**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.
more
I listened to the audio version of this book and absolutely loved every second of it! I’m a huge fan of the narrator, Therese Plummer. She is just extraordinary in the emotion she puts in every single line. I knew it was going to be good going in because of her, but I had never even heard of Katherine Center before. Let’s just say the combination of Center and Plummer is deadly–deadly in the good sort of way.
The story centers around a female firefighter and her relationships with all sorts of people in her life-a bad guy from her past, her now sick mother who abandoned her family on Cassie’s sixteenth birthday, the firefighters at her old job and the good old boys at the smaller station she gets a job at close to her mother (including Rookie who is making all parts of her burn!).
Being married to a guy who has been in the fire service since the 1970’s, all the pranks and jokes and even the terms used for the equipment, etc. really hit home with me. Ms. Center obviously did her research and was very careful in her writing. What an awesome job!
I have never read this author before but really enjoyed her writing. The characters and the story were very good!
I’d classify this book as women’s fiction, folks, as the unfolding romance here was an important subplot in the life of Cassie, the heroine. I absolutely loved her strong, sassy, confident firefighter/paramedic character. I enjoyed seeing her evolve into someone who truly did learn to let go of the past and embrace her future and the importance of forgiveness.
Owen owned my heart early on in the storyline. He was a classic, good guy hero you truly wanted to see get the girl. They were a perfect fit for one another.
The author’s writing flowed seamlessly and kept me fully engaged the whole time. The spotlight stayed centered on Cassie, btw. Like it was told through her eyes/perspective. I can’t help but wish though the author would have chosen to leave out what happened to Cassie as a teen. I think the circumstances of her mother leaving was sad enough to build upon why Cassie had trust issues.
Since this is not an ARC review, I don’t have time to elaborate much more. Just know I can see why this book made it to GoodReads 2019 best book nominations.
Title: Things You Save in a Fire, Author: Katherine Center, Pages: 320, stand-alone, sassy, strong, confident, skilled alpha firefighter/paramedic heroine who is emotionally vulnerable, good guy rookie firefighter hero, both have baggage, sexually assaulted as a teen, romance safe.
(These comments are based on a library edition. This is not a detailed ARC review. I was not compensated in any form for writing this review.)
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Cassie and the other characters were vulnerable, real, fallible – as human as the rest of us. Her story unfolding brought Cassie to life. I will definitely seek out other books by this author.
Cassie Hanwell is working as a firefighter in Austin, Texas. It’s not just her job but her passion and she’s really good at it. In a world dominated by men, she has earned the respect of her fellow firefighters and is on track for a promotion. Everything comes to a screeching halt on the night she is being honored for saving a bus full of children. She does something that changes the path of her career.
At the same time, Cassie’s mother has asked that Cassie come home to Massachusetts to help her after she has lost sight in one eye. She promises Cassie it will be for no longer than a year. Cassie has a tense relationship with her mother since she left Cassie and her father to be with another man on the night of Cassie’s 16th birthday. Cassie ultimately decides to go help her mother but remain as distant as possible. She arranges a transfer to the firehouse in Lillian, Massachusetts, a far more “old-school” firehouse. She will be the only woman there and she is hired only because they need an experienced firefighter.
Cassie and Owen, “the rookie”, start on the same day. While Cassie doesn’t fit the mold, Owen is the perfect addition – Boston bred and the son of a respected firefighter. Cassie is more experienced and qualified, particularly with her medical training, so she is asked to help Owen. As they spend more and more time together, Cassie starts to develop feelings for Owen, something she can’t afford to do. As a female firefighter, she cannot have a relationship with a fellow firefighter. As she navigates keeping her relationship with Owen professional with rebuilding a relationship with her mother, Cassie is also dealing with a traumatic event from her past. When a serious event occurs, it causes Cassie to reevaluate what matters most to her in life and what she’s willing to give up for love while getting much more insight for why her mother did what she did.
I have to be honest. I almost stopped reading this book at about 60 pages in because I absolutely hated Cassie’s mother. However, on advice from others, I kept reading and I really enjoyed this book. The events at the end of the book were surprising. The story also showed how misunderstandings and secrets can grow to wedge themselves between two people. Sometimes the only way to strengthen and rebuild a relationship is to address the truth and put everything out in the open. This is a beautiful story of love, the mother-daughter relationship, and focusing on what really matters in life, the “things you save in a fire”.
I always approach the books that are so highly raved about in a cautious fashion. Sometimes they’re great, sometimes the hype is greater than the book. This book more than lived up to it’s hype!
The story of a female firefighter, Hanwell (Cassie) begins with a single tragic day in her life, her sixteenth birthday. After that day, she builds an impenetrable wall around herself.
When her mother, who abandoned her that day ten years ago, asks for her help, she reluctantly agrees. She moves to Rockport, Maine, to care for her ailing mother and gets a job at a local fire station. She not only has to fight the prejudice of the other firefighters but her growing attraction to the other new firefighter.
This book tackles so many big issues with intelligence and compassion. A fantastic book!
Trigger warning: sexual assault.
This was a truly great read: the characters were gutsy and the story was topical.
Katherine Center is one of my favourite authors: she just gets better and better!
Great and easy to read! It’s like a rom com but in book form!
A cute, page-turner romance with darker themes of forgiveness and overcoming challenges, this was an enjoyable distraction, the kind of book I pick up between heavy, demanding books. I read my husband’s ARC provided to him by the publisher.
Things You Save in a Fire was a wonderful novel! I enjoyed how the story encompassed so many different emotions throughout the book. Cassie is a highly skilled professional firefighter. She loves the work she does and has a good relationship with the rest of the crew at her station. Then, out of the blue she receives a call from her estranged mother who wants her to come stay with her. And something else from her past comes up one night and her job is threatened. She ends up going to see her mother and starting a new job. Over the days, she has to get the strength to start over and to deal with everything from her past that she has kept buried inside for ten years. There were so many different aspects to this story and so many emotions portrayed that made it a touching story.
Another great book from Katherine Center. Her wonderful protagonist, firefighter Cassie, is a total SheHero! The first-person narrative is engaging, taking you inside Cassie’s thought processes and feelings. Difficult subjects of inequity, loss, betrayal and bullying are balanced by forgiveness and love. I was sad for the book to end — very enjoyable and uplifting.
This was a throughly entertaining read. I enjoyed how the plot with the characters came full circle.
The first two-thirds of this book were, I thought, entertaining but a little forumlaic: closed off emotionally female with a traumatic background then an opportunity presented for healing and a possible romance. The last third, however, redeemed the book, even if at times it seemed a bit preachy, reflecting some good healthy psychology/emotional learning (I see Katherine Center’s friend Brene Brown’s influence). I did like our “hero”; she is a kick-ass, brave young firefighter and fails to conform to gender stereotypes (mostly).
Not very good.
Things You Save in a Fire is yet another great offering by Katherine Center. Her previous novel, How to Walk Away was a sampling of the novels to come. There is humor amid all the tension in the life of Cassie, fire fighter from Austin banished to the small town where her estranged mother lives when an explosive incident at Cassie’s award ceremony takes place. In the fire department of her new town, Cassie faces a foe determined to destroy her career simply because she is a woman in a formerly all men’s work place. Plus, everything for her changes when she falls in love for the first time ever with her rookie coworker. The story is not all about love and flowers. It is about Cassie’s transformation from a closed off heart to one that learns to embrace life with all its good and awful parts.
I voluntarily read an advanced copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
I am not sure what I expected from this book, but this was not it. In the best possible way. The story follow Cassie, a firefighter who shows us civilians what the job is truly like and the struggles of a female in a male dominated career. Quickly, a moment from Cassie’s past catches up to her and turns her life upside down. She has to start from the bottom up and relearns how to view the world around her.
I love books that teach me about a true-to-life world that I know little about. This one in particular was especially interesting to me because my best friend’s husband is a firefighter, and so many of the quips and anecdotes mirrors what he tells us.
This You Save In A Fire was funny and relatable. It was feminism at it’s best…showing the truth of women who don’t need to be taken care of but it sure feels nice when we find someone who will take care of us. This story showed the beauty of love…more than romantic love but love for ourselves. The beauty of forgiveness…not only for others but for ourselves.
Katherine Center shows us a heroine who is strong and truly a hero, but also learns that it is okay to lean on others, to forgive the hurts of past, and to forgive and love oneself. Love doesn’t make us weak; it makes us even stronger. Wow.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. My opinions are my own.
I loved Katherine Center’s writing! Her books deal with some hard things but she writes so beautifully with emotions and characters with depth! Cassie deals with some hard issues and being a woman in a male dominated work but she learns forgiveness and opens her heart. Fast past with depth must read!
This was a great story on how people are connected and how to heal broken relationships and find happiness. Would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great story.
I enjoyed Cassie’s journey. The raw, honesty of how difficult it can be to succeed in a field predominately controlled by males, kept my attention throughout the book. Her growth/change, along with the other firefighters, was paced well and provided a satisfying ending. Great job, Katherine.