With THE AWAKENING, the first book in her Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy, Nora Roberts has created an intricately detailed world that has all the charm and natural beauty of Ireland but is populated by witches, fairies, elves and dragons.

The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 1 The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 1

Fell in love with the characters immediately. Needed to know what was coming next. Now I have to wait for the next book. Breen’s grandmother, Marg, who had been a leader herself, comments, “But there are always some, aren’t there, who believe what they believe is the only. And will do whatever it takes to force that belief on all. For me, those who would kill and burn and enslave in the name of a god, well, they don’t hear the god they claim to worship. Or the god is a false and cruel one.” 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 . . . Roberts sets the bar high with the launch of her Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy, a captivating tale that not only vividly showcases her superior storytelling and characterization skills but also brightly illuminates her affinity for all things Irish." — BooklistNora Roberts, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the epic Chronicles of The One trilogy, presents a new series of adventure, romance, and magic where parallel worlds clash over the struggle between good and evil in The Dragon Heart Legacy. A small band of pilots fight against a seemingly unstoppable alien empire in this thrilling space opera.

The Dragon Heart Legacy Series by Nora Roberts - Goodreads The Dragon Heart Legacy Series by Nora Roberts - Goodreads

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 I must admit I thought Nora Robert only wrote romance novels. But this is fantasy romance.I love the concept and I love Nora’s writing. I usually enjoy Nora Robert's romantic fantasies, and this one is no exception. They're usually set in Ireland, and I love the descriptions of the country and the way she uses Irish myths in the stories. I think they've been all portal fantasies, and there's a combination of modern and a more folkloric world in the books. This one is a bit of a slow burn, the first book setting up Breen and her friends as she discovers her heritage and delves into the world of Talamh. 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... 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...Breen Kelly’s life in Philadelphia has been very ordinary. She teaches middle-school language arts to students who don’t inspire her. Or do they not inspire her because she doesn’t love teaching? The truth is that Breen became a teacher because her mother told her that was all she was capable of doing, and she is miserable. Her biggest support system is her best friend and roommate Marco, who is flamboyantly gay, fiercely loyal and wonderfully perceptive. She loves spending time with him in their apartment and in the bar where he works.

The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 1 The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 1

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. While I love the world of Talamh and its story, I was less enthused about the contemporary part of the book. I kept getting thrown out of the story there: how did Breen get all that money, how did she just sell her books so easily, why did she suddenly stand up to her mother because money? and other stuff like that. I felt like there was too much telling in those sections and insufficient showing. Mists, shimmering silver fingers, rose over the pale green water of the lake. They twined and twisted toward a sky quietly grey, while in the east, over the hills, a pink blush waited, like a held breath, to waken.Talamh is on the brink of disaster. An evil being who had been vanquished has returned, and he is intent on harming Breen. Keegan, the leader of this alternate world, begins to instruct her on self-defense as others show her the ways of magic. We see Breen grow and blossom into the person she already might have been had her father not left.