Hooked on a Phoenix is the first book in the Phoenix Brothers series, which is a spin off of the Strange Neighbors and Boston Dragon series' by Ashlyn Chase. It works fine as a stand alone and series starter, but I think that fans of the author and her previous series' will enjoy the read more than newcomers. There is some carry over in world building that might make it hard to understand certain relationships and paranormal quirks without that prior knowledge.
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 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.
Hooked on a Phoenix is a nice addition to Chase's body of work. Misty is a solid character, and I liked her combination of strength and vulnerability. Gabe is more sensitive than most of the supernatural heroes, but he still has his fair share of macho over protectiveness and stepping in to help when not asked. I found the relationship to move quickly and slowly at the same time. Since they already knew each other there was none of the getting to know you build up, but they still slowly got to know each other better while dealing with some health issues and family. I liked Misty's character a lot, and how she rolled with the punches- and she had plenty to face. I found that Gabe's thoughtfulness was nice, and I enjoyed getting a better look at the phoenix family that has played a part in the previous series. I did find the wrap up to be a little too easy, but when this level of supernatural characters are in play anything can happen.
Hooked on a Phoenix is a good paranormal romance, and while giving a solid conclusion for our couple, left enough characters in play to whet the appetite to read more. I liked the characters and the story, and enjoyed the read, but was not wowed by it. I think I just might have read too many of these and am no longer surprised by the turns the stories take.
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