Book Review: The Nymph King by Gena Showalter

The Nymph King (Atlantis) by Gena Showalter

The third book in the Atlantis series. This time we are brought into the lives of the nymphs, briefly introduced in Jewel of Atlantis. A race of man-like creatures that no woman (of any type) resist. They have taken over one of the portals from the dragon-men, and raided the surface (Earth) for women. Apparently, nymphs grow weak if they don't have sex a few times a day. Most of the women come willingly, except for Shaye. The nymph king, Valerian, instantly feels a bond to her and wants to claim her as his own, but one of his warriors has the same idea.


Meanwhile, the dragon-men want their portal and castle back and are planning on launching a full scale attack to kick the nymphs out. Then out of nowhere one of the gods (think ancient Greek) appears and starts meddling with things.

Back with the nymphs, Shaye is slowing losing her resolve to fight against the attraction she feels for Valerian. I enjoyed both the characters of Shaye and Valerian. They were constantly evolving as they learned more about eash other and how best to get along. The supporting characters, both nymph human and other, were developed perfectly for the role they played.

Until the very end I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Then things sort of fell apart...or fell together as it may be...just a little too neatly. It seemed as if she had written her characters into a place she couldn't get them out of.

4/5

Book Review: Jewel of Atlantis by Gena Showalter

Jewel of Atlantis by Gena Showalter

The second book in the Atlantis series. Atlantis is a world hidden below the ocean by the gods to contain all of their creations before the humans. The only way in is to discover one of two secret portals...guarded by men that can change into dragons and are ordered to kill all who try to come in.


Grayson James has managed to sneak through these fearsome guardians (not sure how) in search of the mythical Jewel of Dunamis. A jewel that has the power to tell the future, read minds, and separate lies from truth. His company wants to get the jewel before some government can get ahold of it and use it to their advantage during a war. Now, this reason seemed a little far fetched, because if no one can get to Atlantis to retrieve the jewel, then how can they use it? But, OK, I went with it.

Grayson soon realizes that the Jewel of Dunamis is not a gem, but a beautiful woman that is being held against her will by the demoms (one of the many creatures living in Atlantis), to take advantage of her gifts. This being a romance, sparks fly when they meet and Grayson must find a way to rescue her and keep her with him always.

I really enjoyed a lot of the tensions between Atlantean races the author allowed to spring up throughout the story. From dragon men, mermaids, gorgons, minotaurs, demons and vampires, they all had reasons for wanting the jewel in their hand and their reactions to her were unique and real. I enjoyed her character very much, while I found Grayson a little dull. It was a great read to follow up the first book, Heart of the Dragon, and parts of the storyline stem directly from the events that ended the first in the series (which I have found is unusual in romance series).

3.5/5

Book Review: Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter

Atlantis exists! It is guarded by a race of shapeshifting dragon of unbeilevable fighting skill and hunkiness (even if they do sprout scales when provoked). Darius is the head man...er dragon, and is entrusted with guarding the portal that separates our world from his. His duty is to slay everyone that comes from our side and he takes his duty seriously, never letting any pass. Then one day Grace stumbles through and something changes. He breaks his sacred vow for the first time, intrigued by the fiery red head that dares to defy him.


But this isn't the only change heading towards Darius. As he runs around after Grace, trying to keep her from getting killed by the other dragonmen, he discovers that she isn't the only human in Atlantis after all. There is a second portal, guarded by his mentor and father-figure that becomes strangely silent, and suddenly Grace finds herself caught in the middle of a battle to save a world that most still think is mere myth and legend.

As Grace and Darius rush to save not only Atlantis, but all the people they hold dear, they find themselves plunged into a very heated romance. And wow...do I mean heated. This is not a book for any who blush easily. While the romance plays second fiddle to the fight for Atlantis, it is definately there and wants you to know it!

Grace is a fantastic female character. Not only is she not stick thin and model georgous, she actually has a head on her shoulders and isn't afraid to fight to get what she wants and protect those she cares about. It isn't suprising that Darius struggled to resist her.

Darius is a lean mean fightig machine...with the additional abitilities you would commonly associate with dragons as well. While his character is hard and ferocious, we occasssionally are allowed glimpses into the inner-Darius and can easily see why Grace would fall head over heals for him.

This is the first book in the Atlantis series by Gena Showalter and I have the next two sitting in my filing cabinet drawer (I ran out of room on the TBR shelf) and I can harldy wait til their turn comes up to read more about this fascinating new world, Atlantis.

4/5 (would have been more, a bit too steamy in places for me)