Birthright

Rating:
Summary: Another good book by Nora Roberts!
Review: Nora Roberts has long been one of my favorite romance authors. I recently read Birthright and found as Ms. Roberts has done again and again that she had me gulping down the pages till the end. I not only found myself savoring the romance portion of the book but also was equally intrigued by the suspense, which this book provided.

Callie Dunbrook is an archeologist hired to work at a site where relics of an early Indian community are discovered. Expecting a certain amount of the unknown, she doesn't expect certain other events occurring at the same time. Chief among these events is a woman who seeks her out and bears a remarkable resemblance to Callie. In time the woman tells Callie that she thinks she is her daughter who was kidnapped many years before. And as if that wasn't enough suddenly Callie has to deal with the arrival of her ex-husband. While they were married he all but ignored her but now seems to be very much in love with her. And then there are a series of mysterious murders that take place at the dig, which can't be explained.

Once again Ms. Roberts has presented well-depicted characters with a plot both suspenseful and interesting. Touching on topics such as illegal adoptions, the rights of preservationists vs. land developers and legal issues concerning who profits from found antiquities, Birthright is another good Nora Roberts book which takes its rightful place among so many others good titles.

Rating:
Summary: Wow, a Nora Roberts hero I actually like
Review: I was almost ready to stop reading Nora Roberts, because it felt as though her plots were getting tired, and so many of her heros were jerks (at least according to me). Imagine my surprise when I read "Birthright," an interesting story that weaves together plot threads of Callie Dunbrook discovering a new identity with the very interesting archeological dig, while rekindling her relationship with her very sexy ex-husband, Jacob. The story is interesting, and the characters well-developed - I particularly liked the episode where Lana has a bad day, instead of being as perfect as so many of Nora Robert's heroines are. The major attraction of the book for me, though, was watching Callie and Jake attempt to get beyond their problems and established patterns and really work on their relationship. That really sold me.

I'm giving this four stars rather than five, because the ending was rushed and the climax UNBELIEVABLY contrived, but, other than that, I really enjoyed this book. I hope she writes more like it.

Rating:
Summary: Tender story...
Review: As recent headlines have made plain, it only takes a moment for life to go terribly wrong. When a young mother looked away for one moment to take care of her older child who was hurt, her baby was taken. Empty years passed during which the parents' marriage slowly eroded and the older child, Doug never forgot the little sister who was gone for no good reason.

In another mere moment, it all began to turn around. After an ancient bone is found during a construction project, Callie Dunbrook is called in to excavate. When her picture flashes on the television screen, her long lost mother knows that the baby who was taken has been found. Now, Callie, Doug, and Callie's ex husband will have a deeper truth to search for than they have ever sought. Callie thought she knew who she was, but there's more to it than she had ever guessed. She is about to discover how much she is loved.

**** This is a tender story about a quest for truth, and defining love. Ms Roberts uses none of the melodrama typical of long lost child stories. Rather, she demonstrates that true love does not crowd out other love, but makes room for it. ****
Amanda Killgore

Rating:
Summary: good page-turner
Review: This is one of those books that once you start reading its very hard to put down. It has romance, adventure and murder. Callie Dunbrook is an archaeologist who while on a dig dicovers more than century old bones. It turns out she may have been kidnapped as a 3 month old infant from her biological parents and sold to another family. Its a very intriguing story because the more she tries to connect to her past the more certain people try to stop her adding danger to her life and her loved ones. Complicating her life is her ex-husband Jake who is also an archaeologist working with her side by side. The attraction is still there from both sides causing Callie to really think about her life. There are lots of twists and turns making this a very enjoyable reading experience. If you like Nora Roberts you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Time
Review: Though nothing can top the Reef as Roberts' best book to date, I found Birthright to be an exciting read. The characters were not quite so static as usual, although Jake could have been more well developed as Callie's ex-husband. I only wish that Roberts had written the first part of their relationship together, instead of keeping us guessing as to what actually happenend. Even flashbacks would have worked nicely. The only disappointment to this book was the ending. It was abrupt, confusing, and unsuspenseful. It seemed like Nora got tired of writing, and left us readers in the dust. I usually spend the entire book guessing "who did it?" but with Birthright that was nearly impossible, because the supporting characters were not well developed. The book had a bit too much going on at once-- an archeological dig, finding Jake, Lana's relationship, Callie's new mother, the murders-- all were a bit overwhelming. But Callie was a very real character, as was Lana, and they worked nicely. I hope Roberts continues to write "fun" books though, as this was a bit sappy. We need adventure in our lives, and we rely on Roberts to bring a little piece in. An enjoyable read, 3 1/2 stars!

Rating:
Summary: a good thrill
Review: Well, quite opposite of the other reviews of this book, I liked it. I was excited to see that archaeology was the medium used to anchor the story. As someone who's been on archaeological digs before, the portrayal of the site, events, and all characters was quite realistic (if a little fantastic at times). Callie fit the bill perfectly. Women who get involved in and make it in the world of archaeology are tough and sometimes they're mean. I liked that she never stood still, stood up for herself, and really did care for the other characters around her. Jake was also great, even though he could have been a little more developed. I thought the story was good. Was it realistic? I don't know that for sure but why read a romance novel if what you're after is realism? Taken at face value for what it is, Birthright was an entertaining story and a great escape from reality.

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: This is the best Nora Roberts book I have read so far. I read the "Jared Brothers" which was ok. I enjoyed the book from the start but once I got into it I couldn't put it down. It was very fascinating. A wonderful book to transform yourself away. Yes, I have read better book this so far is HER best.

Rating:
Summary: Too many plots
Review: I was looking forward to Birthright because the plot sounded really good. A thirty year old Callie Dunbrook finds out that she was adopted and learns she was kidnapped from her stroller at three months.
It was a major disappointment. There were too many plot lines going on that you got lost. I didn't like the main charactor Callie at all. She was raised in a loving home so why did she have a hard time accepting love and trust? Neither of her birth or adoptive parents had problems in that department. Even her reason for it didn't make any sense. She blamed it on her adoptive parents' relationship but not once during the whole book did you ever see an example of it.
Her language was bad and mouthing off to anyone and everyone got old really fast.
The real reason behind the murders was so farfetched it didn't make any sense neither did the end of the story. From the final climax you expect me to believe one person managed to knock out, drug and tie up four people?
Would of liked Callie's relationship with her birth parents to of been worked out more. More of Suzanne and Jay working out their problems and getting back together.
I did like the charactor Lana. Usually the dead husband is protrayed as evil or a jerk it was a nice (an realistic) change that she loved her late husband and realized she could move on with her life and Doug.
I did like that Suzanne and Jay were portrayed very realistically as parents who's child was kidnapped but I think they deserved a little bit more at the end.
The fact the person responsible for the kidnapping and black market ring will never have to pay for the crimes made the story fall flat. After all the suffering all those years Suzanne and Jay deserved to face the man who arranged their daughter's kidnapping.
I felt like they were playing down the crime. Sure Callie ended up having a great life but that doesn't change the fact she was kidnapped and sold on the black market. She spends more time whining then being angry about the whole crime. Her immature additude at Jake was annoying. Jake came across as a good guy but I couldn't imagine why he liked Callie especially since I didn't even like her.
Defently not the best Nora Roberts book. No where near True Betrayels, Public Secrets and all the other great books. Hopefully the next one will be much better

Rating:
Summary: Sophomoric flapdoodle!
Review: That this idiocy masquerading as a novel could be published is beyond me. This review won't earn me many positive ratings, but in the hopes of saving just one person from suffering through this tripe I'm going to give it to you straight. Can you handle the truth?

I was at the airport and had forgotten to bring a book and was forced to purchase something to read. I must have done something terribly wrong to annoy someone in a previous life for me to have chosen this insipid hokum and I must have been terribly bored to finish this garbage, but finish it I did. My time would have been spent far more productively cleaning out the johns on the airplane.

Ms Roberts characters are ridiculously contrived and shallow. They appear to have been cooked up in the fetid imagination of a high-school sophomore cheerleader who didn't bother to take any English or literature courses. Ms Roberts has NO insight into the human condition. Her characters are all androgynous hermaphrodites. Her men are simply oozing with sensitivity lurking just beneath the surface. And her female characters are constantly getting into bar fights when they aren't insisting on having sex with the hapless sensitive men in the book. I guess her total lack of insight into human nature could be forgiven if she'd managed to craft a good tale, but Nooo-o-o-o-o. I wasn't so lucky. This storyline was so silly and inane that I am still kicking myself for bothering to read it.

Do youself a favor. Pass on this travesty and find something (ANYTHING) else to read.

Rating:
Summary: Boring, repetitive, tedious
Review: This is the first book I've read by Nora Roberts and probably the last. I picked up the book because the topics of archeology, Maryland and Robert's popularity were intriguing. After 50 pages, I just speed-read the book to get the plot (mostly about an adoption/kidnapping, which was not what I expected). I found I could skip page upon page and still get the story (which maybe could be witten in 10 or 15 pages). I know Roberts is popular, but this book was like a worn-out, unnecessary, mediocre, lukewarm "romance" with potenitally semi-serious plot (archeology, land disputes, legal-medical issues around adoption) which drown amidst the "need" for romance. Also Roberts tries to sound too "hip" citing rock groups, etc. I felt like this book was really pandering to the readers. So, guess what, I don't recommend it!