3.5 stars rounded up. I have read several of Katherine Center's books and am a big fan of hers. What You Wish For was not as great as her two prior books but I still enjoyed it. I listened on audio CD that was read by Therese Plummer. The story focused on learning how to stay positive even in the eventuality of tragedy or hard times or when things were not turning out the way you hoped they would. It was a story with a happy ending and I think I have been looking for that more often now with all that is going on around me. The characters grew on me as the book progressed. As trust was developed, risks taken and innermost fears, secrets, and desires revealed Samantha Casey's and Duncan Carpenter's lives came full circle. It was a story of community, friendship, fighting for what you cherish, love and hope for. What You Wish For by Katherine Center was an uplifting, heartfelt and emotional story. I would recommend it.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read What We Wish For by Katherine Center through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was my first Katherine Center book and certainly not my last. What I thought would be a straight-up rom-com turned out to be so much more. An old crush turns up as the new school principal at Samantha's school, where she is the librarian, but he is not the same guy she dreamed about each night before she went to bed. This once fun-loving guy was now an absolute straight-edge jerk, and Sam wants to know what happened. What I love about this story is that it has all the classic rom-com elements we know and love but with some added baggage. The beauty of romance books is that they follow a classic prescription of two people who are going to end up with one another in some way. But of course, before that happy ending, they need to get over the obstacle or obstacles that are preventing them from sealing the deal. What You Wish For most definitely has those roadblocks, and they are ones I haven't read about in a rom-com. Center blended into her story health issues and tragedies that are sadly relevant and, in some cases—all too common. The biggest takeaway from this gorgeous story was to CHOOSE JOY...and that made me happy!

Thankful to receive an ARC of this book. This author, for me, is almost always a home run. I enjoyed reading this book, which was centered around a teacher and a principal with very different approaches to education and school safety. She writes layered characters that you can root for. The only thing stopping me from giving this a 5 star review is the relationship between the two characters seems...too quick? They have a backstory, and a history, and they don’t really go into that nearly enough when they meet back up in the future.

Still, a good read that I’d recommend!

I liked this story as it wasn't a typical romance that pulls at the heartstrings. It was light and heavy, funny and serious. It kept me reading. The characters were quite likable, well most of them.

I recommend this story to anyone looking for a "not your everyday romance novel" romance novel.

I read this book a few years ago. When I didn't know that we had to make a review here as well. I love all things katherine center so it was no surprise I liked this book too.

This is another enjoyable story by Katherine Center. The main character is a librarian at a school when her worst nightmare happens, her long time crush becomes her school principal. Its a very light hearted fun novel with interesting characters.

This book was a great "chick-lit" book with a somewhat predictable romance at the center. However, it is not a typical love story. You do assume the main characters will end up together at the end but the story is about how they get there. This also is not a steamy/sexy romance which is refreshing. In this story, the community is almost the third main character. There is a quirky librarian and the new school principal that appears to be wanting to change everything about the school that made it charming and how the community comes together to support the school and the old founder who passes away. It is about friends who are your family and how they support you even when you think they don't.

This was really good. I enjoyed Sam’s bubbly personality and the evolution of both of the main characters. I understood if not agreed with Duncan’s personality, and I liked the slow burn romance. It’s refreshing to see romance depicted in a non-graphic way. Katharine Center is a favorite author, and she keeps churning out good ones!

This was not my favorite Katherine Center book, but I loved that the setting was Galveston which is not a common setting for Texas books. I don’t mind that the romance is usually secondary in her books, but the love story was pretty rushed in this one.

A 3.5 rounded up to 4!

This book started off slowly for me. The first 35%, I just wasn't feeling it, primarily because the FMC frustrated me. But it got better the further in I got, and by the 50% mark, I didn't want to put it down. I loved seeing the way various characters dealt with their grief and fears, and enjoyed the growth throughout the book.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center was a great read! Center is the master of writing complex relationships and emotionally charged events with care. I can always count on her ability to write stories with well-developed characters who I cheer on; characters that are flawed (like all of us) with interesting backstories that tug at your heart. This book did not disappoint because it was all of these things and more. But it was also hopeful and had a light-hearted, feel-good quality to it.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I’m a big fan of Katherine Center and enjoy her closed-door romance scenes because that means I can recommend them to just about anyone!

I know when I pick up one of her books that I will enjoy reading it and appreciate the plot lines and stories, even if they're sometimes predictable or simplistic. What You Wish for explores themes of love, community, the importance of emotional support, and choosing to see the bright side of life, even if you've been knocked down again and again. While this isn't my favorite Katherine Center book, it's still worth a read and I'd recommend it for yourself, your mom, or a friend.

What You Wish For is a warm hearted rom-com about two private school colleagues who are reunited after years apart, each secretly drawn to the other but each is dealing with self-doubt, hidden secrets and changes to their lives since they last met. The book is an engaging, quick read but also deals with heavier topics such as health problems and school violence, timely topics that many can relate to and many are concerned about. I really enjoyed the book from this author (the first I've read from her) and look forward to reading her other books.

The book was enjoyable despite the very heavy subjects including death and school shootings (which I wasn't expecting when I picked it up).
Some characters were a bit stereotypical, so was the school environment which didn't always feel real to me.
There are some great and emotional moments in the story , but, most of the times it was a bit too much and yeah unbelievable to me.

This was a cute rom-com. I enjoyed Sam's quirky, fun, confident personality. I loved that she (mostly) stayed true to herself and didn't change for Duncan, a past crush who's now the new principal of the school she works at. The two start spending more time together and are put in circumstances where they have to learn to trust each other. This is a sure HEA, if you're looking for a cute read for Valentine's week.

An almost perfect book.. Quirky, wonderful secondary characters. Good conflict, and great romance. The reason for the hero's change in personality was a bit predictable - and to be honest I was hoping it wasn't what I thought. Not because I don't think authors should write about social issues, but this one is so heartbreaking and I get so angry that more isn't done to fix the problem -- that this issue brought me out of the story a bit.

But Katherine's wonderful storytelling pulled me back in. I am glad that I stayed with the story.. Still because of this subject matter, even though I love the characters, their emotional growth and the ending, I haven't re-read it, because of the above mentioned aspect.

This book is so cute! There were several times while I had a big smile on my face. I loved it the characters are funny and lovable. Fast and easy read.

Katherine Center’s books are usually spot on for me. This one didn’t hit the mark though. It was still a fun read, but it felt forced at times and the characters felt immature and annoying.

This book was a quick, easy read with a joyful message to find the things you love and surround yourself with them.

There is something calming about reading Katherine Center books. It’s filled with heart tearing moments and then little by little she puts your heart together again and stronger than before. I did prefer the character development in Things You Save In a Fire, but overall I loved following along to Sam and Duncan

I liked this book enough but I wish it would’ve been longer so we could’ve gotten to know the characters better. Things seemed to move too quickly, heavy topics were barely addressed, and all the characters felt very flat. I enjoyed the theme of choosing joy and the educational setting.