Monday, June 7, 2010

Book Review: Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase


Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publish Date: June 1, 2010
Paperback, 384 pages


My Review:
Strange Neighbors is a fun, romantic romp that passes an afternoon wonderfully.  I was engrossed in this apartment complex and it's inhabitants from the beginning.  Merry is just out on her own and she's been thrown into a building with a lot of interesting characters.  The most interesting of which is Jason Falco, a great baseball pitcher.  The sparks fly between Jason and Merry from the beginning, but with strange happenings and even stranger events going on, it feels like things may never click between them.

I loved this book for the romance and the characters.  Both were very entertaining.  The plot moves things along well and it never lags so the book is wholly enjoyable.  Strange Neighbors was a quick enjoyable read with paranormal elements and I really hope that there are more books that will make this a series because there are many of the characters I want to learn more about plus I would love to see more of Jason and Merry.

My Rating:  4.0/5.0

About the Book:
He's looking for peace, quiet, and a little romance...

There's never a dull moment when hunky all-star pitcher and shapeshifter Jason Falco invests in an old Boston brownstone apartment building full of supernatural creatures. But when Merry MacKenzie moves into the ground floor apartment, the playboy pitcher decides he might just be done playing the field...

A girl just wants to have fun...

Sexy Jason seems like the perfect fling, but newly independent nurse Merry's not sure she's ready to trust him with her heart...especially when the tabloids start trumpeting his playboy lifestyle.
Then pandemonium breaks loose and Merry and Jason will never get it together without a little help from the vampire who lives in the basement and the werewolf from upstairs...

About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
Ashlyn Chase has been a registered nurse for 20 years. During those years, she wrote articles for professional journals and a thesis, but eventually, thank goodness, discovered the joy and freedom of writing fiction.

Ashlyn considers herself lucky. Her degree in behavioral sciences is a combination of psychology and sociology, so she has worked with and studied people most of her life. She never has to write out exhaustive character sketches to understand her characters or predict how they will behave. That doesn't mean they don't surprise her. Sometimes they take her on grand unexpected journeys. For her, it gives "character driven novels" a whole new meaning.

Ashlyn has learned to go with the flow. To enjoy the journey is not only one of her writing goals, but also a challenge in life so she tries to follow where the story takes her. As such, she has lived in 17 different places over the years. At last, she's all settled down and comfy in New England.

Is there a grand design or do we decide our own fates? Perhaps if the powers-that-be have a plot, then they also give us the right to revise it. Ashlyn has certainly made detours on her path, but she thinks she's better for it. She's having fun at any rate and hopes that if she enjoys the journey, so will those around her—including her readers.

FTC Information: I received this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.


What Are You Reading Monday - June 7


Come post weekly and see what others are reading too just so you can add to your tbr - I always do! For more information see Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books and join in!

Books Completed Last Week 
    Reading Now:
    • Wayfarer by R.J. Anderson
    • The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
    • Don't Look Twice by Andrew Gross (library, audiobook)
    • Dangerous by Diana Palmer (Kindle, review)
    • Burned by P.C. and Kristin Cast (library)
      Next:
      • I Love This Bar by Carolyn Brown
      • Sins of the Mother by Victoria Christopher Murray
      • The Passage by Justin Cronin
        Summary -
        Great reading week.  I spent the first part sick, the middle out-of-town with my husband while he had Lasik surgery and the end of the week running around like crazy, but I still found time to read.  My reading slump is officially over!  My blogging slump is over too and that makes me happy.