Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Audiobook Reviews: IN ANOTHER LIFE & EIGHT DAYS and ALL OF ME by Cardeno C.-Includes Giveaway!

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In Another Life & Eight Days Audiobook

In Another Life & Eight Days

    • Written by: Cardeno C.
    • Narrated by: John Solo, Nick J. Russo
    • Length: 3 hrs and 40 mins 
    • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Release Date:07-26-16
  • Publisher: The Romance Authors, LLC

In Another Life
At age 18 Shiloh Raben is tired. He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn't leave his side.
Travis is handsome, smart, and funny - the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: The life that flashed before his eyes wasn't the one he had already lived but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis' side, Shiloh will find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for.
Second edition.


Carra's Review of In Another Life

Holiday romances are easy for me to tire of pretty quickly.  But what In Another Life is?  It is so much more than just another holiday romance.  It’s also a very unique take on second chance romance, with just a touch of…I don’t know-maybe supernatural would be the best way to describe it?  A near-death experience that has resounding effects always has me thinking of otherworldly things.  Plus, the holiday this is set around is Hanukkah, not Christmas as you might expect-and a genuinely pleasant surprise.

The matchup of Shiloh and Travis is sweet and immediately intense, smacking of insta-love but in the overall context of the story it really works well.  When it’s right, you just know.  The two of them just fit together like two puzzle pieces-physically, emotionally, and personality-wise they are the perfect complement to each other.

While this story gives us twice the tragedy, it also give us twice the love and hope.  A tear or two might have escaped me…and a lot more smiles than that as well.  This was a 4.5-star read for me, and I’d definitely recommend this story to any M/M romance fan-regardless if you are a holiday romance person or not (18+ for adult language and M/M sexual content).


I really enjoyed the audio narration of this story.  The voices were done well-each character very distinct, and the pacing spot on where I was able to enjoy the story with only listening to it and not reading the ebook first (I usually prefer reading first before listening).  This is definitely a story I will be listening to again and again-and not just during the holiday season.

Eight Days
Childhood family friends Maccabe Fried and Josh Segal have always gotten along despite having nothing in common. Maccabe is an athlete with dreams of playing professional baseball. Josh is an aspiring architect with dreams of being with Maccabe. Despite all odds, both dreams come true.
Maccabe and Josh fall into a long-distance romance, which is everything Josh thought he wanted. But after years of hiding from the world, Josh wants to bring their relationship into the open. When Maccabe refuses, Josh is faced with a tough decision: stay with the man he loves or live the life he deserves. No matter the choice, somebody's bound to get hurt. Thankfully, in the season of miracles, there's always hope for a happy ending.
Second edition.

Listen to a sample!


Carra's Review of Eight Days

First off, I love that this holiday romance is centered on Hanukkah-there are nowhere near enough romances out there with this holiday focus.  It provides an uncommon yet excellent way to pace the story, particularly since the first several days are not consecutive, but over the course of years instead.  Second, I have to tell you that I adored Josh’s character-but Maccabe aggravated the heck out of me for a large chunk of the story.  BUT, thank goodness this isn’t just a holiday romance-it’s a second chance one as well…one of my favorite tropes, particularly in the M/M romance genre.

Josh is so sweet and innocent as the story starts out, and I couldn’t help but feel so much for his character throughout the entire book.  Maccabe came across as a typical jock to me, just one who’s not quite so sure about his sexuality.  Once the two of them finally get together, it seems like everything is primarily physical-and that chemistry is phenomenal-but Maccabe’s insistence on keeping their relationship quiet drags things between them down and ultimately results in them breaking apart.  The older they got, the more Maccabe’s attitude ticked me off-I don’t care if he was in professional sports or not.

But Maccabe mostly redeemed himself in my eyes seven years after they split at the family Hanukkah dinner…although the way he acted after his and Josh’s initial reunion when Jim…er…James…er…no…John shows up I thought was a bit much.  Maccabe has an ego-a big one-and he knows it too, it’s the one thing that I wasn’t fond of about his character.  I’m just glad that in the end, it’s not himself that he puts first.

4 stars for Eight Days, it’s a good M/M holiday romance-even with Maccabe’s annoying attitude.  Recommended for readers 18+ for adult language and M/M sexual content (oh yes, that part-hot…very hot).

The audio narration for Eight Days was a perfect 5 stars-unique character voices, packed full of emotion when needed and it really drew me into the story even more so than reading the ebook.  The narration actually made Maccabe’s character a bit more palatable for me, particularly in that dinner scene seven years later where it is plainly obvious from his tone and the emotions in his voice that he realizes what he should have known before everything went wrong.  Excellent narration, it really made this story so much more for me than the printed version gave me.

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All of Me Audiobook

 All of Me

    • Written by: Cardeno C.
    • Narrated by: Robert M. Clark
    • Length: 1 hr and 50 mins 
    • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Release Date:08-17-16
  • Publisher: The Romance Authors, LLC

To bond with his destined mate, an Alpha wolf must look past what he sees and trust what he feels.
Bonded by their parents before they were conceived, wolf shifters Abel and Kai adored each other since they were children. As teens, the two future Alphas took the next step in their bonding process and vowed to remain true to one another until Kai came of age. But when tragedy struck, Abel felt betrayed and ran from Kai instead of completing their mating.
Abel never stops yearning for the man who was supposed to lead by his side and after years without contact, Kai returns, broken and on death's door. If Abel wants to fulfill their destiny and merge their packs, he'll need to look past what he saw and trust his heart.

Listen to a sample!


Carra's Review of All of Me

I just love a story when it centers around fated mates.  Throw in second chance romance and you’ve definitely gotten me hooked.  All of Me gives us wolf shifters (alphas at that!) and second chance all in one great package, and really satisfied my want for stories of both of these types.

When it first starts out, you know from reading the blurb that something bad is coming right at the start.  When that something happened, I was devastated for Abel, and desperately hoping that a good explanation would come later on.  

I will confess, I did guess early on who was the cause of all the turmoil-but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the story as it unfolded.  There was a huge element of miscommunication, and I wasn’t fond of the large gap of time between what happened and Abel and Kai coming back together again-I understand why it wound up that way due to the ages of the characters and the setup of the plot, just for me the longer the gap the less I like said gap.

The part of the story that unfolds from the point Abel and Kai find each other again, and on until the end is where the majority of the emotion is found, and at that point there’s no denying that they should have never been apart.  This and the vengeance Kai exacts on those responsible for his and Abel’s separation helped bring me back to an overall 4-star rating for the story.  This one’s for the M/M shifter romance fans out there and is meant for those 18+ due to adult language and M/M sexual content.

I was very happy with the narration of this story.  Robert M. Clark did a good job at voicing the characters and giving each one a unique sound so they were easy to tell apart.  The narration was smooth and evenly paced, making for a great listening experience.  I’ve listened to other audiobooks he’s done, and am always satisfied when I’m done listening-and All of Me is no exception-5 stars for the narration.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cardeno C - Logo
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/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."

 

GIVEAWAY

Win an Audible book of your choice from author Cardeno C. !!
presented by WLKBookPromotions.com

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