Where There's Smoke - Susan May Warren

Where There's Smoke is the first book in the Montana Fire series by Susan May Warren.

About the book:

She’s a smokejumper afraid of fire… Kate Burns is a legendary smoke jumper, known for her courage and willingness to risk everything to get the job done. Only she has a secret, one she won’t admit to anyone.  

He can’t forget the love they once shared… Supervisor Jed Ransom commands the Jude County Smoke Jumpers with a reputation as a calm, level-headed leader. Kate is the only one who’s ever gotten under his skin.  

They must face the flames together… A raging wildfire in the mountains of Montana brings Kate and Jed together to train up a new team of jumpers. Suddenly, they must face the past they’ve been running from and the secrets that keep them apart. When an arsonist goes after their team, Kate and Jed must face their deepest fears—and learn to rely on each other as they fight a blaze that could destroy them all. 

In this first book of the Montana Fire: Summer of Fire trilogy, Kate and Jed are about to discover that where there’s smoke, there just might be a chance to start again. 

My Review: 

Jed and Kate have so much anger and distrust between them.  They have been friends ever since they were teens.  Kate's father, the head of the Jude County Smokejumping team is now way going to let his daughter join the team.  Smokejumping is way to dangerous.  But when she's goes off to join another team, he is steaming mad and scared for her safety.  So he sends Jed after her.  Kate is mad and distrustful of Jed's reasons for being there.  Jed and Kate get caught in a dreadful fire where they almost lose their lives.  Their friendship is starting to build into more when Jed suddenly tells Kate that he wants her out of his life.  Kate is mortified after practically having her heart on her sleeve and is sure that Jed blames her for getting him into the fire mess.  She couldn't have been further from the truth . . .

Kate goes through another traumatic event that leaves her in the office - not smokejumping.  But then there's a memorial for her father and his team - most of whom died in fighting a fire.  It's her chance to jump again and she takes it.  She also happens to be an instructor for the new year's team.  An awful mishap in the sky has Blazin' Kate Burns flying - literally - to the rescue, shocking every one on the ground with her daring moves.  Especially Jed, who just happens to be the team's supervisor.  As soon as Kate lands, he promptly fires her, telling her that she cannot put her life in danger like that and that she was a role model that rookies would look up to and try to copy.  She would put their lives in danger with her image to look up to.

Plenty of fights and fiery kisses.  Everything was fiery - almost too much.  Towns, restaurants, sports teams, nicknames, descriptions.  Tons of smoke and fire.  Two points of the book that I really loved:  How Jed is always struggling to deal with the fact that Kate is always in danger while smokejumping and that he might not be able to save her.  The role the song "Great is thy Faithfulness" plays in the book.  It was Kate's father's song.  Overall, I liked the book.  I've never been disappointed by a Susan May Warren book yet.  But I didn't find it to be as absolutely amazing as, say, If Ever I Would Leave You.  But I definitely recommend the book!