Born In...

Nora Roberts' Born In... Trilogy

I enjoy Nora Roberts’ trilogies for their characters more often than the plots. This one was a bit bland compared to her later ones, but still intriguing enough to capture me for a couple of days.

 The first book, Born in Fire, was the most coherent in plot and characters. Maggie wasn’t likeable at first, but I admired her strength and her determination. Naturally, Rogan’s determination was equal to hers. His frustration with her was amusing, but I liked the way it turned out in the end.

Born in Ice was better in the advancement of the plot, furthering the relationship with Brianna and Grayson. Grayson’s past was quite tragic, and typical in the way he clung onto it. I loved his sense of humour though, and the switch between his writer persona and his family man persona made me smile. Brianna was awesome, and I’m glad that her ambition or her strength wasn’t undermined because she was a good homemaker. So many modern romances place an emphasis on women who can have it all, a career and children and so forth, that it actually puts a kind of pressure on us, although being a housewife also has its own social pressures. Brianna’s choice was a refreshing change from that. Having that mention of Tom Cruise kind of put me off though.

Maggie wasn’t as sympathetic as Brianna was, but both of their characters are better developed by the third book, Born in Shame. Shannon seemed more superfluous because she was only in the third book, and her character was annoying at first, especially with the references to her previous life and her attitude towards the family. Poor Murphy seemed to be tugged this way and that by her, but I thought he was supremely sweet and his reaction to her presence cute. He did have his way a lot more in the end, but he did seem a bit more browbeaten by the girl than the other two. Unfortunately, his romance wasn’t as well-developed and involved as the other two because the conflict between the mother and the sisters was more central to the plot and pacing. The last book did seem rather rushed, struggling to get everything into place and to tie up all loose ends. Maeve, the mother, was less unlikeable by the end, but I suppose it would be less realistic for her to have a complete personality change. She was probably one of the best constructed characters, but too much of her character depended on analysis by others.

All in all, I think I preferred the plot of the other trilogy set in Ireland, as that one was better written. Most of the characters in this one were good though, just that the plot needed a bit more than just angst about an absent and cheating father.