The Awakening

ok Nora! On one hand I was happy for the cute friendship between Breen and her gay bestie Marco. I did feel like Marco consisted mostly of like cliches and Drag Race catchphrases held together with glitter glue, but, ok, we had a good time. And I did think her relationship with the drag queens at Sally's was really sweet. Hag representation matters.

I liked the portal fantasy aspect a lot and I am stoked that at the end, Breen told Marco about all of the magic stuff and also that he jumped in the portal too! I am excited to see Marco take on magical Tulum or whatever the fantasy land is called.

Overall based on what I've read I think I prefer Nora's contemporary romance but ehhh I'll prob keep on reading. Gotta chase that cliffhanger!

I'm used to Nora Roberts' romance trilogies, where we see a set of three siblings/friends each settle down. This is not that–though it was still good.

This series has much more magic in it; the important part of the narrative takes place in a fey realm with dragons. I say “important,” but I actually enjoyed the first half of the book, the “finding myself” part, even more. And I love fantasy! It's just that I turn to Nora Roberts specifically to see the “finding myself” part, and I wasn't totally in the mood for a high-stakes realm-changing battle. I feel bad saying that–after all, an author should be able to tell whatever story they like–but, nonetheless, it was the case for me.

Bottom line, this is looking like a series that will follow one character as she embraces her destiny, leads a war, and continues falling in love with a warrior. It's deeply felt and I love the world building, but to be honest, that's not the storyline I'm into these days. Maybe someday I'll come back to it. ;)

Light and easy read as usual from Nora Roberts. I'm glad she has stepped out of the formula of three lives for the last couple of series. While those are comforting that one knows what to expect a bit, it's nice to have a bit different. I always struggle about how to rate her books as they aren't blow your socks away s but they are a comfort for me. I usually call them Cotton Candy books. For this series I like the main character of Breen and her coterie from home. Still not sure what I think of Keegan as he is a bit arrogant and not very approachable. Love Marco and can't wait to see what kind of trouble he gets into on the next books,

This is the first book I have read by Nora Roberts. I always equated her with the likes of Danielle Steel (whose books I cannot handle), so I was crazy surprised by how much I enjoyed “The Awakening.” I had a physical copy and listened to the audiobook, too. I am very sensitive to the voices of narrators, and this one was an absolute delight!

I'm excited to read the second book in the trilogy as this initial novel weirdly and wonderfully touched on so many areas of my life.