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Midnight Matings #13

Splash and Elegance

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[Siren Classic Erotic Alternative Paranormal Romance, M/M, shape-shifters] 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? ** A Siren Erotic Romance

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2011

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About the author

Gabrielle Evans

74 books441 followers
Gabrielle Evans grew up in a small town in southern Oklahoma. We’re talking one red light that may or may not work depending on the day of the week. She married her high school sweetheart and the rest is pretty much history. They have two very active boys and one high-strung wiener dog that keeps her constantly on the go. For now, Gabrielle parks her car in north-central Texas, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Come chat with me on my new Yahoo Group!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Gabriel...

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

(1)erotic romance author

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5 stars
239 (23%)
4 stars
329 (32%)
3 stars
338 (33%)
2 stars
80 (7%)
1 star
22 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Serena Yates.
Author 104 books770 followers
December 4, 2011
A killer whale and a swan shifter are bound to be good for some conflict, right? However, the focus of this story is more around the secrets both of them are hiding and the suspense of whether they'll be able to solve their issues than their shifter natures. That took away some of the enjoyment for me, but I still liked the book. It got into some more of the background of the bigger story as well, and that was very helpful.

Whitley, the swan shifter, is painfully shy and withdrawn, almost too insecure to be true, and convinced he is worthless. The things he puts up with in terms of being ignored are unbelievable, and I was yelling at him to fight back. I had severe doubts he'd ever be able to get out of that frame of mind, and, to be honest, wasn't convinced he'd done it even at the end of the book. Maybe it just wasn't in his nature.

Jude, the killer whale shifter, is an interesting contradiction. He acts like a total prick, disregards anything close to honesty and decency, and ruthlessly follows his goal. The problem is that his goal is very noble, so I felt bad about hating him. It was very weird, and it meant I never really managed to understand him, never mind connect with him. He did sort of redeem himself in the end, but since I didn't really care about him, it fell a little flat for me.

If you like stories with a lot of intrigue and mystery, as well as two mates battling it out as they try to understand each other and their situation, you may like this book.
Profile Image for Aղցela W..
4,593 reviews327 followers
June 22, 2019
This was book 13 in the "Midnight Matings" series. This was a short quick read. Whitley Turner wasn't overly upset by the elders' announcement. 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. Jude Chambers is a good guy but he's in a race against time to save someone he loves. He sets out to use Whitley to get what he wants but after meeting the swan shifter his motivation of hate and deception changes. He's thrown for a loop when his feelings toward Whitley begin to grow. But with those growing feelings come his own shame he tricked Whitley because he was trying to save someone he loves. I liked both of these character's and they had some hot sex. I didn't like neither of there families Jude's father was a nasty piece of work and Whitley's mother was just mean and his father was weak and lazy. This was a good read this book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling.
Profile Image for ~SexyBookWorm~.
1,083 reviews32 followers
November 7, 2015
Kind of blah. ...I felt like for the first time in this series the couples animals weren't a part of the story or even who they are as ppl. It was odd. They didn't even really shift that often. IThey're animals were hardly ever mentioned. Although, it's nice that the animals were unique choices it was obvious that they weren't a great choice in terms of story building.
It was also disappointing how quickly Whitley forgave Jude. Jude lied to and manipulated whit from the very beginning.something not easily forgiven. I wish that had been done A bit better.
Overall, it was quite disappointing.
Profile Image for Christy.
4,556 reviews126 followers
March 28, 2017
I really, really, really liked Whitley! In fact, he's in the top five of my favorite characters in this entire series. This book was really different from all if the others so far. Here the mated pair spent more time apart, only getting together to fill the twenty four hour requirement. Whitley has been beaten down so badly by life that he just broke my heart.
I wasn't too keen on Jude until the end and then he finally made a better showing.

Always looking forward to the next one!
Profile Image for Ada.
2,220 reviews36 followers
Read
August 27, 2022
***zaterdag 27 augustus 2022***
I know I've read this series before because once upon a time I was on binge and read almost everything by these authors. Like everything.

But I also didn't logged it back then and that is bugging me now so I'm adding them based on the one review I did wrote:Fur And Flightless by Joyee Flynn
Profile Image for Jude.
1,173 reviews5 followers
December 6, 2023
This one was a bit more interesting as work was done on the plot.
Profile Image for Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews.
5,516 reviews175 followers
February 6, 2012
Originally Posted at: http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/201...

Being forced to mate is one thing, but to be deceived by the one person you fall in love with is unforgivable, isn't it?

Whitley Turner is that lonely person in the corner praying no one notices him. He’s smart and beyond kind but has been treated poorly by his family his entire life. Pretty sad situation. He doesn’t see his attractiveness or self-worth. So when the council calls a meeting for all unmated paranormals to attend he jumps at the chance to have a reprieve from his own family. But a weekend of freedom away from his parents takes a life changing turn when he gets accidently mated to the sexiest man he’s ever seen. Whitley soon discovers looks can be deceiving and just because you want something bad enough doesn’t mean it’s meant to be.

Jude Chambers is a good guy but he’s in a race against time to save someone he loves. He sets out to use Whitley to get what he wants but after meeting the swan shifter his motivation of hate and deception changes. He’s thrown for a double loop when his feelings toward Whitley begin to grow. But with those growing feelings come his own shame, which is understandable. He did trick poor Whitley, but there was a good reason for the trickery. It was hard not to judge Jude too harshly but when his motivation becomes clear no one could blame him for his scheming.

I found myself rooting for this couple. Their problems stem from poor choices and lack of communication, not absence of love. Whitley is so used to rejection from others; he just naturally expects the same treatment from Jude. Jude wants to tear down the walls Whitley has built around himself but he doesn’t have the time, someone is counting on him and he has to move forward with the plan.

The story kicks into high gear when Whitley is abducted. Jude has to decide is what he fought so hard to save worth giving up to get his mate back. It was fast paced do or die time for the characters and this author was able to get across what was at stake. Emotions ran high and I started reading faster so see what would happen next.

The Midnight Matings Series is just fantastic and Ms. Evans brings her own spin to these forced matings. Pairing a swan with an orca whale is comical but that’s just a small piece of the story. This tale dives deeper into the characters' human emotions and what they would risk for those they love.

Splash and Elegance was pure entertainment from beginning to end. Those who follow the Midnight Matings series would definitely take a liking to this addition. As the others, Splash and Elegance can be read as a standalone, but the whole series it worth a read. I highly recommend!

Profile Image for CB.
3,211 reviews6 followers
December 9, 2014
Such a fun series! There are currently 20 books in the series, each book is written by either Joyee Flynn, Gabrielle Evans or Stormy Glenn. They could keep writing more as long as they continue creating interesting characters who shift into all kinds of wonderful and different animals/mythical beings and coming up with unique stories full of romance, crazy drama, angst and let's not forget the very hot sex!

You don't have to read them in order, very rarely are other characters mentioned, but each story is very different and engaging and together they make for a fun few weeks of entertainment.

There is a spin-off series by Joyee Flynn with 8 books out so far called "Unmated by Midnight." I have not read those yet but they are on my to-be-read list next.
449 reviews19 followers
December 13, 2011
It's well written, filled with suspense and conflict but because Jude acts like an arrogant jerk to Whitley with a total disregard to his feelings, using him to accomplish his goal, I couldn't form any kind of emotional attachment to him. By the time the truth behind his actions were revealed, he was almost past redemption for me. But I really enjoyed Whitley. He might have started off shy, but he had a charming personality and learning to stand up for himself by the end.

There's lots of conflicts, twists and turns and plenty of sizzling hot sex, so it worth a look despite my niggles.
Profile Image for Tamela.
1,828 reviews27 followers
October 25, 2016
I just love this whole series. And this was another good read. Loved Whitley and was so shocked at Jude that for a very little while there I didn't like him. But he was doing what he thought he had to do to save his brother, even though he really didn't think it through.

1st read - Apr 19, 2012
2nd read - Jun 23, 2012
3rd read - Oct 24, 2016

Rereading the series because I just picked up books #14, 15 and 16.
Profile Image for Simply Love Book Reviews.
7,046 reviews872 followers
August 12, 2016
3.5 Stars

I love the emotion and the flow of the story. Plus a little kidnap, rescue action adds excitement to the romance. With 13 books following the same kind of outline the stories are all very similar but I personally love them all. I think the writing is great and they make me laugh & cry plus there’s so much hot m/m loving I have to love them.

To read Charnel's entire review please visit
http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews...
Profile Image for Ana.
1,247 reviews35 followers
July 11, 2013
More complex and more serious than other novels but still amazingly enjoyable and sexy. Whit found he had a backbone after all but still managed to forgive Jude and Jude learned the consequences of manipulating Whit. I did found them amazingly cute when they together. They were very good for each other. Very sweet. After everything that could go wrong did went wrong they seriously needed a happy ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
363 reviews
January 27, 2012
The start doesn't feel promising. Again the disguised female, a very fragile, shy, scared female. Some places were like so over the top it completely threw me out of the story. I just had to stop reading. Not sure I will finish.

It gets better later on. I managed to finish, but I didn't really enjoy it.
Profile Image for Maya.
1,164 reviews34 followers
December 4, 2011
I feel no connection between these to at all and Jude is a bit of a dick. Whit has a complete personality change for no apparent reason and parts of this story just didn't make sense. This i not one of my faves.
Profile Image for Candice.
2,955 reviews133 followers
January 30, 2014
This one really didn't do it for me. I really liked Whitley, but Jude...never really got a good vibe from him. I guess I also like shifters who can protect themselves (or at least one in the couple) and a whale and a swan? Didn't really do it for me :(
Profile Image for Meggie.
5,393 reviews
January 23, 2012
This mated pair, didn't feel right together. Whitley was tricked and used for other gain, okay it was for a good reason, but this love story simple didn't feel right.
Profile Image for Lizzie.
446 reviews12 followers
November 21, 2014
I was debating on 3.5 stars, but this just wasn't as sweet as they usually are. Most likely my mood, but there it is.
1,415 reviews4 followers
January 24, 2016
Splash and Elegance [Midnight Matings]

This was good like it the first time too will probley read it again a in some time again....Will be the next one in this series too...
Profile Image for Miralinda.
417 reviews8 followers
August 22, 2016
Забыла оставить ревью и сейчас на 16 книге понимаю, что эта еще не самая скучная в серии(((
315 reviews3 followers
July 18, 2018
Read this book!

About two shifters an orca whale and a swan! How they are accidentally mated at Upac convention. The ups and downs in their relationship.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews