Nora Roberts wins my vote for all-time-favorite Romance novelist and her Born In trilogy showcases her talents and easily displays why I love her so much.
Born In Fire is a spellbinding adventure introducing fiery, headstrong Maggie Concannon. Her loyalty to her family, her determination to maintain her independence, and her soulful passion marks her as a notable romance star. The fact that Maggie is a talented artist is not in question. Rather, the issue is can she overcome her unhappy childhood and make the life she desires for herself and her family.
Enter Rogan Sweeney, a stubborn but sensitive businessman, who challenges Maggie and shows her that she need not live life alone, hiding away cloaked in her art. Recognizing her strength and fortitude, he gently leads her on a path to attaining her professional dreams while stoking the fire of her desires with his passion.
Rogan describes Maggie perfectly during an argument when he states, "...simple is exactly what you are not...Canny, obstinate, brilliant, bad-tempered and beautiful you are...But simple, never."
Rogan Sweeney in a man that's up to the challenge of controlling Maggie, both personally and professionally. The searing intensity between these two characters is the stuff that makes romance sizzle and readers keep coming back for more. No one does it better than Nora Roberts. The complex characters, the Irish countryside backdrop, and the artful description are her strong tools for consistently ensuring the readers satisfaction.
She always makes you want more.
Enjoy the trials and tribulations of the rest of the Concannon family. Born In Ice and Born In Shame won't disappoint. You'll find yourself racing through this delightful, hopelessly romantic trilogy and then returning to it for many years to come.
Born in Ice
Brianna Concannon is a woman with a rare gift for creating a home, and she makes use of this talent by running a bed-and-breakfast in a picturesque corner of Ireland. Mystery writer Grayson Thane is an American who grew up in an orphanage and has spent his life alone. A restless wanderer with a painful past, Grayson arrives at Blackthorn Cottage intent only on soaking up the Irish atmosphere and writing his next novel, but he finds far more than he bargained for. The beautiful, calm Brianna soothes his disquiet soul, and in her Grayson finds the home he hadn't realized he needed. Brianna knows that by falling for him, she risks her heart, already bruised and scarred by a young love who left her at the altar. But the yearning to let the American melt the ice around her cold exterior is irresistible. Unless Grayson can let go of his past to forge a future with her, Brianna may have gambled her heart in vain.
Born in Shame
The final novel in Roberts's Irish trilogy is the story of Shannon Bodine. Shannon's life is rocked by an emotional earthquake when she learns the identity of her real father. Obeying her late mother's last wish, American Shannon travels to County Clare, Ireland, to meet the sisters she never knew she had. Warmed and comforted by the bond that grows between her and her sisters, her heart is lured by the charm of the Irish countryside and tempted by the attraction of horseman Murphy Muldoon. Murphy takes one look at Shannon and knows that she is the woman he's waited for all his life. But Shannon is a practical woman. Will she open her heart and mind to the timeless, magical bond that connects them? Or will she reject fate's plan and leave Murphy to return to her life in America?
With prose that's lively and compelling, Nora Roberts creates exceptional characters whose relationships with each other develop and grow, and live on in the reader's imagination and heart.
