Born in Fire: Born In Trilogy, Book 1

I generally like Nora Roberts, so when I saw this book on sale I purchased it. Thank goodness it was on sale. I usually try to give narrators the benefit of the doubt, and while Fiacre Douglas obviously can speak in an authentic Irish accent, he speaks far too quickly for an audio book recording. I found myself out of breath just listening to him. He also didn't provide any inflection, no building of tension or other tricks to keep the listener riveted that better narrators employ. The books plot was dry and predictable. Overall, not a very satisfying read.

This audiobook badly needed a female narrator. Why Roberts (or, rather Robb) chose one for her In Death series and not for this one, I cannot comprehend. You could get used to the narrator after a while but it still bothered me that oftentimes you cannot distinguish which character was speaking because the transitions were not clear enough. Five stars for the book, four for the audiobook, for the above reason.

Well....although I love Nora Roberts the reader ruined it for me. I got use to him after awhile but it was a disappointment that he could not seem to capture the voices properly or the emotion in the words. I will avoid books read by him in the future, once I finish this series.

The novel is entertaining and fast paced. The reason I gave three starts.. the narrator. He reads too fast.

You know I am a BIG fan of Nora Roberts and have read all of these books and loved them but I can't get through this audible version. The narrator just kills it for me. Maybe I don't care for men reading a romance novel to me so it could be me. However, I think it is him. Skip the audible version and read the book...it is much better.

Nora Roberts has always been one of my favorite authors and didn't let me down here. I loved the character of Maggie, she made me stretch the image I usually picture as the main female character. Maggie just wouldn't be anyone I'd pictured before she was so strong and sassy I had to create a whole new image in my mind's eye. Loved this character.
The only thing that could have made this book better was if it was read by Susan Ericksen (who reads Nora's JD Robb, In Death Series). Susan has got it down. The reader here just plain read to fast.

Does anyone interview and listen to these narrators? This is the third book in a row I just cant listen too because the audio is awful. This guy is so fast, like he cant wait to finish. He has no feeling in his voice as well. It is hard to get into the book, I am on chapter 6 but wont make it much longer. I will be listening to all books now before I buy them. The previous book had purchased had so much background talk it was awful. I should have learned from that. The narrator can make or kill the audio book, I will never forget that. It may be a great book, I know I wont get far enough to know, just like the last two.

A good romance novel for me is one that has believable characters in believable stories. Nora Roberts does this better than most.

The character of Maggie Concannon is a bit abrasive, but it's part of the defense she has put up around her heart. Rogan Sweeney is a strong, stubborn man. Their story makes for a wonderful trip to County Clare, with side trips to Dublin, Paris and the South of France. The discriptions of the country and personalities of the background characters add to the believablility of the story. This is the first in the Born In trilogy, and these characters show up in all 3 books.
I read the trilogy in print first. Probably 5 times each, in some cases back to back to back. The listen is even more enjoyable because the narrator is able to capture the accents and cadences of the speech of Ireland so well (or at least as I remember hearing them when I visited).

Another great book from Nora. I started to think that all Nora's books where the same plot with different characters...this one proved me wrong. I loved it! Didn't want to stop listening.