I couldn't quite decide if this book was intentionally being over the top or if it was something else, but this book just did not do it for me. The sex to plot ratio was a bit too heavy on the smut for me and was very reminiscent of PWP fanfic tropes.
That being said if you are looking for a very smutty gay novel then you might like this!

Living in a small wooden cabin at the edge of a forest and working to solve the mystery of recent murders, young Eli Bright learns the locals believe a man-beast is responsible.

As an outsider, he is watched very closely as he works with the young local sheriff, Stanley Blake. But Eli knows there has to be a proper explanation. Paranormal creatures don’t exist, right?

I just didn’t like this book. I think everything just went to fast with no real character development. It was short and I still had a hard time finishing.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Such a quick, easy and entertaining read if you like paranormal/supernatural reads with a MM relationship but as with so many books I've finished or tried to finish recently, it was just a little predictable and not very engaging.

Sadly this one didn't work for me. I'm torn between wondering if the whole this is intentionally tongue-in-cheek, if the author was serious, or just having a bit of fun. There are funny bits, but the sex/plot ratio is too heavy on the sex for me.

Fun new series with insta-fated mate concept. Will be interesting to see what more this author provides.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend to everyone.

I feel like there were a few too many plot points for such a short book. Problems and solutions came way too quick to really care about. Sudden POV switch at one point was strange.

I've read one other book by T.L. West and unfortunately, I came away from His Unexpected Mate feeling much the same way as I did when I finished reading A Fated Bond. *sigh*

I think a lot of my issue with His Unexpected Mate was that it was too short to give readers a chance to wrap their heads around what was happening between Eli and Stanley. Never mind all the supernatural danger, family drama and world building that was just as much a part of the story. If more pages were devoted to all the elements of the story, I might have enjoyed it more, because the premise was great and the writing flowed nicely. As with many, many short stories/novellas, I just needed more.

I did like Eli and Stanley but the story...not so much. I think that if it had been longer the story would have been much better, there would have been time to really flesh out the storyline and the characters. All in all it was an okay read.

*I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley*

All of the issues were solved rather quickly, which is understandable for such a short book. I wish there had been more of an explanation between werewolves and man-beasts, because they were difficult to distinguish. The sudden change of POV in a chapter towards the middle of the book also threw me off.

This was interesting. I enjoyed the relationship, although it was very insta-lovey. This is pretty expected from 'mate' fiction though, so I wasn't angry. The plot was a little all over the place and had no real conclusion, which I assume this must be a series.

All in all it was good, but just wish it has some depth to the story.

Fun, mysterious and sexy!! A great romance with great characters and a very nice story to support them!!

Review

This was so ridiculously bad. It's good that it was such a short book or I would have DNFed it 😂 You can read my live review down below to see what I thought as I was reading it.

Writing style: This was full of badly used tropes and this author doesn't seem to have heard of 'show-don't-tell'

Characters: They were all so BORINGGGG. I really couldn't connect with anyone and forgot their names constantly.

Story: Aaaah so bad 😭 I hated it. It's a wonder I didn't DNF this 😂 I prefer my werewolf books with a more in depth storyline and with better explanations. This was just so horrible.

This book was so bad and really a waste of time. Luckily it took me no more than two hours to get through it. One star and nothing more is what this book will get. Read my live review down below. ⬇️

Live review
I wrote this as I was reading the book. Contains spoilers.
- Getting hard immediately after someone walks in... SERIOUSLY
- "He sounded authoritative..." Uhm of course he does, he's the sheriff 😂
- Going to a murder scene and leaving almost immediately without doing any work 🤨
- Inviting a near stranger into your house after you've just seen a dead body 🤔
- Giving said stranger a massage because he just so happens to mention he's uncomfortable to a man he's only just met officially...
- And out of nowhere they (and I quote) "...then they both gave into their sexual desire." I mean seriously 🙄
- You do not drink tea in one giant gulp... You can't swallow that much hot tea at once 🤷🏻‍♀️
- Keeping the murder of a shop owner a secret in a small town? Not likely...
- It's apparently totally normal to suspect werewolves when you don't even know the damned species exist 🤨
- Yes, let's suck the Sheriff's dick while he's in his office at work and you just discussed the brutal murder of three people 😑
- Let's stab a woman who is trying to break my neck into her eye because I can totally still think straight when my life is threatened...
- And now two werewolves are fighting, or was it a manbeast and werewolf? No proper explanation given so idk 🤷🏻‍♀️
- I love him even if he's a murderous beastie... Yeah dude, you've got a problem.
- oh yes, the touch of a human mate can heal a werewolf unlike anything else... BIG NOPE
- uuuhhh we're suddenly changing the POV? Suddenly we're dealing with a werewolf couple? 🤔
- uuh so this Elain is Eric's wife but he's also screwing Roderick and she's well aware of that fact? 🤨
- Yes Stanley let's say I love you after you've only been together for what? Couple weeks? (there's no indication of time in this book so idk)
- "Werewolf licky-healy powers.." what are you, a child that can't use real words? And besides YIKES a where's saliva should not have the ability to heal *shudders*
- Wow, I don't think I've ever read a worse action scene...

This was an easy romance read! It had a lot going on & was super steamy! I really enjoyed the main characters, just not how many POV’s there were. All in all a good sexy read!

I tried very hard to like this book. I did my best.
Unfortunately I could not find very many things in it to appreciate. Neither the writing, nor the plot.

I have left a one-word review on GR for this novel, but I feel like NetGalley warrants a lengthier measure of feedback. And here it is: I could not like this book, even though I am a fan of the shifter m/m genre.

Unfortunately, this story didn't really grab me. I found that the main relationship between Eli and Stanley progressed far too quickly. They barely knew a thing about each other, and they were already having sex.

I think this story could use some editing. There is some good writing in there…but the overuse of character names and cliché phrases kind of drowns it out.

There's the basis of an interesting mystery and I think I would have enjoyed it if the author had allowed it all to progress a little slower.

Not a good fit for me, but if you like paranormal mysteries and lots of sex… then give it a whirl!

This was a challenging read to finish, which is disappointing because it's paranormal shifter romance which I typically adore. Everything about the story and the characters felt rushed and awkward. The chemistry between the pair was nonexistent and insta-lovey. They had sex within three sentences and dropped "I love you's" barely knowing anything about eachother. The plot was shallow and didn't make much sense, and the antagonist spouted exposition nonsense about their plan like a cackling mustachioed 1950's cartoon cutout. Everything felt one dimensional and flawed.

Eli works as a PI for his father’s company and he goes to help one of his father's friends, a sheriff, investigate a series of strange deaths that the locals believe are caused by werewolves. When he meets the sheriff, Stanley, he’s instantly attracted to him.
The characters were interesting but I had trouble connecting with them. I think I needed more backstory to know them better. The plot was also interesting and had potential but the mystery of the deaths was solved too fast and in the end it was predictable. It was a fine book, I enjoyed reading it, it just felt rushed and ended abruptly.

A big thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is something new for me and holy moly. This is an M/M relationship with muscles, death, and fur! Fated mate concepts are my weakness! Eli and Stanley are so cute together. I will be keeping tabs on any other books from T.L.West.

Some very short books work really well, some do not. Unfortunately, this was one that didn't.
The story centres around two men meeting while working on a murder case. There is an instant attraction between them, which again sometimes works well, but in this case, I just didn't buy into it. The murder case doesn't really make much sense either. It gets solved halfway through the book and then there are some other problems that our two heroes face.
With this being such a very short book it was hard to keep track of what was happening and why. It would have benefitted from some world building and that may have also helped us to feel something for the characters. With a bit of fleshing out and a bit more work it probably wouldn't be a bad book. But, it lacks all of that. Just not for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.