Chasing Fire
Nora Roberts
The number-one New York Times-bestselling author delves into the world of elite firefighters who thrive on danger and adrenaline-men and women who wouldn’t know how to live life if it wasn’t on the edge.
There’s little as thrilling as firefighting-at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are in Rowan’s blood: her father is a legend. She’s been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday. At this point, returning to the wilds of Montana for the season feels like coming home-even with reminders of the partner she lost last season still lingering.
Fortunately, this year’s rookie crop is one of the strongest ever-and Gulliver Curry’s one of the best. He’s also a walking contradiction, a hotshot firefighter with a big vocabulary and a winter job at a kids’ arcade.
Everything is thrown off balance when a dark presence lashes out against Rowan, looking to blame someone for last year’s tragedy. Rowan knows she can’t complicate things with Gull-any distractions in the air or on the ground could mean the end-but if she doesn’t find someone she can lean on, she may not make it through the summer. . . .
Before I begin let me preface this by saying I own every single Nora book. She is an auto buy for me, so when I got this book I immediately dove right into it, and then I got distracted by a million other things, and it got piled under the mountain of books that I have. However the book was never far from my mind, so when I finally got a free day I devoted it solely to the reading of this book, and I am really glad that I did.
I have to say that as someone that has lived on the west coast for my entire life summer wildfires are fact of life. It is very unusually to go to a camp ground and not see forest fire warnings as high. So to read a book about the guys that fight these fires was very enlightening to me, especially as I have always been fascinated by them, and at one point when I was young (before marriage and kids) I thought about seeing if I could be a smoke jumper. These men and women put their lives on the line for us so that we can have the places to go and see nature in all its splendor.
The cast of characters is varied and unique.
Rowan and Gull, her the seasoned smoke jumper, and he the hotshot turned smoke jumper, are one of the best couples that she has written. They are essentially perfect for each other. In a word he simply gets her, and she gets him. At times it baffles her but it works for them.
Then there is Lucas “Iron Man” Tripp Rowan’s dad, the former smoke jumper and owner of a skydiving school down the street from the smoke jumper’s base. His story is a secondary love story between him and Ella a local high school principal, which causes Rowan to have some moments.
Rowan and Gull’s fellow smoke jumpers make up an interesting crew and add some great chemistry to the mix, Cards, Stovic (aka Chainsaw), Barbie, Trigger, Yangtree, Dobie.
There is a lot of them fighting the fires, but I think that is important as that is who they are, and how they came to be together. While there was some things that I didn’t understand I have to say that I am amazed at the research that went into crafting this book. It made me feel like I was there with the smoke jumpers at times.
This book is in my top five stand alone books by Nora, that is how much I enjoyed it.
Grade A
Ooo a new Nora Roberts? I have to catch up on that one, especially after your raving review.
I have only read a handful of Nora but have decided this year to try more. This book was on my radar. I’m glad to see it was a good read. I’ll add it to my ‘to check-out’ list. 🙂
I don’t know if I hate you or not, on one hand you’re so lucky you got to read this one in advance, but then I think that now you have to wait even more for the next one! I at least get to read this one next week hehehehe, I always get envious when I recommend a great author to a friend because I keep thinking that I wish I were him/ her reading the book for the first time again! There’s nothing like reading a great book for the first time.
I think I’ve read everything she has written, and I wish I had taken my time doing it you know? I practically inhaled those books instead of slowly savoring them, but well, that’s why re-reading was invented!
Julie…Nora is my absolute favorite author. You must read her back list. The MacGregor’s are one of my all time fave series.
Brie my sister tells me the same thing and then takes it as soon as I finish them.
This is one of my vaction read books. I have had it on preorder on my Nook for months. I cannot wait. She is an autobuy for me:) I can’t wait to read it.