Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Things You Save In A Fire by Katherine Center – 320 pages

ARC provided from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Blurb:

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 excellent at dealing with other people’s tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to uproot her life and move to Boston, it’s an emergency of a kind Cassie never anticipated. 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 handsome rookie, who doesn’t seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can’t think about that. Because she doesn’t fall in love. And because of the advice her old captain gave her: don’t date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping…but will she jeopardize her place in a career where she’s worked so hard to be taken seriously?

My Review: 4.5 stars – Guest Review

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Things You Save In A Fire is one of my favorite books of the year. Ever since reading and loving How to Walk Away, I have been eagerly awaiting Katherine Center’s newest book, and it was definitely worth the wait! I savored every second of this honestly written love story, which was so much more than a light-hearted romantic comedy. The story is told entirely from Cassie’s perspective as she uproots her life, moving to a small Massachusetts town to live with her mother, and begin a new job at a fire station. Cassie has built her life based on order, routine, control, and no drama. Without revealing any spoilers, Cassie has closed off her emotions, equating feeling vulnerable with weakness.  As a result of guarding her heart, Cassie keeps everyone at arm’s length, and is unprepared for feelings that emerge when she meets Owen, a sweet rookie firefighter

Cassie is a fascinating, original, and one of a kind character whose struggles were authentic and relatable. She is a strong, independent person who grew and changed throughout the book, in a realistic way. She had courage, heart, and determination, and I was invested in her struggle. The book also features a lovable and endearing cast of major and minor characters who were extremely well-drawn, and who I rooted for. These characters included Cassie’s mother Diana, “The Rookie” (Owen), and the men at the fire station particularly Captain Murphy. The camaraderie and banter between the characters at the fire station felt realistic and was humorous and witty. It was no surprise to me when I found out that the author’s husband is a firefighter/EMT. I can’t remember any book I’ve read that takes a fascinating look into the inner mind of a female firefighter.  Through Cassie’s narrative, I learned how firefighters think differently than other people, and when everyone else is panicking, Cassie would become calm and see things with clarity.

My favorite part of this book was the evolving relationship and dialogue between Cassie and her mother, which provided much depth to the story. The change in their relationship, as her mother educated her on forgiveness was touching. Cassie’s struggle also reflected many of the conflicting and contradictory feelings that we all sometimes have with our mothers.

The main themes in this story were relationships and forgiveness. This book taught me many things about my own life, and I took away many valuable lessons for living. Throughout her journey, Cassie learned how to let go of the past, forgive others and herself, and accept love.  She learned how to be compassionate with her younger self through encouraging self talk, and to enjoy the present moment without focusing on the potential heartache of the future. Cassie’s journey demonstrated how empathy and love can heal anger and resentment, and how telling her story and being heard by others helped her to heal.     

This book was both lighthearted and serious, running the gamut from humor to heartbreak, but was ultimately hopeful, uplifting and a feel good book. I will automatically read any books that are written by this author. Whether you are fans of this author or a new reader of her books, Things You Save In A Fire is a must read! Reviewed by Guest Fairy Ronna.

Quotes I liked:

That’s the thing I love best about the human race: How we pick ourselves back up over and over and just keep on going.”

“It’s amazing how brave you can be when you feel safe.”

“I had told my story. I had put into words, at last…telling the story changed the story for me. Not what had happened – that I could never change – but how I responded to it.”

“If you play it right, your struggles might even lead you to your strengths.”

“Ten years I’d simmered in my own self-righteousness, holding my grudge against her as if the only way to win was to stay mad the longest.” 

“It’s a big deal to share your grief with other people –to give them a glimpse of the pain you carry.  It connects you in a profound way.”

“Choosing to love – despite all the ways that people let you down, and disappear, and break your heart. Knowing everything we know about how hard life is and choosing to love anyway…that’s not weakness. That’s courage.”

“…our parents get an extra dose of importance in our minds.  When we’re little, they’re everything – the gods and goddesses that rule our worlds.  It takes a lot of growing up, and a lot of disappointment, to accept that they’re just normal, bumbling, mistaken humans, like everybody else.”