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- Title: Becoming: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 2
- Author: Nora Roberts
- Narrator: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 15:42:38
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 23/11/2021
- Publisher: Macmillan Audio
- Genre: Romance, Romantasy
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
There’s a particular magic that happens when an exceptional narrator breathes life into a richly imagined world – the kind that makes you forget you’re listening to an audiobook and instead transports you directly into the story. That’s precisely the alchemy Barrie Kreinik achieves in her narration of “Becoming: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 2” by Nora Roberts. As someone who’s spent years chasing stories across continents – from the oral traditions of Oaxaca to the windswept cliffs of Ireland – I can tell you this audiobook experience feels like sitting by a crackling fire while a master storyteller unfolds a tale that lingers in your bones.
Roberts’ second installment in the Dragon Heart Legacy series finds Breen Siobhan Kelly fully embracing her dual heritage between our world and the magical realm of Talamh. What struck me most was how Kreinik’s narration captures Breen’s transformation – her voice maturing from the uncertain teacher we met in “The Awakening” to a woman wielding both sword and sorcery with growing confidence. The narrator’s ability to shift between Breen’s modern American cadence and the musical lilt of Talamh’s residents creates an immersive listening experience that mirrors the protagonist’s own journey between worlds.
Listening to this on a long drive through New Mexico’s high desert, I was reminded of those evenings in Oaxaca where stories weren’t just told but “performed” – every pause, every whispered threat from the villainous Odran, every chuckle from Marco (whose fish-out-of-water humor Kreinik delivers with perfect comedic timing) felt like being part of an intimate storytelling circle. The way Kreinik handles the romantic tension between Breen and Keegan is particularly masterful – she lets Roberts’ prose do the work, using subtle vocal shifts rather than melodrama to convey the heat simmering beneath their warrior training sessions.
Roberts’ world-building shines in audio format. From the dragon wingbeats that Kreinik makes almost audible through rhythm alone, to the distinct voices she creates for each magical being (the mermaids’ liquid tones were a personal favorite), this is fantasy world-building at its most sensory. It’s the audio equivalent of that moment when you step into a foreign marketplace – all at once overwhelming and wondrous, with every new accent and turn of phrase adding depth to your understanding of the culture.
The novel’s themes of self-discovery and embracing one’s true nature resonated deeply with me. There’s a particular scene where Breen must confront her grandfather’s legacy while claiming her own power that reminded me of my own journey leaving academia to pursue travel writing – that moment when you realize the stories you’ve been told about yourself don’t have to define you. Kreinik delivers these pivotal moments with a rawness that honors their emotional weight without tipping into sentimentality.
If I had one critique, it’s that some of the battle sequences – while expertly narrated – can feel slightly prolonged in audio format compared to the more character-driven moments where Kreinik truly shines. That said, her ability to maintain tension and clarity during these chaotic scenes is impressive, especially when differentiating between multiple characters’ voices mid-combat.
For listeners new to romantasy, this audiobook serves as a perfect introduction to the genre’s blend of heart-pounding adventure and slow-burn romance. Roberts’ signature balance of magical stakes and human relationships finds its ideal interpreter in Kreinik, whose performance understands that true magic lies in the quiet moments as much as the epic battles. Fans of “A Court of Thorns and Roses” or “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” will find familiar pleasures here, though Roberts brings her own distinctive blend of Celtic mythology and contemporary sensibility.
As the miles of desert highway unspooled before me, I found myself driving slower just to prolong the experience – the mark of any great audiobook. By the final chapters, when Breen fully steps into her power and the narration swells to match her transformation, I had to pull over simply to absorb it all. That’s the gift of this production: it doesn’t just tell you about magic, it makes you believe – if only for fifteen glorious hours – that you might glance out your window and see dragon wings cutting across the moon.
May your journeys – both literary and literal – be filled with such magic,
Marcus
Marcus Rivera
