Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

10 reviews

ellacat11's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexism

Moderate: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, Suicide, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Infidelity

Minor: Child death, Grief, and Car accident

marchessaultd's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, Cursing, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Grief, Rape, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

All these topics are touched on but not in graphic detail. The book truly just focuses on a woman pushing through her grief.

kamryn_grace_'s review

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? N/A

4.0

Mmmm, yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Not only was the main character so loveable and strong, but the author also gave hints of feminism. 
Most of the time I would find the theme of forgiveness cloying but the author's way of spinning the story made it all the more thought-provoking. This is definitely a worthwhile read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Rape, Addiction, and Grief

gondorgirl's review

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Bullying, Chronic illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Stalking

spellygirl's review against another edition

hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

Moderate: Stalking, Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Medical content, Infidelity, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infertility, Medical content, and Drug abuse

abzster53's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I had to come back and change my rating from 4 stars to 5 stars. Normally, 4 or 5 star ratings for me include the book successfully inciting some kind of emotion from me (loving the story, frustration maybe, dislike, etc) plus being a good book overall. I don't know. I was really invested in this story. The firefighter/firehouse setting was really interesting. And I just enjoyed following all the storylines. Also, proud that my hunch at the possible stalker turned out right (thought it before the characters did lol)! I'm excited and nervous to read another Katherine Center book (this one was my first!).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide attempt and Vomit

sydapel's review

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Addiction, Child death, and Sexism

sierraechobravo's review

emotional funny inspiring fast-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Terminal illness

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

theespressoedition's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

“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.” 

I chose to read this book on a whim since it was available on my library's audiobook app. I wasn't expecting to fly through it quite so quickly. The whole thing felt a bit unexpected - not because it wasn't predictable (which it certainly was) but because of the themes and how they were approached.

Cassie chooses to give up a promotion to lieutenant at her fire station in Texas because she will not apologize for publicly defending herself against sexual assault. Immediately, I appreciated her boldness and decision to stand for what she knew was right. Shortly after, she transfers to another fire station in order to live with her "estranged" mom (who she calls by her first name: Diana) outside of Boston. This enables her to help her mom, who is blind in one eye.

Before leaving the job she knows and loves, her captain basically gives her a pep talk, telling her that the new job will be incredibly sexist and old-fashioned in more ways than one. Rather than trying to change that, she basically prods Cassie to hold back on all fronts and be as little like a woman as possible. This definitely hit me the wrong way. If Cassie was agreeing to termination in order to avoid apologizing for self-defense, it's hard for me to imagine her being alright with accepting this kind of position. 

When she arrives, she's immediately lumped in with "The Rookie," and we see immediately that this will be our love interest. From there on out, things are really predictable: they're always stuck together, hazed at the same time, forced to be in uncomfortable situations, and the romance develops super quickly. Despite Cassie's severe intolerance of love and romance, she's pretty into this guy (emotionally and physically).

There's a lot that happens in this book, considering how short it is. Betrayal, bullying, a whirlwind romance, and a picture-perfect ending. It was a nice read but didn't feel like there was as much substance as I wanted, considering some of the more challenging topics it was dealing with. I really hoped that we would see some ground-breaking moments. Instead, it felt a bit lackluster and even slightly rushed. Good if you're just looking for a filler read and not something that will change your life.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Bullying, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, and Addiction

Minor: Cancer

There's a moment when they find themselves in bed together and he basically tells her that they shouldn't go any further since she's experienced sexual assault in the past and doesn't want to move too fast. Instead of listening to his wisdom, she "wears him down" (literal description in the book) and they have sex. This bugged me SO MUCH. She was raped at 16 years old and yet her first time being kissed or having sex again, it felt non-consensual.

SUCH a stereotypical epilogue, my gosh. Marriage (after one night sleeping together) and pregnancy. Wow. I'm so shocked - not. This could have been far more creative!

beccaand's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content