Born in Fire

(Review originally posted here at Fictionally Inclined.)

Born in Fire is the first in the Born In trilogy by Nora Roberts, but I read Born in Ice first. There were two factors in Born in Ice that made me want to read Born in Fire. The first was the appearance of Maggie and Rogan. While their summary didn't sound all that interesting at the time, the characters themselves were intriguing, and I wanted to know more than the hints about their story that were conveyed in Ice. The second factor, though, was definitely the main one. And that would be the narrator.

The narrator of Born in Fire was Fiacre Douglas, who narrates all three books in the trilogy. For the first fifteen seconds of Ice, I was livid. How dare my romance book have a MALE narrator? That's what I got for downloading in a hurry and not checking the voice for once. I even had an actual rant about it, my empty car getting an earful as I drove down the road. But once I accepted it, I actually heard said male voice, instead of just the fact that it was not, in fact, a woman narrating my book. And I heard that he had an Irish accent. As a self-proclaimed accent enthusiast with a particular propensity for Irish accents, I found this rather swoon-worthy. I have also made a concentrated effort to refrain from seeing a photograph of said narrator, for fear he is a 55 year old man with beady eyes and a beer gut. In my head, he matches his voice. Which is, to say, quite attractive.

Aside from being aesthetically pleasing in the auditory department, Born in Fire had several more things going for it. Maggie Concannon was a great character! With artistic characters, it is extremely easy to make them too flighty, too eccentric, too irresponsible. However, Roberts managed a great balance with Maggie. She had flaws, but she had many redeeming qualities to balance them out. I truly felt the things she felt, and I understood how and why she needed to get them out in her art. The art itself - both the making and the appearance - was presented splendidly in the writing. I know next to nothing about glassblowing, but I never felt overwhelmed with details. At the same time, though, I could see immense beauty any time it was mentioned.

I also really liked Logan. It was very enjoyable to watch (or listen to, as the case may be) the two of them fight their feelings about each other, then finally give into the inevitable. They both had legitimate reasons why a relationship would be difficult, but they learned to move past them. There was also a splendid little side romance that was a joy to watch unfold. All in all, Born in Fire was definitely a winner! I would particularly recommend it if you are a fan of art, glassblowing in particular.

❝Sex and power generally depend on the woman.❞

❝When you love with all you are, it isn't just unhappiness you risk. It's heaven, too.❞

Nora Roberts never disappoints me. Never. I love the way she tell her story, the characters she creates, the settings of her stories... in short I love everything.

Set in Ireland, Born in Fire tells a story of Margaret Mary Concannon, a woman who grows up without her mother's love and affection. In this first book, Roberts gives glimpses of reason as to why Maggie's mother, Maeve, seems to despise her first child.

It's interesting, really, as Roberts offers the insights of a glassblower's world. Well, not in general, anyway. At least I have an idea or two about glassblowing.

All in all, a good weekend read. Nothing complicated.

More than 15 years I ago I read this book for the first time. It was the first trilogy and only the second book by Nora Roberts that I read and it instilled in me a great love for her writing and an immense desire to visit Ireland. I can easily say that Nora Roberts is one of my all time favorite authors and I own practically ever single one of her books. Strangely, I have never re-read any of her books. Thanks to the Book Bingo challenge I'm tasked with re-reading 15 books so after re-reading Cate Tiernan's Immortal Beloved I decided I wanted to go back and re-read Nora Roberts trilogies starting with the Concannan sisters.

The first time I read this trilogy I actually read the last book first. This was before the days of Shefari or Goodreads so knowing the order of books wasn't as easy as it is now. I didn't even know it was part of a trilogy at first! But I loved it and found the other two and read them as quickly as I could turn the pages.

I still love this book. The process of glass blowing is still beyond me, but the idea fascinates me. However, the thing that still delights me is the setting. Ireland. How anyone can read this book and not want to immediately hop on a plane to visit is beyond me. Someday....