The Vampire's Bride (Atlantis (Harlequin)) [Mass Market Paperback]

Layel, king of the vampires has spent 200 years fulfilling a personal vendetta; destroying any dragons that cross his path. He is no longer the gentle seducer his human mate would have recognised; all softness and love extinguished from him the night dragons brutalised his beloved Susan in a vicious attack that left both her and their unborn daughter dead. Now a blue haired, violet eyed Amazon warrioress has unwillingly caught Layel's attention and attraction. Unwilling to betray Susan's memory in any way Layel has no idea how to deal with the beautiful Delilah; striving to drive her away with insults and angry words. Yet Delilah has finally met her match and yearns to be this man's prize; a mate he would do anything for and kill anyone to protect.

Caught in the middle of a "Survivor" game played between Poseidon, who wishes to remain the sole God in Atlantis, and others who also wish to play with this forgotten toy peopled by the creatures they created, the fickle Gods transport pairs of each warrior race to a secluded island and bet on the outcome of who will win their contests; a Minotaur, a demon, a dragon, a vampire, a nymph or perhaps an Amazon? The goal is simple; win every challenge the Gods devise or die.

Ok I'll list the positives of this book first. The story line features three developing relationships rather than the standard one. On a mysterious island Delilah and Layel battle their growing attraction whilst vampire Zane in unable to accept rejection from Amazon Nola, and back in the realms of Atlantis nymph Shivawn and vampire/demon Alyssa (from "The Nymph King") muddle their way to true love. As always in a GS book, the story line builds to an exciting level as the action comes thick and fast, whilst the love scenes remain as heated as ever.

Now the negatives :) The ending of this book is rushed and over far too quickly and conveniently, almost as if GS ran out of steam. Delilah sometimes comes across as a little too needy as I expected a man to have to work to win an Amazon's love. In this book Delilah may as well hand her heart to Layel with a bow wrapped around it and a sign saying "it doesn't matter how much you hurt me with your words or actions, I still love you". As Delilah is a physically strong warrior I just expected her to be emotionally strong as well, instead of rejecting all Amazon beliefs so quickly and easily to unite with Layel. Lastly I was left a little disappointed by the newly introduced Amazon race. I won't deny their fierceness in battle, their honed fighting skills or increased strength; however the Amazon race lacks a lot (ok all) of the abilities of the other Atlantis species. As a result they ultimately appear less magical than the other characters we meet.

This author is currently juggling a lot of very popular romance series in a variety of genres; including fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi. A fair few are scheduled for release throughout this year; two "Alien Huntress" stories and the fourth book in "The Lords of the Underworld" series (Sabin's story) are all eagerly anticipated, although my expectations for the next LOTU book "The Darkest Whisper" have been raised even higher after reading the brief but fascinating excerpt found at the end of this book. Also expect the re-issue of "Tales of an Extraordinary Girl" plus it's sequel however alas no more "Atlantis" books until some time in 2010.

I really enjoyed this book much more so than her others. The storyline was enjoyable and there were two separate stories/rommances happening at the same time. The heroine was hurt by the hero and I felt that this was ressolved too quickly but otherwise a good read. Very much in the style of Kresley Cole (if you haven't read 'A Hunger like no Other' read it now.) Fantastic story with plenty of steamy scenes. Well worth a read.

For the most part I love Gena Showalter, particularly the Atlantis series. I have to say I didn't appreciate the Nymph story all that much because it just seemed like gratuitous soft core porn. But I had high hopes that that was just because of the particular species of Atlantian.

This book started really well. I enjoyed the character development, the developing romance and the parallel stories. I'm not sure I would have forgiven a man as easily as the Amazon if he'd run off crying for another after ravishing my bones, but each to their own.

What disappoints me about this book, is that to be honest, the end sucks (excuse the pun). After Delilah is 'assisted' the story runs out of steam, and everything is resolved in a rush. The ultimate challenge is no challenge at all, all these characters are involved in it to seem like it all comes together, but I was left feeling like i'd missed a couple of chapters. At the end I didn't sigh with satisfaction at a read well read, which is such a shame, because I was really enthralled by the first, say three quarters.

Perhaps there is a little too much pressure on Gena to balance all her different series deadlines? I wouldn't mind waiting a little longer for stories that match the quality of her earlier works. I'm sure others would too.