Heart of Atlantis by Alyssa Day
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Title: Heart of Atlantis*
Author: Alyssa Day
Series: Warriors of Poseidon
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Format: E-book & Paperback
Date/Year: December 4, 2012
Reviewed by: ElaineReads
*This book was provided to the reviewer by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Summary from the publisher:
As a war wages between the immortals of Atlantis and those of the vampire realm, a Poseidon warrior fights to save his world—and the woman he loves. And no risk is too great.
The desires of a high priest.
Alaric, Poseidon’s High Priest, has made a vow to Quinn, the woman he loves and the leader of the Resistance: to save her friend Jack before his last bit of humanity has been drained. Should Alaric succeed, there’s one intimate danger: he may lose Quinn to the love of the man whose life he saved. But damn Atlantis to the nine hells, he’s willing to put Quinn’s wishes first, regardless of the consequences.
The warning of a threat reborn.
The final jewel of Poseidon’s trident has turned up in the hands of mysterious Ptolemy Reborn, who claims to be descended from Atlantean royalty. He’s about to reveal to the world that Atlantis is real, positioning himself as king. But this magical terrorist is bent on chaos. The only warrior who can stop him is following his own path, driven by the even more powerful force of love. Atlantean powers over the sea could prove just as cataclysmic—for Quinn’s love, Alaric might drown the entire world.
My Musings:
I have been reading the Warriors of Poseidon series since the first book, Atlantis Rising, was published in 2007. There are now eight books as well as two novellas available in anthologies. I did not know, however, that this book was the final book in the series until I was close to the end. And I am not happy about that. Each time I re-read this series, I fall in love with it again. I hate the idea that there will be no more warriors and the women who keep them in line.
Alaric is the very scary high priest of Poseidon. His responsibilities have caused him to pull away from his friends and his life is extremely strict and lonely. Did I mention that an integral part of being the high priest is a vow of celibacy . . . that has lasted for hundreds of years? When I say Alaric is lonely, I really mean lonely! Of course, that is before he meets Quinn, the human rebel leader against all the monsters that are trying to enslave humanity, who also happens to be the sister of the wife of the High Prince of Atlantis.
Confused yet?
Quinn has been fighting the monsters since she was a teenager and is certainly not interested in becoming involved with a control freak like Alaric. Fate, however, has other plans for them.
Throw in a tiger shapeshifter that refuses to shift to human, a half demon-half Atlantean usurper to the throne, and a surfer dude portal and things really get interesting.
I loved the story between Quinn and Alaric. Both of them have been emotionally damaged by the things they have had to do in their pasts and neither of them feel worthy of being loved. Watching them find their way to each other was wonderful, although I thought Quinn needed to kick Alaric’s posterior a time or two . . . or three. He was so determined to stick with his role as high priest.
My only problem with the book is that I felt it tried to tie up too many plotlines at one time. There was so much going on that it was hard to keep track of who was doing what. I also thought the sex scenes were excessive. Sure, Alaric has been celibate for hundreds of years, but after a point they interfered with the story.
This is not a book that should be read as a stand alone. You really, really need to read the entire series including the novellas to appreciate everyone’s story. You will not regret it. As I said, I have read the series more than once and loved it every time. I will miss the warriors, but you know, Prince Aiden will need his book one day.
Read the series. You’ll understand.
Ratings:
Overall: 4 stars
Sensuality level: 3
ORIGINALLY REVIEWED ON SEDUCTIVE MUSINGS
Elaine Reads . . . constantly! 