Congrats Katherine
on the release today of
Things You Save in a Fire!
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
Print & e-book, 320 pages
Published August 13th 2019 by St. Martin's Press
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.
My thoughts about Things You Save in a Fire ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First line—"The night I became the youngest person—and the only female ever—to win the Austin Fire Department's Valor Award, I got propositioned by my partner."
Cassie pretty much had her life planned out. Everything was going according to plan, everything was in a nice neat box, everything was good. Until it wasn't anymore. Suddenly everything was coming undone.
I was immediately taken by Cassie's strength and resolve to be strong, no matter the cost. She'd shut down all of her emotions many years ago, the night her whole life changed. As she struggles with the changes that are happening in her life now, will she be able to open her heart and accept the feelings that she has kept suppressed for years?
Cassie is a strong and compassionate person, someone who is able to work through the myriad of issues with a number of people in her life, a person who should be able to forge ahead. The relationships in this story are complicated. Those complicated relationships are what drive this wonderful story and kept me reading.
Things You Save in the Fire, and Cassie, captured my heart from the very beginning. I could understand why she was the way she was—how her past had closed her off to others. It was heartwarming to see her finally forgive and to be able to move on. This is a story that I devoured. I found myself engrossed in the story-line and the character's lives. This is definitely a book that should be high on your TBR list.
I received a copy of Things You Save in a Fire from the publisher and NetGalley. This is my honest opinion of the book.
About the author
Katherine Center is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away, the upcoming Things You Save in a Fire (August 2019), and five other bittersweet comic novels. Six Foot Pictures is currently adapting her fourth novel, The Lost Husband, into a feature film starring Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb, and Nora Dunn.
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. ~ Goodreads
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. ~ Goodreads
Connect with Katherine
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