I’ve been thinking, given recent current events, about packing up my husband and dogs (somehow) and running off to Ireland. So a 90’s romance set in Ireland seemed the perfect thing to soothe my existential dread. Enter Born in Fire by Nora Roberts.
Maggie Concannon, a glass-blowing artist from County Clare, doesn’t need help from anyone or anything. She is content to work in her studio at her cottage and sell her pieces to those she finds deserving. Until prestigious gallery owner Rogan Sweeney comes across her work and offers her a deal. He wants to sell and market her work through his gallery, bringing her more money and fame than she ever could have dreamed of on her own.
This deal, however sweet it may seem, would require her to give up some of her independence and to trust someone else with the most important piece of herself, her work. As they overcome their polar opposite personalities to build a working relationship, the chemistry between them grows. But their passion may not be enough to overcome the scars of Maggie’s past.
Maggie is an excellent character to read. She’s fascinating, feisty, and very well developed — but Rogan remains a bit of a question mark until the very end. We get a great deal of backstory about Maggie and her family, but only brief glimpses into Rogan’s history. He feels like a cardboard cut out of a character, only there on the face of it, with nothing surrounding him but his business and his love for Maggie. Also, I would not tolerate a male main character named Rogan in 2024, but since this was written thirty years ago, I’ll allow it.
Rogan and Maggie’s love story progresses very quickly. He falls first and he falls fast, and their first kiss comes a bit out of nowhere, as the best first kisses in real life do. There are also romantic subplots with side characters that move shockingly quickly. This author is efficient in getting people together and keeping it moving.
This book has very flowery language that romance readers of today might not be accustomed to. Modern romance novels tend to be a little more straightforward in terms of prose, but the language in Born in Fire is poetic and metaphoric. There’s an elevated sort of banter between the characters. It’s beautiful, but it’s also a little exhausting by the end. It is not my favored style of writing, but I can see the appeal.
The spice is rather old fashioned, poetic and vague but not lacking in passion. It’s a style choice that is without question less graphic than most contemporary romances.
Reading this with a modern lens is a little uncomfortable at times. There are some outdated and offensive cultural references to Native American art, but given this book is 30 years old I won’t harp on it too much and the references were brief. I would not let this pass in a modern work, and I’m torn on it here. Calling anything Native American primitive is icky.
Born in Fire is an interesting look at how the genre has evolved in the last thirty years. I can see why Nora Roberts was the preeminent romance author of her day. While it’s not necessarily for me, her writing is undeniably beautiful, and this love story is classic, filled with passion and banter and a gorgeous setting.
Writing: 3.5
Spice: 1.75
Kindle: $3.99
Paperback: $10.49
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