Saturday, January 30, 2016

Cardeno C. Home Series and Mates Series Review


Synopsis:

Noah Forman wakes up in a hospital and can’t remember how he got there. He holds it together, taking comfort in the fact that the man he has loved since childhood, his partner, Clark Lehman, is on his way. But when Clark finally arrives, Noah is horrified to discover that he doesn’t remember anything from the past three years, and he simply can’t understand why. It will take some painful confrontations if Noah’s going to figure out why he’s lost all memories of his recent past... and secure the future he’s dreamed of having with Clark.

Goodreads: 

My Review

5 of 5 Noah & Clark

Oh man this is the first book I listened to on Audible and I have to say I loved every minute I listened to it. 

Noah Forman is in love and there is no way he is about to let go of his true love. But things in life are not always clean cut and dry and Noah will soon find out that his true love will come with lots of bumps and hiccups. Noah is down for that because he has no intention of following rules.

Clark Lehman is loyal and a caretaker. He is also Noah's older brothers best friend. He loves Noah and he knows he wants to help him out as a friend. See there is a four year difference in age and Clark has no plans on crossing any line. As you see Noah self destruct Clark is always at his side until something happens between them and they separate.

Noah wakes up in the hospital and can't remember the last three years. He has no memory of what happened between him and Clark. All he knows is that Clark the love of his life is coming to see him in the hospital. As Noah learns the nasty details of the last three years he will have to come face to face with what has happened between him and Clark.

Will the past dictate the future for this couple or will Clark remain loyal to Noah........


Synopsis:

Not even his mother’s funeral can convince self-proclaimed party boy Zach Johnson to put aside his flamboyant ways or even think about settling down. He is who he is, and no one can make him change. But when he meets Aaron Paulson, his brother's best friend, Zach has to step back and re-evaluate his perceptions of love and family.

Aaron insists he’s falling for Zach, but Zach is certain Aaron sees him as just another project—one more lost soul for the idealistic Aaron to save. Zach isn't broken; he doesn't need to be fixed. Aaron’s insistent, though, and Zach finds himself tempted. Zach wants to believe in happily-ever-after, but can he let go of his pride long enough to see Aaron's heart?

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 Zach & Aaron

He Completes Me is such an amazing story of love and patience.

In this story we met Zach Johnson and Aaron Paulson. Lord Zach is a snarky bar hopping crazy man. He is all about the party and no one can calm him down. He is not about to settle down anytime soon. So when he meets Aaron all Zach wants is a one night stand but Aaron wants more and knows all Zach needs is a little TLC and he will come around.

As Aaron shows a different world to Zach, Zach starts to fight it at first but then he starts to open up to Aaron's world and soons see that there is life beyond the one night stands and the bar hopping and partying till you don't know where you are or who you are.

There is only one question that remains is this new life going to suit Zach or will the party life come back and drag him back in......


Synopsis:

Jake Owens, aggressive, physical, blunt and brave, is a football hero turned city cop. Nate Richardson, his best friend since before forever, is thoughtful, quiet, and kind, a brilliant doctor who has always known who he is and that Jake is the love of his life—and loyal, courageous, straight Jake has never had a clue.

But Jake has been nursing his own case of the unrequiteds, and he’s never been as straight as Nate assumes. Nate may think their passionate explosion is a fluke, a result of too much closeness for too long, but Jake is bound and determined to prove to him otherwise. For Jake, the question isn’t how they ended up in bed together... it’s how can he convince Nate that he wants and needs to stay there.

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 Jake & Nate

Sweet Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! I fall deeper and deeper in love with these characters as I read on. I mean a football player turned cop and a hawt doctor who could ask for more! This is Jake and Nate's story and what a crazy story this one is.

Jake and Nate have been BFF"S forever. What is crazy is that each one thinks the other is straight and they would have no chance of ever being with the other. Only they both secretly hold a love for one another that no one can break. When they finally have their night together the morning after is what haunts them.

Can they be together and have a life together as a couple or will others make it hard for them? Will situations and circumstances keep them apart or will they fight the good fight and build a long lasting relationship?


Synopsis:

Do you believe in love at first sight? Jonathan does: the moment he glimpsed the striking David from afar, he was hooked, but David disappeared before they could meet. 

More than three years later, Jonathan gets a second chance-he and David finally meet face to face, and the two fall into a passionate love affair. David turns Jonathan's previously lonely life into a fairy tale, giving him more than he ever imagined. But the past few years have been hard for Jonathan, and he's terrified that his young son and scandalous past will be too much for David. If they're going to build a future together, they're both going to have to dig deep: David for the courage to share himself in a way he's never considered... and Jonathan for the strength to tell the truth.

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 David & Jonathan

Have you ever seen someone from across the room or bumped into someone and they have caught your heart only for you to never see them again and leave you thinking was that real what I saw and felt? Well that is what it is for Jonathan and Dave.

Jonathan fell in love with David after seeing him across the room. Holy mother lover does Dave do something to Jonathan's heart and after seeing him he relocates and starts his journey to find the man of his dreams. Only finding the man is not as easy as he thought and Jonathan gets himself caught up in a world he never thought he would do but he needs to do it to survive.

Then just as he decides to leave and go back home for help he sees him.... the man of his dreams. As they get to know each other Jonathan is holding a secret he knows he must tell Dave but is afraid if the truth gets out he will lose the one man he has ever loved. Will Jonathan have the strength to tell the truth and will David accept him for who he is all the good bad and inbetween?


Synopsis:

Ben Forman has been in the closet so long he’s convinced himself he’s actually straight. But his denial train gets derailed when hotshot lawyer Micah Trains walks into his life. Micah is brilliant, funny, and determined... and he just assumes Ben’s gay and starts dating him. Finding himself truly happy for the first time he can remember, Ben doesn’t have the willpower to resist.

Still, life isn’t all rainbows and happily-ever-afters. Ben loves his family, but his parents have been estranged from his brother, Noah, since he came out of the closet. Ben doesn’t want to lose them, but Micah won’t be his dirty little secret forever. Suddenly Ben’s hold on his happiness and his sense of self seems to be slipping. If he’s going to survive with his heart intact, he’ll have to own up to the truth of what he wants and who he is. The trouble is figuring out just what that truth is.

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 Ben & Micah

Okay where to start with this review.......

I don't want to spoil it for anyone but Lord this one took my breath away. I mean there is denial and then there is the denial Ben was doing. Ben knew for a long time he was different just like his brother Noah but he also lived in a house where his parents were not having it. They did not do gay and their golden boy could not and would not be gay like his little brother Noah. With that in mind Ben knew he had to keep up his straight life for his family but one sight of Micah and Ben's walls fell down.

Micah is self confident and a great lawyer. He knows he is gay and no matter what people say that is his life and no matter what he is going to live it. Then he meets gorgeous Ben Foreman and his world is rocked upside down. He knows Ben is gay but no one else knows it and he refuses to go back to the closet days. Ben will have to come face to face with his fears in order to keep Micah. But will he choose family over Micah and suffer in silence or will he finally stand up to his family and have the life he has always dreamed of?


Synopsis:

At fourteen, Andrew Thompson and Caleb Lakes become best friends. As the years pass, they stand by each other through family trauma, school, and the start of their careers. They share their first sexual experiences as friends, learning and experimenting. And they talk each other through countless dates and breakups. Decades of trust and loyalty build a deep and abiding friendship —until Andrew suffers a tragedy. Caleb moves in with him, and the parameters of their unique relationship blur.

Wrestling with feelings he can’t articulate, Andrew spirals into self-loathing. Caleb struggles to help his friend heal, but he longs for more than Andrew can give him. After so many years, neither man knows how to break out of his established role. After all, boyfriends come and go, but best friends are forever.

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 Drew & Caleb

Cardeno you pulled at my heart strings with this story. The story of Andrew and Caleb. Starting out as friends and growing to be so much more. Having their firsts with each other and growing old together. They share everything with one another from boyfriends to breakups. As each year goes by the guys friendship grows stronger and stronger.

Then one day the guys get together and their world is turned upside down. The lines between friendship and lovers is crossed and they don't know how to be anything more than friends. they are going to navigate this new thing on their own and they are just not sure it is going to work out. Can they find their happily ever after or will they just walk away from true love and remain friends?

This one tugged at my heart because Drew and Caleb had to fight their way through some difficult things to decide if their love could hold up and stand the test of time.


Synopsis:

When Eli Block steps into his parents' living room and sees his childhood crush sitting on the couch, he starts a shameless campaign to seduce the young rabbi. Unfortunately, Seth Cohen barely remembers Eli and he resolutely shuts down all his advances. As a tenuous and then binding friendship forms between the two men, Eli must find a way to move past his unrequited love while still keeping his best friend in his life. Not an easy feat when the same person occupies both roles.

Professional, proper Seth is shocked by Eli's brashness, overt sexuality, and easy defiance of societal norms. But he's also drawn to the happy, funny, light-filled man. As their friendship deepens over the years, Seth watches Eli mature into a man he admires and respects. But when Seth finds himself longing for what Eli had so easily offered, he has to decide whether he's willing to veer from his safe life-plan to build a future with Eli.

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 Stars for Eli & Seth

Holy Rabbi and bad boy! This is such a good story that I had to think about what to write in my review. I don't like spoilers but this love story brought something out of me I never like to do so it won't be a huge spoiler but it will be a small one.

Eli Black is confident and self assured knowing what he wants and what he doesn't want so when he comes home to find his crush sitting in his living room he shamelessly starts to flirt with him because he knows he will stop at nothing to get his crush to like him the way he likes him. The friendship the build is in incredible because Seth is quiet and stays to himself choosing to live a quiet life until Eli makes it difficult for him to see what is right and what is wrong.

As Seth tries to remain friends with Eli he finds it difficult to resist the charms and careless spirit that Eli has. Will Seth let go and open up to Eli's advances or will he shut down and remain friends with the vibrant guy standing there with the door wide open for him to enter into..........


Synopsis:

Join the characters from the Home series in celebrating marriage equality. Each chapter in this minianthology updates readers on the lives of a couple and shares their reaction to the United States Supreme Court decision regarding DOMA.

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 DOMA

Marriage and DOMA the right for LGBT's to get married has been a hot topic and when Cardeno released this book during that time I was impressed because most people shied away from the issues at hand. As an added bonus he told us the ending to all the couples lives. Some chose to marry while others chose to be lifelong partners.

As we got to read the ending of the couples I was shocked at who decided to marry and who decided to stay life long partners. The choice was not made easily for them but they made the choice that was right for them and their family.

I have to say that everyone has the right to love and marry who they chose and no one has the right to suppress it or make it impossible for couples to be together. 


Synopsis:

Zev Hassick is surprised and confused when he finds himself attracted to his best friend. His very human, very male best friend. Zev is the son of the pack Alpha, regarded as the strongest wolf in generations, born to lead. And everyone knows a male shifter has to mate with a female of his own kind to keep his humanity. So shifters can't be gay, right?

Jonah Marvel wants a relationship with Zev, his best friend, the man he has loved since childhood. It wasn't easy to maintain that relationship over years spent living apart while Jonah studied to become a doctor. And then things grow more difficult when Jonah becomes his own patient. Before he can make a life with Zev, he has to understand his past and cure the unexplained ailments that plague him.

Zev and Jonah know they're destined for each other, but they're facing traditions ingrained over generations and long-buried secrets that may threaten any future together.

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 Zev & Jonah

Wake Me Up Inside is an amazing story of friendship and courage and loyalty. Zev and Jonah started a friendship that could not be broken by time and prejudices. See Zev is a werewolf and not just any old werewolf but the pack leader's son. He is going to take over the pack one day rule over the other werewolves. Only one small problem he is gay and not straight. How can a werewolf be gay? In order for him to rule he will have to mate with a strong female wolf and produce an air to keep his humanity.

Jonah is a human and has loved the outdoors all his life. So when he sees a wolf coming out of the woods he decides to befriend him and play with him everyday. Then Jonah gets to meet the wolf in human form and he knows there is something about his friend but he is not sure what it is. As the friendship grows stronger he realizes that his BFF is the wolf. 

Jonah knows he wants to be with Zev in a relationship but how can he? They come from two different worlds and Zev will have to decide whether or not he is willing to sacrifice his life for true love. Will true love conquer all......... 


Synopsis:

Ethan Abbatt is a wolf shifter who can't shift. Plagued by pain and weakness all his life, he hopes to find an honorable death by joining his pack mates in a vampire attack. Instead, Ethan learns two things: draining his blood releases his pain and his wolf, and he has a true mate - a vampire named Miguel.

Miguel Rodriguez is more than four centuries old. Strong, powerful, and vicious, he walks through life as a shadow, without happiness or affection. When a young shifter tells Miguel they're true mates, destined to be together, Miguel sends him away. But Ethan is persistent, and Miguel can't resist for long. Once Miguel gives in, being together comes naturally. The challenge is keeping themselves alive so they can stay by each other's side until forever comes.

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 Ethan & Miguel

Holy Amazeballs! I love a good Vampire and Werewolf story but put them together and you have one amazing story that grabs you from the beginning and never lets you go.

Ethan Abbatt is a wolf plagued by pain and weakness who can't shift into his wolf form. So he decides to go with his pack and attack some vampires to end his life but what he gets instead is a big surprise. He is drained of all of his blood and can finally shift into a wolf. With this new found information he also realizes that he is in love with the vampire who drained him. He wants the vampire and the vampire wants nothing to do with him.

Miguel is an old vampire and has been around long enough to know that vampires and werewolves don't mix. All Miguel wants to do is live his life and stay away from the wolves but when they come knocking at his door he gives them what they want. But in turn when he drains them one stays alive and falls in love with him. How could this be because they are mortal enemies but Miguel knows what his heart is telling him and just how is he going to live a long life with his wolf mate when they don't belong together.

Can these two stand the test of time and become what they are destined to be or will life tear them apart? 
About The Author:

Cardeno C. - CC to friends - is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a lot of happiness and a few "awwws" into a reader's day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno's stories range from sweet to intense, contemporary to paranormal, long to short, but they always include strong relationships and walks into the happily-ever-after sunset. 

Heartwarming Stories. Strong Relationships. Forever Love.


Blog: (Shared Blog) http://caferisque.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @CardenoC




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