Splash and Elegance by Gabrielle Evans

Title: Splash and Elegance

Series: Midnight Matings 13

Author: Gabrielle Evans

Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Shape-Shifter

Length: Novella (126pgs)

Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand (3rd December 2011)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: The Gathering is called. The spell is cast. There is no escaping the Midnight Matings.

Socially awkward and practically invisible to the rest of the world, Whitley Turner wasn’t overly upset by the elders’ announcement. Either he’d find someone to claim him or he’d disappear completely. So when he finds himself mated to a sexy-as-sin orca shifter, he’s not sure whether to jump for joy or run screaming.

Jude Chambers knows exactly who the shy swan shifter is. He’s been looking for a way to get close to him for months. Using the forced mating decree and a little cunning help from a friend, landing Whitley as his mate was a piece of cake. Feeling guilty about the situation wasn’t supposed to happen. Why couldn’t Whitley be the egotistical jerk he imagined him to be?

It doesn’t take long for Whitley to realize something isn’t right. When the truth is revealed, how can Whitley forgive his mate when being invisible was far less painful?

Purchase Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/splash-and-elegance

Review: Hmmm, the Midnight Matings series is cool; always a different combination of paranormal matings with some angst and danger thrown in. Oh and don’t forget that no animal is safe from being a shifter in this, fantastic.

Whitley is a swan shifter who has been treated like a nothing all his life. When he gets mated unexpectedly with Jude he is quite pleased and hopes his new mate will like him for him. But just when things seem to be going well for between them, he learns the truth about his mating. Jude needs Whitley and sets a plan in motion to get him, it isn’t until it’s too late that he realizes that he has gone about it the wrong way but by then it’s too late and he has a lot to make up for.

This story is well written and the plot and story-line are quite good.  The characters are great and although you don’t realize it at first, the blurb gives too much away. At first I thought the blurb was completely wrong and it wasn’t until much later in the book that I realized the blurb was just giving too much away, much too early.

I enjoyed this story because although they got instantly mated and had to have instant sex, the love and trust doesn’t come easy or fast, both have to be earned. Whitley comes across very early on as downtrodden and an afterthought, so he keeps to himself a lot and doesn’t have any friends. Jude comes across as a great guy but it isn’t until later that you realize that he hasn’t treated Whitley right but you hope that he will get Whitley to forgive him and make it up to Whitley.

I will recommend this to those who love paranormal, shifter, fantasy, hot sex, angst and a happy ever after.