Visions of Chains

Visions of Chains is the third installment in The Awakening series and this book just reminds me of why I love Regan Hastings. She writes fast paced novels with intense romance that will have you glued to the pages from start to finish.
In this book we focus on Finn and Diedre. While the end goal for each couple is the same, find the artifact they hid, reunite all of them together and fix the mistakes they made eight hundred years ago, Regan has an amazing ability to make each journey unique. These witches are also in the middle of a war and there are causalities. I was sorry to see some of the characters go, but Regan keeps the book realistic and I appreciate that while reading them.

While some of the other Eternals could not wait to show more find their witches, Finn is not so sure he wants everything that comes with the Awakening. He also does not coddle Diedre at all. He is very matter of fact with her and it takes a while to warm up to him. I can sympathize with him because after all none of the witches trusted their Eternals and turned their backs on them, so it cannot be easy for Finn to trust her now. However, I did think he was a little harsh a couple of times, but in the end I was just as in love with him as Diedre was. While these books are about the witches atoning for their mistakes, the Eternals also struggle with an internal battle of trusting these women again. I am thankful that Regan allows us to see both the witches and the Eternal’s journey.

The romance was just as intense as the ones from previous books, but it was hard to get behind this couple and root for them completely because they did not want to complete the bond. They are going to find the artifact wherever Diedre left it and then leave each other. Thy each had serious trust issues to work through and while previous couples struggled with people chasing them, these two really struggled more with just giving into what their hearts truly desired. It was a different kind of experience than we have seen previously, but I did end up loving watching them go through it.

I was also really excited about the secondary plot that was laced throughout which centered around Egon and Kellyn. We found out more about where Egon has been and why Kellyn is acting the way she is. I have no idea how the two of them are going to work through the issues they have but I am keeping fingers crossed that Regan will write their story soon.

Overall, this series is just fantastic. The world building is very well done. It is informative without being overwhelming and Regan paints a vivid picture of what this world looks like. The plot has interwoven non-stop action with a passionate romance and fantastic characters that you will easily fall in love with. You can read Visions of Chains as a stand-alone novel, but I highly recommend reading Visions of Magic and Visions of Skyfire to learn more about this world and the women who are fighting to save it! show less

Managed to read 1/3 of the book. If I didn't warm up to it and I don't feel for the characters by this point I'm hardly going to like it . What's the point in reading further? :( DNF