Shades of Atlantis Blog Tour stops here today!

I cannot express the excitement I feel in taking part in this blog tour.  I finished "Shades of Atlantis on April 3, 2011 and I am very impressed with the book and writing of Carol Oates.  I will now review the book.

Summary from Goodreads:
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.

Triona is a high school senior who has plans to go to school in London.  She waitresses at  a restaurant in Maine to earn money.  She dreams of London because that is where her deceased parents met.  She longs to connect in some way with them.  She is fortunate to have been raised by a loving aunt and uncle.

She meets Caleb at work.  He is the young, hunky owner of the restaurant.  Sparks fly from first look. (Yes, this is a love at first sight book.)  Triona doesn't think that she is anything spectacular and wonders what Caleb could possibly see in her. He is too good to be true-  rich, good looking, super strong, compelling, etc.  Misunderstandings ensue until at last they declare their love for each other.  I do not consider this to be a spoiler, because this happens at the beginning of the book.

As in all true love stories, there must be conflict.  This book has conflict galore.  Carol Oates did a great job at getting me hooked into the story line and turning pages to find out what could possibly happen next.  I felt empathy for Triona and what she was going through. She runs the gamut of emotions.  She has moments of anguish, happiness, confusion, and self doubt.

I loved how she was able to take legends and many paranormal creatures and bring them into one story line.  She has created a new paranormal and interwoven it into Irish and Atlantian legend.  I must admit that I am enthralled with the Celtic legends.  I imagine my ancestors growing up in the lush and historic environment.

One particular thing that I noticed and wondered at is that all of the major male characters have biblical names.  I was unable to ascertain if there was some hidden meaning to that.  It was just one of the little details that  I picked out.

I read a post on her blog on the meaning of the title.  I am posting the link, because I think it is very interesting.  If you want to read more in Carols words, go to http://www.caroloates.com/2011/03/shades-of-atlantis-what-do-it-mean.html.  You might want to become a follower of her blog while you're there.

Overall, this is a very compelling book. I really enjoyed it.  There are lots of great kissing scenes. :0)!  This book does not hold graphic scenes.  There is  some violence in the final pages of the book where the conflict is resolved.  I gave this book four stars.

Now - the fun part.

There will be a fabulous giveaway along with this blog tour.  In order to qualify, you must leave a comment on each blog tour post that is participating.  Below you will see a list and the days that each blog is  posting on. There will be a form to fill out at the final stop.   Carol and Omnific are providing the prizes. Here are the goodies that can be won!

Giveaway 1) Signed copy of Shades of Atlantis, a lined spiral notebook with SoA cover, bookmark, keyring, SoA 2011 calendar, and SoA mug.

Giveaway 2) Signed copy of Shades of Atlantis, a lined spiral notebook with SoA cover, bookmark, keyring, SoA 2011 calendar

Giveaway 3) Ebook copy of SoA

Giveaway 4) Ebook copy of SoA

Pretty cool!  Make sure that if you haven't you hop on over to these wonderful blogs and leave a comment!


April 1: Mundi Moms
April 2: Once Upon A Twilight -Guest Post Blog
April 3: Good Choice Reading: 
April 4: Frenzy of Noise - character interview
April 5: Girls Just Reading
April 6: Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my
April 7: CSI:Librarian
April 8: YA Bound
April 9: YA Booklover Blog
April 10: The Reading Fever
April 11: Home Between Pages
April 12: Books and Shtuff
April 13: Bookworm Lisa - (You are currently at this site, leave a comment!)
April 14: Moonlight Book Reviews
April 15: One Book Shy of a Full Shelf
April 16: Diva's Bookcase
April 17: Ticket To Anywhere
April 18: The Crazy Bookworm
April 19: A Trail of Books Left Behind and A Tale of Many Reviews- video interview with author - Final Stop

Carol Oates has never been one to remain still for long. After her parents' mad dash to the hospital through the empty city streets of Dublin, Ireland, Carol made her debut into the world in the early hours of Christmas morning. Since then her pace has not slowed down in the least.
Carol was introduced to the world of supernatural books when, as a child, her family moved to a coastal suburb on the northern border of Dublin known as Clontarf, famous as the birthplace of Bram Stoker, the prolific author responsible for breathing life into the legendary story Dracula. This stirred in Carol an early passion for reading about all things supernatural. Combine that passion with a deep interest in the history and folklore of Ireland, as well as an active and vivid imagination, and Carol Oates the author was born. Carol's love of writing about anything not entirely "human" emerged, and the premise for her debut novel, Shades of Atlantis, was born.
Carol still lives in Dublin, but spends a great deal of time traveling though the counties of Ireland and Northern Ireland with her partner and son. When not travelling through the countryside, Carol spends her days at the office and her evenings immersed in the world of Legends and Mythical Creatures.

Author Website: http://caroloates.com/
Author on Twitter: @CarolOates
Book Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/user/OmnificPublishing#p/u
Where you can buy the book:
http://omnificpublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=33&products_id=36
Additional purchase sites:  B&N, Amazon.com, All Romance eBooks (.com),

Shades of Atlantis is available at Amazon.