Posts Tagged: carol oates

Paperback
307 pages
Published November 2010
by Omnific Publishing
ISBN 1936305445
5 stars

Since the death of their parents, Triona Pryor and her brother, Ben, have lived with their aunt and uncle in Camden, Maine. Now in her senior year of high school, Triona loves her family and friends, but she has always felt that she didn’t quite fit in…in Camden, or anywhere else.

Enter Caleb Wallace, the devilishly handsome man who has recently moved to Triona’s small town. While their attraction to each other is instantaneous, it also proves to be dangerous…and deadly.

When tragedy strikes, Triona flees to London for solace and to start her life anew. It’s there she discovers from an unlikely source that her family has been keeping secrets from her – secrets about not only her birthright, but her ultimate destiny as well. Armed with this knowledge, Triona finds herself thrown into a whole new world and into a battle to save the lives of everyone she loves.

It’s been a while since I have been completely swept away into the world of a book, but Shades of Atlantis carried me away and left me there. Author Carol Oates reawakened my creative spirit and desire to learn about Celtic myth and lore. With only a month left of 2010 and over 115 titles reviewed, her book easily slides onto my list of favorite reads this year.

The tale begins with main heroine, red haired Alitriona Pryor, a regular high school student growing up in Camden, Maine. Raised by her aunt and uncle after the tragic death of her parents, she and her brother Ben find themselves pitched into a battle involving family secrets and hidden destinies. Triona begins work at a local seaside restaurant where she meets her new boss Caleb Wallace and immediately they both feel an attraction that is magnetic. The chemistry between the two of them soon proves to be dangerous. Caleb believes in Platos’ concept of soul mates, two halves that make a whole. Soon he starts to open up to Triona with tales of an ancient sword, magic, hidden civilizations and a gifted people. Are they all tales from his childhood or is there some truth to his stories?

Readers travel to the mountains of Maine, Clerkenwell London, Oxford, Dublin and ancient Tara, Ireland in search of the truth. Breathtaking scenery and local legend made the book vivid and alive. The author combines faery lore with Celtic history and adds a dash of Arthurian legend to Atlantis.

Her characters are all well developed and I dare say you will fall in love with both main heroes Caleb and John for the strengths they bring into Triona’s life. Once you pick up Shades of Atlantis you’ll want to carve out enough time to read it entirely because there is no turning back. I stayed up late into the night and woke up early the next morning entranced. My only reservation was that at times there are similarities to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, but with enough of a twist to make this book stand alone as unique and powerful. Even the Epilogue was amazing! Each page well crafted and captivating. Congratulations to Carol Oates for an incredible debut. Shades of Atlantis is all together mesmerizing and magical.

Readers may also enjoy The Mark by Marilyn Bunderson or The Books of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater. I would recommend this book for readers 16 and older as it does contain some sexual content and violence.

Carol has generously donated one free ebook of Shades of Atlantis for our readers.

To Enter simply comment below.

+1 visit Carol’s site and comment

+1 follow @CarolOates or us @FireIcePhotos on Twitter

+1 add Shades of Atlantis to your TBR list on Goodreads

+1 visit our Shades of Atlantis inspired gallery on Flickr and pick your favorite photo
+1 comment on her interview below

+1 for total your entries and leave your links

Contest ends December 30, 2010 and is open internationally