Ashlyn Chase

Strange Neighbors is a cure paranormal romance. Its many characters of varied supernatural flavors suggests potential for a long running, shifting perspective series. I look forward to future books in the series because while I didn't love this book, the premise itself is wonderful and I think some of Strange Neighbors's secondary characters will make perfectly fascinating leads.

Merry is a wonderful character. She's sweetly naive, yet not completely clueless to the world around her. She show more takes things in stride, and as a human about to discover an entire supernatural community in her new apartment building, that's important. The thing that threw me with Merry was her sweet demeanor didn't completely mess with her aggressive sexuality. At first I took it as a case of being proper outside the bedroom and wanton in it, but after a while it just seemed like a little girl trying too hard to be strong and sexy to entice a man. She states that she isn't too experienced, so at first it was normal, but towards the end the bedroom attitude still didn't seem to fit the rest of her personality.

Jason's big secret was alluded to relentlessly for the first half of the book, so obviously I was looking for either some clues along the way. The big revelation wasn't hinted at beforehand and I found it something of a disappointment. This disappointment was compounded by some of the secondary characters in the book. With a vampire, werewolf, ghost and pair of witches in the building already, I had expected the author to make Jason's supernatural type something a little less similar to another tenant. He obviously wasn't going to be a mummy or zombie, but he could have at least been a faerie or something.

I wasn't impressed with Jason's supernatural species, nor Merry's seemingly playacting sexuality. As the book progressed, I found myself caring less and less about the couple and their relationship which sort of ruins a romantic type book. The thing that really kept this book going for me was the pair of witches, Gwyneth and Morgaine, as well as the vampire, Sly. These characters are the reason I'll be continuing the series. show less

The Werewolf Upstairs by Ashlyn Chase is a paranormal story about werewolves, a vampire and a couple of ghosts. Roz, a lawyer, is not particularily fond of her chosen profession but it pays the bills. She moves into the apartment of a friend who is getting married. The building is owned by the soon to be husband of her friend and his aunt and uncle manage the place. The aunt is a busybody who constantly has her ears "to the doors" of the tenants. The tenants are an eclectic group, including show more two witches, a werewolf, a vampire who lives in the basement, and a ghost. The gorgeous werewolf upstairs has an unusual occupation in that he sells security systems. But he has a rather unorthodox way of getting customers, he breaks into the buildings then convinces them that they need a security system. He has a twin brother who works with him. When Konrad is accused of art theft he enlists Roz's help to defend him and also to find out the truth of what did happen. As Konrad and Roz form a relationship, he finds that Roz is his soul mate, so he does what he can to convince her she is the one. Of course this is after Konrad tells Roz that he is a werewolf and werewolves mate for life.

I enjoyed the story but I felt that the title is misleading. You will not read any scenes of Konrad or any of the other werewolves "shapeshifting" or vampires biting but there certainly is a lot of descriptive sex scenes. There is a lot of humor and I liked the different characters in the story, especially the witches. If you like a light paranormal love story than you should read this. If you are expecting a Twilight type story, this isn't it, but it is still a fast paced fun read. show less

I was excited for this and I was not let down. Ashlyn Chase writes a wonderful fun, light and funny romance and I am learning that this is a type I really enjoy and I really need from time-to-time. And the timing was perfect. I was just getting over bronchitis and being home with sick kids and here was this nice light romance and a perfect pick-me-up.

First there are the characters. I love Ms. Chase's characters. The women are self-assured but really not. Roz has self-image issues about her show more weight (and what woman doesn't) so it was very easy to relate to Roz. Roz also can't believe that the hunky upstairs neighbor Konrad would be attracted to her and she reacts in all the typical ways. Sarcastic remarks about her weight when he compliments her and other ways that are very typical of a curvy woman. Konrad takes this all in stride and teaches her that he loves the way she looks. Roz also is looking for a career change. She is not satisfied with being a lawyer and wants something new. Konrad, who leads a life of crime is also in the market for a new career and the parts of the book where they go on the career search together are hysterical.

Konrad is a self-assured alpha male but he's a lovable one. He truly appreciates Roz and cares for her without taking over for her. He seems to know exactly what her boundaries are. The only problem for this really hot relationship? Konrad has a secret and it's a biggie and he's really not sure how Roz will handle the fact that he is a werewolf. So he hides it from her, but she knows something is up. And that is the big if in the book, will this secret keep them apart?

The romance in the book is hot with a capital H, so be prepared. I enjoyed Roz and Konrad's banter and the romance. It was a lot of fun to watch. More development of the neighbors occurs in this book as well and I love the neighbors - they always provide great antics but they also care for each other and that is a wonderful thing to read.

A very easy and enjoyable read, from the first page to the last. I can't wait to see who moves in next and what antics the neighbors will be up to next as well. Because with an apartment full of vampires, shape-shifters, witches, a ghost and a few normal humans, you never know what to expect next. show less

The first half of this book--when Drake was hunting for Bliss and Bliss was trying to get her greeting card entry back together through to when they go on their first couple of dates, really worked for me. Drake was pretty amusing and Bliss was definitely snarky. Things started taking a downward spiral as another woman became a big issue, and deities began meddling. Plus Drake and Bliss became far less interesting once she was in on his secret.

Also I'm apparently not a fan of a guy (or show more girl) giving up something that's an integral part of who they are simply because their beloved/mate/lover is unable to share it with them. I thought Bliss' more straight forward 'Aw hell no that's a bad idea' approach at the end was a better idea.

I think part of my problem was that all the various plotlines, some of which set up or tie up the other books in the trilogy, didn't coalesce well. If this had been a light, charming and sexy romance simply about Drake and Bliss trying to figure out how to have a relationship, I would have been happier. As it is we also get the psycho chick Drake dated once, meddlesome Gods who were hindering more their own cause more than helping, Bliss' reality show competition, Drake's firefighting and some super shady stuff at Bliss' part time job.

It was just too much in the end. I fully admit I skimmed several pages because they had nothing at all to do with Drake or Bliss.

If you enjoyed the first book (Flirting Under a Full Moon) or want some background on the third book's characters (Kissing With Fangs), since they feature prominently in here, then this is a good book. Chase's writing is breezy and easy to follow, and she does know how to make a steamy love scene. As for me, I was disappointed in how muddled it all became. show less