It's funny, because as something marketed as a romance, I felt the romance was easily the weaker part of this novel. (I found it baffling that she never once actually describes what this rookie looks like in any detail, other than our MC finding him attractive.) I did like the issue of being a woman in a male-dominated workplace, especially the fire service which is, as displayed in the book slow to change. Is it cheesy at times? Sure, but overall a decent read.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The story of a female firefighter working through the ranks who is extremely dedicated to her job.

I appreciate the point of view the story is told from. I found the writing to be easy to read and easy to follow and really liked the writing style. The story itself was very interesting. I would definitely read something by Katherine Center again.

My only complaint would be that the ending of the book felt a little be rushed and then a bit too tidy.

I really liked this book and read it in 2 days. Cassie Hanwell, the main character, is a badass female firefighter. Her struggles to be accepted in a male dominated career mean she has to be faster and smarter and work harder than anyone else in order to be taken seriously, something a lot of women can relate to. She is a flawed human, who, due to situations in her past, doesn't let anyone get close and struggles with forgiveness. But that all starts to change as the book goes on. I thought the author did a great job developing the character of Cassie, having her evolve and grow, making her not only believable but relatable. Forgiveness - of others and of ones self - is an important theme that really hit home with me. Though a little predictable, this was a great read.

Oh, Katherine Center, how I love you! Writing this as I wipe happy tears from my face. Despite receiving this ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, I still plan on purchasing this beautiful story as soon as it hits shelves! Center writes a heart-warming story about Cassie, a fierce female firefighter. Filled with strong characters (literally and figuratively), readers follow a story of love, fear, and the beauty of forgiveness. Wonderful!

Oh my goodness. Five brightly-shining, hopeful, joyful stars. It’s only January and I can already tell this is going to be on my list of favorite books of 2019. Katherine Center, you magnificent woman, you’ve done it again. I think I loved this one even more than I loved How To Walk Away.
This is a story of hurt, anger, injustice, forgiveness, love, hope, and an incredibly strong woman. As is her custom, Katherine Center has managed to weave a beautiful story with a powerful message without being heavy-handed or preachy. Brava! I was devestated for this one to end!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for review.

Cassie Hanwell is a female firefighter with a complicated history of trauma and desertion. On the night she is supposed to receive a prestigious award, her past comes to a head and she loses what feels like everything. After she is given a difficult choice, she moves across the country to take care of her mom, whom she has long been on bad terms with due to her desertion of Cassie as a teenager. She also must join a firefighting crew that is biased against women firefighters so she has to prove herself. As she works on her relationship with her mother and a new friendship with a rookie firefighter, she begins to learn lessons about herself and how to live a more complete life. I really liked Cassie's character and the development she went through as the book progressed.

One of the best novels of the year! Fun, sweet, compassionate tale from Katherine Center. Cassie is a firefighter and not really a people person. She is fantastic at her job and this is where her passion lies, for now. Her mother, who had abandoned her, calls her back home when her health starts to take a decline. Feeling like she has not other option she travels back to a place she is reluctant to with only giving it a year in mind. Even though I was never personally abandoned by my mother - this character is so relatable. You laugh with her, cry with her and almost break out in hysterics with her. Especially when she meets the Rookie. The rookie is the one she can't get out of her head. Yep, sap story coming. When these two meet things get really interesting in the best of ways. I loved everything about this one. A sure recommend!

This was my first Katherine Center book. Which means I am now a super fan and will read all of her books!

This book was wonderfully written. A female fire fighter transfers across the country due to a request by her estranged mother. She has to transfer from a city and co-workers that love her to a city where women don’t fight fires and men aren’t open to the idea of it.

It’s a story of forgiveness and love. One that has been told many times, but not quite like this. The story is beautiful. I found myself laughing loudly and also quietly crying.

I am so grateful for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion: I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Once again, Katherine Center delivers a book that is funny and heart-warming. I loved the characters and the lessons they show us of forgiveness and moving on.
The first chapter had me instantly hooked! Cassie shocked me in that first chapter and I knew I had to get down to the mystery of what happened to her to make her act out like that. I also loved each and every one of the male firefighters she we worked with (even the ones that I had to forgive)

Katherine Center, you are quickly becoming my new favorite author! I loved How to Walk Away, I couldn't put it down so I couldn't wait to read Things You Save in a Fire and this was another book I could not put down.

Cassie, a firefighter in Texas seems to have everything going for her professionally, until a call from her ill mother has her relocating to Massachusetts to help take care of her. Cassie left a fire station that was extremely progressive, but that isn't what she walks into in Massachusetts, her fellow firefighters don't want to work with a woman and they let her know it. She tries to not let it get to her, proving to them and her mother that she is a tough as nails, but when the rookie firefighter who started on the same day as her, shows her compassion, Cassie realizes what she is missing in her life. Due to trauma she experienced as a teenager, Cassie doesn't let anyone get too close to her and has built walls around herself to not let anyone in. But as her mother and the rookie start to chip away at these walls, she realizes that not only does she have to forgive others, but also most importantly, she needs to forgive herself.

Cassie is the type of character you can't help but root for. You feel her pain and her victories. It's a moving story that had me crying a few times throughout the book. And I love the little call back to How to Walk Away, I love that Center tried to connect the books slightly.

Thank you Katherine Center for pulling me out of my reading slump! I could not put down this book. It is adorable, romantic and quirky. I love seeing the characters develop. I quickly became immersed in Cassie's story. I felt connected to her trauma and her growth throughout the story. She also is a badass protagonist, I was inspired by her work ethic, firefighting skills and adaptability. This story will be a highly recommended by me to all booklovers!

I am so grateful to have had the chance to read this wonderful, heartwarming story. Katherine Center's novels are always adorable, and full of life lessons. You can always count on her to add a little romance, and lots of humor to her stories. Things You Save in a Fire was no different! I loved it from the beginning and cheered for the characters throughout. Cassie, The Rookie, Diana, Josie, etc. Each had a story to tell, and held a puzzle piece to complete this book. I love when a novel can make me feel joy, frustration, and sadness. I love it even more when a novel can make me laugh. This book did all of that and more. Fun Fact: If you read Katherine's previous novel How To Walk Away, there is a little call back to that books main character in the beginning of this one. Love that little tie in! If I had to give one note of constructive criticism, I would say that I go annoyed at Cassie's stubbornness a few times. I understand that Cassie's character was stubborn and she had to be that way to further the story along, but I grew a bit tired of that.

I know you will LOVE this book! Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire is bound to be a smashing success!

Katherine Center's latest novel, Things You Save in a Fire is my favorite book of hers to date. It combines family drama, forgiveness and romance into a very nice story that catches the reader's attention from the beginning and keeps the momentum going throughout the book. Fans of Center will love this one!

At the start of the book, our main character Cassie is a firefighter in Austin, Texas at a progressive, more modern station. At an event where she is to be honoured for her valour, she gets into some trouble. At this point, her mother, who she's estranged from, asks her to come to a small town outside of Boston to care for her because she is sick. At first, she doesn't want to do it, but because of her dad's urging and the trouble she got herself into she agrees to go.

Once there, she transfers to an old-school firehouse that is male-dominated. She is the first woman to ever be at this firehouse and the men are not happy. They don't believe women should be firefighters and they don't hide this fact from her either. The only one on her side is the rookie firefighter that started the same day that she did. There were romantic elements to the book between Cassie and the rookie Owen. However, she can't give in to her feelings or her career at the firehouse would be done.

All in all, it's a very well written book and definitely had my emotions going up and down. I highly recommend this book!

I enjoyed this book and the underlying messages it imparted to the reader. First of all, Cassie is a very strong-willed young firefighter. Part of the reason she is who she is began with her mother choosing to leave her behind with her father, as well as a traumatic event that happened to her after that which has never been shared with anyone. Now her mother is asking her to please come and stay with her to help her through a health crisis. Naturally this starts off really rocky, but the way they begin to know and understand each other shows that it can be done, and the lessons she learns from her mom along the way make Cassie grow in ways she thought she never could. As Cassie also begins a new job at a new fire department, she is faced with the bias of the men who feel that a woman does not belong in the fire department, and thus she has two struggles going on in her life. The story of how she works her way through these trials and lets us learn about the characters who surround her. The biggest lesson she learns is how to forgive and live with that decision. How she learns to open he heart to others is a life-lesson. Thank you to NetGAlley, author and publisher for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review, which this has been. #ThingsYouSaveinaFire

I'm a relative newcomer to Katherine Center's work, but I really enjoyed what I've read so far. Things You Save in a Fire is a romance starring a female firefighter, so she explores the complexities of being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field. Throw in a sweet romance and enjoy. Is it a little cheesy at times? Of course, but aren't all romance novels? Bottom line, I enjoyed falling in love with these characters and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I can't describe the giddy feeling I get when I know I'm about to read a new Katherine Center novel. She has become my go-to author when I want to read something fun and light on the surface, but with true to life characters and deep meaning that will touch my soul. Things You Save in a Fire tells the story of Cassie, an intrepid female firefighter in Austin. On the cusp of winning a major award, she finds herself moving to Massachusetts to help the mother who abandoned her ten years previously. Cassie has spent her adult life creating a world in which she is in complete control. Now that she is in a new environment, she faces choices and opportunities that make her see everything differently.

This novel is beautiful, heartbreaking, funny, and uplifting all in one go. When I have the opportunity to read one of Katherine Center's novels, I know that I'd better plan on staying in one place for an extended period of time- there is no way I'll be able to put it down. Things You Save in a Fire was definitely no exception. I highly recommend this one- you won't be disappointed!

Another great book by Katherine Center! I enjoyed this story and the characters, but the last 4th of the book was probably my favorite. This book also brings up a lot of themes, forgiveness, abuse, dealing with trauma, falling in love, sexism, and loving yourself.

Cassie is a hotshot firefighter in Austin, Texas. One of the only female firefighters in a progressive firehouse, Cassie is at the top of her game. Until the night of the awards ceremony, where she attacks the presenter. Given a choice of being fired or reassigned, Cassie takes the reassignment. She is reassigned to a fire station outside of Boston, where she will be taking care of her estranged mother. Cassie is in for a huge change when she joins the department. Underfunded, with poor facilities and ripe with sexism, Cassie has her work cut out for her. She also has her work cut out for her in her personal life also. What will happen to Cassie? Can she overcome the odds stacked against her? Will she be able to put the past behind her and move on?

I am going to start this review with a complaint. 95% of the book takes places in a fictitious town of Lillian, Massachusetts. Lillian is located south of Rockport/Gloucester. Which would put it in the Manchester-by-the-Sea/Ipswich area. My complaint is this. That is not the Boston area. Boston is an hour drive from there. How do I know? I grew up in that area and lived there until 5 years ago. Where I grew up was 20 mins from Boston and Rockport is 20-30 mins from there. That is not the Boston area. That is considered the North Shore/Cape Anne area. So it irked me when I read that. It was the only thing that I didn’t care for in the book.

The major plotline of Things You Save in a Fire is forgiveness and healing. When Cassie is introduced, she had shut herself off from everything. She didn’t trust because of events that happened 10 years earlier. She despised her mother and had little to do with her. She didn’t have any close relationships outside of work. After the incident and moving to Rockport, I could see her walls coming down. She started to forgive her mother for leaving. She started to come to terms with her rape. Everything came to a head when Owen was injured in the fire and DeStasio put the blame on her. That scene with DeStasio was one of the most heartbreaking scenes I have read in a while. The details she went into broke my heart in smithereens. But talking about it helped her heal. And in a way, helped her forgive.

I liked the storyline with the rookie and Cassie. I laughed at her first reaction to seeing him the first time. I felt awful about her panicking when she realized that she like liked him. I cried when she told him (in not so many words) what happened to her. I cheered when she decided to throw caution to the wind and pursue a relationship with him. I will say that I thought it was odd that Owen was only known as “the rookie” for about 75% of the book.

The other plotline that caught my attention was the relationship between Cassie and her mother. Cassie was traumatized by her mother leaving on her 16th birthday. In the 10 years since she left, she had little contact with her. I didn’t blame Cassie for flat out saying no to Diana when she called after the incident. But with her father intervening and being forced to transfer, she had to go. Cassie was forced to face her mother. She was forced to start caring. She was also forced to listen to why Diana left. What Cassie believed happened and what she found out is two different things. Towards the middle of the book, it was revealed exactly why Diana wanted Cassie to come to Massachusetts. I didn’t blame Cassie for her reaction.

I loved that Cassie was a firefighter. There are very few female firefighters. The author did a fantastic job of portraying what Cassie had to do to make the men of the Lillian station respect her. She also did a great job of detailing the harassment that Cassie had to deal with.

I will say that I was surprised when I realized that Cassie was the firefighter from How to Walk Away. That one sentence made me go “No way” when I realized it was her.

The end of Things You Save in a Fire was sad and happy at the same time. I was thrilled that Owen and Cassie got their HEA. I loved Cassie’s mindset at the end of the book. LOVED IT!!! She did get the best revenge.

I would give Things You Save in a Fire an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is language. There is mild violence. There are triggers. They would be parental abandonment, rape, cancer, and addiction. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would recommend Things You Save in a Fire. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Things You Save in a Fire.

All opinions stated in this review of Things You Save in a Fire are mine.

Things you save in a fire deserves all the stars in the sky! This book gave me so many feelings! I was hooked from page 1 and it only intensified from there. Every time I would put the book down I would have to pick it back up for just one more chapter. Even when I wasn’t reading, Cassie, The rookie and all the characters were in my head always thinking about them and what was going to happen next. Books like that are so rare and when u find one that good I love to be consumed with it! This is definitely on my top reads of 2019 and will forever be one of my favorites! Oh what to read next....