4.5 stars

I kept seeing rave reviews of Things You Save in a Fire and decided to give it a whirl for myself to see if it was as good as they led me to believe. It absolutely was!

This book is about Cassie who is a flawed but fun heroine who is a kick as firefighter trying to restart her life after moving in with her Mom halfway across the country.

I was swept up into this story almost from the first page and didn't want to put it down until the last. It's exactly everything I love in novels - a feisty and fun heroine, a good backstory, a sweet romance and a lot of fun. It was almost a smidge too predictable, hence the half star away from 5 but I still love this book all the same.

I highly recommend this book to those that like a good story that is full of great characters and a strong heroine.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love Center's sense of humor and off-beat characters. This is a really well done, contemporary, if a bit predictable love story. A first for me, having the protagonist as a fire fighter. A bad ass fire fighter. With a sad back story. I especially loved Diana, eye patch and all. Sweet, LOL funny, and a bit of sadness thrown in for good measure. Really enjoyable and highly recommended.

I love Katherine Center's books. She has a way of bringing her characters to life that sucks you right into their world. I love that Cassie is a bada** strong female who doesn't need saving. I love that the characters feel real, with faults and flaws, the firehouse is written with challenges that exist for women in male dominated fields. The writing is beautiful and I couldn't put the book down. This will be on the top of my list for books from 2019.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this fun and heartfelt book.

In the beginning, this book may seem like a lighthearted, fun read. It is that, but it's so much more. It's about preconceived ideas about people, about our views of things that happened versus what really happened, about how we are all human and make mistakes, about how life can (and does) throw you a curveball at any time, about how we perceive ourselves, and...about what is really important in life.

Cassie is a loveable, young, determined woman who has built a shell around herself thanks to two things that happened on her sixteenth birthday. And this story takes Cassie on a journey of self-discovery and truth. It's a great book that will have you cheering for everyone in the story!

I became a huge Katherine Center fan after reading How to Walk Away. What to Save in a Fire is a story of community, forgiveness and family.

I found myself reaching for tissues when reading part of this book. Center knows how to tug at a person’s heart strings.

5 STARS!

This book was so much more than I expected and I had already expected to love it. Similar to her previous books this is a single POV by a female protagonist. This time, a female firefighter who is at the top of her game when felled by behavior unbecoming.

Not caring for brusque, arrogant, or pushy females as main characters, my only concern was due to that of my own preconceptions. Any worry over those presumptions fell to the wayside after the first two chapters. This author managed to create a character who while confident and highly capable in her career, was immensley vulnerable under the walls she was forced to build due to past hurts. It was the perfect balance. I loved Cassie's character so much. If I could do my life over, I would want to be her!

While classified as women's fiction, the romantic element to the story was more prominent than any of the other books I've read by this author. This made my romance loving heart happy. The moment Rookie Owen turned his goofy, smiling face towards Cassie, she wasn't the only goner. Along with some sweet romance, there were other wonderful elements to this story that created something relatable, empowering, and hopeful. Great wit, a little mystery/suspense, honorable characters, and a swoony romance. Things You Save in a Fire was reading bliss.

Things You Save in a Fire is amazing!! I laughed and cried, mainly cried. It is a beautiful tale of forgiveness. And love, I can't forget the love. Cassie needs to get out of the heat of Texas, and her Mom needs her in Massachusetts. She hasn't seen her Mom in ten years and she is not looking forward to spending time with her. But she is dutiful. But oh what awaits this sweet child!!! I'm crying trying to write this review!! Read it! You won't be disappointed!!!

Jodi Picoult recommended this one for a reason, and I wholeheartedly agree. I loved this look into a profession and world most women never get to see in any capacity. I now have a greater sense of understanding and patience for this profession - even more than I already did! What a gut punch of a book. Don't' sleep on this one.

Katherine Center does it again! This book had me hooked from the first page and had a little bit of everything- romance, mystery, family drama, and medical drama. Katherine always does so much research on the things she writes about and it shows. I know nothing about being a firefighter, but this book made me feel like I was learning how to be as a read, in a good way. I can't wait to get a hard copy of this book so I can reread it!

How to Walk Away was the first book I ever read from Katherine Center, and it was in my top 5 of best books for 2018.

Things You Save in a Fire will (I suspect) be in my top 5 favorite books of 2019. Cassie is impeccably developed as a character. I loved this character. Owen...*sigh*. Owen is a keeper. I figured from his first few scenes how his story would end, but oh man, he is a wonderful character. I think I want an Owen in real life!

There is never a slow moment in this book, never a dull page. It's a definite 5 star book.

Katherine Center does it again. She has an incredible knack for making you feel all of the emotions without the book feeling heavy. The characters and story weave together seamlessly. I was rooting for Cassie throughout the book and loved all of changes she made and the person she became in this book.

Amazing book about choices, forgiveness, resilience and relationships. Cassie moves from Austin to the East Coast to be by her estranged mother. Starting over at a new firehouse comes with challenges and , maybe, love.

I was drawn in by the story and cheered for Cassie along the way. Five stars!

A very delightful women's fiction that I enjoyed reading, I like how the characters are well thought out. This is the second book by Katherine Center that I've read ( How to walk away was a great book too). The author is a fabulous story teller and I hope to read more of her books in the future.

Things You Save in a Fire is a story about Cassie Hernandez- a woman who is obsessed with being a firefighter and shows because she is good. Not just good, really good! But (and this a big but) a few things happen that throw all her hard work into jeopardy and she has to start from the bottom earning her place on a new team. Instead of being able to focus just on her passion for being a firefighter, she’s forced to deal with a sick mom who abandoned her, a hot new rookie (did I mention he’s hot) and her own history which is threatening to bubble up over the walls she’s built around it. Can she keep it together?
This was a quick read that has you rooting for (and occasionally yelling at) Cassie, saying “come on girl!” I give it 3.5 stars which can round up to 4.

This book was well written. The dialogue felt natural and there was a lot of detail about firefighting that didn't feel tedious to read. It was an enjoyable read. I wish more parts of the plot were fleshed out, but it was a good read.

Things You Save in a Fire is a book about love and loss, hurt and forgiveness. Cassie is a 26 year old firefighter, whose life takes a turn at an award ceremony where she goes from most esteemed firefighter to one that will no longer be able to work at her current precinct due to an unforeseen turn of events. At just about the same time, her estranged mother requests that she come and help her out for a year as she is having difficulty seeing due to an issue with one of her eyes, which Mom says will be rectified in a years time. Initially she says no, but when everything falls apart at the awards ceremony, transferring looks like a good idea, and so she moves in with her mother who she has not seen for 10 years, and begins to work with a new group of firefighters, who are not thrilled to have a "girl" join their ranks. However, this is no ordinary girl and she sets out to show them just what a girl firefighter can do. In the process she gets close to "The Rookie" who starts the same day she starts at the station, and whom she is tasked with training. His father is a well known area firefighter (retired), and he has always wanted his son to be in the business.
The story was a little slow to get into, but once I was in, I was very caught up in the lives of Cassie and those around her. It was a nice read... would be great to take as a beach read!

I loved this book. It’s so hard to get the real struggle of ambiguity right with words and Katherine Center does that plus more in her book, Things You Save in a Fire. The story never got bogged down in one area too much (love, romance, forgiveness, hurt, betrayal,) Hard choices are just that - hard. The different plots and characters came together in the end without feeling forced or hurried in a very satisfying conclusion.

This is a wonderful book. Loved it from beginning to end. Looking forward to reading more of Katherine Center's books. Thanks for the advance copy.

This is a very fast read, BUT it was very slow to start for me. It wasn’t until I got about halfway in that it became irresistible for me to read. There were parts that just made me smile. A big wide smile because it was so sweet it made me blush.

Katherine Center’s last book was a steady read and while this wasn’t because it was slow to get into, it was still a really good book and really worth reading.

This is my second book by her and I now think that she writes book that have a little lesson in them. “How To Get Away” was most definitely about resilience and not being bitter. This one? Forgiveness. And not being bitter.

I’ve never understood forgiveness and I’ve always held grudges. I’m his book really explained to me what forgiveness means. As it was explained, I sat here and I wondered.... can I forgive those who have wronged me?

I’m not sure I would go that far but, I now consider it a possibility and that’s a start lol.

Great book!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I love a story with a strong female protagonist. Cassie is just that person. While Cassie's life as she knows it was defined by key events that occurred on her sixteenth birthday, a call from her estranged mother quickly changes the life she built. While the love story in this novel is slightly predictable, you'll relate to the characters and root for them until the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and hope that Center will write a sequel.