Such a great book. I really liked "How to Walk Away", so I wanted to read another book by this author. I'm so glad I found this one. From the beginning, I wanted to keep reading, ignoring sleep and work, so I could find out what happened with Cassie next. I'm sad that I finished it, but the author always wraps everything up in the end. Time to find another Katherine Center book!

. This contemporary story opens in Austin, Texas as a group of firefighters are being honored for an heroic rescue. The main honoree is a 5’6” woman firefighter, Cassie Hanwell, who was the only person small enough to fit into the smashed bus to rescue the children. The mayor was supposed to present the award to Cassie, but a city councilman that Cassie knew in high school ended up being the presenter. This man was a horrible person in high school, and is still that way as an adult, and Cassie reacts in a way that has the potential to cause her to lose her job. This leads her to accept a job in Lillian, Massachusetts, where she moves to help her mother, who is having a health crisis.

Many wonderful themes are explored in this book. The themes of loss, forgiveness, tragedy, fulfillment, acceptance, and happiness are all explored significantly through the protagonists and through the supporting characters. Motivations are eventually clearly delineated, although not always initially. The pacing keeps the reader engaged and interested. Cassie especially experiences a multitude of emotions, turmoil, and growth. Her mother is a delightful surprise to the reader—her wisdom and acceptance bring depth as well as poignancy to this book. There is also a healing love story in this novel. This is a beautiful book.

I loved this book by Katherine Center! Strong-willed and determined firefighter, Cassie Hanwell, keeps you on your toes as she navigates life—family, her career and love. Things You Save in a Fire kept me reading and wanting to know more. I highly recommend this to others!

This was one of those books that you just know you're going to love by the end of the first chapter. This was my fist read from Katherine Center, but I'll be picking up more of her books ASAP. I totally fell in love with each and every character, as Center managed to create dynamic, believable characters who you end up rooting for. The pacing of the novel was absolutely perfect, and I felt like everything moved at exactly the right speed.

I kept thinking I could put this book down at the end of a chapter, but I ended up reading it all almost at once. It was the perfect mix of romance, humor, action and personal growth. Totally Recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 13, 2019.

I unequivocally adored this book! Somehow Katherine Center was able to weave heavy topics into a lighthearted story that will make you (happily) feel all the feels.

Cassie is a 26-year-old firefighter and as you can imagine, working in a male-dominated field has its challenges. After excelling and working her way up the ranks at her station in Austin, she's faced with a ghost from the past that has her begrudgingly fleeing to Massachusetts to help take care of her sick mother. This means living with the woman who walked out on her and her father 10 years ago, proving herself at a firehouse that doesn't welcome women, and dealing with the unfamiliar spark of emotion she gets when she's around the cute rookie.

This is a lovely story about digging deep for forgiveness when forgiveness is impossible, fighting misogyny like a bad-ass, moving past grief, and above all, love. This was my first Katherine Center book and I'm most definitely going to check out her others! It was truly a joy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Things You Save in a Fire. I loved the characters, even the grumpy sexist firefighters, and the storylines. Although this seems like just a beautiful love story there was so much more. This book is a lesson on forgiveness How to forgive and how to accept forgiveness. This is a story that will stick with me a long time and hopefully make me a better person.

It’s been a long while since a book has caught my interest as much as this one. I’m a new mom who also works full time—it takes me weeks to finish a book, generally. I finished this one in 3 days. It made me laugh out loud, it made me gasp, it made me cry. Katherine Center evokes such great imagery with her writing and I felt like I was having a conversation with a friend.
I felt for Cassie when she couldn’t forgive. I’ve been there. In a way this book helped me to see the other side of things. It was cathartic to see someone else going through similar obstacles—even if it is a work of fiction.
Katherine Center went above and beyond in her research into firefighters as a whole. She truly helps the reader to understand the gender difference in the profession and I really felt like she had details in all the right places.
While predictable at times, I don’t think it detracted from the overall story arc and even knowing what was going to happen it still kept me guessing with specifics. Overall, this was a great book and I look forward to reading more of her work!

Let me start by saying I love this author~ Katherine Center! Give me all her books and more! I read her other book How To Walk Away, so I was going into this book with high expectations, and she did not disappoint!

Cassie Hanwell is the only female firefighter at Station Eleven in Austin, Texas. She’s hard working, passionate about her job, respected by her colleagues, and a rising star. Work is her life, and she has no issues with not having much of a life outside of work.

One day she receives a call from her mother who is sick, and asks Cassie to move to Rockport, Massachusetts to help her out for a year tops. Cassie, not wanting to uproot her life for the mother who abandoned her when she was a teenager says no, at first. One night at an awards ceremony changes everything, and Cassie is soon on her way to Rockport.
She gets a job at a beaten down fire station where females are not wanted. Once again Cassie is finding that she has to prove that she is just as good, if not better than her male counterparts.

So while Cassie is dealing with feelings of abandonment from her mother and constantly trying to prove herself at the new fire station, in walks the Rookie, Owen Callahan, and her life is turn upside down once again.

This book will make you laugh, cry, and cheer! I tend to read more thrillers, so I know I’m getting the break I need when I pick up a book by Katherine Center!
The way Center ties this book in with her other book, How To Walk Aways was a nice touch!

I really loved this book. It was such a roller coaster of emotions. I liked learning about firefighters. I loved the characters. I found myself thinking about this book all day long. It was a treasure.

Thanks to Katherine Center & netgalley for the advanced copy.

This book ran me through so many different emotions! Sadness, fear, love, happiness. I feel like I went through it all. I loved this book. It’s not often I give a book 5 stars. But I absolutely loved this. It taught me a lesson in forgiveness, which I don’t have an easy time doing. I thought this book was fantastic!!

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.