Born in Ice is the second book in the Nora Roberts Born In trilogy. This book follows Brianna Concannon, the younger sister of Maggie, from Born in Fire.
Brianna was able to achieve her dream of starting a good Irish B and B, and her efforts are paying off. She is known as the best cook in the area, and her home is praised by all who come to stay, even if it is only a day or two at a time. At the start it is the middle of winter, and that’s her slow season, yet this year she has a guest, famed novelist Grayson Thane, and American running from his past trying to look solely at the here and now.
Grayson and Brianna share a strong attraction to each other from the moment they meet, but Brianna is dead set on keeping the relationship professional, after all, she is his landlady. The two begin to learn a bit about each other, mostly surface stuff, but when they become lovers it all comes out, eventually. Grayson is lost in Brianna’s beauty and innocence, and Brianna ultimately wants to simply be there for Grayson, give him a home and love him like no one else has. Down the road they try to go their separate ways, but in the spirit of happy endings, of course they end up together for the long run.
How was this one for me?
First, I’ll say that regardless of my little summary above, I absolutely loved this book. Not only is it my favorite of the trilogy, I actually gave this one a spot on my shelf of favorites. I had so many things I wanted to say about this book that it’s why I did not review all three in a single post, and also probably why the summary is so shoddy, because there is so much to say.
Nora Roberts turned me into a romance book lover, I’ll just throw that out there quick…
I love Brianna and Grayson together. Truly! When I see the cute old couples going shopping or out at dinner together, holding hands after a long fifty or sixty years together, that is how I picture these characters, I actually pictured them more as real people than characters though. I could pretty much see them as they came together and then my imagination just runs away and pictures the life they up having.
Grayson is probably one of my new favorite literary characters. Throughout the book, you learn more about what his life was like before he found his love of writing. I love how he had to work so hard to keep his head cool when he was around Brianna, those internal struggles made him seem less fictional. Constant battles and a hard past. A tortured soul, or tortured hero, my favorite. 🙂
Brianna has struggles of her own. Even though her mother is no longer living with her, she is still a pain, has to put her two cents in about everything, and is grumpy, no matter what. Brianna struggles when Grayson meets her mother, especially since it doesn’t take long for her mother to accuse her of having an affair with him, though it hadn’t happened yet. She asserts herself in this book. I loved seeing her so strong. She also begins to deal with the family drama of finding a letter written to her father by a past lover, one who informs him she is having his child. Brianna also falls deeply in love with Grayson, yet she knows that he probably won’t be able to return it. She makes him a home as best as she can, but knows he is probably going to leave anyway. Yet, a new side is awakened within her, thanks to Grayson Thane.
When it comes down to it. I just loved this one. I loved the intimacy Brianna and Grayson shared. I laughed and cried. I even yelled at it a couple of times. Scary how much this book has opened my eyes to the world of romance novels. Either way, a straight-up fantastic read.
Among Stories 