Gwen’s review of Atlantis Unmasked (Warriors of Poseidon, Book 4) by Alyssa Day
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Berkley 7 Jul 09
This book starts with a bang and does not slow down for several chapters. You are immersed in the battle of humans and Warriors of Poseidon against vampires and their minions. In this series, the vamps are the bad guys and they also have their own house in Congress. The vamps are doing everything they can to destroy the Warriors and to take over the world. It’s up to our hero and heroine to do all they can to stop this plan.
This is all characteristic of Day’s Warriors novels – strong heroines, yummy alpha heroes, hot romance, and action. Where they differ from each other is the personalities involved. Day is adept at weaving in secondary characters without obvious sequel-baiting – they actually serve a purpose for the current book’s story arc. There’s some “convenience” in the Alaric character (Kenyon fans will see small similarities to Ash from the Dark-Hunter novels) – he’s seemingly all-knowing and -powerful, haunted, and moody as hell and he tends to bail the main characters out of trouble.
What I liked about this entry in the series was the focus on the main characters. We don’t spend too much time in other heads, even with the rather large cast and complex world. This is one of the nice things about Day’s books – you really get to know the main characters.
The romance is very steamy and believable. I loved how kick-ass the heroine is and how the hero let her be so – he wasn’t trying to protect or change her. He let her be her kick-ass self and she was able to shine and develop as a result. Was it easy for him to do that? No. But he loved her enough to let her be who she is. That makes me smile.
There’s lots of action and an interesting new story arc with the fae begins in this entry. I can’t wait to see where it goes in the next entry in Feb 2010, Atlantis Redeemed. SPOILER ALERT! At the end, the bad guys are naturally thwarted; but something unknown, and probably awful, has happened to Quinn. That’s the other thing about these books – main characters often go through some rather horrendous experiences and all for our entertainment and, presumably, the author’s desire to torment us 😉 .
I’m not sure if this book stands alone – there are a lot of moving parts to this world and it may be a little difficult if you haven’t read at least one of the other entries. All in all, Unmasked is a very good entry into the Warriors saga and one that I recommend to all the fans following the series. If you’ve dabbled in the Warriors series, make sure you pick this one up. There’s yumminess to be had between these covers – so to speak.
Grade: B+
Summary:
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Poseidon’s warriors swore an oath eleven thousand years ago to protect humanity from those who stalked the night. Yet when a woman with an ancient Gift dares to claim the heart of one of Poseidon’s fiercest warriors, the world teeters on the knife’s edge between desire and darkness . . .
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A warrior scarred…Alexios survived two years of unspeakable torture at the hands of a vampire goddess. Now he’s been ordered to team up with a beautiful warrior and take on the most dangerous mission of his life: to retrieve the Vampire’s Bane. Without it, Atlantis can’t ascend to the surface and take its rightful place in the world. But when evil threatens, will Alexios be led by duty-or his heart?
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A descendant of Diana…Grace is part of the rebellion against the vampires and shape-shifters trying to take over her world. She is deadly with her bow, because when she takes aim, she never misses her target. But suddenly she’s focused on a damaged Atlantean warrior who sees her as a weapon, not as a woman. When thousands of lives are on the line, will passion overrule, or will her aim still be true?
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When two worlds collide…Atlantis is unmasked.
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Read an excerpt here.
Other books in the series:
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Atlantis Redeemed |
