More than Everything: Family Collection

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Time might not heal all wounds, but with two motivated and strong-willed men on a campaign to win him back, Charlie will get more than he ever thought possible.

As a teenager, Charlie “Chase” Rhodes meets Scott Boone and falls head over heels in love with the popular, athletic boy next door. Charlie thinks he’s living the dream when Scott says he feels the same way. But his dreams are dashed when Scott unexpectedly moves away.

Years later, Charlie meets brash and confident Adan Navarro, who claims all he wants is a round between the sheets. After eight months together, Charlie is convinced Adan returns his love. But when the opportunity comes to be open about their relationship, Adan walks away.

Time passes and life moves on, but when Charlie learns the only two men he’s ever loved are now in love with each other, his heart breaks all over again. Scott and Adan tell Charlie they want him back, but Charlie doesn’t know if he can trust two people who have hurt him so deeply. Time might not heal all wounds, but with two motivated and strong-willed men on a campaign to win him back, Charlie will get more than he ever thought possible.

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I hadn’t read this story, prior to listening to the audio book, merely because I rarely read menage. My brain doesn’t always wrap around three people being able to find happiness together. Not that I think it can’t happen, but just that often things like jealousy and growing pains are often glossed over. However, I need not have feared with CC writing this one.

This wasn’t a “normal” menage story. Three people connecting at the same time, etc, etc. No this was about two very distinct men, falling in love with the same person, then finding a way to push that man away, and finding each other later in life, before they were able to re-connect with their first love once again.

This seemed to me to be a very good channeling of what a relationship like this would look like. Adan and Scott didn’t seem to fit together, despite being partners for a good period of time before they reconnected with Charlie/Chase and tried to bring him into their partnership. Charlie was their center, they just didn’t know it until they found him again. It felt realistic to me that something was missing in their relationship, and until they brought Charlie (and his family) into the fold.

I appreciated that CC did not make this an instant reconnection. It took time, months for Adan and Scott to convince Charlie that this was what they wanted and needed. It wasn’t an insta-re-love, if you will. Charlie had been hurt badly by these two men. For him to fall back in love with not one but both men would take time and patience on their part, which they were willing to give.

The narration by Ezekiel Robison has gotten better as he has moved through the Family series. His first book in this series was a challenge for me to listen to, the narration just didn’t work for me. However, he has become a stronger, more varied narrator as he’s continued through this series and I really enjoyed the range he portrayed in More Than Everything.

Story – 4.5 pieces of eye candy

Narration – 4 pieces of eye candy

The One Who Saves Me: Home, Book 6

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At 14, 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, learning and experimenting, and they talk each other through countless dates and breakups.

Decades of trust and loyalty build a deep and abiding friendship, one that surpasses any relationship in their lives. But when the parameters of their unique friendship change, neither man knows how to break out of their established roles to build something new. After all, boyfriends come and go, but best friends are forever.

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ebook links

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This was my first read of The One Who Saves Me by Cardeno C. I’ve been slowly making my way through her entire Home Story collection, and enjoying learning the lives of all the men in Emile City. I’ll admit to being slightly confused in the prologue, because it was foreshadowing for much much later in the book.

I loved the relationship of Drew and Caleb. These men began as teenage friends, and continued their friendship through their entire lives, sharing their sexual experiences with each other, both as young men, and later, between boyfriends, and time spent in different cities.

There was a lot of sex in this book. A lot! And it made sense for these men, who settled into a routine with each other when they were unattached in some way. But there was also a lot of friendship. You knew that no matter what, these men would be there for each other through thick and thin. When their parents disappointed them, when they kept trying and failing at relationships, they were always there for each other. Until they realized that they wanted to be with each other more than anyone else. Then their magic could begin.

In some ways this was my favorite book so far of the Home collection. The friendship that really had no bounds for these men just did it for me. And in other ways, it was my least favorite, for a reason that I likely have never used before. There was too much sex. Okay, I really never say that. EVER! But it seemed that every chapter there was sex, and although this author can write some fantastic and super hot sex scenes, there were times where I just didn’t want any sex, I just wanted the connection between them.

In the end, though, I really appreciated how connected these men were, in all ways, and was happy to see them finally realize that being together was where they would fit the best.

The narration of Alexander Collins never ceases to make me happy. He has such range, and talent for creating voices for the characters that I haven’t heard in his other Emile City characters. The differences between these two men could be noticed immediately, merely by his tone of voice. Great job once again, Alexander!

Story – 3.75 pieces of eye candy

Narration – 4.5 pieces of eye candy

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.”

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