I am sorry to say this book is just OK. I discovered the author, Katherine Center, through her last book, How to Walk Away, and I loved that book so much I immediately bought up all her older books. I was really excited about reading her new book and wanted to love it but it lacks the magic of her last book. In How To Walk Away our protagonist finds herself after being broken by circumstances, both literally and metaphorically. She was weak and becomes strong. It was moving and charming. The romance was beautiful and heartfelt. Unfortunately in this book the protagonist Cassie is too strong. She’s shut out the world and locked up her heart in the process. She’s so strong and prickly that I did not find the romance believable or interesting. In the previous novel our heroine survives and thrives. In this book it feels like too much doom and gloom is hanging over Cassie. As a reader it’s pretty clear what is not being said but it overpowers the story. It feels too much she’s running away and that she’s broken. It makes the whole novel sadder for it. My other big issue with this book is that too much of it is unbelievable. The point about forgiveness was unbelievable by the circumstances. Readers were expected to be ok with far too many choices that stretched plausibility.

Unfortunately this book seems like a step back in writing from the last book. It feels like it should have been written earlier because it’s just not as well written. If this book sounds interesting then remember to read How to Walk Away afterwards even if you’re not impressed by this book because it is so much better.

I loved this book! Katherine Center hooked me with How to Walk Away, and won me completely over with this one. I laughed, I cried, I talked to myself! I loved Cassie, the Rookie, her mom, and Josie, along with the cast of firefighter characters. I have recommended this to quite a few people already, with a warning that it’s not out yet. I was so lucky to get this book through Netgalley.

I was introduced to Katherine's books last year when I read How to Walk Away. I loved her style of writing and storytelling. A mix of romance and drama, I read the book in 2 days. So when I heard about her new book I was excited to get my hands on a copy. Let me tell you, she did not disappoint!
Cassie was the only women working at her firehouse in Texas, but she’s earned the respect of the men she worked with and they were her family. She didn’t grow up wanting this career; she was planning on going to med school to be an ER doctor. When Cassie was a freshman in college she took a campus job as an EMT for the university. She knew this would not only bring in money, but also help her towards her medical career. What Cassie didn’t expect, was to love the job so much that she would decide to get certified as an EMT and go work for the city. Cassie loved her job, her city, and the men she worked with.
Everything changed on the night Cassie received the Austin Fire Department’s Valor Award. The valor award is the highest award any Firefighter can receive, and Cassie was surrounded by her work family looking forward to the moment when she could go on stage to accept it. That’s until Heath Thompson stepped on the stage to present her with the award, and in one split second everything that Cassie knew and loved would be forever changed. You see, this wasn’t the first time Cassie had met Heath, and she’s spent a lifetime trying to forget what he did to her.
Cassie’s mother has reached out to her and asked Cassie to move to Boston where she lives to help her out, a year at most. She has lost the vision in one eye and cannot drive or be self sufficient like she was. Cassie cannot believe her mother would ask such a thing; the two were not on good terms since Diana left Cassie and her dad on her 16th birthday. She has a job she loves and just received this award which will surely lead to a promotion; she was not giving all that up for Diana. Cassie will realize her worst nightmare when she is given the choice between been fired from her job, or a demotion and transfer. Although she cannot imagine working anywhere else, she also can’t give up on a career she loves. She accepts the captain’s deal and asks to be moved to a station in Boston.
Cassie has never had to prove herself or earn her place, but this Boston fire station is old school, and women do not have a place in the boys club. She wants to be treated equal and will do everything she can to prove to her new coworkers that she can do the job just as good as they can. To make matters worse her first day on the job is also Owen’s first day. Strong, handsome, and looks like he just stepped off the fireman’s calendar, Owen comes from a whole line of fireman. He’s already earned the respect of the guy’s by just buy being…..well a guy. Cassie has been told by her old captain to never wear makeup, tie your hair back, never wear perfume, even to wear a tight sports bra to hide any traces of femininity. She must make the men forget that she’s a girl so that they will treat her equally. As expected it’s not going well, someone wants her gone, and to make matters worse for the first time in her career, actually since high school, Cassie is falling in love.
Moving to Boston seemed like punishment, but Cassie’s mom Diana will not only force herself into Cassie’s life, but teach her the greatest lesson we can all learn, forgiveness. Cassie must learn to forgive her mom, Heath Thompson, and most importantly herself. When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future.

"Life in the fire service revolved around not being vulnerable. It was about being tough, and brave, and strong. Someone needed saving, so you saved them. Something was on fire, so you put it out. Were you scared? It didn't matter. Did you have feelings about it? Irrelevant. You did your job, and you did it well, and that was all there was to it. People who wanted to wrestle with complicated emotions became therapists, or poets. People who wanted to keep things simple became firefighters."

Cassie Hanwell is a damn good firefighter. When she must leave her progressive Austin, TX, firehouse and move to Massachusetts—her estranged mother, who lives there, persuades her to come stay with her while she's undergoing medical treatment—she is able to find a new job, but she's the first woman ever to be hired in the 120-year history of the fire department. "They will ignore you. They will exclude you. They will resent you," Cassie's boss in Austin warns her before she leaves. "You'll be a hen in a wolf-house, and they will eat you like a snack the first chance they get."

On her first day, Cassie learns she's not the only newbie in the firehouse—there's another brand-new hire, Owen Callaghan, and he's a fourth-generation firefighter, fresh out of the academy. Unfortunately for Cassie, she's immediately attracted to him. However, she knows she can never act on that attraction, not only because dating a colleague would be impossible, but due to the deep traumas in her past that caused her to harden her heart. One of those incidents involved her mom, who walked out on Cassie and her dad on her daughter's 16th birthday; now her mother is desperate to mend fences, but Cassie can't yet find it in her heart to forgive.

The book is dedicated to Center's husband, a firefighter, and she notes that the book "would've been about ten pages long without his help." The firehouse milieu makes for a fascinating setting, and the budding relationship between Cassie and Owen, along with all the complications that ensue, are beautifully depicted. "Things You Save in a Fire" is a heartwarming story about love, trust, forgiveness and family, and I absolutely adored it. Thanks so much to St. Martin's for the review copy!

This book is amazing. It’s the second I’ve read by Center, and it’s wxactly what I was hoping for when I requested it!

Cassie is a female firefighter. The struggle is real in a profession that is considered for men - don’t we often refer to “firemen”, for example? - but Cassie has built a life and been accepted by her team in a Austin. When her estranged mother reaches out with a medical situation, Cassie moves up north to be with her mom, starting completely over at a new fire station. Not only does she have to try to become one of the guys, but she now has an even bigger struggle - she has to try not to fall in love with one of the guys.

This book was so good. Heartwarming and heartbreaking all rolled into one, Cassie goes through major levels of development in this book, coming to terms with long-term anger, learning about forgiveness, and learning more about love. I absolutely adored this book. It often felt like a punch in the gut, but it also gave me so much hope. Definitely, definitely recommend!

Book hangover! I loved this book. The story sucked me in from the beginning and I couldn't put the book down. Love does conquer all!

Another wonderful story of overcoming what life throws at you! Childhood issues, commitment issues, work issues? This book has it all and lessons that are very valuable in how to move past and succeed even with obstacles right smack in the way. I love Katherine Center’s talent of telling and teaching throughout her stories!

Thank you to Netgalley for a yet-to-be released copy. I was very excited to be able to read a pre-published copy since I loved Katherine Center's last book. Another enjoyable, easy to read book. The book is centered around Cassie, a woman firefighter. I loved her. I thought she was very real and one tough woman but also vulnerable too. The book is a romance but it is so much more about forgiveness, love and fighting for what you believe in too. Forgiveness definitely played a huge role throughout the book. It made you think about how forgiving others and yourself is not always easy but also can help you move on. Forgiving can help you relieve the heavy burden that you carry with you everyday of hating someone. Also, by not forgiving, you will miss out on relationships that truly matter and memories that you will never experience.. Some of the topics are heavy but Katherine Center does a great job not too draw each subject out too long. I am a big fan of Chicago Fire and Station 19 so I found this a fun read. I could see this story in one of these shows.

A touching story of love, courage, and compassion. I've read Katherine Center's How to Walk Away and liked it, so I had high expectations from this one, but this novel really blew me away. I absolutely loved the book and only wish I could give it more than five stars!

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is my second book by the author and I am already clearing time in my calendar to read ever book she has written.

Cassie is everything you want in a heroine. She is a complex character who is beyond capable. She excels in a male dominated field and has to use her physical and mental strength to constantly prove herself. Her career is where she feels secure and when that world is upended Cassie must deal with not only starting over in her profession but also with everything she has avoided in her personal life.

This was an impossible to put down story about learning to forgive and learning to love. It includes a great cast characters and a romance that was so sweet I almost couldn't stand it. Definitely a book I will read again and again.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"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 come"
Forgiveness, love, hope. It is all there in this book. The inside look into the life of a firefighter, as well as a look into the family that a group at one fire station becomes. The characters are likable, I could relate to them, and it was a fast book that I did not want to put down. There were moments in this book that made me laugh and moments that had me gripped as I turned the pages.
I highly recommend this book and think there is something in it for everyone!

I was really excited to receive this ARC after loving How To Walk Away!

Not only is it a great story, it’s a great message about forgiveness and love. It really picked up for me halfway through. The beginning seemed repetitive and a little slow with the main character, Cassie’s, internal dialogue.
As it went on, I really began to love all of the characters, and was impressed with the depth of each one.

Overall I really enjoyed it, and I had a hard time putting it down!

I don’t normally read Chick Lit or Romance, so I had never read a book by Katherine Center, prior to this one.

But, so many of my favorite GR friends and reviewers were raving about this one, and my curiosity made me push the “request button” on NG one evening, and voila! I received an early approval!

So, I started this yesterday, and at first, I thought...oh no....I am going to be an outlier on this one? Yikes!

I didn’t like our female firefighter, Cassie. I found her to be immature and petulant. Someone I would never want to have coffee or a glass of wine with!

Then, I met “The Rookie”.

I liked “The Rookie”.

Cassie was not good enough for “The Rookie”.

The story of this extraordinary female firefighter, who reluctantly moves to the Boston area, to help her ill mother for the year, was mostly being told through “conversations”.

Conversations that had the cadence of the characters on a Shonda Rhimes TV show (think Scandal or Grey’s Anatomy) and I wasn’t sure if I liked that...(though I don’t mind that on those TV shows, which are favorites of mine! 🤔)

Then, all of a sudden I realized that Cassie’s bravado was a means of self preservation and that I was starting to like her. And, that I was almost done with this book that I had read almost entirely in one sitting!!!

And, that I wanted her to have her happy ending, no matter how sappy or neatly tied up with a bow that might look! 💝

Maybe, even with “The Rookie”.

Isn’t that what a “FEEL GOOD, CHICK LIT, ROMANCE” book is supposed to make you feel?

Guess, I won’t be an outlier, after all!! 💕

I would like to thank Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for the digital ARC, I received in exchange for a candid review! This will be your perfect beach read this summer...publication date Aug. 13, 2019!

This has to be one of the best books I have ever read. Penned by Katherine Center, Things You Save in a Fire is due out August 13, 2019 from St. Martin’s Press. I read an advanced readers’ copy (ARC) that the editor promised would be a breath of fresh air. It most definitely is that.

This is a story of the struggles women still face in the workplace, especially by older white men. It’s a story of complex family issues where things are not always as they appear. It’s a story of making peace with a painful past. It’s a story of a young man following in his father’s footsteps instead of taking the career track he prefers. It’s also a story of surgical patients becoming addicted to opioids, and how it affects not only the patient, but those around them – both family and co-workers.

Cassie Hanwell is a firefighter par excellence, and has just won an award for valor in her department in Austin, Texas. Why would she be angry with the award presenter, Heath Thompson? Clearly there is some history between them.

The fire chief, also a woman, tells her she is up for a promotion, but in order to be promoted, she must make an apology to Mr. Thompson. If she does not, she is fired. The department is concerned that he will press charges. Cassie is certain he will not, which tells us the history between them is pretty bad.

Cassie’s mother, who abandoned her on her 16th birthday, begs Cassie to come live with her for a year. She has health problems and needs help. Cassie finally relents, and moves to Rockport, Massachusetts, and takes a job in a good-old-boy fire department in a neighboring town. The crews at this FD still haze newbies and rookies, and their hazing can be dangerous.

After a near-tragedy, Cassie’s life and that of others blossoms. Healing takes place in more ways than one, and Cassie learns how to forgive.

I learned so much about fires and the lives of firefighters and paramedics while reading this book. Normally, while reading, I highlight errors. I did a little of that, but mostly I highlighted things that really spoke to me, and things I want to reflect on from time to time. Trust me: you will love Things You Save in a Fire too.

What Makes This Book Reviewer Grumpy?

Repeated split-infinitives, using “bring” in place of “take” and “come” in place of “go”, misplacing the word “only” within sentences, and using “showed” in place of “shown”.

You can call me sentimental, but Things You Save in a Fire is getting 5 stars from me!

There's nothing particulatly groundbreaking about this little charming book but you'll still fall in love with it without knowing how it happened!! I picked this up only last night and couldn't put it down until I was finished.

Cassie Hanwell loves being a firefighter and she is also very good at it. A rising star at her home station in Austin, she has a great career in front of her. When Cassie's estranged mother becomes ill, she asks Cassie to come to live with her in Boston and look after her. Cassie cannot forgive her mother for walking away on her when she was only 16 and is reluctant to help her. In the end Cassie is forced to relocate and and joins an old-fashioned fire station in Boston where they know female firefighters only from TV. Cassie might have to work twice as hard as the men to prove herself...

I've been always fascinated with firefighters and once upon a time, when I was little, I even wanted to be one! I loved the first half of the book as I enjoyed reading about the profession, the work regime and the heroic acts. When the book suddenly took on a bit of a romantic turn in the second half, I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but luckily it all worked out. I bought the whole story and immensely enjoyed it!

This book was different that the leading lady was in a strong career position but fought falling in love. She didn’t think she could but her mom that she was estranged from showed her how and learned to lover her mom again also.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the read of Katherine Center’s, Things You Save in a Fire.

Meet Cassie. Strong, tough, guarded. Fearless, female firefighter holding her own.

Past family wounds catch up with her when the mother who abandoned her, reappears in her life, and needs Cassie.

The threading of love throughout this story is beautiful. Cassie has fortified the walls around her heart for a long time – no one gets in. Owen’s gentleness and kindness, helps her to slowly loosen the strands that wrap around her heart.

You can feel Cassie’s character change as she faces emotional transformations as she learns to feel again, and walk down the long road to forgiveness.

A fabulous read. I loved the book and highly recommend it.

I’ve been a fan of Katherine Center for a few years and have devoured all of her books. Her stories always have complex characters, well developed storylines, and a good dose of page-turning romance gone wrong. Things You Save In a Fire did not disappoint. On the surface, Cassie seems like a tough, badass firefighter who isn’t afraid of anything. Until you find out she is afraid of love and emotion and forgiveness. The novel did an excellent job of taking the reader through Cassie’s journey of forgiveness and redemption. Fans of Katherine Center will enjoy the homage to How T.O. Walks Away in the beginning of the book as well.

This was the first book I've ever read by Katherine Center. It won't be the last. I loved this book! The characters, the story, the underlying message, all of it!

Cassie, a tough strong firefighter gives up her life in Austin to move home and help her ailing mother. Having to start all over again and prove herself in a male-dominated profession. Along the way the things she learns and the people she encounters will change her life and help her learn how to forgive not only others, but herself.

This is a great, heartwarming read and I won't be surprised if it is one of my favorite books of 2019.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC to read in exchange for my honest review.

This book will be released August 13, 2019.

Ironically, I got this book to read on the day I evacuated my home from the Woolsey Fire in Southern California, so it's taken me a while to actually read it. Thankfully, I really liked this book!

Cassie Hanwell is a firefighter in Texas - she's tough and smart and she works in a station that appreciates her talents. When her mom needs her, she doesn't want to move home to a small town outside of Boston but she ultimately does, and it's a huge change. The entire fire station is made up of men who don't believe that women should be, or are even capable of being, firefighters. Cassie wants to prove them wrong without looking like a "girl", which is going to be hard when she's falling for another rookie firefighter in the station.

I liked the story a lot, and Cassie's character was well-drawn and interesting. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.