Book Review: Born in Shame by Nora Roberts

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes the final novel in the Irish Born Trilogy—following Born in Fire and Born in Ice.

Shannon Bodine’s life revolves around her job as a graphic artist at a New York ad agency. But her world turns upside down when she learns the identity of her real father: Thomas Concannon.

My Thoughts

Shannon Bodine’s story completes the Born In trilogy. Shannon’s mother Amanda on her death bed reveals to her the truth of her birth and her family. Amanda who had fallen in love with Tom Concannon and conceived her had held him in her heart all these years like a tight-held secret. When she’s in pain and dying, she reveals that her father was that in heart and not in blood. Shannon feels her identity has been a lie and is hurt and reeling from the truth of it all.

After coming to terms with the truth, and a little help from a letter from Brianna, she decides to discover just what truths her life hold. She travels to Ireland to meet her half-sisters and to learn of the man she never knew. In discovering her sisters, she finds that she is much like Maggie in temper and much like Brianna in compassion.

Murphy, who has been a favorite of mine through the trilogy, is a farmer who works the land and is a great friend and brother to the Concannon sisters. He’s struck by Shannon’s beauty and falls for her. It’s so sweet to see a man who never let himself feel for a woman fall so heavily and quickly for one.

The underlying legend of the story was a nice touch to the story. I found that dreams and legend intertwined with a whirlwind romance made for the perfect punch to the story. The relationships among the family were, as always, perfectly executed by Roberts. It’s so sad to say goodbye to these characters, but I might make a trip back in the coming years to check back in on the Concannon/Bobine family to see how they fare. You can always expect magic in the hills of Ireland.