Book Review: Firstborn Series

OK it took me three years, but I finally picked up part II of the Baxter Family Drama series by Karen Kingsbury. Three years ago, I read her Redemption series during the summer.  I reviewed the first here and the others here  At the end of these first five books I mentioned that I was a bit "tired of the Baxters" and wanted to take a break.  I never dreamed my break would last so long, but it did.  I have now finished the second five book series entitled "Firstborn" where Kingsbury digs deeper into the Baxter family and their relationships.


In the first book, Fame, we find Hollywood star Dayne Matthews who made a huge discovery at the end of the Redemption series.  This book delves further into the Baxter family, but primarily focuses on his developing relationship with Bloomington, Indiana's Katy Hart.  Katy directs the Christian Kids Theater in their town and is offered a part in Dayne's upcoming film.

The book sets up the next four books as the reader learns that Dayne was adopted by a missionary couple and grew up in a boarding school overseas.  His adoptive parents lost their lives in a plane crash in Indonesia when Dayne was only eighteen.  This loss causes Dayne to question God and his Christian faith.  Katy establishes herself as a true friend who is unwavering in her faith even as she faces fame.

While she considers the opportunities Dayne and his agent want to give her, she quickly retreats to her quiet life when she is attacked by a rabid knife-wielding fan of Dayne's.  This seems to be just the reality check Katy needed as she reminds herself that the world Dayne lives in and hers are two very different places.

The second book in the series is Forgiven.  Dayne Matthews finds himself further questioning his faith in this book.  He even dabbles in other religions, namely Kabbalah.  Katy believes that her life has intersected with Dayne's only to convince him that he needs to give his life to God.

Dayne knows that he is the firstborn son of John and Elizabeth (now deceased) Baxter, but does not want to impose his life of fame upon the family.  He knows that a public life means that you could find yourself in the latest gossip magazine and/or chased by the paparazzi.

Back in Bloomington, Katy is forced to help the kids of the CKT deal with a sudden loss of two members.

It's obvious that Dayne and Katy are falling for each other, but both feel they will never be able to have a relationship since they come from such different worlds.

In the third book of the Firstborn series, John Baxter is in a desperate search to locate the son he and his deceased wife gave up before they married.  His daughter, Ashley, knows that she has another brother and continues to urge her Dad to find him at all costs.

I do love how the wisdom of Elizabeth Baxter still lives on through letters she wrote during their early marriage and child-rearing years.  Kingsbury does a nice job weaving Elizabeth's faith and love of family throughout the series.

Dayne Matthews is still trying to deal with the absence of his adoptive parents during his formative years.  He lives life in Hollywood at full throttle for a while and finds himself facing the possibility of being a parent with a fellow actress.  The actress drastically alters the future and Dayne is once again at a crossroads trying to come to grips with faith and God amidst tragedy.  Katy and an old friend from boarding school, help Dayne rediscover his faith.

Katy Hart finds herself back in Los Angeles as she has to testify at the trial of the fan who almost killed her.  She is once again hunted by the paparazzi as they go to great lengths to figure out who Dayne Matthew's "mystery woman" is.

Ashley Baxter continues to push the search for her brother.  She is adamant that the rest of her siblings deserve to know his identity and story.  Her father, John, who has developed a relationship with his first-born son is still keeping his identity a secret from her.

In this book, Dayne makes a life-changing decision as he is forced to decide what is really the most important thing in life.  Katy finds herself more in love with Dayne and further questioning just why their paths have crossed.

The final book in the Firstborn Series finds Dayne and Katy ready to take the next step in their relationship.  While Katy happily prepares for their future in Indiana and Dayne further develops his faith in LA, the rest of the Baxters each come to grips with their newly found brother differently.

Each family member is forced to deal with the fame of their brother via the gossip magazines and the paparazzi.  The most affected seems to be Luke, the only other Baxter son.  This book revisits Luke and Reagan, his wife a bit as they go through a rough patch in their young marriage.

It is also wrought with tragedy.  Dayne and Katy find themselves in the fight of a lifetime.  Ultimately, the Baxter family pulls together in a beautiful picture of service to help Dayne and Katie take the most important step in their relationship.

Admittedly, I found myself skimming some of the pages of books 2 - 4 in this series.  There are times that Kingsbury repeats the storyline and I would think, "Yes, I know!"  But I know that this is as much for the reader who may start in the middle rather than having the entire backstory on the Baxters, Dayne and Katy.

I even found myself thinking, once again, that I would not continue with the next series "Sunrise" quite yet.  I found myself quite tired of the paparazzi storyline.  Although, I can imagine that it is quite real for many people we would call "stars".   I like most of the storyline and find myself wishing the Baxters were my neighbors, too.  But I get tired of reading about them after a while.

Upon reading book 5, though, and having so many unanswered questions, I went right out and got book 1 of the Sunrise series!  I don't know how far I'll read in the series.  I'm going to go on a book-by-book basis.

All in all I find Kingsbury's writing easy to read and enjoyable. I like the way she writes Christians as "real people" with "real issues" most of the time. If you haven't reacquainted yourself with Bloomington, the Baxters, or Kingsbury's books, then you might want to give these a try!