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Chasing Fire
Автор: Nora Roberts
Текст читает Rebecca Lowman
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Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature.
But there's also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive firefighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend in the field. 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 in the air.
Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is among 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. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, yet he's instantly more fascinated by his hero's daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn't hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn't make a good case to be an exception to the rule.
Everything is thrown off balance, though, 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 be lethal. But if she doesn't find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames.
But there's also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive firefighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend in the field. 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 in the air.
Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is among 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. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, yet he's instantly more fascinated by his hero's daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn't hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn't make a good case to be an exception to the rule.
Everything is thrown off balance, though, 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 be lethal. But if she doesn't find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames.
Активность, связанная с книгой
Начать прослушиваниеСведения о книге
Chasing Fire
Автор: Nora Roberts
Текст читает Rebecca Lowman
Описание
Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature.
But there's also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive firefighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend in the field. 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 in the air.
Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is among 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. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, yet he's instantly more fascinated by his hero's daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn't hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn't make a good case to be an exception to the rule.
Everything is thrown off balance, though, 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 be lethal. But if she doesn't find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames.
But there's also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive firefighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend in the field. 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 in the air.
Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is among 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. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, yet he's instantly more fascinated by his hero's daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn't hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn't make a good case to be an exception to the rule.
Everything is thrown off balance, though, 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 be lethal. But if she doesn't find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames.
Об авторе
NR![]()
Обзоры
Good and fast read. Suspense and romance. Learned about life as fire jumper.
Rating: 3Potential spoilers. I guessed the bad guy early in the book. I didn't like that. But it was a good story. I loved Lucas and Ella's side story of falling in love. That was great. I liked Rowan and Gull's story too. As far as the narration, I've heard better narrators.
Rating: 3Even though I pegged the murderer straightaway, this was an entertaining story. I was in awe of the descriptions of the firefighting, as if NR has been there herself.
On the downside: although I liked the main characters, I found their relationship bordering on boring, it just went too easy. No excitement or twists whatsoever. Maybe it's me, but with most other NR books the relationship doesn't float easily along and there is a certain tension between the hero and heroine. And that is lacking here. In retrospect, IMO it is also lacking a bit in the Brides books and a lot in the Boonsboro books. Some of the magic seems to be missing. But it could just be me...
Rating: 4On the downside: although I liked the main characters, I found their relationship bordering on boring, it just went too easy. No excitement or twists whatsoever. Maybe it's me, but with most other NR books the relationship doesn't float easily along and there is a certain tension between the hero and heroine. And that is lacking here. In retrospect, IMO it is also lacking a bit in the Brides books and a lot in the Boonsboro books. Some of the magic seems to be missing. But it could just be me...
Meh. Characters were very one-dimensional. Story started dragging about 3/4 the way in. Ok, not great.
Rating: 3A fun read. Quite gritty. Possibly a bit too much romance. Guessed the villain but all in all a good read.
Rating: 4Lots of fast paced exciting action in this story about the daring life of fire jumping. I really enjoyed the alpha heroine and hero. I always like when the male pursues the female and the secondary romance was a nice addition. Gull finishes training as a new firefighter when he meets experienced smoke jumper Rowan.
Rating: 5While good, I felt it was a bit too long and got tired of the descriptions of the fires--a subject that makes me uncomfortable.
Rating: 3Chasing Fire by Nora RobertsOne of Nora's best. Exciting story about smoke jumpers out of Missoula, Montana fighting fire devils and a killer who seems to be targeting someone in their unit. Has a secondary romantic story surrounding the MC's father. Great book!
Rating: 5I don't usually read Nora Roberts but I was pleasantly surprised with the one. I picked it up because of the smoker jumper angle (I knew one when I was younger) and wanted to see what NR had to say. Danger, mystery, suspense, romance - they are all here.
Rating: 3I really, really wanted to like this book but I just cannot get into Nora Roberts. So, whoever reads this review keep that in mind. I simply seem to be at odds with her characters. I love the JD Robb books but hated all three of the Nora Roberts books I have read - though if you can think of one I would like after you read the below, let me know.
My main issue is the depth of the characters - they feel stereotypically shallow, borderline stupid and hysterical. I know I am being harsh but that is how it appears to me. The women seem to be by far too interested in nail polish and nonsense, the men seem to aspire to the stereotypes of the 1950s without any substance. Her writing is engaging and interesting, it is just that there is rarely a character I would actually want to meet. Having said that, the book is worth reading purely for the imagery and whit.
Rating: 2My main issue is the depth of the characters - they feel stereotypically shallow, borderline stupid and hysterical. I know I am being harsh but that is how it appears to me. The women seem to be by far too interested in nail polish and nonsense, the men seem to aspire to the stereotypes of the 1950s without any substance. Her writing is engaging and interesting, it is just that there is rarely a character I would actually want to meet. Having said that, the book is worth reading purely for the imagery and whit.
I loved the plot of this book. It was the perfect combination of suspense and romance. It was exciting delving into the lives of smokejumpers and it made me appreciate a firefighter's job a little more. And, while I loved the book, I hated the narrator. Rebecca Lowman was a horrible narrator! It was like listening to one character the entire books. Her pitch NEVER changed and and she talks slow. I tried changing the speed to 1.25 but, I didn't like the way the book sounded at that speed. So, I was forced to listen to her voice ten plus characters in the same pitch and tone. Never again! I will never purchase another book narrated by Rebecca Lowman. I'm just grateful this is the only book by Nora Roberts she narrates.
Rating: 5Chasing Fire / Nora Roberts3.5 starsRowan is a “fire jumper”: she fights wildfires by dropping from above. Last year, there was a tragedy, and Rowan (among others) is blamed by the woman (Dolly) who was pregnant with the baby of the guy who died. This year, Dolly is still holding a grudge. Meanwhile a new group of recruits has joined those who have been fire jumpers for a while. Gull is among them. He and Ro fall for each other, even though Ro has a strict policy of not getting involved with other jumpers. It was good, though it took quite a while to get going. It was at least 1/3 of the way in before I got interested. I was listening to the audio, and I found my mind did tend to wander more than I'd have liked, but especially during parts where they were describing the fire (though I would have expected this to be something that might interest me). Overall, though, still a good read.
Rating: 4This was an okay read, but not fantastic. I found myself zoning out more than I usually do (listened to the audio, which was decently done, so it wasn't that aspect of the book) during this one--nothing I could really put my finger on is wrong with it, it just wasn't the on-edge-of-my-seat-read I had expected. I've never read Nora Roberts before, and though I wouldn't refuse to read another, I won't be in a huge hurry to based on this one. (I know, I know--she's supposed to be the queen--but this one just didn't do it for me.)
Rating: 3SHE is a fiery...firefighter(!) who is awesome at her job but maybe a little backward when it comes to the FLAMES OF PASSION!
HE is a rookie smoke jumper who just might MELT HER HEART!
There is also...a SWEET MIDDLE-AGED ROMANCE SUBPLOT! And a bonus CRAZY MYSTERY SUBPLOT!
If you're going to read only one Nora Roberts novel, you should probably read this one.
Rating: 4HE is a rookie smoke jumper who just might MELT HER HEART!
There is also...a SWEET MIDDLE-AGED ROMANCE SUBPLOT! And a bonus CRAZY MYSTERY SUBPLOT!
If you're going to read only one Nora Roberts novel, you should probably read this one.
Chasing Fire
3.5 Stars
Synopsis:
As a smokejumper, one of the elite group of firefighters who thrive on danger and adrenaline, Rowan Tripp doesn't usually mix business with pleasure but she's about to make an exception with the new rookie, Gull Curry. Soon their new found romance is threatened when they become the target of a madman bent on vengeance.
Review:
Another solid story from Nora Roberts. The characters are engaging and the dialogue and banter is hilarious. The hero is sweet and charming, but the heroine is rather brash and there are one or two scenes in which she is completely unlikeable (she does redeem herself toward the end). The secondary characters could have been better developed and almost become interchangeable.
The smoke jumpers plot is well-researched and gripping but the fire-fighting sections are overly detailed, drawn out and become tedious after a while. It feels as if these descriptions come at the expense of the suspense plot and characterization of the humans in the book.
The story really pulled me in at the outset but as I got past the halfway mark, there was no real suspense or tension either in terms of the romance, which is somewhat lackluster, or the mystery as the identity of the villain is obvious and his motivation, while reasonable and sympathetic, is also quite trite.
While the book is enjoyable and I recommend it for fans of Nora and the romantic suspense genre, it is not one of her best efforts.
Rating: 43.5 Stars
Synopsis:
As a smokejumper, one of the elite group of firefighters who thrive on danger and adrenaline, Rowan Tripp doesn't usually mix business with pleasure but she's about to make an exception with the new rookie, Gull Curry. Soon their new found romance is threatened when they become the target of a madman bent on vengeance.
Review:
Another solid story from Nora Roberts. The characters are engaging and the dialogue and banter is hilarious. The hero is sweet and charming, but the heroine is rather brash and there are one or two scenes in which she is completely unlikeable (she does redeem herself toward the end). The secondary characters could have been better developed and almost become interchangeable.
The smoke jumpers plot is well-researched and gripping but the fire-fighting sections are overly detailed, drawn out and become tedious after a while. It feels as if these descriptions come at the expense of the suspense plot and characterization of the humans in the book.
The story really pulled me in at the outset but as I got past the halfway mark, there was no real suspense or tension either in terms of the romance, which is somewhat lackluster, or the mystery as the identity of the villain is obvious and his motivation, while reasonable and sympathetic, is also quite trite.
While the book is enjoyable and I recommend it for fans of Nora and the romantic suspense genre, it is not one of her best efforts.
For a very long time now, Nora Roberts has been my hands-down favourite author. Her style of blending a good mystery/thriller story with romance has been a winner in my eyes, and I especially like the powerful female role models she uses as lead characters. In an age when girls look up to Bella Swan, a strong female is a positive message indeed. I was fortunate to get my hands on an advance copy of Chasing Fire and approached it with wary apprehension resulting from my attitude towards her last couple of stand alone novels. They (The Search and Black Hills in particular) did little to impress me. She appears to have hit the mark with this one, and despite a couple of small issues I have, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Chasing Fire focuses on Rowan Tripp, a firefighter and "smoke jumper" in Montana. She is the daughter of Lucas 'Iron Man' Tripp, a well respected and now retired smoke jumper himself. Rowan has endured her fair share of heartache; as a young girl, her mother abandoned her family and was soon-after killed, and her good friend and jump partner Jim Rayner died during a jump-gone-wrong - a jump Rowan feels she could have impacted and saved Jim's life. We meet her at the start of a new fire season, along with a new group of recruits. In this group is the love interest of the story, Gulliver Curry. Rowan strictly does not sleep with any of her colleagues, but as Nora does so well, Gull cracks away at Rowan's shell until she gives in.
The romance element aside, it is obvious that there are other people around the base who also blame Rowan for Jim's death. We meet a host of colourful characters along the way, some intent on being vocal and others internalising their grief until they snap. The return of a past colleague stirs some feathers, and when a brutal message is sent to Rowan, the base feels as though the worst has passed. They are indeed wrong.
The positives from Chasing Fire outweigh the negatives for me. The story was more engrossing, the characters were likeable and most important, their battles were believable. Negatives were that some of the fire fighting segments were too lengthy and long-winded for people who are not all familiar with fires. I found it interesting to learn more about what these people go through, but at times it felt far too detailed. My only other complaint is that I worked out quite early on who the "bad guy" was - a first for a Nora novel.
At 472 pages, it took me just over a week to get through it. When it is released in stores in April, I suggest you do yourself a favour and grab a copy. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: 4Chasing Fire focuses on Rowan Tripp, a firefighter and "smoke jumper" in Montana. She is the daughter of Lucas 'Iron Man' Tripp, a well respected and now retired smoke jumper himself. Rowan has endured her fair share of heartache; as a young girl, her mother abandoned her family and was soon-after killed, and her good friend and jump partner Jim Rayner died during a jump-gone-wrong - a jump Rowan feels she could have impacted and saved Jim's life. We meet her at the start of a new fire season, along with a new group of recruits. In this group is the love interest of the story, Gulliver Curry. Rowan strictly does not sleep with any of her colleagues, but as Nora does so well, Gull cracks away at Rowan's shell until she gives in.
The romance element aside, it is obvious that there are other people around the base who also blame Rowan for Jim's death. We meet a host of colourful characters along the way, some intent on being vocal and others internalising their grief until they snap. The return of a past colleague stirs some feathers, and when a brutal message is sent to Rowan, the base feels as though the worst has passed. They are indeed wrong.
The positives from Chasing Fire outweigh the negatives for me. The story was more engrossing, the characters were likeable and most important, their battles were believable. Negatives were that some of the fire fighting segments were too lengthy and long-winded for people who are not all familiar with fires. I found it interesting to learn more about what these people go through, but at times it felt far too detailed. My only other complaint is that I worked out quite early on who the "bad guy" was - a first for a Nora novel.
At 472 pages, it took me just over a week to get through it. When it is released in stores in April, I suggest you do yourself a favour and grab a copy. You will not be disappointed.
“Chasing Fire” by Nora Roberts intrigues readers with details that really bring the story's subculture of wildfire fighters to life. Risking life and limb for the thrill and the satisfaction of a tough job well done, Rowan, a second generation Montana smoke jumper, has a strict rule: never get romantically involved with anyone she works with. But the moment she meets new recruit Gull Curry that rule is severely tested. And when it becomes clear that someone blames Rowan for her jump partner's death, and is determined to get revenge, Rowan finds that she needs Gull's help and support more than ever.
Rating: 3Pretty good read… plot dragged a bit, the stories of fighting the fires were good but could have gone into more detail, too much time spent in the shower by the main characters. Once the love interest plot was complete it was a couple chapters before you figured out the who done it part and book dragged for me to the end. I love her trilogies much more, even though they are figured out ahead of time , I feel the content of the stories are better.
Rating: 4Why I read it: I was provided with a review copy by the publisher, which meant I got to read it early. Release date is 13th April 2011 in Australia.What it's about: Rowan Tripp is a "Zulie" a Missoula Smoke-Jumper - which is a kind of fire fighter who parachutes into wilderness fires. The story starts with the new summer fire pre-season training of new recruits, where she meets Gulliver ("Gull") Curry - a former "hotshot" (another type of firefighter but with no jumping out of a plane). Rowan doesn't do relationships and she doesn't do sex with other Zulies but Gull, well... let's just say he's persuasive.The season before, Rowan's jump partner Jim had had a bad jump and went into the trees during a wilderness fire and died. Those of the team who had been around that season still bear the scars and pretty soon, it is clear that something related to Jim's death is causing trouble for the Zulies this year. What worked for me: Well, Gull was pretty awesome (even if he does have a bit of a strange name!). Actually, both Rowan and Gull were very engaging characters. Rowan was a kick-ass, tell-you-as-she-sees-it kind of girl. That can be annoying in some cases but Rowan was very likeable - tough, but not mean. She cares very much about her colleagues and is a very dedicated, hard-working and skilled firefighter. Gull decides to go after Rowan right from the start- he's a man with a plan and it was fun to watch the execution.Due to her family history (her mother left when she was a baby) Rowan needed someone who could prove he'd stick before she could fully trust her heart to him. The relationship arc was about Rowan softening and learn to open up and trust Gull with her heart. Gull didn't really have to change or grow - which might bother some but I was fine with it. Gull was open and frank with Rowan - sometimes telling her things she didn't want to hear, but always with humour and caring at the heart of it. He didn't have any trouble taking direction from her in a firefight, yet, he was all alpha protective male when it came to Rowan being endangered by the person who was out to cause mayhem for the Zulies. He was happy to let her fight her own battles (watching in case she needed him of course!) and fight fire side-by-side with her but he (amusingly) drew the line ("there's a line") at letting her carry their picnic basket (men!). Rowan, for the first time, had a man around who'd not only stick but who could also keep up with her.The highlight of the book, for me, was the sexy banter between Rowan and Gull - it made me smile or chuckle all the way through the story. Like this "You can sleep in my room tonight." He hitched a bandanna out of his pocket, used it to wipe blood from her face. "But everybody who sleeps in my room has to be naked." She huffed out a tired breath. "I'll bunk with Janis until I get it cleaned up. She has the naked rule too." "Now that was just mean." or this "...Enough fire and chocolate and I can go all season without sex." "Don't be surprised if the supply of chocolate disappears in a fifty-mile radius."There was also a sweet secondary romance between Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp and a high school teacher/principal named Ella.The close relationship between Rowan and her dad was another feature of the story - Rowan had a bit of a difficult time accepting that her dad was dating (and Gull didn't cut her any slack about it - which was amusing) but she wised up pretty quickly.Roberts is, I think, very good at writing dialogue - both for male and female characters and also very good at fleshing out secondary characters without making them either too focal or one dimensional. There were quite a few secondary characters - mostly other smoke-jumpers but they weren't hard to distinguish.What didn't: There was a lot of jargon related to being a smoke-jumper in this book and, I felt, not all of it was explained. I guess it's hard to explain so many concepts without a big info-dump but there were quite a few things that I had to guess at or gloss over because I didn't really understand the terminology. Some of it I pieced together from the context but it wasn't always clear. A little more explanation of some of the concepts (eg, what is a "Smitty bag?", more explanation of a "shake and bake") would have been helpful. I anticipate some time on Wikipedia in my future satisfying my curiosity! However, I have already learned enough to know that being a smoke-jumper is not my ideal career. Probably everyone should be glad of that. *grin*What else: The suspense aspect of the story was weaker than the relationship part, but as I read for the relationship anyway, that wasn't a huge deal for me. If I say much more, I might give away spoilers. I will say there was a difference I appreciated in that the violence wasn't necessarily (or always) directed at Rowan personally - it was mostly directed at the Zulies themselves of which Rowan was a member.Also, a note to the cover designers - my copy has a long haired brunette on the front - Rowan is a Nordic-looking blonde with a short cap of easily managed hair. Just sayin'. One other little niggle, there was no mention of safe sex/condoms in the book at all - it seemed a bit strange considering the contemporary setting and the nature of the characters.Fans of Roberts will, I think, like this book. It has all the trademarks of vintage Nora Roberts, while being a fresh new story with an interesting backdrop and is a very enjoyable read.
Rating: 4I love Nora Roberts and am always thrilled to see a new paperback appear for sale. That said, this book (much like The Search) just doesn't reach the level of her earlier books. Despite being longer than many previous offerings, the story here seems to take a backseat to the technical details of firefighting- interesting in small doses, it became a bit overwhelming as presented. I love Roberts for her characters and the relationships she crafts for them, not for their careers or how well researched her books undoubtedly are, so this book for me was a bit of a bust. Truthfully, even a bad Nora Roberts is better than the best some romance writers have to offer but I hold Roberts to a higher standard based on the quality of the body of work.If you do have an interest in firefighting, I suspect this book will be a 4 or even 5 star read, but if you are looking for a deeply satisfying relationship story, then this books sadly isn't it.
Rating: 4This book kept me up reading until late into the night. I just couldn't put it down until I knew who the villain was and until the romance was resolved. I have never read anything about smoke jumpers and found the background of this romantic suspense novel fascinating. The idea of jumping out of an airplane into the wilderness to fight forest fires is amazing. Our heroine is Rowan Tripp. She is smart, fit, confident and a veteran Zulie (smoke jumpers who work out of Missoula, Montana). The rest of the crew are her family and she is the daughter of a legend among smoke jumpers. Father and daughter have a great relationship and it has been just the two of them as a unit since Ro's mother left when she was a baby. Ro does have some abandonment issues and doesn't have any confidence in the idea of lasting love. She also has a policy of not hooking up with anyone she works with.Enter Gulliver Curry. Gull is a rookie in the camp this season but a seasoned fire fighter. He is also strong, confident, smart and very funny. He takes one look at Ro and knows that he wants to get to know her. He has the self-confidence to persist with her and not be put off by her determined efforts to keep them apart. It helps that he can more than hold his own as a fire fighter. He is also the product of a loving family since he was taken in by his aunt and uncle when his parents were killed when he was very young.But this isn't just a relationship story. There is also a mystery. It seems that someone is out to avenge the death of Rowan's partner. He died when he directed his parachute into the fire on one of their jumps. Rowan feels guilty and has nightmares because she was there and could do nothing to save him. Now camp cook Dolly is back with a baby she says is his and a strong hatred for Rowan. After she vandalizes Rowan's room she is fired and then soon she is found dead and burned in the forest. Rowan is the one who finds her body while her crew is fighting the fire the murder set to cover his crime.Then there is more vandalism and another murder and gun shots fired at Ro and Gull. Tensions build as the police and other law enforcement agencies try to solve the crimes. The tension is very strong in this story. The conflict with trying to do a very demanding difficult job while being concerned for her personal safety puts a lot of pressure on Ro and Gull.Adding to the pressure is the fact that Rowan's dad has started a new relationship with a new woman in town. This also rocks Ro's foundation as it has never happened before. She also has to deal with jealousy. I liked the way Gull used humor to help her adjust to the changes in her life. I recommend this story to lovers of romantic suspense but who don't want a sweet romance. This is a romance that catches Ro unaware. It sneaks up on her and changes her life.
Rating: 5I don't think this is intended to be great literature, but it is reasonably entertaining chick lit. It's an entertaining, fun, read that doesn't require much thought or effort to get through.
Rating: 2Chasing Fire definitely highlights the strengths of Nora Roberts. She is so incredible at characterization and at making incredibly intense situations. A book full of smoke jumpers definitely makes for an incredible read!Rowan Tripp is a seasoned jumper – she is respected and well-liked. Her father was also a jumper, and still lives in the area (now working as a skydiving instructor). As the new season starts, she helps train the rookies. She has strict rules about dating her fellow jumpers that she has never been tempted to break – until now. Gulliver Curry (I know, such an unfortunate name) is about to change all of that.Another complication in Chasing Fire is the memory of a jumper that died the previous season. His brother is still around, and everyone is still trying to get over what happened. Everyone includes Dolly – who had been sleeping with him (and everyone else). She has a baby that she claims was his. True? False? Who knows. Dolly is basically psycho. She blames Rowan for what happened and goes nuts. She trashes Rowan’s room with pig’s blood and gets herself into some major trouble. Oh the drama.Then things get really interesting. Rogue gunmen, equipment tampering and dead bodies kind of interesting.I love these characters, y’all! Rowan and Gull both have really appealing personalities. They’re cocky, tough, witty – before you even add in the whole firefighting hero thing. Reading about them jumping into fires was fascinating. I loved it. It is so incredible that there are people out there that really do this – I think Chasing Fire is a nice tribute to them. I know Nora Roberts did research to try and get things right.I really think Chasing Fire has something for everyone. Mystery, suspense, thriller, romance, contemporary – whatever your genre is, Chasing Fire has it. Definitely up there among the most memorable from Nora Roberts!
Rating: 4Rowan Tripp has grown up and followed in the footsteps of her father "Iron Man" Lucas Tripp and become a "Zulie" Smoke Jumper. Set in Missoula Montana, during the summer season/fire season she will parachute in to put out forest fires in Montana to Alaska. During this season, Rowan/"Swede" battles not only fires, but possibly an unknown murderer, a lover who might become more than she wants and breaks the "no rookies" rule, and a father who might finally be moving on in his life to have a new love interest after a failed first "marriage".a great read with a solid background about smoke jumping.
Rating: 4Rowan Tripp is a skilled forest fire jumper, she's been doing it for years and she's good at it. She's still haunted by the death of her former jump partner and friend Jim, thinking she could have saved him. She trains a new squad of jumpers, among them there's Gull Curry who may just get her to break her strickt rule about no romance with fellow workers. It isn't until the bodies start mounting that things start getting more dangerous. It's a pretty typical Nora Roberts story, interesting, funny, and I like them. Rowan is a nicely strong characters with some weak spots and so is Gull.
Rating: 4The Nora has it down to something of a science by now, and this book was neither her best nor her worst, plotwise. I figured out whodunnit pretty early on, and the subplots were just okay. However, the heroine and especially the hero, were among my favorites of hers, so that made it all worthwhile.
Rating: 4I listened to the audio performance of Chasing Fire, by Nora Roberts, read by Rebecca Lowman….twice. Sometimes Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors, but other times, it seems that the books are so simplistic that they are not worth the time to read them. This time, I am pleased to report, Chasing Fire is one of Robert’s former.
Chasing Fire is the story of a smoke jumper named Rowan Tripp. Smoke jumping out of Missoula, Montana is the extremely high-risk job of jumping out of an airplane into the line of a forest fire, then putting that fire out. When people began to die, Rowan and fellow smoke jumper Gulliver Curry solve the puzzle.
Roberts provides a thorough picture of the life of smoke jumpers as a backdrop for the story. The well-researched picture painted by Roberts allows the mental images to flow easily. This is a stand-alone book, not part of a series, thoroughly enjoyable, diverting, and positive. As is typical of Roberts the book has several involved sex scenes.
Nora Roberts creates another sexy, sassy, strong heroine in Rowan Tripp, a Montana firejumper. And of course there's a studly-but-sensitive guy in store for Ro, along with plenty of action and adventure.
Rating: 4Nora Roberts is, well, Nora Roberts. I don’t think there is a Romance fan out there who hasn’t at least heard about her. I believe that there is no one more deserving of such an impressive reputation as she is.Chasing Fire has a very interesting setting. The heroine, Rowan, and the Hero, Gulliver, are both smoke jumpers, they are the firemen who parachute in the middle of a wildfire. In this case Rowan is in charge and Gull is the new rooky on the team. Yes this is a romance novel but in this story the romance takes the back seat because the core of the book is a mystery; someone is sabotaging the headquarters and then there are a series of murders, it seems that someone has grudge towards the firemen and specially towards Rowan.Nora has several types of heroines: the feminine girly ones, the damaged ones, and the strong ones. Rowan belongs to the latter category; she is tough, independent, strong, confident and smart, she doesn’t suffer fools and there’s no one better to have as part of your team or as a friend. I liked her a lot but I felt like I had read about her before, maybe she was called Mackensie and her book was Vision in White, or she was called Meg and her book was Northern Lights, or maybe her name was Blair and her book was Dance of the Gods, but I most definitely felt a sense of déjà vu while reading her. This didn’t deter my enjoyment of the book, but I did notice it, and I must confess that this is not the first time I notice this about her books.Gull, on the other hand, was a bit more unique. I think he might be one of Nora’s most charming heroes. He was confident enough not to feel threatened by Rowan but also to feel attracted to her. Is great to have a strong heroine paired up with a guy who lets her shine but who also grounds her, is not afraid to speak his mind and of pissing her off. Someone who is manly, but not “crazy macho alpha male you are mine I must possess you” manly, just an “I am a strong confident male but I don’t want to own you” manly.There’s also a secondary love story involving Rowan’s father, and I think that I enjoyed that one more than the main one. The secondary characters were a blast. This book has a strong cast of characters; they were fleshed out, had unique personalities and I liked them all. This is not the norm in Nora’s books (the standalone ones at least), usually on her standalone novels the secondary characters aren’t as many or as interesting, in this case the firehouse setting was perfect for that.The mystery was very predictable, I think Nora dropped the ball there. I don’t usually guess who the bad guy is on her books, but in this one I saw it coming almost from the first chapter.The whole setting of the book also felt familiar, I read a review that called Nora formulaic and I have to agree with it, she does it very good, her prose is brilliant, but there are a lot of common things between her books, and I think that if she wasn’t such an incredible storyteller this would lessen the quality of her books.The book is full details about smoke jumpers and wildfires, is not preachy but it makes a statement about how bad those fires are, and how brave the men and women who put them down are, and how dangerous and hard is. Nora also did her homework; you can see that she put a lot of effort into researching about firefighters. There are a lot of details, some of them might be confusing because she drops names and terminology and doesn’t really explain it, but that didn’t bother me much.Now, my overall impression of the book is that it was flawlessly written, had an interesting theme, a sweet love story and engaging characters. The problem was that it was also boring. To be honest the first part of the book was interesting and the final chapters were engrossing, I cried at the end, and was glued to my seat, but that was only during the last three chapters. The rest of it was just plain, the romance lacked a bit of spice and drama, the plot and mystery dragged a lot in the middle, and I think maybe a shorter book would have been better.As a whole I liked it -it wasn’t my favorite book- but I liked it. I don’t think I will be re-reading it though, and I would recommend it only if you are already familiar with Nora Roberts, if not, maybe you should start with another books and save this one for latter.
Rating: 3I enjoyed it. smokejumpers , murder,arson and romance. nice could not put down.
Rating: 4