Review: 2 1/2 stars Contains spoilers
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 10 14, 2013
**As a review member of The League of Ivy Readers, I received a copy of First Rapture in exchange for an honest reviewFirst of all, I would like to say this is the first time I've ever received a book for the purpose of providing a review. I love to read and romance novels (contemporary, paranormal, historical, western, suspense, erotica...you get the idea) happen to be my favored genre. Secondly, I'm a fan of Alexandra Ivy's Guardians of Eternity series and looked forward to reading another novel written by her.Apparently, I'm in the minority here as I give this book 2.5 stars. I actually finished this book a week ago and have struggled with writing this review, as I don't like leaving negative reviews but I promised to give an honest opinion so here it goes.We meet Maddy as an 18 year-old virgin who has loved Luc Angeli for the past three years -since she first saw him in the hallway at school. She lives in Vegas in a rundown trailer provided by a mostly absent, barmaid mother who has apparent drug/alcohol/relationship problems of her own. Luc is older (21), more experienced, gorgeous, rich and out of her league. The story begins with Maddy's troubling, recurring dream of a major event that took place on her 18th birthday. She is disappointed when her "Dark Angel," Luc seemingly fails to appear at her party even though she offered him to come over to "have a piece of cake."*********************Spoiler Alert************************************Low and behold, once everyone goes home, Maddy finds Luc lying on her bed, waiting for her. When she sees him she asks, "What are you doing here?" WHAT!? You invited him. This is where I begin to have problems with the plot, pace, lack of angst/tension, and unrealistic dialogue. Remember, up to this point in the story Luc and Maddy do not really have a close, friendly relationship as they're from opposite sides of the track. She sees and admires him at school. We're not given any more history than that.So back to it: Maddy says, "I didn't think you would come," to which he replies, "Neither did I, but it seems I'm not as immune as I should be to your tempting....invitation."  Remember Maddy's offer of a piece cake??  "Good" she replies provocatively. "You're certain" he asks. "I'm sure," she says. "Then prove it. Take off your clothes." The dialogue between Luc and Maddy lacked the emotion, depth, angst or tension a virgin may feel when she's getting ready to give herself to a man she "loves." He even warns her prior to the actual "act" that there's no going back in which she responds, "Good." He gave her more opportunities to back out but unfortunately, Maddy's not a reluctant heroine here as is ready and willing to give her virginity over to Luc the first chance she gets. And so begins the hasty journey to her loss of virtue. No kidding, it moves along that quickly and I found the dialogue quite clumsy - so not like Ms. Ivy's smart, quick-witted writing in her Guardian series.I wrote down many quotes from the book, but I will not inundate you with all of them, but I will give you a taste because that is one of the hurdles I could not get over throughout this story.  Needless to say, after the deed, Maddy confesses her love for Luc and his response was to leave Maddy's bed with a "Don't make this into something it's not. This should've never happened. Save your love for some man who actually deserves it" statement and off he went. Maddy (remember she's 18 and poor) leaves Vegas for New York to follow her dream of modeling the very next day.........Dream sequence is over and we fast forward eight years (and we're still in chapter one).Maddy's a successful model who runs her own modeling agency. Luc is also successful in real estate; buying corporate buildings and flipping them to bring in new businesses to Vegas. I failed to mention that earlier in the book it alluded to a dysfunctional relationship Luc has with his father as a possible reason for Luc's commitment issues. This is where Ms. Ivy could have given us more background and depth to Luc's character but did not - just another lost opportunity for character development.We're briefly introduced to Maddy's best friend, Kristen, who she uses as an excuse to return to Vegas to carry out her plan of vengeance. Long story short, she's unable to have a lasting relationship with another man and blames her experience with Luc as the cause. Still consumed with anger relating to her experience with Luc EIGHT years ago, Maddy plots her revenge sex scheme so Luc can feel what it's like to "be lying in a bed when someone else walks away." Unrealistic? Just a bit, but this is fiction so onward bound.She sees him for the first time in eight years at a charity event (she's 26 and he's 29) where he's sending his date and admirer away with a verbal reprimand. Maddy's first words for Luc: "The Dark Angel strikes again" and "Do you actually keep a tally of how many hearts you've broken over the years?" This feels like comments that can be made by someone who had a closer relationship than what we're given in this story. I don't understand how she would be comfortable enough to approach him in this way. It just doesn't fit. At any rate, he's blown away by Maddy's appearance and clearly has deeper feelings for her than she realizes (I mean, it's been eight years and NO contact-right).Fast forward 15 minutes or so (their time)....because it moves that fast... Maddy and Luc head to her hotel room where he tries to tell Maddy that he actually returned to her trailer only to find that she had left - but she wouldn't allow him to finish. They continue to talking with an ease that is hard to believe -given the circumstance of their relationship...or lack thereof.  Luc confesses to Maddy, "I want you." Oh, and all of this and we're just at the end of chapter one. Whew!This story continues at a crazy pace with, often, absurd banter between the two. Maddy's confessions, Luc's declarations, Maddy's secret love patch. It's all a bit too much for me. Overall, the plot felt rushed and underdeveloped. It lacked angst and tension, two ingredients needed to produce a romance that holds my attention.I'm left wondering if this particular story is one of Ms. Ivy's earlier works that she's just bringing to the forefront. Maybe that would explain the discrepancies between her writing styles in this story compared to her writing style in her Guardian series. The latter was more elaborately written and held my attention in a way this book could not.On a more positive note: If you're looking for a light read and a short story with a HEA, this book delivers.It just wasn't for me. Please note, this review is just my opinion and I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it if any of the above-mentioned qualities appeal to you.I appreciate and respect the opinion of all other readers and will continue to read Ms. Ivy's work in the future.