I.Loved.This.Book.

I picked it up because I loved Katherine Center’s last book How to Walk Away (which you also must read). In both cases, while the story could be categorized as a romance, more accurately it is just the story of a woman’s transformation and growing into herself. Part of that often includes romance, and that might be what gets readers in the door. But ultimately, Things You Save in a Fire is much deeper and more powerful.

Cassie is a badass and always has to work to prove herself, but not in an annoying way. Rather than coming across as having a chip on her shoulder, the reader sees that Cassie is fighting her inner demons and critics more than she is fighting any sort of institutional sexism. That makes her story more relatable and more rewarding, in my opinion.

While the will-they-or-won’t-they tension between Owen (the rookie) and Cassie is underlying the entire story, Cassie relationship with her mother takes center stage. It is by working through their past hurts and Cassie’s anger and bitterness into a mother-daughter relationship built on trust and forgiveness that a romance with Owen even seems possible.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love story! But this book gives us so much more. I swooned. I cried. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

5/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Maybe I shouldn’t give this book a whole 5 stars ... a lot of it was just too convenient or too coincidental or too too-good-to-be-true! But you know what? It was a romance, through and through, and those are the kinds of things that happen in a romance. So it gets 5 stars because I found it to be a fun, not always completely predictable, and entertaining love story! And by the way, I was impressed with the author’s knowledge and understanding of fire fighting!

This book made me happy! Thank you SO much, NetGalley, for providing an ARC for me to read!!

I received an Electronic Advance Reader Copy. Through NetGalley.

This is definitely another winner from Katherine Center. I loved each of the characters, and rooted, cheered, and cried for them, and with them throughout the story.

Love reading books that have a female character who is strong and Cassie exemplifies just that. This is my first time reading a book by this author and without a doubt I will be reading even more. Great read.

I love all things by this author. I have always bee pleases with the plot and the thrill of the next page. Thank you for approving this title for me. Keep them coming

I absolutely LOVED this book. Such sweet emotion and humor; I could not put it down. The characters are unforgettable and the story is amazing. I read it through it one day. Life lessons with family and relationships throughout. Fantastic read! Thanks to the publisher for the ARC

After How to Walk Away became one of my 2018 favorites, I was eagerly anticipating the chance to read this novel. Katherine Center is now two for two, as Things You Save in a Fire is one of my 2019 favorites.

The story was excellent the entire way through. I loved the humorous aspects, as well as the sentimental parts. There was a strong level of development for Cassie throughout the story. I enjoyed learning about the firefighting process and loved the camaraderie at the station, with all the nicknames, hazing, etc. There was even a quick mention of a scene at the beginning of How to Walk Away. The interactions and dialogue between characters felt so genuine. Everyone and everything was easy to visualize without being overwhelmed by descriptive details. I couldn't get enough of this novel and didn't want it to end.

I highly recommend picking up Things You Save in a Fire when it publishes later this summer. I just hope you will allow me to enjoy it again vicariously through you!

Movie casting suggestions:
Cassie: Christa B. Allen
Owen: Patrick Schwarzenegger
Diana: Jeanne Tripplehorn
Josie: Alexis Floyd
DeStasio: Donnie Wahlberg

This book was simply amazing. The female protagonist was tough and relatable. This book really lifted my spirits and made me believe in love. Maybe there was a little too much "happy ending" at the end for it to be totally realistic, but I don't care. Katherine Center is a fantastic writer and really delivers.

Things You Save in a Fire is such a sweet, touching book.
It's well-written, the plot flows really well and I liked the pacing. The author has an interesting writing style that felt really light throughout, and was easy to get lost in, but it still hit all the right notes when it came to the bit more serious subjects.
The characters were well-developed. I thought Cassie was an amazing leading lady and I had an easy time connecting with her. The story is pulled off perfectly, resulting in a remarkable book which I'm excited to pick up again soon.
I loved every bit of it and I definitely recommend it.

This book sucked me on from the very first chapter! I felt like Cassie was a very relatable character and I loved her. This was a very easy and enjoyable read..great if you’ve read anything heavy and are looking for something lighter!

This is my first book by Ms. Center and it was like a breath of fresh air for me. I had been reading an extremely heartbreaking and soul searching type of book when I knew I needed something to lift me up. This book was just the ticket!

Cassie Hanwell had been settling in and working fine with the Austin fire department. She loved her job, she was finally getting the respect she deserved and the firefighters were a great group of guys. “Anyone who’d seen our rainbow flag flying, or shopped at one of our vegan/kosher bake sales, or seen our fire marshal tooling around in a Prius knew we were a progressive department”.

Everything was going great until, she learned she was going to be presented with a valor award, she had pretty much single handedly saved children who had been trapped in a school bus after an accident. Her small stature made her the only one who was small enough to climb through the bus window and hand the kids out one at a time.

So what went wrong? Well it was the presenter of the award, the one man in her life who she had hoped never to cross paths with again, let alone receive an award from and having to shake his hand. She managed to make it up to the stage but when when Heath Thompson, city councilman, decided to make a pass, Cassie lost it, basically pummeled the man. She was given an option after that, be terminated or choose another department far away.

Cassie’s mother left her when she was 16 and she had been living with her father ever since. Now Diana has called for her help, she has lost vision in one eye and the other is failing. She would like Cassie to come to stay with her in Massachusetts, “not forever, a year at most.”. So she is transferred to a new fire department in Lillian.

This new department is a far cry from Austin, it is old, the trucks and equipment are the bare minimum and the firemen are a different breed also. They aren’t hostile but they definitely don’t feel comfortable having a woman firefighter around.

Through the life she begins to share with her mother and the new crew that she forges friendships with, we see how Cassie grows as an individual. She finally has a love interest after being lonely for most of her life. We learn the reasons why she has distanced herself from her mother and why she “lost it” at the award ceremony, what Heath Thompson did to her when she was 16.

The character development in this novel is top notch and I am still thinking about them now. The plot at times is a bit predictable but it doesn’t matter, the feel of the entire book is positive. It focuses on forgiveness of others and yourself, something that most of us struggle with from time to time. Many types of relationships are touched upon, mother daughter, father daughter, friends, co-workers. I loved this book!

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley

2.5 but rounding up because the writing was ok and it definitely was a fast read [because I thought on the whole, not that much substance].

BUT. Disclaimer: not my type of book. Not quite sure what I was expecting, but...
Way too chick lit/beachy--though I do like from time to time. Like watching a Hallmark movie [which I don't]!

Much about past damage and forgiveness [HUGE theme] and reconciliation. A women in a man's world [firefighting].

Positive: female empowerment. And, I learned a few scientific things about firefighting.
The main characters were well drawn: Cassie, Owen [rookie], her mom, Diana, and a lesser, but good addition--her mom's friend/neighbor, Josie.

Negative: WAY TOO PREDICTABLE and neat.
Too fluffy for me and some eeww/too mushy moments.

I am clearly a dissenter but this book is for you if you know what to expect.

I had been saving this new Katherine Center ARC for a rainy day because without fail, her books always make me happy. With How to Walk Away being one of my favorites of 2018 and how much I also loved Happiness for Beginners, I knew this would be the book that could help bust me out of my recent reading slump.

Well, I was correct! Katherine Center has done it again with another wonderful, complex, and highly readable contemporary romance. I love her original ideas and nuanced protagonists (we even got a brief nod to Margaret from How to Walk Away in this book, which was fun) - in this instance, the book focuses on Cassie, a female firefighter who is tough as nails (she thinks), but won't be taken seriously by anyone she works with and struggles to identify and handle her emotions. Due to a family emergency, she has to move from her firehouse in Austin where she is beloved and feels like part of a family to a new station outside of Boston where it seems like no one wants her there and she will never fit in. The only person who she connects with at all is the new rookie, and he is wayyyy too handsome for her to be spending much time thinking of him. After all, one of her rules is to never date firefighters. (Since this is a romance, you can guess how well that works out).

Cassie has a lot of rules built up over a lifetime of pain. On her sixteenth birthday she endures two highly traumatic events and since then, has refused to allow herself to really open up, romantically or otherwise. Really this book is about Cassie's healing. For her own sake, not for the sake of those who hurt her, she has to come to terms with what has happened to her and learn how to choose forgiveness. This is not really easy for her as these old traumas keep coming back to face her in the present in very real ways. Cassie learns how to not only move past these traumas, but to shut out the voices of others and be confident in herself. She kicks imposter syndrome to the curb, finally gives up on the idea that she can prove her worth or earn other's affection, and learns how to let others in. And that's not even all of the work she does. This is what I think I love so much about Center's novels - the characters (specifically the female protagonists) do so much emotional work in the midst of difficult circumstances and I think that's so important for people to read. This could have just been a silly romance about two firefighters falling in love, but it was so much more!

It wasn't perfect, but the more I think about it, the more I love it. Bumping up to 5 stars and saying highly recommend!

This is a lovely book about a super strong female fire fighter who the reader hopes can find her softer side. To the outside world Cassie is a hero, a tough fire fighter, but her strong exterior is hiding a soft interior full of hurt and sorrow. When her estranged mother calls her from Texas to Massachusetts, she goes somewhat unwillingly. She joins a local fire station where she encounters a fire house full of guys who aren't happy to have her there. The saving grace is the "rookie" who joins the force on the same day. Will Cassie be able to drop her guard to let others in? Cassie's live is full of saving others, but can she save herself? This is a fun read with a group of characters you truly care about. I didn't want it to end. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of what promises to be the beach read of the summer.

I thought this book was incredibly sweet. I enjoyed the dynamics of all of the characters, but especially the dynamic between Cassie and Owen. There were times when I wished Cassie would stop being so stubborn, but I think those times added to the charm of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this read! It completely warmed my heart towards the end.

I haven't read the author's first book, How to Walk Away, but it have gotten rave reviews, so I was excited to read Things You Save In A Fire. I watch a lot of tv shows and documentaries about first responders, so the fact that the main character Cassie is a firefighter, also caught my interest. I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction, but I would certainly put this book into the romance category, which I usually enjoy. I liked Cassie from the very beginning of the book and enjoyed watching her character change and grow throughout the story. It is slightly predictable but that didn't bother me and didn't take anything away from this sweet and actually pretty funny book. Overall, it was a interesting story that incorporated a lot of topics that I think a lot of people can relate to such as family, hope and love. If you are a fan of romance, I definitely recommend this book and I look forward to reading what the author publishes in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for sending me an ARC of this book.

this one is weird - in a good way - in the sense that i don't know how to rate it. it was a solid 4 stars for me for most of the book, i really like katherine center's writing and have enjoyed all of her books that i've read. how to walk away is my favourite (wait, maybe tied with happiness for beginners). anyway, so i was really liking this one but i wasn't *loving* it. i don't know why. it was good and i had a fun time reading it. but the last 25% or so? holy rollercoaster of emotions batman. i very rarely get on the edge of my seat when reading, sometimes i am curious and can't wait to find out, but it is rare that my heart rate actually speeds up and i yell at my husband for daring to ask what's for dinner - but that was this book for me. i had to find out what happened - i skimmed those pages because i was so impatient, and then when i was finished, went back and re-read them when my heart had calmed down. goodness gracious what a rollercoaster. so, while i didn't absolutely love the majority of this book like i have her others - don't get me wrong, i still really really liked it - i think how i felt about the end gets the 5th star. so. there we go. can i have the next Katherine Center book now please?

This book hooked me from the beginning! Cassie, the main character is very likeable and a strong female lead. You can't help but root for her the entire time. I definitely recommend this book!

This book is awesome. I admit the first seven pages or so don’t grab you but hang on because in a few pages it takes off and it’s a roller coaster ride. I truly enjoyed the book. Katherine has done her homework on fires and firefighters. It’s a fun read but has depth. I highly recommend it.

I love "firefighter" stories, especially with females as the lead characters. This title was no exception and it was both thrilling and heartbreaking to see the struggles Cassie faced. I've often quoted someone I've long ago forgotten - "my job enables me to have a life - my job is NOT my life." Cassie clearly blurred the lines between the two and what she learned about herself is a lesson we should all come to know. My Katherine Center readers will be glad to see a new title by her and I look forward to recommending her to others.