Reviews with content warning for Child death - Things You Save in a Fire

This book completely surprised me but in the best way possible. Cassie is delightful and easy to root for. Every time I thought the book was going to fall into silly tropes, it zipped around them perfectly.

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okiecozyreader's review

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Finally reading a Katherine Center book for 23 books in 2023 challenge - and a buddy read. I’m about to read last year’s book The Bodyguard next!

I really enjoyed this look at a strong, brave female firefighter who has worked hard to prove herself when she almost attacks her old love interest. She ends up going to live with her mom (who walked out on her when she was 16) and starting over.

It is a beautiful story of forgiveness on so many levels and for almost every character in the book. Her mother leads the discussion with her with 3 points of “chipping away at forgiveness”:

“Just saying the words ‘I forgive you,’ even to yourself can be a powerful start. …
Forgiveness is about a mindset of letting go, …acknowledging to yourself that someone hurt you, and accepting that…
Then it’s about accepting that the person who hurt you is flawed, like all people are, and letting that guide you to a better, more nuanced understanding of what happened. …
And then there’s a third part… probably the hardest, that involves trying to look at the aftermath of what happened and find ways that you benefited, not just ways you were harmed.” P112

“Firefighters are, on average, very funny people. All the sorrow you absorb in that job makes you funnier. You have to balance out the pain somehow, and joking around is one of the best things about the job. There’s so much death in that world, but laughter is life.” P98

“If you play it right, your struggles might even lead you to your strengths. …
Find one person you can count on.” P45

“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.” P284

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tiggerrd's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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readwithria's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Things You Save in a Fire is a beautiful story about forgiveness, family, and post traumatic growth. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it’s an excellent book! However, I don’t know if I could call it a compelling romance novel.

I really enjoyed this book! Cassie’s personal growth is incredible, and the relationships that she builds are so compelling. I loved reading about the firehouse and how she weaseled her way into the hearts of the brotherhood. I also really loved the epilogue, and seeing how she created a community for herself.

That being said, the romance was definitely the weakest part of the book for me. I don’t think we spent enough page time with Owen to make the depth of her feelings for him feel earned. We don’t even learn his first name until 50% of the way through the book. I completely believe all of the interactions they have, but there are so many that we don’t see and it made it hard for me to believe that they were deeply in love.

I think if I had gone into this book not expecting it to be a romance, I would have enjoyed it a bit more. It’s still a book that I would definitely recommend! 4 stars.

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sydapel's review

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I thought that this would be a solid 3 star read, but I have a rule that any book that makes me cry is automatically 4 so here we are. I think Katherine Center and TJR have similar writing styles, which is probably what's keeping me from enjoying these books as much as I want to. Cassie's "not like other girls" persona really annoyed me at the start, but that is really well woven into how her trauma has manifested itself and her journey to forgiveness is honestly incredible. Does it lack subtlety and tells us about her development rather than show it? Yeah, but it works for this writing. While the romance is more developed here than in The Bodyguard, I still wanted more of it.

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