Just finished reading…Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts
May 25, 2011 at 2:20 pm 6 comments
This review is cross-posted from Goodreads.
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. . . .
It’s apparent that Chasing Fire was excellently researched, and the fire jumper aspect was really interesting. I also really liked Rowan and Gull, as well as all of the secondary characters. However, I did have a couple of minor issues that prevented me from rating it higher.
I listened to the digital audiobook, and between parts 9-12 (out of 13 parts) the book started feeling really long. Rowan and Gull’s relationship seemed to be in a holding pattern while they continued to work on the fires, and all of the other secondary plot threads were being dealt with. I wanted a little more focus on Rowan and Gull’s relationship, I think.
Also, I would have liked more about how they were going to work out their future, post fire-season. This seemed to be a big issue for Rowan at the beginning as to why she didn’t get involved with fellow smoke jumpers. Gull’s got a thriving family business in CA, while Rowan is firmly entrenched in Montana. That part of it seemed to be too rushed at the end, and dealt with only superficially.
I also found Rowan’s initial attitude toward her father’s romance really immature, which despite her extremely close relationship with her father, felt inconsistent with her character.
However, all that being said, it was a good read, and I think if it had been a little shorter (maybe if one of the plot threads had been smaller) I would have loved it.
Entry filed under: Contemporary Romance, Just Finished Reading (Review), Reviews. Tags: Chasing Fire, Nora Roberts.
1.
Chris | May 25, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Hmm. Maybe she’s planning a sequel?!
2.
Renee | May 25, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Probably not. The future issues were dealt with, but more in an offhand way, in just a couple of sentences .
3.
~ames~ | May 25, 2011 at 9:22 pm
I gave this one a C+. I agree that the smoke jumper aspect was really well researched, but the rest of it just fell flat. I thought Gull was too perfect as a hero and Rowan’s reasons for not wanting a commitment didn’t really make sense in the end. And the suspense bit felt a bit weak. I dunno.
4.
Renee | May 25, 2011 at 10:31 pm
You’re right, he was a bit too good to be true. I would have like more about his life in California, too.
And, while I found the suspense subplot interesting, it did feel like too much a distraction from the central romance.
5.
orannia | May 29, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Hmmm. Lovely review Renee, but not for me I think. Weirdly, the only Nora Roberts books I’ve read and enjoyed are the Chesapeake Bay books.
6.
Mandi | June 1, 2011 at 11:53 am
I’ve heard from others that it is a little slow..think I’m skipping this one.