Let me start by saying I love this author~ Katherine Center! Give me all her books and more! I read her other book How To Walk Away, so I was going into this book with high expectations, and she did not disappoint!

Cassie Hanwell is the only female firefighter at Station Eleven in Austin, Texas. She’s hard working, passionate about her job, respected by her colleagues, and a rising star. Work is her life, and she has no issues with not having much of a life outside of work.

One day she receives a call from her mother who is sick, and asks Cassie to move to Rockport, Massachusetts to help her out for a year tops. Cassie, not wanting to uproot her life for the mother who abandoned her when she was a teenager says no, at first. One night at an awards ceremony changes everything, and Cassie is soon on her way to Rockport.
She gets a job at a beaten down fire station where females are not wanted. Once again Cassie is finding that she has to prove that she is just as good, if not better than her male counterparts.

So while Cassie is dealing with feelings of abandonment from her mother and constantly trying to prove herself at the new fire station, in walks the Rookie, Owen Callahan, and her life is turn upside down once again.

This book will make you laugh, cry, and cheer! I tend to read more thrillers, so I know I’m getting the break I need when I pick up a book by Katherine Center!
The way Center ties this book in with her other book, How To Walk Aways was a nice touch!

I really loved this book. It was such a roller coaster of emotions. I liked learning about firefighters. I loved the characters. I found myself thinking about this book all day long. It was a treasure.

Thanks to Katherine Center & netgalley for the advanced copy.

This book ran me through so many different emotions! Sadness, fear, love, happiness. I feel like I went through it all. I loved this book. It’s not often I give a book 5 stars. But I absolutely loved this. It taught me a lesson in forgiveness, which I don’t have an easy time doing. I thought this book was fantastic!!

I’m posting after 11pm, so you KNOW this must be serious. 😉 I absolutely loved “How to Walk Away” by @katherinecenter so I was excited to read “Things You Save in a Fire” as well, and it definitely did not disappoint.

This book was sort of like a Hallmark movie in book form, but with WAY more complex and developed characters. It’s a rom-com, but it’s also more than that...it’s a story about families, and forgiveness, and love. I found myself laughing, swooning, and wanting to skip ahead to find out what happened. I finished in less than 24 hours, and I enjoyed every second of this one—it’s a *perfect* summer beach read, which is convenient because it comes out on August 19, 2019.

Overall? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (out of 5 stars)

A book with so many feelings wrapped up into one woman who is a hero in more ways than just being a brave firefighter. Cassie is not just fighting fires, she's fighting having any feelings in life. She's been through a lot and this is an amazing story about finding out if she can find a way to live a fulfilling life of all the things she thought she never wanted.
I loved How to Walk Away, and I was worried this book would not measure up to it. It did. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to receive an ARC and did not have to wait until August 2019.

Absolutely loved this book. This was my second book by Katherine Center that I’ve read, and I’ll be a lifelong fan. I enjoyed seeing a woman succeed in a hyper-masculine environment like firefighting, and she made it easy to root for every character... even you know who. Awesome read!

After reading this and 'How to Walk Away', I will now read anything by this author. I was so excited to read this and it did not disappoint. This book was full of all of my favorite elements of a good book; emotional family situations, a strong female lead, and an almost too good to be true love interest. The pacing was perfect, and you will not be able to put this one down. This is my new favorite book of 2019, don't miss reading this one!

Amazing book! I first discovered Katherine Center with her book How to Walk Away, and was so impressed, and now that I’ve read this one, I’m convinced she has become an automatic one-click author for me. From the very star in this book, the main character was likeable and relateable, and just someone you’d want to know in real life. The story is unusual in that she is a firefighter, and I think the author did a great job in making the readers understand the daily intricacies of the job in a realistic way. The relationship between Cassie and her mother evolves during the book so that the readers feel like they’re a part of the process.
There’s really nothing about this book that I didn’t enjoy. In fact, I didn’t want it to end. I love how the relationship between Cassie and Owen developed slowly and innocently, and how the author didn’t feel the need to make either one of them a villain or create undo turmoil between them. Both characters were honest and caring throughout the book and never turned cruel or mean, as happens in some romantic books.
Five huge, shining stars for this book!

Katherine Centers newest novel, Things you save in a fire was absolutely brilliant. It was truly an enjoyable read. A deep meaningful message, wrapped up in an entertaining, story. The heart wrenching tale will make you laugh, cry and rejoice. This thought provoking story dealing with love, loss and forgiveness will stay with you long after the story ends. 5 stars.

I found so many quotes I highlighted in this story. The kind you randomly run across and think, yes!!!! There are the words that say it perfectly. I think this is an important story. And one we all need to read. Especially if the robotic you functions daily and you think you are fine. That you are doing ok. Thank you for this story. I very much enjoyed it.

I always have high expectations when diving into a Katherine Center novel, and this one definitely lived up to the hype! This book shares the story of Cassie Hanwell, a tough female firefighter who picks up her life and moves to Massachusetts after finding out her mom is sick and in need of her help. Cassie starts as a new firefighter at a station full of men and works to be accepted and respected for who she is. This story was heartbreaking, real, honest, and funny all at the same time. I found myself relating to the main character, Cassie, throughout the novel, and thought her journey toward forgiveness and opening up her heart again to be courageous and inspiring. Owen, “The Rookie”, was the perfect love interest for Cassie and I loved how he saw her for exactly who she was and loved her for it. This book is already in the running for one of my favorites of the year!! A story that will stick with me long after the last page.

I’ve enjoyed all of Katherine Center’s books, and THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE was no exception!! A newbie woman firefighter and rookie are thrown together in a small town fire station. Their challenges help her learn to love and be able to forgive. It’s a sweet story. I definitely recommend it for a romantic, fun read.
A big THANK YOU to Net Galley for making this title available!

Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she's seen her fair share of them, and she's a total pro at other people's tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own.


Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience first time reading anything from this author

4 stars

Cassie Hanwell is a 26 year old firefighter in Austin, Texas. Her life revolves around her job — she is passionate and skilled in a male-dominated profession, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. She gives 100% to firefighting as she has no personal life and has sworn off men, dating and all romantic situations, which stems from an event in her past.


Cassie’s estranged, ill mother contacts her out of the blue and asks her to move to Massachusetts for a year to help her. Cassie insists that she cannot and will not uproot her life and career success to start over in an unfamiliar town. However, as life goes, Cassie’s career path takes a sharp turn that sends her packing to live with her mother and work as a firefighter in the small town of Lillian.

There, she avoids her mother at all costs, still bitter and hurt by her mother’s departure from their family on Cassie’s 16th birthday. She focuses on proving herself at her new firehouse — an environment not welcoming to women and very outdated, lacking the necessary tools and supplies to be safe and properly equipped.

The theme of forgiveness emerges when Cassie realizes the close quarters with her mother will lead to unavoidable conversations, revelations, and growth for both of them. This also allows Cassie to explore other areas of her life that need healing — namely the love and romance that she had sworn-off a decade before.

Her emotions slowly emerge as she begins working alongside the other new member of the firehouse, “Rookie”. As she navigates how she feels for him, while trying to maintain a laser focus on earning the respect of the other firefighters, especially the captain, she finds herself in increasingly complicated situations that become difficult to balance.

This story was very relatable because life is messy — no matter how hard we work and what accolades we achieve, we are sometimes left back at square one.

The characters are very well developed. I could easily visualize each of them. Cassie’s character is a strong, independent female, who will stand up for what is right and not be influenced by or break under the pressure of men. I loved that.

This book is beautifully written, light, easy to read, and kept me captivated from beginning to end. I also loved the nod to How to Walk Away — a great read before Things You Save in a Fire is released.

I give Things You Save in a Fire 4 stars because the end felt rushed. While the majority of the plot zigged and zagged — and was unexpected, the end seemed to come together a bit too easily — complicated emotions from a series of events wrapped up nicely and without any conflict. I would have liked to see the plot, particularly the emotional progression of the characters, play out more.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read an Advanced Reader Copy of Things you Save in a Fire by Katherine Center in exchange for an honest review.

This review has been posted on Goodreads on 2.18.19 and will be posted to Amazon on the release date.

A modern tale of romance set with a painful secret, a background of change, family turmoil and interesting career choices. The details of fire fighting and emergency management are easy enough to understand and detailed enough to fascinate any reader. A great story about how to move forward - when everything around you seems to be falling apart.

Katherine Center just keeps getting better and better. I think she writes some of the most emotionally healthy books out there.
“Things You Save In A Fire” starts with Cassie, a firefighter who truly thinks she’s got it figured out. She’s smart, she’s funny, she works incredibly hard and she loves her job. Through a series of events, she figures out she has nothing figured out and has to start over.
Center does such a good job of showing emotional healing and growth in her characters in way that’s not preachy and still shows them as strong, capable people. It’s almost like reading a fictionalized account of a Brene Brown book in the best way possible. Cassie is still Cassie when the book is over. She’s still resourceful, she’ll never be outworked, but she learns how to forgive and be vulnerable. I finished this book with a new perspective on forgiveness. I loved the growth of her relationship with “The Rookie”. It had just the right amount of conflict. He never tried to emotionally rescue her. He let her set the pace and was there to support her. He was more emotionally open than she was, and it was a nice shift from the “usual” love interest story line.
This book is going straight to my favorites shelf, and I know I’ll be re-reading it.
I received an ARC of “Things You Save In A Fire” as a first read from Net Galley.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

Although this book will not be published until later this year, I just couldn't wait any longer and decided that Sunday afternoon was the perfect time. I really enjoyed the main protagonist, Cassie, as she navigated the politics of being the lone female firefighter in her district and learning to forgive her estranged ailing mother. Of course, there is also the added storyline of Cassie being able to open her heart to someone after being hurt so many years before. Maybe other readers will find it just too Hallmark Hall of Fame convenient as the story progresses, but this was the type of read that quenched my literary thirst. What keeps me from putting this to a 5 is that there is an element of the storyline( which I don't want to reveal) that I secretly wished could have been handled much better.


All in all, if you enjoyed How to Walk Away, then you're certainly in for a real treat!

Publication Date 13/08/19
Goodreads Review posted 18/02/19

Things You Save in a Fire is a beautifully written book. I was quickly drawn in to the life of Cassie a female firefighter. The story is of strength, forgiveness, and love. A wonderful novel that I didn't want to end. Loved this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. This is my honest review.

After becoming the first female to win a prestigious firefighting award in her home city of Austin, Cassie’s estranged, ailing mother requests her help, leading Cassie to take a position at a much smaller station in Massachusetts and finds herself trying to both prove herself as a firefighter to her new crew as well as break free from a traumatic event in her past which has kept her closed up from allowing herself any strong feelings.

One of my very few five star reads of the year. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy and plowed through this book in just one sitting. Things You Save in a Fire was such an uplifting read, a powerful lesson about forgiveness and a little romance to lighten the mood. I loved Cassie, the strong female protagonist but also loved her group of firefighter coworkers and their quirky personalities just as much.

There are not enough stars for this book. Simply amazing! From the day I finished How to Walk Away, I knew I wanted to read another book by this author. I love how action packed this book was. While I know nothing about being a firefighter or even what their day to day routines look like, I felt like I was there with them. The details really put you there. The author never talks over your head, so I followed every move. I loved the reference in the beginning to a scene out of How to Walk Away, and Cassie's journey really has you rooting for the "good guy," or in some cases, the "good girl." A gripping story of breaking down barriers of all kinds, love, forgiveness, and realizing who really has your back when you need it most, this book is by far one of the best I've read in several years. I cannot recommend this book enough. A must read for everyone!