Review Firecamp by Jaycie Morrison ARC BSB
3.5⭐️
Summer firecamp in the woods of Colorado is an important step for Fallon and Nora, both in their early 20s, but for different reasons. After a life on the road, Fallon wants nothing more than stability and a job as a firefighter or summer firecamp leader. For Nora, it's a stepping stone to realizing her dream of becoming a photojournalist; she just has to get through camp so her father will pay for her tuition. She wants to get in and out and then off to Arizona. What neither of them expected was that they would fall in love with each other.
However, the romance ended with an abrupt and painful bang.
But as luck would have it, the god of fire brings them back to the same place. Will they take the second chance?
What I liked was the build-up in the first part, the whole thing around the firecamp, the important work they do, and the camaraderie between the women. But also that tensions can arise very quickly when one or two parties in a small team are not pulling in the same direction. Especially in an environment where you are dependent on each other, and something bad can quickly happen if you are not careful.
I liked the budding romance between Nora and Fallon. The author tells their story beautifully. Their upbringing and experiences are very different, and we can see how these have shaped their personalities. This part was very entertaining, and a lot happened.
But the second part seems a bit rushed in my opinion. It's all sunshine and rainbows again far too quickly, without really having dealt with the past. I can understand that the attraction immediately flares up again. But the fact that the now grown-up, self-confident women don't communicate with each other again after what happened ten years ago was a bit implausible for me. It lacked a bit of depth for me. Just apologizing to each other is not enough to get over the deep wounds.
But overall, it is an entertaining, beautiful romance with many interesting secondary characters.
Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for receiving an ARC.

Firecamp is a lovely read that dives into the complexities of relationships, dreams, and the ways that our environment can shape us.

The story follows Nora, a young woman, who is forced to complete Firecamp as a bet, to have her tuition paid for by her father. Nora longs to be a photojournalist and move far away from the confines of her family home. Then we have Fallon, who sees Firecamp as an opportunity to put down roots and find stability and a meaningful future. The two initially clash, mostly at the hands of Nora, but as time goes on, they form a bond that is so sweet and tender. It eventually comes to a head during an altercation the day Firecamp ends.

The first half of the book has a nice, slow build to it. It really allowed me to become invested in Nora and Fallon's evolving relationship. I was rooting for them, even though Nora was unnecessarily rude and Fallon was way too altruistic. There was a lot of tension that stemmed from personal and romantic goals conflicting with each other. It is a relatable narrative, though for anyone who has had to choose between their career and romantic connections.

I did find the pacing to be a bit uneven. There were some parts that dragged on for too long, and then there were some areas that went way too fast. The second half of the book, which picks up 10 years later (the blurb states 15), leaves a lot of nuances between the two left unexplored. I really wish it had the same impact that the first half of the book had. While the aging and passage of time bring a sense of maturation and reflection, I felt that Nora grew and matured more than Fallon did.

Overall, it was a good read and a great introduction to a new author for me. I would rate this a solid 3.5.

Thank you, Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC.

This book was unfortunately containing too much details on how to operate a chainsaw and setting up a tent and way too little on the actual romance and relationship. The story not even that exciting despite played out in the wilderness.

I never really saw that Nora and Fallon were that right for each other so the second chance part of the book was not that endearing to me especially since no major work whatsoever to get back together after being apart for 1o years.

The whole thing that the blurb mention that 15 years has passed but it actually is 10 years upsets me a bit.

Nora Palmer has a bet with her father that if she completes Firecamp, a summer work program involving fire mitigation in the Colorado national forest, he will pay for her tuition to complete college at ASU. Nora hopes to be a photojournalist once she completes college. Fallon Monroe has lived a very transient life as a youth and she hopes to attend Firecamp to provide her stability and direction in life amid all her personal loss.

The first portion of the book describes Nora and Fallon’s time at Firecamp, how they initially met, and how they eventually begin to learn and trust each other. The second part of the book takes place ten years later after Nora has a career as a photojournalist in Tucson, Arizona, and Fallon is in a leadership role at Firecamp.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story by Jaycie Morrison. It combined wonderful character development with past family dynamics for Fallon and present family drama for Nora, plus a fire mitigation topic that I knew nearly nothing about, but found very compelling. The book also had me in tears with the letter that Fallon so eloquently penned to Nora about her wants and needs. 4.25 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think first-responder and procedural stories are some of my favourites to read. I know virtually nothing about fighting fires other than maintaining a healthy forest is key to fighting them. And that it is bloody hard work. Morrison does an excellent job of showing us without losing the dynamics of the relationships made in the process. And there are many different types of relationships made within the story.
I was a little surprised to discover the truth of Nora’s family dynamics. It was a twist I hadn’t considered, and I love that I could be surprised. I was curious to find one character who was prominent in Part One, was not at all involved in Part Two. I never give spoilers and maybe I missed something along the way. I may just have to read this again to find out, because it is an enjoyable story. Just sayin’.
This is just a wonderful, character-driven story.
Thank you to Net Galley and Bold Stroke Books for the ARC. My decision to review is voluntary.

Is firecamp a real thing? I'm not from the USA so don't know about that sort of thing. I know there are camps for all sorts of things in the US. I did find a reference to a fire camp in Colorado but it was not a long term thing as this one was. It was only a 5 day thing. However whether it's real or not does not detract from the story. Two young women meet at camp and after some egocentric tripping on Nora's part and insecurity on Fallon's they become a bit more than friendly. There are moments when you feel like giving Nora a good shake! But Nora has her sights set on a photography career and Fallon is left behind. Years layer they meet up again, also at firecamp, where Fallon is now one of the leaders and Nora is there to take photos. This time they talk a bit more. Fallon is injured, Nora's father falls ill, things happen. A second chance romance. Good story, enjoyed it very much.

Jaycie Morrison tells a wonderful 2nd chance, where we see the initial meet and the break, then the reunion 10 years later. 

Both parts are sectioned off in the book.  I enjoyed both parts. However, I wish that after the resolution was a little longer, not go right into the epilogue. I also wish there was more context to the video. 

The MCs were well done and well developed. Both MCs had areas to grow, and Jaycie showed both of their growth. 

The secondary characters were fun and added to the story.  

This was my second book by Jaycie Morrison,  i will look forward to more books by her in the future.

Firecamp is a second chance of love story. Nora and Fallon met along a dumpy road and their relationship hits the same road as Nora wants to pursue her dream which takes her away from Fallon.
Back together years later they learn about the ups and downs they each had and this time around maybe they’ll be able to fulfill their dream of love.

Good story with characters you can root for.

In fire camp we meet Fallon and Nora both who are looking for fresh starts to move on with to their future. Fallon looking to lead her own fire camp team one day and Nora who is looking to survive her family and onto her passion of photo journalism.

Both characters have their challenges within the Colorado forest where they learn and participate in felling trees to protect the forrest from fire. Nora who comes from a family of fire fighter types and is pretty handy with a chainsaw not to mention the chip on her shoulder doesn’t want to be friends with Fallon who is very happy go lucky but is a bit down on her luck. However both can’t help being attracted to each other and eventually their spark ignites.

Ten years pass and a chance to report on a forrest fire drops Nora back into each others lives with Fallon being now in charge of her fire camp. Now back in each others worlds can they get it right this time, both have grown up but not moved on. Their attraction remains and a missed opportunity falls back into place after an unfortunate accident.

I really enjoyed the first part to the story, showing the blossoming romance plus the whole fire camp bit was actually really interesting. But I felt when we fast forward the 10 years although enjoyable to see them reconnect. For me it was just too fast too soon, almost like the issues of the past were not really a big deal at all even when all they had to do was communicate what they both wanted maybe would have saved some heartache!

It’s my first time reading this author work, very enjoyable and easy to read but for me more work was needed to the second half of the book. So much went into the first part that I am not sure resulted in not talking for the past 10 years. Also there was so many good characters in the first part that don’t even return which just felt wasted building those relationships. I was given an opportunity to read this as part of an ARC so thank you for NetGalley, the publisher and the author. I would recommend a read when this comes out on the 15th April.

Nora y Fallon se conocieron en su juventud en un campamento de bomberos, donde ambas aprendían y ayudaban a combatir incendios forestales. Nora, aunque su padre es bombero, aspira a ser fotógrafa, y solo asiste al programa para que su familia la deje seguir su sueño. Fallon, por su parte, busca estabilidad después de la dolorosa pérdida de su madre. Su relación, marcada por diferencias en sus sueños, no perdura y se separan. Sin embargo, diez años después, sus caminos se cruzan nuevamente cuando un gran incendio amenaza el bosque de Colorado, y Nora, ahora fotoperiodista, cubre el trabajo de Fallon, quien lidera el equipo de bomberos. A pesar de la tensión que aún persiste entre ellas, deberán confrontar sus sentimientos y decidir si pueden equilibrar sus sueños y realidades.




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, the synopsis says fifteen years have passed, but in the book it says ten. I feel like that needs to be addressed. This was my first book by this author and while it had potential, it didn't quite do it for me.

Fallon Monroe is looking for a fresh start and a permanent home and Fire camp is where she's hoping to find all that. The book starts 10 years ago and follows Fallon's first summer in fire camp where she meets Nora and life is never the same.

Nora Palmer just has to get through three months of camp before she can go to Arizona State to per sue photojournalism which is her true love, that is until she meets Fallon.

There's a lot of ups and downs in the first half of the book and the second half seems to bring them back together, but honestly too quickly and easily for my taste. After everything and so much time passed, they basically picked up where they left off which seemed wildly unbelievable to me.

Overall, not a bad book, but not the best. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.