I am sure others love this book but I struggled to get into it. Thanks for the review copy. I appreciate it.

I loved this book! The mother - daughter relationship was tricky but Cassie loved her mother and didn't want to do her wrong. It was an interesting view in to the life of a firefighter and fire house.

loved this book. 😍 strong female lead ✅ super chemistry with cutie ✅ great characters throughout ✅ This was just the right amount of drama, thrill, sadness, happiness, love, flirt, fun. The description of the firehouse and new town were wonderfully done. Highly recommend picking up this one!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

This was my first Katherine Center book and definitely not my last! I received it from Netgalley and was so engrossed in it! Such a magical story also like the humor side mixed with the traumatic parts. I would love to see this book made as a movie. Love the paramedic side of it! In the end I just loved everything about this novel and I will definitely recommend it to everyone!

OMG! What took me so long to read this one! I have had this one on my TBR pile since before it was released (since I received an ARC for review) but time got away from me (2019 was not a good year). Anyway! Cassie is a firefighter in Austin and we start the story at a banquet where she is being given the Angel Award for saving school children from a bus that had gone underwater in a ravine. She doesn't get nervous for fires but getting up in front of 300 of her fellow firefighters...well...add to that they change up the presenter and it is none other than the man who assaulted her as a teenager. Sure, she can just do a quick pass by, grab the award but no, Heath stops her and puts his hands on her and she takes him down in splendid fashion. Good thing her mother has called and needs her to come to Boston to stay with her for a year "at the most" to help her through her health crisis. She and her mother have been estranged since her 16th birthday but this is the perfect time for her to go. Too bad the fire department doesn't want a "lady" firefighter in their midst and she is literally starting out at the bottom along with the rookie who starts on the same day. When she meets the rookie, BAM, who would have ever thought she would suddenly develop feelings for anyone. She slams that door shut but fate has a way of opening all the doors and windows whenever possible. This story has all the feels and everything in between. I binged this one over a busy weekend when I really didn't have time to read but once I started it I could not put it down. I highly recommend this one!

This was my first book by Katherine Center and instead of leaving a review, I went to buy her entire catalog and read them all within two weeks. Her writing is superb, and her stories captivating. This book is beautifully written and I would recommend it.

*Minor Spoilers*
This is the second book by Katherine Center I have read and I volleyed between really liking it and taking issue with how one of the characters was handled. I really enjoyed Cassie's relationships with her fellow firefighters and how she used her childhood trauma to propel her to do good in the world. My issue was with Diana. I just couldn't wrap my head around her leaving her 16 year old daughter on her birthday to be with another man across the country whether he was dying or not. It's not a reason and it's not an excuse and I can't imagine how any good mother, and make no mistake Diana was portrayed as a good mother, flawed or not could do that. My second issue was that Diana kept proclaiming that she never cheated on Cassie's father. Having sex with another person is not the only way to cheat on a spouse. Emotional affairs, which is what Diana had, are most definitely cheating and are often even more damaging than physical affairs. As such this was a three and a half star read for me.

Another great book by Katherine Center. I read How to Walk Away and loved it so was excited to read Things You Save in A Fire. First - what a great title for a book about a badass female firefighter who is trying to prioritize what’s most important in life.

Cassie is a strong female protagonist and it was so nice to read about a female doing her thing in a male dominated profession. This was a great story of love and family.

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

Excellent drama with a little bit of mystery mixed in. Cassie, traumatized as a teenage, is now a successful firefighter. Life events trigger a move across country to move in with her mother and a new start at a firehouse not very open to having a female firefighter. Though there are some heavy topics here (forgiveness, healing from trauma, sexual abuse, abandonment, death), the book overall feels more lighthearted. While I don't usually go for romances, this one has enough non-romance in the story to make for a well-rounded book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

LOVE Katherine Center. Love her relatable characters. A great sequel to her last book. This author is a must read and I always pick up her titles no matter what.

Katherine Center's books hit a little harder than your average book. The story here is thoughtful, as it shows the heroine working her way through trauma.

I was instantly hooked- & the first scene GOT ME AMPED UP! I can’t say I ‘condone’ violence, but if someone has it coming to them, who am I to judge?



Cassie is a BOSS BABE: a no nonsense paramedic and fire-fighter. I love to see women in professions that society has deemed masculine/male-driven. She finds herself needing a transfer after a public altercation. (I say NEEDS because she refuses to do the one thing that would absolve her- apologize). Honestly, I don’t blame her- women should not have to apologize for how they react to being assaulted, no matter WHO that person is. Cassie’s estranged mother contacts her to come live with her due to health issues= the perfect time. A new position secured at a fire-station run by a misogynist Chief, and lots of doubt- Cassie heads off to MA.



This move brings some quirky characters! Obv some backlash from the men when a woman is thrust in their midst but Cassie continually proved herself. She was a bit showy but it felt good to see her confidence shine. She was stubborn and determined to show that she was one of them and could do as much (or more) & was fiercely independent.



Cassie struggled with self-worth due to trauma (TW: abandonment & sexual abuse), so she protected herself the only way she knew- keeping her guard up and not letting herself form emotional connections. She fought that tooth and nail, but eventually her heart won out. The transformation was predictable, but had all the right elements to have you rooting for her. I found the ending to be unrealistic..but didn’t change my rating.



Cassie’s journey to love, forgiveness and self-discovery will make you laugh, cry, infuriate and smile until you turn the last page.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review 🖤

A sweet and wonderfully heartwarming book. I love how the characters are all fighting their own battles but they work together to overcome them.

I just loved reading Cassie's story. Being a firefighter is a tough job. Being a female firefighter is even tougher. Cassie has grown up with her dad since her sixteenth birthday; the day her mom left. When mom calls needing her help, circumstances allow for Cassie to respond to the call. As Cassie tries to prove herself in an all-male fire squad, another rookie and a veteran cause turmoil in her life. With her mom's help, along with mom's friend, Cassie resolve to not be "a girl" begins to crumble and she learns that life is lived better with love. Another great book by Katherine Center! Thank you to Ms. Center, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I unfortunately was unable to get very far in this book. Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center puts its readers in the shoes of a firefighter where they to get experience the political and emotional drama that comes with fighting fires. Honestly the book just had too many overused tropes.

Always an amazing story. Katherine Center’s “Things You Save in a Fire” is such a super read! Katherines stories are always so full of life and vibrant. I love that: I can’t wait fir the next, I also love her cover!
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

An amazing book! I loved everything about it! This author knows how to write books that capture the heart strings of ppl that keeps us coming back to read more of her books.

I love everything by Katherine Center. This book was surprising and thoughtful. I loved the aspect of finding forgiveness, especially for a mother who doesn’t necessarily deserve it. The romance was sweet and I loved the characters.

This was a quick read with a really strong message of family and forgiveness. It also has some underlying messages of the lengths we go to for self-preservation. I liked that the Cassie was a firefighter - don't know that I have read a book with a female firefighter, so that was a nice change. I tend to like programs like Station 19 and 9-1-1 which both have female firefighters.

I would have like to have learned more about the mother/daughter relationship here - as that is where it seemed to be headed, but then it veered off into a romantic relationship. Despite that, I still enjoyed it - it was a good first "summer" read.

Talk about strong female characters that make the most out of the life they where dealt. As soon as this book starts I had a lot of admiration for Cassie. She’s a female firefighter who’s worked hard to get the recognition in a field that is male dominated and women get very little respect. But we quickly learn something that makes it obvious she’s developed that hard exterior for a reason and it just made me want to peel back the layers even more. When she gets a call from her estranged mother who needs her help for a period of time because of some health concerns, Cassie has no choice but to leave her life in Texas behind and move in with her mom. That also means taking a position at a new firehouse and having to earn the respect of a new group of firefighters that are predisposed to thinking less of women in the force. Working twice as hard to prove she deserves a spot and that she’s one of the best at what she does.

I found Katherine Center last year when I read HOW TO WALK AWAY and our heroine here Cassie was the one that rescued the heroine of that book from the plane crash. That’s where the connection ends. But the message of a strong woman having to rebuild her life and learn many things about herself and how she relates to others around her was just as powerful in this book. I may even go as far as to say I enjoyed this one a bit more than that one. There was something special about all the facets of this story. Cassie’s relationship with her mother, with her past, with her co-workers, with her inner self. And then there’s the romance. Because I will say that this author is a great women’s fiction author for romance readers. Relationships and forgiveness. That’s the biggest takeaways from this story. And Ms. Center did them so well!

Quickly on the romance, while it’s not the biggest part of this book by any means, it is an integral part of what makes Cassie work through her own issues. This healing process was emotional and heartbreaking, even when it didn’t come as a surprise for me at all. THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE is a story that will get you right in the heart. I can’t wait for what she will write next.