LOCKED IN A BANK VAULT TOGETHER…THEY MIGHT REDEFINE THE MEANING OF ‘SAFE’ SEX Misty Carlisle works as a bank teller in Boston’s financial district. She’s had more rotten luck in her life than most, except when her childhood crush shows up to cash his paycheck. Then her heart races and her mouth goes dry. Gabe Fierro is a firefighter—and a phoenix. Like his brothers, his biggest challenge is … phoenix. Like his brothers, his biggest challenge is finding a woman open-minded enough to accept a shapeshifter into her life. When his boyhood friend asks him to watch over his little sister Misty, he reluctantly agrees. But when the bank where she works gets held up, Gabe does everything he can to protect her. The two of them end up locked in the bank’s vault…where things get steamier than either of them ever imagined.
Readers love Ashlyn Chase’s Boston Dragons:
“This story has it all, laughter, tears, magic and sizzling heat.”—Night Owl Reviews, 5 Stars, Top Pick!
“Snarky dialogue and sizzling heat.”—Booklist
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A quick read.
loved this book. so good a great romance and fun.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid Reader –
M/F Romance, Paranormal
I really had a difficult time with this book. I wanted to like it so much, but it just didn’t deliver on the premise.
Misty is your typical girl. She is just trying to get through life and find someone who she will fall in love with. She actually comes across as very naive to me. She has an older brother who wants to look out for her always, but when he’s deployed, he asks his good friend to do that.
Gabe has been in Misty’s life for a long time. He remembers when she was just following her brother around. Now, all grown up, he’s attracted to her and when her life is in danger, he doesn’t hesitate to protect her.
Where the story goes a little wonky is between the romance part. Gabe and Misty have known each other for years, but they don’t really seem to know each other. It is also strange that they don’t have great chemistry – at least for me.
Then, to top that off, you have the brother who is angry that his friend is with his sister, but at the same time, there really is only a slight issue and then everything is okay? Plus with the supernatural aspect, this whole story just didn’t flow well for me.
Overall, it had great potential, it just didn’t deliver for me.
Ruthie –
This is the first book in a new series, but involves the Fierro family that also featured in the Boston Dragons series. I have a feeling that reading those first would give more context to this book. We are dropped in rather abruptly, with little explanation of the paranormal elements, until late in the day. I think that for a reader who chose this for that reason, it is a shame that it is not a stronger feature. For example, modern muses as a concept were rushed for me, but I am guessing are in Boston Dragons (I haven’t read them, I looked them up, as I was certain there was background I was missing).
The story itself is sweet and has some interesting twists. I was not entirely convinced by some elements, but the ingredients for a good story and plot were definitely present. I think I was confused by the constant change between hot and cold, whether it was Gabe’s reactions, Parker’s behaviour, or Misty’s realisation of her boss’s intentions. And why did she end up with nothing after caring for her grandparents? It was mentioned, then ignored. There were some fun scenes too, especially when Julie has a toy party at Misty’s!
I am sure that the second book will bring more to the story and will look out for it with interest.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
Ashlyn Chase has created another great series in her fascinating paranormal world with wonder and exciting characters and her own unique elements that add spice to each and every story. The Phoenix Brothers were introduced in the Boston Dragons series and now star in their very own series.
Gabe and Misty are strong, captivating characters that draw readers in and hold them hostage until the very end, their romance is sweet and full of sizzling attraction and fiery passion as they work through their differences. The plot is fast paced and full of suspense and action, which keep readers on their toes throughout while intriguing twists add thrills and excitement to the story.
I find that Ashlyn Chase has a knack for bring her stories to brilliant life making it easy to get caught up in them and since she injects just the right amount of humor and mixes in her own unique elements which really make them a delight to read. Add in the wonderfully fascinating characters and their unique personalities and I just can’t get enough of, which ensures that I keep coming back for more. Hooked on a Phoenix was an exciting read and I found Gabe and Misty to be enchanting characters that made it easy for me to become captivated by their story and Gaia really just added charm and interest to the story and along with a bit of a snarky attitude added spice to the story, so I can’t wait to read the next Phoenix Brothers’ story.
Best friend’s little sister is one of my favorite tropes, and while I loved many aspects of this book, I did find myself getting frustrated with the main characters at time.
I did like both Gabe and Misty individually, but when these two came together I did get frustrated at times. The whole time when they were stuck in the safe I just wanted to give Gabe a good shake and tell him to comfort Misty for goodness sake! He was so wrapped up in himself and what his actions might be perceived as he totally missed the boat – and for him to be the “sensitive” one of the brothers, nope, just didn’t see it! And I wish Misty was less “I wish he would call me to show me he cares” and more “I wish he would call me but I’ll be ok on my own”…she was independent and strong, I just wanted a bit more of that from her.
Even though I had some issues with both Gabe and Misty, there really was a lot to love. Gabe’s family – I’m such a sucker for the big, in-your-face family and the Fierro’s fit that bill. Gabe’s mother was perfect, as was his dad, and all his brother’s and their wives – this family reminded me of my own over-the-top, in-your-face, Italian family…such a good time! I loved the world that Ashlyn Chase has created and loved the mix of shapeshifters and the tie in to Mother Nature – Gaia was such a hoot! There were so many great elements in this book that I am definitely interested reading more from this author.
A well-written, and easy to read book, although this one didn’t work on all fronts for me, there were so many things I did like that I would recommend this author, book, and/or series (or related-series) to anyone looking for a contemporary paranormal romance with some laughs and some great characters.
I was really pleased to receive this ARC by Ashlyn Chase. I have read one or two of her stories previously and like her as a person. This paranormal romance was not quite what I was expecting.
It was a contemporary romance featuring a large loving, supportive family who just happen to be shifter Phoenix. It barely qualifies as paranormal to me. The focus is on the contemporary romance between the steady Gabe, middle child of firemen phoenix family who find himself looking after his best friend’s little sister, who’s now all grown up! She and her brother are orphans and look out for each other. Because she’s been having some mysterious medical issues that are starting to cause her some real trouble and her sleazy boss, Gabe steps in to lend support to this very independent old family friend. He’s really troubled that he finds her really HOT and off limits because she’s his best friend’s little sister.
This book had great passion, contemporary issues and very little paranormal to it. Gabe’s shifting to phoenix almost didn’t need to be part of the story and didn’t happen until 2/3 of the way through the story. The love story progression was good with enough give and take. The other problem I had was with how the eventual medical diagnosis was handled. I won’t give away what they found but it just didn’t seem taken seriously enough. The resolution at the end for “fixing” it seemed lightly handled as well.
Thank you Ashlyn and Sourcebooks for the NetGalley ARC of this story for my honest review.