"Don't you think there are some places and some things that hold old memories in them? And the power that comes from them." (Murphy Muldoon)
Born in Shame literally follows the same plot that the previous books in the Born Concannon Trilogy follows, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. However, I would have probably rated this book higher if it was a standalone.
Born in Shame follows Shannon Bodine, the long lost Concannon sister that Maggie and Brianna found out about in Born in Ice. A month after Shannon's mother tells her about her true origins, on her death bed, Shannon takes a break from her busy, ambitious and successful life in New York in order to experience her lost heritage in the quiet and peaceful village of Clare. I sympathized with Shannon. The life that she knew is stripped away and she has to figure out who she is and where she comes from in an entirely new environment. However, I was a little frustrated with her at the end of the book, because she couldn't see what was right in front of her and what she needed to do when I clearly could see it.
Murphy Muldoon is Shannon's love interest in Born in Shame. He's a farmer, kind, gentle, strong, handsome and an absolute sweetheart. He's been such a great minor character in the previous books, was an amazing character in this book and it was so nice to see him get the happiness he deserved.
The romance in this book has a slight paranormal aspect that fits in with the mysticism of Ireland, but doesn't fit in with the realistic nature of the previous book in the series. If Born in Shame was a standalone, this paranormal aspect would have definitely added something extra to the story, but it just felt out of place in the Born Concannon Trilogy as a whole.
It was also great to see the characters from the previous books, Maggie and Rogan from Born in Fire who are still one of my OTP's for life and Liam, who is the cutest mischievous baby I've ever read about as well as Brianna and Grayson who surprised me when I found myself liking his humourous and brotherly personality. I also enjoyed seeing Maeve's progression as a character from Born in Fire to Born in Ice. She's a bitter woman but she's definitely softening a little and I'm amazed that I could still understand her and sympathize with her.
While the whole series shows the beauty of Ireland, it's Born in Shame that does it the best. The atmosphere, the beauty, the nature, the liveliness, the community and the mysticism was utter perfection. I'm sure that this series promotes tourism in Ireland.
I'm actually quite sad to see this series come to end....
"Aye, you've a way to travel yet. But you'll get where you're going, lass, and not forget where you've been."