Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Sharing a Pond
AUTHOR: Alex Whitehall
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 154 pages
BLURB:
Brent shows up on Corey and Shane’s doorstep in the dead of winter needing a place to stay—and hopeful his mates will provide it, and not mind he’s a frog shifter.
Being a shifter is nothing new to Corey and Shane, but neither is being mates. They’ve been together since before they first met Brent ten years ago—back when Brent was Brenda. Bringing a third into their relationships is more than a little complicated, but they’re willing to try.
But change is always easier said than done, and Brent wonders if he ever really stood a chance at being happy with the men he has always loved and admired.
REVIEW:
Brent has nearly killed himself getting to where he is going, and when he gets there he has no clue what to expect. But anywhere is better than with his loser, abusive ex…and if that anywhere also happens to be where his mates are, then he is definitely going to take it.
Being a shifter who has found his mates really should be an easy answer to all his problems, but even Brent knows that being able to change into a frog isn’t going to make what he wants easy to attain. Corey and Shane have been in a relationship for over ten years–suddenly having Brent show up on their doorstep claiming to be both their mates isn’t exactly going to make for smooth swimming. Trying to fit three into a pond previously only made for two is going to cause a lot of waves. Especially with all the baggage that Brent is bringing with him.
Not lying, that cover is pretty much why I read this book. Totally adorable. Just look at the little froggy…don’t you just want to like snuggle the fuck out of him? Do lie, you know you want to!
I have a bit of a weak spot for the more unusual shifter breeds. Everyone has done werewolves or werecats…give me a frog or a hedgehog any day. They are small, unique, and usually a lot to fun to read about. Granted, there is less of a chance for some sneaky knotting to be slipped into the story, but you can’t have everything.
There is quite a bit to love about this story other than the fact that I really enjoyed the type of shiters on display. One of them, which I totally didn’t expect, was the fact that Brent was once Brenda, but after their first shift she became a he. I make it sound all types of complicated, but I thought it was a really cool idea. Not exactly a trans character, but I really liked the idea that–for Brent, Corey, and Shane, at least–the change of gender was an easy, normal thing. And well, I must admit that I wouldn’t mind such an easy transition as this…even if it meant that I had to be a frog part of the time. Ah, fantasy. Got to love it.
The threesome aspect of this story was also really well written. I actually don’t care for books where the relationship difficulties brought to bear in poly relationships are glossed over with love and cuddles. Two-person relationships are damn hard…throwing in a third just brings all new, and old, types of complications. I liked that these guys didn’t get it right the first time. That each of the three people made mistakes, got hurt, and then figured their shit out. Yeah the sex was hot, but really it was the relationship that these three had that made me really like this book.
I had a lot of fun reading this and I really do recommended you pick it up if you are at all interested in shifter stories. The boys don’t spend a whole lot of time in their froggy skins, but what time the did was really cute. And when they had to deal with the more messy human things, they do it in style.
RATING:
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