Review: A big red Gargoyle who doesn't like humans and a human builder are mates...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2014
The story starts with Matthew being told about Gargoyles and the need to keep their secret.  His brother is mated to a Gargoyle so he has no motivation to expose them. Marty, his brother, had been shot but was saved by a Gargoyle, Vane.  Vane is big, red, has a face like a skull and is intolerant of humans.  Once Vane is pointed out to Matthew he feels compelled to track him down and thank him, really compelled.  Once he finds Vane he does indeed thank him but Vane isn't interested in the thank you from a human.  Except he smells really good, and he is nice to look at.  Matthew sets out to seduce the surly big red being, and succeeds very easily - and I am sorry, but too easily for a Gargoyle that doesn't like humans.  They are mates, which isn't acknowledged by Vane.  He knows he is attracted to Matthew but he seems to have some lack of knowledge about mates.  They start to bond (mainly sexually).  Vane bites Matthew in the throws of passion - forgetting this starts the actual mating bond where he will become possessive and jealous.  There is a misunderstanding and this leads to Vane remembering that while he had been captive for his first quarter century, he had a friend who remained in captivity.  How can he be a good mate to Matthew if he couldn't be a good friend to Roland?  The Gargoyle launches a rescue mission but causes some domestic disharmony with his mate due to his methods.I like these two but in reality I think we see most of the story through Vale even though the story is told from both their points of view at times.  It all seems a bit easy for Matthew to see, want and launch a passion ambush on Vale.  And there is little objection from Vale in accepting his human mate when we think he doesn't like humans at all because he was abused.  But I can get past that because the book was entertaining.  But I do have to voice my disappointment here, one of the things I like about these stories is that once the mating happens in entirety we see pregnancy with these mates usually.  This time however, the book just ends when the shifters have been rescued.  Where is the settling into matehood and then the anticipation of parenthood?  Just when I was getting to (what I thought was going to be) the good stuff, the book ends.  Sigh...I know we will see them in the rest of the series but I think the story of Matthew and Vane was lacking and had no hint of anticipation for the future.  I think it could have been done better.  What was there was good, if one-sided.  We don't really get a sense of Matthew in my opinion.  What wasn't there would have been even better.