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Birthright cover art

Birthright

By: Nora Roberts
Narrated by: Bernadette Quigley
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Summary

From beloved author Nora Roberts comes the #1 New York Times bestseller about shattering loss and shocking discovery - set in a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains...

When five-thousand-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger, and romance.

While overseeing the dig, she must try to make sense of a cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the project - fueling rumors that the site is cursed. She must cope with the presence of her irritating - but irresistible - ex-husband, Jake. And when a stranger claims to know a secret about her privileged Boston childhood, she must question her own past as well...

©2004 Nora Roberts (P)2004 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

“Suspenseful.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“The literary equivalent of a big delicious meal whipped up by a talented home cook. She offers a dash of exoticism and innovation.... Satisfying.” (Publishers Weekly)

“An electrifying story filled with danger, heartache, love, passion and murder. An amazingly intense and utterly gripping tale!” (RT Book Reviews

What listeners love about Birthright

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic story! Terrible Narration!

The story itself was phenomenal!

But I couldn't listen to it all, because the narration was so awful. The character's voices were hardly distinguishable from each other, which made dialogue difficult to follow. And the lead female voices were ridiculous; Lana'a was breathy like a dodgy Marilyn Monroe impersonation; and Callie's was hard-edged and sarcastic, no matter what she was saying.

Would be much better to just read it yourself!

4 people found this helpful

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Got less than five minutes into this

The story seemed to be good but I couldn’t get over the terrible narration. There were pauses in the oddest places and words drawn out so it was hard to follow. Will be downloading this on kindle to read myself.

2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Such a shame

In My opinion ruined by the narration, I cringed as some points! Such a shame as it could have been a really exciting listen.

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Just couldn't 'put my phone down' woke up at 06.30 and got up 18.00 with the occasional break. Really well written with good plot, so enjoyable.

2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Did not finish!

Couldn't finish so cannot comment on the story. I found the narrator very annoying.

1 person found this helpful

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Exelent for friends of romance and suspence

This book is brilliant for friends of romance and suspence books. Roberts is able to keep both themes of the book balanced in a reader friendly way. The steamy scenes are told in a non-cringey way but migth ,in my opinnion, be a slightly tame for those who enjoy more filthy and graphic portrayals. All in all absulutely wonderfull book, with entertaining plot.

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Not keen on the narrator!

A bit far fetched, but stuck with it.
Wish the narrator hadn’t tried to do men’s voices!
These books are getting a bit samey!

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Story good but storytelling not.

The story was very good. The narrator’s interpretations weren’t. Which spoiled the story as it didn’t give it the depth it needed. It might have been better if she had just read it without voice changes ,as the men’s voices were no good.

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Not notable but enjoyable

I quite disliked the narrator. All voices kinda same, male and female, and often I kept wondering who is talking now. Always breathless, as in angst. oh, come one! Will make a point to miss Ms. Quigley in the future.
The story itself is ok. Nothing notable about it but enjoyable nonetheless.

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Great story!!

I love Nora Roberts’s books, I haven’t come across one I didn’t like yet. The only reason I gave this book a lower rating was due to the narrator, I found her voice a little drawl at times and the characters voices sounded the same so it was hard to figure out who was having a conversation with who. Otherwise the actual storyline was brilliant.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Krista
  • 20-03-10

Nora must be mad

Wow. If I were Nora, I would make sure all future contracts included a clause that Ms. Quigley never, ever, ever was within a mile of her novels. I'm sure she is a perfectly lovely woman, but Ms. Quigley has chosen the wrong profession. Her readings have. Periods in the wrong. Places. It is nearly impossible to discern the subject of a sentence because of the poor emphasis. In addition, all the male characters sound alike. She has totally ruined a quality novel. Harsh, I know, but true. Spend your credit on Tribute instead. I wish I did.

88 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • HW
  • 21-01-09

Choppy Narrator

I have read the book and enjoyed it. It's fluff, pure and simple. Not one of the best Nora Roberts books, but it could be worse.

The narrator totally ruins this book. I would never download this or waste the money on the audio because the narrator speaks like this, "Callie went to the kitchen (7 second pause) to get a glass of water." She also makes each character sound like a moron. I am very disappointed in the narration.

72 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Natalie Bester
  • 18-11-10

narrator

Terrible narrator!! I only started listening to the book and I am already not sure I want to continue listening. It sounds as if this lady does not think it necessary to use any punctuation in her reading...it's all wrong! She reads 4 words and pauses and all done with this awe in her voice...I have been a member of audible for about 6 years and this is one of the worse narrators; Sorry Bernadette.

35 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Menon
  • 27-11-10

Help!!

This is a warning to all who want to read this book. Bernadette Quigley's voice is like nails on a chalk board. The book itself is good but the narrator is exceptionally BAD. I ended up buying the book on kindle and physically reading it, as opposed to listening to nails on a chalk board.

34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Meghan M Jenkins
  • 25-03-10

Overly harsh criticism in reviews on this book.

I almost did not get this book because there was some really harsh reviews. So i have few things to say about that.

If you are a Nora Roberts fan, the plot should be right up your alley (as i found it very typical of Roberts.) If you are a fan of audio books, the narration should not bother you. i have listened to A LOT of books. while not great narration, (the lead male character's voice was a bit irksome) i have heard REALLY bad narration and this does not meet the criteria of REALLY bad. To me, it again was typical. SO- if you are used to listening to books where the narrator takes liberties with voices you should be ok with this one. The plot wasnt Roberts best, but it was ok. For a weekend spent doing yard work i found this book good enough to keep me entertained while i worked and do not regret the points spent. I feel like a lot of the criticism i read came from people who were either not familiar with Roberts or used to audio books.

30 people found this helpful

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  • M. Dybedal-Bristow
  • 12-01-09

Frayed Nerves

I have never felt so irritated when listening to a novel. Just read the story. Every character sounded like a moron. I gave up by Chapter 3 and went to Copperfields and bought the book which I thourougly enjoyed.

27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Susan
  • 23-08-08

Birthwrong

It's a Nora Roberts book. When they're good, they're good. But when they're bad, they're called Birthright. Add the horrible narrator to the story and there you have it - Birthwrong.

16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Phyllis S Mike
  • 27-12-12

Loved It

What made the experience of listening to Birthright the most enjoyable?

I was totally wrapped up in this book. The story grabbed my attention right from the beginning. Nora Roberts characters come alive for me. She's my favorite novelist for developing her characters.

What did you like best about this story?

Nora Roberts does her homework. I felt a couple of her books had more detail than feeling but this book was a perfect balance, and very believable. I actually cried at the end. I don't usually do that.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were a few scenes that were my favorites. I loved the letters that Suzanne wrote to Jessie, her missing daughter. They were right from the heart and read very well. I also loved the scene when Callie was playing the theme from Jaws to irritate her ex.

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • tina
  • 25-05-10

sad but great

the worse thing to think about when you have kids but love where she went and how it got there best reader for this book

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Donna A
  • 17-01-11

Really needs to be two and half stars

I realy would like to give this book 2 ?? stars and need to review it on 2 levels
1st the narrator: The actual reading was not bad her different voices were terrible. The voice for female lawyer was not appropriate ??? a constant bedroom voice. The ex-husband, Jake was by far the worse. He is described as being hot yet he sound like an old man that has smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day. In fact all the men in the book all sounded like they smoked way too much. I would never download another book with her as a narrator. I give her a 1 star.
2nd the book: I enjoyed the story ??? I knew nothing about archaeology was fascinated and how they applied that to Callie???s life discoveries. At times I found Callie to be a little too strong. I did feel the story dragged on a little too long ??? it could have been a little shorted. I must say I usually figure out the ???who did it??? but I did not on this one.

2 people found this helpful

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