Katherine Center | Things You Save in a Fire

things you save in a fire

The Book: 

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center, 2019

The Characters: 

Cassie Hanwell, female firefighter


The Plot (from Goodreads):

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?

Click here for book spoilers for Things You Save in a Fire
Book spoilers ahead–if you haven’t yet read Things You Save in a Fire, I suggest you turn back now.

The Ending:

Distacio (one of Cassie’s coworkers) was the one stalking and harassing Cassie throughout the book. 

Distacio was addicted to pills and hallucinated his son in a bad fire. He entered the fire against orders and put his team in danger when they didn’t let him go in alone. Distacio also blamed Cassie for why they went into the fire against orders. He confessed and apologized after Cassie saved him from an overdose. Cassie and Owen got married and everyone lived happily ever after.

The Review: 

Things You Save in a Fire is the perfect lighthearted romance. It was a very quick and pleasant read. 

I loved the main character Cassie–as a woman who also works in a largely male-dominated field, I feel her! It can certainly be difficult to get men to take you seriously when they’re not used to working with a woman. At least my job isn’t physical. I loved how she pushed herself to be her absolute best, knowing that there was no other way to prove herself. 

One of my favorite movies is Ladder 49, and reading a firefighter novel reminded me a lot of that (although much less sad!). 

I enjoyed Cassie’s growth as she overcomes the obstacles life throws at her and realizes that it is okay to have a personal life in addition to a career. I would definitely recommend this one to any lovers of a lighthearted romance!

Read this if you liked:

Check out my reviews of Katherine Center’s other books: 

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