I have read 3 books by this author and this is my least favorite. It wasn't terrible but it was average.

As always, Katherine Center's characters are almost immediately lovable. The protagonist's love for her career and school have you rooting for her right off the bat, while also wanting to know the deep, dark secrets that have changed someone she once loved. This book was filled with everything you need for a lovely read: tears, humor, and characters to fall in love with. I have recommended it to all of my teacher colleagues!

Katherine Center has done it again! I am a huge fan of her work and this new novel certainly did not disappoint. The main character, Sam, is an elementary school librarian who is grieving over the loss of a friend—and now her old crush has come back to take his place as principal. Poor Sam has a lot of soul searching to do now!

My only suggestion would have been to introduce the characters a little earlier in the beginning. I didn’t fully grasp who anyone was at first, such as the fact that the recently deceased friend was a principal and his wife worked at Sam’s school as well. The book had a nice flow to it otherwise and has become one of my favorite books of the year!

I was unfamiliar with this author and honestly didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did.

She adeptly juggles several sensitive and important issues, developing characters as human as we are, and handling their narratives with comedic grace.

There's a lot more to this novel than I'd anticipated.

3.5 stars. Quick and easy read with a timely message of choosing joy. Heavy on the cheese factor. While I enjoyed it, it could have been better as I found myself being annoyed with the main character several times throughout the book. That was the primary reason for a lower star rating as I loved the other characters, the setting of their charming school and the story line.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy!

Katherine Center could write the blurb on the back of the shampoo bottle and I would read it. This was one of her best books so far, and I thought nothing could come close to Happiness for Beginners. Her main character, Samantha, is a librarian working at an elementary school. She loves what she does and who she surrounds herself with, but a recent loss and reconnection with an old crush makes her rethink who she really is and what she is hiding about herself. I love how Center writes real and relatable characters without major drama and heartache. It’s light without being fluffy, and it just simply makes me happy. A solid 4.5 stars - I just wish there was more to the ending, but overall, I absolutely loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed this NetGalley arc and thank them for giving it to me in exchange for my honest review.

This is the third Katherine Center novel I have read and lets just say I am a fan!

From the moment I stared reading this book I was immersed in the story and completely invested in the characters. I read it in less than 24 hours, which I hardly ever do. I liked that Duncan and Sam were relatable characters, each with their own flaws.

Katherine Center returns with the story of a female heroine battling life’s lemons the best she can. I really enjoyed how the book touched on serious issues, like gun violence and PTSD, in an authentic but uplifting way. I always finish her books feeling inspired and content; What You Wish For was no different. I recommend this one to anyone needing a pick me up or fans of her previous titles like Things You Lose in the Fire and How to Walk Away.

4.5/ 5 stars


What You Wish For is my first book by this author. I would describe it as a combination between Women's Fiction, Chick Lit and romance.

I love this cover so much! So between loving the cover and hearing such good things about this author I was very excited to start this book.

The narrator is 28 year old school librarian Sam (female-1st person POV). The story takes place on Galveston Island in Texas.

Samantha is a librarian at a very special and unique elementary school. I loved everything about her job, her school and her co-workers.

The first chapter felt overly-descriptive to me. The author was describing so much vs things just playing out in dialogue. I didn't love this. But it was only for the beginning.

After that the book got really good and I really enjoyed it.

A new man, Duncan, comes to work at Sam's school. I found the reason for him arriving to be heartbreaking. But I really enjoyed his backstory. Duncan was a very complex character with a very painful past. But I found his story to be extremely powerful and important.

There were some amazing supporting characters in this book. Two that I loved (Babette and Alice) and two that I despised (Tina and Kent Buckley).

I absolutely loved this town, the teachers, and Sam's friends. I thought that Sam was a really interesting main character. And I really enjoyed her very much.

The book is lighthearted at times. But it also deals with some important issues. The story deals with things such as overcoming traumas, dealing with illnesses and death. So there are some heavy topics. But I loved how the author handled it all.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. And I can't wait to read more by this author.

*Apparently Duncan is a supporting character in Happiness for Beginners. It is his sister's story.

Sam is a school librarian. She lives in the carriage house of the school's owners, Max and Babette. Max is very well loved and when he dies unexpectedly the board announces the new principle, Duncan Carpenter. Duncan was the reason Sam left her last school.

I started out liking the story but then when Duncan shows up he is not who she remembered, a fun loving guy who loved playing with the children and wore crazy clothes. This Duncan wore grey suits and was all buttoned up, no sense of humor. Then it comes out that Sam really never had a relationship with Duncan, just a massive crush and I thought really? There is one scene where she avoids him in a grocery store that was just too immature for a 28-year-old woman. But then something happened and I warmed up to her as she attempted to befriend Duncan and find out what changed him. That's when I realized I was really interested in Duncan and Sam. I was rooting for Babette to stop being sad over losing Max and I loved the quirky math teacher, Alice. This was a fun and quick read and I would recommend this to others.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a copy in exchange for my opinion.

I absolutely adored this book! I have to admit that I did not even read the description or reviews of this book before requesting it. As soon as I saw there was a new novel from Katherine Center, I was in! I loved her latest two novels so much and they are titles I am always recommending when friends ask me what to read next!

I loved the main character, Samantha Casey. Being a teacher myself, I really related to the setting of this novel and many of the characters and storylines.

This was such a sweet, heartwarming novel, which was exactly what I needed during this crazy time of anxiety and the unknown. I can’t wait for her next great novel!

What a sweet, cute book! Although the main character was a little bit annoying at first with her quirks, I still got into the story quickly and soon started rooting for her. I had a lot of trouble putting this book down and ended up finishing it in 24 hours! It was a lovely read, with a few twists along the way that I didn’t expect, and enough humor to keep me chuckling and in a good mood. Exactly what I needed to read right now, and I’d highly recommend it to friends. I will definitely be looking for more of Katherine Center’s books!

Katherine Center has easily become my favorite author. I devoured all her previous books and this one is no exception.

Sam is living her best life, kicking butt as a librarian at a private school ran by an older couple, Max and Babette, who quickly become Sam’s Psuedo-parents. When Max dies unexpectedly, Sam is swallowed by grief and doing her best to keep Babette afloat.

Enter the past, Duncan, to shake up her world even more.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. It had amazing main characters and peripheral characters and on amazing pup named Chuck Norris.

5/5 stars easy.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC, thank you to the author for her amazing work.

All opinions are my own.

Katherine Center never disappoints. I loved the characters and the message this book gave. Amazing book!

I was given this book by Netgalley for my honest opinion. This is my 2 book by Katherine Center & I can say I pleasantly enjoyed it. During these uncertain times this book took me away from reality. I really enjoyed it & I highly recommend it.

For fans of Katherine Center, this book doesn’t disappoint. I was a little nervous at first because I didn’t connect with the main character like I normal do in her books. But I’m glad I stuck with it because I ended up enjoying the read. My only “complaint” is that the ending really left me wanting more.

Life isn't full of joy and light. No there's pain and darkness and Katherine Center has an amazing talent of writing about both, weaving a story together to give you food for thought with a side of love.

Samantha is happy in her island hometown. She has friends that are family and a library that she loves and while her love life is less than awesome, she is at peace with life. Keep things simple and easy. Avoid stress. Dress brightly. Find joy.

Duncan comes to town to shake things up but what he didn't plan on was Sam. Sam and her fellow teachers want nothing more than to keep things the same, as a tribute to a lost loved one, but Duncan has other plans, to keep things safe and secure because life hasn't always given him such luxuries.

Throughout "What You Wish For" I found myself smiling and laughing with Sam and the girls, cheering them on in their plan to make Duncan fun again. When Duncan starts to come out of his shell a bit, I fully hoped it would end in love!

What unfolds is a story of love, friendship, and growth. There is nothing more wonderful to read about than when brilliant characters come into their own.

I was really excited for this one since I loved Things You Save In A Fire, and while it didn’t captivate me as much, I did find that it was a quick, feel good read with a beautiful message.

It follows Sam, an elementary school librarian and her struggles as her beloved school’s principal is replaced by her former crush Duncan. She soon realizes that the Duncan she meets now is a completely different man that the one she knew before. With the help of others, Sam works to bring back the old Duncan, all while learning the important lessons of overcoming fear and choosing to find joy in life.

Katherine Center has become a go-to author for me. She did not disappoint with this book. It gave me all the feels. I laughed, I cried, and I hurt for these characters. I love that Katherine Center make me care for the characters as if they are personal friends. Sam and Duncan were easy to love. Even when Duncan was so rigid and determined to change the school. I wanted to give Sam a family. I wanted to hug her and let her know that while she doesn't have family in the traditional sense, I would gladly add her to mine. That is the beauty of this book and author. You care deeply.

This story was easy to fall into. You could see this type of thing happening in beloved schools based on all that happens in this day and age. It is never easy to think that you might be part of a school shooting, but you can't go to school and expect it everyday. What a horrible way to live. Nevermind all the anxiety that kids have today. I loved Duncan with his dog. I loved him with his best friend/brother-in-law. Sam is the kind of librarian that every school/kid should get to interact with.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed were my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ve heard great things about Katherine Center’s books so when I saw this one up on NetGalley I thought I’d give it a try.
I absolutely adored this book. I love books about people that love books. So, following an elementary school library in her quest to try and save her school. She tries to make her library a safe place for the children and teach them to love reading. I just loved that. But when beloved principle and founder, Max, dies, someone new is brought in to replace him, someone that Sam knows already. But she doesn’t know this new version of him. He’s trying to change everything she loves about her school, the place she’s made her home. And she’s not going to let that happen. I loved the community aspect of this book. The town comes together because they care, because they love where they live. They come up with fun and funny things to make Duncan do and I loved it.
Duncan is a man with a past, but Sam is missing the part of his past that has caused such a big change in him. So, until she learns his history, she’s determined to make him leave the school. But when she learns of the trauma, he’s experienced she decides to help him become his old self. I loved his story. He’s a man that’s been through some serious things and it shows. But once he starts opening up, he starts to heal.
I really loved that this was more than a romance novel. There was romance in the best way. Two people that made one another better, that helped heal one another. Their relationship was full of conflict, but was handled so well and so sweet. I absolutely adored this book and I will be reading more of this author’s work.