Where the Fire Falls
A Vintage National Parks Novel
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4.6 • 16 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Stunning Yosemite National Park sets the stage for this late 1920s historical romance with mystery, adventure, heart, and a sense of the place John Muir described as "pervaded with divine light."
Watercolorist Olivia Rutherford has shed her humble beginnings to fashion her image as an avant-garde artist to appeal to the region's wealthy art-collectors. When she lands a lucrative contract painting illustrations of Yosemite National Park for a travel magazine, including its nightly one-of-a-kind Firefall event, she hopes the money will lift Olivia and her sisters out of poverty.
After false accusations cost him everything, former minister Clark Johnson has found purpose as a backcountry guide in this natural cathedral of granite and trees. Now he's faced with the opportunity to become a National Parks Ranger, but is it his true calling?
As Clark opens Olivia's eyes to the wonders of Yosemite, she discovers the people are as vital to the park's story as its vistas--a revelation that may bring her charade to an end.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Yosemite National Park shimmers in this majestic ode to the western mountain paradise from Barnett (The Road to Paradise). When California artist Olivia Rutherford is approached by a travel magazine in 1929 to paint scenes from the park, she agrees to the lucrative project largely because she wants to shed her flapper reputation and be taken seriously as an artist. She also hopes to use the money from the assignment to have a show and present her artwork favorably to the California avant-garde art scene. Backcountry guide Clark Johnson takes Olivia on a short tour of the valley. A former pastor haunted by false accusations against him, Clark has been biding his time as a trail guide, hoping God would return him one day to ministry. A few days on the trail with Olivia reveals her hidden down-to-earth nature, and as they hike through the beautiful terrain, their mutual attraction grows. Through Clark's grounded faith and gentle affirmation, Olivia begins to reconsider her ambitions. Faith is an integral part of this sweet historical, with references to God woven in nicely. Barnett, a former park ranger, brings natural wonder to brilliant life.
Customer Reviews
SUPERB!
SUPERB!
Where the Fire Falls (A Vintage National Parks Novel Book #2) is superb! Barnett is at her best when taking her readers on an adventure through one of the National Parks. This novel is set in vintage Yosemite and involves two people who are trying to find themselves. What better place for soul searching than in the splendor and grandeur of Yosemite National Park when it was still extremely new and vastly unspoiled by hordes of visitors? A beautiful young woman is running from her past and trying to paint her way to a wonderful new future for herself and her younger twin sisters. A ruggedly handsome man and former pastor, has been serving as a wilderness guide. As such, he is still helping people find their way and he definitely realizes that the young painter is desperate to find find her way both professionally and spiritually. Each of them have their own struggles but they discover that shared burdens are lighter burdens. This novel is jam packed with everything you want in a great book - excellent, realistic characters, creative plot line, incredible descriptions of the spectacular details of major scenic areas in Yosemite and a dark mystery that runs throughout the book. It is superb! I was provided an ARC of this book by WaterBrook and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.