He Completes Me: Home Collection
These two could not be more opposite and yet, love at first sight happens.
Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy
Sharing our love of M/M Romance
by Denise
by Denise
Can the billionaire son of a Democratic president build a family with the congressman son of a Republican senator? Forget politics, love makes strange bedfellows.
As the sole offspring of the Democratic United States president and his political operative wife, Trevor Moga was raised in an environment driven by the election cycle. During childhood, he fantasized about living in a made-for-television family, and as an adult, he rejected all things politics and built a highly successful career as far from his parents as possible.
Newly elected congressman Ford Hollingsworth is Republican royalty. The grandson of a revered governor and son of a respected senator, he was bred to value faith, family, and the goal of seeing a Hollingsworth in the White House.
When Trevor and Ford meet, sparks fly and a strong friendship is formed. But can the billionaire son of a Democratic president build a family with the congressman son of a Republican senator? Forget politics, love makes strange bedfellows.
I cannot say enough how much I love this book by Cardeno C. Here is my original 5 pieces of eye candy review (http://wp.me/p6h30q-mT). My opinion has not changed in the least. Ford is a sweet, loving caring man, whose goal is to do right by his family, by God, and by his newly elected position. Meanwhile, Trevor, hot dirty, sexy self-made millionaire, who happens to be son of the sitting President of the United States, yet wants nothing to do with politics.
The way these men worked towards finding the right place for each other in their lives wasn’t easy. They had to work through misunderstandings, family pressures, political pressures, and their own personal biases as to what the other person’s lives originally looked like to them. They found strength in each other, and were able to draw on that strength as a couple.
I did struggle with the narrator on this book, Ron Herczig. I felt quite often that he seemed to emphasize the wrong words in a sentence, and I found myself concentrating at times more on how he said something, or his voice, rather than the story. My goal with an audio book is to be drawn in so much that I hear the voice, only as an extension of the written word, not overriding that word. I just could not do it with this narrator. I felt drawn out of the story as I listened to the narrator reading it.
I encourage everyone to read this story, it is hot, sweet and a good time!
Story is 5 pieces of eye candy.
Narrator is 3.5 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.”
Enter to win your own audio copy of Strange Bedfellows !!
presented by:
*Follow the tour by clicking the banner at the top of the page.
by Denise
10 bits of random trivia, with Greg.
1) I actually studied acting in college, along with opera; but got a degree in
Computer Science.
2) My recording booth itself is only 3’ x 5’ x 6’ . . . so when I read MM romance, I
go INTO the closet. Ironic, no?
3) It takes between 5 and 7 hours of total production time with the finished
manuscript to create 1 hour of final audio. Fiction Audio reads at about 9800
words per hour.
4) In addition to voice acting, I have been a Whale Watching guide, a Paramedic,
and a Farrier (shoeing horses)
5) I rarely, if ever, listen to a complete book again once the production is
finished. By the time I am done, I’ve read the book to myself, read it aloud,
and listened to it for editing… and I’m on to the next story.
6) Anguish is the easiest emotion for me to portray, because a well-written
script pulls you in, and it’s a completely one-person emotion – but it’s
draining. I have cried in the booth more than a few times. Comic passages
are the trickiest, because the proper timing and reaction between characters
are essential.
7) I drink an average of 1.5 liters of water per hour, while recording. Average
recording sessions are 2-4 hours long between breaks.
8) As a kid, I lived with my family on a sailboat for a year.
9) My personal record for most distinct voices in a single book is 73
10) Coffee, Dairy and Alcohol are all bad for the voice. . . which means I have to
moderate some of life’s greatest pleasures. (not eliminate tho, I’m not crazy)
by Denise
Blurb:
For Damien, passion brings ecstasy, betrayal and danger that almost cost him his life. At the lowest point in his life, he discovers that true passion and loyalty have been staring him in the face all along. There is one problem he must surmount first, Dax is straight and carries a lot of baggage. What neither of them realize is that sometimes passion can also bring healing. That is if one is brave enough to take the first step. In a perfect passion, one must be willing to take the risk.
Narrated by: Rex J. Silverton
Length: 3 hrs and 22 min
Denise’s Review:
I had already read this book by Piper Kay back when it released in December 2013. So, I knew the story, I knew the players, I knew the hotness, and I knew the evilness of the “bad man”. (No spoilers!)
However, I was asked to review the audiobook, and since I hadn’t reviewed an audiobook yet, I thought, why not? Give it a shot! How hard can it be? Little did I know! 🙂
I learned through this book, and the other audiobook I was asked to review at the same time that just because you have read a book, doesn’t mean that the audiobook will feel and look the same. You have a specific “voice” in your head when you read a book, and if it doesn’t sound the same as you envision, it can throw you off a little.
That being said, this story was good, I enjoyed it the first time, for sure–although dang Piper, I wanted it to be longer, Damian and Dax together…that was some HAWT stuff!!!! It does have a bit of a cliffhanger, but nothing that would take away from the story itself, just something to look toward the dealing of when the time comes later.
Their relationship, although fast was believable because they were in very close proximity together, and that often can lead to increased feelings. And did I mention that these two were HAWT together? 🙂
The narration was well done. He had a very strong, deep voice, which worked well for me in the love scenes. In the other scenes, it sometimes was a bit distracting to me. All in all though, he did a good job with the narration.
Final determination is 4 pieces of eye candy for both the book and the narration. This is my second time through A Perfect Passion, so it’s safe to say that I found it to be a re-read. 🙂
by Denise
Denise’s Review:
When I was asked to do an audiobook review, I wasn’t really sure if I should. I’ve only been listening to audiobooks for a few months now. But what I have quickly learned is that you know fairly soon into a book if it is going to appeal to you by listening to it, versus reading it. Yes, the book needs to be good, needs to keep you engaged, and interested in what is happening in the characters.
However, I feel like the most important thing that an audiobook needs is a great narrator. That doesn’t mean that all good books will not be good as audiobooks. The opposite is also true. I have learned about myself that I must have a certain mindset about how books “sound” in my head as I am reading them, and I haven’t always enjoyed an audiobook, if I have already read the book.
That being said, the narrator in this book is just fantastic. He had a very smooth controlled pitch, and he let his British accent fly when he was narrating. It truly helped me to visual this story, being set in London, and all the visuals around them.
When Fenix was speaking, you could hear much more of an American accent for this character, since Fenix was raised in New York City. I truly enjoyed Todd Smith’s narration of Dance. It was so well done. After listening to it, I had to see what else Todd had done, with just one other book, not in the same genre as Dance. However, this is a narrator I would love to listen to again.
On to the book itself. Dance is based primarily in the West End of London, around the Queen Victoria theater. These two men meet when Fenix’s musical Poison is put in the theater, as Jared’s show is also playing in the same theater. It is truly love at first sight for these men. They fall in love and really don’t waste any time coming together, living together, for months, until Fenix is offered a chance to take Poison to Broadway and Jared stays in London, as they separate.
These two men are stubborn, each wanting their own way, and they get it when they separate, until they realize that what they truly wanted was each other. The road back for these men is not easy, with bumps along the way with each other, as well as some bumps put out there by those around them. Finding their HEA was not easy, they had to work for it, but the road was worth the drive.
The story was very well written, with strong secondary characters, which of course will lead to the next book in this series, Adam’s story. And for sure, I will be waiting for Adam’s story on Audible. Why mess with a good thing? 🙂
Final Determination for the audiobook of Dance:
5 pieces of eye candy for narration
4.5 pieces of eye candy for the book
So well done by both Teodora and Todd on this, and it was truly a pleasure to listen to this book.
Hi, my name
is Teodora and I live in London with my husband and my son. I’ve been writing
ever since I can remember, but it became my full time job a few years ago when
I decided that everything else I’ve tried bores me to death and I have to do
what I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the guts to fully embrace. I’ve
been a journalist, an editor, a personal assistant and an interior designer
among other things, but as soon as the novelty of the new, exciting job wears
off, I always go back to writing. Being twitchy, impatient, loud and hasty are
not qualities that help a writer, because I have to sit alone, preferably
still, and write for most of the day, but I absolutely love it. It’s the only
time that I’m truly at peace and the only thing I can do for more than ten
minutes at a time – my son has a bigger attention span than me.
When I’m procrastinating, I like to go to the
gym, cook Italian meals (and eat them), read, listen to rock music, watch indie
movies and True Blood re-runs. Or, in the worst case scenario, get beaten at
every Nintendo Wii game by a kid.