Atlantis Rising by Alyssa Day

Eleven thousand years ago, before the seas swallowed the Atlantaens, Poseidon assigned a few chosen warriors to act as sentinels for humans in the new world. There was only one rule-desiring them was forbidden. But rules were made to be broken…

When she calls…
Riley Dawson is more than a dedicated Virginia Beach social worker. She's blessed with a mind link that only Atlantaens have been able to access for thousands of years. Being an "empath" may explain her wistful connection to the roiling waves of the ocean, the sanctuary it provides, and the sexual urges that seem to emanate from fathoms below…

He will come.
Conlan, the High Prince of Atlantis, has surfaced on a mission to retrieve Poseidon's stolen Trident. Yet something else has possessed Conlan: the intimate emotions-and desires-of a human. Irresistibly drawn to the uncanny beauty, Conlan soon shares more than his mind. But in the midst of a battle to reclaim Poseidon's power, how long can a forbidden love last between two different souls from two different worlds?

Oh my...I really enjoyed this book. For some reason, it took me awhile to get through the first few pages. But not because of the book, just because of things going on in life. But oh, once I started in on reading this, I had lots of trouble putting it down. I think what I like most about this book is that it's populated by alpha males who don't come across as jerks. Yay!! I mean, there's a bit of "Mine" going on, but when it comes down to it, Conlan doesn't act all high and mighty and like he knows more than Riley about everything. So they're definitely alpha males, but it worked. And although there are plenty of guys in the story, they didn't come across as sequel-bait. They all added to the storyline. And Riley...it's not often you come across a social worker as a heroine. She's a strong woman, which of course she has to be to be in her job for very long. But she even gets to kick some ass in the book, which was awesome. We actually got to see the heroine saving the hero and not the other way around for once. So I have to say I loved those elements.

The world-building is also nice. It's a world like ours, but vampires and werewolves have outed themselves and are all over the place. Like in media and politics. And Atlantis exists, but the Atlanteans have hidden themselves from the world, but some of them try to watch over humanity and save them from vampires.

Anyways, I really liked this book. I liked that it doesn't gloss over the nasty bits too much, but doesn't dwell on them. And the romance is actually pretty good, too. :-) Riley's an empath and basically gets into Conlan's head, thereby knowing everything about him. And she loves the man he is. Aww....

So yeah, if you want a good paranormal romance read, I'd recommend hunting this one down.