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.

Titles in the Phoenix Brothers include:  Hooked On A Phoenix –

This series has a connection with or call it a spin-off of the Boston Dragons series which includes:  I Dream of Dragons – My Wild Irish Dragon – Never Dare A Dragon

Title:  Hooked On A Phoenix
Series:  Phoenix Brothers #1
Author:  Ashlyn Chase
Genre:  Paranormal Romance
Published:  March 6, 2018
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
My Rating:  4 stars

I had fun with Hooked On A Phoenix – especially since I’m addicted to Shifter Romance considering I have a separate blog completely about this sub-genre of Paranormal Romance.

Gabe never saw himself as a man who would settle down with a wife and family.  He has his reasons, and one is finding that one unique woman who could accept every aspect of his life, including his firefighter career and, oh yeah, the phoenix he shifts into when necessary.  He certainly didn’t expect to find that she’d been right under his nose for a long time.  She simply needed to grow up a bit.  When his friend asked Gabe to watch over his little sister while he was deployed Gabe couldn’t turn him down.  He remembered Misty as the little girl who hung around all the time, it would be no problem to keep an eye on her.  Except Misty isn’t that little girl now and from their first current meeting onward Gabe would never think of her as a kid again.

Misty has had a crush on Gabe Fierro for years now.  Oh, he never noticed.  She was always his friend’s little sister.  And even if he had noticed back then there was that stupid bro thing where the friend never asks out the friend’s sister because… she’s his sister.  Men.  Who can understand them?  But today Misty is certainly glad to see Gabe at the bank where she works as a bank teller.  Being robbed is not something she had gone through before and being trapped in a time locked vault with Gabe certainly took her mind off the danger outside those thick steel doors.

There are a few things going on in Hooked On A Phoenix that make this story interesting on several levels.  There is Gabe’s internal battle with himself about his feelings for Misty.  There is also Misty’s mysterious medical problems.   Then there is a slimy known stalker, a dangerous event for Gabe and the reality of an injured phoenix.  There are several things going on and at times Gabe frustrated me, even when I could sort of see his point.  I adored his mother, such a strong lady with the right attitude.  You’ll find danger in this story from several fronts.  You’ll definitely find a steamy romance.  And you’ll find two people discovering that needing someone else isn’t a bad thing especially when that someone is a perfect fit for them.  I enjoyed my time in this world and would recommend this story to any Paranormal Romance or Shifter Romance reader.  Now the wait for the next story in this series.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

**This review first appeared on my Keeper Bookshelf blog**

Available in paperback and for the Kindle