Let’s begin with the
summary:
Champion back-country snowboarder Gage Watson has left the
limelight behind after the death of one of his fans. After being sued for
negligence and stripped of his sponsorships, he's remade his life as a ski
patrol in Montana's rugged mountains, as well as serving on the PEAK Rescue
team. But he can't seem to find his footing—or forget the woman he loved, who
betrayed him.
Senator and former attorney Ella Blair spends much of her
time in the limelight as the second-youngest senator in the country. But she
has a secret—one that cost Gage his career. More than anything, she wants to
atone for her betrayal of him in the courtroom and find a way to help him put
his career back on track.
When Ella's brother goes missing on one of Glacier National
Park's most dangerous peaks, Gage and his team are called in for the rescue.
But Gage isn't so sure he wants to help the woman who destroyed his life. More,
when she insists on joining the search, he'll have to keep her safe while
finding her reckless brother, a recipe for disaster when a snowstorm hits the
mountain.
But old sparks relight as they search for the missing
snowboarder—and suddenly, they are faced with emotions neither can deny. But
when Ella's secret is revealed, can they learn to trust each other—even when
disaster happens again?
And now, my review:
This book is about Gage, but I loved getting to learn more about
Ty. He’s kind-hearted and compassionate.
Okay, back to Gage, the main hero of this Montana
Rescue series novel. He’s likable and competent. You trust that if he’s
sent out to rescue someone, he’ll bring them safely home. That’s reassurance
you’ll need as the story gets more and more intense. Getting to ski with Gage
was fascinating. He has something to prove, and Susie slowly reveals his
secrets to the reader. Love how she did that. Gage’s heroism flows from a few
things—past regrets and this need to prove himself to the world. He’s calm,
though, and mature.
Senator and attorney Ella Blair is a likable character as well. She has some past regrets that she'll need to overcome. As I read her story, I felt she was more believable as an attorney than a senator, but that may be because we didn't spend much time on her senator role. I loved that she was a strong and competent snowboarder. The perfect match for Gage and someone we could respect.
Like when I read Susie’s smokejumper books, and I felt as if
I was breathing in the smoke and coughing on the fumes, while I was reading
this wintertime novel, I could almost smell the snow and feel the powder surround
me as I swished down a slope. The descriptions take you right into the experience
with the characters. Gage’s skiing expertise was so well written. He’s a champion
freerider, and the first scenes in the book were extremely well penned. The
wording was so technical, I wondered for a moment if someone else had written
them. Some of the phrases were foreign to me from start to finish. Then, when I read Susan’s Author Note, she makes
it clear she’s been a life-long skier. She knows this topic.
There were many profound statements, some relational, and
some spiritual—about how God sees us versus how we see ourselves, especially when
it comes to feeling worthy of being rescued. God doesn’t require us to be worthy,
but we require it of ourselves. This
novel included themes of rescue, forgiveness, secrets, God’s love, mercy, and
trust. Also, there’s a theme of believing in yourself and how when others do,
their faith in us encourages us to see ourselves differently.
I had a tough time, now knowing this world, believing that a
tent without a fire inside, could be warm enough in the temperatures she
described for people to camp in. Or how a stove would work inside a tent,
without a way to vent the fumes outside. Perhaps a little more explanation
would be helpful.
Another concern was that Ty meets someone, and she and he
both experience an immediate attraction. No surprises so far. But what didn’t
quite click is why he was drawn to her after that initial attraction. Without
giving away spoilers, she has a career that threatens the team’s members, so it
wasn’t believable that he would continue to pursue her when that became
apparent. We could use another strong element that draws him so we believe that
he would let her into his life and therefore close to the team.
But overall, I relished this story. I have Susie’s next book in this same series (Troubled Waters) on
my Kindle, ready for me to keep enjoying these characters. Can’t wait to get
back to it!
Highly recommended! I love this series, which I recommend you read in order. Otherwise, you may be lost. There are a lot of great characters to track.
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