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.

Katherine Center has become one of my favorite authors. I immediately fell for Cassie (who is a kickass firefighter and who is so cynical, she makes me seem like a complete sap) and I was very nervous for her in her new town, with her job full of guys who don't like her very much and with only her mom (who is maybe one small step away from "estranged" for company). 

The synopsis is very accurate but this is also just a really fun book. It's a love story but it's about multiple kinds of love. And best of all, it's about a woman who's completely excelling at her job. She may have had to prove herself repeatedly to her new colleagues, but she's more than capable of doing it. They may not immediately respect Cassie, but they learned pretty quickly that they needed to.

Katherine Center is one of the authors who's an auto-buy for me. I think you'd love her, too. Highly recommended.

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

St Martin’s Press
August 2019
Fiction
Rating: 4/5

I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press.

Cassie Hanwell knew she had to work hard to prove herself in a male dominated profession. She focused her life on being the best firefighter after working her way up to being a paramedic. Unfortunately, she walled herself off emotionally after several life-altering events on her sixteenth birthday. She learned how to fit in with the guys at the Austin Fire Department with their bawdy jokes and pranks.

Cassie continued to live in Austin near her father, Ted, since her mother, Diana, left them to move to Massachusetts to be with Wallace. This happened ten years ago on her 16th birthday, a day she woul always remember with anger and sadness.

Just as she feels her life is going according to plan, until she is taken by surprise at award ceremony. She was anxious thinking about accepting the honor on stage and having to make a speech. Cassie has never been good with talking about feelings or emotions. She never expects to see let alone feel the inappropriate touching of the Austin councilman, Heath Thompson, when she accepts her award. As traumatic memories of him from high school cloud her brain, she narrowly avoids arrest after assaulting him at the ceremony.

Just as she is fretting over the consequences of her actions and probable loss of job, her mother calls her from Rockport, MA. Apparently, she’s been living in a small house making a living selling her pottery. She calls to begs Cassie to help her adjust after losing sight in one eye. With not many options, Cassie transfers to the Lillian Fire Department and moves in with her mother.

Soon, Cassie finds that her laser focus on her career is preventing her from moving forward in her life. She begins to understand the mother who left on her birthday. Life is fluid and nothing is black and white. Holding onto the past will just keep you in the past. Sometimes you have to be vulnerable and risk the step into the unknown to propel yourself in a new direction.

The things you save in a fire could very well be the things that save you from yourself. This is an enjoyable and predictable story but touching none the less.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2702246225

https://bookwormreviewblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/things-you-save-in-fire-by-katherine.html?m=1

This was my first Katherine Center and definitely won't be the last!

I enjoyed this story from beginning to end. Cassie was a protagonist like none other I have read. She was "not like other girls" without that being the way her story was told. She didn't try to be one of the guys because that was how she would feel tough, rather she was doing what she loved and knew she (as a woman) was tough.

There were a lot of hard subjects dealt with throughout the story, and all were treated with the upmost respect and care. It would have been easy to gloss over these issues in favor of the light, fluffy love story that was developing. Instead, they made the story stronger by making Cassie a more fleshed out character and her world filled with more realistic side characters.

I went into this expecting a simple, sweet love story, and found all that plus depth that I didn't expect but absolutely loved. I can't wait to read Katherine Center's entire backlist!

A feel good story that tugs at all your heart strings. This book has a little of everything that keeps you turning pages way into the night.
Who doesn’t love a good firefighter story? Well this ones a bit different with a lady firefighter Casie who is going through life with many hurts until she is forced to make major changes in her life. I’ll say no more because it’s time for you to grab a copy and enjoy this feel good story for yourself.

Spunky guys girl firefighter Cassie is forced to move in with her estranged mother to help take care of her after a rather public impulsive attack on the man who made her no longer believe in love. This was a nice albeit cheesy and a bit formulaic story about growth, forgiveness and love.

The writing style during dialogue wasn’t my favorite. It tended to be a lot of back and forth for periods of time with very little descriptor in between and that’s just not my preference. While I did overall enjoy and relate to the main character, I also had moments where I disliked Cassie. She fluctuated between being a bit prissy and annoying and uber tough.

It was also a confusing time frame for the events at the end to be plausible. It seemed a bit YA and immature at times, which is not a bad thing per se but it’s not the type of storytelling I was expecting. I just felt a tad underwhelmed after all the rave reviews.

I really enjoyed this book! I haven’t read the authors other book How to Walk Away so I can’t really compare the two books but this book was about forgiving (something that we all need to do in life at one point or another)!

Cassie works as a firefighter in Austin, TX. Something happens in her past where she has to confront it all and deal with it head on while she encounters this person at an award ceremony for her work. Due to an incident at the awards ceremony, she has no choice but to leave her job. She instead asks for a transfer to another fire station in another state to help out her mother who Cassie has to learn to face the facts and forgive. It’s about love, forgiving, and a strong female character which I love. I would give this book a 4/5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Things You Save in a Fire tells the story of Cassie Hanwell, a tenacious female firefighter, as she battles her past, deals with trials in her career, and confronts abandonment issues with her mother.

The novel is well-paced and the characters are relatable and likable. The main character didn't fall into any overused tropes, either. For example, she is a firefighter and dresses for her job. She never refers to herself as a "tomboy". When she dons formal attire for an event later in the book, you'd expect one of those dramatic makeover moments that are so overused in both books and movies. I LOVED that, instead, the character thinks, "I'm not 'better', just different". She doesn't have the typical transformation moment wherein now that she's dressed "feminine" she realizes she was beautiful all along. She acknowledges the difference and moves on.

Another marking of a good novel is one that introduces you to a world you wouldn't otherwise be aware of. This novel contains interesting passages and explanations regarding the work of a firefighter without being overly technical.

This novel has suspense, mystery, emotion, romance, and humour...I can't recommend it enough.

RELEASE DATE: August 13 2019.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for sending me the ARC of this book!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2705296697?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I am sorry to say this book is just OK. I discovered the author, Katherine Center, through her last book, How to Walk Away, and I loved that book so much I immediately bought up all her older books. I was really excited about reading her new book and wanted to love it but it lacks the magic of her last book. In How To Walk Away our protagonist finds herself after being broken by circumstances, both literally and metaphorically. She was weak and becomes strong. It was moving and charming. The romance was beautiful and heartfelt. Unfortunately in this book the protagonist Cassie is too strong. She’s shut out the world and locked up her heart in the process. She’s so strong and prickly that I did not find the romance believable or interesting. In the previous novel our heroine survives and thrives. In this book it feels like too much doom and gloom is hanging over Cassie. As a reader it’s pretty clear what is not being said but it overpowers the story. It feels too much she’s running away and that she’s broken. It makes the whole novel sadder for it. My other big issue with this book is that too much of it is unbelievable. The point about forgiveness was unbelievable by the circumstances. Readers were expected to be ok with far too many choices that stretched plausibility.

Unfortunately this book seems like a step back in writing from the last book. It feels like it should have been written earlier because it’s just not as well written. If this book sounds interesting then remember to read How to Walk Away afterwards even if you’re not impressed by this book because it is so much better.

I loved this book! Katherine Center hooked me with How to Walk Away, and won me completely over with this one. I laughed, I cried, I talked to myself! I loved Cassie, the Rookie, her mom, and Josie, along with the cast of firefighter characters. I have recommended this to quite a few people already, with a warning that it’s not out yet. I was so lucky to get this book through Netgalley.

I was introduced to Katherine's books last year when I read How to Walk Away. I loved her style of writing and storytelling. A mix of romance and drama, I read the book in 2 days. So when I heard about her new book I was excited to get my hands on a copy. Let me tell you, she did not disappoint!
Cassie was the only women working at her firehouse in Texas, but she’s earned the respect of the men she worked with and they were her family. She didn’t grow up wanting this career; she was planning on going to med school to be an ER doctor. When Cassie was a freshman in college she took a campus job as an EMT for the university. She knew this would not only bring in money, but also help her towards her medical career. What Cassie didn’t expect, was to love the job so much that she would decide to get certified as an EMT and go work for the city. Cassie loved her job, her city, and the men she worked with.
Everything changed on the night Cassie received the Austin Fire Department’s Valor Award. The valor award is the highest award any Firefighter can receive, and Cassie was surrounded by her work family looking forward to the moment when she could go on stage to accept it. That’s until Heath Thompson stepped on the stage to present her with the award, and in one split second everything that Cassie knew and loved would be forever changed. You see, this wasn’t the first time Cassie had met Heath, and she’s spent a lifetime trying to forget what he did to her.
Cassie’s mother has reached out to her and asked Cassie to move to Boston where she lives to help her out, a year at most. She has lost the vision in one eye and cannot drive or be self sufficient like she was. Cassie cannot believe her mother would ask such a thing; the two were not on good terms since Diana left Cassie and her dad on her 16th birthday. She has a job she loves and just received this award which will surely lead to a promotion; she was not giving all that up for Diana. Cassie will realize her worst nightmare when she is given the choice between been fired from her job, or a demotion and transfer. Although she cannot imagine working anywhere else, she also can’t give up on a career she loves. She accepts the captain’s deal and asks to be moved to a station in Boston.
Cassie has never had to prove herself or earn her place, but this Boston fire station is old school, and women do not have a place in the boys club. She wants to be treated equal and will do everything she can to prove to her new coworkers that she can do the job just as good as they can. To make matters worse her first day on the job is also Owen’s first day. Strong, handsome, and looks like he just stepped off the fireman’s calendar, Owen comes from a whole line of fireman. He’s already earned the respect of the guy’s by just buy being…..well a guy. Cassie has been told by her old captain to never wear makeup, tie your hair back, never wear perfume, even to wear a tight sports bra to hide any traces of femininity. She must make the men forget that she’s a girl so that they will treat her equally. As expected it’s not going well, someone wants her gone, and to make matters worse for the first time in her career, actually since high school, Cassie is falling in love.
Moving to Boston seemed like punishment, but Cassie’s mom Diana will not only force herself into Cassie’s life, but teach her the greatest lesson we can all learn, forgiveness. Cassie must learn to forgive her mom, Heath Thompson, and most importantly herself. When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future.

"Life in the fire service revolved around not being vulnerable. It was about being tough, and brave, and strong. Someone needed saving, so you saved them. Something was on fire, so you put it out. Were you scared? It didn't matter. Did you have feelings about it? Irrelevant. You did your job, and you did it well, and that was all there was to it. People who wanted to wrestle with complicated emotions became therapists, or poets. People who wanted to keep things simple became firefighters."

Cassie Hanwell is a damn good firefighter. When she must leave her progressive Austin, TX, firehouse and move to Massachusetts—her estranged mother, who lives there, persuades her to come stay with her while she's undergoing medical treatment—she is able to find a new job, but she's the first woman ever to be hired in the 120-year history of the fire department. "They will ignore you. They will exclude you. They will resent you," Cassie's boss in Austin warns her before she leaves. "You'll be a hen in a wolf-house, and they will eat you like a snack the first chance they get."

On her first day, Cassie learns she's not the only newbie in the firehouse—there's another brand-new hire, Owen Callaghan, and he's a fourth-generation firefighter, fresh out of the academy. Unfortunately for Cassie, she's immediately attracted to him. However, she knows she can never act on that attraction, not only because dating a colleague would be impossible, but due to the deep traumas in her past that caused her to harden her heart. One of those incidents involved her mom, who walked out on Cassie and her dad on her daughter's 16th birthday; now her mother is desperate to mend fences, but Cassie can't yet find it in her heart to forgive.

The book is dedicated to Center's husband, a firefighter, and she notes that the book "would've been about ten pages long without his help." The firehouse milieu makes for a fascinating setting, and the budding relationship between Cassie and Owen, along with all the complications that ensue, are beautifully depicted. "Things You Save in a Fire" is a heartwarming story about love, trust, forgiveness and family, and I absolutely adored it. Thanks so much to St. Martin's for the review copy!

This book is amazing. It’s the second I’ve read by Center, and it’s wxactly what I was hoping for when I requested it!

Cassie is a female firefighter. The struggle is real in a profession that is considered for men - don’t we often refer to “firemen”, for example? - but Cassie has built a life and been accepted by her team in a Austin. When her estranged mother reaches out with a medical situation, Cassie moves up north to be with her mom, starting completely over at a new fire station. Not only does she have to try to become one of the guys, but she now has an even bigger struggle - she has to try not to fall in love with one of the guys.

This book was so good. Heartwarming and heartbreaking all rolled into one, Cassie goes through major levels of development in this book, coming to terms with long-term anger, learning about forgiveness, and learning more about love. I absolutely adored this book. It often felt like a punch in the gut, but it also gave me so much hope. Definitely, definitely recommend!

Book hangover! I loved this book. The story sucked me in from the beginning and I couldn't put the book down. Love does conquer all!

Another wonderful story of overcoming what life throws at you! Childhood issues, commitment issues, work issues? This book has it all and lessons that are very valuable in how to move past and succeed even with obstacles right smack in the way. I love Katherine Center’s talent of telling and teaching throughout her stories!

Thank you to Netgalley for a yet-to-be released copy. I was very excited to be able to read a pre-published copy since I loved Katherine Center's last book. Another enjoyable, easy to read book. The book is centered around Cassie, a woman firefighter. I loved her. I thought she was very real and one tough woman but also vulnerable too. The book is a romance but it is so much more about forgiveness, love and fighting for what you believe in too. Forgiveness definitely played a huge role throughout the book. It made you think about how forgiving others and yourself is not always easy but also can help you move on. Forgiving can help you relieve the heavy burden that you carry with you everyday of hating someone. Also, by not forgiving, you will miss out on relationships that truly matter and memories that you will never experience.. Some of the topics are heavy but Katherine Center does a great job not too draw each subject out too long. I am a big fan of Chicago Fire and Station 19 so I found this a fun read. I could see this story in one of these shows.

A touching story of love, courage, and compassion. I've read Katherine Center's How to Walk Away and liked it, so I had high expectations from this one, but this novel really blew me away. I absolutely loved the book and only wish I could give it more than five stars!

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is my second book by the author and I am already clearing time in my calendar to read ever book she has written.

Cassie is everything you want in a heroine. She is a complex character who is beyond capable. She excels in a male dominated field and has to use her physical and mental strength to constantly prove herself. Her career is where she feels secure and when that world is upended Cassie must deal with not only starting over in her profession but also with everything she has avoided in her personal life.

This was an impossible to put down story about learning to forgive and learning to love. It includes a great cast characters and a romance that was so sweet I almost couldn't stand it. Definitely a book I will read again and again.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Yes, the world is full of unspeakable cruelty. But the answer wasn't to never feel hope, or bliss, or love-but to savor every fleeting, precious second of those feelings when they come"
Forgiveness, love, hope. It is all there in this book. The inside look into the life of a firefighter, as well as a look into the family that a group at one fire station becomes. The characters are likable, I could relate to them, and it was a fast book that I did not want to put down. There were moments in this book that made me laugh and moments that had me gripped as I turned the pages.
I highly recommend this book and think there is something in it for everyone!