Atlantis Rising (Warriors of Poseidon) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Over eleven thousand years ago, before Atlantis sunk into the sea, a group of warriors met with the sea god's high priest. They were divided into seven groups of seven and assigned each a sacred duty and a magic-imbued gemstone. Some were to sink to the bottom of the world, shielded from prying eyes. Others were to join the lands of humans at assigned locations. They would serve as first warning on the eve of humanity's destruction. Only then would Atlantis rise again.

Conlan, High Prince of Atlantis, had been captured by Anubisa, the vampire goddess, and tortured for seven years. When he finally returns to Atlantis, nearly dead, it is to learn that Poseidon's Trident has been stolen. He, and the rest of the Seven Warriors of Poseidon, are to surface and retrieve it. Along side the group would be the high priest and Ven, the King's Vengeance. Poseidon's Trident has been the vehicle of ascension for Atlantean kings for millennia. Without it, Conlan could not ascend to the Atlantean throne.

Still raw from Anubisa's torture, Conlan does not wait for the others before heading out for the surface. Upon reaching air, his mind is bombarded with a mind link that only Atlanteans have been able to access. However, this time the link came from a human female who is being attacked by creatures of the night. Conlan finds himself possessed with the need to locate her, protect her, and make her his. Problem is that desiring a human is taboo.

Riley Dawson is a dedicated Virginia Beach social worker. She and her sister, Quinn, have always been emotional empaths. However, they believed it to be a type of twin speak (even though they were almost a year different in age). Being an empath is hard on the heart, especially in her profession. Therefore, she often heads for the beach for quiet healing. Riley knew she should not be out after human curfew. (Only recently have the vampires and shape shifters announced their existence.) But nothing could keep her from the beach after such a dreadful day. The last thing she expected was to be attacked by a group of men. Or for a male of obviously great power to link with her and heed her mental call for help. Riley certainly never expected to find herself among a group of Atlantean Warriors and in the middle of a war!

***** OMG! OMG! I have never come across a plot such as this! I found it to be totally original. Author Alyssa Day grabbed me with an iron hook before I even finished reading the very first paragraph. When that happens, I know the story has great potential; Alyssa Day did not let me down.

This IS a stand alone story, but I am having difficulty forcing myself to wait for the second book in this series. (Actually, book two will be a novella in the May 2007 anthology WILD THING. Book three, ATLANTIS AWAKENING will be released as a full length novel in November 2007. Sample of it is in the back of ATLANTIS RISING.) Be sure you keep note of the info above, because I pity anyone who misses out on this stellar series. Paranormal Romance gets no better than this! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Conlan is the high prince of Atlantis. After being tortured by Anubisa the vampire queen for seven years he has finally returned home. Only to find that Poseidon's Trident has been stolen and he must reclaim it. Riley Dawson (an empathic social worker) gets caught in between the vampires and Conlan's Atlantean Warriors. She and Conlan are drawn towards one another, but Conlan must remain loyal to Atlantis and Riley is human.

I've read the other reviews and can't help but wonder if I've read the same book. It's generally not a good sign when within the first two pages I am already mentally editing the text - and this continues throughout the book.

Riley is always speaking before she thinks, and worse sometimes acting before her brain is out of park. On p66 she's musing about how she and her sister Quinn are like twins - "ten months apart was close enough to be almost twins". Well no it's not, not unless your mother had the longest pregnancy on record. And once we meet Quinn it quickly becomes clear that Riley doesn't know her sister at all, which makes her 'twins' statement even more ridiculous.

Both she and Conlan are so two-dimensional, that you just don't care about them. Conlan has been viciously tortured for seven years by the vampire queen. But the only reason we're aware it's happened is because every so often he either tells someone, or somebody else mentions it. Because we have little emotional connection to the characters when horrific things happen to them it just doesn't horrify. Riley yelling "Stay away from my boyfriend!" along with Conlan's "Die you foul hellspawn!" just made me want to throw the book at the wall.

To go with our two-dimensional hero and heroine we have a 2-d villain. Anubisa chews the scenery, kills her minions and is appalling. But I don't care because I don't understand why she is that way - she just is.

After the other Warriors turn up there is an improvement in the storyline, mainly because the other Warriors are far more interesting than either Conlan or Riley. How I wish the book had been about them, with Riley and Conlan as a sub-plot.

The frustrating thing is that it isn't all bad. There are flashes of humour between the characters that made me smile. And some of the interactions between the Warriors are very well written - especially Denal, Bastien and Brennan. The problem is that Conlan and Riley should be the most interesting thing in the story and they aren't. There is a good story here, but you have to work hard to find it.

Consider it if you're really stuck for a new paranormal series.

Atlantis Awakening is released November 2007.

I've hesitated over buying this due to the cheesy cover (i freaking hate them!) but in desperation waiting for JR Wards Lover Enshrined to be released and Kresley Coles new novels, i capitulated and bought this book.

I wont go over the plot again as other reviewers have done so admirably so i will just stick to what i thought of the story and characters.

Conlan - Alpha Male, gorgeous, huge, gorgeous, sensitive, gorgeous, oh and did i mention gorgeous? I thought I had had enough of the same old alpha heroes. Thought they had all been done before, but there is something about this guy that just seemed to make me fall in love with him just a little bit. I think its the emotional connection he has with Riley, the heroine, which i have only ever seen in Christine Feehans Dark books, but this was even better. Less mushy, more believable, and probably what every woman would want in a man if she was honest with herself.

Riley - sweetness itself, a saint, but flawed so she is not too good to be true. The sort of person i would want to be if I had a choice. Goodness runs through her core but she has balls as well.

I adored this story, I really did. I cant wait to read the rest of her stuff, although i was dissapointed to see that she is quite a new author.

I was reminded of a more romantic Black Dagger Brotherhood, when reading this. The warriors banter was funny and reminded me of it a lot. In fact the humour in the book was one of my favourite parts.

I cant recomend this enough if you enjoy fantasy as well as romance and hot sex. If you draw the line at urban vampires as in the JR Ward sense, then the world of Alyssa Day's characters my find you not able to suspend disblief enough to really enjoy it. However, if like me, the more legends and myths the better, then dive in head first and submerge yourself in the warm waters of Atlantis Rising. You wont regret it.