The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Trilogy, #1)
Nora Roberts
Narrator Barrie Kreinik
15 hours, 27 min
Published Nov 2020 by Macmillan Audio
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About the Book:
Number one New York Times best-selling author Nora Roberts begins the Dragon Heart Legacy – a new trilogy of adventure, romance, and magick in The Awakening.
In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword – representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own….
When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious 20-something mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: Her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father – and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.
This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying, “Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home.” Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies – through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny…..
My Review:
There was a time when you would always see me with a Nora Roberts book in my hand. I loved her writing so much. True escapism, it always made me happy to read one of her engaging stories.
Over time, they became a bit cookie-cutterish to me and so I’ve stepped away from them for the past few years. But from time to time, I pick up one of her new series, trying to find that old feeling.
The Awakening has been on my list for about 6 months. Now that Book 2, The Becoming is ready to release, it was the perfect time to jump into Book 1.
The story takes place (majority) in Ireland which is fabulous. Only it takes a while for the character to get there and I was a bit bored of the pre-Ireland story. Once she sets foot on the green Island, it gets a bit better and I felt the escapism envelope me. From about 25-60% in the book I was blissfully happy. Then the last 40% was once again dry, like the first part of the story, even though they were still in Ireland. The characters are pretty superficial, the magic is glossed over, the types of magical creatures are barely mentioned and the love interest held no sparks! Like, at all!
And, um, where are the dragons? Oh yeah, they appear every once in awhile with a rider. But since this is named the Dragon Heart Trilogy, shouldn’t they be much more prominent in the story?
I don’t know. It’s a decent read but just barely. I’m moving on to Book 2 in the hopes that the hook will get me. Fingers crossed!
The narration for the audiobook was very good, I love hearing the Irish accents and she did a wonderful job. The cover is also beautiful and represents the story well.
Thank you #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for this #audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.
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