BOOK REVIEW: Things You Save In a Fire

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
Publication Date: August 13^th, 2019

Have you ever read a book so fast that when you go to take notes, you have nothing to say except how much you loved everything about it? Okay, well that’s basically what my notes for this book are. So, bear with me. It’s gonna be a short review (with A LOT of gushing).

So, I actually won an ARC of Things You Save in a Fire all the way back in March. (How lucky am I?). I devoured it right away and immediately stated shoving it on other people’s TBRs as fast as possible. This was the first adult fiction book that I picked up (outside of specific genres, like Mystery or Romance), and it definitely set the bar high for all those that follow. This book felt like a romance novel, but tamer and WITH AN ACTUAL PLOT?!?!? (You know, what I mean. In Romance novels the main plot of the book is always all about the two MC’s love story.) This book has a little bit of everything, and it hits just the right balance.

Things You Save in a Fire follows Cassie Hanwell as she foregoes a promotion after an embarrassing public debacle. Instead she chooses to start over at a tough, old school Boston firehouse where she can look after her ailing mother who’s declining health has her repairing bridges. As a women firefighter, Cassie has an uphill battle ahead of her with her new set-in-their-ways team members. She must prove her place, or risk losing her fresh start.

What I Liked:

• (Is everything an acceptable answer? No? Oh, Okay, well in that case…) I (surprisingly) loved all the exposition in this book. It was slow building, but really enjoyable. I’m glad I got to see who Cassie is before she got dropped in a hostile-ish environment.
• The cover is absolutely gorgeous. I’m pretty sure the colors are exactly what caught my eye in the publisher giveaway ad.
• I really loved the chemistry between the characters. All the interactions were authentic and had surprising depth. It was great to see the gradual change of emotions throughout the story.
• I LOVED the setting! So, like a lot of this book takes place in the firehouse (duh, right?), but I didn’t think very much about it at first. Anyways the dynamics, relationships, happenings, and rules are all so fascinating and unknown to the layperson. Like what actually goes on in a firehouse? So, yeah it was cool to see the inner working of one.

What I Didn’t Like:

• My only disappointment with this book, is that I wish we went “out on call” with Cassie more often. I really would have loved to see more Cassie in badass firefighter action.

Recap:

Overall, I LOVED this book. It swept me off my feet and I could not put it down. It’s easily one of my favorite reads of 2019 (and boy did I decide this early). I will scream about this book forever. Cassie is a badass that won’t let any man show her up, no matter how hard she has to work at it. She’s one of the guys, and yet she’s so much more. I can’t recommend this book enough, and I truly hope you love it as much as I did!

5/5 stars

xoxo, Bree

*I received this ARC in a publisher giveaway.  Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Publishing.*