Review: Heart of Atlantis by Alyssa Day (Warriors of Poseidon #8)

Heart of Atlantis (Warriors of Poseidon #8)
Alyssa Day
Published: Dec. 4, 2012 (Berkley)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon

Reviewed by: Candace

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

“…See me for the heartless monster that I am, Quinn, and make no mistake that your safety is my only priority.”

Sometimes an introduces a character early in a series, and then dangles them along to torture the hell out of them. By the time the reader gets their book, the question is: Will the hero live up to the hype?

In Heart of Atlantis, Alaric most certainly did. Of course, Alyssa Day has woven a fantastic world of aquatic hotness that has undoubtedly sent the sales of water fountains up substantially since we first read about Conlan and Riley. At the beginning of the Warriors of Poseidon series, we were introduced to Alaric. Alaric’s duty ruled his life to the point of celibacy. That’s right. While all the other warriors got their groove on, the High Priest to Poseidon held his duty close to his chest and resisted carnal urges.

Until Quinn. Riley, wife to Conlan, has a sister who, for all intents and purposes, is just as tortured as Alaric. Fighting monsters in all forms, Quinn leads the rebel resistance alongside Jack, the tiger shifter, who is gravely injured in one of their battles. Atlanteans are all about keeping their vows and Alaric swore one to Quinn to save Jack before it was too late.

Have I mentioned that there is a wannabe trying to maintain that he is the true King of Atlantis? Or that Anubisa, malevolent vampire and soulless monster, is running amok trying to complete Poseidon’s Trident? I didn’t? Well, they are. Everything that Poseidon’s Warriors have fought against is coming to fruition in Heart of Atlantis.

If you want a fight, you’ve got one. If you want an evil villain or two, you’ve got that as well. If you want Alaric and Quinn to finally consummate a relationship, Day doesn’t disappoint. If you want more details on that, just remember, this is the woman who wrote Christophe’s book. Remember that? Alaric doesn’t do so bad for a 500-year-old virgin.

Heart of Atlantis brings a wonderful conclusion to the series. I loved it, but there were some things that bugged me. In the end, you get all the characters together and the couples were basically given the “poof, you’re married” treatment. I wasn’t a big fan of that. Not that I’m advocating a big, flashy, jeweled gown wedding scene. I do, though, love the Seuss comparisons. In Atlantis, Quinn says she feels like she has walked into a Dr. Seuss book and Conlan says “You’d almost think the author had been Atlantean.”

One of the big treats for me is that I discovered that Poseidon may not be the overbearing ass that I always thought he was. You see him interacting, indirectly, with Alaric and Quinn at the end. Day left a lot of mystery around Jack’s outcome and I highly anticipate reading the tiger shifter’s story.

Buy the book. Actually open the cover (because let’s face it, Alaric’s chest is very distracting and one tends to get caught up in looking at that) and read. Alaric and Quinn will have you hooked in seconds.

Sexual content: Graphic sex