FOCUS (THE CRESCENT CHRONICLES) BLOG TOUR ~ REVIEWS AND GIVEAWAY

 

 

Welcome to my stop on the Focus (The Crescent Chronicles) Blog Tour! The tour is being hosted by AToMR Tours; you can find the complete tour schedule here. My stop includes reviews of Flight and Focus (The Crescent Chronicles 1 & 2) and a tour giveaway.

 

 

Series: The Crescent Chronicles #1

Genre: New Adult Paranormal

Publisher: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Publication Date: 8/16/12

Format: ebook

Pages: 268

Source: Received from author for review.

 

Sometimes you just have to take flight.

A summer in New Orleans is exactly what Allie needs before starting college. Accepting her dad’s invitation to work at his hotel offers an escape from her ex-boyfriend and the chance to spend the summer with her best friend. Meeting a guy is the last thing on her mind—until she sees Levi.

Unable to resist the infuriating yet alluring Levi, Allie finds herself at the center of a supernatural society and forced to decide between following the path she has always trusted or saving a city that might just save her.

Fun, exhilerating, and unique, Flight is a great start to the paranormal series, The Crescent Chronicles.

 

I know that I say this a lot, but paranormal books are tricky for me. I often feel as if I'm reading the same story, over and over again. That is so not the case with Flight. I loved the New Orleans setting of the story. I've read a few stories that almost seemed to use the famous city as a gimmick, but not here. This is a city that the author is very familiar with and she uses it to her advantage. As Allie became familiar with the city, I was able to visualize Canal Street, Bourbon Street, Cafe du Monde, and many other notable areas of New Orleans. It felt nice to "revisit" the Crescent City.

 

As for the supernatural elements to Flight, I'm not going to reveal that here. I went into the story completely blind, and I loved discovering the hidden world right along with Alli. What Ivy came up with was so cool, so unique, and pretty darn wicked. Allie finds out what creatures are hidden are hidden with the city fairly quickly, and I loved that she didn't lead us along the whole book, dangling bits and pieces and building frustration. It was nice to know the basics of what was going on, and then to be able to get down to business.

 

Allie was a great heroine. She's so smart, but not arrogant. She handles the supernatural secrets like a champ, maybe a little too well, but I didn't really care. She's fairly pragmatic, not prone to hysterics and denials in the face of the obvious. Levi, the guy who introduces her to the magic, is hot, charming and a little infuriating. I love that he doesn't hide who he is from Alli, but oh boy, he is tricky! Through lies of omission, Levi brings Allie in way too deep, and it costs her a lot. I wanted to dislike him, but I just couldn't do it. *shrugs* Allie's reactions to Levi's deceit was spot-on. She is not going to let him off easy.

 

The story also includes a fantastic cast of secondary characters. Hailey, Owen, and Jared are all big players in the story, and I loved them each time they appeared, which was often. Jared was my favorite, most likely because he's a smarta$$.

 

Flight was a fun and interesting story all the way through. It was such a quick read, and I mananged to fly (pun totally intended) through in just a couple hours. I immediately began book two, Focus.

 

 

Favorite Quote:

 

  Shivering with anticipation, I didn't let my eyes leave his gaze. When the kiss came it was as aggressive as the way he held me--unyielding. Without waiting, he pushed into my mouth, deepening the kiss quickly. Groaning, he pulled me even closer, his hands holding me possessively. I gave myself over to him completely, wanting him more than I thought possible.  ~71%

Series: The Crescent Chronicles #2

Genre: New Adult Paranormal

Publisher: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Publication Date: 1/23/13

Format: eARC

Pages: 331

Source: Received from author for review.

Freshman year of college is hard even when you're not tied to the future king of a supernatural society.

Allie dives into college head first with Hailey as her roommate and the city of New Orleans as her backyard. As things within The Society heat up, Allie realizes that whether she’s with Levi or not, she's in far too deep to turn back.

 

 

 

A fantastic follow-up to Flight,  Focus continues The Crescent Chronicles with a story that did not disappoint.

 

After finishing book one, I immediately jumped into Focus. I wanted to know how Allie was going to deal with being unwittingly tied to the supernatural world, and Levi. How she was going to deal with her feelings for Levi, but her desire to make her own choices and live her own life. In Focus, the author didn't waste time picking up the story, and the hits just kept coming.

 

It's really hard for me to discuss Flight too deeply without spoilers. I will say that I love how the author handled Allie and her feelings. on-going ramifications of her becoming involved in Levi's world. Her feelings of anger, betrayal of trust, and intrigue all made her into a much more believable, genuine character. I loved that Levi, though he's not really sorry for pulling Alli irrevocably into his life, still tries to make things right with her. That he gave her her space, allowed her time to think and deal with her feelings, helped his cause. Despite their sketchy start, I just really enjoy these two as a couple.

 

Focus, like Flight, moved along at an incredibly quick pace. Not too fast, but enough to hold my attention and keep me wondering what was going to happen next. There were some funny moments, some really sweet, steamy moments (which are more of the fade-to-black variety), and a nice twist at the end.

 

With Flight and Focus, Alyssa Rose Ivy has given readers a very cool series. I'm really glad I decided to give the books a try. The Crescent Chronicles will continue with Found, this summer, and I cannot wait to see where the series takes Allie and Levi next.

 

 

 

Favorite Quote:

 

  He closed the space between us, his lips claiming mine with a fierceness I wasn't expecting.

  He carried me over to the bed, and somewhere between the bathroom, and laying me down, he'd lost the towel. "I like this side of you, Al."

  "The naked side or the take-charge side?"

  "Both. Definitely both."  ~71%

 

I can't believe that both quotes I chose came from 71%. Weird!

 

 

 

The Crescent Chronicles Series

 

Click on cover for GoodReads page

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase Flight and Focus at:

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Smashwords

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

About the author:

Alyssa Rose Ivy is a Young Adult and New Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.

Connect with Alyssa at:
Website | GoodReads | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon