Flirting Under a Full Moon by Ashlyn Chase

Ashlyn Chase is a new-to-me author and I thought that FLIRTING UNDER A FULL MOON sounded like a lot of fun when I saw it on NetGalley. I checked it out online and saw some very positive things as well so I went into it hoping for a fun, flirty paranormal romance. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed. There are some nice aspects to FLIRTING UNDER A FULL MOON but it wasn't the fun paranormal romp I was hoping for. There's nothing inherently wrong with FLIRTING UNDER A FULL MOON -- it's nicely written and has a good plot and characters -- but the book definitely wasn't to my tastes.

Stuff I liked:

- The Boston setting. I visited Boston for the first time this year for a conference and I thought it was a great city. I loved seeing it featured in a novel.

- Brandee's optimism. I don't see a lot of truly optimistic, sunny characters in the books I read. I don't only read gloomy books but it's not all that often that you see a character with Brandee's unbridled hopes, at least not one who can also maintain a sense of practicality. I like that Brandee has dreams and that she's working hard to achieve them. And she's a genuinely nice character with a clear set of values. It's great to see a leading lady who has dating rules and doesn't throw them out the window the instant a hottie tells her he's interested. Don't get me wrong -- the two characters have some sexy moments but she doesn't completely change once Nick expresses his interest.

- The supporting characters. I was really interesting in Anthony and some of his customers. Sometimes more interested in them than in Nick and Brandee, so perhaps this isn't as positive as I thought it was when I started this bullet point. But I like a well-rounded cast in my stories and there are some interesting folks in the wings, presumably for future books.

- A more technical one: Chase's ability to explain relationships from past books. I didn't realize it when I requested FLIRTING UNDER A FULL MOON but it's actually a spin-off of Chase's Strange Neighbors series. Having never heard of her before, I assumed that this was a stand-alone or a start of a series but it's actually a spin-off. To Chase's credit, even though it's obvious that there are books for some of the characters we encounter, she has a deft hand at explaining how the characters met. There's a vampire couple that obviously had a book of their own (THE VAMPIRE NEXT DOOR) but I still felt like I understood Sly's motivation and history, even without the previous book. Not everyone can do this in a smooth way but I think Chase did a great job of reminding/introducing readers to her old characters.

So why didn't I like it? The root of the problem for me is that FLIRTING UNDER A FULL MOON was just too silly in places for me. Brandee is lactose intolerant, for example, and her gassiness pops up as a problem for a moment in the novel. I'm all for injecting a bit of realism in fiction but it didn't really advance the plot. And then there's Gaia -- Mother Nature is a total crackpot in this one and I found the scenes with her to be painfully over-the-top. I realize she was supposed to be a diva and all that but I cringed when I was reading her scenes. There were also some corny lines and cheesy moments, which I usually don't mind, but it was a bit too much for me when combined with all the rest. I know there's a strong market for these types of books but I am definitely not the target audience.

So there you have it. FLIRTING UNDER A FULL MOON is a perfectly fine book. I'm sure it will appeal to fans of paranormal romance who enjoy a light tone. It's not the book for me but I think folks who enjoy authors like G. A. Aiken or MaryJanice Davidson should give Ashlyn Chase a shot.

Read an excerpt

 

Posted by Tynga at 03:01

 Ashlyn Chase, Flirting with Fangs, Netgalley, Paranormal Romance, Review, Sourcebooks, werewolf  7 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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