GENRE: Paranormal RomanceTHEME: Werewolves and Witches RECEIVED: TourBLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/3.5 starREVIEW: As a werewolf fanatic I was super excited to be introduced to Alyssa Rose Ivy’s writing through my favorite shifters. I was very surprised with how the werewolves were introduced, as Ivy takes a different route with not only the paranormal aspects but also the romance. If you’re looking for romance it’s all here and then some, but it’s not the normal paranormal romance I was expecting.Dire follows Mary Anne who is heading home for winter break, but her excitement about going home is all about who she is traveling with. Mary Anne’s long time crush and star of her dreams, Gage, is heading back to his hometown that is also hers. But on their way they hit a massive snowstorm, which causes them to be stranded on an empty back road. Even though things start to heat up with Gage while waiting for the storm to die, they notice their not alone outside. Risking the cold they venture toward a hopeful town only to come face to face with very large men, who seem to want Mary Anne safe. Now Mary Anne isn’t so sure about their little road trip, as well as her and Gage’s safety. But what these men want, especially one named Hunter, in particular isn’t anything she ever thought she’d come across. Mary Anne is known for being smart and the girl who doesn’t attract guys, well…so she thinks. She actually catches the eye of many guys but only has them for her “friend” Gage. With the chance to be with him on a road trip back home, she jumps at the chance. Mary Anne is a sweet and innocent girl, her personality is hard to grasp at first as she is a bit different with her best friend than she is with Gage. I can tell she’s going to grow a tougher exterior with everything that’s happened in this book. She is put in a scary as heck situation and I feel she acts the way I would, she is on guard, knowing the as long as she sticks with Gage she’ll be safe. But in all seriousness she is on her own and I can tell she’s going to be taking the lead in how everything goes. Gage is the popular guy, always getting girls attention and does find Mary Anne attractive but tries not to go past friends. But being stranded with her makes him realizes he’s making a mistake in letting a good girl slip through. But when they meet the strangers in the woods he not only becomes more than a friend he becomes her protector. I actually liked Gage more than anyone in this book, they way that he acts and wants to escape is what I’d hope someone would do if I was in their situation. He has the best intensions for Mary Anne and I’m glad doesn’t trust Hunter and the other people. Realistically who the heck would trust some random people in the woods? It all sounds like a really creepy horror story.Hunter is one of the many people in the woods that help get Mary Anne and Gage out of the cold. But he’s also a werewolf and leader of his pack, as well as interested in Mary Anne. When Hunter is first introduced he’s all mystery and all brawn, I wasn’t sure about him and his pack at first. His persona is way too overbearing and I couldn’t understand why they thought Gage and Mary Anne would trust them with the creepy way he and his pack acted. Nearing the mid point of the book, Hunter started opening up about the situation he was in; I can see some potential for a sweeter more alpha hot Hunter. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed because I always love my alpha males and Hunter just needs to stop being creepy and be more careful with Mary Anne.Overall I loved the paranormal bits, the Dire wolfs and the introduction to the witches have a lot of back story, I can see Ivy has only just began to get into but it was awesome. The romance is heavy and smoking hot, but also I can see the love triangles and even potentially an old romances getting in the way. My number one pet peeve is love triangles, not a fan what so ever, especially when I feel like both guys have a chance. The characters need a bit more development as I was only really able to connect to Gage, but I can see Mary Anne is going to step it up a notch after the ending. Speaking of ending, holy moly!! Cliffhangers are another my big pet peeves, but thankfully Ivy doesn’t hit us with a major one just an exciting one that I seriously cant wait to see what’s going to happen.RECOMMENDATION:This is an young adult novel with sexually content meant for readers over the age of 18+. Fans of Terry Spears Heat of the Wolf series and Sierra Dean’s Secret McQueen series will want to meet Alyssa Rose Ivy’s Dire wolves in Dire.
I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.HOLY. FREAKING. CRAP. That was gooooood!!! Alyssa Rose Ivy enters the paranormal New Adult world with the incredibly awesome Dire Wolves Chronicles! Dire starts off the trilogy and it was A-MAZING! I am still left utterly speechless! The vibes and feels I had the entire time I was reading had me on my toes and my heart racing and my mind whirling! It was incredibly incredible!Mary Anne is your typical college freshman. She's ordinary, but not totally plain, but not overly popular or beautiful. She's someone you could relate to, she studies hard and all that, and she has an enormous crush on her friend, Gage. Gage and Mary Anne went to high school together and have known each other for a long time. Gage is sort of the resident playboy, but hasn't been with anyone lately. He offered to take Mary Anne home for winter break after the semester ended and along the way they encounter a bit of car trouble...That's putting it mildly too! During their impromptu stay in the woods overnight, they realize there might be something between them. That or it was all in the timing. As they venture to find civilization they encounter an odd group of people who live in cabins. The leader Hunter has an immediate fondness for Mary Anne that's almost downright creepy and Gage will do everything he can to protect the girl he's starting to fall for.Let me just say that the tension in this book was so, so astounding! There is a lot of mystery being built up left and right. Hunter's fascination for Mary Anne is kind of stalkery, creepy, but knowing what he is, you have to wonder if there's something more to it. And there's definitely a story to him, but I won't get into that or else ruin the surprise!And let's just say, there's more in the woods than Hunter and his pals. Just one of the reasons why he won't let Mary Anne and Gage go. There was pretty much a reason for everything that happened in this book and it all leads to the gushing end!Seriously, I am still in a sort of shock here! It's kind of rare when a book keeps me on my toes from start to finish! Books keep me on my toes from one point to another and then repeat, but from nearly start to finish?! Totally rare! And I LOVED it!!!I have to say that I did enjoy the romance in this one. Gage did have me leery of him for a time, as he is known to be a playboy going from girl to girl. But Alyssa doesn't leave us hanging, as Gage does start to see Mary Anne in different ways and I love that! Hunter's seemingly random obsession with Mary Anne is something that has yet to be explored. We're given a reason of sorts, but I feel like there's more to it than that. It's definitely got to be something that will be expanded upon in the next books! And it's I think it will definitely lead to a decision of sorts. A love triangle is in the making here, but it hasn't really been set yet.Of course, Alyssa could still totally surprise us and demolish that notion! And I for one cannot wait to find out how it all turns out! Dire is an incredibly amazing paranormal New Adult read that is sure to delight paranormal fans everywhere as there are so few paranormal New Adults to be had, this is one that you must grab right away and read endlessly! Also to note, I read this baby in one sitting because it's the kind of read you cannot put down even for a second!Overall Rating 5/5 starsDire releases September 15, 2014
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I think it's time to admit to myself that I have a SERIOUS 1-Click problem when it comes to Kindle books! I have almost every book that Alyssa Rose Ivy has written but Dire is only the second book of hers that I have actually read! My question to myself is WHY THE HECK HAVEN'T I READ THEM ALL?Alyssa is an AMAZING author! Dire is a book that you can easily consume in one sitting. Unfortunately for me, I have a sick daughter at the moment, and it took me longer to get through it. Each time I picked up my Kindle I was instantly transported back into Mary Anne and Gage's world. I was absolutely engrossed in this story!I'm fairly certain that those of us who are paranormal lovers have read our fair share of werewolf stories. I found Dire to be unique, and it was refreshing reading something a little different.Not only was it unique, but the story was entertaining and easily held my attention. I connected with the characters easily, and felt like I was right there with them. It's great when an author makes you feel like you are right there beside the characters. I love feeling that strong, intense connection and being dragged through the story on an emotional level.If you feel like reading a book that you can lose yourself completely in, you should seriously read Dire by Alyssa Rose Ivy. You won't be disappointed. I wasn't!I received an ARC as part of the release blitz in exchange for an honest review.
—Kylie Lacovich (The Reading Cow)
Wow, super awesome! I had a book hangover, unbelievable!.This story was totally different, a common theme but there were so many different aspects that really stuck with the stereotypical werewolf/ paranormal story, like the main concept, but was able to branch off into new and fresh territory. I just love what Ivy brought to the table with these characters. I definitely got served.College students Mary Anne and Gage are leaving campus and heading back to their hometown. Mary Anne is completely smitten with Gage while he barely started to see her in that kind of light. Weather turns bad and gets them stranded in a ditch with a snow storm underway. This trapped-together-in-the-snow kind of thing leads to snuggling-together-naked-to-keep-warm kind of thing. (I only thought this worked when you were in clothes soaking wet but it'll do) Then this is where the mysterious men come in. Hunter invites them to stay in his home but is adamant that Mary Anne sleeps separate from Gage. They try to come up with a plan to leave once Hunter lets them know that there is no way he is letting them leave. If they thought these people were trouble, they spoke to soon.Almost throughout the whole story I was thinking about how werewolves are usually over-protective and possesive and domineering most of the time, and also the way the usually treat their mates with the utmost respect, love and adoration. It was completely lost to Mary Anne, and sense the story more often is in here perspective, or in a human perspective in general, it was great to get the picture of what she was thinking when everything was happening and while she was discovering new phenomenons.I always had that thought in my head that Mary Anne should just give in to Hunter, but then again I have personal experience with pining over somebody you grew up with your whole life and to finally be able to catch there eye.In the end, I wasn't really shocked on how things generally played out because I was already analyzing how things would andd could work out in the end. I just didn't see the ending coming. I kept swiping my finger for the next page thinking it may've froze or something. Then I looked at the page number and BAM! It hit me, I did not want it to end, of all places and moments, right there. It was just getting to the even juicier parts, argh! But I was still ecstatic and giddy about how things are going to be from now on.Overall, I had an amazing time reading this story. I literally wanted more to read near the end, I was starving for more, more Hunter, more Gage, more Mary Anne and see how everything turned out and what these wonderful characters were planning to do next. I can't wait for the next installment in this series.
—Lita
**Received an ARC for an honest review** I guess the best place to start would be to say that for myself personally it's hard to sink into anything paranormal, however, with this being about werewolves it was easier to like. Dire is prefaced with a flash-forward, which I thought was a nice touch and a duel PoV, before we head into getting a feel for things starting with Gage and Mary Anne at college just before break. Mary Anne and Gage have been longtime friends and while Mary Anne has always pined after Gage..he's taken notice of her but isn't inclined to do anything (even though it's crossed his mind) mainly because of the repercussions he'd likely face. I really enjoyed the wit and banter as well as the steamy sexual tension between these two. Definitely had me enjoying this book even more! But of course things go awry when a huge snow storm is moving in as they're getting ready to leave. Gage and Mary Anne decide to try to beat it and all the while I'm trying to tell them to stay put. But do they listen? Nooo, of course not. So it doesn't come as a total shock when they slide off the road into a ditch. They're stranded for the time being and it's only getting colder. This is where the sexual tension just ignites! I felt the sex scenes where rather tasteful and Gage and Mary Anne sure did like going at it! But we can't just leave the danger to freezing because where's the fun in that? Gage and Mary Anne decide to hoof it and try to find a way home since Gage's truck is a goner. While on their way they're taken captive and held by a secretive pack of werewolves (or shifter wolves) that claim to be protecting them from far worse things. Okay, yeah..Hunter the leader of the pack was weird. Usually I like the whole alpha male thing and I did...just with Gage. Hunter needed to tone down the creep factor but I guess he grows on you after awhile. It was just a different approach than what I'm used to with Alphas. Some of the happenings near the end were unexpected and not particularly my cup of tea. However, this having been my first paranormal read from Alyssa I found I rather enjoyed it. She has a way of writing that makes it hard to put her books down and I am looking forward to reading more from her! 4 stars from River Book Reviews!!
—Michal
