Short-tempered, arrogant heart surgeon Jason Garcia grew up wanting a close-knit family, but believes he ruined those dreams when he broke up his marriage. The benefit of divorce is having as much random sex as he wants, and it’s a benefit Jason is exploiting when he meets a sweet, shy man at a bar and convinces him to go home for a no-strings-attached night of fun.
Eight years living in Las Vegas hasn’t dimmed Abe Green’s optimism, earnestness, or desire to find the one. When a sexy man with lonely eyes propositions him, Abe decides to give himself a birthday present—one night of spontaneous fun with no thoughts of the future. But one night turns into two and then three, and Abe realizes his heart is involved.
For the first time, Abe feels safe enough with someone he respects and adores to let go of his inhibitions in the bedroom. If Jason can get past his own inhibitions and open his heart and his life to Abe, he might finally find the family he craves.
Rarely do I find a story of two gay
men as romantic but this one fits that bill perfectly. The author took
two damaged guys, one on each end of the spectrum and merged them into a loving
and caring couple. With the extra baggage of life and family, they also
battled their fears and deep emotions to make this work. I am so
impressed with this series but I have to say this book is by far my favorite
and actually made me feel like I was experiencing falling in love for the first
time all over again.
Everyone can read the synopsis and
see Jason meets Abe, both are different; so forth and so on……..let me tell you
how I felt while reading this story. The author doesn’t take a lot of
time to jump into this plot; we start out with a clear understanding of the
stress Jason goes through on his job. It was also clear he is lacking
something in his life, something that he either doesn’t feel he deserves or he
isn’t able to achieve it. When he is looking for a one night stand and
sees Abe, I swear I could feel the smile across my face appear because Abe is
just so freaking loveable. He is like those grown men who still have the
innocence and mystery of a child. I found myself smiling and feeling like
I had come home every time I read about Abe and soon Jason started to find a
place in my heart as well.
I also loved how the author dealt
with Jason’s ex-wife and kids. I can’t explain it but there was just a
proud yet peaceful calm come over me when Jason’s son referred to Abe as a step
parent in the book. I think if nothing else I would hope the reader would
see from this story that a gay couple is equal to a straight couple. Both
have feelings, terms, and affection and yes both can be romantic. So I
really appreciated how the ex-wife supported Jason in his choices and how she
was teaching the kids to accept people as equals. His kids, well my heart
went out to his son and it broke my heart a few times to watch him learn about
his dad from others, but once again Abe to the rescue. Have I mentioned
how much I love Abe?
The author did a fabulous job at
tearing down the walls around Jason’s heart without making Abe have to throw a
temper fit or give him ultimatums. Abe with his patient and caring soul
that I had grown to love allowed Jason to make the choice himself to become
more vulnerable to not only Abe but to his kids as well. Abe really was
in my opinion the missing piece for this family. Jason also was the
leading cause as to why Abe was able to learn how to express himself more in
the bedroom. Trust me he was a bit awkward for a little while but soon he
was just what Jason needed in a partner.
I could go on and on about this
story but I won’t, you need to experience it for yourself. I will say
never have I read a book of this nature and walked away feeling so emotionally
satisfied and happy and wanting a best friend like Abe.
Although this is the fourth book in
the Family series, it is the first one I have read and I am so glad that it
could be read as a standalone because I LOVED it. Honestly I shouldn’t be
surprised because I haven’t read a Cardeno C. book yet that I didn’t love, but
there was something about Jason that I connected to that made his finding love
that much more enjoyable for me. The fact that Abe was a sweetheart and had the
patience of a saint was an added bonus.
The stress that Jason faces as a
heart surgeon on a daily basis was introduced in an extremely effective way at
the very beginning of the book. The scene does an excellent job of setting the
stage for Jason’s character and goes a long way in explaining many of his
behaviors – at least for me it did. It also made his out-of-character move to
approach Abe rather fascinating as was Abe’s equally out-of-character agreement
for a one-night stand. The chemistry between the two was obvious and it made
for an intense scene – an intensity that was repeated when they ran into one
another again several weeks later. And again when Jason realized that he
couldn’t get Abe out of his head and staked out Abe’s favorite coffee shop
until he ran into him again. What follows is a wonderfully entertaining read as
Abe and Jason embark upon building a relationship together, even if Jason is
too oblivious to notice. Jason’s obliviousness is trait which I share and is
part of why I enjoyed Jason’s reactions so much when awareness set in
throughout the book – the final one of the book being the funniest of all and
sent me into hysterics.
As much as I loved Jason and his
cluelessness, it was a moment of self-realization that Abe has where he
realizes that Jason is his dream come true that really moved me. Abe is a
sweet, kind, and loving man who seems to be the kind of guy everyone loves when
they meet him. He’s an all-around good guy, except in the bedroom; as much as
he wants to be loved and cherished, he doesn’t want to be treated with kid
gloves in the bedroom – at least not all the time. Abe’s past experience had
shown him that he could have one or the other, but not both … until Jason.
While it took Jason a while to realize it (and Abe already knew before Jason
did), he came to love Abe and did so the way Abe needed (being cherished), yet managed
to unknowingly fulfill Abe’s need for an enthusiastic lover. As expected, the
sex between the two was off-the-charts hot, but it was the way in which they
were exactly what the other needed that made me love The Half of Us so much. Watching these two navigate the pitfalls
and landmines of their budding relationship and coming out better for it was a
journey I know I’ll take again as this is yet another CC book added to my
reread list. I will definitely being going back to read the other books in the
series.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were so wonderful and they
captured my heart immediately. I really
wanted Jason to quit having one night stands and realize he was someone you
could settle down with. Jason has been a
player ever since he divorced his wife and has pretty much decided that is all
he will ever be.
Abe is a high school math teacher and
decides that instead of always looking for a commitment before indulging in sex
he would just have fun for once. Jason
teaches Abe that it is okay to go after what you want sometimes while Abe
teaches Jason that just because he is gay doesn’t mean he has to give up on his
dream of the perfect family.
It was wonderful to watch these two
completely different men meld together and support each other. My only complaint was a relatively minor one,
but I was surprised the characters never said I love you. It was implied in their actions and behaviors
to each other but the words were never said.
I am not sure if this was simply an oversight by the author but it was
surprising to me since I was looking for that moment. Overall this is another wonderful book about
family and how it doesn’t always resemble a storybook but still be perfect
anyways.
Dreamspinner / Amazon / ARe / Paperback
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.
Cardeno’s Home, Family, and Mates series have received awards from Love Romances and More Golden Roses, Rainbow Awards, the Goodreads 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.”
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