From Goodreads: 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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Alyssa Rose Ivy has done a phenomenal job creating a paranormal world that really draws the reader in.  Set in New Orleans, Ivy places her fictional characters in a place that exudes otherworldly power, and I loved that Ivy really gave readers a taste of the area and culture, weaving it into the story alongside her interesting plotline.  The paranormal aspect of this novel was extremely unique, and Ivy does a great job whetting readers’ appetites; I can’t wait for more because she’s only just begun to scratch the surface in terms of who the Pteron really are and what power they hold over the entire paranormal world.

Initially, however, I didn’t like Levi.  He is the representation of the cocky male who knows he looks good and won’t take no for an answer, and this persona has never impressed me in real life or fiction.  Levi is arrogant, and he’s always turning the conversation into something sexual, so I was worried that I actually wasn’t going to like the novel since Allie seemed to be giving in to him too easily, which is a big no-no for me as I’m a supporter of the strong female lead.  Yet, as the book progressed, Levi grew on me a little, and I began to enjoy his and Allie’s whirlwind summer romance, especially once I knew more about Levi’s background and noted that Allie was strong in her own right.  My love for Levi was once again suspended, though, when he went ahead and did something that angered me to no end, something I’m not okay with by any means, and neither is Allie, as is evidenced from the last 30% of the novel.  But truth be told, I’m very proud of Allie’s reaction.  I feel exactly the same way Allie does when everything comes to light, but I am also a little worried that her defenses will fall away too easily as Levi attempts to smooth talk his way out of this situation.  Only time will tell.

I really do like Allie, but many times throughout the novel I found her making rash and ill-advised decisions, which turned me off a bit.  However, she has just graduated from high school, she’s 18, has no supervision, and has just ended a long relationship.  I know how it feels to be let loose and trying to turn over a new leaf, so I can’t hold it against her.

I also was very thankful that Ivy keeps her novel clean.  With Levi as the main character and his obsession, it seems, with getting Allie into bed, it was nice that Allie held out and that any and all sexual encounters between the characters were all “fade to black.”  This is turn makes it more YA friendly in that it’s not explicit or overbearing for younger readers whom I think will really enjoy the story and Allie’s strong sense of self-worth.  She doesn’t need a man to make her strong, and I loved that she was so assertive and a good role model in that respect.  Four stars.

I purchased this novel from Amazon.

Check out the rest of The Crescent Chronicles:

Flight #1

Focus #2

Found #3