REVIEWBALL: Jewel Of Atlantis by Gena Showalter

JEWEL OF ATLANTIS
GENA SHOWALTER
HQN Books (February 1, 2006)
ISBN: 0373770960

Cai: The Jewel of Dunamis is priceless to whoever owns it. The Jewel can defeat any army, tell friend from foe, and make its possessor the ruler of Atlantis. Because of these properties, those in charge of the Otherworld Bureau of Investigations send one of their top agents into the secret world of Atlantis on a mission to either retrieve or destroy the Jewel.

Agent Grayson James finds himself in the midst of a nightmare from his first step into Atlantis. On the run from demons, vampires and dragons, Gray receives help from an unexpected source: a sexy female voice in his head. The voice helps him escape from his pursuers in return for his help in escaping from those holding her prisoner.
Gray battles a horde of demons and vampires to help the woman he alternately calls Prudence or Blaze, depending on what she says and how she says it, escape.

Stephanie: The woman calls herself Jewel, which makes Gray suspicious but not suspicious enough in my book. The man’s an agent for goodness sake. Doesn’t he care why her name correlates to the very thing he is looking for? He does cogitate on it for a bit, but then he gets sidetracked by a few things. Like a demon biting him and a vampire sucking his blood. Ok, so maybe that is a good reason to forget a very important fact. This story moves quickly and has some great dialogue that reminds me of the witty repartee of the old 40’s & 50’s swordfighting movies.

Cai: Together they evade the demons and vampires who have joined forces. Along the way, Gray discovers that Jewel knows many facets of his life, including his many dalliances with women, and that she desires him almost as much as he desires her. What Gray doesn’t know but begins to suspect is that Jewel is what he was sent to retrieve.

For her part, Jewel is thrilled to finally meet Gray in the flesh. She’s followed his life from childhood to his current age, worrying over him when he was on dangerous missions, lusting after him, loving him.

Stephanie: One of the best moments in this book is when Gray realizes that Jewel not only can read his mind, but that she’s been doing this for years! So her knowledge of his rakish ways are in-depth but he doesn’t know her at all. When their psychic connection is broken is when the real fun begins.

Cai: The connection between Jewel and Gray is undeniable. The reality of their situation is that Gray has never failed a mission, and he won’t fail this one. He’ll take something back to his superiors and keep Jewel safe at the same time. Somehow, he’ll ensure she gets the one thing she really wants. Freedom.

Stephanie: But the conflict is that Jewel can’t leave Atlantis. Those who do sicken and die within days. And Gray can’t stay in Atlantis. He has to finish his mission and that means he has to destroy Jewel or take her to his superiors. But both would mean her death. How he resolves this dilemma is classic.

Cai: Gena Showalter’s latest venture into the world of Atlantis has it all. Humor, danger, adventure, mystery, lust, hot sex, and an extremely satisfying ending. I give this one a rousing cheer!

Stephanie: I agree with Cai. Gena Showalter’s Atlantis world has a lot to offer. I dare you to pick up Heart of Atlantis and try to put it back down. My bet is you will be like me and stay up all night just to find out how Gray and Jewel can have a happily ever after despite the odds. Stand up, pom-pom waving cheer from me!