21 February 2015

The Home Series Tour Stop!

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Imposing, temperamental 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 is on the way. But when his one and only finally arrives, Noah is horrified to discover that he doesn’t remember anything from the past three years.

Loyal, serious Clark Lehman built a life around the person who insisted from their first meeting that they were meant to be together. Now, years later, two men whose love has never faltered must relive their most treasured and most painful moments in order to recover lost memories and secure their future.

Word Count: 53,026
Home Again is set in the Home series where the books are linked by theme or world. They are independent and can be read in any order.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24872395-home-again
Not my normal reading fare, but I have to admit it’s a book I rather enjoyed!

Noah wakes up after an accident and doesn’t remember the last 3 years.  He forgets the past between him and Clark.  The doctors maintain that he must be blocking something traumatic. Clark fills Noah in on what he won’t remember.  Can the hurts of the past be overcome and can love grow anew?

What was cool about this book is that it’s not about falling in love or hooking up; it’s about falling in love with someone for a second time despite the past and learning them all over again.  I thought that was a really refreshing take on a love story.

I like that we get both of the character’s POV in the story as well.  Noah’s POV is the present, while Clark’s POV is the past.  I thought that was quite ingenious.  I thought this book was written really well, and I found myself being swept along by the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this as the first book I read in this series and I can’t wait to read more! 4 stars.
 
Oh this book it is just heart wrenching and beautiful.  I loved both characters from the beginning and it was so amazing to be able to see their relationship develop from the teen years all the way to adulthood. I loved that Clark and Noah felt a bond from their very first meeting and trusted those feelings enough to pursue a friendship even though it was an unlikely match.

Clark’s ordeal with his mother was so heartbreaking, but it was amazing how she was able to give him the support and love he needed to accept himself and his growing feelings for Noah.  While Noah was the young and rebellious one in the beginning it is his perseverance and patience that ultimately saves their relationship. After all they endured it was wonderful to see them get their happy ending together.
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Not even his mother’s funeral can convince self-proclaimed party boy Zach Johnson to tone down his snark or think about settling down. He is who he is, and he refuses to change for anyone. When straight-laced, compassionate Aaron Paulson claims he’s falling for him, Zach is certain Aaron sees him as another project, one more lost soul for the idealistic Aaron to save. But Zach doesn’t need to be fixed and he refuses to be with someone who sees him as broken.

Patience is one of Aaron’s many virtues. He has waited years for a man who can share his heart and complete his life and he insists Zach is the one. Pride, fear, and old hurts wither in the wake of Aaron’s adoring loyalty, and as Zach reevaluates his perceptions of love and family, he finds himself tempted to believe in the impossible: a happily-ever-after.

Word Count: 94,711
He Completes Me is set in the Home series where the books are linked by theme or world. They are independent and can be read in any order.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24867940-he-completes-me
Zach is a Wildman.  He’s back in his hometown for his mother’s funeral when he runs into Aaron.  He’s kind of the opposite of Zach, with a stable career, politically active and with lots of good friends and family, but sadness seems to lurk underneath.  These two find in each other a kindred spirit, because while they may seem very different on the outside, on the inside they’re both just looking for someone who gets them.  Can they let each other in and find happiness once and for all?

A couple of things: one, I’m not a huge fan of the first person, single POV story.  And two, I’m also not a fan of the love-at-first-sight kind of story.  However, I found that as I got into the story the author really made both work here. 

I wasn’t so sure that I would like Zach either, but as I got to know more of him I thought his character development was done well and I ended up finding that I really had a soft spot for him.  I wanted him to be happy, and I wanted Aaron to be the one who made him that way.  And Aaron…oh Aaron.  I thought for a lot of the book that Aaron was a bit of a doormat, but he had some surprises in his back pocket!  By the end, Aaron showed that he was indeed a man who knows his own mind and that being nice doesn’t mean being a whipping post.  Go, Aaron.

Overall, even though I don’t read a lot of m/m, I found myself really engaged in this story.  4 stars.
 
This one took me a little bit to warm up to. I immediately fell in love with Aaron and his selflessness but I had to get to know Zach before I was able to really appreciate him.   Zach eventually grew on me and I really liked him and how he had matured by the end of the book, but a part of me was never really able to forgive him for his treatment of Aaron in the beginning. 

While the story was very sweet and wonderful a part of me never really believed that this could actually happen and as a result I was unable to fully sink into the story. I am not sure that many if anyone would stick by someone as awful as Zach was even though there was a reason for his behavior. It is a lovely story and I will definitely read more books in this series I just was not as impressed with this book as I was with the first.
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Aggressive, physical, and brave, Jake Owens is a small town football hero turned big city cop who passes his time with meaningless encounters believing he can’t have who he really wants: Nate Richardson, his best friend since before forever. Thoughtful, quiet, and kind, Nate is a brilliant doctor who has always known who he is and has never been able to shake his crush on loyal, courageous, straight Jake.

After a passionate night together, Nate realizes Jake isn’t as straight as he assumed, but he worries that what they shared was a fluke, a result of too much closeness for too long. For Jake, the question isn’t how they ended up in bed together because he has always known that Nate holds his heart, it’s how he’ll convince Nate that he wants and needs to stay there.

Word Count: 82,569
Where He Ends and I Begin is set in the Home series where the books are linked by theme or world. They are independent and can be read in any order.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24872615-where-he-ends-and-i-begin?ac=1
Don’t you think that we, as romance readers, love a good friends to lovers romance?  I know that I do!  And that’s what I got in this book.

Jake and Nate have been friends forever.  Jake was a jock in high school and is now a cop.  He’s had years of meaningless hook ups with women, knowing deep down that he wasn’t being true to what he really wanted.  Nate has been his steadfast friend, but has always harbored a secret flame for Jake.  He is openly gay, but has never acted on his feelings.  Until one fateful trip changes everything.  But will it be for one night, or can it be forever? 

I really liked that it delved into the shades of gray that is human sexuality.  Most people aren’t totally straight or totally gay, but somewhere in between and that’s where I think Jake’s character was very realistic.  He was attracted to Nate but afraid to go there.  Spoke volumes to me, and I thought added a very good element to the story.

This was a very romantic book and I really enjoyed that.  It’s told from alternating POV, which I found to be not done as well as this author has done in other stories I have read in this series.  Some of the transitions felt strange and a few parts of the story felt a little rushed to me.  But, overall I have to say that I enjoyed this book.  I thought it was sweet and funny and the characters really spoke to me.  4 stars.
I think this is my favorite book so far! I loved both characters from the beginning and I really wanted things to work out for them.  I think one of the reasons I love this book so much is the obvious connection the men have to each other. The book flashes back to their joint childhood and we are given to the opportunity to watch their relationship develop through the years. These two men were always close and were roommates all through college and into their adult lives and when they decide to act on their feelings for each other the resulting relationship is amazingly deep and passionate.

As you read the book you can feel their love for each other grow and it is completely believable as they were first the best of friends and then became lovers.  To me this is the perfect and consummate love story. To be able to fall in love with your best friend and have that person love you back is just a remarkably wonderful thing.
Cardeno C - LogoCardeno 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. Cardeno's Home, Family, and Mates series have received awards from Love Romances and More Golden Roses, Rainbow Awards, the Goodreads M/M Romance Group, and various reviewers. But even more special to CC are heartfelt reactions from readers, like, "You bring joy and love and make it part of the every day."

pop quiz giveaway

Win the  Home collection ebook box set!
We are doing something a little different with this release. We are so excited and want you to know as much about the books as possible. So each stop on the tour will post a unique question about one of the books in the series. All you have to do is visit The Author's website to find the answer. Once you find the answer submit it via this form. Correct answers will be entered into a drawing via random.org to win!

(all answers will be featured on the book's covers or in the book's synopsis)

Question:

In Just What the Truth Is, Micah assumes this man is gay and starts dating him.
Noah
Ben
Eli
Remember to follow the tour for more chances to win! You can view the schedule here:  http://www.wlkbookpromotions.com/?p=532

*all answers must be received by Feb 28th, 2015

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