Release Day Launch - Excerpt, Review & Giveaway: Lure (The Allure Chronicles #1) by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Lure

(The Allure Chronicles #1)

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

February 16, 2015

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Goodreads Summary:

There's danger in the beauty...

Two years, six months, and twenty-five days. That's how long it had been since I'd seen my winged hero— not that I'd been counting. I'd suffered through years of counseling just to convince my friends and family that I wasn't crazy and knew he didn't exist.

But he did. And I was done waiting.

Days after college graduation I headed back down to New Orleans to retrace my steps and find Owen again only to find my life was about to get even crazier... thanks to the most beautiful and dangerous of all paranormal creatures, the Allures.

Excerpt

We stood awkwardly for another moment before I had to break the silence. “It’s been a while.”

“Two and a half years.”

“I thought about you the past few Halloweens.”

“I thought about you more than that. It’s actually pretty humiliating now that I’m standing in the same room with you. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She looked away.

“I lied.”

“About?”

I walked toward her. I had to wipe that regret off her face. “I thought about you a lot more than just Halloween.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I stopped right in front of her. “You were very memorable.”

“So were you.” She licked her lips. Again with the lips.

“I probably should ask you a million questions right now, but would it be okay if we put those off and did something else?”

“I guess that depends on what else you want to do?” Her eyes widened slightly.

“I want to kiss you.”

“I’m okay with that.” Her eyes seemed to sparkle.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t wait for her to change her mind. I brushed my lips against hers gently. I was going to keep it short, but I had to know if I was glorifying the last kiss.

She moved her lips against mine, and any thoughts of keeping it short disappeared. I wrapped my arms around her as I deepened the kiss, greedily pushing for access beyond those irresistible lips of hers. She opened up, welcoming me in with the same intoxicating taste as she had the last time. 

She moaned, encouraging me to continue the kiss. I didn’t need the encouragement. I lifted her up and carried her over to the couch. I sat down, settling her on my lap. I needed her close, closer than standing would allow.

Her fingers tangled in my hair as she let me explore her mouth. My hands ached to explore more, but I didn’t want to rush it. I’d waited over two years to taste her lips again, and I was going to enjoy every second of it.

Alyssa Rose Ivy Bio:

Alyssa Rose Ivy is a New Adult and Young 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.

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Don't miss out on the prequel novella, Seduction's Kiss which is free right now!

Review

Lure was an interesting start to a promising story. Although I couldn't fully get behind the characters and their actions, I did like the supernatural side of things. It was unique and refreshing.

About 2.5 years after the events of Seduction's Kiss, Daisy's finally back in New Orleans. She felt a connection to her winged rescuer then and now she's determined to prove it to herself. People thought she was insane but let me tell you something, she wasn't insane 2.5 years ago. What she did to find Owen, that was insane. Having no clue where to even begin looking for him, she finds herself in the company of three supernatural beings known as the Allures. They sense something different about her - thanks to a certain witch (read Seduction's Kiss to find out) - and they insist on helping Daisy look for Owen among other things. While she was unsure at first, they were her only resource so reluctantly she accepts. My internal danger meter was going off but nope, not Daisy's. From then on, she got on my nerves. I completely understood her hesitations to trust the mysterious trio but I also wanted to remind her that she made the choice to go with them. I honestly didn't need to be told repeatedly how bad an idea it was. She was desperate and it showed.

In the main time, Owen hasn't forgotten about Daisy either. Unlike in Seduction's Kiss where we're unsure how he feels, we got Owen's POV in Lure! I love seeing him confirm he also felt a connection to Daisy. However, he was badly hurt before so it made sense he never went looking for her. The attraction was there just never acted upon. That is, until she pops up in front of him again. A fair warning that a trace of instalove was present. Probably because they spent such a long time apart so their infatuation with each other grew exponentially. Things do heat up and proceed pretty quickly once they come into contact again. They definitely leapt into action as soon as they were assured of their mutual feelings.

What I disliked about this book was the pacing. I didn't expect Daisy to find Owen asap but I didn't expect it to take that long either. The Allures dragged Daisy everywhere. I really didn't appreciate how much they baited us her about there being more to the witch's spell on her. Every time we got close to the truth, it slips away. When it was finally revealed at the end, it almost felt too rushed. By then, I already suspected what was coming for Daisy and I was right. It was predictable after so much hinting. Though I am still interested to see how they will fight it. Can they fight it? I cannot wait to see what kind of obstacles stand in the way of Daisy and Owen being together besides the ultimate one that she's becoming an Allure.

As much as I hate to say this, I think not reading The Crescent Chronicles, which is the parent series to this series, took away from my enjoyment. It took me more time than I liked to piece together who was who, how everyone related to each other and why they were relevant. I did get the big picture though and it wasn't absolutely needed to understand the plot but I like to get my facts straight. This is definitely a personal preference so please don't let my gripe get in the way of your decision.

Now that I have everything figured out and sorted into the right place in my mental relationship chart, I'm really intrigued to see which direction this series will take. That cliffy ending's got my attention so needless to say, I will be following Owen and Daisy's quest. To what, I cannot say :P

*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way.

Giveaway

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