Sunday, February 3, 2013

Xpresso Books Presents The Crescent Chronicles Book Blitz

Flight Excerpt 
Preface 
Closing my eyes, I tried to block it all out. Convinced I was about to die, I was only partly aware of his arms around me. 

“You said you wanted an adventure,” he said quietly, teasingly, as he tightened his hold. 

My stomach dropped out as an intense and complete feeling of weightlessness engulfed me. The wind stung my face as memories flooded my mind. I thought of my parents, of all the things I wanted to tell them but never did, my friends from home, and the experiences I longed for. Quickly my thoughts changed to more recent memories, to Levi. 

“Open your eyes,” he whispered, somehow knowing my eyes were clenched shut. 

Against my better judgment, I listened. The scream died in my throat as we hurtled toward the water that had seemed so beautiful from the roof above.
Flight Excerpt 
I glanced up. Intense gray-blue eyes stared back at me, as I recognized the guy from the hotel. Surprised to see him again, I merely nodded before bringing the shot to my lips. 

“What was that?” I spat out while the liquor continued to burn my throat. 

“A jaeger shot.” He laughed lightly. “Feeling better?” 

“Yeah. I can’t believe I did that.” I peered over my shoulder at the stage where another group was starting their rendition of Time of my Life. 

“It really wasn’t so bad. It was more entertaining than if Cyndi Lauper performed it herself.” Raking his eyes from my toes back up to my face, he spent an annoying amount of time studying my legs. Long legs were nice, but not when they attracted the wrong type of attention. Normally I would call a guy on mentally undressing me, but I was too busy taking my own inventory. Finished, I glanced around for Jess but couldn’t see her in the crowd. 

“So, thanks for the shot, but I need to find my friend.” 

“Hey, you can’t run off on me again.” He didn’t say it like a question, more like a demand and it annoyed me. “Besides, your friend appears to be unavailable.” 

I followed his gaze and noticed Jess flirting with Dave again. “Run off on you again? That implies we have run into each other before.” I tried for coy; I wasn’t going to let this guy unnerve me. Sure, he had the most amazing set of eyes I had ever seen, but I wasn’t interested. 

“I saw you at the Crescent City Hotel this afternoon, but you took off before I could say hello.” He leaned in closer to me, trying to be heard over the loud music. 

“Oh, I didn’t notice you.” 

He smiled, ignoring my comment. “You here for vacation?” 

“I’m here for work actually, at the hotel.” 

“Are you around for the whole summer then?” 

I allowed myself to really look at him. My earlier estimate of his height was dead on; he was much taller than my 5 feet 9 inches. 

I finally answered. “Yeah, I’m here until I start school in the fall.” 

“All right, so where are you going to school?” 

“Princeton.” I braced myself for his response. 

“Nice,” he said in a way that suggested he wasn’t impressed. 

“You in school?” 

“Yeah, I’m going to be a senior at Tulane.” 

“Oh, so you live here?” 

“Born and raised,” he said proudly. 

“I didn’t think locals hung out at places like this.” 

“We don’t usually, but they’re great spots to meet girls from out of town.” 

I shook my head. “Ah, so you’re one of them.” 

“One of who?” 

“The type to prey on innocent tourists.” 

“Innocent tourists? You make me sound like the big bad wolf.” 

“And you’re not?” I questioned. 

“Only if you’re Red Riding Hood,” he said flirtatiously. 

“Wow, that’s original.” I caught myself staring at his eyes again and decided it was time to end the conversation. “Well, nice talking to you.” 

“Hey, I didn’t even get your name yet.” 

“Allie.” 

“Is that short for Allison?” 

“Yes, but no one calls me Allison.” I cursed myself. Why couldn’t I just walk away from this guy? I briefly regretted my decision to swear off men because if I hadn’t this one would be exactly my type: tall, strong, and confident. He was exactly the kind to avoid.
Flight by Alyssa Rose Ivy (The Crescent Chronicles #1) - Publication date: August 2012
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.

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Flight Excerpt
We walked through the French Quarter slowly, and I tried to take it all in. The music, the crowds, and the atmosphere still felt surreal. Music spilled out of the endless bars and clubs. 

“Wow, are those people seriously dressed up as vampires?” I asked, looking in at a dark bar on the corner. Inside I watched a man and woman holding up a chalice and smiling with fangs showing.

Levi laughed. “If you think those people are weird, you’d be freaked out by the real thing.”

“The real thing? Very funny.”

“What, you don’t think vampires are real?”

“No, and I’m glad they aren’t.”

“Why? Do they scare you?” Levi stopped walking, and turned me to look at him.

“Does the thought of blood sucking monsters scare me? Hell yes. Who wouldn’t be scared of that? ”

He laughed again even louder. “Trust me sweetheart, in New Orleans vampires are the least of your worries.”

“What do you mean?” Something about the glint in his eyes made me feel a little uneasy.

Levi’s face turned into a faint smile. “I’m really glad you asked that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Okay, listen, scaring me isn’t a good way to get me interested, so if you have any weird tricks up your sleeve just shelve them.” I wondered if this was the time to tell him I avoided horror movies like the plague.

“No tricks, hon.” Levi pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted a few times.

I continued my people watching. I’d never seen so many middle-aged people laughing and partying before. It almost felt like the twilight zone.

Levi slipped his phone back in his pocket. “We’re meeting everyone over at Club 360.”

“What’s that?”

“The lounge on the top of the World Trade Center down by the river.”

“Okay, is it a cool view?”

“Yeah, it’s got a good view.” Levi laughed again and I had the distinct impression he was hiding something from me.

“You promise you aren’t luring me into some trap?”

“A trap? No. Let’s just call it a new experience.”

My stomach dropped. What the heck did I get myself into?
Focus by Alyssa Rose Ivy (The Crescent Chronicles #2) 
Publication date: January 31st, 2013
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.

I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the dull ache inside that made me want to reach out and touch him. He took advantage, but really I left myself open. 

His lips met mine as his arm wrapped around my shoulder, turning me toward him. A voice in my head told me to cut him off, but I ignored it. He pushed to deepen the kiss, and I let my resistance fall away. He leaned into me, moving me so I was lying down. I felt his weight shift on top of me, his lips moving to my neck and trailing downward. I snapped myself out of it. Kissing Levi was a really bad idea. 

“Stop!” I pushed against his chest. He didn’t respond at first, but he reluctantly moved to let me sit up. “What the hell was that?” 

He grinned. “Don’t say you didn’t want that.” 

“Don’t look so proud of yourself. It’s never happening again.” I straightened my hair out with my fingers, trying to get rid of the evidence. 

“So about tonight?” 

“What about it?” I snapped. 

“What do you want to do?” He sat up, still looking way too proud of himself. 

“I’m going to a party with Hailey. She says all the freshman will be there.” 

“Please tell me you aren’t talking about Disorientation, are you?” 

“Yeah, I think that’s what it’s called.” 

He shook his head. “No way. You’re not going!” 

As if on cue, the door started to open. “Are you two decent in there?” Jared yelled obnoxiously. 

I groaned “Of course, we are.” 

Hailey and the boys pushed into the room. 

“Are you sure about that?” Owen asked. 

I probably blushed wondering what evidence still existed. I followed his gaze and realized my tank top was pulled up on one side. Levi pulled it down before I could, letting his hand graze my skin in the process. The goose bumps that formed were completely coincidental—or so I told myself.

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Focus Excerpt: 
Michelle moved her arms and stood up straighter. “Yes, and I definitely get why you chose her. She’s amazing.” She gave me the biggest, fakest smile. 

The forced nature of it didn’t go unnoticed by Levi. “Good. As nice as it is to see you, I’m going to be taking Allie now. We’ve got some plans of our own.” 

I groaned internally. I tried to help and, of course, he had to take advantage of it. “Before we go, let me make sure my friends don’t mind.” 

“We don’t mind at all,” Anne said immediately. “Go have fun.” She winked at me. 

“If you want to go, we understand.” Tiffany was trying to figure out what I wanted her to say. 

“Yeah, go ahead.” Hailey grinned. She was in so much trouble. 

“Bye, Michelle. Great meeting you.” I let Levi lead me to the front door. 

“You guys staying?” Levi asked his friends. 

“Yeah.” Jared was eyeing Tiffany. 

“Okay, but remember the rules,” I warned him. Tiffany was too sweet of a girl to have to deal with Jared. 

He glared at me. “Yes, how could I forget?” 

Levi led us off the porch and away from the house. 

“Nice kiss.” 

“You know why I did it.” I looked up at the perfectly crescent moon. 

“Do I?” 

He traced a line down my arm. 

“Of course. Michelle would have told your dad if she thought something was up. Why would it mean anything else?” 

“A chaste kiss could have accomplished the same thing. That wasn’t chaste—your tongue was in my mouth, Al.” 

“Are you complaining?” 

“Hell no. I happen to like your tongue… and the rest of you.” His eyes let me know exactly what he was implying.
AUTHOR BIO
Alyssa Rose Ivy
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.

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