Katherine Center has become one of my go-to authors. This books was amazing and I couldn't put it down. What You Wish For was a delight to read. Her characters all appealed to me, especially Samantha. She was endearing and awkward, and adorable. I really liked this it was a from a single POV, which doesn't always appeal to me. Well done, Katherine!

It's very difficult to concentrate on a book these days during the quarantine. It takes a very special author and creation to be able to override anxiety and fear, keep us immersed in a story for pure escape. To get us to feel something else. While this is not that book, it does give some nice escapism. Within the story elements is a nice message about finding joy, and so this book has great value within it. I wanted to love it, and I don't fault the author. I'm sure that upon a re-read, its gems will be revealed. So hang onto it. You'll come back and experience it anew. It's light, airy and populated by some enjoyable characters. Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy.

Let me preface this by stating: I loved Center's last book, "Things You Save in a Fire," and had such high hopes based on that experience. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. Quite frankly, it just started off in the wrong foot. Our narrator, a 30-ish school librarian, goes off the rails because her former crush, *yes, CRUSH* from her last job is announced as the new principal of her current school-; an idyllic and progressive school formerly led by a visionary educator, Max, and his wife, Babette. I had to re-read that part to make sure I got it because from her account, it seemed like a life-altering event-- that her former work crush didn't reciprocate her feelings 4 years ago and is now showing up as her new boss in her new-ish town in Galveston TX.

Yes. It is that juvenile. Y'all, I'm an early 40s avid reader and I don't often visit the YA section. And this kind of "Babysitter's Club" plot is exactly why. Seriously?! I just can't.

((( SPOILER ALERT)))

I read till about 50% and then just started skimming. At 63% I jumped ahead to the last chapter, and sure enough,they end up together. *Eye roll.*. Jump back to the mid-chapters and, predictably, Duncan (the crush) has PTSD from a nearly-fatal school shooting he survived at his last job (where these two first met) and that's why he's such a douchebag, militaristic arse now.

Needless to say, we can't be surprised that they end up together at the end. (Hell, they started sleeping together midway through). And the entire story wraps up neat and tidy, down to the previously- dreaded, psuedo-sister our narrator becomes besties with at the end. (Another eye roll).

There is little to redeem here. I'm really sorry to say it, but I can't, in good conscience, recommend this to any readers -- whether you previously enjoyed Center's work or haven't read her.

Hoping for better next time!

Thank you to MacMillan and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel!

A beautifully written and clean romance about facing the ugliness in life with joy!

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center does not disappoint! I could not put this book down! It will be one that I will be rereading!

What You Wish For by Katherine Center

I LOVED this one so much! It was just wonderful and exactly what I needed. I loved the characters and revisiting Duncan, Helen, and Jake! I loved the appearances from Helen and Jake and seeing where they ended up. I read this in one sitting and adored the characters, story line, and there were so many wonderful quotes. The library itself seems like a dream and I would love to sit and read in there.

This book is classic Katherine Center- a sweet story with depth that is incredible binge-able. I did really enjoy this book and I thank it greatly for sucking me in during week two of self isolation when no other book was holding my attention. However, this won’t make my Katherine Center favorites lists. That could possibly be due in part to my state of mind while reading it, but I think it has more to do with feeling that this book wasn’t as well developed as her others. I read an ARC, so it’s possible that the final copy make be a bit more fleshed out. I would have liked for the character and relationship developments to seem more natural and also more consistent as they jumped around a bit. I still give it 3.5-4 ⭐️s thanks to the binge-ability of it. I plan on doing an audiobook reread of the finished copy to give it another go!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the free e ARC!

I loved this book. The world is a dark place right now and this book was a reminder to choose joy. It also captures the struggles of educators trying to do what they feel is best for their students, vs administrators who think they know better. This book gives a happy ending with compromise I wish we could see in more schools.

It’s a community that comes together when the beloved Principal and Founder of their school, Max, passes away-
And, those who replace him, including Duncan Carpenter, try to “fix what isn’t broken”.

One where friends ARE YOUR family, and they are there for Max’s widow, Babette. And, others along the way...

Sadly, I could not make it past the halfway point of this book. I usually love Katherine Center's stories, but the "quirky" characters were not grabbing me and felt overdone. Honestly I keep forgetting the main character's name and that seems like a huge issue. When she and Alice and Babette decide to invent this list of tasks for Duncan to do to snap him out of his "funk," I just couldn't read any further. It all seems so contrived and so far from reality, I just lost interest.

I loved so many things in this book. It made me want to fill my life and wardrobe with color everywhere. I adored the scene where Duncan was on painkillers and started spilling everything like he was on truth serum. However, I found a lot of the book a little unrealistic. It was so obvious that Duncan has been through something traumatic but it never seemed to dawn on the main character. It also seemed strange that she went from being so mousy to mouthing off quite a bit, especially to her boss who really should have fired her the first day. Did this keep me from enjoying the book? Not at all.

This is exactly the kind of book most of us need right now. It features kind, relatable characters who are trying - despite circumstances - to find happiness and joy. I have loved Katherine Center’s previous books - there is always a PG romantic situation and a gentler covering of tougher subjects (in this book epilepsy, reference to a school shooting, and unexpected death of a beloved principal). The sideline characters are often the most endearing (in this book, Alice with her math joke t-shirts and sweet, book-loving Clay) and there is always a feel-good ending. I read this book in a day and loved it. My only critique is that in order to believe in the story you need to suspend doubts that a principal could be hired by a single board member of this independent school and then authorized to make such drastic changes without buy-in from teachers and parents. I was ok to let that go. The story was good enough not to get caught up too much in the details. The messages were spot on. The school was idyllic - I would love to have sent my kids there. It is the kind of book that is good for the soul. You can’t help but root for Sam and Duncan and Kempner School.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC! What You Wish For comes out on July 14, 2020. Highly recommend! And if you haven’t yet read her earlier book Happiness for Beginners, Duncan Carpenter first appears in that one. (Both are stand alone books.)

Sometimes your life can change in an instant, that happened to Duncan. Fortunately he has been able to tuck that event away and move forward making sure nothing like this ever happens again.

Samantha knew Duncan, well, she taught in the same school and adored him from afar. When she realizes she is never going to have a future with him she does what she considers the wise option and moves away.

Imagine her surprise when the new principal of her current school is introduced, and he has definitely not changed for the better.

The interplay between Sam and Duncan is dynamic and poignant at the same time. Both feel they have unacceptable flaws.

Read this charming book about real life and how we need each other to survive and prosper.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of What You Wish For. This is the second book I read from this author and I find her writing style to be very enjoyable. She gives just enough details and tells the story thoughtfully. All but one of the main characters are likable. It is a light read, which at first I was disappointed with, but then I focused on the author's message that is very relevant at this snapshot in time. Life is not easy. There are many events that bring us down, but the main characters focus on being positive. Finding happiness is important and doing what makes you feel good is important. Dance, sing, dress in colorful clothing, paint, read.....just have a positive attitude. It is a story filled with hope, a little romance along with some serious issues. I recommend this book and author.

Thoroughly enjoyed this story. I picked up on some plot points early on, but still appreciated how the author got there. Happy to have found a new author and will have to dig into her back catalogue.

ARC provided from publisher via Netgalley but opinions are solely my own.

The first Katherine Center book that I ever read was Happiness For Beginners and with that one book, I was hooked! Center’s writing is light, but well-crafted, and pulls her readers into stories that are alway much deeper, on many more levels, than you expect them to be.

What You Wish For is no exception to this! I didn’t know much about her newest novel, but it was available as a Read Now on NetGalley and since her books are always a must read for me, I grabbed it when I saw that I could. This story takes us to Galveston, Texas (a town that has fascinated me ever since I read Erik Larson's book Isaac's Storm) and to the community of a small private day school after its long time principal passes away. It focuses on the school’s librarian, Samantha, and as an old colleague/crush from her last school shows up to make some changes to the school, Sam must grapple with who she was, and who she has become, to save the life (and the school!) that she loves.

There was so much in this book about joy - finding joy and more importantly, CHOOSING joy, in spite of any given circumstances. This was exactly the book that I needed to read right now and I love the whole belief that we can find joy on purpose. As we experience this unprecedented crisis in history, I think it’s important to focus on finding the joy wherever we can. Center helps reinforce this idea through this beautifully told story and I cannot wait for it to be released in July so that you can all read it!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book really touched my heart and I felt for Sam as she was reeling from the death of their school principal/father figure in her life.
I found that some parts were predictable, but I found that I was surprised throughout also.
Sam and Duncan deal with a lot of things separately and together. I think they had a good dynamic together and I felt that their relationship as colleagues and romantically had lots of depth.
A very lovely book and I loved the representation of reading and libraries and it was set in Texas!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is a charming modern day romance novel. The two main characters, Duncan and Samantha are written with both flaws and redeeming qualities that are woven through out the story line. I appreciated how Katherine Center incorporated very real life school safety situations in the novel's plot while also showing the push and pull of keeping an elementary school's creative school culture present.

Overall, I would recommend this novel as an enjoyable summer or vacation read.

This was a sweet story and kept me engaged for the most part. It does tackle a difficult subject but for me I don't think the author dug deep enough for me to really take that too seriously. The actions by some of the characters just made it seem like it wasn't a big deal. Some of the characters were great, others got on my nerves a little. All in all an enjoyable book but I don't know that I will be thinking about this one much as I move forward.

What a joy to read What you Wish for. Katherine Center never disappoints! I feel into the skin of Sam, the main character in the book. She's got a dream job as a school librarian (as I would have LOVED to have been one!) and she loves working with kids. Her life is turned upside down, along with all her friends, school's employees and the school's children. After this tragedy, things seem to be getting even worse at the school. Love and patience prevail and lives that were once so far apart learn to accept the possibility of happily ever after. I really do enjoy Katherine's writing. Anyone who can have me melt into a book so easily is a winning author in my books. Looking forward to her next book!