Fire with Fire

While on vacation, chef Corrinne Webb gets lost in a snowstorm and holes up in an abandoned hotel. Looking for supplies in a hope chest, Corrie finds an old sheriff's badge that transports her back to the year 1886. It is here, in the past, that Corrie will find her future.Police Chief Jess Garrett is looking for a different type of woman, and adventurous woman. In Corrie, he finds that and so much more, a partner" a lover' and a friend. Growing closer each day, Jess starts to think about "forever", while Corrie can't believe that time is almost up. Will fate be so cruel to have Corrie go back in time to find the man and family of her dreams, only to make her give it all up?FIRE WITH FIRE is a complex story that shows with the acceptance and support of family and friends; the power of love can heal. Sexually abused and abandoned as a child, living from one home to the next, Corrie never had a sense of love or family. Always alone, she has built a wall around herself, never letting anyone in, never allowing herself to care. Corrie's defenses are soon breached, and she learns that if you let one person in, others will follow. She opens herself to love and blossoms under its power.Watching Corrie's transformation was amazing, all through the story she needs to remind herself that she will be going back to her own time and to not get attached to these people. She can't help it though, the walls are down and the emotions come rushing in. FIRE WITH FIRE will draw you in with strong characters that will make you laugh and cry...and make you read long into the night.

When I first started reading it. I didn't think I was going to like the writing style since I started reading right after finishing Enchantment. But as soon as I got use the the writing style I couldn't put the book down. It was wonderful and the story was great.

Five-star chef Corrine Webb despises holidays because they remind her of her mother's abandonment when she was eight-years-old. She has just never learned to cope with other people's families and holidays. So when her boss offers her a get-away in the Virginia's Allegheny Mountains, Corrie leaves civilization behind to loose herself in the small town of Hope Springs. She enjoys exploring the small town and even ventures into the abandoned Victorian-era Chesterfield resort. A quest for a waterfall leads to unexpected adventure, however, when a winter storm over takes her hike. When Corrie takes shelter in the Chesterfield, she discovers a tin star along with a few other relics in a hope chest. Soon she finds herself thrust back in time to the year 1886. Any modern chef, regardless of their talent, would find cooking on a wood stove without so much a pilot light a bit of a challenge. Not to mention the bustles, trains, and ridiculous corsets women must wear. Carrie's outspoken manners likewise present a bit of a challenge, and bring her to the attention of the law. Police Chief Jess Garret believes Corrine to be a "vexing dichotomy--strong and outspoken, yet vulnerable and troubled". Like Corrie, Jess carries wounds of the past. Together these characters cross centuries with a bridge of love to heal wounds caused by brutal betrayal. Theirs paths are difficult, however, and threaten to destroy that which they've only begun to build. There's something winningly whimsical and marvelously magical about the premise of the power of a hope chest and equinoxes winging characters across time to find healing and love. The second of the Hope Chest miniseries accomplishes both purposes with pizzazz. First time author Paula Gill creates an amazing tale that touches the heart and lingers in the memory. The brutal abuse and bitter disillusionment of the past find acceptance and healing as these finely realized characters learn to trust their most painful secrets. Indeed, FIRE WITH FIRE promises great things from this author; this reviewer looks forward to reading her future works.