This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2020/07/09/what-you-wish-for-by-katherine-center/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I think of this author as one who writes life fiction, rather than contemporary romance. There is a romance too, in the books I have read, but it isn't the main story or the only story. Life fiction develops characters deeply and progresses them through various events in their lives including romance. They are more realistic because there is a more balanced perspective of their life including more than a romance, sharing more detail on career, friends, family and other aspects of their life.

<strong>What You Wish For</strong> is told in the viewpoint of a school librarian, Sam (short for Samantha).  She has some issues with abandonment and feeling unlovable. She left her old school because she had a crush on a teacher, Duncan and couldn't see him everyday with someone else.  It works out because her new school is amazing. The small town has a community with some great people and she blossoms and makes some true friends.

Then Duncan shows up as the new school principal. She loves and hates the idea.  She knows he will be amazing but she worries she will still be in love with him and have to leave a place she also loves.  Well, it isn't the problem she expected because he's changed and he's not a great principal.

Through her efforts to get him to change his mind, then to get him fired and then to understanding what has changed him, Sam has an emotional journey.  She finally undertakes a new effort to save him with her teacher friends' help which gives them both life, courage and  love.

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3.5 stars - I loved this book for many reasons, but had a hard time giving it more stars because there were parts that came across a bit too cheesy and unrealistic in my opinion to be able to give more stars. Don't let that deter you from reading this book because the story truly captured my attention.

This book touched on deep issues (grief, death, trauma, school safety, health issues), but at the same time encouraged its characters to find joy and contentment with what's in front of them. That hard things don't need to dictate your life - that joy-filled moments are around us - that sometimes we have to seek them out and actively choose joy despite whatever may be going on. That message and theme is much needed right now! Overall, this was a quick/easy read that sometimes had too much predictability and "cheesiness," but I would recommend for the quirky and easy to love characters and the relevant and inspiring theme.

Side note: As a kindergarten teacher, I really enjoyed reading about Sam's job as an elementary school librarian and about their creative and unique school - definitely wish I could work at their school! Also, congrats to Katherine Center for creating a school setting that was so inspiring and enticing that this teacher on summer break couldn't put it down!


Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This title will publish July 14, 2020, and would highly recommend if you're looking for a light (sometimes cheesy), joy-inspiring story.

What a fun read! Katherine Center does it again! It’s a good beach read. The cover is beautiful. This book does hit on school safety. A very important subject! She makes you want to read till the end.

WHAT YOU WISH FOR is a light, easy read (I read the whole thing in a day), but it was a little too light for my taste. the first half felt a little over the top—it was too idealistic and “charming” for me. the second half introduced a couple of weightier pieces to the story, but the characters and the relationships still didn’t feel very realistic to me. my preferred genre is literary fiction, so it’s always difficult for me to find a fun, light book that doesn’t stray into the “too light” territory, as this one did. I really loved her previous book THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE, so this book was a bit of a letdown for me. 3/5⭐️—it was fine
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thank you to @netgalley and the publisher @stmartinspress for the early e-copy of the book!

I was looking forward to a bit of a break from scary thrillers and transition to mindless romance and fun fiction.

Thank you to #netgalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! The book comes out July 14th.

Synopsis: Sam Casey is a librarian in Galveston, Texas at a beloved elementary school. The school tragically lost their much loved principal and founder, Max who is survived by his wife Babette and daughter Tina. Once Duncan Carpenter is announced as Max’s replacement - Sam is overjoyed. Her crush from her last job was the “fun teacher” and would breathe new life into Kempner school. Unfortunately, he is the opposite. He runs the school like a prison - for the safety of the students. Sam battles her own demons and will try to help get to the bottom of why Duncan changed his demeanor and decide if she can even get through to him.

My Review:⭐️⭐⭐.5 / 5 stars

Katherine Center never fails in a light-hearted, romantic story with a headstrong, yet troubled woman. As much as this was a palate cleanser, the story grew on me after about half way through. At first, I could not stand Sam (the main character)... actually I do not think I truly really liked her, but I loved everyone else. I felt the heartbreak from Babette in the room, even when she was not even speaking. Even Duncan and his own story- I preferred more than Sam. It seemed everyone else in the story had much more interesting lives or things to say than Sam - Alice (the best friend) and her overseas military husband, Babette and her heartbreak from losing her husband, Tina and her controlling, borderline abusive husband, and even Duncan and his own inner demons was preferable to Sam. The cheese factor was so high - I may have cringed speed-reading through that dance part but maybe it’s all what we need right now: sappy romantic stories and cheesy dance scenes.

What You Wish For is the story of Samantha, who works at a school she loves and has the "parents" she always wanted. Until, suddenly, her father figure passes away suddenly, and he was also the school principal. Sam finds out that he is going to be replaced by Duncan Carpenter, the unrequited love that forced her to leave her last job.
Samantha thinks that Duncan is going to move into town and ruin her life by reigniting her feelings, but everyone quickly finds out that he only seems focused on ruining their unique school atmosphere. Samantha decides to lead the charge in overruling Duncan and finding a more appropriate principal.

An interesting and quirky story. The characters are weirdly funny. Casey is the narrator and the story is told from her perspective which is quite unique. She gives the reader her take on everything and everyone around her. The story is about friendship and resilience. Casey helps Duncan, Babette and the rest of the school staff through the changes occurring. As they grow, heal and discover, Duncan and Casey find that they can fall in love and start a lovely life together.

This book tackles a serious theme in a light way. I enjoyed the overall message of choosing joy and not letting fear stop people from living. While I enjoyed the message the delivery wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The story felt extremely slow in the beginning and never really flew off the page. The characters were just dull and at times repetitious. The main character Sam didn’t make me want to root for her. She almost always made me feel annoyed and I can’t quite describe why that is. I was interested in the other main character Duncan and his struggle with PTSD. The topic was introduced but never delved into, it almost felt like an afterthought. This book was an easy light read and enjoyable at times. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the gifted copies of this book.

Trigger Warning: School shooting.

Katherine Center has done it again. She has written a book that completely sucked me in and I didn't want it to end. I loved the plot, the characters, the writing...everything.

After leaving her job, moving cross country, and starting over, Samantha found a home in Galveston. She found an amazing school to work at, and settled in. All of a sudden, her life gets turned upside down when her friend and principal passes away - and his replacement is none other than the reason she left her old life. Not only that, he comes in with plans to change basically everything people love about the school!

I will say that as a former teacher, I was able to relate to certain points of this book that non-educators might not totally get. For example, we've all had new principals come in and completely change everything. Sometimes it's things that need to be changed, and sometimes it's not - but either way, it's the worst because so many times they just change things without taking into account what the faculty wants. That's exactly what Duncan did - and to a staff that was still grieving the sudden death of their former principal! On top of that, Samantha knew Duncan as a fun loving goofball that was always doing things to make the students happy - and he is FAR from that man now.

Duncan's reason for these changes is finally brought to light - he was involved in a school shooting. Samantha wants to bring back the old Duncan, but in doing so, risks falling in love with him again. She also has her own personal obstacles to deal with while trying to help him - she also helps herself.

Samantha Casey is a school librarian who loves her job, the kids, and her school family with passion and joy for living.

But she wasn’t always that way.

Duncan Carpenter is the new school principal who lives by rules and regulations, guided by the knowledge that bad things can happen.

But he wasn’t always that way.

And Sam knows it. Because she knew him before—at another school, in a different life. Back then, she loved him—but she was invisible. To him. To everyone. Even to herself. She escaped to a new school, a new job, a new chance at living. But when Duncan, of all people, gets hired as the new principal there, it feels like the best thing that could possibly happen to the school—and the worst thing that could possibly happen to Sam. Until the opposite turns out to be true. The lovable Duncan she’d known is now a suit-and-tie wearing, rule-enforcing tough guy so hell-bent on protecting the school that he’s willing to destroy it.

As the school community spirals into chaos, and danger from all corners looms large, Sam and Duncan must find their way to who they really are, what it means to be brave, and how to take a chance on love—which is the riskiest move of all.

I loved everything about What You Wish For, from the characters to the theme of choosing joy and doing it in spite of your fears.

Samantha and Duncan had a history that wasn’t necessarily good, especially with their combination of characteristics and fears. So when they are thrust together after Max dies and he is brought in as the new school principal, Sam learns that what she had wished for wasn’t turning out so great.

But between her friend Alice and Max’s widow Babette, a plan Is created. A plan that could change everything about their lives and how they see things.

Characters like little Clay, the nine-year-old genius, kept me loving everything to the very end. Negative characters like Kent Buckley, Clay’s father and Babette’s son-in-law, kept me turning pages to see if justice would be served and he would no longer be a thorn in our sides. A book I didn’t want to put down, this one earned 5 stars.

***My e-ARC came to me from the publisher via NetGalley.

Happiness for Beginners is my favourite Katherine Center novel ~ so when I heard Helen’s brother Duncan was getting his own story I was really excited.

Synopsis
Samantha Casey is a school librarian in the sunny, historic island of Galveston, Texas. When the school principal dies, the newly appointed principal turns out to be someone from Sam’s previous school; someone she secretly had an unrequited crush on. Duncan Carpenter is nowhere near the Duncan she knew from her old school - he is humorless and withdrawn and obsessed with school safety, determined to turn the school into a prison. Will Sam be able to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that’s become her home is gone for good?

I enjoyed Sam and Duncan's romance for the most part and it definitely had its really sweet and swoonworthy moments, like when Duncan was all drugged up on painkillers and opened up about his feelings for Sam (yay the truth serum trope). Sam’s character was a bit OTT quirky for me, but I admired her positive attitude and optimism.

As a huge fan of Happiness for Beginners, I loved the scene where Sam meets Duncan’s sister Helen and her husband Jake. We learn something about Jake that hit me emotionally - even though it was totally expected.

I’d say the second half of the book was the best part - the first had a lot of unnecessary internal dialogue. I was amazed at how long it took Sam to figure out what was causing Duncan’s behaviour. I would have thought she’d have about the shooting in the news, or heard about it from a former colleague?

My biggest issue with this book is how it handles gun violence - I found Sam’s casual attitude towards school safety really offensive. This is a REAL problem in the United States and I feel the book ignored that completely by painting a stereotypical picture of an idyllic school in an idyllic (non-diverse) town and having the main character dance all sorrows away (literally, at some stage in the book).

Overall, What You Wish For left me disappointed but that's just the way it is. At least I'll always have Happiness for Beginners.

Thank you @stmartinspress for my advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a lovely message about finding joy. It was the perfect read during times like these. I really appreciated the strong character development.

A quirky and endearing enemies to lovers romance about a unique librarian who has a second chance with her first crush and their search for love while overcoming fear. A redemptive novel with Center’s consistent hopeful spin.

Blurb: Samantha will stop at nothing to protect her beloved private school, so when her long time crush Duncan Carpenter comes waltzing back into her life and wants to change everything about said school, Sam hatches a plan with her friends to take Duncan down.

My thoughts are all over the place with this novel. While I’m a huge Katherine Center fan, I wasn’t wild about this one. I felt disconnected from the characters, mostly because their justifications in certain situations didn’t seem believable. I loved the fact that Sam is quirky and she fights hard for what she believes in, but I really had a hard time with the change in Duncan’s character and the fact that their was little to no romance between the two characters.

Even though the story is disjointed, what with the reasoning behind hiding certain things from Duncan and their inability to connect, the ending with the whale was my favorite part. Overall, a sweet and redemptive story that fell a bit flat for me.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on July 14,, 2012

Once again Katherine Center has another winner! I fell in love with this book from the beginning and until the end it kept me engaged with Sam and Duncan's storyline. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and St Martin's Press, and am under no obligation to give a good review. All thoughts and opinions here are my own.

Katherine Center’s books offer the full gamut... a traumatic experience or two, self-discovery, friendship, and a bit of romance, and What You Wish For delivers all of this and more. Focused on a private elementary school that is going through some rough bumps with the sudden death of its beloved principal, the reader rides along with Sam, the self-doubting librarian, Babette, the newly-widowed matriarch of the school, Duncan, the new principal disguised as a prison warden, and of course, Clay,the smart, sweet, lonely third-grader who simply needs some love. As traumas, past and present, are revealed, these characters respond in the perfectly flawed ways that we would all react. And learn a lesson in living with “joy on purpose”.

This book was a quick read, simply because I became totally engrossed in the story, and the characters. I rooted for them all, and was pleasantly pleased with the outcomes. And I really want to see the butterflies! This will make a perfect summer read.

If a book could feel like a warm hug, this one does. Grounded in a sense of community (with vivid descriptions of the school and beachside setting) complete with quirky-lovable characters, Center's book promotes finding joy amidst hardship, and choosing courage over fear.

Strengths:
-As a teacher, I loved the descriptions of the school setting and the teacher/staff dynamics.
-Epilepsy representation
-Thought-provoking discussion of risk-aversion, emergency-preparedness, PTSD, school violence, overcoming loss
-Lovable main characters
-Celebration of life's joys (in all their forms)

Weaknesses:
-The ending was abrupt and a tad over-the-top (that being said, I'd love to see more from these characters - I didn't want to say goodbye!)
-Weak/broad strokes characterization of the "bad guys"/antagonists (with no opportunity for redemption)

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing early access to this title. Katherine Center, you've released another great one!

Katherine Center's What You Wish For is a delight to read. The story follows a young woman who struggles to overcome her fear of relationships. Following a year of her life full of disappointment and loss, Sam eventually understands how to overcome her fears and truly love someone. Even though this book touches on some difficult topics, Katherine Center's writing is light and cheerful. This is the perfect book for a quick and light-hearted pick-me-up.

Set within school life, What You Wish For did hook me and keep me reading. possibly because of my teaching career.  It has two main characters who had known each other a few years back and now meet up again at a different school.

Sam has just lost her beloved Principal and the whole staff are still grieving his loss. Duncan appears and he comes in with a bang. He is completely different to what Sam knew of him before. And so for awhile there I was totally horrified by his actions. However when we get to know Duncan more we come to understand.

There are minor characters who are rather sweet, especially the nine year old boy with the very remote and rather unlikeable Dad who also happens to be chairman of the board at the school.

I liked the emphasis on however life is going, take the moments you can, to celebrate and to choose joy - even be a little wacky at times. I also loved Sam's library set up.

It's a pleasant story, and if you are looking for a light summer read and you like Katherine Center's work you can pass a few happy hours with it.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "What You Wish For" by Katherine Center. I am quite torn with this book. I loved certain aspects of the book but disliked other things. This is my 3rd book by Katherine Center and I really do enjoy her writing style. I just felt like a lot of the events that occurred in this book were not very realistic... I also had a hard time relating to the main character Sam. While we are the same age, it felt like she very immature and just obsessive in nature. I did like how Sam dealt with epilepsy since that does affect so many people in the world. Other than that , I enjoyed the story and the other characters. I am still looking forward to many more books from Katherine Center in the future!

I went into this book being intrigued by the plot and setting, while also being worried I wouldn't connect with the main character since teaching is about the last profession I would choose for myself.

While I didn't love this book as much as I did Things You Save in a Fire, I liked it WAY more than How to Walk Away. Katherine Center did a good job making the book atmospheric, in both the description of the school and the city itself. I enjoyed the descriptions of how they'd decorated the school, and really loved mention of the sea wall and other things you'd find in a town on the ocean.

There was only one section of the book where I felt it really, really dragged, and I was able to look past that due to the overall enjoyment I was getting from the book in its entirety.

I think the way they tackled the subject of a school shooting and safety measures was done really well.