Reviewer: Lori Graham
Title: Facing The Fire
Author: Gail Barrett
Publisher: Silhouette
ISBN: 0-373-27484-X
Release Date: April 2006
Genre/Sub-genre: Contemporary Romance
Year/Setting: Current/Montana
Overall rating: 4.5
Sexual content rating: Very, very subtle
Gail's Website:
www.gailbarrett.com/
Jordan Wells has returned to Montana to finally put her past behind her. Her marriage to Phil would provide the last step towards a stable, peaceful life. Before she can marry him, however, Jordan feels she must remove the last vestiges of her former life – the cabin she received as part of her divorce proceedings. The cabin held a lot of memories of the past – some good and some anything but. Her marriage to Cade McKenzie hadn’t ended well.
Jordan had spent her life as a military daughter, moving from base to base. Her father worked long, intense hours, which left his daughter feeling abandoned and lonely especially with always having to make new friends. She desperately wanted a family and thought she could find that with Cade.
What she neglected to think about was Cade wasn’t willing to give up his job for her. He is a smokejumper which often takes him on the road for long periods of time at a moment’s notice. Being a smokejumper, however, isn’t just a job for Cade – it is part of who he is and not something he can turn his back on.
As fate would turn out, Cade is on the job as Jordan is at the cabin. The plan is to clean out the cabin and list it for sale before proceeding home to marry Phil. Mother Nature has another plan though as a fire advanced on the cabin along with the smoke jumpers sent to fight the blaze. In the course of fighting that blaze, Cade has become injured and is struggling to just keep up.
Cade can’t believe his eyes as he spots Jordan at the cabin and realizes as he is injured and less help on the mountain, he needs to be the one to make sure she gets down the mountain. Again, fate steps in and the adventure of what should be a short trip down the mountain turns into anything but.
Gail Barrett created some interesting dynamics with Facing the Fire. It was intriguing to me as I read the story the different angles for the title of the story. Yes, there was the obvious angle of the fire blazing in the woods. But I found the deeper meaning more poignant. Gail showcased two characters each bringing their own issues to the table – their own fears and unhappiness had shaped their lives and created an internal storm each must fight. Jordan must fight her fear of being left and alone – her "fire". Cade must fight the need to be totally independent and allow someone to come into his life and to show some of his weaknesses – his "fire".
Facing the Fire in many ways is a book we can relate to. As each of us enters a relationship, we carry the baggage from our childhood as well as former relationships. Gail found ways to help each of the characters find a way to see how they had each contributed to the marriage dying and how they could grow beyond it. The love the characters felt for each other was always right below the surface. So many times, they each showed how they felt through the caring they displayed. Cade helping Jordan and vice versa. That help had more to do with that love than it did the trip down the mountain.
I enjoyed the drama Gail laid out throughout her book. No, it wasn’t the knuckle biting, keep you awake at night intrigue and tension. But the pull was on your reading abilities to keep going with them. As Cade and Jordan persevere, you find yourself walking each step with them and cheering them on.
Lori
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