Katherine Center - What You Wish For

Samantha Casey loves everything about her job as an elementary school librarian on the sunny, historic island of Galveston, Texas—the goofy kids, the stately Victorian building, the butterfly garden. But when the school suddenly loses its beloved principal, it turns out his replacement will be none other than Duncan Carpenter—a former, unrequited crush of Sam’s from many years before.
When Duncan shows up as her new boss, though, he’s nothing like the sweet teacher she once swooned over. He’s become stiff, and humorless, and obsessed with school safety. Now, with Duncan determined to destroy everything Sam loves about her school in the name of security—and turn it into nothing short of a prison—Sam has to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that’s become her home is gone for good.

Comment: This is the third book by Katherine Center that I read. I liked the previous ones I've read, but one was definitely more appealing to me than the other. This third book, I must say, was more along the lines of the one I liked less...

In this story we meet Samantha Casey, a librarian at an elementary school in Texas, and how her life and that of those around her changes when her mentor and friend, and school director Max suddenly dies. With a new director comes change, especially in the person of Duncan Carpenter, a fellow teacher she used to work with at the school before the moved. She had a slight crush on Duncan, but he didn't seem to feel the same and seeing him start a relationship with someone else got to her in such a way she felt like putting distance between them was the best. Now he is here and she thinks she will have to battle her emotions again, but this Duncan is nothing like her funny, creative and crazy co worker of the past. Now this cynical and obnoxious man is doing things no one at the school believes is the right choice. What happened and can she help Duncan to go back to his old self?

I think this author is known for romances with cuteness and happiness and many positivism in the way, but I must say that, having now read three books, and only one being something I'd re-read if I wanted, I just could not see the appeal in this one. I think the premise was good and some elements were quite interesting and could have led to an even better development, but sadly for me, I just found the heroine unlikely and some plot choices to be rather poorly done.

Samantha is the narrator of this story and she is quirky and sweet and there's this undertone of her battling insecurities and having people who helped her see things through a different perspective. All this sounds great to read about, but I just could not really match this idea with Samantha herself... I mean, she changes schools (I suppose this might not be that easy for everyone) because of a man who seemed to not be interested in her? It certainly feels as if she is also a little juvenile at times and I could not truly connect with her.

Now, however, she has the chance to do things differently, to overcome her past indecisions and choices because she must deal with this person again. It's clear from the start that they will be a couple and that part of the plot will be centered on them dealing with past misconceptions, but now there is also the novelty of Duncan having a very different attitude than the one Samantha remembered... the reason for this isn't shared until close to the end, but I'll be honest: it's obvious why and why he is now defending things opposite the ones he demonstrated when he and Sam worked at the other school.

The romance is meant to be fun and revolving about second chances, seeing the best in life, doing positive and fun things, which are good for morale but also for a better look at mental health, and this is certainly worthy of being debated. To me, the problem was the fact that Samantha as a narrator was often juvenile sounding and I wasn't very fond of seeing the things through her perspective. Then, there were also other situations depicted and some secondary characters a little cartoonish and/or lacking personality, so the whole reading experience wasn't that great after all.

When things get closer to the end, we do learn some interesting information, we learn about some of the "secrets" to uncover, our protagonists go through some changes and lessons learned stage, and they get their HEA. I always like it when main characters in romances finally reach this goal, but in this novel, at the same time I felt glad this happened, I felt meh in regards to the big picture. This story just didn't captivate me that much that I'll remember this very fondly. Of course, other readers see details that make the story seem stronger than my descriptions, but...for me it was really meh.

Grade:5/10

Katherine Center - Things You Save in a Fire

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?
Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire is a heartfelt, affecting novel about life, love, and the true meaning of courage.

Comment: This is the second book by Katherine Center I tried. I felt meh about the other one I've read but I had better hopes for this one, which seems to have a better average rating in most reviews sites.

In this book we meet Cassie Hanwell, a very competent firefighter in Austin, who has done her best to be on top of her job and she is well respected for it. In fact, the story begins as Cassie is about to receive a award for merit but what she didn't expect is that someone she hates would be delivering the prize and what she does next certainly affects her career.

Using the excuse she must help her mother, she moves to Massachusetts and starts working at a new - but ran down and not as welcoming fire station - even though that means she will start from the bottom. Cassie doesn't mind it because she knows being a firefighter is in her blood, but things seem even harder when the rookie proves to be someone she can't ignore, much less the attraction she feels for him. But Cassie has been hurt in the past, she has closed herself off from love, will this be the moment when she is finally ready to let go?

It was certainly a lot more appealing to be in Cassie's head than it had been with the heroine from the other book I had read by this author. In here, I was much more interested in what Cassie was thinking and going through, meaning her personality was way more appealing and likable and that made me feel like reading this book was an easier experience.

I still believe that third person narrator would be a better fit for this author's work because the stories are primarily on romance and some thoughts/behaviors can seem rather childish when the heroine narrates things. For instance, Cassie discovers she is developing feelings for the rookie, her new co worker but even though Cassie says it, I don't think it's obvious, because we don't see things happen, we only get to know about them by how Cassie lives through them. It feels too one-sided and to be honest, the "voice" of the characters isn't always that special to make an impact. At least, it doesn't feel like it.

Cassie has some inner demons to overcome. She has had a bad day when she turned 16 because that was the day her mother abandoned her and her father to live with someone else. Something else happened to her, which we only know close to the end of the book but that it doesn't take a genius to guess anyway, and these events have shaped her decisions and choices, including why she felt like being a worthy firefighter and paramedic. I did like Cassie's personality and how she reacted to trauma, I think some details didn't translate as well, such as why she avoided romantic entanglements, but that is one aspect I think third person narrator would have a better choice to tell this story.

The plot is simple, Cassie relocates to help her mother and because she needs to put distance between herself and public opinion in Austin. As the story slowly moves on, we get to see a string reason why Cassie's mother asked for help was so they could be physically closer and that might help them reconnect. When we learn about her mothers' side of things, more than one element becomes clear and I must say there were some emotional passages to go through while they learned to become a mother and daughter again.

At work, Cassie is facing some expected hazing...although I must assume this is cultural or just lack of my own knowledge; are firefighters that prone to hazing and joking around and pranks in their time while not in an active case? It seems that this was mentioned so often, in so many chapters, I started to consider all this as being rather juvenile behavior and it is hard to imagine professionals having that much time just to prank each other... 

This does affect Cassie's thoughts on her surroundings and such but it gets to a point when someone starts threatening her. I thought this was a bit far fetched, especially when we learn who was doing it, and even worse when we know why, but it made the plot get to a key moment. Some details then felt rushed, especially regarding Cassie's feelings for Owen (the rookie) and how she shares them in a very unlikely scenario but whatever... The end and the epilogue were high on the emotions and had some exaggerated and cheesy scenes, but overall I can accept them.

As for the romance...I must say it wasn't the best detail about this story, they do share funny and poignant moments but there are some moments where it felt like a very cliched rom-com and I don't think some of the issues Cassie had to deal with, emotionally speaking, should have been treated as superficially... besides, if Cassie is the only narrator, it was hard to trust her on why Owen was that amazing, after all her descriptions were always a bit biased.

All in all, this was a much better story for me, yes, and I did like the elements which I felt were done well (Cassie's love for her job and her competence seemed very well researched and realistic), so I'm considering if I should try another book by this author...

Grade: 7/10

Katherine Center - How to Walk Away

Margaret Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her: a fiancé she adores, her dream job, and the
promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in one tumultuous moment.
In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Margaret must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing long-held family secrets, devastating heartbreak, and the idea that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.

Comment: This author's books have been mentioned by many lately as being romantic, soulful and similar adjectives. Of course I felt curious, especially because some people whose taste in books is like mine have liked them and even recommended them. I got the opportunity to read this one and I finally started it.

In this book we meet heroine Margaret, a young woman who isn't too fond of flying but who still accepts to go with her recently approved pilot boyfriend on a "spur of the moment" flight to see the views. She also knows this is her not-too-original boyfriend's idea of proposing. That is what ends up happening, and Margaret knows it will be the beginning of a very steady life but then, a sudden situation changes everything she believed was already set on stone.Now, she needs to face a completely different way of looking at her life, she needs to adjust and she needs to deal with things she never expected, both in her life and in regards to those around her, including her family. Is Margaret ready to become someone very different from who she thought she would be?

I don't think it's that much of a spoiler to say Margaret ends up in the hospital after the plane crashes, after all it says she is there in the blurb. It becomes very obvious what her challenges are going to be and how that must affect her perception of her surroundings. However, even though it felt it would predictable how the plot would develop, I confess I was still positively surprised by how much I was enjoying Margaret's POV (the whole book is told in first person by her), since I usually don't tend to be that amazed by one person narrating in romance novels.

Sadly for me, it didn't last long. At first, Margaret's direct and somewhat aloof manner were refreshing and it did give a special touch to a story which had to feel tragic but her "voice" made things bearable and, should I say, even a little less serious than what the situation required, so instead of a huge drama where one cries endlessly, we had an almost cute heroine sharing things from a funny point of view. As the story developed, though, this started to feel less quirky and cutesy-cute to become repetitive and superficial. (Had I had the patience, I think I could write a dissertation on what feels superficial content to me)

What a pity because from some point on, the story started to feel less intense, less dramatic (in the good sense!) and the situations started to have this sense of unlikeliness, as if characters went though wrong motions just to get a feeling across. It's no surprise Margaret has a little crush on her PT, renowned to be harsh and unbending, but at some point he does agree to go to Margaret's house with her, her sister and her boyfriend so he could keep an eye on Margaret and her limitated movements so she doesn't get hurt. What? I really can't imagine a professional doing this even if well paid, and especially if personal boundaries had been crossed already. It feels this scene happened so that Margaret and the PT could be alone in a supposedly "touching" moment but I couldn't get past the lack of professionalism. Even if this is possible in the US reality. I believe the author could have gone different ways to tell us about Margaret's difficulties, her fears, her adapting to a new way of living... there would be so much to explore just on this, but....

I won't go into all the small dramas related to all characters, including Margaret's parents (was this sub plot really necessary? I think the focus could have been only Margaret's situation, that was more than enough) and her PT. It was nice to think the author wanted to convey depth and layers to the characters but I can't say I thought the execution was done in the best way possible. I think a different tone or a different narrator or a different something could have made this story much sharper.

Closer to the end, things change, Margaret finally decides to act on her emotional shortcomings and, as expected, the plot quickly goes into movie-like questionable probability, and everything Margaret decides and needs to do, happens very easily, from getting money to her projects, to how smoothly things happen to her and those around her. Yes, this is fiction, but to have things happening slowly or at a more likely pace throughout most of the book and then suddenly all happens so easily and so quickly... it feels weird.

Then the story ends, all common clichés are used up to make the HEA feel almost too sugary and finally, an epilogue ten years later to let us know what happened to this motley crew in the meantime. I was severely disappointed, really. Why does the author need to add the scenes, the explanations and the shocking information on some issues she does, after the way the plot developed in the rest of the book? Drama? Her notion of a twist? Realistic odds? I think the epilogue was badly done, pointless and didn't add anything to the story. Just my opinion.

This didn't end up being that great to me, despite some positive aspects here and there. It was very easy and fluid to read, I'll say that. I'm going to try another book by this author in the future, to see if I just picked a less good one or if she just isn't the author for me.

Grade: 5/10