Source: Purchased from Amazon (ebook)
Pub. Date: November 23, 2021
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon
Other Books in Series: The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy #1)

Why did I choose to read this book?

I read The Awakening (Book 1) and it was pretty fun. When Nora Roberts is writing about (1) repressed women, (2) magic or witches, and/or (3) Ireland she’s at her best. It ended with a bit of a cliffhanger: Breen’s Gay Best Friend(TM) Marco has been transported to Talamh with her and now has to decide how to cope with this new reality that Breen is wrapped up in. I was interested to see where this would go, mostly because I’ve never read a Nora Roberts book with gay sex described.

What is this book about?

This book is meant to have Breen become something but I’m not really sure what that is supposed to be. A lot of the action takes place in the Capitol, so we see her in a more formal setting and how more residents of Talamh react to her. She’s supposed to be “the key” to dispensing Odran, her grandfather/evil god threatening to destroy all the realms, so it’s good for people to meet her and see that she’s prepared to face him. If the first book was her believing in herself, this book is about getting other people to believe in her.

What is notable about the story?

A Roberts trilogy tends to follow a formula: 1st book is the 1st couple with a hint of a second couple upcoming, 2nd book is the 2nd couple with either a hint of a 3rd couple or a continuation of the 1st couple if that wasn’t resolved in the first book. So when Marco got pulled in, I figured we’d see his love story and acceptance of Breen’s role in Talamh as the central story in The Becoming. We do see him kissing, “going in for the night,” and tangled in the sheets the next morning, but notably missing from the story are any sexy scenes with Marco and Brian. In addition to this, the sex scenes with Breen and Keegan are also kind of toned down. I’m not sure why this is, and I’ve remarked on this in other Nora Roberts books I’ve read recently (Hideaway). Everyone is too busy trying to save the world to get it on, and while I get that, it’s kind of weird to have it be absent in a Nora Roberts novel. Not a negative necessarily, just notable that it’s not as present.

Was anything not so great?

The combination of overly dramatic prose, a repetitive story, and the lack of steamy scenes made this book pretty boring to get through. It’s almost exactly like the first book with a little more war and intrigue sprinkled in. You could read a synopsis or a spoiler post and have the idea of this one without actually having to read it. Odran’s still stuck where he is, there are jealous ladies trying to kill Breen, Breen still kind of sucks at hand to hand combat, etc. Even the increased presence of dragons in this one couldn’t make it more exciting or interesting. This is a book you’ll read because you have to, and you’ll immediately forget it until the third book comes and reminds you of where you left off.

What’s the verdict?

2 stars on Goodreads, it was just too boring to earn any higher. I’ve preordered the third book (out this November) in hopes that it will pick up the generous amount of slack and bring us in for a smooth landing, but this one was just not that great. For this trilogy I would recommend to borrow from the library before you buy, especially if you are a Nora Roberts fan and want to see for yourself.

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