I haven't written a full review of Things You Save in a Fire yet, because I'm waiting until it's closer to the publication date. I loved How to Walk Away by Katherine Center--in fact, it was my first ever Book of the Month pick! So when her next book was announced, I couldn't resist requesting an early copy. I adored this book! It made me cry, which is my benchmark for a 5-star rating, had a badass heroine who learned to be vulnerable and soft while also running into a burning building for a living. I mean, how cool is that? Overall, I love that Center showcased a woman thriving in a traditionally-male career, and I loved the little nod to How to Walk Away, too. It felt like an exciting Easter egg since I had already read How to Walk Away!

This book has it all! Strength, love, romance, courage and hurt.
"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 came.".
Cassie is one "Bad-Ass" girl. She is a firefighter/EMT/ who is as strong if not stronger than her male co-workers. She prides herself on taking care of every emergency without "feeling".
She has built a huge solid wall around her that will NOT allow any emotions to enter.
This barrier has been growing since she was young and her life was shattered one night following a party at the age of sixteen.
When she is transferred to another fire company to be near her estranged mother who is now desperately ill, her protective partition will slowly begin to crumble, piece by piece.
An excellent, well written novel! I was caught in Cassie's world and found myself rooting for her to take her life back!
You will love this story!

Things You Save In A Fire by Katherine Center is a story that hit me in the feels in all the best ways. After reading my second of her books, I'm realizing Katherine Center is the kind of author who writes books that absolutely captivate me, and I love her for it. This book focuses on Cassie who is a firefighter in Texas. She relocates to Boston after an unwelcome blast from the past and need to help her mother with her ailing health. Her new fire station is full of challenge. First of all, they're not exactly excited about having a woman join their team, and they're also not shy about letting Cassie know. Second, there's "the rookie" who's started alongside Cassie. He makes her feel a certain kind of way, and she's not sure what to do with that. Y'all, this one had so much emotion. I was so into Cassie's story. At times, it was a hard read because I was so emotionally invested in Cassie's life - both personal and professional. Also, there were some twists at the end that made it so I literally had to sit down and catch my breath. I mean, y'all, my heart was racing as I was that into this one. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me get a sneak peek of this one that's not due out until August 2019. I'll be sure to remind y'all about this one as the release date approaches because I need others to feel these feels and then discuss said feels with me. Until then, find time to read How To Walk Away if you haven't already.

I fell in love with this book and both Cassie and Owen.

I LOVE a strong female protagonist, and man does Cassie fit the bill. She is a BADASS. But she is hurting and she has barbed wire around her heart.As Owen says, "There is a toughness about her. But the most impressive thing about the toughness is that she built it to protect the tenderness." Watching her let down her guard and expose her tender underbelly was a treasure.

Owen is a gentle, compassionate, and kind man. His respect for consent was such a refreshing touch. This love story is wonderfully wholesome and almost naive and I ADORE that. So very romantic in an honest and non-cheesy way.

It's not only a love story between a man and a woman. It's a love story between a daughter and her mother, and a woman and herself. There is a powerful lesson to be learned here, and I highlighted entire passages on forgiveness.

I loved the theme of forgiveness, survival, and the heart's capacity for change. The ONLY small problem I have is that I felt like Cassie's metamorphosis happened pretty quickly. I think I would have liked to seen a bit more of the build up. Other than that, the story won me over.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this treasure. It was a joy.

This was my second Katherine Center book and I had high expectations. I really enjoyed How to Walk Away but I loved this was even more! I am not usually that into the romance genre but her books are different...there is that element but there is so much more. Her characters are multifaceted and imperfect and she covers some pretty deep issues while still being an enjoyable read. This story was unique and the subtle elements of sexism, past trauma and what forgiveness really means all played a part in making this story so thought-provoking. There were many "quotable" lines that really stuck with me.

"Telling the story changed the story for me. Not what had happened-that, I could never change-but how I responded to it...Even though nothing about the story had changed, I had changed."

This book had heartbreaking moments and heartwarming moments and I loved the idea that becoming who we are is a journey and not a destination. We can choose how to react to life's ups and downs and opening up to one another can help us do that. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a 5 star read for me!

Katherine Center's latest novel features Cassie, a firefighter who fears nothing but opening her heart to love. Filled with warmth and humor, this book shines a light on all kinds of courage, both physical and emotional. Five stars!!

I received this book from NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review.

I've read close to 200 books in 2018 and not a single one compared to this book. It was so well written, the characters so believable. I fell in love with Cassie and her journey. Things you Save in a Fire is positively the best book of the year. I look forward to much more from this author in the future.

A good book!!! Quite simply put this was a “good book”. Very well developed characters with a solid storyline/plot. WhT was most interesting about this book was the main characters profession. I don’t believe that I have ever read a book with a female firefighter. The main character was strong, self reliant and evolves as the book progresses.

I fully admit that I have a thing for smart chick lit, and Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors for that purpose. This is up there with Happiness for Beginners as the best of her books for me. The characters were super interesting and relatable. I loved Cassie. She was complex, nuanced, flawed, and relatable. The ability to write characters whose motivations are so human and understandable is rare, and Center has it down. I appreciated the way she treated gender and feminism in this book, and made it a core issue that she addressed pretty unflinchingly. She also just writes relationships SO WELL. And I appreciated that while a potential romantic relationship was one of the main themes of the book, we also got a lot of focus on other elements of Cassie’s life, like her relationship with her parents, the way she takes care of herself and manages her life, and how awesome she is at what she does. It’s really refreshing for a book like this to focus on all facets of a woman’s life instead of acting like the romance plot is the only interesting thing to readers. And, as always, Katherine Center is a really good writer. The writing was tight, the pacing was great, there was some solid subtle humor, and the book sucked me in right away - I read the whole thing in an evening. Highly recommend.

(Side note: I also appreciated the sly reference to How to Walk Away toward the beginning of the book.)

This one just filled me with so much joy, I don't know how to explain it. But here I go...

First and foremost, Katherine's ability to create such amazing, complex, strong characters is beyond words. I've always said that a book is nothing without its characters and these people were my absolute favorite. I loved them from the very first page and I hurt with them and for them, but most of all, I rooted for them and I'm so damn content.

This book held a lot more romance than I was used to from Katherine's previous novel and just when I thought that maybe I liked it more low-key, I fell head-over-heels for these two. Cassie and Owen were so precious and Owen's kindness and patience was everything I could have hoped for for Cassie! AGH! He is what book boyfriends are made of!

But of course, while I was being all giddy over these two (and really through all of their scenes), I was also bawling like a little baby in the corner. Because I thought this story was more romance-centered, I did not see the gut punches coming my way. We start with one, but then they just keep coming. My heart broke in so many ways, tears running down my cheeks, but each story within this book was told beautifully--heartbreakingly--but beautifully with underlying messages of forgiveness that I just adored seeing. Cassie is such a strong character, but after seeing all that she goes through and all that she has been through, my heart went out to her and my respect for her was out of this world. If there's any story out there with amazing character growth, it's this one.

Also, a big thank you to Katherine for not feeling the need to be so explicit in certain scenes and yet have the reader know what is going on. I appreciate you so much for it.

This story was just everything to me and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it. If anyone is looking for a story that'll have you swooning and then in tears, but leave you with your heart full, then you must pick this one up.

Thank you Netgalley for this read!

As a watcher of Station 19 and getting sucked into the firehouse drama, I enjoyed this book! Was fun to watch the progression of Cassie going from an expert at one station and then travelling out of state to become a newbie at a predominately male station. The book not only followed the firehouse, but it also shared the journey of Cassie's mom who left on her 16th birthday. This book helps illustrate the concept of everything happens for a reason and hopefully it all works out in the end..

Cassie is a superstar firefighter. A heroic, skilled paramedic recently decorated with her first valor award, and, as we are reminded at least a hundred times, a GIRL (omg) with no interest in relationships (omg x2) stemming from unresolved trauma in her past. Events unfold which require her to move away from the firehouse she loves in order to care for her estranged and ill mother across the country, starting her career over to boot. The story unravels in a predictable way, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable rom-com read. I read the entire book on a flight and it made the time go by in a snap. Fans of Center’s previous book How To Walk Away should absolutely enjoy Things You Save in a Fire.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for a free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! I loved this book! (Women's fiction with romantic elements.)

The protagonist, Cassie, is a firefighter in Austin, TX, at a progressive, modern station. She’s honored for her valor, but at the event, she gets herself into some trouble. When the mother she’s estranged from asks her to come to a small town outside of Boston to help her because she’s ill, Cassie wants no part of it. But between getting in trouble and her beloved father’s urging, she agrees to transfer to an old-school firehouse and help her mom out.

Cassie is the first “lady” firefighter at the house, and the chief and the others don’t hide the fact the fact that they don’t believe women should be in the profession. All except a rookie firefighter who starts the same day she does.

She has to be the best at everything to prove to her male colleagues she knows what she’s doing. She won’t let her attraction to the rookie derail her.

I liked the romantic elements because there is a very legitimate reason she can’t fall for Owen. Her career would be over. Firefighters aren’t supposed to date other firefighters. A man might get away with it, but not a female. (Although here in Colorado I know a few male/female married firefighters, so that might just be a thing in certain parts of the country.)

Initially I found Cassie a little hard to like. I’ve never read a book with such an angry protagonist. But the last half of the book was definitely a multi-tissue, ruin-my-makeup-cryfest.

Read this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 13, 2019. (Which is a long time to wait, I realize, but you’ll want to put it on your to-read list and check out her other books.)

This book. I had high hopes for this book since I adored How to Walk Away. But I did not expect it to fully live up to my expectations. This was a topic that I generally wouldn’t lean toward but I fell in love with this story. I felt the love, the anger, the hate, and the pain. It made me want to hug Cassie, punch others (won’t say the names to avoid spoilers) and cheer for the rookie. Overall a truly wonderful book!

I received an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.

I loved Katherine Center's new book Things You Save In A Fire! Cassie is a 26 year old firefighter who relocates to another area to take care of her mom who is having trouble with her eyesight and transfers to a new fire station. There are plenty of pranks that take place in the fire house, as well as close relationships that are formed as the firemen, and women are working together saving lives. The details in the book are well researched, and keep the story flowing very nicely. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments throughout the book, and of course a romance story emerges.... a perfect blend, and balance is achieved to keep the reader well entertained.

Another great book by Katherine Center! I loved Happiness is for Beginners and How to Walk Away, so when I saw this book on NetGalley, I said a little prayer in hope that I would be approved. I read it over the Thanksgiving weekend and could not put it down. Another 5 star book from her! She writes in a style that is so easy and fun to read and her messages are full of hope and forgiveness. Her words really make me think about ways to make life easier on myself (and others) by learning about yourself and practicing letting things go. It’s well written, funny and very witty. Definitely put this on your TBR list!

Things You Save in a Fire hit home for me as a female in the military. It was refreshing to read about a strong woman navigating a male dominated field realistically. There were a couple cringe-worthy, hyperbolic events the main character, Cassie, did to show up the men, but the rest were great. Cassie's internal thoughts and struggles were balanced with hilarity and actuality. Katherine Center's writing style is exquisite; I felt Cassie's joy as well as the tension of her ethical career dilemmas. The obstacles career women face amidst men were captured perfectly. I literally found myself frequently thinking "Man, I love this book!"
I dropped a star because of a particular scene where Cassie is a bit aggressively perverse. It detracted a bit from the anti-sexual-assault stance and gender equality in responsibility for our sexual endeavors.

This is a quick, fun read that I stayed up past my bedtime to finish. I recommend! Also, I totally cast the Netflix movie in my head as I was reading. Emma Stone would make a terrific Cassie and I’d cast Julianne Moore as Diana. Someone young and hot would have to be Owen. And someone like Mark Wahlberg as the Captain.. Maybe Alec Baldwin as Destasio? Anyway, I enjoyed this one and now I’m planning to read Center’s book that was published this year.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC! I will definitely recommend my book reading friends pick this one up when it’s published next year!

The story and the cast of characters were the best! This book was hard to put down, and leaves you wanting more!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Cassie Hanwell is a strong, independent woman, a firefighter who's proved herself over and over and become an important part of her station family in Texas. But after her estranged mother requests her help with a medical issue, Cassie moves across country. She joins another station desperate for an experienced firefighter...just not a woman. Most of her new co-workers are against women joining the department and Cassie repeatedly has to prove herself. Be strong, hide your feminine side...and never date firefighters!
I really enjoyed this book and I liked how she described the fun-loving and laid back atmosphere at the fire station. Cassie is such a strong female character, willing to learn new methods to overcome her weaknesses of strength and size. And Owen just seems like such a great guy, gradually showing her that love isn't such a bad thing.