I’m posting after 11pm, so you KNOW this must be serious. 😉 I absolutely loved “How to Walk Away” by @katherinecenter so I was excited to read “Things You Save in a Fire” as well, and it definitely did not disappoint.

This book was sort of like a Hallmark movie in book form, but with WAY more complex and developed characters. It’s a rom-com, but it’s also more than that...it’s a story about families, and forgiveness, and love. I found myself laughing, swooning, and wanting to skip ahead to find out what happened. I finished in less than 24 hours, and I enjoyed every second of this one—it’s a *perfect* summer beach read, which is convenient because it comes out on August 19, 2019.

Overall? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (out of 5 stars)

A book with so many feelings wrapped up into one woman who is a hero in more ways than just being a brave firefighter. Cassie is not just fighting fires, she's fighting having any feelings in life. She's been through a lot and this is an amazing story about finding out if she can find a way to live a fulfilling life of all the things she thought she never wanted.
I loved How to Walk Away, and I was worried this book would not measure up to it. It did. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to receive an ARC and did not have to wait until August 2019.

Absolutely loved this book. This was my second book by Katherine Center that I’ve read, and I’ll be a lifelong fan. I enjoyed seeing a woman succeed in a hyper-masculine environment like firefighting, and she made it easy to root for every character... even you know who. Awesome read!

After reading this and 'How to Walk Away', I will now read anything by this author. I was so excited to read this and it did not disappoint. This book was full of all of my favorite elements of a good book; emotional family situations, a strong female lead, and an almost too good to be true love interest. The pacing was perfect, and you will not be able to put this one down. This is my new favorite book of 2019, don't miss reading this one!

Amazing book! I first discovered Katherine Center with her book How to Walk Away, and was so impressed, and now that I’ve read this one, I’m convinced she has become an automatic one-click author for me. From the very star in this book, the main character was likeable and relateable, and just someone you’d want to know in real life. The story is unusual in that she is a firefighter, and I think the author did a great job in making the readers understand the daily intricacies of the job in a realistic way. The relationship between Cassie and her mother evolves during the book so that the readers feel like they’re a part of the process.
There’s really nothing about this book that I didn’t enjoy. In fact, I didn’t want it to end. I love how the relationship between Cassie and Owen developed slowly and innocently, and how the author didn’t feel the need to make either one of them a villain or create undo turmoil between them. Both characters were honest and caring throughout the book and never turned cruel or mean, as happens in some romantic books.
Five huge, shining stars for this book!

Katherine Centers newest novel, Things you save in a fire was absolutely brilliant. It was truly an enjoyable read. A deep meaningful message, wrapped up in an entertaining, story. The heart wrenching tale will make you laugh, cry and rejoice. This thought provoking story dealing with love, loss and forgiveness will stay with you long after the story ends. 5 stars.

I always have high expectations when diving into a Katherine Center novel, and this one definitely lived up to the hype! This book shares the story of Cassie Hanwell, a tough female firefighter who picks up her life and moves to Massachusetts after finding out her mom is sick and in need of her help. Cassie starts as a new firefighter at a station full of men and works to be accepted and respected for who she is. This story was heartbreaking, real, honest, and funny all at the same time. I found myself relating to the main character, Cassie, throughout the novel, and thought her journey toward forgiveness and opening up her heart again to be courageous and inspiring. Owen, “The Rookie”, was the perfect love interest for Cassie and I loved how he saw her for exactly who she was and loved her for it. This book is already in the running for one of my favorites of the year!! A story that will stick with me long after the last page.

I’ve enjoyed all of Katherine Center’s books, and THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE was no exception!! A newbie woman firefighter and rookie are thrown together in a small town fire station. Their challenges help her learn to love and be able to forgive. It’s a sweet story. I definitely recommend it for a romantic, fun read.
A big THANK YOU to Net Galley for making this title available!

Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she's seen her fair share of them, and she's a total pro at other people's tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own.


Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience first time reading anything from this author

A modern tale of romance set with a painful secret, a background of change, family turmoil and interesting career choices. The details of fire fighting and emergency management are easy enough to understand and detailed enough to fascinate any reader. A great story about how to move forward - when everything around you seems to be falling apart.

Katherine Center just keeps getting better and better. I think she writes some of the most emotionally healthy books out there.
“Things You Save In A Fire” starts with Cassie, a firefighter who truly thinks she’s got it figured out. She’s smart, she’s funny, she works incredibly hard and she loves her job. Through a series of events, she figures out she has nothing figured out and has to start over.
Center does such a good job of showing emotional healing and growth in her characters in way that’s not preachy and still shows them as strong, capable people. It’s almost like reading a fictionalized account of a Brene Brown book in the best way possible. Cassie is still Cassie when the book is over. She’s still resourceful, she’ll never be outworked, but she learns how to forgive and be vulnerable. I finished this book with a new perspective on forgiveness. I loved the growth of her relationship with “The Rookie”. It had just the right amount of conflict. He never tried to emotionally rescue her. He let her set the pace and was there to support her. He was more emotionally open than she was, and it was a nice shift from the “usual” love interest story line.
This book is going straight to my favorites shelf, and I know I’ll be re-reading it.
I received an ARC of “Things You Save In A Fire” as a first read from Net Galley.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

Although this book will not be published until later this year, I just couldn't wait any longer and decided that Sunday afternoon was the perfect time. I really enjoyed the main protagonist, Cassie, as she navigated the politics of being the lone female firefighter in her district and learning to forgive her estranged ailing mother. Of course, there is also the added storyline of Cassie being able to open her heart to someone after being hurt so many years before. Maybe other readers will find it just too Hallmark Hall of Fame convenient as the story progresses, but this was the type of read that quenched my literary thirst. What keeps me from putting this to a 5 is that there is an element of the storyline( which I don't want to reveal) that I secretly wished could have been handled much better.


All in all, if you enjoyed How to Walk Away, then you're certainly in for a real treat!

Publication Date 13/08/19
Goodreads Review posted 18/02/19

Things You Save in a Fire is a beautifully written book. I was quickly drawn in to the life of Cassie a female firefighter. The story is of strength, forgiveness, and love. A wonderful novel that I didn't want to end. Loved this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. This is my honest review.

After becoming the first female to win a prestigious firefighting award in her home city of Austin, Cassie’s estranged, ailing mother requests her help, leading Cassie to take a position at a much smaller station in Massachusetts and finds herself trying to both prove herself as a firefighter to her new crew as well as break free from a traumatic event in her past which has kept her closed up from allowing herself any strong feelings.

One of my very few five star reads of the year. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy and plowed through this book in just one sitting. Things You Save in a Fire was such an uplifting read, a powerful lesson about forgiveness and a little romance to lighten the mood. I loved Cassie, the strong female protagonist but also loved her group of firefighter coworkers and their quirky personalities just as much.

Actually my first Katherine Center book (How to Walk Away is on my TBR shelf) and I LOVED this one. Such a great story that was light and fun, but also had serious moments. Cassie Hanwell is a firefighter who moves from progressive Austin to a small town in Massachusetts to take care for her estranged mother. Her new fire house is much more old school and she is the first woman to ever work there. Cassie was a relatable character (I also work in a male dominated field) and I enjoyed her growth throughout the book.

Katherine Center is without a doubt one of my favorite authors. I read her first book. The Bright Side of Disaster, years and years ago, and I fell in love with her writing. Since then, I have pre-ordered every other book she has written and thoroughly enjoyed them all. When I saw that her latest book, Things You Save in a Fire, was available on NetGalley, I was so thrilled to be able read an ARC! However, I was afraid to read it right away, because then I wouldn't be able to look forward to it anymore. I finally let myself read it when I had a bad cold and I needed something to treat myself.

Cassie is a firefighter who kicks butt at her job, which is good because the rest of her life is a mess. She has hardly any friends who aren't coworkers and no love life to speak of. While she has a good relationship with her dad, she is estranged from her mother, who abandoned Cassie and her dad on Cassie's 16th birthday. When she is suddenly confronted with a guy from high school at an award ceremony, she flips out and end up losing her job. Then, her mom calls and asks Cassie to come live with her for a year due to serious health problems. Cassie reluctantly agrees, only because she really has nowhere else to go.

I definitely really enjoyed this book, which was no surprise. Katherine Center just has a knack for creating realistic, layered characters that speak very realistic dialogue that fits what her characters would actually say. In this case, I didn't absolutely love the main character. I found the narrative a bit choppy, with a lot of short, pointed sentences and abrupt paragraphs. I believe this was intentional on the part of the author, as the main character has kind of turned off her emotions and lives a joyless existence, at least at the beginning of the book. But the result of this, at least to me, is that I found myself being pulled out of the story at times.

All that being said, I really enjoyed this book. The main character definitely grows through the course of the book due to her relationships with the other characters, and the other characters were very layered and most were fun to read about. Katherine Center will remain one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to read what she writes next!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced reader copy in exchange for this honest review!*

Things You Save in a Fire was a great read! Cassie had seen her fair share of bad things in life but she never let those thing affect her from overcoming any challenge that was thrown at her.. Cassie is a strong female character that you root for throughout the book and hope things turn out well in the end for. She had many struggles throughout her life and her career that could have easily caused her to walk away from firefighting and love but in the end she came out on top. This book also reminds us to believe in the good of people and to give people a chance even if they are quick to judge you. This is a book that I would highly recommend and leaves you with a feel good feeling once finished.

This is my second Katherine Center book, and seeing as I LOVED How To Walk Away, I was super excited to read this book! And once again, Center does not disappoint. I can't wait for her to write more books!

Cassie Hanwell is a well-respected female firefighter in Texas. She loves her job, and handles other peoples emergencies with amazing calmness. But when her ailing mom asks her to give up her Texan life to move to Boston, Cassie realizes that not all firehouses are the same. 

As the only female firefighter in the rundown and old school firehouse, she finds herself feeling quite unwelcome. Except for the very attractive rookie firefighter. But she doesn't have time for love...or so she thinks ;) 

Like I said, this is such a fun read, and one I'd suggest highly. Katherine Center is definitely being added to my favorite authors list!

I am a huge fan of Katherine Center books, so I was thrilled for the chance to read this one early and I was not disappointed. I loved the message about strong women, both in the obvious - Cassie, and the more subtle - her mother. I loved the camaraderie that exists in a firehouse. And I love the unexpected love story that's at the heart of every Center novel. This book will definitely be on my list of books to recommend for the summer.

Review: 4.5 stars. This is the first book I've read by Kathrine Center and I LOVED it! Read it in a day. The characters were well-developed, I struggled right along with the main character through her rollercoaster ride of emotions, and I was rooting for her all the way through. Believable, touching, and fun. I look forward to reading more of Center's books.