**INDIE NEXT PICK FOR AUGUST****AN AUGUST 2019 LIBRARYREADS SELECTION****BOOK OF THE MONTH PICK FOR JULY****AN AMAZON EDITOR’S PICK FOR AUGUST**“Center gives readers a sharp and witty exploration of love and forgiveness that is at once insightful, entertaining, and thoroughly addictive.”— KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW“An appealing heroine, a compelling love story, a tearjerking twist, and a thoroughly … appealing heroine, a compelling love story, a tearjerking twist, and a thoroughly absorbing story. Another winner from Center.”
— BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW
“A spirited, independent heroine meets a smoking-hot fireman in Center’s smart romance… If you enjoyed ‘The Kiss Quotient,’ by Helen Hoang, read Things You Save in a Fire”’
– THE WASHINGTON POST
From the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away comes a stunning new novel about courage, hope, and learning to love against all odds.
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.
The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie’s old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren’t exactly thrilled to have a “lady” on the crew—even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the infatuation-inspiring rookie, who doesn’t seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can’t think about that. Because love is girly, and it’s not her thing. And don’t forget the advice her old captain gave her: Never date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping…and it means risking it all—the only job she’s ever loved, and the hero she’s worked like hell to become.
Katherine Center’s Things You Save in a Fire is a heartfelt and healing tour-de-force about the strength of vulnerability, the nourishing magic of forgiveness, and the life-changing power of defining courage, at last, for yourself.
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This is only the second Katherine Center book I’ve read, the first being How to Walk Away. When I saw the title I had certain expectations. The title relates to the story in both cases, but not quite the way you’d expect. I love that! Cassie reinvents her 16 year old traumatized self to become a competent EMT/firefighter who keeps her emotions tightly wrapped. When her estranged mother asks for her help Cassie finds she has to reinvent herself yet again. And this time love, vulnerability, and forgiveness come into play.
This is not a romance in the traditional sense (even though it does have a romantic thread in it) but it is a love story. Cassie suffered some traumatic teenage experiences after which she found strength by walling off her heart from any emotional connections and focusing on her physical strength. But life has a way for throwing some curve balls and Cassie now has to drastically change her life. She is now exposed to situations where she finds out if she has the strength to accept love and forgiveness of both herself and those who had ‘wronged’ her.
“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.”
Beautiful writing, relatable characters. Highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
“Things You Save in a Fire” by Katherine Center is a very well written book about the messy things in life. This book had me hooked right from the first page and I did not want to put it down. I found myself laughing hysterically at points and almost crying at other times. There were so many things in this book that I could identify with. This book really makes you examine yourself and how you handle things that life throws at you. Forgiveness something so very hard to do, how do you forgive the unforgivable and move on? Read this book and find out the answer to that and so much more. This is the first book that I’ve read of Katherine Center and it won’t be the last!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of Things You Save in a Fire, all opinions are my own.
Similar to How to Walk Away, it’s taken me a week to digest Katherine Center’s latest and greatest novel – Things You Save in a Fire. Writing this review will not do the book justice. I would give this book 10 stars if I had the ability to do so.
The story is about a woman firefighter, Cassie – who is forced to move across the country to take care of her estranged mother. Cassie leaves a woman friendly firehouse and enters one where she is looked down upon – regardless of her ridiculous ability to beat half the men at practically everything ever thrown her way – simply because she is a female.
I don’t want to say more about the story, because it is that good – you just need to read it. But make sure you have Kleenex with you – and time to ignore the rest of the world as you will so quickly be absorbed into Cassie’s world.
In the end, the story is one of family, love, and most importantly forgiveness. Kudos to Katherine Center for quickly throwing in a blurb about her heroine from How to Walk Away, and to writing another amazing story which will leave you so satisfied in the end.
Standing Outside the Fire. Wow. This tale about a female firefighter’s struggles both personally and professionally was simply amazing. Told almost in memoir format, the tale picks up when our narrator is at an awards gala to receive the highest honor her Department has to offer. When things go a bit awry, she heads thousands of miles away to help her sick mother and hide. Little does she know that in the process of doing both, she will find things are more complicated than she ever dared imagine – and find strength even she never knew she had. Firefighters try to stay outside of fires unless necessary, and tend not to stay in them longer than absolutely necessary to do the job. But this tale gives new life to the old Garth Brooks song, in all the best ways. Again, simply amazing.
Oh. My. Goodness. I loved this book! I can very easily see it being made into a major hit movie. It hits all the targets. It has all the feels. It leaves no emotional stone unturned – for the characters as well as for the reader. It’s been awhile since I haven’t wanted a book to end, but I found myself doling out those last few chapters a little at a time to make it last longer. It’s a must read, for sure. So…you must read it!
5 STARS!
This book was so much more than I expected and I had already expected to love it. Similar to her previous books this is a single POV by a female protagonist. This time, a female firefighter who is at the top of her game when felled by behavior unbecoming.
Not caring for brusque, arrogant, or pushy females as main characters, my only concern was due to that of my own preconceptions. Any worry over those presumptions fell to the wayside after the first two chapters. This author managed to create a character who while confident and highly capable in her career, was immensley vulnerable under the walls she was forced to build due to past hurts. It was the perfect balance. I loved Cassie’s character so much. If I could do my life over, I would want to be her!
While classified as women’s fiction, the romantic element to the story was more prominent than any of the other books I’ve read by this author. This made my romance loving heart happy. The moment Rookie Owen turned his goofy, smiling face towards Cassie, she wasn’t the only goner. Along with some sweet romance, there were other wonderful elements to this story that created something relatable, empowering, and hopeful. Great wit, a little mystery/suspense, honorable characters, and a swoony romance. Things You Save in a Fire was reading bliss.
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
St Martin’s Press
August 2019
Fiction
Rating: 4/5
I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press.
Cassie Hanwell knew she had to work hard to prove herself in a male dominated profession. She focused her life on being the best firefighter after working her way up to being a paramedic. Unfortunately, she walled herself off emotionally after several life-altering events on her sixteenth birthday. She learned how to fit in with the guys at the Austin Fire Department with their bawdy jokes and pranks.
Cassie continued to live in Austin near her father, Ted, since her mother, Diana, left them to move to Massachusetts to be with Wallace. This happened ten years ago on her 16th birthday, a day she woul always remember with anger and sadness.
Just as she feels her life is going according to plan, until she is taken by surprise at award ceremony. She was anxious thinking about accepting the honor on stage and having to make a speech. Cassie has never been good with talking about feelings or emotions. She never expects to see let alone feel the inappropriate touching of the Austin councilman, Heath Thompson, when she accepts her award. As traumatic memories of him from high school cloud her brain, she narrowly avoids arrest after assaulting him at the ceremony.
Just as she is fretting over the consequences of her actions and probable loss of job, her mother calls her from Rockport, MA. Apparently, she’s been living in a small house making a living selling her pottery. She calls to begs Cassie to help her adjust after losing sight in one eye. With not many options, Cassie transfers to the Lillian Fire Department and moves in with her mother.
Soon, Cassie finds that her laser focus on her career is preventing her from moving forward in her life. She begins to understand the mother who left on her birthday. Life is fluid and nothing is black and white. Holding onto the past will just keep you in the past. Sometimes you have to be vulnerable and risk the step into the unknown to propel yourself in a new direction.
The things you save in a fire could very well be the things that save you from yourself. This is an enjoyable and predictable story but touching none the less.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2702246225
https://bookwormreviewblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/things-you-save-in-fire-by-katherine.html?m=1
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!
This novel evoked so many different emotions in me. I was crying one minute, then smiling, then laughing aloud. I was cheering the whole time for Cassie to overcome all of the obstacles in her life but knowing in the back of my mind that real life doesn’t work like that. I loved that she was so kind to the Rookie and that she learned how to forgive so that she could then teach how to others. Cassie was a strong female character, one of the strongest that I have ever read about and her strength is in her words and her actions. I could see the research that went into the novel all along the way as I read it and I am thankful for the author’s firefighter husband who helped to make the details so realistic. As the sister of a fire chief, I was enthralled by this book from the beginning to the end. Fans of Katherine Center will not want to miss this one because it is an excellent portrayal of the real life of real heroes. I loved it and highly recommend it to those who want to be entertained and educated about the sacrifices of firefighters everywhere.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Things You Save in a Fire was a story I simply could not put down. I finished it in one day. Author Katherine Center explores real issues faced by women today. One of the themes through the story is gender bias in the workplace and how a female navigates her way in a male dominated profession. Another theme is how differently individuals handle tragedy and cope with their grief. Throughout this story Center also explores complex family dynamics and how life can and does change, altering our perspective. An insightful and entertaining story!
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!
A wonderfully uplifting story about real-life heroes. And romance and sexism and forgiveness and family and what you’d stand up for and how it’s always the simplest things that have the biggest impact.
Loved this book so much!
I just discovered Katherine Center this year when I read “How to Walk Away” (which I enjoyed very much) and I think I loved “Things You Save in a Fire” even more. I adore that the main character is a female firefighter and we are able to see the difficulties and discrimination she faces in such a male dominated career. As a physician with a husband who has been an EMT for over thirty years, a lot of the scenes were familiar and Center did a good job making most of them realistic. I also enjoyed learning about the details of firefighting and the risks inherent in that world. The characters are well drawn and likable. I especially loved that “The Rookie” was almost always called by this nickname, even in Cassie’s mind. He is a great character and I fell in love with him right alongside Cassie. For anyone looking for a delightful romance with interesting quirky characters, this is the book for your. And kudos to the cover designer…it’s gorgeous!
I just discovered Katherine Center this year when I read “How to Walk Away” (which I enjoyed very much) and I think I loved “Things You Save in a Fire” even more. I adore that the main character is a female firefighter and we are able to see the difficulties and discrimination she faces in such a male dominated career. As a physician with a husband who has been an EMT for over thirty years, a lot of the scenes were familiar and Center did a good job making most of them realistic. I also enjoyed learning about the details of firefighting and the risks inherent in that world. The characters are well drawn and likable. I especially loved that “The Rookie” was almost always called by this nickname, even in Cassie’s mind. He is a great character and I fell in love with him right alongside Cassie. For anyone looking for a delightful romance with interesting quirky characters, this is the book for your. And kudos to the cover designer…it’s gorgeous!
I read Katherine Center’s How To Walk Away, and loved it. This one didn’t disappoint! Her characters are so likable, although with many flaws. This is a story of a broken family that left a 16 yr old daughter with emotional scars that were deep and painful. Her mother left her and her father, on her 16th birthday, and in ten years, Cassie still couldn’t move on.
Cassie is a tough firefighter, respected by all who work with her. Her ailing mother needs her help, as she loses her sight, and Cassie reluctantly leaves her home and job to help. She must learn to forgive her mother, before she can adjust to her life changes, and she finds that a challenge.
This is a story of emotional and personal growth, learning to trust, love and live life, while letting go of the losses and heartbreaks of childhood. I rarely read a book in two days, but this one kept pulling me in, a authentic page turner.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s press for the ARC!
*ARC was won through a GoodReads giveaway*
First off-I could not have been happier to win this giveaway! I read my first Katherine Center novel in April 2017, with How to Walk Away, and had to go about getting my hands on EVERYTHING this author has written!! I love her writing style, and starting “a Katherine book” feels like sitting down with an old friend.
I tried to pace myself, I really did. I’ve zipped through Mrs Center’s other novels so fast I wanted to try to enjoy this one. I managed for a little while, reading just a couple of chapters a day. I started this on a Monday, and by the following Sunday I still had half to go. Then I managed to finish (devour might be a better word) the rest that day.
I don’t want to rehash the plot. Just know that this book is both heartwarming & heartbreaking, not to mention chock full of forgiveness. Parts of this story felt almost like a mini therapy session, and I personally hope I can remember the lessons in the future. The characters Mrs Center creates are immensely likable, and the dialogue between them flows so effortlessly. The pace of the story and plot move quickly, plus there’s a little something for everyone-romance, a little action, with family drama thrown in-all in a very well researched package!
Get it as soon as you can-you WON’T be sorry!! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and then at the end tear up again because it’s over…
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!