her magnetic energy confront a man about the reality of who he really is and who he is meant to be. Katherine Center has truly done it again.

I love the way this author writes, and this is my third book of hers now that I highly recommend. The story is interesting and flows nicely, and I always love the way her romance is slow and feels right for the characters. This was a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Katherine Center has done it again. Ever since I read How to Walk Away, she's been one of my favorite authors. In this story, she did an amazing job taking a serious matter and turning it into a life lesson filled with hope, love and joy. And during these tough times in the world, it's a good reminder to still find joy in the every day life even if we don't have the luxury to go on vacation, see friends, go out and eat, etc. However, I did think the first third of the book was a little slow - too much of Sam describing the Duncan she knew. I was waiting and waiting for when he would finally arrive. Once that happened, the story really took off for me. I kept telling myself "one more chapter" until it was 1am and I really couldn't stay awake any longer. If you are looking for a great women's fiction novel with a little bit of romance, this is perfect!

TW - school shooting, PTSD

I loved this book! I kept wishing this book was published sooner because it's a perfect, light-hearted read for this time of social distancing. This book reminded me of Center's earlier books (The Lost Husband, Happiness for Beginners). I related to the concept of fighting for joy and thought it was a great message to read right now.

Especially in the climate of society right now, you need to read this book. It is engaging, lovely, light, and will help escape from these current times. I couldn't recommend What You Wish For more!

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel.

4 🌟

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced readers copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I read my first Katherine Center book just a couple weeks ago, Things You Save in a Fire, and loved it. I still have to read How To Walk Away which is on my shelf and will be my next read soon! What You Wish For was well written and tears at your heart strings. I loved the relationship that we got to see grow between Duncan and Sam as well as how they each turned into the other. By that I mean, Sam went from gray and meek to colorful and vibrant while Duncan did the exact opposite, fun and carefree to gray and rigid! Each of their own demons effecting them in completely opposite ways. The characters were lovely, Max, Babette, and Alice. I couldn't stand Tina but it was obvious that her issues stemmed from her obviously terrible marriage with Kent.

There were many struggles they each of these characters had to overcome and personal demons to face. There was one specific paragraph that spoke volumes to me:

- - Life doesn’t ever make things easy. How dare you demand that happiness should be yours without any sacrifice—without any courage? What an incredibly spoiled idea—that anything should come easy? 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. And even what you get”—she lifted her chin in defiance—“you won’t get to keep. Joy is fleeting. Nothing lasts. That’s exactly what courage is. Knowing all that going in—and going in anyway.”

I did find it a touch annoying how after everything, Sam still was trying to push Duncan away. I'm glad she came to her senses, thanks to Babette. Even in the darkness can you find the light, the joy within you enough to live your life and live it with gusto. To find the beauty in the butterflies, to know it's all worth it. I think Katherine brought everything together beautifully at the end, bringing everyone together, coming to terms with the reality of what matters, although not without some bumps. But what kind of HEA would it be without some bumps in the road. I enjoyed my time reading this novel, I think you will too!

I almost don’t know where to begin with this review because there was so much I loved about this book. You need to read it.
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Katherine Center won me over with the fact that the main character has epilepsy. I have epilepsy so I found Sam completely relatable and it means a lot to me to see an accurate portrayal of epilepsy in a book. I love that she’s a school librarian and helps kids learn to love to read.
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This book explores some important topics that I believe could help so many; it’s a bright spot and an escape. The overall theme is that we all have fears: we have fears about the unknown, fears stemming from things that have happened to us, fear because we feel a lack of control over situations in our lives. My favorite statements from this book were “never miss a chance to celebrate” and “confront fear with joy”. Think about those. They’re actually related to each other. There’s so much in life we can choose to celebrate if only we look for them; those things can help us confront our fears with joy and overcome them. To the best of your ability, don’t let fear control you.
There’s also pretty cute love story and some good laughs!
But that message about fear just spoke to me.
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I read this as a digital copy but I’ll be buying a physical copy because it’s a special book and so relevant. Do yourself a favor and get this book when it comes out! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Samantha Casey is a delightful character with enthusiasm for her school and library. She is happy go lucky until their school and the mission of the school is jeopardized by a new principal.

Her mission was to get the new principal fired, however in the process she began to unravel his story and began to understand him better, as well as herself. During this whole process and unexpected events all the characters learned from each other and had an impact on each other. Samantha found love that she had felt she did not deserve, because of circumstances in her past.

Katherine Center's writing flows well. There is intrigue in every scene making it hard to put this book down.

You will want to read this book.

I absolutely love Katherine Center’s books. The characters in this story are so sweet. I highly recommend!

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for my review copy.

There are so many things running through my mind as of late. This novel....it was a breath of fresh air. It's that novel that makes you smile. Makes you escape....for just a bit.

I adore second chance romances....and although this is not the traditional second chance romance....I feel like that is the category that best describes it. Lots of other stuff weaving in and out, but at the end it brought me to five stars.

I love Katherine Center. She is a must read author for me. In What You Wish For she cemented that.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. I was so excited to see Katherine Center had a new book because her last two have been great. Her books are easy to read in a single sitting. This one is about secrets and vulnerabilities and ultimately love. Very enjoyable.

Review also posted on GoodReads.

I enjoy Katherine Center’s books. Her characters are always fun, and I’m sucked right in to the plot. This one, forthcoming in July, is no exception. Samantha is a school librarian and her former crush has been brought in to replace a beloved principal. Shenanigans ensue. Much of the plot was predictable, but this was a lovely vacation, escapist read. #arc #netgalley

Once again Katherine Center has stolen my heart!

Of course, when you share the same first name as the main character of a book, it's easy to find yourself particularly attached to them and their drama. But in this case, the main character of Sam is so genuinely easy to like and to root for.

I also found it incredibly refreshing and important that the main character was living with a chronic illness, and we as readers experience the reality of her life with epilepsy. Everyone's experiences are different, and Sam's fears and struggles might be vastly different than others dealing with the same illness, but it was wonderful to see that kind of representation in this book.

I think this author is incredible at making her characters feel grounded and real and down to earth. These are just common, everyday people that you know. They're teachers, police officers, fire fighters, librarians. They live seemingly normal lives, but they all have their own challenges and stories. This book is no exception.

This book also explores themes of gun violence and school safety which is an important topic in our society right now. It was great to see the author tackle these issues head-on, rather than shy away from it or paint over it with a fictional fantasy-land kind of brush. By dealing with these topics, the story feels so grounded in reality and thus it has more weight. It feels relevant and important.


Now getting to the plot:

I love the idea of looking at the past with rosy coloured glasses, and coming to terms with the reality of the present not matching your memories or feelings from the past.

When Duncan arrives on the island, he is just awful. But Sam gives us glimpses of the past version of Duncan; the one she knew years ago that exists now only in memory. And you feel that same longing for him to snap out of it and be "old Duncan" again. But from his first meeting with the teachers, its obvious that there's some kind of trauma affecting his present self. So, it becomes pretty easy to feel empathy for him, despite his terrible decisions. Especially after we get the explanation as to what happened to make him change.

Of course, like all novels in this genre, we're generally skewing towards a happy ending. But the author makes a point to identify that happy endings are work. And we have to choose joy for ourselves whenever possible. (honestly, I teared up at several points throughout this book at the premise of choosing joy, and I absolutely highlighted a few sections to save for later)

Katherine Center is easily setting a new standard for the romance genre, and I'm absolutely loving it. More please!!!