Review: Flirting Under A Full Moon by Ashlyn Chase

Flirting Under A Full Moon by Ashlyn Chase
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Published on: April 2, 2013
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Werewolves
Pages: 352
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley

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If Brandee Hanson ever wants to go from waitress to photographer, she'll have to take some once-in-a-lifetime shots. But when she catches the gorgeous private investigator, Nick Wolfensen, on camera— transforming into a werewolf—she is thrown into a world of vampires, shapeshifters, and other paranormal misfits.

In order to keep his secret and stay clear of the supernatural council, Nick will have to convince Brandee not to release the photo. Fortunately, he was looking for an excuse to spend more time with the beautiful waitress anyway.

This is my second go at reading a book by Ashlyn Chase and I’ve come to the conclusion that her brand of humour just isn’t for me. Her flaky characters, unrealistic relationship progression and unfocused plot make me feel like I’m reading under the influence. Flirting Under A Full Moon is a light, girlie read that’s a good choice if you’re sitting by the pool sipping mojitos.

Brandee gets dragged into paranormal affairs after getting kidnapped while tailing Nick on an investigation into her cousin’s disappearance. These events lead me to believe that the main plot would revolve in some way, shape or form, around this case. And it does but very loosely. If you take a look at the blurb there’s no mention of Nick even being a P.I. After a while I couldn’t help but see the kidnapping as an excuse to bring them together. The detective work is shoddy at best and although there is a resolution to the investigation it seemed like it was only an afterthought. This book is about Nick learning to accept and deal with his werewolf mating instincts and Brandee getting over her abandonment issues. Sounds like your typical paranormal romance story line in my opinion but there was something missing in Chase’s delivery.

I’m a huge fan of werewolf lore, especially where true mates are concerned. I know this angle has been worked to exhaustion but I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of it. Ashlyn Chase took something beautiful and twisted it to the point of being unrecognizable. Nick’s mating instinct is so all consuming that he foregoes his one-night-stand ways, develops an almost stalker-ish obsession with protecting Brandee and proposes to her within the span of a week. If I’d been in this girl’s shoes I would have filed a restraining order and run for the hills!

Brandee’s obviously not the brightest bulb in the box and this is probably the only reason why their relationship doesn’t crash and burn. But really, after seeing Nick turn into a wolf, how dumb do you have to be to believe a story as far fetched as this:

“… he said he was naked to crawl through a tight basement window—that he was about to grease up his body but dropped the baby oil in his rush to keep her safe.” –Page 35

She also has this annoying habit of putting her own personal twist on the saying “Oh my God!” by substituting the last word with something else like “pickled herring” or “boiled bunny”. And this is funny how? Overall I just found her character to be ditzy, ignorant and naïve. All this to day that Flirting Under A Full Moon just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Recommendation:	A girlie read great for those who prefer their werewolves to be of the cute and cuddly variety.
Like this, like that:	The Naked Werewolf series by Molly Harper, the Changeling series by Dani Harper and the Wild About You series by Vicki Lewis Thompson.

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