Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center #bookreview #contemporary #romance

Title: Things You Save in a Fire

Author: Katherine Center

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publication Date: August 13, 2019

Page Count: 320

My rating: 5 stars

About the book:

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.

Last year I picked up How to Walk Away by Katherine Center and found myself completely blown away. Categorized as contemporary romance the story was way more than your ordinary romance since that side of  the book was really hidden in the so much more emotional content the overall story contained. Ups and downs and all around I’d found an author I knew I’d want more from.

Now here I am with Things You Save in a Fire and I was a little nervous picking this one up that my expectations were going to be way too high. Thankfully instead of disappointment I found that same formula of a completely emotional roller coaster wrapped around a whole new story that just immediately pulled me in.

In this book we have Cassie Hanwell who is a female firefighter who has had to not only battle the fires but also  the male dominated world she finds herself in. Cassie had more than proved herself again and again at her job but when she finds herself suddenly uprooted and having to start over in a new station she needs to dig deep and prove herself once more. The only problem in her way this time, the handsome new rookie that catches her eye even though she’s determined she doesn’t have time for love.

After reading this one I do know I will try to be the first in line for any more books from Katherine Center. Any book that can captivate me so quickly with all the ups and downs from laughter to tears is an A+ in my book and I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author: 

Katherine Center is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away and the upcoming Things You Save in a Fire (August 2019), as well as five other bittersweet comic novels. She writes about how we fall down—and how we get back up. Six Foot Pictures is currently adapting her fourth novel, The Lost Husband, into a feature film starring Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Katherine recently gave a TEDx talk on how stories teach us empathy, and her work has appeared in USA Today, InStyle, Redbook, People, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Real Simple, Southern Living, and InTouch, among others. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her fun husband, two sweet kids, and fluffy-but-fierce dog.