Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
This really was just what I needed after reading a dark/twisty (disappointing) novel. Katherine Center's writing moves right along without getting bogged down in a "insert lesson here" kind of way. How to Walk Away features Cassie Hanwell, a firefighter who has to address many personal demons before helping others face their own. I truly enjoyed the detailed narrative about the culture in the firefighting community (secretly hoping the chihuahua story is based on fact)! It's a lovely story of resilience, forgiveness, and how apperearances often deceive. I felt the epilogue could have been omitted entirely, but otherwise, found it to be a perfect summer read. Hopefully it will be added to many beach bags upon its release. I will definitely be putting more of her books on my TBR list.

This book is a beautifully written story about forgiveness and self healing. Katherine does an amazing job making this book a book that anyone can relate from and walk away with something. This book moved me and had me hooked to every page!

Cassie Hanwell is a female firefighter, who must prove everyday that she belongs in this male oriented profession. When fate intervenes on her present success, she is forced to relocate and move in with her mother who says she needs help. Her relationship with her mother is very strained and becoming acclimated into a new firehouse brings her new challenges. Escalating threats from one of her new co-workers as well as an increasing attraction to a very attractive male rookie plays out giving the readers a delightful read. One drawback included very lengthy dialogue that was somewhat stilted. But, overall the book was enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me access to this ARC.

Quick summer read. The author piles on the misogyny in order to point out that misogyny is bad. Just way too much for me in what might otherwise be a straightforward feel good read.

What an OUTSTANDING story of forgiveness, healing, strength and self growth. I absolutely love this authors writing style and tend to fall in love with her characters right from the start. I didn't think it was possible to love a book more than I did How To Walk Away but it happened. This book was everything.

I loved this story and I loved the characters. This well written story is full of romance and heart. I was completely unprepared for this story to make me feel all the feels that it did. I couldn't put it down and was swept right into Cassie's story as she moves from Texas to the east coast. The character and relationship development was well done and I found myself rooting for the love story, as well as the growth of the characters. Forgiveness is a theme of this story, as well as self discovery and growth. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I can't wait to read the next book by this author.

I.Loved.This.Book.

I picked it up because I loved Katherine Center’s last book How to Walk Away (which you also must read). In both cases, while the story could be categorized as a romance, more accurately it is just the story of a woman’s transformation and growing into herself. Part of that often includes romance, and that might be what gets readers in the door. But ultimately, Things You Save in a Fire is much deeper and more powerful.

Cassie is a badass and always has to work to prove herself, but not in an annoying way. Rather than coming across as having a chip on her shoulder, the reader sees that Cassie is fighting her inner demons and critics more than she is fighting any sort of institutional sexism. That makes her story more relatable and more rewarding, in my opinion.

While the will-they-or-won’t-they tension between Owen (the rookie) and Cassie is underlying the entire story, Cassie relationship with her mother takes center stage. It is by working through their past hurts and Cassie’s anger and bitterness into a mother-daughter relationship built on trust and forgiveness that a romance with Owen even seems possible.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love story! But this book gives us so much more. I swooned. I cried. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

5/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Maybe I shouldn’t give this book a whole 5 stars ... a lot of it was just too convenient or too coincidental or too too-good-to-be-true! But you know what? It was a romance, through and through, and those are the kinds of things that happen in a romance. So it gets 5 stars because I found it to be a fun, not always completely predictable, and entertaining love story! And by the way, I was impressed with the author’s knowledge and understanding of fire fighting!

This book made me happy! Thank you SO much, NetGalley, for providing an ARC for me to read!!

I received an Electronic Advance Reader Copy. Through NetGalley.

This is definitely another winner from Katherine Center. I loved each of the characters, and rooted, cheered, and cried for them, and with them throughout the story.

Love reading books that have a female character who is strong and Cassie exemplifies just that. This is my first time reading a book by this author and without a doubt I will be reading even more. Great read.

I love all things by this author. I have always bee pleases with the plot and the thrill of the next page. Thank you for approving this title for me. Keep them coming

I absolutely LOVED this book. Such sweet emotion and humor; I could not put it down. The characters are unforgettable and the story is amazing. I read it through it one day. Life lessons with family and relationships throughout. Fantastic read! Thanks to the publisher for the ARC

After How to Walk Away became one of my 2018 favorites, I was eagerly anticipating the chance to read this novel. Katherine Center is now two for two, as Things You Save in a Fire is one of my 2019 favorites.

The story was excellent the entire way through. I loved the humorous aspects, as well as the sentimental parts. There was a strong level of development for Cassie throughout the story. I enjoyed learning about the firefighting process and loved the camaraderie at the station, with all the nicknames, hazing, etc. There was even a quick mention of a scene at the beginning of How to Walk Away. The interactions and dialogue between characters felt so genuine. Everyone and everything was easy to visualize without being overwhelmed by descriptive details. I couldn't get enough of this novel and didn't want it to end.

I highly recommend picking up Things You Save in a Fire when it publishes later this summer. I just hope you will allow me to enjoy it again vicariously through you!

Movie casting suggestions:
Cassie: Christa B. Allen
Owen: Patrick Schwarzenegger
Diana: Jeanne Tripplehorn
Josie: Alexis Floyd
DeStasio: Donnie Wahlberg

This book was simply amazing. The female protagonist was tough and relatable. This book really lifted my spirits and made me believe in love. Maybe there was a little too much "happy ending" at the end for it to be totally realistic, but I don't care. Katherine Center is a fantastic writer and really delivers.

Things You Save in a Fire is such a sweet, touching book.
It's well-written, the plot flows really well and I liked the pacing. The author has an interesting writing style that felt really light throughout, and was easy to get lost in, but it still hit all the right notes when it came to the bit more serious subjects.
The characters were well-developed. I thought Cassie was an amazing leading lady and I had an easy time connecting with her. The story is pulled off perfectly, resulting in a remarkable book which I'm excited to pick up again soon.
I loved every bit of it and I definitely recommend it.

This book sucked me on from the very first chapter! I felt like Cassie was a very relatable character and I loved her. This was a very easy and enjoyable read..great if you’ve read anything heavy and are looking for something lighter!

This is my first book by Ms. Center and it was like a breath of fresh air for me. I had been reading an extremely heartbreaking and soul searching type of book when I knew I needed something to lift me up. This book was just the ticket!

Cassie Hanwell had been settling in and working fine with the Austin fire department. She loved her job, she was finally getting the respect she deserved and the firefighters were a great group of guys. “Anyone who’d seen our rainbow flag flying, or shopped at one of our vegan/kosher bake sales, or seen our fire marshal tooling around in a Prius knew we were a progressive department”.

Everything was going great until, she learned she was going to be presented with a valor award, she had pretty much single handedly saved children who had been trapped in a school bus after an accident. Her small stature made her the only one who was small enough to climb through the bus window and hand the kids out one at a time.

So what went wrong? Well it was the presenter of the award, the one man in her life who she had hoped never to cross paths with again, let alone receive an award from and having to shake his hand. She managed to make it up to the stage but when when Heath Thompson, city councilman, decided to make a pass, Cassie lost it, basically pummeled the man. She was given an option after that, be terminated or choose another department far away.

Cassie’s mother left her when she was 16 and she had been living with her father ever since. Now Diana has called for her help, she has lost vision in one eye and the other is failing. She would like Cassie to come to stay with her in Massachusetts, “not forever, a year at most.”. So she is transferred to a new fire department in Lillian.

This new department is a far cry from Austin, it is old, the trucks and equipment are the bare minimum and the firemen are a different breed also. They aren’t hostile but they definitely don’t feel comfortable having a woman firefighter around.

Through the life she begins to share with her mother and the new crew that she forges friendships with, we see how Cassie grows as an individual. She finally has a love interest after being lonely for most of her life. We learn the reasons why she has distanced herself from her mother and why she “lost it” at the award ceremony, what Heath Thompson did to her when she was 16.

The character development in this novel is top notch and I am still thinking about them now. The plot at times is a bit predictable but it doesn’t matter, the feel of the entire book is positive. It focuses on forgiveness of others and yourself, something that most of us struggle with from time to time. Many types of relationships are touched upon, mother daughter, father daughter, friends, co-workers. I loved this book!

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley

2.5 but rounding up because the writing was ok and it definitely was a fast read [because I thought on the whole, not that much substance].

BUT. Disclaimer: not my type of book. Not quite sure what I was expecting, but...
Way too chick lit/beachy--though I do like from time to time. Like watching a Hallmark movie [which I don't]!

Much about past damage and forgiveness [HUGE theme] and reconciliation. A women in a man's world [firefighting].

Positive: female empowerment. And, I learned a few scientific things about firefighting.
The main characters were well drawn: Cassie, Owen [rookie], her mom, Diana, and a lesser, but good addition--her mom's friend/neighbor, Josie.

Negative: WAY TOO PREDICTABLE and neat.
Too fluffy for me and some eeww/too mushy moments.

I am clearly a dissenter but this book is for you if you know what to expect.

I had been saving this new Katherine Center ARC for a rainy day because without fail, her books always make me happy. With How to Walk Away being one of my favorites of 2018 and how much I also loved Happiness for Beginners, I knew this would be the book that could help bust me out of my recent reading slump.

Well, I was correct! Katherine Center has done it again with another wonderful, complex, and highly readable contemporary romance. I love her original ideas and nuanced protagonists (we even got a brief nod to Margaret from How to Walk Away in this book, which was fun) - in this instance, the book focuses on Cassie, a female firefighter who is tough as nails (she thinks), but won't be taken seriously by anyone she works with and struggles to identify and handle her emotions. Due to a family emergency, she has to move from her firehouse in Austin where she is beloved and feels like part of a family to a new station outside of Boston where it seems like no one wants her there and she will never fit in. The only person who she connects with at all is the new rookie, and he is wayyyy too handsome for her to be spending much time thinking of him. After all, one of her rules is to never date firefighters. (Since this is a romance, you can guess how well that works out).

Cassie has a lot of rules built up over a lifetime of pain. On her sixteenth birthday she endures two highly traumatic events and since then, has refused to allow herself to really open up, romantically or otherwise. Really this book is about Cassie's healing. For her own sake, not for the sake of those who hurt her, she has to come to terms with what has happened to her and learn how to choose forgiveness. This is not really easy for her as these old traumas keep coming back to face her in the present in very real ways. Cassie learns how to not only move past these traumas, but to shut out the voices of others and be confident in herself. She kicks imposter syndrome to the curb, finally gives up on the idea that she can prove her worth or earn other's affection, and learns how to let others in. And that's not even all of the work she does. This is what I think I love so much about Center's novels - the characters (specifically the female protagonists) do so much emotional work in the midst of difficult circumstances and I think that's so important for people to read. This could have just been a silly romance about two firefighters falling in love, but it was so much more!

It wasn't perfect, but the more I think about it, the more I love it. Bumping up to 5 stars and saying highly recommend!

After a stretch of reading books that were good, fine, or o.k. I have been lucky enough to read two incredible novels this week, one of which was Things You Save in a Fire, the upcoming novel from author Katherine Center. Although not exactly what I expected, this one was amazing!

This is about firefighter Cassie Hanwell, who right after receiving a great honor, proceeds to completely screw things up for herself. Couple that with her estranged mother begging for Cassie to move to the Boston area to help her with some health issues, Cassie finds herself employed at an all-male and old-school fire station, starting the same day as a rookie named Owen. Although not an emotional or touchy-feely person, Cassie slowly feels the walls crumbling that she has carefully built around herself, not only with the rookie but also with her mother, Diana.

Let me get this out of the way. Things You Save in a Fire includes themes about assault, trauma, illness, parent issues, marriage issues, and so much more. With that being said, this is not a sad book, it won’t bring you down, and if anything – your spirit will soar after finishing it.

It’s evident early on that Cassie is an incredible firefighter, especially for being a female (this is a joke, as you will see when you read, about the especially for being a female part), but is also very guarded and closed off regarding relationships. Not just romantic relationships, but any sort of emotional investment with others. There are several reasons why, but I can’t say.

Another thing that comes to light very early on is that Owen is outstanding. Handsome, sexy, polite to a fault, funny, a family person, generous, and so much more. I could probably spend most of the afternoon describing all of the ways that I love Owen. His only problem was a ton of guilt and sense of obligation stemming from events from his youth. But again, I can’t elaborate on it.

Then there is the quirky, whimsical, creative, loving and interesting Diana (Cassie’s mother). I struggled with her overall character initially, but only because some things hit too close to home for me. However, I quickly fell in love with her honesty, her wisdom, and especially her best friend next door! All of Cassie’s anger and resentment that she had held on to for so many years was primarily due to the actions of Diana. However, it is Diana’s straight-forward emotion and insight that is the catalyst to Cassie learning to forgive others, forgive herself, and open her heart again to those around her.

Things You Save in a Fire is beautifully developed, had incredible characters that will grab you by your heart, and had such moving themes and messages. The journey along with Cassie is filled with tons of humor, mistakes, triumphs, fear, acceptance, forgiveness, and love. This is a must read that I promise you will devour!

*Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!