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Irish Born Trilogy #1
Born in Fire
Three modern sisters bound by the timeless beauty of Ireland...
The eldest Concannon sister, Maggie, is a reclusive, stubborn and free-spirited glassmaker—with a heart worth winning.
Margaret Mary is a glass artist with an independent streak as fierce as her volatile temper. Hand-blowing glass is a difficult and exacting art, and while she may produce the delicate and the fragile, Maggie is a strong and opinionated woman, a Clare woman, with all the turbulence of that fascinating west country.
One man, Dublin gallery owner Rogan Sweeney, has seen the soul in Maggie’s art, and vows to help her build a career. When he comes to Maggie’s studio, her heart is inflamed by their fierce attraction—and her scarred past is slowly healed by love...
The eldest Concannon sister, Maggie, is a reclusive, stubborn and free-spirited glassmaker—with a heart worth winning.
Margaret Mary is a glass artist with an independent streak as fierce as her volatile temper. Hand-blowing glass is a difficult and exacting art, and while she may produce the delicate and the fragile, Maggie is a strong and opinionated woman, a Clare woman, with all the turbulence of that fascinating west country.
One man, Dublin gallery owner Rogan Sweeney, has seen the soul in Maggie’s art, and vows to help her build a career. When he comes to Maggie’s studio, her heart is inflamed by their fierce attraction—and her scarred past is slowly healed by love...
385 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1994
About the author
Nora Roberts
1,800 books55.8k followersNora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
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December 9, 2020bleh bleh stereotypically "fiery" irish heroine sculptor and the art collector who wants to tame her. feels very 90s, was also published before i was born. no thanks.
March 16, 2021
I was craving a milkshake and nothing goes down smoother than a Nora Roberts romance. Good thing I can always count on the local library to quench my thirst.
Originally published in 1994,the Born in Trilogy tells the story of the Concannon sisters, Maggie and Brianna. Their father, Tom has died and their mother, Maeve increasingly difficult for the sisters to take care of on their own. Born In Fire is Maggie's story. Maggie is a glass blower and her items soon catch the eye of Dublin gallery owner, Rogan Sweeney. Maggie wants to be recognized for her work, but is terrified of the strong feelings she begins to have for Rogan.
Personally, I love the characterizations of Robert's characters and I find that her female protagonists are ones that a reader can relate and empathise with. Maggie wants so much to be an independent working woman, to see Brianna follow her own dreams, to do her father proud, and to handle her complicated relationship with her mother. But Rogan Sweeney manages to complicate matters and causes Maggie to step back and consider her life and the wall that she had built around herself.
Now Rogan is pushy and flaunts the alpha male role, which did cause some eye rolling on my part, but one thing that I will say is that Nora Roberts always gives her characters time to get serious. It might be lust in the beginning, but soon one of the characters, in this story, it is Rogan, that realizes he loves Maggie. I appreciated that the characters have time to talk about their feelings and work through their frustrations-like we would all hope mature adults would want to do.
But more than the romance is the relationship between Maggie and Brianna. In my opinion, this was definitely the backbone of the novel. Sisters who have their disagreements, but remain truly their for one another. It is also the reason that I immediately lunged for book 2.
Originally published in 1994,the Born in Trilogy tells the story of the Concannon sisters, Maggie and Brianna. Their father, Tom has died and their mother, Maeve increasingly difficult for the sisters to take care of on their own. Born In Fire is Maggie's story. Maggie is a glass blower and her items soon catch the eye of Dublin gallery owner, Rogan Sweeney. Maggie wants to be recognized for her work, but is terrified of the strong feelings she begins to have for Rogan.
Personally, I love the characterizations of Robert's characters and I find that her female protagonists are ones that a reader can relate and empathise with. Maggie wants so much to be an independent working woman, to see Brianna follow her own dreams, to do her father proud, and to handle her complicated relationship with her mother. But Rogan Sweeney manages to complicate matters and causes Maggie to step back and consider her life and the wall that she had built around herself.
Now Rogan is pushy and flaunts the alpha male role, which did cause some eye rolling on my part, but one thing that I will say is that Nora Roberts always gives her characters time to get serious. It might be lust in the beginning, but soon one of the characters, in this story, it is Rogan, that realizes he loves Maggie. I appreciated that the characters have time to talk about their feelings and work through their frustrations-like we would all hope mature adults would want to do.
But more than the romance is the relationship between Maggie and Brianna. In my opinion, this was definitely the backbone of the novel. Sisters who have their disagreements, but remain truly their for one another. It is also the reason that I immediately lunged for book 2.
July 20, 2022
4 Estrellitas. Pues me ha gustado bastante. No sabía qué esperar y además me ha sorprendido que se publicara hace casi treinta años, no ha pasado muy mal el tiempo sobre él.
Hace bastantes años que quería leer ésta trilogía de Nora Roberts y por fín encontré el momento. La autora lo ha situado en Irlanda, por lo que la ambientación ha sido sublime y especial.
"Nacida del fuego" es el primer libro de la trilogía de las hermanas Concannon, y Maggie es su protagonista. Maggie Concannon es solitaria y temperamental pero tremendamente leal. Maggie es una artista del vidrio y la noche que consigue vender sus primeras piezas ocurre una tragedia.
El suyo no fue un hogar feliz. Ni Maggie ni su hermana Brianna entendieron cómo sus padres no se divorciaron. En su casa sólo hubo broncas, reproches y ningún amor. Maggie siempre tiró más por su padre, y a su madre nunca la entendió, o su madre más bien, nunca quiso saber de ella, pues sólo sintió odio y desprecio por esa hija que le cambió su vida.
Pocos años después de fallecer su padre, Maggie tiene su propio taller, que le da lo suficiente para vivir, y Brianna ha abierto un pequeño hotel rural que marcha muy bien. Pero la vida de las Concannon cambiará cuando un guapo dublinés aparezca en escena.
Rogan Sweeney es un galerista, mecenas y empresario de arte. Lleva años dirigiendo la empresa familiar de galerías de arte. Últimamente, Rogan siente el impulso de publicitar a artistas locales, y cuando casualmente ve piezas de vidrio de una tal Maggie Concannon de Clare, está dispuesto a hacerle una oferta.
Pero Maggie no quiere saber nada de él. Maggie hace y crea lo que quiere, sin imposiciones, sin encargos y sin prisas, y no quiere vender su obra de cualquier manera.
Desde el principio, los caracteres de ambos chocan, pues no se parecen en nada, Rogan es entregado, dedicado, sosegado y paciente, mientras que Maggie es un desastre, desordenada, malhumorada, huraña. Nadie diría que de aquí puede salir una historia romántica, pero lo cierto es que la señora Roberts lo ha hecho y me ha sorprendido. Ambos son como el agua y el aceite pero se complementan cuando ceden.
La ambientación ha estado muy currada y me ha gustado que Nora Roberts salga de Norteamérica. Irlanda es maravillosa y el mundo del arte irlandés y de las galerías, encargadas de exponer las piezas y venderlas ha estado muy interesante. Esto aderezado con unos caracteres muy particulares de sus personajes y un romance que se ha cocido a fuego lento, ha sido suficiente para convencerme.
Me ha gustado mucho éste inicio de serie, y me ha dejado con ganas de continuarlo. Maggie es todo fuego, pero de Brianna aún no estiendo cómo puede ser la hermana de hielo cuando es tan agradable, entregada y apacible. Pero lo que más me sorprende es quién puede ser la protagonista del tercer libro, cuando aquí aún no se ha sabido nada, pero se puede imaginar el por qué el hogar de los Concannon fue infeliz. Mientras tanto, me armaré de paciencia hasta leer los siguientes libros.
Hace bastantes años que quería leer ésta trilogía de Nora Roberts y por fín encontré el momento. La autora lo ha situado en Irlanda, por lo que la ambientación ha sido sublime y especial.
"Nacida del fuego" es el primer libro de la trilogía de las hermanas Concannon, y Maggie es su protagonista. Maggie Concannon es solitaria y temperamental pero tremendamente leal. Maggie es una artista del vidrio y la noche que consigue vender sus primeras piezas ocurre una tragedia.
El suyo no fue un hogar feliz. Ni Maggie ni su hermana Brianna entendieron cómo sus padres no se divorciaron. En su casa sólo hubo broncas, reproches y ningún amor. Maggie siempre tiró más por su padre, y a su madre nunca la entendió, o su madre más bien, nunca quiso saber de ella, pues sólo sintió odio y desprecio por esa hija que le cambió su vida.
Pocos años después de fallecer su padre, Maggie tiene su propio taller, que le da lo suficiente para vivir, y Brianna ha abierto un pequeño hotel rural que marcha muy bien. Pero la vida de las Concannon cambiará cuando un guapo dublinés aparezca en escena.
Rogan Sweeney es un galerista, mecenas y empresario de arte. Lleva años dirigiendo la empresa familiar de galerías de arte. Últimamente, Rogan siente el impulso de publicitar a artistas locales, y cuando casualmente ve piezas de vidrio de una tal Maggie Concannon de Clare, está dispuesto a hacerle una oferta.
Pero Maggie no quiere saber nada de él. Maggie hace y crea lo que quiere, sin imposiciones, sin encargos y sin prisas, y no quiere vender su obra de cualquier manera.
Desde el principio, los caracteres de ambos chocan, pues no se parecen en nada, Rogan es entregado, dedicado, sosegado y paciente, mientras que Maggie es un desastre, desordenada, malhumorada, huraña. Nadie diría que de aquí puede salir una historia romántica, pero lo cierto es que la señora Roberts lo ha hecho y me ha sorprendido. Ambos son como el agua y el aceite pero se complementan cuando ceden.
La ambientación ha estado muy currada y me ha gustado que Nora Roberts salga de Norteamérica. Irlanda es maravillosa y el mundo del arte irlandés y de las galerías, encargadas de exponer las piezas y venderlas ha estado muy interesante. Esto aderezado con unos caracteres muy particulares de sus personajes y un romance que se ha cocido a fuego lento, ha sido suficiente para convencerme.
Me ha gustado mucho éste inicio de serie, y me ha dejado con ganas de continuarlo. Maggie es todo fuego, pero de Brianna aún no estiendo cómo puede ser la hermana de hielo cuando es tan agradable, entregada y apacible. Pero lo que más me sorprende es quién puede ser la protagonista del tercer libro, cuando aquí aún no se ha sabido nada, pero se puede imaginar el por qué el hogar de los Concannon fue infeliz. Mientras tanto, me armaré de paciencia hasta leer los siguientes libros.
October 16, 2012
This is my first novel by Nora Roberts, I will admit to avoiding her books thinking they were just fluff - Eating my words, which should make some of you very happy.
Born in Fire is the first in the Born In Trilogy about three sisters (haven't met the third yet) set in Ireland, woven with history and rich in character. Maggie is the oldest Concannon sister, she's bright, strong and very unique. Her life has been shadowed by her mothers anger and regret at being stuck having a daughter. Margaret Mary's father Tom is the shining light in her life, he's supported and encouraged Maggie her whole life. When Tom dies on a rainy Ireland night making Maggie promise to follow her dreams and make sure her sister, Brianna does the same. Maggie is then put on a path of truth opening her up to following those dreams and taking chances. Maggie's beautiful glass works catch the eye of Rogan Sweeney, a are curator who's looking to showcase Irish artists.
What first caught my eye during the first chapter was Miss Roberts ability to weave these beautifully descriptive words in such a different way. For example:
The story of Margaret Mary unfolds in such a natural way, she sort of jumps off the page as either a women you wish you could be, free and artsy or the women you already are. I found myself wishing I could be as free with my ideas of how relationships develop. Wanting him to call or wishing he would come by. For Maggie, she just lets life happen, doen't play games and welcomes the idea of what fate has to offer. She's riddled with the past mistakes of her mother and father. Almost to a painful point where she's gone so far the other way and warded off marriage because of what she witnessed as a child.
Reading the interactions between Margaret Mae and Rogan were hilarious. Like fire and ice together they worked their way around each other to the point that they were the only people in the room who didn't know they were mad in love. Written to perfection, dripping in words not normally used to convey love and affection. When Rogan and Maggie come together, it's not a slow burn it's a raging fire.
So with one Nora Roberts book under my belt, it's only fitting to go back for seconds.
"You'll be mine, and glad of it."
"I'll be yours." She lifted her face to the wind. "And glad of it."
Born in Fire is the first in the Born In Trilogy about three sisters (haven't met the third yet) set in Ireland, woven with history and rich in character. Maggie is the oldest Concannon sister, she's bright, strong and very unique. Her life has been shadowed by her mothers anger and regret at being stuck having a daughter. Margaret Mary's father Tom is the shining light in her life, he's supported and encouraged Maggie her whole life. When Tom dies on a rainy Ireland night making Maggie promise to follow her dreams and make sure her sister, Brianna does the same. Maggie is then put on a path of truth opening her up to following those dreams and taking chances. Maggie's beautiful glass works catch the eye of Rogan Sweeney, a are curator who's looking to showcase Irish artists.
What first caught my eye during the first chapter was Miss Roberts ability to weave these beautifully descriptive words in such a different way. For example:
An unpredictable man he might be, full of starts and stops and quick turns, but she knew him. Of all the men she had known, she had loved no one with the full thrust of her heart as she loved Tom Concannon.
The story of Margaret Mary unfolds in such a natural way, she sort of jumps off the page as either a women you wish you could be, free and artsy or the women you already are. I found myself wishing I could be as free with my ideas of how relationships develop. Wanting him to call or wishing he would come by. For Maggie, she just lets life happen, doen't play games and welcomes the idea of what fate has to offer. She's riddled with the past mistakes of her mother and father. Almost to a painful point where she's gone so far the other way and warded off marriage because of what she witnessed as a child.
Reading the interactions between Margaret Mae and Rogan were hilarious. Like fire and ice together they worked their way around each other to the point that they were the only people in the room who didn't know they were mad in love. Written to perfection, dripping in words not normally used to convey love and affection. When Rogan and Maggie come together, it's not a slow burn it's a raging fire.
Elegant, he was. And beautiful, she thought, in a way so uniquely male, and as wonderfully competent and precise as the handy little machine he used to run his figures. Not a man to run across sunny fields or lie dreaming under the moon. But he was more than she'd first imagined him to be, much more, she now understood.
So with one Nora Roberts book under my belt, it's only fitting to go back for seconds.
September 26, 2024
✰ 2.5 stars ✰
“We’re tossed by the winds of fate, Maggie Mae. Once we end where they blow us, we make of ourselves what we will.”
When I was fourteen, I stumbled upon the only two Nora Roberts novels our high school library had in its collection, because I seriously doubt that aside from the teachers, the school wanted their young readers to be reading Nora Roberts. 🫣 But, as it was the dawn of my own awakening of more explicit content at this time - that is a story for another day - I read both of these books. One was a novella (I didn't know it was called that, then) and the other was Part 2 of her Born in Trilogy series, Born in Ice. It was a light blue paperback that housed such a wonderful story that had me smitten on sight - ah, my young teenage impressionable heart - and intrigued to uncover the start and discover the conclusion of the Irish sisters. 😊
Many a moon later, embittered by time and emboldened by a vaster reading library, it pains me how I am not so easily smitten as I was before. Call it cynicism or a more seasoned experienced eye, or just more questionable over the writing style and content that makes me a harsher critic. Plus, to weigh in the fact that it was written in the early 90s, I should not be so quick to dismiss it. 😔
Twenty-eight-year-old Irish Margaret Mary Concannon is a talented glass artist, a hermit and eccentric, a girl Born in Fire, 'you were, like one of your finest and boldest statues.' Since she was very young, her mother has never shied away in showing just how much she has scorned her existence since the day she was born, cursing her and her sister for her doomed life, as well as a marriage that failed in all financial substance, thus heralding both daughters to have a rather strained if not difficult relationship with their mother, which only worsened when their devoted and caring father passed away five years prior before the story begins. Upon his unfortunate death, Maggie vows that she will make a name for herself, never be beholden to anyone, and amass all the wealth and fame and riches, she failed to grasp in her life, due to family obligation or duty, ensuring that much like the stunning beautiful glass work that she forges in fire, she will refuse to allow herself or her work to bow down to the whims of anyone - man, woman, or child. 🙂↔️
That is, until, her exceptional sculptures and exquisite technique captures the eye of the dashing and debonair, thirty-three-year-old Rogan, the owner of Worldwide Galleries, one of Dublin's top-selling art galleries, and who is determined, if not obsessed, to stake a claim in the marketing and sales of her stunning pieces, only to discover upon getting to know her that he wants to have a part of her heart, as well. Raised to succeed and to win, he'll stop at nothing to prove to her that not only is her work the visionary first step in bringing change to his business, but that he was the perfect man to give her the changes that she, herself, so desperately sought to have in her life, but did not quite know how to get there. 😞
“She needed nothing more than what she had. Wanted more, perhaps, but she knew that...some ambitions, when realized, carried a heavy price.”
Setting aside the dynamic of their relationship, there is another prevalent story that is concurrently running that definitely deserves a mention. For this is as much a romance as it is a story about family and the mistakes and decisions one makes - in the right or questionable conscience that evidently plays a pivotal role in shaping our personalities, as well. 😥 'I want exactly what he says I can have, and want it so it hurts my heart.' And the spite that exists within Maggie's mother for her and her sister, Brie is one of the nurtured reasons as to why Maggie is so driven not to be swayed by the temptation of riches; despite how she desires the luxuries of wealth for how she has deprived of it her entire life is the core reason for her driving aim to succeed on her own accord and not to be tempted by Rogan's promises of fame and money, despite how she is so drawn to him, as well. ❤️🩹❤️🩹
It's a battle of the wills and attraction on both sides that made their chemistry so very intense and so very driven to prove each other's singular worth and growth. Rogan, the third generation of prosperity, who has been fed the silver spoon his entire life, will never quite know the feelings and dealings of Maggie, who's had to work and scrape for her raw talent to speak for itself. It's a grounding if not heartbreaking revelation to realize that even when she resented the riches, it was something she so desperately craved too.
So, if I was to commend Nora Roberts on certain points, it would be on how she captured Maggie's resilience and head-strong will in pursuit of her own success. And like Rogan's own pursuits for his career, the story was a quaint blend of 'family and pride of heritage, the love of art, the love of business' all in the pursuit of discovering oneself. Even when she admitted to her wants, she never forgot that she earned them rightfully so. 🫂🫂 I liked how kind and gracious she was to Brie and the importance of family; the love for her father and the love she had for her community - the Irish in her that loved the air of the countryside and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of being content in one's own capabilities. While the romance was developing, so, too was her understanding of why her mother scorned her so, and how she proved to rise above that hatred and show how important family loyalty is to her. It was both admirable and honorable of how her quiet defiance showed that she was a good person, at heart, always. 🥲
“A tear comes from the heart,’ Rogan said. ‘And neither should be handled carelessly. I won’t break yours, Maggie, nor you mine.”
Rogan may come off as uncaring and cold and even abrasive in his treatment of Maggie at how she got on his nerves with her temperaments, as well as his fierce desire to have her all for himself, but there was still moments where his soft and caring side came out that I could see the appeal. Hey, I've got eyes! And a heart, too, which very much warmed up to the way in which he listened to Maggie and how his heart swelled upon the sight of her - wanting to please her in any way possible. ‘Have I given you so little romance, Maggie?’ 🥺 Understood where her deep rooted fear, if not hatred of his way of life came from, as well as her deep love for her craft and how she protected it like it was a part of her. And it was. So to see how she fought to keep it safe was understandable.
He thawed that part of her, by showing that she could be rich in happiness, too. That money does, indeed, buy happiness not always, but for her, it had its price and merits, but that she was allowed the luxury of love. That she did not have to fester in her quiet reluctance of admitting that her talents were worth their dues. ‘My personal and professional lives are always fusing. And I indulge both when the whim strikes.’ And I enjoyed their repartee - their challenges - their intense banter and their scathing, if not lovable retorts that showed just how compatible they were - no matter how different their lifestyles and views were. They grounded each other in ways they least expected or thought and to see Maggie soften parts of her heart to him and share in her vulnerability and honesty was nicely done. 🥰💞
“Tonight it would be different.
Tonight he would take her through a labyrinth of dreams before the flames.”
The spice - ah, well, the spice was spicy, but I think at fourteen, I was definitely much more innocent than I am now! So, it wasn't as steamy as I remembered her writing to be - very sensual, not too graphic as I recall, just sorta enough to toe the boundaries of ooh and aah... ♥️♥️
Think of that what you will. 😅
What set me off were a couple of things; I did not understand why we needed a secondary romance subplot in the story, along with two other character perspectives. It made no sense and quite frankly bored me, if not annoyed me. If it was simply an example that money doesn't buy love or happiness, then sure, I'll bite. But, Rogan and Maggie's love should have been enough, no? 😮💨
While my heart did somewhat sympathize for Maggie's mother, I also feel that this is an example of mental health struggles that were never quite properly addressed. And how she spent a lifetime of blame and spite of ill treatment towards her daughters seems rather unjust and unfair that it takes only a small crack to show that there is hope for change. 😒
“Is it your art you’re talking about, Maggie, or is it your heart?’
‘I don’t have one without the other. So it seems I’ve given him a piece of both.”
I was very much enjoying the push and pull of their chemistry, right until the point when Rogan threw down the gauntlet with the ultimatum that it's marriage or nothing for their love story to continue, and I was just like woah. 🙅🏻♀️ Maybe, once upon a time it was meant to be romantic, but yeah, it was too macho bravado of demanding and expecting an answer that just rubbed me the wrong way. Even if I forgive it for it being very fitting of the 90s era, I just could not stomach it, especially with how the story then centers on Maggie literally having to cave to his whims in order for them to be happy. To change and submit, sort of like breaking a part of her spirit to his whims... which in essence, does kind of defeat the purpose of her character, but alas. 😒
The latter third of the book where it seemed to lose its steam and way, as it progressed to a sort of lazy drawl of a read, where it was just waiting for Maggie to finally give way to Rogan's ultimatum. 🥱 It felt very wearisome to continue, as if the author was searching for a way to make the story longer than necessary. 😩
I know they feel like moot points and very much of their time, but it was still enough to warrant a very lukewarm ending to wrap up my very much hopeful expectations. I expected more of the zing to course through me over the romance and the family drama - to really feel Maggie's change of heart to be an affirmative and convincing one. 😕 I didn't feel that. It doesn't change the fact that I am curious to see what my fourteen-year-old self found so enjoyable about book 2 of this series; but I will go in with slight wariness knowing that perhaps, after twenty years, some of my tastes have changed rather extensively since my teen years. 🙂↕️
“We’re tossed by the winds of fate, Maggie Mae. Once we end where they blow us, we make of ourselves what we will.”
When I was fourteen, I stumbled upon the only two Nora Roberts novels our high school library had in its collection, because I seriously doubt that aside from the teachers, the school wanted their young readers to be reading Nora Roberts. 🫣 But, as it was the dawn of my own awakening of more explicit content at this time - that is a story for another day - I read both of these books. One was a novella (I didn't know it was called that, then) and the other was Part 2 of her Born in Trilogy series, Born in Ice. It was a light blue paperback that housed such a wonderful story that had me smitten on sight - ah, my young teenage impressionable heart - and intrigued to uncover the start and discover the conclusion of the Irish sisters. 😊
Many a moon later, embittered by time and emboldened by a vaster reading library, it pains me how I am not so easily smitten as I was before. Call it cynicism or a more seasoned experienced eye, or just more questionable over the writing style and content that makes me a harsher critic. Plus, to weigh in the fact that it was written in the early 90s, I should not be so quick to dismiss it. 😔
Twenty-eight-year-old Irish Margaret Mary Concannon is a talented glass artist, a hermit and eccentric, a girl Born in Fire, 'you were, like one of your finest and boldest statues.' Since she was very young, her mother has never shied away in showing just how much she has scorned her existence since the day she was born, cursing her and her sister for her doomed life, as well as a marriage that failed in all financial substance, thus heralding both daughters to have a rather strained if not difficult relationship with their mother, which only worsened when their devoted and caring father passed away five years prior before the story begins. Upon his unfortunate death, Maggie vows that she will make a name for herself, never be beholden to anyone, and amass all the wealth and fame and riches, she failed to grasp in her life, due to family obligation or duty, ensuring that much like the stunning beautiful glass work that she forges in fire, she will refuse to allow herself or her work to bow down to the whims of anyone - man, woman, or child. 🙂↔️
That is, until, her exceptional sculptures and exquisite technique captures the eye of the dashing and debonair, thirty-three-year-old Rogan, the owner of Worldwide Galleries, one of Dublin's top-selling art galleries, and who is determined, if not obsessed, to stake a claim in the marketing and sales of her stunning pieces, only to discover upon getting to know her that he wants to have a part of her heart, as well. Raised to succeed and to win, he'll stop at nothing to prove to her that not only is her work the visionary first step in bringing change to his business, but that he was the perfect man to give her the changes that she, herself, so desperately sought to have in her life, but did not quite know how to get there. 😞
“She needed nothing more than what she had. Wanted more, perhaps, but she knew that...some ambitions, when realized, carried a heavy price.”
Setting aside the dynamic of their relationship, there is another prevalent story that is concurrently running that definitely deserves a mention. For this is as much a romance as it is a story about family and the mistakes and decisions one makes - in the right or questionable conscience that evidently plays a pivotal role in shaping our personalities, as well. 😥 'I want exactly what he says I can have, and want it so it hurts my heart.' And the spite that exists within Maggie's mother for her and her sister, Brie is one of the nurtured reasons as to why Maggie is so driven not to be swayed by the temptation of riches; despite how she desires the luxuries of wealth for how she has deprived of it her entire life is the core reason for her driving aim to succeed on her own accord and not to be tempted by Rogan's promises of fame and money, despite how she is so drawn to him, as well. ❤️🩹❤️🩹
It's a battle of the wills and attraction on both sides that made their chemistry so very intense and so very driven to prove each other's singular worth and growth. Rogan, the third generation of prosperity, who has been fed the silver spoon his entire life, will never quite know the feelings and dealings of Maggie, who's had to work and scrape for her raw talent to speak for itself. It's a grounding if not heartbreaking revelation to realize that even when she resented the riches, it was something she so desperately craved too.
So, if I was to commend Nora Roberts on certain points, it would be on how she captured Maggie's resilience and head-strong will in pursuit of her own success. And like Rogan's own pursuits for his career, the story was a quaint blend of 'family and pride of heritage, the love of art, the love of business' all in the pursuit of discovering oneself. Even when she admitted to her wants, she never forgot that she earned them rightfully so. 🫂🫂 I liked how kind and gracious she was to Brie and the importance of family; the love for her father and the love she had for her community - the Irish in her that loved the air of the countryside and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of being content in one's own capabilities. While the romance was developing, so, too was her understanding of why her mother scorned her so, and how she proved to rise above that hatred and show how important family loyalty is to her. It was both admirable and honorable of how her quiet defiance showed that she was a good person, at heart, always. 🥲
“A tear comes from the heart,’ Rogan said. ‘And neither should be handled carelessly. I won’t break yours, Maggie, nor you mine.”
Rogan may come off as uncaring and cold and even abrasive in his treatment of Maggie at how she got on his nerves with her temperaments, as well as his fierce desire to have her all for himself, but there was still moments where his soft and caring side came out that I could see the appeal. Hey, I've got eyes! And a heart, too, which very much warmed up to the way in which he listened to Maggie and how his heart swelled upon the sight of her - wanting to please her in any way possible. ‘Have I given you so little romance, Maggie?’ 🥺 Understood where her deep rooted fear, if not hatred of his way of life came from, as well as her deep love for her craft and how she protected it like it was a part of her. And it was. So to see how she fought to keep it safe was understandable.
He thawed that part of her, by showing that she could be rich in happiness, too. That money does, indeed, buy happiness not always, but for her, it had its price and merits, but that she was allowed the luxury of love. That she did not have to fester in her quiet reluctance of admitting that her talents were worth their dues. ‘My personal and professional lives are always fusing. And I indulge both when the whim strikes.’ And I enjoyed their repartee - their challenges - their intense banter and their scathing, if not lovable retorts that showed just how compatible they were - no matter how different their lifestyles and views were. They grounded each other in ways they least expected or thought and to see Maggie soften parts of her heart to him and share in her vulnerability and honesty was nicely done. 🥰💞
“Tonight it would be different.
Tonight he would take her through a labyrinth of dreams before the flames.”
The spice - ah, well, the spice was spicy, but I think at fourteen, I was definitely much more innocent than I am now! So, it wasn't as steamy as I remembered her writing to be - very sensual, not too graphic as I recall, just sorta enough to toe the boundaries of ooh and aah... ♥️♥️
Think of that what you will. 😅
What set me off were a couple of things; I did not understand why we needed a secondary romance subplot in the story, along with two other character perspectives. It made no sense and quite frankly bored me, if not annoyed me. If it was simply an example that money doesn't buy love or happiness, then sure, I'll bite. But, Rogan and Maggie's love should have been enough, no? 😮💨
While my heart did somewhat sympathize for Maggie's mother, I also feel that this is an example of mental health struggles that were never quite properly addressed. And how she spent a lifetime of blame and spite of ill treatment towards her daughters seems rather unjust and unfair that it takes only a small crack to show that there is hope for change. 😒
“Is it your art you’re talking about, Maggie, or is it your heart?’
‘I don’t have one without the other. So it seems I’ve given him a piece of both.”
I was very much enjoying the push and pull of their chemistry, right until the point when Rogan threw down the gauntlet with the ultimatum that it's marriage or nothing for their love story to continue, and I was just like woah. 🙅🏻♀️ Maybe, once upon a time it was meant to be romantic, but yeah, it was too macho bravado of demanding and expecting an answer that just rubbed me the wrong way. Even if I forgive it for it being very fitting of the 90s era, I just could not stomach it, especially with how the story then centers on Maggie literally having to cave to his whims in order for them to be happy. To change and submit, sort of like breaking a part of her spirit to his whims... which in essence, does kind of defeat the purpose of her character, but alas. 😒
The latter third of the book where it seemed to lose its steam and way, as it progressed to a sort of lazy drawl of a read, where it was just waiting for Maggie to finally give way to Rogan's ultimatum. 🥱 It felt very wearisome to continue, as if the author was searching for a way to make the story longer than necessary. 😩
I know they feel like moot points and very much of their time, but it was still enough to warrant a very lukewarm ending to wrap up my very much hopeful expectations. I expected more of the zing to course through me over the romance and the family drama - to really feel Maggie's change of heart to be an affirmative and convincing one. 😕 I didn't feel that. It doesn't change the fact that I am curious to see what my fourteen-year-old self found so enjoyable about book 2 of this series; but I will go in with slight wariness knowing that perhaps, after twenty years, some of my tastes have changed rather extensively since my teen years. 🙂↕️
March 20, 2018
Ireland...
...and romance...
...just perfect!
This is a reread and the following review is older but I am not going to change it because I loved it again!
It was a great read that I enjoyed very much! The story is set in Ireland and I couldn’t be more happy because it’s definitely a country I love to read about!
Maggie is a young but lonely woman. She lost her beloved dad five years ago and her relationship with her mother is far from good. Actually, because of her mother she prefers loneliness and she doesn’t want to marry. She really doesn’t trust anyone, expect her sister Brianna who is very kind. Maggie is an artist and when in her life comes Rogan the owner of an international art gallery, many things will change in her life either she want it or not.
I liked Maggie a lot. Many will say that she is too lonely, too stubborn and too rude. I will say that she is haunted and wild. She misses her dad and she mourns silently for the mother who doesn’t love her. I believe that she finds it unfair that her dear dad is dead and that snake of a mother is alive, criticizing her daughters for everything. The truth is that she craves to love and be loved in return. Her art is an act of love and that’s why everything she makes is beautiful.
Rogan is the opposite. He had the love of his parents but he lost them too soon. He’s sophisticated, smart and a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. He was in love with Maggie before even realizing it because in her, he could see an honest person. He knows that when a woman like Maggie gives her love, this love will last forever.
It was a very good read! I absolutely adored every single page! I totally recommend it to all the fans of this genre!
...and romance...
...just perfect!
This is a reread and the following review is older but I am not going to change it because I loved it again!
It was a great read that I enjoyed very much! The story is set in Ireland and I couldn’t be more happy because it’s definitely a country I love to read about!
Maggie is a young but lonely woman. She lost her beloved dad five years ago and her relationship with her mother is far from good. Actually, because of her mother she prefers loneliness and she doesn’t want to marry. She really doesn’t trust anyone, expect her sister Brianna who is very kind. Maggie is an artist and when in her life comes Rogan the owner of an international art gallery, many things will change in her life either she want it or not.
I liked Maggie a lot. Many will say that she is too lonely, too stubborn and too rude. I will say that she is haunted and wild. She misses her dad and she mourns silently for the mother who doesn’t love her. I believe that she finds it unfair that her dear dad is dead and that snake of a mother is alive, criticizing her daughters for everything. The truth is that she craves to love and be loved in return. Her art is an act of love and that’s why everything she makes is beautiful.
Rogan is the opposite. He had the love of his parents but he lost them too soon. He’s sophisticated, smart and a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. He was in love with Maggie before even realizing it because in her, he could see an honest person. He knows that when a woman like Maggie gives her love, this love will last forever.
It was a very good read! I absolutely adored every single page! I totally recommend it to all the fans of this genre!
April 12, 2017
Ha sido una de las relecturas más especiales que he hecho. Lo leí hace ya años, y aunque recordaba lo básico, todos los detalles de la historia de Maggie y Rogan se habían perdido con el tiempo. Y no solo ha sido especial reencontrarme con ellos, sino que lo he hecho en inglés (el primero libro que leo de Nora en inglés, debo añadir) y vaya cambio (¡a mejor!). Casi parecía que podía escuchar el acento irlandés de los personajes al leer los diálogos. Sin duda, uno de mis libros románticos favoritos. Siempre volveré a las Concannon.
April 15, 2019
Yes, I am a fan of Nora Roberts, but it’s been a little while since I picked up one of her books. Born in Fire is the first book in the Born in Trilogy series and this book was a pretty good start to the series.
A story of family, love and relationships which I enjoyed and I’m sure so will anyone who enjoys reading Nora Roberts books. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Well worth the read. Recommended.
A story of family, love and relationships which I enjoyed and I’m sure so will anyone who enjoys reading Nora Roberts books. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Well worth the read. Recommended.
April 14, 2017
Book one of "Born in" Trilogy and our OSRBC book of the month was an engaging.. but oh SO WONDERFUL ride.
The explosive story of Maggie and Rogan is the tale of when scorching fire meets calm water, chaos meets order.
We are introduced to the glass blower Maggie in a heart wrenching introduction to the character, and a parents' death that is expected yet agonizing.
5 years later, she runs her life with an independent streak, surviving with her sister Brianna who owns a B&B; laden with bitter and unhappy mother.
Enter the art connoisseur and agent Rogan, who wants to take her precious art and expose it to the world. Always having lived in poverty, and having seen a dreamer father die unsatisfied- she takes the chance to improve their life and find a new path for herself.
The chemistry between Rogan and Maggie is searing; existing from the moment they met but slowly simmering into this volcano that erupts when they finally consummate their relationship. Beautiful love blooms.. and the contrast between their characters was a delight to read.
I really really loved the portrayal of Maggie- this unconventional,self reliant, temperamental, impulsive and disorganized artist who is always striving for more- and finds home as well as in this efficient, suave, polite Rogan. Her interactions with the mother contribute to being one of the most interesting parts of the story- and you can't help root for her.
I felt so much for Brianna- and cannot wait to read about her. Also
That being said, I haven't despised a character for so long as much as I do the mother. I hope.. *mutters vile curses*
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it truly deserves all accolades it has gotten.
Safe
4.75/5
The explosive story of Maggie and Rogan is the tale of when scorching fire meets calm water, chaos meets order.
We are introduced to the glass blower Maggie in a heart wrenching introduction to the character, and a parents' death that is expected yet agonizing.
5 years later, she runs her life with an independent streak, surviving with her sister Brianna who owns a B&B; laden with bitter and unhappy mother.
Enter the art connoisseur and agent Rogan, who wants to take her precious art and expose it to the world. Always having lived in poverty, and having seen a dreamer father die unsatisfied- she takes the chance to improve their life and find a new path for herself.
The chemistry between Rogan and Maggie is searing; existing from the moment they met but slowly simmering into this volcano that erupts when they finally consummate their relationship. Beautiful love blooms.. and the contrast between their characters was a delight to read.
I really really loved the portrayal of Maggie- this unconventional,self reliant, temperamental, impulsive and disorganized artist who is always striving for more- and finds home as well as in this efficient, suave, polite Rogan. Her interactions with the mother contribute to being one of the most interesting parts of the story- and you can't help root for her.
I felt so much for Brianna- and cannot wait to read about her. Also
That being said, I haven't despised a character for so long as much as I do the mother. I hope.. *mutters vile curses*
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it truly deserves all accolades it has gotten.
Safe
4.75/5
January 21, 2022
Reclusive Mary Margaret Concannon is a gifted artist and glass blowing is her medium. Maggie's work has caught the eye of gallery owner Rogan Sweeney who travels to County Clare to offer her a deal. Rogan wants to feature Maggie's art at his World Wide Galleries. If she will give him exclusive rights to her work, he will make her rich. Money has never been at the top of Maggie's wish list, but it would certainly help her and her sister pay her family's debts, and allow them to move their mother, a bitter and demanding woman, into her own home and away from theirs.
This is the first book in the Concannon Sisters trilogy. Maggie is an interesting character who is very upfront with her feelings and tells it like it is. She can be very defensive about her art and her life, which sometimes grated on me. Occasionally I just wanted her to calm down and step back. Rogan is wonderful. He knows what he wants and will work to get it. They strike sparks off each other which leads to a highly appealing relationship.
Re-read 2022: It's been several years since I read this series. I thought I'd listen to the audible version this time around. I still find the heroine a bit irritating and I still love the hero. Fiacre Douglas did the narration. I loved his accent. I could listen to him all day. My rating: 4 Stars.
This is the first book in the Concannon Sisters trilogy. Maggie is an interesting character who is very upfront with her feelings and tells it like it is. She can be very defensive about her art and her life, which sometimes grated on me. Occasionally I just wanted her to calm down and step back. Rogan is wonderful. He knows what he wants and will work to get it. They strike sparks off each other which leads to a highly appealing relationship.
Re-read 2022: It's been several years since I read this series. I thought I'd listen to the audible version this time around. I still find the heroine a bit irritating and I still love the hero. Fiacre Douglas did the narration. I loved his accent. I could listen to him all day. My rating: 4 Stars.
January 19, 2013
I decided to read books that have forever piqued my curiosity since I was kid: I would see these books line the shelves at the library, on and on. These authors still are bestsellers and incredibly productive. Thus, a little fun project that both entertained and surprised me. I selected these authors based on recollections of my hometown library back then, so it's not necessarily all-encompassing. Here is part two of four!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
---
It was a horrible, horrible version of Taming of the Shrew. I could barely get through it. Lost count of the number of similes and uses of personification, and obvious innuendos... oh yes, this was a romance alright, if you could call it one. I felt no sympathy for the characters despite their backstories--it seemed so blown out of proportion. And yes, this is the type of book where you read things like HIS LOINS WERE ON FIRE and HE RAVAGED HER. But in all of that, I did try to find something, anything, that sounded poetic even if cliched. Because I believe that even in books I personally find terrible, there's always a hidden gem that surprises you, like this one: "His heart bled a little for the woman. He knew from personal experience how miserable it was to love someone who thought of you as only a friend." Not super-eloquent, but that's something at least.
This book is the beginning of a trilogy, and no, I will not be reading anymore. I can't. All I can say is, my Nora Roberts curiosity has been painfully satisfied and now whenever I see someone with one of her books, I will know what they're reading. Hopefully the next book in my project will be better...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
---
It was a horrible, horrible version of Taming of the Shrew. I could barely get through it. Lost count of the number of similes and uses of personification, and obvious innuendos... oh yes, this was a romance alright, if you could call it one. I felt no sympathy for the characters despite their backstories--it seemed so blown out of proportion. And yes, this is the type of book where you read things like HIS LOINS WERE ON FIRE and HE RAVAGED HER. But in all of that, I did try to find something, anything, that sounded poetic even if cliched. Because I believe that even in books I personally find terrible, there's always a hidden gem that surprises you, like this one: "His heart bled a little for the woman. He knew from personal experience how miserable it was to love someone who thought of you as only a friend." Not super-eloquent, but that's something at least.
This book is the beginning of a trilogy, and no, I will not be reading anymore. I can't. All I can say is, my Nora Roberts curiosity has been painfully satisfied and now whenever I see someone with one of her books, I will know what they're reading. Hopefully the next book in my project will be better...
May 27, 2016
I read Born in Fire a few years ago, but suddenly wanted to read something beautiful and not very demanding. Often that is just what going back to a book that I already read and loved means to me. It is like a vacation, when I go to the beach and just lay on the sand or take a little swin. I don’t have to worry, I don’t have to agonize wondering whether I will like what is to come. Just revel in it. Of course, it has to be a well written book. As I share a love for Ireland with Nora Roberts, this book seemed to fit the bill.
I loved the setting, the art of blown glass but above all Maggie and Rogan. Tormented by the relationship with her mother, she's always supportive of her sister but above all an ambitious and highly talented artist; he's a gallery owner, deeply commited to art and very sure of himself. Both have strong personalities and know what they want. They are not without their conflicts, not perfect at all. Great, just like all of us. I also enjoyed Brianna and Murphy a lot.
Born in Fire is the first in the Born In Trilogy about three sisters, followed by Born in Ice and Born in Shame. I have read and enjoyed them all. They are strongly interconnected and you should read them in sequence, besides in the second and third installments the protagonists of the previous books are very present. It’s almost as if it was a long book with many characters and shifting leads.
This is a romance trilogy as opposed to many Nora Roberts novels whose plots are basically mystery and suspense mixed with romance, but one of her best of the genre in my opinion. I highly recommend Born in Fire and the whole trilogy!
I loved the setting, the art of blown glass but above all Maggie and Rogan. Tormented by the relationship with her mother, she's always supportive of her sister but above all an ambitious and highly talented artist; he's a gallery owner, deeply commited to art and very sure of himself. Both have strong personalities and know what they want. They are not without their conflicts, not perfect at all. Great, just like all of us. I also enjoyed Brianna and Murphy a lot.
Born in Fire is the first in the Born In Trilogy about three sisters, followed by Born in Ice and Born in Shame. I have read and enjoyed them all. They are strongly interconnected and you should read them in sequence, besides in the second and third installments the protagonists of the previous books are very present. It’s almost as if it was a long book with many characters and shifting leads.
This is a romance trilogy as opposed to many Nora Roberts novels whose plots are basically mystery and suspense mixed with romance, but one of her best of the genre in my opinion. I highly recommend Born in Fire and the whole trilogy!
July 6, 2012
Written in the mid-90s, this book is a big step up from Roberts' O'Hurley novels, despite nominal similarities (mainly in the pseudo-shiftless, Irish father).
Maggie Concannon isn't the kind of heroine that normally appeals to me. She's tempestuous and impulsive and argumentative and way too willing to inflict emotional pain on those nearest to her. Fortunately, she has a softer, humbler, more caring side to her that comes out when it matters most. This let me care enough to want to see her be happy.
Rogan Sweeney isn't the kind of hero that normally appeals to me, either. He's bossy and commanding and way too willing to manipulate others into doing what he thinks is best for them. Fortunately, he has a humbler, softer, more caring side to him that comes out when he can see that his more forthright methods would endanger the very things he wants to accomplish.
So I hadn't thought I'd end up caring much about this novel, even if I was never truly tempted to simply stop reading. By midway through, though, I'd seen enough of the complexity of the characters to be fully invested in wanting them to succeed and cheering for them as they overcame the adversity of Maggie's circumstances (and what a chilling portrayal of a mother gone completely off the rails in her duty to nurture and protect her children!).
A note about the narrator: It took me a while to get used to the narrator of this Brilliance Audio production. Fiacre Douglas' sentences tend to be delivered quickly and with a faint pause at the end of each. This makes it sound, at first, like he's running sprints and timing himself to see how fast he can get to the end. It doesn't help that much of the book is read in an Irish accent and, while I love the sound and flow of the words, I'm not very good at decoding even this mild accent at speed. After a bit, though, I caught the rhythm of his reading and it stopped bothering me.
A note about Steamy: While there's only a couple of explicit scenes, one of them was markedly hot. Not that it was that much longer than normal, or more explicit, or anything, but Maggie is an unashamedly passionate woman and that came out in spades.
Maggie Concannon isn't the kind of heroine that normally appeals to me. She's tempestuous and impulsive and argumentative and way too willing to inflict emotional pain on those nearest to her. Fortunately, she has a softer, humbler, more caring side to her that comes out when it matters most. This let me care enough to want to see her be happy.
Rogan Sweeney isn't the kind of hero that normally appeals to me, either. He's bossy and commanding and way too willing to manipulate others into doing what he thinks is best for them. Fortunately, he has a humbler, softer, more caring side to him that comes out when he can see that his more forthright methods would endanger the very things he wants to accomplish.
So I hadn't thought I'd end up caring much about this novel, even if I was never truly tempted to simply stop reading. By midway through, though, I'd seen enough of the complexity of the characters to be fully invested in wanting them to succeed and cheering for them as they overcame the adversity of Maggie's circumstances (and what a chilling portrayal of a mother gone completely off the rails in her duty to nurture and protect her children!).
A note about the narrator: It took me a while to get used to the narrator of this Brilliance Audio production. Fiacre Douglas' sentences tend to be delivered quickly and with a faint pause at the end of each. This makes it sound, at first, like he's running sprints and timing himself to see how fast he can get to the end. It doesn't help that much of the book is read in an Irish accent and, while I love the sound and flow of the words, I'm not very good at decoding even this mild accent at speed. After a bit, though, I caught the rhythm of his reading and it stopped bothering me.
A note about Steamy: While there's only a couple of explicit scenes, one of them was markedly hot. Not that it was that much longer than normal, or more explicit, or anything, but Maggie is an unashamedly passionate woman and that came out in spades.
October 9, 2012
THIS IS MY FAVOURITE NORA ROBERTS SERIES OF ALL TIME, set in Ireland, my favourite setting!!!!
Born in Fire is the first book in Nora Roberts Born In Trilogy about the lives of three Irish sisters and is the story of Margaret May Concannon, who becomes a famous glass sculptress. Her father, who she was very close to, sent her to Venice to study glassblowing, which her mother had resented. The heartbreak of her father’s death and the bitterness towards her by her mother, who blamed Maggie for ruining her life, Maggie, unable to trust anyone, except her sister Brianna, retreats into her own studio, making her glass sculptures when and how she wants.
Rogan Sweeny is a sophisticated, gorgeous is the owner of an international art gallery that supports Irish artists and when he first sees one of Maggie’s work, is determined to sign her up. Maggie is not prepared to comprise her art for fame and acclaim and is suspicious of Rogan’s real intent.
I absolutely loved Maggie. This is someone I can admire and like. She’s strong, beautiful, artistic, temperamental, loyal, outspoken and none of that little naïve virgin stuff. She might not trust Rogan but she sure knows that she wants him but in her terms and she will not apologize for what she believes in.
Rogan is one of those males that you just fall in love with. It was so romantic seeing him falling in love with Maggie and telling her that he will not give up until they are together. He’s alpha male all right but wow…..this is a man who feels deeply and forever.
The character development is so well done, they are so believable, compelling and real that you are totally absorbed in their lives and of course, you know that untimely these two very different people will find their happiness together.
This is such a great story which likeable characters that will remain with you for a long long time.
Born in Fire is the first book in Nora Roberts Born In Trilogy about the lives of three Irish sisters and is the story of Margaret May Concannon, who becomes a famous glass sculptress. Her father, who she was very close to, sent her to Venice to study glassblowing, which her mother had resented. The heartbreak of her father’s death and the bitterness towards her by her mother, who blamed Maggie for ruining her life, Maggie, unable to trust anyone, except her sister Brianna, retreats into her own studio, making her glass sculptures when and how she wants.
Rogan Sweeny is a sophisticated, gorgeous is the owner of an international art gallery that supports Irish artists and when he first sees one of Maggie’s work, is determined to sign her up. Maggie is not prepared to comprise her art for fame and acclaim and is suspicious of Rogan’s real intent.
I absolutely loved Maggie. This is someone I can admire and like. She’s strong, beautiful, artistic, temperamental, loyal, outspoken and none of that little naïve virgin stuff. She might not trust Rogan but she sure knows that she wants him but in her terms and she will not apologize for what she believes in.
Rogan is one of those males that you just fall in love with. It was so romantic seeing him falling in love with Maggie and telling her that he will not give up until they are together. He’s alpha male all right but wow…..this is a man who feels deeply and forever.
The character development is so well done, they are so believable, compelling and real that you are totally absorbed in their lives and of course, you know that untimely these two very different people will find their happiness together.
This is such a great story which likeable characters that will remain with you for a long long time.
Currently reading
April 20, 2017I don't usually read books that were published before I was born, but I feel like once I read one series of an author, I have to read all of the others as well.
October 30, 2021
A great book by Nora Roberts. Definitely going to read the next one in the serie.
February 7, 2016
3 1/2 ESTRELLAS
"Nacida del Fuego" es la primera entrega de una trilogía ambientada en Irlanda y una novela del estilo más romántico y mágico de Nora Roberts. Es decir, no hay ningún misterio ni ninguna tragedia exagerada (ni asesinato, ni secuestro, ni mentiras); es una historia "chica/chico que no creen en el amor se conocen, se enamoran, resisten esa atracción/amor y acaban juntos".
El argumento, aunque no tiene complicaciones ni sorpresas, es sólido y Nora Roberts retrata los sentimientos de Maggie y Rogan tan bien como solo sabe hacerlo ella, y las descripciones de Irlanda son preciosas y se nota que es un país cuya magia tiene fascinada a la autora.
El único problema que he tenido yo con esta novela, y el motivo por el que no la he puntuado más alto, es el personaje de Maggie, aunque Nora Roberts se esfuerza por explicarnos porque es así, a mí no me ha convencido y me hubiera gustado que al final evolucionase más y que estuviese a la altura de Rogan. Él es un héroe fantástico, romántico y complejo y creo que se merecía una protagonista femenina mejor con unos sentimientos más profundos. Quizá en los próximos libros de la serie vuelva a aparecer la pareja y cambie de opinión sobre Maggie.
Seguiré con "Nacida del hielo" porque la hermana de Maggie, Brianna, me ha parecido un personaje muy interesante y creo que su historia de amor puede ser más profunda que esta.
"Nacida del fuego" es buena novela romántica contemporánea, muy bien escrita, con un protagonista masculino perfecto (de esos que ofrecen amor incondicional) y con una protagonista femenina que a mí me ha parecido un poco fría.
"Nacida del Fuego" es la primera entrega de una trilogía ambientada en Irlanda y una novela del estilo más romántico y mágico de Nora Roberts. Es decir, no hay ningún misterio ni ninguna tragedia exagerada (ni asesinato, ni secuestro, ni mentiras); es una historia "chica/chico que no creen en el amor se conocen, se enamoran, resisten esa atracción/amor y acaban juntos".
El argumento, aunque no tiene complicaciones ni sorpresas, es sólido y Nora Roberts retrata los sentimientos de Maggie y Rogan tan bien como solo sabe hacerlo ella, y las descripciones de Irlanda son preciosas y se nota que es un país cuya magia tiene fascinada a la autora.
El único problema que he tenido yo con esta novela, y el motivo por el que no la he puntuado más alto, es el personaje de Maggie, aunque Nora Roberts se esfuerza por explicarnos porque es así, a mí no me ha convencido y me hubiera gustado que al final evolucionase más y que estuviese a la altura de Rogan. Él es un héroe fantástico, romántico y complejo y creo que se merecía una protagonista femenina mejor con unos sentimientos más profundos. Quizá en los próximos libros de la serie vuelva a aparecer la pareja y cambie de opinión sobre Maggie.
Seguiré con "Nacida del hielo" porque la hermana de Maggie, Brianna, me ha parecido un personaje muy interesante y creo que su historia de amor puede ser más profunda que esta.
"Nacida del fuego" es buena novela romántica contemporánea, muy bien escrita, con un protagonista masculino perfecto (de esos que ofrecen amor incondicional) y con una protagonista femenina que a mí me ha parecido un poco fría.
August 10, 2021
La novela me ha ido perdiendo por momentos... empieza bien pero se va desinflando. No me ha gustado Maggie, no he empatizado nada con ella. Espero que los siguientes libros sean mejores
October 30, 2021
So cute! Makes me want to head to Ireland! Jen, do I want to continue this series or if I switched it up which of hers should I do next???
March 28, 2024
Reread.
Es ist schon sehr lange her, dass ich diese Trilogie gelesen habe und ich mochte sie damals sehr. Geblieben sind die wunderbaren Naturbeschreibungen und das gemütliche Landleben Irlands. Auch die Beziehung der beiden Schwestern miteinander und Maggies künstlerische Arbeit als Glasbläserin - einfach traumhaft schön..
Aber die Liebesbeziehung war der reinste Alptraum mit nur wenigen schönen Momenten!
Trotzdem bin ich jetzt auf den zweiten Band gespannt, in dem es um Maggies Schwester Brianna geht. Vielleicht passt es da besser..
Es ist schon sehr lange her, dass ich diese Trilogie gelesen habe und ich mochte sie damals sehr. Geblieben sind die wunderbaren Naturbeschreibungen und das gemütliche Landleben Irlands. Auch die Beziehung der beiden Schwestern miteinander und Maggies künstlerische Arbeit als Glasbläserin - einfach traumhaft schön..
Aber die Liebesbeziehung war der reinste Alptraum mit nur wenigen schönen Momenten!
Trotzdem bin ich jetzt auf den zweiten Band gespannt, in dem es um Maggies Schwester Brianna geht. Vielleicht passt es da besser..
February 4, 2019
I absolutely loved Maggie’s story - her family, her art! - and I liked Rogan a lot, too. And then they met each other, and the story became about their relationship, and all sorts of contrived conflict and implausible resolutions, and I just didn’t buy it. I don’t buy them together. They’re too different, and their lives are too defined, and I don’t see how this sort of resolution could possibly work. It’s splitting hairs in the most simplistic way. It feels drawn up, by the numbers, too deliberate: Maggie conveniently can’t create anything when she falls in love, until she acknowledges her feelings; Rogan always planned to open a gallery in a sleepy, out-of-the-way place.
All the really interesting storylines go undeveloped so that the relationship can take center stage: Maggie finding that she likes money, and what it can buy her! I’d love to read a story about an artist with that conflict! Rogan, and his loner self, and his few friends who aren’t fully honest with him - I’d love to read more about that, too! Instead we get awkward family relationships and hasty elopements shoehorned in, in addition to a relationship that hangs on implausibilities.
Oddly enough, this book has great worldbuilding - and then it chooses to tell a story about other things.
I reread Genuine Lies and Public Secrets and Tribute just before this, and I have the opposite reaction to those: I have some problems with the storylines, but the central relationships are so compelling that they elevate the entire story. That doesn’t happen here.
All the really interesting storylines go undeveloped so that the relationship can take center stage: Maggie finding that she likes money, and what it can buy her! I’d love to read a story about an artist with that conflict! Rogan, and his loner self, and his few friends who aren’t fully honest with him - I’d love to read more about that, too! Instead we get awkward family relationships and hasty elopements shoehorned in, in addition to a relationship that hangs on implausibilities.
Oddly enough, this book has great worldbuilding - and then it chooses to tell a story about other things.
I reread Genuine Lies and Public Secrets and Tribute just before this, and I have the opposite reaction to those: I have some problems with the storylines, but the central relationships are so compelling that they elevate the entire story. That doesn’t happen here.
May 17, 2021
It's funny. I found this trilogy the other day on my shelf. I have a ton of older Nora Roberts books that I re-read through the years. I never went back to this one though. I think that's because book #3 fell so flat with me. And then when I started reading the "In Death" series, the main character of this one, Maggie, reminded me so much of Eve I just never had the urge to read this book again. Frankly, Maggie is an earlier prototype of Eve and the man that Maggie falls for, Rogan is Roarke 1.0. My re-read was hilarious for me. A few times I just went so Eve and Roarke are fighting, I mean Maggie and Rogan are fighting and sound just like Eve and Roarke. Frankly, if you want to imagine what Eve and Roarke's marriage with children will look like one day, just read book #3, "Born in Shame."
Not too much to say besides this was a solid romance. I think that Roberts and the whole mystery that swirled around this one with Maggie's father and his affair with someone should have been dropped. I just didn't have any sympathy for him or for Maggie's mother who was hard and terrible.
Not too much to say besides this was a solid romance. I think that Roberts and the whole mystery that swirled around this one with Maggie's father and his affair with someone should have been dropped. I just didn't have any sympathy for him or for Maggie's mother who was hard and terrible.
September 23, 2015
Another great book by Nora Roberts and can't wait to get my hands on the next book.
I love Maggie's stubborn character. She is a strong person but with a good heart even with a mother who's main purpose is to make her life a living hell but no matter what she is determined to keep her promise to her father to care for her mother and sister.
Maggie is a great glass artist who does her glass from the soul and never saw the real value of her work until Rogan Sweeney, a gallery owner, sees Maggie’s work and is determined to help her sell and show her worth but more becomes of their relationship.
I love Maggie's stubborn character. She is a strong person but with a good heart even with a mother who's main purpose is to make her life a living hell but no matter what she is determined to keep her promise to her father to care for her mother and sister.
Maggie is a great glass artist who does her glass from the soul and never saw the real value of her work until Rogan Sweeney, a gallery owner, sees Maggie’s work and is determined to help her sell and show her worth but more becomes of their relationship.
December 16, 2018
This had apparently escaped my "reread all the Nora Roberts" binge from a few years ago, and this is one of my very favorite of her series books. The relationship between Maggie and Rogan is so combative--in a good way--and the competency porn is off the charts in this one. The art scenes!!! It is enough to make me regret my complete lack of artistic ability.
Glad I spent some time with this series again. It's really good.
Glad I spent some time with this series again. It's really good.
November 1, 2016
Sweet, wonderful, older romance. The age does not show at all in this book. Maggie is a glass artist. I would call her a loner, but I don't think that is quite right. Her solitary world is turned upside down by Rogan, a very successful art dealer and businessman. He has seen Maggie's work and must showcase this artist. At first, Maggie wants nothing to do with him and his promise of fame and fortune. But these two are like the fire and ice that create the beautiful glass and they are destined to be together. Maggie has a lot to overcome, due to her parents, before she can truly and wholly love Rogan.
February 15, 2020
I was certain that I had read just about every single book that Nora Roberts had written. (Exception made for her current series regarding the apocalyptic tale of good and evil. Not my cup of tea.) And, then, this book popped up in my "BookGorilla" email. Goodness! Of course, I had to rectify that immediately. And, I am glad I did. Apparently, it is an old series ("Irish Born Series," circa 1994). In any event, I thoroughly enjoyed her descriptions of Ireland, learning about the art of hand blowing glass and, of course, the fiery romance of Maggie and Rogan. It was a treat. Onto the next book, "Born in Ice."
April 7, 2012
A nice 3.5 for this book. The ended just ended and it was really disappointing. I wanted more but that made me realize that I liked the book (because I wanted more). However, I think the setting was what kept me interested. The narrator on this audio book is outstanding so it made me feel like I was really in Ireland. Loved that part. So this might be a so-so book that was made better by the narrator. Regardless, it was pretty good. I'm rambling. Long day.
June 30, 2019
Margaret Mary Concannon (Maggie) is an intense, feisty and gifted glass artist of west County Clare, Ireland. She is the pride of her father, Tom, the dear older sister of docile peacekeeper Brianna, and the vexing reminder to her mother, Maeve, of all that was lost by bringing Maggie into this world. Oh, Maeve surely reminds Maggie, every chance she gets, to express her displeasure with Maggie, the reason for which Maggie was inured since the age of 12.
This strong sense of anger, passion, love for art and resignation feeds the intense emotions Maggie carries inside her whole being. Her mouth-blown art-glass is the visual manifestation of all that emotion as she throws herself into her work, often for continuous days at a time. She's ecstatic when nearby galleries invest in her art and eagerly receive more. That is until she is noticed by Rogan Sweeney, a highly regarded Dublin gallery owner, with satellite galleries in London, Paris, Rome, Venice and New York, who believes he knows what's best for a rising star artist. He demands exclusive rights to her art which quickly rubs Maggie the wrong way. Well, with this being a romance, you kind of know where this book's headed.
This first book in the Irish Born Trilogy was my introduction to the exquisite writing style of Nora Roberts. I was captivated by her descriptive scene setting and tremendous character development. Her glass-blowing descriptions are technically spot on. Ms. Roberts beautifully captured the charm of the Irish country folk of the western isle while revealing the hurried businesslike and well-heeled nature of the Dublin folk. Can they peacefully and truly inhabit their shared island home? Can a person of one world comfortably inhabit the other? The interpersonal tension among lovers, adult child with aging parent, and siblings was palpable and carried the book right through to the glorious end. I eagerly look forward to reading, "Born in Ice" and "Born in Shame" - the remaining two books in this fantastic romance trilogy.
I am grateful to Penguin Random House LLC for having provided through Goodreads First Reads a free copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.
This strong sense of anger, passion, love for art and resignation feeds the intense emotions Maggie carries inside her whole being. Her mouth-blown art-glass is the visual manifestation of all that emotion as she throws herself into her work, often for continuous days at a time. She's ecstatic when nearby galleries invest in her art and eagerly receive more. That is until she is noticed by Rogan Sweeney, a highly regarded Dublin gallery owner, with satellite galleries in London, Paris, Rome, Venice and New York, who believes he knows what's best for a rising star artist. He demands exclusive rights to her art which quickly rubs Maggie the wrong way. Well, with this being a romance, you kind of know where this book's headed.
This first book in the Irish Born Trilogy was my introduction to the exquisite writing style of Nora Roberts. I was captivated by her descriptive scene setting and tremendous character development. Her glass-blowing descriptions are technically spot on. Ms. Roberts beautifully captured the charm of the Irish country folk of the western isle while revealing the hurried businesslike and well-heeled nature of the Dublin folk. Can they peacefully and truly inhabit their shared island home? Can a person of one world comfortably inhabit the other? The interpersonal tension among lovers, adult child with aging parent, and siblings was palpable and carried the book right through to the glorious end. I eagerly look forward to reading, "Born in Ice" and "Born in Shame" - the remaining two books in this fantastic romance trilogy.
I am grateful to Penguin Random House LLC for having provided through Goodreads First Reads a free copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.
September 4, 2010
I loved reading about Maggie and her entertaining characteristics and temperament.
Maggie is an artist who creates glass sculptures. She lives in a small village in western Ireland. Rogan is a wealthy Gallery owner in Dublin. He wants to represent her work. He calls her repeatedly but she never answers her phone. He has to travel there just to be able to talk to her. After he signs her, he has to send telegraphs to her because she still doesn’t answer her phone. He views her as irresponsible, scatterbrained, canny, obstinate, brilliant, bad-tempered and beautiful. He’s her opposite, a business mind and manner with schedules and timetables. Maggie is constantly throwing insults at Rogan and others, but I find her insults funny. An example of her insulting style is below in Caution Spoiler. In the sequel “Born in Shame,” Shannon describes Maggie as suspicious by nature, hot-headed, frank to the point of rudeness, overly protective and fiercely loyal. Shannon describes Rogan as “cultured, smooth, organized, shrewd, sophisticated and sharp enough to run an organization that was respected around the world. And, she thought grimly, he had to have a sense of humor, and the patience of Job, to live with Maggie.”
I also enjoyed the subplots concerning Rogan’s friend Patricia and his grandmother Christine.
I’m not usually moved by descriptions of place, but in this book, I was, especially on page 116. Maggie has just finished an intense creative session for several days and is riding her bike to town for some food and a break. As the author describes the sights and scents around Maggie’s bike ride, I felt like I was experiencing a piece of art. She describes the sun, the hedges, the breeze, the scents of honeysuckle, hay and sweet mown grass, etc. Maybe, because I was so into Maggie’s artistic activities, I continued to feel the art surrounding her bike ride. Who knows what it was, but I felt a lovely, emotional fulfillment, with that bike ride.
“Born in Fire” is the first book in a 3 book series. It can be read alone. Books 2 and 3 are about Maggie’s sister Brianna and half-sister Shannon. Maggie has small parts in the subsequent books, but it’s not necessary to read them, although it was nice to see Maggie having a child in a later book. I gave 2 stars to "Born in Ice" and 3.5 stars to "Born in Shame."
CAUTION SPOILER:
I’m quoting a section of the book, to give readers a sense of Maggie’s insulting style. If readers enjoy it, then I think they will enjoy the book. On page 49: Rogan offers to manage and sell Maggie’s glass sculptures. He tells her he will take a percentage from all sales. She asks
“What percentage do you take?”
Hoping for a reaction, he kept his eyes level with hers. “Thirty-five percent.”
She made a strangled sound in her throat. “Thirty-five? Thirty-five? You thief. You robber.” She shoved back from the table and stood. “You’re a vulture, Rogan Sweeney. Thirty-five percent be damned and you with it.”
“I take all the risks, I have all the expenses.” He spread his hands, steepled them again. “You have merely to create.”
“Oh, as if all it takes is sitting on my a** and waiting for the inspiration to come fluttering down like raindrops. You know nothing, nothing about it.” She began to pace again, swirling the air with temper and energy. “I’ll remind you, you’d have nothing to sell without me. And it’s my work, my sweat and blood they’ll spend good money for. You’ll get fifteen percent.”
“I’ll get thirty.”
“Plague take you, Rogan, for a horse thief. Twenty.”
Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day village of Kilmihil, County Clare, west coast of Ireland, Dublin, Paris and the south of France. Copyright: 1994. Genre: contemporary romance.
For a listing of my reviews of other Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb books, see my 4 star review of "Angels Fall" posted on 6/30/08.
Maggie is an artist who creates glass sculptures. She lives in a small village in western Ireland. Rogan is a wealthy Gallery owner in Dublin. He wants to represent her work. He calls her repeatedly but she never answers her phone. He has to travel there just to be able to talk to her. After he signs her, he has to send telegraphs to her because she still doesn’t answer her phone. He views her as irresponsible, scatterbrained, canny, obstinate, brilliant, bad-tempered and beautiful. He’s her opposite, a business mind and manner with schedules and timetables. Maggie is constantly throwing insults at Rogan and others, but I find her insults funny. An example of her insulting style is below in Caution Spoiler. In the sequel “Born in Shame,” Shannon describes Maggie as suspicious by nature, hot-headed, frank to the point of rudeness, overly protective and fiercely loyal. Shannon describes Rogan as “cultured, smooth, organized, shrewd, sophisticated and sharp enough to run an organization that was respected around the world. And, she thought grimly, he had to have a sense of humor, and the patience of Job, to live with Maggie.”
I also enjoyed the subplots concerning Rogan’s friend Patricia and his grandmother Christine.
I’m not usually moved by descriptions of place, but in this book, I was, especially on page 116. Maggie has just finished an intense creative session for several days and is riding her bike to town for some food and a break. As the author describes the sights and scents around Maggie’s bike ride, I felt like I was experiencing a piece of art. She describes the sun, the hedges, the breeze, the scents of honeysuckle, hay and sweet mown grass, etc. Maybe, because I was so into Maggie’s artistic activities, I continued to feel the art surrounding her bike ride. Who knows what it was, but I felt a lovely, emotional fulfillment, with that bike ride.
“Born in Fire” is the first book in a 3 book series. It can be read alone. Books 2 and 3 are about Maggie’s sister Brianna and half-sister Shannon. Maggie has small parts in the subsequent books, but it’s not necessary to read them, although it was nice to see Maggie having a child in a later book. I gave 2 stars to "Born in Ice" and 3.5 stars to "Born in Shame."
CAUTION SPOILER:
I’m quoting a section of the book, to give readers a sense of Maggie’s insulting style. If readers enjoy it, then I think they will enjoy the book. On page 49: Rogan offers to manage and sell Maggie’s glass sculptures. He tells her he will take a percentage from all sales. She asks
“What percentage do you take?”
Hoping for a reaction, he kept his eyes level with hers. “Thirty-five percent.”
She made a strangled sound in her throat. “Thirty-five? Thirty-five? You thief. You robber.” She shoved back from the table and stood. “You’re a vulture, Rogan Sweeney. Thirty-five percent be damned and you with it.”
“I take all the risks, I have all the expenses.” He spread his hands, steepled them again. “You have merely to create.”
“Oh, as if all it takes is sitting on my a** and waiting for the inspiration to come fluttering down like raindrops. You know nothing, nothing about it.” She began to pace again, swirling the air with temper and energy. “I’ll remind you, you’d have nothing to sell without me. And it’s my work, my sweat and blood they’ll spend good money for. You’ll get fifteen percent.”
“I’ll get thirty.”
“Plague take you, Rogan, for a horse thief. Twenty.”
Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day village of Kilmihil, County Clare, west coast of Ireland, Dublin, Paris and the south of France. Copyright: 1994. Genre: contemporary romance.
For a listing of my reviews of other Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb books, see my 4 star review of "Angels Fall" posted on 6/30/08.
November 28, 2013
What can I say for Nora Roberts that millions of readers do not know already! Her language and descriptions, her character building, her fully developed plots leave nothing to be found lacking. This is my second book of hers (I KNOW! SHAME ON ME!) and it will certainly not be her last.
This was a story about family relationships, dreams that die and dreams that come true, love for the art and fighting with inner demons, all set in a magnificent county in the west of Ireland. The heroine, Margaret Concannon, is a glass artist that some would identify with Katharina, Shakespeare's well known shrew (guilty reader here! AYE! I DID!)! Don't get me wrong, I love my heroines being feisty, but there are times when a woman should know when to just pause and take deep breaths. And here comes the Petruchio of our story, Rogan Sweeney, a man in love with art in every possible form and - oh yes!- with Maggie as well! I loved how he was both dynamic and patient in dealing with the shrew (said in the most loving way!) of the story...what a man can tolerate when he loves a woman! To be honest, Maggie's behaviour is justified up to a point, as she grew up feeling the resentment and being maltreated (abused both physically and emotionally) by her mother for the latter's turn of life and end of dreams.
In my opinion, everything in life is a matter of choice of what life brings us and our effort to make the most of it. And this our dearest Nora Roberts, among other things, emphasises with this story. In the end, Maggie chose to leave her past (and issues!) behind and give Ronan the chance to prove her that life is what we make it to be, that happiness can be found even though we may have lost hope in it and that the sins of the parents are theirs and theirs alone!
Despite this being a very sweet story and finding nothing lacking in it, I couldn't just adore it...I am still trying to explain this to myself.
What I 've gained from it, though, is that Ireland is a magnifent country and every book I read about it makes it all the more appealing to visit and learn more about its history and people.
Still, I am going to continue the series because the author deserves my reading and seeing her Concannon Sisters's world complete in order to form a solid opinion. And you can never consider reading Nora a waste of time!
This was a story about family relationships, dreams that die and dreams that come true, love for the art and fighting with inner demons, all set in a magnificent county in the west of Ireland. The heroine, Margaret Concannon, is a glass artist that some would identify with Katharina, Shakespeare's well known shrew (guilty reader here! AYE! I DID!)! Don't get me wrong, I love my heroines being feisty, but there are times when a woman should know when to just pause and take deep breaths. And here comes the Petruchio of our story, Rogan Sweeney, a man in love with art in every possible form and - oh yes!- with Maggie as well! I loved how he was both dynamic and patient in dealing with the shrew (said in the most loving way!) of the story...what a man can tolerate when he loves a woman! To be honest, Maggie's behaviour is justified up to a point, as she grew up feeling the resentment and being maltreated (abused both physically and emotionally) by her mother for the latter's turn of life and end of dreams.
In my opinion, everything in life is a matter of choice of what life brings us and our effort to make the most of it. And this our dearest Nora Roberts, among other things, emphasises with this story. In the end, Maggie chose to leave her past (and issues!) behind and give Ronan the chance to prove her that life is what we make it to be, that happiness can be found even though we may have lost hope in it and that the sins of the parents are theirs and theirs alone!
Despite this being a very sweet story and finding nothing lacking in it, I couldn't just adore it...I am still trying to explain this to myself.
What I 've gained from it, though, is that Ireland is a magnifent country and every book I read about it makes it all the more appealing to visit and learn more about its history and people.
Still, I am going to continue the series because the author deserves my reading and seeing her Concannon Sisters's world complete in order to form a solid opinion. And you can never consider reading Nora a waste of time!
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