MY REVIEW

I admit, when I read the blurb for Atlantis Rising, I was expecting something with Mermaid or siren like creatures who lived under the water. Very pleasantly surprised by Gloria Craw when I got into Atlantis Rising and I realized this was not going to be anything like I had thought it would be. GREAT!
The Dewings (good guys of Atlantis) seemed more like magic beings (demi gods, witches, fae, or some other paranormal creature along those lines) rather than an undersea dweller. Score!
Alison was raised in foster care, bounced around a lot until her current family adopted her. Even for all the, pain. suffering, hardship and strife a situation like that would put on a kid, Alison is a strong, smart, well rounded and mostly emotionally stable. I like it, and her!
When she was younger (4 years before the story starts I think) she runs into a stranger who realizes she has a very unique and powerful ability. An ability many of the Dewing kind do not posses. This stranger warns her that she needs to hide herself and never tell anyone what she can do because she'll be hunted because of it. Her ability to create thoughts and actions in other people is a power bad men crave! She takes this warning like a shot to the heart and makes herself the biggest wall ornament ever, hoping that everyone will never notice her. Even if it does hurt her that she doesn't really let herself have friends.
It works well enough, until Ian and his kinda sister Brandy show up at her high school and her life as a social outcast ends. Ian just refuses to let her be.
I have to say, I like Ian a lot-even though he does drop right into the middle of the stereo typical YA hero pool. The main thing I wanted more of from him was something to make him Ian. Not have him easily confused in my mind with more than half a dozen other YA heroes that I've read---and liked. The other thing I wanted, and felt would have helped this story get a more emotional connection from me, the reader, was a stronger, more swoon worthy romance between Ian and Alison. It was alright, mostly because I get the author didn't want the love to over shadow the plot as a whole; but I believe adding tension and more depth to the romance would have made this a better read for me.
Ian's family and the other secondary characters were good too. I loved getting to know about them, and there are a few I wish we would have gotten the chance to know more about. Even the bad guys were pretty good.
I have to say, one of my biggest issues with Atlantis Rising, and the reason it's only getting a 3.5 star rating, is that as well written and entertaining as it was, there felt like a lot of parts that didn't do anything for the overall story. It dragged in places and I found myself skimming over those parts. If those unneeded parts had been cut, the flow would have been much better.
My biggest issue with this book was how easily Alison just excepted everything. Learning about her people, her power, her real family and the tragic massacre of her clan, the true story of Atlantis and just how dangerous and deadly the big bad really is.
She didn't have a freak out or even a real moment of doubt. Even when she was a young girl and told by a stranger that she would be hunted and her whole family put in danger, or when she was almost killed by a bad guy henchmen! It's just not realistic, for me anyways.
These last two reasons are the reason why this book only got a 3.5 star rating from me.
A side note is that there didn't seem to really be a definite wrap up of the book. What I mean by that is that I can't tell if Atlantis Rising is a 1 off book or the start to a series. Anyone got the answer to that one? LOL
Overall I'd recommend this book to those who want something different and good in the YA paranormal fantasy realm of reading :)

Okay, my long review is done, I hope you enjoyed it. If my review got your attention, enter the great giveaway below for your chance to win Atlantis Rising or many other great prizes!