Book Review: The Choice (Dragon Heart Legacy, #3) by Nora Roberts

Book Review: The Choice (Dragon Heart Legacy, #3) by Nora Roberts


The Choice by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The Choice is the epic conclusion of Nora Roberts’ Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy. Here we have portals to other worlds, mythical creatures, magic light and dark, and battles between good and evil on both large scale and small. There is a charming, diverse cast of characters, a couple of lovely romances, and a wonderful emphasis on family, whether bound by blood or chosen by heart. In this trilogy and her last, Chronicles of the One, Nora has made a radical departure from the cozy and comfortable storytelling I fell in love with as a teen. I can see where some lifelong fans of her writing might be disappointed in the shift, but I really respect it. This trilogy, and the one published before it, are stories that I would have no qualms recommending to fantasy fans who have never had much interest in Nora’s work.

Nora’s recaps are always incredibly beautiful, poetic in a way that sets the tone for the story even though the voice shifts to something more casual afterward. I wish this type of recap was a standard practice with series, especially fantasy series. It’s been Nora’s standard for years. While I love rereading her books, it’s nice that these recaps are there for when I don’t feel like taking the time to reread them before the next installment comes out.

As this is the finale of a trilogy, I’m not going to discuss any specifics of the story. Instead, I want to discuss characters. Our main character, Breen, has grown tremendously from when we were first introduced to her in The Awakening. She has found her path, her voice, herself, and she had is dedicated to staying true to that self. She is fierce, loyal, kind, and funny. I love her relationship with her best friend, Marco, who has also grown tremendously from the first book to this one. However, one thing I have to mention is what I found to be an odd lack of chemistry between Breen and her love interest. The chemistry in Nora’s romances is always palpable, but this one fell a bit flat. I think that’s in part due to her greater focus on a romance for Marco, in which there was far more believable chemistry. But Breen’s love interest, while I liked him as a character, made little sense to me in terms of romantic lead. I just never felt it, all the way through the series. Even at the very end, when things are wrapping up, I appreciated how Nora wrote it but still didn’t feel anything regarding that central romance. I found this pretty disappointing, but as I was deeply invested in the rest of the story, I gave it a pass.

I do feel like Nora is getting stronger and stronger at her battle scenes, and the build up needed to have them be impactful. The fantasy aspect of this trilogy was very strong, and I was really impressed by how well balanced a portal fantasy it truly was. We spent time in both main worlds, and I cared about what was happening in both. But the fantasy world itself was beautiful, and was the epitome of everything I consider fantasy at my core. There was magic and fey and mythical beings and dragons and so much more. Talamh has joined the ranks of the fictional places I would most love to visit, alongside Narnia and Hogwarts.

The Choice was a great ending to a very solid fantasy trilogy. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a fantasy story with a classic, poetic feel that also includes a lot of diverse representation and a romantic subplot or two. Even when Nora puts you through the wringer during a story, you can also aways trust her to provide a happy ending. And sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.

You can purchase this book from: Blackwell’s | Bookshop.org (Support independent bookstores!)Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible | Libro.fm (Another way to support independent bookstores!) | Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide!)

View all my reviews

2 thoughts on “Book Review: The Choice (Dragon Heart Legacy, #3) by Nora Roberts

  1. I love Nora Roberts books..i have every one she has ever published but I’ll think twice before I buy more. I was so disappointed in The Choice. I had enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy but the ending of the last one devastated me! All the way along she wrote about what would happen “after the defeat of Breen’s grandfather” but the book ended so abruptly that we never got that far! As for the love interest…talk about taking a woman for granted…id have hit him and left! I have always loved Nora’s fantasy books and reread them constantly. This series I’ll be giving away. I would even question if Nora Roberts actually wrote that trilogy.

  2. I third book in the series in the trilogy of the dragon heart legacy was VERY DISAPPOINTING 😞..I still can’t Believe they ended it that way!! I was so waiting for the weddings and a little bit of the future after the end to Odin…so disappointed

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *