Release Day Blitz & Review: Flight by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Today I've got the pleasure of kicking off a blog tour / blitz for Alyssa Rose Ivy's new book, Flight. This tour was put together and hosted by Bewitching Book Tours. 

Book: Flight (Crescent Chronicles #1) by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Genre: Young Adult / Paranormal Romance

Buy A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Available Formats: Ebook

Publication Date: August 13th, 2012

Where Did I Get This Book: For Blog Tour / Review - Bewitching Book Tours & authorFirst Sentence: "I'd sworn off men, or really boys, because those were the only type of males I tended to attract."Description: 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.

Flight by Alyssa Rose Ivy was certainly an entertaining read. Allie, our main character is new to New Orleans and by her own admission, is looking for an adventure. Well let's just say she finds one.

Upon her arrival, much to her dismay, she is immediately drawn to Levi. If I'm being honest, I'm not really too sure how I feel about Levi. He just didn't really do anything for me. He seems to genuinely care about Allie, but he also comes off as a bit of a clinger. He pops up around every corner and gets very serious about her rather quickly.

I don't want to give away too much information, but you already know this is a supernatural story.. so I'm going to spill a few beans here. You see, Levi is a Pteron, which is some sort of crow/human mix. He doesn't turn into a crow, but he descends from people who did and he can fly. Which is awesome. But I'm getting off track. He lets Allie in on his big secret very quickly in their relationship. I'm pretty sure it's the second or third time they've hung out and she was just really warming up to him. It just all seemed reckless and rushed to me. I don't think I'd go spilling my supernatural secrets to random girls.

On a different note, I loved the setting of the story. Ivy is somehow able to make the famous city of New Orleans a character in it's own right. She captures the excitement and beauty of the city (at least what I imagine it to be) wonderfully.

One thing that really bothered me about Flight was the fact that Allie was easily entering and drinking in bars. I've never been to New Orleans, but I know the the drinking age is 21. The majority of the story takes places in various bars and I'm just unclear as to how this is taking place. The book repeatedly states that she is 18, yet a fake I.D. is never mentioned. Plus, when her parents find out she's been frequenting bars all across the French Quarter, they don't really seemed to concerned. This bothered me enough that I did some research about drinking in New Orleans and this is what I came up with. Apparently the drinking age was raised from 18 to 21 in 1996. As of right now, some bars will serve 18 year old alcohol if you are with your parents. And some bars will let you in at 18, but some are 21 and over. So I could see how Allie would get away with getting drinks in some bars, but I can't see how she would be able to buy drinks. Unless this book is supposed to take place before 1996, which I don't think is right. At any rate, it confused me.

 I wasn't swept away with Flight but I did enjoy it.I loved the setting, elements of the story were fascinating to me (I am loving the Pterons!) and I think it holds a lot of potential. I'd like to see more development of the Allie/Levi relationship; more insight as to why they are together. We didn't see a lot of the little moments that make people fall for one another, we were just told that they did fall. But at any rate, it was an enjoyable read and a series that I will probably continue.

Favorite Quotes:

I refrained from invading his privacy, half out of politeness and half out of fear he’d catch me.

The loud chatter of the crowd died down as I surveyed the sea of white and black in front of me. I was going to kill Helen, Hailey and the whole lot of them. My red dress stood out like a beacon in a dark sky.

He gave me a flirtatious smile and it hit me; he thought I was a Pteron. I smiled back at him, pretty happy about his assumption. It wasn’t a bad thing if guys thought you were super-strong and able to fly.

 

Author Bio:

Alyssa Rose Ivy lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children. 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.  

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Review: River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Book: River Marked by Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercecdes Thompson #6
Pages:  326

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Buy A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Available Formats: Hardcover / Ebook / Audiobook 
Publication Date: March 1st, 2011
How Did I Get This Book: Purchased
First Sentence: "Under the glare of streetlights, I could see that the grass of Stefan's front lawn was dried to yellow by the high summer heat."
Preview Book: Preview with Google Books
Description: Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now. An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...

I am a huge Mercy Thompson fan and I truly wanted to love River Marked. The idea of a book that includes Mercy and Adam getting hitched sounded great. Unfortunately, their nuptials came at the cost of all of my other favorite characters. The majority of the tried and true cast is absent from the sixth Mercy installment. Stefan, Warren and Samuel make extremely brief cameos, but all three are missing for most of the book.

For me, the magic of the Mercy stories has always been in the characters. Sure the action is fun, but the characters are what make these books great. I honestly love every single one of them - which hardly ever happens in books. Don't get me wrong, I am all for adding new characters into the mix (which is what Briggs tries to do here), but not at the expense of my old favorites. Maybe it's just me, but a book without an adequate dose of Samuel, Stefan, Warren, Kyle, Darryl, Honey, Zee, Uncle Mike, Gabriel and even Ben - just seems wrong. That in a  nutshell, is why River Marked didn't really work for me.


The good news is that Briggs is still an amazing writer. She always does such a beautiful job with her books, I feel it is almost impossible not the enjoy them. Which, I did - I enjoyed River Marked. It is just that it wasn't on par with its predecessors. In all honestly, it did not feel like a Mercy Thompson book. By removing the two central characters from their normal settings, surrounding and secondary characters, the story missed out on what makes the earlier books work. River Marked was entertaining and well written, it just did not have the heart that we have come to expect from a Mercy book.

Favorite Quotes

"Nothing says your sorry like a dead bunny."

"I wiggled my hips into a more comfortable position and tried to think like Adam - a very smart person poisoned by testosterone."

"It made me itch this perspective streak of his. But one of the things the last few months had taught me was that it ran both ways. Anyone who tried to hurt my wolf had me to deal with. I might be a thirty-five-pound coyote, but I played dirty."

"Mine. He was mine, and not even death would take him from me - not if I could help it."

"As soon as I got oxygen in my lungs, I screamed Adam's name with a volume that would have done credit to a B-movie actress in a horror film."

"I was the wife of the Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack - knife fighting was not an acceptable activity."

Review: How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf

 

Book: How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
Stand Alone or Series: Naked Werewolf #1
Pages:  371

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Buy A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Available Formats: Ebook & Paperback 
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2011

How Did I Get This Book: Purchased

First Line: “When a naked man shows up on your doorstep with a bear trap clamped around his ankle, it's best just to do what he asks."

Preview Book: Google Preview

Description: Even in Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble. For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question.
If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .

How To Flirt With A Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper is a pleasant read that was both amusing and enjoyable. It features a charming and comical heroine, Mo, who's personality is a huge mix of sweet n' spicy. There is definitely a bark to her bite, but she also has an incredibly loving side - she is quick to help others and often shows that famous southern hospitality and charm. What I enjoyed most about this character was her no-nonsense attitude; she certainly does not believe in beating around the bush. Mo also has a number of endearing quirks, including growing up in a crazy hippie family (just wait until you see her full name!) and nursing a secret obsession with pretty panties.

The main eye candy in this delightful romp, is the brooding and undeniably sexy town werewolf, Cooper. He is a direct contrast to the charismatic and endearing Mo - which basically means they are a perfect fit. And man, do these two sizzle! Yes, they have a plethora of chemistry, but I was particularity fond of their bantering and bickering. Like I said before, Mo is a no-nonsense kind of gal and she often calls Mr. Personality out on his less than pleasant behavior.

The lovable, if what somewhat wacky cast of secondary characters contribute to the light tone. My particular favorite was Buzz, the restaurant co-owner/original cook/part time law enforcement/basically any other occupation that needs to be done.  while I enjoyed all of the background characters, they do come off as rather flat, stereotypical and one-dimensional.

Fun read with a  delightfully lighthearted and pleasant tone. Even during the depressing plot points, the story never drags you down. Through Mo’s internal commentary, Harper keeps the story firmly on the light and amusing track by embedding snarky, sassy and straight up hilarious comments throughout the story.

The ending was too cutesy for my liking, it definitely had the happily ever after vibe. I enjoy happy ending as much as the next person, but this one was a bit much for me. Everything is wrapped in a nice little pink bow – I like something to be less than perfect.  Does that make sense? Or am I just blabbing?

I would classify this as chick-lit with a side of paranormal romance. Obliviously, it is centered around a werewolf romance, but the tone is much closer to chick-lit. It's the perfect book to kickback with when you just want something fun. It certainly isn't deep, life changing or particularly epic - but it's cute, sassy, comical and downright fun. Sometimes that's all you need.

Favorite Quotes

"Every act of rebellion, whether it was wearing leather shoes or voting conservative in a mock election, made me feel more normal."

"He seemed to choke on the words, as if it literally hurt him to have to interact with another human being. How did this man make his living leading people around in the wilderness? Didn't they expect some civility for their guide fees? Or had he convinced them that Yukon Yankee rudeness was all part of the experience?"

"I would have to talk to Evie about the difference between me making idle conversation and dropping hints to match me up with some burly social misfit willing to move heavy objects."

"Don't take it personally. Some people were just born with a pine-cone shoved up their butts. In Cooper's case, it's lodged sideways."

"If I was smart, I would tell him to stop bleeding on my porch and hike his injured, unclothed butt into town."

"I figured I wouldn't have another opportunity to baby-sit a werewolf, so I should make the most of it."

"He looked so upset - scared and upset and pretty pissed off to see me crouching over wolf footprints as if I was some cross between Nancy Drew and Steve freaking Irwin."

"It took too much energy to keep thinking up all those clever insults."

"It was not healthy for one man's smile to make my panties spontaneously combust."

"You're my constant. You don't fade away."

"Your heart was in the right place, even if you head was up your ass."