Katherine Center’s HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS is hands down one of my favorite books ever. I reread it at least once a year and I am always excited when she has a new book coming out. I was blown away by THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE! It set off an inferno of love in my heart that I never wanted put out. Just like her other novels, she has a way of making you just feel so much for the characters. There was so much depth to Cassie; the struggle she went through at work, the need to be just another firefighter at the same going above and beyond to prove herself, the despair at connecting with the right person at the worst time. Center makes you feel all of this and more.🔥
•
I loved the plot of this novel and was surprised in more ways than one but in a good way! I thought the plot and character arcs were going to go one way and they went a different direction and I was just...so happy reading this book. It dealt with a lot of very relevant and important issues but it didn’t feel contrived or like I was being preached at in a certain way. I cannot say enough good things about this novel, it was just amazing. I have read and loved Center’s last three books and I really think she is such a fantastic voice of female empowerment and strength in the writing world. Her heroines are something to watch.🔥
•
READ THIS IF...you love fantastic writing, a woman in a historically man’s world, and being surprised in a good way.🔥

#Netgalley #arc #thingsyousaveinafire #katherinecenter #macmillanusa #bookstagram #bookreview what can I say about this endearing book. It's your typical#romance story full of heartbreak and love and #happyendings. While the book was predictable and you knew what was happening before it was happening it still came as a surprise. This is a cute, charming novel full of #goodfeels. You will feel anger and sadness. You will shed a year and root for the main character. It's definitely worth a read and is available now ❤️ #latetothegame #butnottoolate

Cassie Hanwell is a tenacious firefighter that “doesn’t do love” unless it’s in reference to her job. All that may change though, when she has to leave the firehouse she loves in Texas and move across the country to Boston to live with the mother she has barely spoken to in 10 years, and to work in a firehouse filled with men that don’t think women belong there.

Fantastic character development, girl power, love, bravery and forgiveness. You will fall in love with this funny, sweet, unputdownable book.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

RATING SCALE 1 (LOW) TO 5 (HIGH)
Unputdownable-ness: 5
Ugly Cry Potential: 5
LOL: 5
Steaminess: 2
Character Development: 5
Originality: 3
Quality of Writing: 5
Intellectual Depth: 3
Emotionally Trying/Hard to Read: 2

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for sharing this heartwarming read with me to review. Things You Save In a Fire by Katherine Center is available now.

Things You Save In a Fire features Cassie. One of the only female firefighters, she takes care of everybody but herself. When her estranged mother asks her to move to Boston to take care of her for a while, Cassie has to prove herself all over again to a firehouse full of men who think ladies should not be in this position. Watching her prove herself, learn to forgive her mother, and open up to the rookie at the station was truly heartwarming reading. Cassie had me rooting for her at the start and I fell hard for this story.

"Things You Save In A Fire" delivers a powerful hit in one punch. It is a knock-out!

When I recommend a book, I ask myself the following question: Are the female characters written with dimension, strength and intelligence? Katherine Center answers this question with a big yes, yes and yes in "Things You Save In A Fire".

I loved the main character, Cassie Hanwell! She checks all my boxes on what I am looking for in a recommended book. Dimension, strength and intelligence. Check, check, check.

Cassie is a firefighter, could certainly compete in American Ninja Warrior, bravely steps up in any emergency and simply knows her stuff backwards and forwards!

One of my favorite inspirational speeches is by Reese Witherspoon at Glamour's 2015 Women of the Year Awards, in which she speaks about starting her own production company with a focus on creating stronger roles for women in film.

Within that speech, Ms. Witherspoon references the countless times of disappointment she had experienced in her career when reviewing a script and, in the moment of crisis, the female character would turn to the guy and say “What do we do now?”

Well, I can tell you this… Cassie Hanwell never says “What do we do now?” She just starts doing it.

This is my first read by Ms. Center and I am extremely grateful to the recommendation from a friend who encouraged me to bring this book to the top of my TBR stack. I did. I opened to the first page… and 24 hours later, I was a Katherine Center fan for life.

A thrilling story behind-the-scenes of the super-heroes who put their lives on the line everyday for us. Not only bravely (and literally) fighting fires… but also “fighting fires” in the workplace to make room for women in professions that have been challenging to break into.

Cassie is a badass force that navigates a journey filled with relatable unjust decisions… yet chooses her weapon carefully to win her challenges. What is her weapon? She makes herself simply too good to be ignored.

And that is a powerful weapon.

But, "Things You Save In A Fire" goes even deeper. Cassie is also navigating an estranged relationship with her mother. And here is where "Things You Save In A Fire" really becomes a story of courage… It starts to fight the brutal world of living without forgiveness.

And although Cassie deals with life and death decisions everyday like a super-hero, she comes face-to-face with her greatest test when it comes to choosing love and forgiveness.

She steps up to the true test of courage… And, as I turned the pages, I was fighting for her all the way.

Because, even a super-hero needs encouragement.

Be a super-hero… Choose to love…
_______________________________________

My reviews can also be seen at https://www.thisismyeverybody.com ... Including my free resources for book club support, reading and DIY home ideas inspired by each recommended book.

✨😎✨A big thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in my review are my own.

This was my first book by Katherine Center, and I’m glad I took a chance on THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE. I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Center’s voice as an author. The story follows Cassie, a young and tough firefighter whose life is slowly cracking down the middle. It starts with a disaster at an awards ceremony and continues when her estranged mother calls. She asks Cassie to uproot her life in Austin, Texas and move to a small coastal town in Massachusetts.

This book was definitely more women’s fiction than straight romance, but there is a strong love story in the second half of the book. I enjoyed following Cassie’s personal journey to forgiveness and self-discovery. The way she slowly comes to accept personal relationships with not just her mother, but many people in her life was beautiful and incredibly fulfilling to read about.

What I appreciated the most is that even when Cassie was making mistakes, falling down, or falling apart, I was always firmly on her side. She had a hard shell around her feelings, and watching her blossom into a happier and more emotional person was incredible. Ms. Center wrote her transformation in a smart and nuanced way that felt authentic. She did an excellent job of slowly letting the reader find out about Cassie’s traumatic past. She had me glued to my kindle.

I did think this whole book walked the thin line between “heartwarming” and “corny” and sometimes, especially towards the end of the book, started leaning corny. I didn’t think the story needed as many dramatic elements as it had. A stalker/villain, hidden romance, illness, professional problems, and Cassie dealing with her tumultuous past all became a little too much by the end.

Instead of focusing so much on the villain, which made me roll my eyes, I wish we could have seen a little more of Cassie healing emotionally. I think this was especially needed in regards to her relationship with her mother. It just seemed like a switch flipped and she was suddenly okay talking to a mother she had been so angry at, for so long. I also felt that the timeline got jumbled at time. I wasn’t always sure how much time had passed between chapters or moments, even.

Overall, this book is perfect for fans of Robyn Carr and RaeAnne Thayne. It was heartwarming, emotional, and an overall delightful read.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

I honestly feel like I have no words. This book is hands down my top read of the year. Cassie’s story is absolutely heart wrenching and you best believe I cried while reading this book (I’m honestly even tearing up little emotional I’m writing this). This is my first read by Katherine Center and it hit me right in the gut. I honestly really tried to take my time with this book but once I started reading it I could not put this down. I was captivated the entire time I was reading this book. The writing is phenomenal and the detail and storyline of each character is very well developed. Though I did figure out what the overall plot was, that did not ruin the story for me at all. Overall, I really just can’t put into words how this story made me feel. Anytime I think about it, tears well up in my eyes. I feel like an absolute sappy and crying mess. This is no doubt a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read!!! I can’t wait to read more books by Katherine Center and get this book in physical form to add to my collection.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This the second book I have read by Katherine Center and I loved it. Ms. Center writes novels that are easy to read which is not to say there aren’t complications and a myriad of emotions because there is all that. Ms. Center gets you to identify with her characters. You understand them and you like the them - most of them anyway.
Cassie Hanwell, the main character, is a wonderfully complex yet simple character. I cheered for her, cried for her and admired her strength and her vulnerability.
Cassie’s adult life has been formed by two events that changed her on the day she turned sixteen. These events were the foundation for the woman she is now. They strengthened her resolve and drive and the decision to wall off her emotions.
This resolve aided Cassie in becoming a firefighter/paramedic. Cassie is very good at her job, very dedicated, well liked and respected in her firehouse. She is one of only two women in the firehouse. But all things change.

At the request of her estranged mother Cassie relocates. Her mother, Diana, has asked Cassie to come help her for a year. Grudgingly Cassie goes.
What will Cassie’s life be like now? Will she resolve her issues? Will she find happiness? Will she succeed at the new firehouse?

With the relocation, Cassie’s life becomes an emotional rollercoaster. She has avoided this for 10 years but now she has lost some of her control. Cassie comes to grips with it.
I highly recommend this book. It is well written. It has depth but is an easy and wonderful read. It has lots of emotions, laughter, love, romance and forgiveness. The characters are just that, characters.
Thank you to #Netgalley and StMartinsPress for approving my request. The opinions expressed in this revieware solely my own.

Cassie Hanwell is a firefighter for the Austin Fire Department. In her spare time, she teaches self-defense, volunteers for several things, and helps her Dad in working on his house. Cassie’s mother left her father for another man when Cassie was 16 and this left her hurt and bitter toward her mother.

Cassie avoids seeing her mother but when the woman calls begging her to come stay with her in Massachusetts for a year as she adjusts to being blind in one eye, Cassie refuses.

Cassie is not interested in dating anyone, especially another firefighter. Her co-workers understand that. Tonight, she is at an awards ceremony where she is to receive an award for saving a busload of students. When she sees that the award is to be given to her by none other than Heath Thompson, a councilman, and the guy who broke her heart in high school, she is stunned. As she accepts the award, Heath reaches down and grabs her ass. Infuriated, she punches him out.

The next morning, Cassie’s boss calls her in to admonish her for punching the councilman. She requests that she apologize to him and Cassie refuses. Thus, she is terminated. However, Cassie requests that she get a job with a small fire station in MA for a year and it is agreed upon. So, Cassie is off to be with her mother for a year. Oh joy!

Cassie is cool to her mother and is not interested in getting to know people. She is there to work as a fire fighter and help her mother for one year. Period.

As she settles into her new job, she still feels like she has to show the guys that she is as good as they are.

OK. This book. To me, Cassie comes across as an immature female who feels like she has to be as good as or better than the men with whom she works. She can’t show any emotion and for Pete’s sake, she cannot act at all like a girl. I cannot roll my eyes enough. Sorry, but I found this juvenile and totally unappealing.

Copy provided by NetGalley and Goodreads in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Cassie was the youngest person and only female firefighter to win Austin’s Fire Departments Valor Award. That night she got propositioned by her partner of three years Hernandez but it turned out to be a prank as she thought it was. It did help her nervous waiting to receive the award. The winter before a busload of kids slid off the road into a ravine, Cassie climbed inside and pushed the kids out through a window one by one as the water rose. Hernandez was like a Latino firefighting Ken doll and snared many females He leaned over at dinner and asked Cassie to spend the night with him. Hernandez told Cassie she was the loneliest person he knew and suddenly Cassie knew that was true. The mayor was suppose to give Cassie the award but had been called away on city business. Than it was announced Heath Thompson would present the award who was a local councilman. The only person who could ruin this for Cassie. He cupped her butt with one hand as he shook her hand with the other and Cassie lost it and beat him with the award and than with her hands. He ended up in the hospital with a concussion. Cassie hadn’t grown up wanting to be a firefighter. She had never thought about it. It had just happened and essentially by accident. Cassie was on her way to med School to become and E R doctor. She was looking for a campus job and got recruited as an EMT for the University. She loved everything about being an EMT. Cassie did this for two years than her supervisor recommended that she get certified as a paramedic and work for the city. She worked for the city as a paramedic for a year abd after graduation another supervisor talked Cassie into applying to the Fire Academy. Somewhere along the way Cassie realized this was what she was born to do. Cassie and her mother were slightly estranged as she had left Cassie and her father. But Cassie finally answered her call the night she had lost it on Councilman Heath Thompson. Her mother said she needed Cassie’s help. Cassie had called her mother mom in a long time but Diana and called her father Ted. She told her mother no she couldn’t help her. Her mother was blind in one eye and that was bad when you were an artist. But Cassie stuck with no even after her father called. Although she knew in the end she would move and give her mother the year she said she needed her. The next day at work she was called into her captain's office. She was to apologize to heath and when she refused, she was to be fired. Than Cassie asked if she transferred to another fire department in another state. Her captain was also a female and agreed to Cassie's Plan B. But her captain said that if this got leaked to the press or the councilman decided to press charges she would still be fired. Cassie felt like she would cry at the loss of her “family” of firefighters she had to leave behind. Cassie had structured her life around lack of emotion. She structured her life around routine, safety, and order. Feelings were a lot of trouble. She avoided them as much as possible. Within a week her Captain found her a position in a fire department twenty minutes from where her mother lived. But it was an all male firefighter department who didn’t really want a female firefighter but were desperate. Cassie’s captain gave her words of wisdom even had her wrote them down the biggest rule not to break was never date another firefighter. But Cassie was very attracted to the rookie-Owen- who started the same day she did. He seemed to accept her and they were paired up a lot at work to work together.
I liked this book a lot and it was well written. I didn’t like that Cassie was almost fired but then she went to help her mother and to another fire department in another state even if it wasn’t easy for her there. I loved seeing cassie grow and change. I really liked her Captain did all she could for Cassie after the disastrous award ceremony and that she gave Cassie some good advice as she knew how hard it was making a career in a male dominated field and one that didn’t want her there. All she could go through trying to be accepted and fitting in. Especially since the new position was in a fire department who had never had a female firefighter and only took her as they were desperate. I was glad she had Owen and he accepted her even if he was the Rookie and started the same day she did. I liked the plot a lot. I liked the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it.

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center is a short book. No! Not really! But that's how it felt because I just loved reading it and it just went by far too fast. Always a sign of a good story.

One heroine who has a dark past that has left her angry, bitter and with a "keep your hands off me or you'll be sorry" kind of attitude, even if its just a sympathetic hug.

Cassie is a firefighter and skilled paramedic. She knows to work alongside men she needs to be the best... and she is. When her mother needs her she reluctantly moves to be with her and start afresh. The men at the new fire station aren't going to make it easy for her, the rookie provides an interesting new experience for her and life with her mother turns into something more than she was expecting.

Just when I was thinking to myself something is missing - you'll know if you have read it, or when you read it - wham it arrived in a huge plot twist that was so good.

I loved how Cassie evolved, how she showed courage on so many fronts, how skilled and calm she was with her work. I loved how she came to know the power of forgiveness. And well... what I love most in a book - love and a happy, satisfying ending!

I had no idea what this book was about and was pleasantly surprised as I read it. The narrator, Cassie, had some traumas in her teenage years that caused her to put an emotional shell around herself. She doesn't believe in love and has issues with her mother. I was pulling for her to make a break through and find some happiness. Cassie tells her serious story conversationally with some humor and sensitivity. I highly recommend this book. It is well written and engaging. I want to thank #NetGalley for an advanced copy of #ThingsYouSaveinaFire.

First off, if Katherine Center writes it I’m going to read it, and so should you. Things You Save In a Fire is just the latest amazing novel from this marvelous author. Her stories take some monumental events in people’s lives and walk you through how they deal with them. The good, the bad, the pain, the happiness, it’s all there. Makes you laugh and makes you cry and gives you a lot to think about.

Cassie has had a lot thrown at her in her life but she has succeeded despite that. She’s a decorated firefighter, one of the best at the job. The way she has done that, though, is to push the bad parts down and ignore them. And now circumstances have come together that will make her confront her past and the things she’s been avoiding. Being forced to leave her forward-thinking modern firehouse in Texas where she feels so at home and join a tough, old-school firehouse in Boston where she is unwelcome is not easy. Nor is suddenly living with the ailing mother she’s been more or less estranged from since she was sixteen. Pushing the feelings down wasn’t dealing with them and meant her life was her work and nothing else. No friends, no dating, no relationships. Now she is discovering she can’t avoid those feelings when she is face-to-face with her mother and others on a daily basis.

And the Boston firehouse. Well, to say they don’t want her there is an understatement. She has to prove herself over and over and still struggles to fit in. Someone in the firehouse is trying to force Cassie out, by harming her or even harming her mother. The last piece of advice her female captain in Texas gave her was fit in, and most of all don’t date a firefighter. She’s trying, but it’s not easy. Cassie’s not the only newbie in the Boston firehouse. There’s a rookie – and there is definitely something sparking between the two of them. But she can’t jeopardize her job, and as things keep getting worse and more dangerous her she doesn’t know if she can even trust him.

Things You Save In a Fire is a story with everything – excitement, danger, mystery, emergencies, fires – but most of all it’s a beautifully told tale about learning to forgive, to love, and to stop and think and listen and face what has hurt you.

Tissue alert: a few chapters in you learn that Cassie was the first firefighter on the scene after Margaret’s accident in How to Walk Away. I had the same reaction as when I read that (marvelous, terrific, wonderful) book and it was a nice tie-in.

Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire is a heartfelt, affecting novel about life and love with characters you will care deeply about. Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed Things You Save in a Fire and recommend it without hesitation.

This title is heartwarming and has some heat. It’s romantic, but in a sparks are flying amidst a tale of a woman who’s fighting to be one of the guys, dealing with trauma, and coming to grips with broken parental relationships. Strong woman, personal obstacles, big emotions.

Cassie is a strong woman with some emotional baggage that has left her stunted when it comes to personal relationships. Trying to make it in a man’s world as a more-than capable firefighter, she’s transferred after an incident and must find her roots all over again. Along the way, she has to decide it love is worth the risk.

I loved my early review copy and will be adding other titles by this author to my to be read pile. I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Last year I had a fortuitous book winning: I won Katherine Center’s novel How to Walk Away (you can read my review here). I adamantly called it the best novel I had read so far that year. In fact, it might still be the best one I read last year.

Today I read Things You Save in a Fire and I will tell you again that this is the best thing I’ve read all year. Katherine Center has mastered the art of storytelling. Prose that never rushes or slows. Characters who matter. Life, love, hope, caring, forgiveness. It’s all here, and I cared. I cared to read this beautifully written novel. I read it today. All of it. I stopped at intervals especially when I felt that her writing might be taking me somewhere where I would cry.

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 came.

Cassie is not your average heroine. She’s a stoic firefighter whose Captain in Austin says that her path has been easy because she hasn’t had to fight for anything in that progressive city. But circumstances remove Cassie from her progressive Austin to a small New England town where she’s warned that the men probably won’t want her; they won’t be welcoming; that she will have to hide everything about her that is feminine.

Cassie proves herself time and time again but always realizes that it might not be enough.

But this story is not just about Cassie the paramedic. It’s also about mother-daughter relations and how what you think you know may be quite wrong or not what you expected. And mostly it’s about forgiveness, yourself and others. And then, it’s about love. The kind of love that reaches in and makes you become something more than you ever thought yourself capable of being. And, it’s about understanding and empathy, which may, in the long run be even more important than love.

I’m not going to tell you that this book has all of the “feels” because that’s almost an insult. This book resonates. This book does everything it should and more. This is, on this day, my perfect book.

Thank you, Katherine Center, for giving me this wonderful novel.

Read this. That’s my recommendation.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book really wanting to love it, but I think I expected something much more serious than what I found. It does have its serious side, but this one was more cutesy, sugary sweet contemporary romance than anything else. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, and a good balance of light and dark can make for a great story. For me, this one was just a little more sugar than I care for. The book is well-written if a little bit scattered at times, and maybe it's just too much sweetness for my cynical self, but Things You Save in a Fire came in somewhere in the fair to middlin' range for me. I didn't hate it, but it didn't leave a lasting impression either.

Found this to be an interesting read that was hard to put down. The characters are strong and determined but also unsure and vulnerable. The story line has a hint of mystery as well as forgiveness, doubt and growing love. Well worth reading this book.

Received a copy thru Netgalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Rating: 4 combustible stars

What a fun book! I cannot exactly put my finger on why I was compelled to stay up until 2:30 am to finish this book. I just didn’t want to stop reading it. Katherine Center has written a well-balanced book that covers a lot of territory with a lot of heart. There is romance, realistic family interactions, healing from old wounds, and a journey of forgiveness all wrapped up within a firefighter’s story. It all felt authentic. While the book covers many topics, it does not feel maudlin or preachy.

Cassie Hanwell, a star EMT at her firehouse in Texas reluctantly accepts a transfer to a small Massachusetts firehouse. It is either that, or be reprimanded for punching out the man who presented her with the city’s award for heroism. She punched him out for good reason, as it will later be revealed. However, Cassie refuses to explain her actions to her boss. A reprimand will severely limit her career in Texas. In addition, if she takes the transfer, she can stay with her Mom. The estrangement between Cassie and her Mom has gone on for many years. Her Mom recently reached out asked Cassie to come live with her to help her adjust to the effects of a recent surgery.

Cassie is phenomenal in her role as a firefighter and EMT. She has worked to perfect her craft to the exclusion of all other activities in her life over the last ten years. She is in excellent physical shape, and takes the hazing at the new firehouse with good humor. She and the new rookie are often hazed together, so they spend a lot time together alone. She finds herself fighting feelings for him that she has worked so hard to block out of her life. She needs to get the crew to accept the new ‘lady’ on their team. That will not happen if a romantic relationship develops with the rookie.

There is a lot of great information about fires, and firefighting. The best parts of the book for me were when the focus was on forgiveness, both forgiveness of yourself, and of others – even if they may not deserve it. The story wrapped up in a satisfactory way. I may have shed a tear or two towards the end. Boy was it a good tear though. I didn’t feel manipulated into to. I flowed as part of the story. Well done Katherine Center! I’d recommend this book to a wide variety of readers, especially those looking for a great book that fits in multiple genres.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, St. Martin’s Press; and the author, Katherine Center for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center has officially become one of my favorite authors. I just love her writing. Her stories are usually very heartwarming and this one is no exception. Profound and simply wonderful I recommend highly enough. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

This is my first read by this author but will not be my last.

I liked the writing a lot. I felt the emotions and enjoyed the character growth. While some things were a bit slow at times, for the most part the pacing was good. I've read at least 1 female firefighter book and to be honest, I wish there were more. It's refreshing! I'm not usually one for women's fiction as I tend to migrate more to romance novels but I am super happy I read this one. If you're like me, don't miss out on this one.

This book is definitely worth reading and I'll be checking for other of the author's works.