Katherine Center's latest novel, Things You Save in a Fire is my favorite book of hers to date. It combines family drama, forgiveness and romance into a very nice story that catches the reader's attention from the beginning and keeps the momentum going throughout the book. Fans of Center will love this one!

At the start of the book, our main character Cassie is a firefighter in Austin, Texas at a progressive, more modern station. At an event where she is to be honoured for her valour, she gets into some trouble. At this point, her mother, who she's estranged from, asks her to come to a small town outside of Boston to care for her because she is sick. At first, she doesn't want to do it, but because of her dad's urging and the trouble she got herself into she agrees to go.

Once there, she transfers to an old-school firehouse that is male-dominated. She is the first woman to ever be at this firehouse and the men are not happy. They don't believe women should be firefighters and they don't hide this fact from her either. The only one on her side is the rookie firefighter that started the same day that she did. There were romantic elements to the book between Cassie and the rookie Owen. However, she can't give in to her feelings or her career at the firehouse would be done.

All in all, it's a very well written book and definitely had my emotions going up and down. I highly recommend this book!

I enjoyed this book and the underlying messages it imparted to the reader. First of all, Cassie is a very strong-willed young firefighter. Part of the reason she is who she is began with her mother choosing to leave her behind with her father, as well as a traumatic event that happened to her after that which has never been shared with anyone. Now her mother is asking her to please come and stay with her to help her through a health crisis. Naturally this starts off really rocky, but the way they begin to know and understand each other shows that it can be done, and the lessons she learns from her mom along the way make Cassie grow in ways she thought she never could. As Cassie also begins a new job at a new fire department, she is faced with the bias of the men who feel that a woman does not belong in the fire department, and thus she has two struggles going on in her life. The story of how she works her way through these trials and lets us learn about the characters who surround her. The biggest lesson she learns is how to forgive and live with that decision. How she learns to open he heart to others is a life-lesson. Thank you to NetGAlley, author and publisher for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review, which this has been. #ThingsYouSaveinaFire

I'm a relative newcomer to Katherine Center's work, but I really enjoyed what I've read so far. Things You Save in a Fire is a romance starring a female firefighter, so she explores the complexities of being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field. Throw in a sweet romance and enjoy. Is it a little cheesy at times? Of course, but aren't all romance novels? Bottom line, I enjoyed falling in love with these characters and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I can't describe the giddy feeling I get when I know I'm about to read a new Katherine Center novel. She has become my go-to author when I want to read something fun and light on the surface, but with true to life characters and deep meaning that will touch my soul. Things You Save in a Fire tells the story of Cassie, an intrepid female firefighter in Austin. On the cusp of winning a major award, she finds herself moving to Massachusetts to help the mother who abandoned her ten years previously. Cassie has spent her adult life creating a world in which she is in complete control. Now that she is in a new environment, she faces choices and opportunities that make her see everything differently.

This novel is beautiful, heartbreaking, funny, and uplifting all in one go. When I have the opportunity to read one of Katherine Center's novels, I know that I'd better plan on staying in one place for an extended period of time- there is no way I'll be able to put it down. Things You Save in a Fire was definitely no exception. I highly recommend this one- you won't be disappointed!

Another great book by Katherine Center! I enjoyed this story and the characters, but the last 4th of the book was probably my favorite. This book also brings up a lot of themes, forgiveness, abuse, dealing with trauma, falling in love, sexism, and loving yourself.

Cassie is a hotshot firefighter in Austin, Texas. One of the only female firefighters in a progressive firehouse, Cassie is at the top of her game. Until the night of the awards ceremony, where she attacks the presenter. Given a choice of being fired or reassigned, Cassie takes the reassignment. She is reassigned to a fire station outside of Boston, where she will be taking care of her estranged mother. Cassie is in for a huge change when she joins the department. Underfunded, with poor facilities and ripe with sexism, Cassie has her work cut out for her. She also has her work cut out for her in her personal life also. What will happen to Cassie? Can she overcome the odds stacked against her? Will she be able to put the past behind her and move on?

I am going to start this review with a complaint. 95% of the book takes places in a fictitious town of Lillian, Massachusetts. Lillian is located south of Rockport/Gloucester. Which would put it in the Manchester-by-the-Sea/Ipswich area. My complaint is this. That is not the Boston area. Boston is an hour drive from there. How do I know? I grew up in that area and lived there until 5 years ago. Where I grew up was 20 mins from Boston and Rockport is 20-30 mins from there. That is not the Boston area. That is considered the North Shore/Cape Anne area. So it irked me when I read that. It was the only thing that I didn’t care for in the book.

The major plotline of Things You Save in a Fire is forgiveness and healing. When Cassie is introduced, she had shut herself off from everything. She didn’t trust because of events that happened 10 years earlier. She despised her mother and had little to do with her. She didn’t have any close relationships outside of work. After the incident and moving to Rockport, I could see her walls coming down. She started to forgive her mother for leaving. She started to come to terms with her rape. Everything came to a head when Owen was injured in the fire and DeStasio put the blame on her. That scene with DeStasio was one of the most heartbreaking scenes I have read in a while. The details she went into broke my heart in smithereens. But talking about it helped her heal. And in a way, helped her forgive.

I liked the storyline with the rookie and Cassie. I laughed at her first reaction to seeing him the first time. I felt awful about her panicking when she realized that she like liked him. I cried when she told him (in not so many words) what happened to her. I cheered when she decided to throw caution to the wind and pursue a relationship with him. I will say that I thought it was odd that Owen was only known as “the rookie” for about 75% of the book.

The other plotline that caught my attention was the relationship between Cassie and her mother. Cassie was traumatized by her mother leaving on her 16th birthday. In the 10 years since she left, she had little contact with her. I didn’t blame Cassie for flat out saying no to Diana when she called after the incident. But with her father intervening and being forced to transfer, she had to go. Cassie was forced to face her mother. She was forced to start caring. She was also forced to listen to why Diana left. What Cassie believed happened and what she found out is two different things. Towards the middle of the book, it was revealed exactly why Diana wanted Cassie to come to Massachusetts. I didn’t blame Cassie for her reaction.

I loved that Cassie was a firefighter. There are very few female firefighters. The author did a fantastic job of portraying what Cassie had to do to make the men of the Lillian station respect her. She also did a great job of detailing the harassment that Cassie had to deal with.

I will say that I was surprised when I realized that Cassie was the firefighter from How to Walk Away. That one sentence made me go “No way” when I realized it was her.

The end of Things You Save in a Fire was sad and happy at the same time. I was thrilled that Owen and Cassie got their HEA. I loved Cassie’s mindset at the end of the book. LOVED IT!!! She did get the best revenge.

I would give Things You Save in a Fire an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is language. There is mild violence. There are triggers. They would be parental abandonment, rape, cancer, and addiction. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would recommend Things You Save in a Fire. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Things You Save in a Fire.

All opinions stated in this review of Things You Save in a Fire are mine.

Things you save in a fire deserves all the stars in the sky! This book gave me so many feelings! I was hooked from page 1 and it only intensified from there. Every time I would put the book down I would have to pick it back up for just one more chapter. Even when I wasn’t reading, Cassie, The rookie and all the characters were in my head always thinking about them and what was going to happen next. Books like that are so rare and when u find one that good I love to be consumed with it! This is definitely on my top reads of 2019 and will forever be one of my favorites! Oh what to read next....

Easy to read story. Great characters and story line. This book will appeal to a wide audience! I'm not usually a fan of romance type novels but this had so many other facets.

I’m not usually a romance fan, but after reading How to Walk Away from this author I was dying to read this one. I will say her books are much more than love stories. For some reason I didn’t really start enjoying this book until about 40% in. The main character was complaining and seemed to have no personality. Once I got over that hump it picked up and I really enjoyed it. The characters fell into place and the story line developed. I would highly recommend this book. Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review.

Loved this book! Quick read, sweet story about love and forgiveness. This was my first book to read by Katherine Center, but certainly won’t be my last! Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to enjoy this book!

Things You Save In A Fire by Katherine Center was disappointing. I enjoyed the first half of the book about a female firefighter. I did not care for the writing and the end seemed to be thrown together to get closure. I also did not care for her other book, How To Walk Away. Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.

Katherine Center has done it again! I loved reading this sweet love story about not only falling in love with another person but also truly forgiving yourself and others. Cassie Hanwell is a firefighter trying to prove herself in a traditionally male dominated job. Just when she becomes comfortable in her job in Austin, Texas, she finds herself uprooted and moves to an area outside of Boston to help her mother. The same mother who left her and her father on Cassie's sixteenth birthday. Throughout the novel, Cassie learns to forgive her mother and learn to truth others again. Already looking forward to the next Katherine Center book!

This author was totally new to me, I picked this book off of netgalley just from seeing the cover. Once I started reading it and realized it was about a female firefighter I wasn't really sure how interesting it would be to me or if i would like it. I was more than pleasantly surprised! I loved it! She had razor sharp dialog and I love it when authors write books and include what the character is thinking. She did a great job of showing the characters thoughts, and I won't lie, her thought process was a whole lot like mine! I found the firefighting angle actually really interesting. I had never thought about all the hard things that firefighters and EMT's see. So that was really informative to me. I loved that there was romance, but it wasn't smutty. They "did the deed" but we didn't have to read all about the anatomy of it, which i greatly appreciated! I will be putting Katherine Center on my must read list now!

*Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.*

I'd give this 3.5 - 4 stars. Easy read that is sweet and charming. By the end of the book, I felt like there were a lot of situations happening to the main character that just were hard to see as realistic...basically it got a little far fetched to me. But it was a "feel good" book and I still enjoyed it.

4.5 Stars

Cassie Hanwell is one strong cookie! She must be - she is the only female firefighter at her station. To prove herself, she must be better, faster, and harder working than her male counterparts. She works in a male dominated field...how male dominated? I did some research and found that "There are 1.16 million firefighters in the United States, but only 7 percent are women according to the National Fire Protection Association." That's a big gap and Cassie feels it in this book!

Cassie is a complete professional when dealing with emergencies, high stress situations and tragedies on the job. In her personal life - not so much. You see, Cassie doesn't have a personal life. She doesn't date, she doesn't hang out, she doesn't really have friends, she's not looking for a boyfriend, she fills her life with work and responsibility.

She is torn when she receives a call from her estranged and ailing Mother. A mother who left when Cassie was a teenager, a Mother she has spent years being angry at. But when an incident occurs at an awards ceremony, Cassie decides to transfer to a new firehouse outside of Boston so that she can work while helping her Mother.

Once again, she is one of the newest members at a fire-station that isn’t too happy to have a female there. She is subjected to hazing and must prove herself and her abilities as a firefighter. She knew it would be hard staring over, she was mentally prepared for that. What she wasn't prepared for was the feelings she began to experience when she met the Rookie, Owen Callahan. Her old chief gave her strict instructions: Never date a firefighter! It doesn't help that the two newbies get paired up for everything. She can't escape him or her feelings.

She also can't escape her feelings about being around her Mother. Forgiveness is a theme in this book. Forging others. Forging yourself. That being vulnerable does not make you weak and that giving someone a second chance can turn everything around.

I loved how this book was about relationships in various forms - friendships, relationships with co-workers, relationships between a parent and their child, romantic relationships, etc. I also loved the theme of forgiveness and the path the characters choose to go on in terms of forgiveness.

I also loved how Cassie was a strong female character who changed and grew over the course of this book. She had flaws, she had pain, she had sadness and anger, she also had courage, heart, and determination. She felt real/believable. What she was feeling and how she re-acted to situations made sense.

I enjoy romances and this was so much more than that. It contained great likable (and some not so likable) characters, a great theme, and the growth of the characters. This was a captivating and engaging book. It is beautifully written and grabbed my attention right away. I rooted for several of the characters and loved every single page. Plus, it did not feel rushed at all and it had an epilogue! YES! Plus, there is a little nod to the accident from :How to Walk Away which I thought was a nice touch.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was just a wonderful story. it had all the elements I look for in good writing, as well as good story. Will llok for more from this author!

I just finished this novel. It was easy to fall in love with the characters. I loved Cassie and my heart went out to her and her situation. It was a real page turner. I will be reading more from this author.

Things You Save in a Fire was simply wonderful. I read the author's most recent book, How To Walk Away and wasn't wowed. I was one of the few who didn't love it, but this one pulled me in and didn't want to let me go.

I loved the character of Cassie, the rookie and the practical jokes the other fire fighters played on them at Cassie's new fire house. While there were definitely some tragedies in this story, the overall feel was more lighthearted and it was fun.

I wanted to be at the fire house and wanted to meet all the guys. I truly didn't want this book to end and found myself hoping there would be a sequel.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publishers for allowing my request for an ARC. My thoughts on this book are my own.

Katherine Center is such a fabulous author! She has such an amazing skill at plotting a fantastic story, developing characters that are so real and multi-leveled, and drawing out the reader's emotions. I have read most of her books and totally enjoyed all of them.

In this book we experience the struggles of a female firefighter. The current situations she is dealing with and like some of us, a few issues from her past that she has not dealt with and resolved.

Being a female in a male dominated profession is extremely difficult. It takes a strong person to be able to handle this situation. Cassie is that person. She has developed a strong, emotionless personality due to her mother leaving her dad and her on her 16th birthday (and another incident that happened that same day). She is an excellent fire fighter and paramedic. The story begins with her receiving an award for bravery in a fire rescue and at the awards ceremony things do not go as planned which sets the course of her life in a different direction than what she had planned.

The story is about self-acceptance, forgiveness, relationships at work & personal and most of all healing. People are defined by how they act in situations. The past is always a part of decision making, but if people can forgive themselves and the person that hurt them, then true understanding can take place and healing can happen.

This book, although Fiction, seemed very real to me. The interactions of the characters, the situations and the emotions written are very true to life.

I wish every male in a male dominated career would read this book. I have high hopes saying this, but I would hope that they could see things through a female's perspective and let a bit of the male ego go.

I highly recommend this book! I want to thank Netgalley.com, the publisher St. Martin's Press and also Katherine Center for the wonderful opportunity to read the ARC of this amazing book!