The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy #1)

I often wonder, when I am reading one of Nora Robertss novels set in Ireland and awash in magicks, whether she
Might periodically cast a circle or two of her own in her Maryland garden.
Her recent trilogies have been soaked in magic, full of do-or-die battles that pit the good against the Big Bad. Where the last few trilogies were full of globe-trotting strangers destined to come together to defeat evil and a post-apocalyptic evil infection that threatens the very existence of good in the world (Covid-19, anyone?!), this first volume in the newest trilogy begins with a scaled down (meaning not cataclysmic or perilous) vacation to Ireland.
The heroine, Breen Kelly, is a young woman who has been taught to believe herself sub-par, unskilled, and unworthy, primarily by her no-nonsense mother, but who nonetheless has built a family-of-the-heart that includes her best friend and roommate, Marco, and the proprietors of a Philadelphia drag bar. Upon discovering that she has a sizable chunk of money in an account through her long-absent dads largesse, an account her mother hid from her even as Breen struggles to pay off student loans, Breen makes the startling, rather out-of-character decision to rent a cottage in her dads homeland, Ireland. With Marco, she flies there to spend the summer finding herself and, she hopes, her father.
Breen is enchanted by Ireland, and she begins to come out of her shell with Marcos living encouragement; she begins blogging about her experiences. Her all-but-dismissed ambition to become a writer peeks through the thorny hedge of her mothers belittling dismissals. When Marcos vacation time is up, and he must fly home to Philly, the plan is for Breen to stay on for awhile, which she fully embraces, especially as she has acquired a new puppy to guard her and shower her with affection.
The story changes when Breen and her puppy (whose colorful name is Bollocks) stumble through a portal into a parallel world while out walking. After the lovely travelogue-like beginning, readers find themselves emerging from the black-and-white Kansas farmhouse belonging to the Gales and into a technicolor world of Breens birth: not only is Breen not run-of-the-mill, mentally average, or better off playing it safe, as she has been forced into believing, she is the daughter of magicks, of Sidhe, fey, and witch bloodlines.
She has completely forgotten the three years after her birth that she spent living in this magical world, but she has loved ones who are delighted to welcome her back with open arms and share with her her birthright. But with all of the gifts of power come responsibility. A dark and dangerous force threatens the idyllic two-mooned place Breen remembers so little. She must learn to use and grow into her powers before it is too late.
Because this is a Nora Roberts novel, of course Breen meets a man who challenges her, intrigues her, confounds her, and makes her ache in ways she hasnt fully explored before. He stands with her against the evil rising against the good, but the battle has yet to begin when this novel concludes. Readers will have to wait to find out how these two combine their power to lead and protect both this fantastical world and the mundane one we readers inhabit.

Nora always blows me away with the worlds she creates! I got sucked in to this one from the first page! This is the first in a new trilogy and if youre a fan of Noras previous paranormal, you wont be disappointed!

I enjoy Nora’s books. I absolutely loved the Chronicles of The One series and was hoping for that same satisfaction with this one. This was the most drawn out boring book I have ever read by Nora. Nothing happened. There was no climax to this story, there is no great character development. It was flat…if that means anything. I didn’t care about any of the characters. It is just so hard to think the same person who wrote the Chronicles of the One series wrote this one.

I love Ms. Roberts’ Irish settings. But Book 1 of the Dragon Heart Legacy is dreadful! Starts off great with myth and legend then switches to the dullest heroine I’ve met. Understand why the author made Breen unsure and unware. But did she have to bang it into the reader’s head at every chance?

Okay, after the opening and we meet Breen and her delightful friend, Marco, we’re off on a travelogue of Ireland. Wanted more story and less of a geography lesson. The hero, although appealing in the beginning snippet, turns out to be a bully — even though it’s insisted he’s not. The whole story is a mish-mash. Just like Breen.

If you want great Irish magic, read the author’s Cousin’s O’Dwyer trilogy. I’m so sorry she went way off-the-mark with this book (save Marco and the grandmother).

I am a long time fan of Nora Roberts. Even so, some of her books connect with me more than others. This is one of them. Its a gift to create a memorable story that pulls the reader in. Its a whole other level to do that while creating a new world as well. I love this new world and the magic in it. The story is about unpacking who you think you are and discovering who you are becoming. I was thrilled that the pace was not rushed. I may have preferred less darkness but know its purpose in the storyline. I will read the whole series. Likely more than once.

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