While I think that the paranormal world in the Atlantis series is rich and vivid, it's also a bit light, fluffy, and cheesy at times. Sometimes I get impatient with this type of two-steps-forward, one-step-back romance, but it held my attention, and I enjoyed the ride. Just when you think progress is being made, it folds in on itself, and Layel pulls back from Delilah.

The romance is stretched and drawn out like a taffy pulling machine working over a huge gob of sugary confection. Meanwhile, Delilah pursues Layel like a woman who knows her own mind (which I like), and Layel battles his conflicted heart for a couple hundred pages. It mirrors 'Survivor' so closely that it's hard to take it all seriously, but I was a fan of the show for many years, so that's probably why I found it amusing. Except getting voted off the island means decapitation. The teams have to compete in challenges, with the winners getting a reward, and the losers facing a `tribal council' elimination. To settle their dispute, the gods select the best warriors from Atlantis and strand them on the island, thereby setting up their own cock-fight, with each god backing different supes. Showalter does a great job creating deities that I love to hate, and she succeeds here again. Poseidon and his cruelly indifferent chums have a petty argument over who gets to use Atlantis as his/her private playground. In an interesting twist, Showalter sets up this story just like an episode of 'Survivor,' except instead of nerdy accountants, clueless baristas, and heartless corporate types, the competitors are unwilling supernaturals from all the species in Atlantis. We finally get Layel's story, the bad-boy of Atlantis, and king of the vampires. The penalty of failure is death, and Layel does his best to channel his inner ice-man while Delilah makes it clear she's interested in some vampire loving. Before the battle is over, Layel, Delilah, and a host of other creatures are magically transported to an island, where a group of bored gods and goddesses have decided to hold a competition to see which creature is the best. Too bad he's still carrying a torch for his human mate who was raped and murdered two hundred years ago by a small group of dragon soldiers. Delilah has cerulean blue hair, violet eyes, and a yen for violent men, so naturally she likes Layel on the spot. Plot Summary: Layel is out killing dragons, so it's business as usual, when he meets an Amazon in the midst of battle.

The Vampire's Bride by Gena Showalter