Review: The Awakening by Nora Roberts

The Awakening by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio ARC via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This follows Breen, an unhappy middle school teacher who has been held back and put down by her successful and driven mother for most of her life. When she finds out that her mother has been lying about her estranged father for years and that he's been sending funds to provide for her since they divorced, Breen is understandably angry. She and her best friend Marco decide to take a trip of a lifetime to Ireland to try to find her father and reclaim some of Breen's lost heritage. While in Ireland, Breen begins a journey of self discovery starting out with Marco and it becomes even more after she meets her Grandmother and learns more about her family. This book has been out for a while so I won't go into the plot too much. I really enjoyed taking this journey with Breen, I was captivated by the story and enjoyed the characters! If the second book isn't out yet, I know it will be available soon.

I loved this! The narrator was wonderful, and I thought she did a great job with the different characters and accents. I didn't know much about the series going in, but I've read a different paranormal/fantasy series by Nora Robert so I thought I'd give this a try. I'm so glad that I did. I thought the world building was excellent and it makes me want to take a trip to Ireland even more than I did before. I thought Breen's character development was good, but some of the side characters could have used a bit more development. Keegan who I assume is going to play a much larger role as the story develops is a good example, Breen spends a good deal of time with him, but I don't fee like we know him yet. We know he's driven by duty and has high expectations of everyone, but we don't get to know the man very well, at least not yet. As for Breen, I really liked that she went from a timid kind of push over character to someone that while she was skeptical of the new world she is now part of, was willing to speak up for herself. She communicated her needs even if people weren't willing to listen, and she was willing to train to fulfil her duties even if she didn't always want to.

I felt that the magic system was a bit under developed. When it came to Breen developing her abilities, everything just kind of came to her without much effort. Maybe that was by design, but it felt too easy considering how hard she has to work at everything else. I also didn't love the ending. The audiobook is over 15 hours long, and the ending makes it feel like a really long introduction instead of a standalone novel. I'm very much looking forward to the next book, but I feel like the conclusion could have been a more sound as I prefer books even if they are part of a series to feel like they stand on their own. The ending almost felt like a cliffhanger after such a long book, I don't have a feeling of closure. It does make me want to pick up the next book ASAP, so that works in the author's favor. I'm looking forward to book 2 and seeing where the series is headed.
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