Seaborne

While presenting a vividly detailed, supernatural world derived from Atlantis legends, this debut novel lacks spark and a distinctive voice. 29-year-old heiress Claire Bishop is permanently paralyzed from the waist down after a boating accident. Bitter and depressed, she leaves New York for Seaborne, an estate on Maine's coast that she had inherited from her grandmother. There, she spends her time staring at the ocean and wondering whether there's a point to living. What she doesn't know is that Morgan, a hunky, undersea prince, has been lustfully spying on her. When he musters up the courage to meet his landlocked love, Claire is inordinately attracted to him%E2%80%94especially when he starts to come to her in erotic dreams and she finds she can walk in his undersea world. Between Claire facing down a scheming ex and overprotective father and Morgan battling against threats to his future throne, the two realize their destined passion together in steamy scenes. Irons paints the paranormal side of things with a meticulous and imaginative brush, creating uses for undersea creatures, both real and fictitious, that tickle the senses. Unfortunately, many scenes could have been tightened or cut, the writing style is dense and oddly old-fashioned, and the characters bring nothing new to the genre. (Apr.)