Book Review: Birthright

Birthright

By: Nora Roberts

March 30, 2004

Published by: Jove

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Source: Owned by Reviewer

Buy it on Amazon or IndieBound

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Audience: Adult

My Thoughts:
Imagine taking your young son and infant daughter to see Santa Clause in a crowded mall. You turn your back on your daughter for two seconds, and when you turn back...she's gone. Now imagine watching TV 28 years later and seeing a young woman who you know without a doubt in your heart is your daughter. What do you do? And suppose you are this young woman, having grown up with a privileged childhood and made a name for yourself in your field, to be confronted by a woman who claims to know secrets about your past. A woman who claims to be your mother. Only you weren't adopted. Now you're on a job where your ex-husband is crowding your space, and your mind, and weird things are starting to happen. Someone is willing to kill in order to keep secrets. 



Birthright combines all elements of a good story - family drama, action, and some heated romantic moments. Callie was amazing. I loved that she was a strong, independent woman who had made a name for herself, and I was fascinated by the archaeology and the details of their dig. Jake - well, all I can say about Jake is that Nora Roberts certainly has a way with writing rugged, sexy men. Jake is one of my all-time favorite heroes. He is there for Callie when she needs him, softening those rare moments of vulnerability in her. I loved how he would annoy her on purpose, just to get her attention. His sense of humor and willingness to remain by her side through everything completely won me over.


I love the way Nora Roberts weaves a talk that brings me from one emotion to the next seamlessly. The family dynamics and heartaches of this one really tugged at my heart strings, and I loved the campy feel of Callie's team. This was a definite page turner for me. Not only that, it's one that I go back to and re-read whenever I need a good story to sink into.

Summary from Goodreads:
On a hot July afternoon, a worker at an Antietam Creek construction site drives the blade of his backhoe into a layer of soil — and strikes a 5,000-year-old human skull. The discovery draws plenty of attention and a lot of controversy. It also changes the life of one woman in ways she never expected... 


As an archaeologist, Callie Dunbrook knows a lot about the past. But her own past is about to be called into question. Recruited for her expertise on the Antietam Creek dig, she encounters danger — as a cloud of death and misfortune hangs over the project, and rumors fly that the site is cursed. She finds a passion that feels equally dangerous, as she joins forces in her work with her irritating, but irresistible, ex-husband, Jake. And when a strange woman approaches her, claiming to know a secret about Callie’s privileged Boston childhood, some startling and unsettling questions are raised about her very identity. 


Searching for answers, trying to rebuild, Callie finds that there are deceptions and sorrows that refuse to stay buried. And as she struggles to put the pieces back together, she discovers that the healing process comes with consequences — and that there are people who will do anything to make sure the truth is never revealed.