The Awakening by Nora Roberts

The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy, #1)

by Nora Roberts

The first in a brand new trilogy from Sunday Times bestseller Nora Roberts, The Awakening is a story of adventure, magic and finding your home

Mists, shimmering silver fingers, rose over the pale green water of the lake. They twined and twisted toward a sky quietly gray, while in the east, over the hills, a pink blush waited, like a held breath, to waken.

Breen Kelly had always been a rule follower. So, when her father left when she was twelve years old, promising to return, she waited. Now, more than a decade later, she's working at a job she hates and is tired of the life that playing by the rules has dealt her. It's time to make a change.

Breen makes a leap into the unknown with a summer trip to Ireland - her father's homeland. Little does she know how much of a leap until a walk in the woods leads her through a portal into another world - Talamh - where Breen will find magic, family and a destiny she could never have dreamed of

'If you're after the perfect pick-me-up, take-me-away-from-the-world read, then she's your woman' The Guardian

'Nora Roberts is, quite simply, a one-woman phenomenon'

Heat

'I love Nora Roberts'

Stephen King

Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on

4 of 5 stars

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The prologue introduces us to Talamh, where Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword and tasked with protecting the realm.

The story then whisks us to present day Philadelphia, where we meet Breen Kelly. She is a young teacher, buried in debt and unhappy. She unwittingly, or perhaps with some help, discovers that her mother has kept secret an account opened by her long-lost father. An account that would have paid for college and allowed her to pursue her own dreams. Those funds open the door to possibilities. The first is a trip to Ireland to find her father.

She ends up in Galway, Ireland, in the perfect cottage. It is here she will discover who she really is. This differed from Roberts’ previous trilogies. Most of which involve powerful females who know their magic. In each book, one of them finds their mate as they fight against evil. In this story Breen knows nothing of her father and the world he came from, only the magical stories he told her as a child.

It was delightful seeing this young woman discover, doubt, learn and believe all while finding herself. Away from her mother’s influence, she grew confident.

I loved Talamh and the family and friends she discovers there. Many fae dwell in the realm from mermaids to dragons. We meet powerful characters like her grandmother, who teaches and guides her and reunite with childhood friends. Keegan, now a man and burdened with protecting the realm from danger, has been waiting for Breen. Battles are coming and she is the key to their success.

The romance will be a slow burn and it looks like it will cover the three books. I liked their chemistry, the frustration, and banter.

Romance, crossroads and decisions push the narrative as Roberts’ prepares us for things to come.

Barrie Kreinik narrates, and this was my first experience with her. From her Irish lilt to the voices she created for each character, she enchanted me. Roberts’ descriptive style and flow translate beautifully to audio and make listening a pleasure. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 November, 2020: Finished reading
  • 20 November, 2020: Reviewed