I absolutely loved this book! This is one of those that I will want to sit and think about for a couple days before starting something new. It had such an excellent storyline, yet also included bits of wisdom that served as great reminders on life. I'm new to reading Katherine Center and now I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of her books. Fantastic read!

Cassie is a no nonsense firefighter who is at the top of her game living in Austin, Texas. Suddenly her estranged mother contacts her asking her to come spend a year with her in Boston as she recovers from an illness. Cassie at first is completely against the move until circumstances at the firehouse cause her to reconsider. Before moving to Boston she is warned that she will not be welcome in the Firehouse in Boston due to the fact that she is female. She is also told to make sure she does not fall for a fellow firefighter. Piece of cake Cassie thinks or is it?

This was an enjoyable book about letting go of the past, finding love, and learning to forgive. Forgiving family, forgiving the past, and forgiving oneself. 4 out of 5 stars.

A wonderful story of family and forgiveness that weaves the lessons into prose seamlessly. This book had me in tears. I loved the ending but the whole story was a beautiful tale of connection, love, and hope. It took a few chapters to get into the story then I was hooked. I will be recommending this book to friends when it is published this Fall and my next read will be How to Walk Away by Katherine Center as well due to my enjoyment of this book.

5 stars! I loved this book! Could not put it down! This book has literally everything you could want in a book! It’s still early in the year but this will be hard to beat as my favourite book of 2019!

This is a very character driven novel. Not a lot goes on in the plot but you're following Cassie as she is transferred from one firehouse to another so she can live with her ailing mom. Cassie grabbed my attention from the start. I immediately liked her and wanted to see all the good/bad decisions she made along the way. I loved the setting of a fire station. I need more books with fire men and women. I did question her confiding in DeStasio of all people but she even brought that up herself. This is a HEA with a little heartbreak along the way.

I loved this novel - it has absolutely everything a food novel should have- a lovable but flawed heroine, drama, a mystery and just the right smattering of romance.

The story is told in first person by Cassie, our heroine and a first class firefighter/paramedic. Her voice is clear and strong throughout with crisp wittiness and grit. . Little by little more is revealed about Cassie’s life and her past. The more we learn, the more we fall in love with her.

All of the supporting characters are thoroughly believable and most a likable.

One of the best things about this book is the transformation that cassie experiences throughout the story. And another best thing is the wisdom peppered lightly through the pages about forgiveness and letting go of the past.

Highly recommend! This novel manages to be light and deep at the same time.

One more thing this

From the very beginning, this book captivated me. The setup is perfection! I was intrigued by the idea of a female firefighter, but also, Cassie Hanwell is a character for whom I could cheer, who I wanted to see succeed. Her mother left her on her sixteenth birthday, ditching Cassie and her father both for another man. But the book opens with Cassie receiving an award for heroism and virtually destroying her career in the same moment. Then, salvation looms, but it's going to be the classic story structure of the hero's journey into the threatening unknown land. There, she finds love, but it's forbidden territory.

The story's central theme is twofold: forgiveness, and the danger of adopting an erroneous perspective about something in your life. The error can prove to be a waste of a perfectly good life, a theme that plays out in a powerful metaphorical scene. This is empowering, reminding us that we have the power to change our perspective and, as a result, reap the rewards of a more fulfilling life. Courage, risk, and redemption are factors in this story, as well as love, family, and interdependency. As I write this, I'm savoring this book experience all over again. What a talented writer. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and am happy to recommend it.

I liked how this book explored a different variety of relationships and the main theme of forgiveness. Forgiveness in families, friendships, co workers and also of one’s self. It had moments that made me laugh, and cry. I always enjoy a strong female character. She was brave, strong and just one tough “cookie.”I also liked how Cassie was in a typically male dominated profession, and was able to prove that she was worthy to be there. Overall I enjoyed this book and would have loved it even more if there was less language.

I loved this book. It’s a book about being an excellent female firefighter/paramedic disrupting starus quo of the male brotherhood. Cassie is the best of the best firefighter but had to prove herself to her new station’s fellow firefighters. And through it all Cassie learns about love, loss, forgiveness, and being human. Cassie had the courage to forgive and love herself as she was able to forgive and love other.
I could not put this book down

This book was lovely! I enjoyed how family and romantic storylines were woven together, and it was laugh-out-loud funny. Within the first few pages of the book, I was already cracking up, and the humor remained throughout the book. There was also a mystery involved, which I did not expect, but I liked how it added to the story. I sped through the book, unable to put it down. It was that good.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Katherine Center for the ARC.

Loved this book, If life hadn't gotten on the way definitely would have finsihed earlier and in one sitting... A book about forgiveness and love. Strength and determination and learning who you are

Cassie, a female firefighter, had to work harder than most and accept the crap that life threw ar her to get where she was. One phone call from her estranged mother who was ill, she changed her life and headed from Texas to Boston to help her mother out. A great story of how women will fight for all that they have and drop it to start somewhere new to help someone out. Emotional roller coaster with the perfect ending!

I finished it in just over 24 hours. This book is just my style of sappy, heartwarming, and fun: firefighter Cassie is tough as leather after experiencing a lifetime of disappointments and abandonment, but is suddenly forced to move across the country to care for her sick, estranged mother. She is only able to find a job in a station where she is the first female firefighter among a group of mostly misogynistic males, and must constantly prove herself. Center’s books tend to have a life-lesson (you know I love life-lessons!), this one’s being: “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find, you get what you need.” (Fiction)

From my blog post here: https://fancylibrarian.com/2019/02/01/what-i-read-january-2019/

This was just not the book for me. I felt almost as if I was swept up into an emotional wormhole and sometimes I just like a lull in the emotions. Cassie is one of the only female fire fighters in her fire house in Texas. You can tell she was born for this kind of work. But due to an emergency, she has to move up to Boston to be with her mother. She is stunned when she learns that there is a "lady crew", the poor funding, and even worse facilities. Her mentor had always told her to not date other fire fighters but a cute new fire fighter might just change that.

Katherine Center is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She writes romance novels, but there is always so much depth to them. I loved the main character in this novel, an incredible firefighter who no longer believed in love. I try not to read late into the night anymore, but I couldn't help it with this book. The firefighter culture was interesting, and there were several great twists. It was heartbreaking but also beautiful, and I loved the message of forgiveness.

Cassie is a 20-something firefighter in Austin, Texas. She has climbed the ranks with her fearless, yet level-headed approach to being a firefighter. Originally destined for medical school, she first became and EMT and then moved on to being a paramedic when she realized how much this suited her personality. She’s tiny but powerful. And her mannerisms make her a perfect fit for the firehouse.

When presented with an award from the city for a heroic effort, she is face to face with someone from her past. Her reaction changes the course of her life. Cassie is confronted with things that she can’t treat the same way she could in the past. What was once easy is now hard. Cassie is forced to learn many lessons about herself and forgiveness along the way.

I didn’t quite know how to categorize this book as I read it. At times it felt like a romance novel, but then it would detour off into contemporary fiction or suspense. It is a book that can’t be simply classified into one genre or another. It is about family and love and life and the wrenches that are often thrown our way just when we think we have it all figured out. It was a great read. I didn’t expect to love it the way I did, or to quite fall in love with Cassie the way I did. Katherine Center made Cassie real not so much with her bravery, but with her more fallible characteristics. In fact, there is a lot of human frailty in this book. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend.

How to Walk Away was one of my favorite books from last year and I was so excited to get an advanced copy of Things You Save in a Fire. Cassie's story was heartbreakingly beautiful. I loved how the author brought her to life, I have never read a character like her. The Rookie was written equally as wonderful. I couldn't help but fall a little in love with him myself. This book was one that I was not able to put down.

I can't wait to read more from Katherine Center. 5 stars!

A sweet story with a great ending. Lots of emotional exploration. Some interesting twists on the way to a happy ending.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading about a woman in what’s typically a man’s profession and how she worked hard to be better.

I loved How to Walk Away, so I was thrilled to see a new book by Katherine Center, and even more excited when I received an ARC to review. I loved this book, I laughed, I may have cried a little, and then I added Katherine Center to my list of to-read authors.

Cassie is a female fire=fighter, Cassie is strong, brave and complex. Cassie has made a life for herself in Austin, but when her estranged mother calls and reveals she is ill. Cassie makes the difficult choice to head back to Massachusetts to care for her, which means being the new, and only female once again at the firehouse. While Cassie is working hard to prove herself to all those who doubt her at her new station, she meets Owen, a fellow firefighter. Cassie had been warned by her previous chief- never date a firefighter.

What results is a book of relationships, and forgiveness. I was completely hooked. Things You Save in A Fire will be released in August, and I can see it being one of the best books of the summer.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a honest review!