Welcome to Unabridged Bookshelf's stop on the Shaken Not Stirred Blog Tour! I have an interview with the author, Alyssa Rose Ivy, a review and there is also a tour-wide giveaway to enter. Make sure to check out everything going on during this tour by clicking the banner above.
About the Book
Title: Shaken Not Stirred
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy
Series: Mixology #1
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Finding the perfect guy is like mixing the perfect drink. It's all about the taste and presentation.
Maddy's gone off the deep end, at least that's what her family thinks when she handles her med school rejections by moving to the Outer Banks. It doesn't help that she's paying her bills by bartending and is sharing walls with two guys, even if one of them is her childhood best friend.
Her choice of men seems more balanced on the surface—Colin is driven, sexy, and gainfully employed, but she can't help spending her Thursday nights searching for the perfect drink for Lyle, whose music captivates her with its haunting lyrics. Maddy believes everyone has a perfect drink—and finding Lyle's isn't a challenge she's willing to lose.
About the Author
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.
1.
Can you tell us a little bit about
yourself?
Thanks
so much for having me! I’m currently living in North Carolina, and I spend most
of my time writing and taking care of my two young children. I tend to write
books with romance and humor, and I mostly write NA paranormal romance and
contemporary romance/ romantic comedy.
2. Is there any particular author or book
that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?
My all-time favorite book is Moby Dick. Something about Melville’s way of depicting obsession struck me, and I’ve read the book more times than I can count. I also grew up loving J.R.R. Tolkien and Jane Austen.
3.
Are there certain characters you
would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
I miss a lot of my characters from past books. Lately I’ve been missing Clayton Falls. I may have to revisit that series at some point.
4. What was your favorite chapter or part
of Shaken Not Stirred to write and why?
I loved writing Maddy and Macon scenes. There’s
nothing more fun to write than good banter.
5.
What project are you working on
now?
I’m
finishing up edits on the Hazards of a One Night Stand
(companion novel to the Hazards of Skinny Dipping), and I’m writing
Search
(the empire chronicles #2)
right now. I can’t wait to share both of these stories!
6. If you could choose to have any
characteristic from one of your characters, what would you choose and why?
I’d
love to have Allie’s (from the Crescent Chronicles) fearlessness. She faces
every situation head on.
7. Is
there anything in Shaken Not Stirred based on real life experiences or is it
purely all imagination?
Although most of Shaken Not Stirred is fiction, I
definitely can relate to Maddy’s feeling of being lost. Sometimes life doesn’t
go the way you want and you have to find an alternative path.
8.
Do you ever experience writer’s
block?
Sometimes I hit a wall in a book. The best solution
I’ve found is to take a break and work on another project. Usually that’s
enough to get me ready to work again.
9.
Do you have any advice to give to
aspiring writers?
Write what you love and don’t let negativity get you
down. Staying confident and loving what you do is incredibly important.
10.
Is there anything that you would
like to say to your readers and fans?
Thank
you for taking this journey with me. I appreciate all of you.
My Review of Shaken Not Stirred
Shaken Not Stirred is yet another marvelous romance novel from the gifted Alyssa Rose Ivy. Every time I read one of Alyssa Rose Ivy’s novels, I was immediately captured and sucked into the story, and I lose track of everything going on around me. Shaken Not Stirred is no different, and I loved every minute of the story. Maddy’s love story is not a simple and easy love story, which is probably the reason I loved it so much. When love comes exceedingly easy in any romance novel, and only has simple complications, it has a false feel to it. Maddy’s relationship is complex, hard and differently does not come easy, and that makes the journey that much more enjoyable to read.
Maddy is a recent college graduate who rejected from medical school is currently drifting in life and working as a bartender. Even though she is not sure what she wants to do, she loves bartending and finding everyone’s perfect drink. This is enjoyable to see her select drinks for people based on their personality or even their appearance. While trying to find the perfect drink for sexy musician that does not say more than three words to her, she decides to take a chance on the sexy businessman Colin. While their budding relationship has some rocky starts and bumps, but I think, their relationship is still beautiful with a very real quality to it.
The other relationship I really loved reading about was Macon and Maddy. I like their ribbing and banter the best. I also like the protective big brother way he tries to help her see past her anger and fear, but also standing up for her when she has been wronged. While their banter does have a bit of sexual edge to it, you can see that they really are the best of friends. This makes me really excited for “On The Rock” the next book in the Mixology which is Macon story.
With every book of Alyssa Rose Ivy’s I have read I have always enjoyed, and I have read nearly every book she has written, and many of them are in my top books of all time. I am sure that the Mixology series is going to another new Alyssa Rose Ivy series that I am probably going to be addicted too.
**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book, in exchange for an honest review**
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