The Last Atlantian by Mikki Noble
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: December 13, 2019

Spencer did not plan to work on her birthday. She didn’t plan a lot of things, but they happened anyway. Like, when she touched a guy and he turned into a gold statue, or when some stranger appeared to tell her she was in danger. She didn’t plan to see her life forever changed by one simple act, and it still happened anyway.

What Spencer doesn’t know is why. Why is all this happening to her? Why does she have the power to turn people into gold all of a sudden. Who is she really?

And why is this cute guy calling her the last Atlantian?

Review:
The Last Atlantian by Mikki Noble is very much a wish-fulfillment story. This isn’t a positive or negative assessment; it’s simply a category the book falls into, as much as it falls in the young adult age group and the fantasy genre. In the tradition of this story type, Spencer is minding her own business on her seventeenth birthday when magic suddenly bursts into her life. It begins when a customer pushes his way into the cafe where she works, tries unsuccessfully to flirt and get her number, and ultimately grabs her by the arm–an action which gets him turned into a gold statue. This is followed by two guys (a scary guy and a cute guy, as per Spencer’s descriptions), appearing from thin air and doing battle right in front of her. Spencer doesn’t quite understand what she’s discovered right away, though the title probably gives a hint. 😉

I enjoyed the originality of the setting and Spencer’s powers. The book has a couple little moments that make me go, “Oh, wow. I wish I could go to this place/see these things/have these experiences.” An early scene describes a room filled with water and yet Spencer can move through it as smoothly as if it were air. It’s pretty cool. As popular as Atlantis might be in myth and general fiction, it’s a rare backdrop in young adult literature, and it was refreshing to read some original mythos about it.

In the interest of a well-rounded review, I will say there were times the novel took some shortcuts. For example, the first fight scene is simply described as “some kind of martial arts,” which looks like “a lot of arm flailing and grunts” to Spencer. It spares the author from choreographing the fight but leaves readers with little to immerse them in the moment. A later fight scene does a similar thing. Even Spencer’s battle trainer admits to knowing nothing about fighting except from experience and movies. I feel like the book would have been much better served if the author created some unique magical weapons rather trying to skirt around a lack of information about existing fight styles. But, that aside…

Readers of all ages need these kind of escape books from time to time; at least, this reader does. There’s something therapeutic about imagining yourself in your everyday life when someone appears to tell you you’re magical. If you’re in need of that sort of pick-me-up, The Last Atlantian does the job in a quick and easy read.

Rating: 2.5 (rounded up to 3 for Goodreads) out of 5

Readers can find more info on Mikki Noble and her book below. There is a giveaway going on, for anyone who’s interested:

You can connect with Mikki Noble here:
– Website
– Facebook
– Goodreads
– Twitter
– Instagram

Direct links to The Last Atlantian:
– Amazon (Affiliate link)
– Goodreads

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