Born in Fire
Title: Born in Fire
Author: Nora Roberts
Series: Born in series, book #1
Publication Info: Jove, October 1994
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3
Though I usually go for stories that are more fairy-tale in nature, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The main and secondary characters were complex and the relationships were well developed. I enjoyed learning about the secondary relationships – the hero and his grandma, the heroine and her sister, the heroine and her father, and especially the heroine and her art – just as much, if not more so, than the relationship between the hero and heroine. Ms. Roberts’ descriptions of the heroine’s artistic process touched me; she put into words the frustration and elevation I feel when creating.
The heroine, Maggie Concannon, is a glass artist in Clare, Ireland. She is fiercely independent, proud, stubborn, defensive and sometimes rude, but also extremely generous and protective of her family and friends. She has a tempestuous relationship with her bitter mother. The hero, Rogan Sweeney, is a rich gallery owner from Dublin who desires Maggie’s work from the first time he lays eyes on it. He is a driven businessman, by turns pompous and overbearing, but also a compassionate man who takes as much pride in his work as Maggie does in hers. Maggie has difficulty letting Rogan manage her artwork because she feels she is betraying her independence and selling her soul, but Rogan won’t take “no” for an answer. Yadda, yadda, they fall in love and live happily ever after.
Not only did I read this book, but I annotated it. (Dr. Lightfoot would be so proud!) I read this book a year ago, but didn’t remember much because I consumed it in my typical fashion: gobbling it like candy, seeking that sugary sweet high. This time I paid attention to word choice, sentence structure, character and plot development, and, of course, misprints. Whoops! (I only found 3.) It was fabulous! Who knew annotating could be so much fun? La Nora is a talented author
Ms. Roberts’ use of the brogue to express moments of greater emotion in her dialogue is genius. When Maggie gets angry or upset her speech develops a heavy irish cadence, inverting her sentences and replacing “me” for “my”. For example, when Maggie and Rogan are discussing their business arrangement and Rogan demands 35% profit, Maggie gets angry. Rogan says that he does all the work and all Maggie has to do is “merely to create”. She responds (p69):
“‘Oh, as if all it takes is sitting on me ass and waiting for the inspiration to come fluttering down like raindrops…. Oh, it’s clever you are, Rogan, taking a quick turn from money into fame.’”
Ms. Roberts has a lovely way with words. In a number of places she used adjectives that start with the same letter to emphasize a certain description or mood: “The kiss sizzled, sparked, smoldered,” (p87). Her descriptions are fabulous, at times sensuous and at others playful: “The light and the music sparkled down the staircase like fairy dust along the curve of a rainbow,” (p166).
Tonight my local Romance Writer’s of America chapter is holding a lecture by author Blake Snyder who will discuss plot structure using this book (hence the annotating.) Tomorrow I will regale you with my notes and more in depth analysis of Born in Fire.
Tags: "romance novels", Book lovers & reviewers, contemporary romance, glass blowing, Ireland, Nora Roberts
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August 17, 2008 at 5:50 am
[...] Ciara Stewart, Review: very positive [...]