The Vampire's Bride - Gena Showalter

The Vampire's Bride by Gena Showalter
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Form: Book
Series: Atlantis Series

He is Layel, king of the vampires, a master seducer no woman can deny. But since a rogue horde of dragons killed his beloved over two centuries ago, Layel has existed only for vengeance...until he meets Delilah.

Wary of love, the beautiful Amazon wants nothing to do with the tormented vampire. Yet there's no denying their consuming desire every time he nears her.

Neither trusts the other - nor can they survive alone. For in an impossible game of the gods' devising, they've been trapped on an island, about to face the ultimate challenge: surrender to the passion that will bind them forever...or be doomed to an eternity apart.

...source: back of book...

I'm thinking that The Vampire's Bride is wrapping up the Atlantis series, and I say that that is probably a good thing. While I sort of enjoyed the series, I definitely enjoy the Lords of the Underworld series a lot more. The extensive story line really helps, while the Atlantis series is more bits and pieces that somewhat connect. This was a good book - not excellent, and most certainly not horrible.

For some reason I had a hard time picturing Layel, and that drove me crazy. I like being able to visualize the characters. His red lips and white hair - I don't know, I kept coming up with a crazed Albert Einstein. So visually I didn't stick to the book's description. I did enjoy Layel and Delilah's interaction, which is probably what made the book good. I like the heat between two opposing forces who are unnaturally drawn to each other.

As for the active story line - the battle for the best creatures on Atlantis, I actually felt fell into The Hunger Games a bit. It was a little different, but the idea was similar. I was a little niffed when in the end the gods decided - 'eh, we decided not to kill you, instead you will be punished in such and such a way.' When what I really wanted was for the god's to keep their word, but for the winner to come up with an all inclusive "booty" for their winnings; i.e. "I want you to return everyone who participated back to Atlantis in the state you pulled us out." Something that would have allowed for everyone to keep their memories of what happened on the island, yet the ultimate happily ever after. I also had hoped for a reconciliation between the vampires and the dragons...who knows, maybe she's got more Atlantis up her sleeve...