Review: Atlantis Awakening

Title: Atlantis Awakening
Author: Alyssa Day
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Warriors of Poseidon/Book 2
Published: November 2007
Nath's Re-Read Challenge

From the back cover ~

To rescue the world from an overwhelming evil, Poseidon's warriors have risen from Atlantis. Chief among them is Ven, serving as the King's Vengeance by birthright and by battle challenge. None can conquer him-except perhaps for one human female.

The warrior...
Ven's mind is filled with duty. He must serve as Atlantean liaison to the humans in a war waged against the vampires. A sword is his weapon - not diplomacy. But on a mission to recover the Nereid's Heart--a ruby of immense power--it will take every ounce of strength he possess to resist the sexual allure of the beautiful with chosen to work with him.

And the witch...
Erin's heart is filled with vengeance. She lives only for the chance to punish those who murdered her family. Now she must partner with a legendary Atlantean warrior whose dark desire threatens to crash through the barriers she built around her emotions--and her heart. Caught in a trap of shifting alliances, how long can Ven and Erin resist their awakening passion?

I had a hard time chose a book for this challenge, again. It seems that each month when I try to pick a book I start with my old favorites of Roberta Gellis, Jude Deveraux, Judith McNaught, Kathleen Woodiwiss etc. but their books are so darn big. And the fact that I wait until the last minute to pick the book causes me to shy away from the longer novels. Then there's the scare factor. Will my long time favorite author still be a long time favorite?

The reason I chose Atlantis Awakening is because the third book in the series, Atlantis Unleashed will be out this Tuesday. It was scheduled to be release a year ago so I have been waiting for what seems like a long time for this book. Since this is a PNR series I thought it would be a good idea for a re-read to refresh my memory of the world building and rules of that world. And the fact that it was just under 300 pages didn't hurt either. :)

A group of warriors from the sunken world of Atlantis protect humans from all the monsters that are out to get them. The humans don't know of the existence of the warriors but they are very much aware of the vampires and shape shifters in their world. The vampires even have their own house of Congress and the shape shifters control much of the media in this world similar to ours yet very different. There is also a rebel group who is out to stop the vampires from gaining more control. The rebel group is mainly comprised of humans, witches and shape shifters who are working together to take out the bad guys.

One of the warriors is the King's Vengence or Ven. He is the younger brother of High Prince Conlan who is the heir to the throne. Conlan's story was told in the first book, Atlantis Rising. Ven must work with the witch Erin Connors in finding the vampire Caligula. He's the same Caligula that the Romans feared. He's just as evil and sadistic but now he's a very old vampire that isn't easily defeated and is determined form a new empire to rule.

Erin Connors is a very powerful witch who, along with Ven, is determined stop Caligula and gain revenge on the monster that killed her family 10 years ago. Erin does have a problem with her magic. She has in her what is considered dark magic called "the Wilding." Not everyone who has this type of magic can control it. In Erin's case she is still learning that control. If that wasn't enough to deal with Erin finds out she is what the Atlantean's call a "gem singer". She can use the power of her voice to harness the power of the gems in her possession and those in Atlantis.

The fact that the females in this series have powers and play an important role regarding the antagonist(s) is very appealing. Erin uses her magic through out the book to protect herself, others and fight the vampires. Ven is good with his sword but has that alpha trait of wanting to protect the women even when they are capable of protecting themselves. Erin shows him that she can not only protect herself but is a true asset in a fight. That aspect is maintained throughout the book.

The warriors are all brave, courageous fighters but they are each portrayed as individuals. Each with their own specific obstacle that must be dealt with before they can get their HEA. I never get a sense of these warriors being carbon copies. Day is able to make each one of them unique not only in looks but in temperament and how they deal with situations. Ven is the smart-ass. The one that is always quick with a comment to break the tension and try to relieve the stress. It's his way of dealing with a life of fighting and killing.

Erin's abilities as a gem singer are new to her and Ven, along with the rest of the Atlantean's, help Erin discover what a gem singer is and how her abilities can help others. She also gets to go down to Atlantis and Day does a good job of describing the beautiful undersea world. It's a paradise filled with beautiful beings who are extremely long lived. This is where Erin meets the warriors along with Riley, Conlan's fiancé. Riley is human and is also an emotional empath. Riley's sister Quinn, who is also an empath, is the leader of the rebel forces. Having strong female characters seems to be a trademark in this series. The men are still strong, brave alpha types but the women are no push-overs and used their various abilities to help the warriors rather than waiting on the sidelines.

Ven was a good match for Erin. He doesn't try to stop her from using her magic. He preferred she use it to protect herself rather than fight but there were times when he was glad she used it to fight. He still did his best to keep her out of the fighting and keep her as safe as possible. Erin didn't back down and let Ven take over when she felt she was needed. She was there when he needed her help and they worked well as a team.

The main problem I had with this book is that I was more interested in the secondary characters. I liked Ven and Erin together but they just didn't hold my attention as much as my need for more scenes with a few of the secondary characters.

My favorite couple Quinn and the warrior priest Alaric have been attracted to each other since they met in the first book. But with Alaric being a priest he must remain celibate or lose his powers. He wields extremely powerful magic and he can't chance losing all that power. But the pull of Quinn is getting stronger. Quinn for her part does okay with resisting Alaric. She understands sacrifice and also has some fierce demons in her closet to fight. When these two are on the page I can't help but long for their book.

The other two characters I want more of is Jack, Quinn's shape shifting partner. He's interesting as well as dangerous but we don't know that much about him. Then there's Daniel/Drakos. He's a vampire but on the side of the good guys I think. There's more to him than being a vampire but I'm not sure what.

So while I liked the book and the plot of Ven and Erin finding and defeating Caligula kept the story moving, I found myself wondering what the other characters were doing and when will we get more of them. Atlantis Awakening is still a solid read with the series arc moving along and setting up for the rest of the warriors' stories. It does end with a bit of a cliff-hanger and so my need to keep reading the series is secure.

Alyssa Day and information about the warriors can be found here. There are also two novellas in the series ~ Wild Hearts in Atlantis in the Wild Thing anthology and Shifter's Lady in the Shifter anthology. Both are part of the series but can be read as stand alones.

Rating: B+