• The Awakening

  • The Dragon Heart Legacy
  • By: Nora Roberts
  • Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
  • Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (60 ratings)

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The Awakening  By  cover art

The Awakening

By: Nora Roberts
Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
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Publisher's Summary

The first in a 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.

©2020 Nora Roberts (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK

What listeners say about The Awakening

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Nice beginning for a promising story

This book has a good idea of a story, but the it’ s a little slow for the first two parts because there’s too much description of details for my taste. I feel that the author knew was going to do a series of this story, so instead of making it flow and develop it she stalls and dives into describing the magical world so much that it slows the plot and makes a little bit boring in some bits. The beginning has a good pace but it drops the pace and it’s almost boring how she elongates the story for two thirds of the book. She introduces you to the story without really doing it. The author basically throws up her magical background (but not explaining really anything), falls a little short of slapping the main female character for not knowing anything and then returns to a super slow flow describing the details and landscape of the new world. Though I must say the third part of the book gets super more interesting and the flow picks up (I think it’s to make it more appealing to read the next book), but I hope this flow is kept in the next book as the story leaves you hanging there and it’s original. Also I must say that the main female character’s friends are adorable and so cool, especially her best friend is so nice that I’m so looking forward to how she’s letting him be part of the main story in the sequel. I hope that in the sequel the author keeps up the pace of the story and stop stalling it to make more books as it diminish the quality of the story.

1 person found this helpful

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Brilliant! 100% recommend

I laughed and cried multiple times through this lovely tale and although part of a series, the ending was quite abrupt as though in the middle of the story.

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A SOLID GOLD.

the characters and storyline is excellent as always. Nora Robert's never fails to deliver a great novel with an interesting end....it makes me want to start the second book a.s.p.

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  • Patricia B.
  • 12-28-20

Silly

The story is very obvious and poorly written, almost childish. Feels like the books Nora Roberts wrote at the beginning of her career.
Nevertheless, it was a fun listen.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 12-12-20

Loved this book, but.....

I throughly enjoyed this books and almost raced through it. My only disappointment is that book 2 isn’t out yet and won’t be until October 2021. It’s been left in such suspense and I would have easily gone straight onto the second without a stop or break in between. I feel abit lost now it’s finished.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Brooks
  • 06-09-22

Felt very one dimensional, boring.

The story reminds me of something a child would write, 'and then we got the limo, and then I had a champagne, oooh yummy, and then we caught the plane (in first class!!!) and I was so nervous, and then we arrived and the hotel was lovely...'. Unbelievably awful considering the Rise of Magicks trilogy, so engrossing and exciting. Really disappointed I spent a months credit on this.

I didn't get far to be honest. It was just too grating in every way.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 02-17-21

A brilliant book!

I used to read fantasy books regularly but got bored with them after a while so I wasn’t sure about trying this one. Being a firm fan of Nora Roberts I thought I would give it try. I loved it great characters and a story with plenty of angles to keep my interest. I didn’t want it to end imagine my disappointment when I realised how long that I have to wait for the next book!

2 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 12-09-20

excellent

narrator was very good. Nora Roberts at her best. Will definitely listen again! cant wait for book 2

1 person found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 03-29-23

Same as every other "fantasy" Roberts ever written

Childish. simpel story with no surprises. Another copy of her earlier work but with sloppier story, less fun and no mystery. This will be the last time I give Roberts a try

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  • Ana
  • 12-24-22

Great story and introduction to the series

I am in love with Breen and Marco and Keegan and Maureena and everyone in this book. All characters are so well created that I am interested in all their lives.
I really appreciated the evolution of Breen from insecure to strong and resilient and a bit cheeky as well.
Unexpected bonus - some romance 😁

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  • J. Chambers
  • 03-10-22

fantastic story

loved it, going straight on to the second, gonna be hard to wait for the third part.

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  • andrew gunn
  • 02-24-22

Amazing

As always Nora Roberts captures your imagination in the first chapter and you just want to comfort Breen right away.
l went through the porthole with her description every time and looked forward to seeing everything on the other side.

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  • Ali Q
  • 02-09-22

Slow to Get Really Going

Far too much detail before they even arrive in Ireland. But I think the author was trying to make the reader understand the choice the heroine was making.
All round a good story, so will now go on to read book two.

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  • Joy
  • 12-01-20

A bit disappointing.

Although not as strong as ‘the one’ trilogy, this book does improve as it progresses towards the end. Early chapters felt padded and with a little too much product placement. All characters were well developed by the reader but overall the reading could have done with a little more restraint as the lead character often sounded petulant.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Victoria
  • 01-05-21

A lovely story..

But gawd if Marco called her ‘Gurl...’ one more time 🤨 it got repetitive and jarring. Gurl.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Denice
  • 12-03-20

spellbinding

loved this story, impatient for the next book, well done to all involved with it.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Laura
  • 08-10-22

Gets better as it goes

I started this book on 2 stars, by the end it got itself up to 4.
First 10 chapters were cringe and dull and find the character of Marco draining and annoying, and disliked the way he spoke with “Girl” at the start of every sentence. When she goes through to the other world, it starts getting really good! The Irish characters are well thought and likeable. Now I’m really
pumped for the second one and glad I persevered!

1 person found this helpful

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  • Lizelle
  • 12-11-21

Absolutely addicted

Loved Loved Loved this book. I have never been interested in reading/listening to any fantasy type of books. This one was my first and definitely not my last. Absolutely loved it and can't wait for the next one.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 01-20-21

weak stereotypical characters... yawn

The characters were stereotypical in their actions and words. The main protagonist was such a weak and spineless character that I struggled to get through this book. Even the gay best friend did little to liven up this boring story and everything he said and did was straight out of the first season of queer eye. None of the characters had any depth.

1 person found this helpful

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  • HR
  • 01-06-21

You won’t want it to end... but alas it does. ☹️

As usual Nora the master storyteller weaves her magic, expertly bringing to life new worlds & endearing characters. Well done again Nora, your a VERY talented writer & story teller. 👍

1 person found this helpful

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  • Melissa Richardson
  • 04-07-23

The best ever!

This series is the best! I have loved every second and is now my favourite series ever.
The narrator is amazing! She does a fantastic job of all the characters. Do yourself a favour and read it!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 04-03-23

Brilliant

Absolutely loved the narrator the story followed beautifully. The story was truly spell binding. You felt as if you were in the book with them.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Antje Williams
  • 03-29-23

didn't finish

I love this author normally but this one didn't engage me
a great deal