Today I'm excited to be on the blog tour for the New Adult contemporary romance series, Clayton Falls! This series is set in beautiful North Carolina, and is just so fun to read! If you haven't read Derailed, you can also download it as an ebook for free on Amazon or Smashwords.
Enjoy! And don't forget to check out the rest of the tour here (:
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.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Email
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Review:
Release Date: September 24, 2012
Series: Clayton Falls, #1 *
Publisher: Self Published
Age Group: New Adult, although suitable for YA Contemporary readers
Pages: 260
Source: Review copy provided by author & Xpresso Book Tours – thanks!
Interest: Blog Tour; New Adult Contemporary
Buy the Book: Smashwords | Amazon | B&N
When you're lost, sometimes the only place you can go is home.
Broken over the death of her fiancé, Molly leaves law school to return to her childhood home in North Carolina. Expecting to lay low until she can figure out what else to do with her life, she finds herself in the arms of her high school sweetheart, the boy who represents everything from the past she tried to leave behind.
Looking for an escape, she instead finds a way back to the girl she almost forgot existed and a future she never dreamed possible.
* The second book is a companion novel, so Derailed is read more like a stand-alone novel.
Rating: 3.25 / 5 Riceballs
Book Review:
Derailed is one of those books that a lot of people will fall in love with – there’s a likable heroine, a cute romance, a swoon-worthy boy, some romantic scenes – and the book is just so easy to read. Despite some issues I had, maybe because I’ve just read so much fluffy chick-lit type books recently, I still enjoyed this easy and enjoyable read!
Whether you enjoy the plot and characters would really depend on what type of reader you are. Ask yourself this – are you expecting a cutesy, fluffy love story? To me, Derailed mostly was that cutesy, fluffy love story, because of how many of the scenes were written – they were cheesy, but still romantic, and, well, cute. Cliché maybe, but still cute. Personally, I was looking for more of a weekend-type of, so as a whole, I did end up enjoying the book.
To me, what made the book stand out more though, was its setting. In case you can’t tell, Derailed is set in Clayton Falls, North Carolina, a small Southern town with a piece of ocean of their own. The country setting was peaceful and pretty, but it was able to portray a general feeling of community and comfort that was probably essential to the theme of returning home and redeeming yourself. The town was also able to, in general, just give a closer feeling of family-outside-of-family within the characters (:
However, I have to admit I thought the characters were a bit underdeveloped, and from relatively early on in the book, the plot is easy to predict. I don’t consider this a spoiler, since it happens early on in the book, but Molly and a potential love interest develop a “casual” friends-with-benefits relationship – it was definitely written in a cute way, but still predictable. I’ll say this yet again – whether you enjoy the book depends on what type of read you’re expecting.
Overall, Derailed is a sweet addition to the New Adult or Contemporary Romance genre – it’s short, cute, and just easy to read! Fans of Sarah Dessen or “fluffy” books would enjoy this read, especially if they continually read and enjoy the genre (:
Whether you enjoy the plot and characters would really depend on what type of reader you are. Ask yourself this – are you expecting a cutesy, fluffy love story? To me, Derailed mostly was that cutesy, fluffy love story, because of how many of the scenes were written – they were cheesy, but still romantic, and, well, cute. Cliché maybe, but still cute. Personally, I was looking for more of a weekend-type of, so as a whole, I did end up enjoying the book.
To me, what made the book stand out more though, was its setting. In case you can’t tell, Derailed is set in Clayton Falls, North Carolina, a small Southern town with a piece of ocean of their own. The country setting was peaceful and pretty, but it was able to portray a general feeling of community and comfort that was probably essential to the theme of returning home and redeeming yourself. The town was also able to, in general, just give a closer feeling of family-outside-of-family within the characters (:
However, I have to admit I thought the characters were a bit underdeveloped, and from relatively early on in the book, the plot is easy to predict. I don’t consider this a spoiler, since it happens early on in the book, but Molly and a potential love interest develop a “casual” friends-with-benefits relationship – it was definitely written in a cute way, but still predictable. I’ll say this yet again – whether you enjoy the book depends on what type of read you’re expecting.
Overall, Derailed is a sweet addition to the New Adult or Contemporary Romance genre – it’s short, cute, and just easy to read! Fans of Sarah Dessen or “fluffy” books would enjoy this read, especially if they continually read and enjoy the genre (:
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Release Date: November 29, 2012
Series: Clayton Falls, #2
Publisher: Self Published
Age Group: New Adult
Pages: 286
Source: eARC received for blog tour - thanks!
Interest: Clayton Falls series; Blog Tour; New Adult Contemporary
Buy the Book: Smashwords | Amazon
Only when you let go can you learn to live.
Between the death of her mother and pushing through law school without her best friend, it's been a tough year for Becca. Needing a break from Boston, she moves to a tiny coastal North Carolina town for a relaxing summer. After bumping heads repeatedly with a local cop, she realizes her summer will be anything but quiet.
Three years after a career ending injury ruins his chance to play Major League Baseball, Gavin has a distrust of northerners and lately girls in general. He wants nothing to do with a girl who is only in town for the summer.
When the two give in to their impossible attraction, they realize that they may just have found the key to freeing themselves from the ghosts of their pasts.
Rating: 3 / 5 Riceballs
Book Review:
Like Derailed, Veer is another sweet, short love story. To be completely honest, compared to the many YA/NA romances out there, it’s not very impressionable, but overall, it’s still a relatively enjoyable and easy read!
One of the best parts of the book, like its predecessor, is its “readability”: the language flows easily, the characters are likable, and the plot moves quickly, so you’re never bored. When I was reading the series, I found that I could easily finish the book within one or two sittings, perfect for the weekend-type of read. In fact, for a romancey type of story, there's also a bit of everything: cute scenes, HOT scenes, frustrating scenes, heartbreaking scenes, etc. Of course, the ending is cheesy, but cute and fuzzy (:
Even though Veer is more of a companion novel, it also features some of its old characters, and I loved that we could see some of our old beloved characters develop more, as well as seeing new sides of other characters. Gavin, the love interest in this book, seemed seriously like a jerk in the previous book, but he eventually develops into a pretty sweet guy. Jake, Ben's brother, also shows a sweeter side, which I found a bit surprising, and he's probably the main reason I'm considering reading the third book Wrecked. The type of relationship Gavin and Becca share is also pretty different from Molly and Ben's - there's more snark, rather than the high-school sweetheart approach, which of course led to a different but equally as romantic and sweet storyline.
However, like its predecessor, Veer also suffers from some predictability issues (apart from one twist involving Molly, though o____o). You can tell who is going to end up with who in the end, and you pretty much know there is a happy ending. Again, it's cheesy, but it would appeal to many romance readers.
Overall though, Veer was another short and easy read, and a great continuation of the Clayton Falls saga. Again, fans of YA and NA romance alike would probably enjoy this book, especially if you're looking for a weekend or beach read. If you haven't read the first book though, I highly suggest trying it out and reading it - it's free on both Amazon & Smashwords!
One of the best parts of the book, like its predecessor, is its “readability”: the language flows easily, the characters are likable, and the plot moves quickly, so you’re never bored. When I was reading the series, I found that I could easily finish the book within one or two sittings, perfect for the weekend-type of read. In fact, for a romancey type of story, there's also a bit of everything: cute scenes, HOT scenes, frustrating scenes, heartbreaking scenes, etc. Of course, the ending is cheesy, but cute and fuzzy (:
Even though Veer is more of a companion novel, it also features some of its old characters, and I loved that we could see some of our old beloved characters develop more, as well as seeing new sides of other characters. Gavin, the love interest in this book, seemed seriously like a jerk in the previous book, but he eventually develops into a pretty sweet guy. Jake, Ben's brother, also shows a sweeter side, which I found a bit surprising, and he's probably the main reason I'm considering reading the third book Wrecked. The type of relationship Gavin and Becca share is also pretty different from Molly and Ben's - there's more snark, rather than the high-school sweetheart approach, which of course led to a different but equally as romantic and sweet storyline.
However, like its predecessor, Veer also suffers from some predictability issues (apart from one twist involving Molly, though o____o). You can tell who is going to end up with who in the end, and you pretty much know there is a happy ending. Again, it's cheesy, but it would appeal to many romance readers.
Overall though, Veer was another short and easy read, and a great continuation of the Clayton Falls saga. Again, fans of YA and NA romance alike would probably enjoy this book, especially if you're looking for a weekend or beach read. If you haven't read the first book though, I highly suggest trying it out and reading it - it's free on both Amazon & Smashwords!
Giveaway!
Alyssa has kindly offered ebook copies of the series, or postcard/bookmark swag to give away! Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks so much for reading and reviewing Derailed and Veer!
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