Ritorno a casa

Home #1

by Cardeno C., Barbara Cinelli (Translation)

Noah Forman si sveglia in un ospedale e non ricorda come ci arrivato. Tiene duro, traendo conforto dal fatto che l'uomo che ha amato sin dall'adolescenza, il suo compagno Clark Lehman, lo stia per raggiungere. Ma quando Clark finalmente arriva, Noah sconvolto perch scopre di non ricordare nulla degli ultimi tre anni e non riesce a capirne il motivo. Confronti dolorosi saranno necessari perch Noah possa capire la ragione della perdita dei suoi ricordi pi recenti... e assicurarsi cos di avere con Clark il futuro che aveva sempre sognato.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Friends To Lovers, BDSM, LGBT, Audiobook

179 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 16, 2011

About the author

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.

Heartwarming Stories. Strong Relationships. Forever Love.

Website: www.cardenoc.com

Blog: (Shared Blog) https://gayromanceauthors.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @CardenoC

FB Profile: http://www.facebook.com/CardenoC

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carde...

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6M...

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cardenoC/

Reviews

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh this book was like the New Year's Eve Time Square ball of ratings for me. I started off with 5 stars...then 4...3...2...

If it wasn't for the flashback scenes this would have dropped to 1 star. Let me explain why. I adored the first part of the book. I liked the amnesia plot line and thought that the book was going in a really cool direction. All until Noah got his memory back. Then the book went waaaay down hill. It started with the irritatingly constant "angel" and "sweetheart" talk, and just turned to the ridiculous when it was revealed how Noah and Clark split in the first point WTF Noah! Clark is a moron for forgiving you so easily for your stupid actions and you are moron for doing something for such a stupid reason in the first place. It makes absolutely no sense. I was expecting anger and angst not instant forgiveness. What a waste Cardeno C.. Then, Noah's totally over the top and aggressive possessiveness (which, BTW, would be considered just sick in a M/F book but for some reason is acceptable here?? I don't think so). Also, for some reason, I had a hard time following who was narrating each chapter. The POV changes were difficult for me.

Thankfully, the flashback scenes were sweet and lovely. I wish the story was more in that tone. I might read the next book in the series because I have heard good things about it. Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me.

[Shile (Hazard's Version) on-hiatus · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.85 stars

MC1 : Noah
MC2: Clark

I went into this blind, and I liked. I bought this back in 2015 when I was new to MM and bought every single MM book that I saw.

The story telling was so different and surprisingly good. It alternates between the present told in Noah’s POV, and the past, told in Clark’s first-person POV.

Noah and Clark met when Noah was 13yrs and Clark was 17 yrs, Clark was Noah’s brother Ben best friend. When Clark saw how Noah was rebelling against his family he became concerned and wanted to help Noah from there they develop a wonderful friendship, and Clark’s character was amazing, he was so caring, loving and hot! I loved his Mom too what an amazing woman.

In the present time we get to see Noah was involved in an accident and woke up from a coma with selective amnesia not remembering the last 3 years of his life. Then we get to find the reason why, and it is at this point that the book went from 5 stars to 3. Noah did hurt Clark and he never got the chance to apologize because Clark left and the reason why he hurt Clark so bad was lame that made me want to through my E-reader at someone. When they reunited I expected Noah to grovel like really grovel but instead Clark was the one who apologized for leaving……Agrhhhh!



It made Noah a Douche and Clark a doormat.

After I got past my rage, the story picked up again. The sex was hot! just the kind that I was in the mood for after all it is Cardeno. And the Mc's had so much chemistry in the bedroom and they were kinky.

Somewhere in all of that, Clark must have removed his mouth from my ass, because I suddenly felt his thick, long cock enter me.
“Yes, Clark! Yes! Deep. Fuck me so deep.”
“Feel me in you, Noah? So deep inside you? Gonna cum so deep you’ll be able to taste me.”
I whimpered and kissed him. My entire body was trembling. He intermingled every few words with a punishing thrust.
“Ready for me to breed you, sweetheart?”
I nodded. My entire body shook with need.
“I want to hear you say it, Noah. I want to hear you beg.”
I threw my head back and tears of joy streamed down my face.
“Please fuck me, Clark. Please make me cum. I need you to make me cum.”



The secondary characters were a nice addition Noah’s friends Tim , Terry and Frank and Clark’s frindes Zach and Aaron. I adored Zach , I just saw that his book is next, I can’t wait to read it.

Noah was so possessive of Clark, to a point that even his friends were afraid to hug Clark, and the scene at the club had me laughing so hard. Good thing Clark was not all that bothered because that was borderline Psycho.

I relaxed my fists and let blood flow to my white knuckles while I put my arm around my angel and pulled him tightly against me. I needed to get a grip. Clark smiled at me and rested his head on my shoulder as we walked inside, completely oblivious to his admirers, as usual.
Our friend, Tim, was the first person to see us when we walked in. He rushed up, reached for Clark, then remembered himself and dropped his hands. Good.



Noah’s brother Ben…… Ughhhhh! I wanted to strangle him he was a douche.



Just going to leave this here:

You were a good friend to me for a lot of years and I truly do love you.”I growled and dug my fingers into Clark’s thighs. He bent down, kissed my neck, and stroked my belly. The tension started draining from my body, but not before Ben noticed my reaction.
“Jesus, Noah. What in the hell is wrong with you?”
Clark continued petting me while he responded to my brother.
“Nothing is wrong with him. He’s just a bit possessive and he doesn’t like hearing me say that I love anybody other than him.”
My angel looked into my eyes and combed his fingers through my hair.
“Even though he knows it isn’t the same kind of love. He knows it never could be with anybody else because he’s always been everything to me.”

Pfftttt! Psycho! these two were perfect for each other.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5ish stars.

Oh. My. God. This book wins the prize for the having the absolute WORST excuse for cheating I have ever heard in my life.

But let me rewind. This book was an intensely frustrating read, because the author purposely withholds information for far too long. The story is told through alternating present day scenes and flashback scenes, and it's just... crazy. I also thought the writing was very, very average.

Noah is in a coma for a few weeks after a car accident, but wakes up having lost 3 years worth of memories. That he repressed. Because CLEARLY he couldn't deal with his own asshole-ishness (for good reason).

The story that is told through the flashbacks is the highlight of the book. Rebellious, belligerent 13 y.o. Noah falls in love with his brother's best friend, nurturing, innocent 17 y.o. Clark. And Clark loves him back, though he does everything completely aboveboard, and refuses to be with Noah until he's of age. It's actually pretty good stuff.

It's the present day story line and the missing 3 years that just made me lose my shit.

The "traumatic" event that caused Noah's memory block was that Clark had left Noah because he caught him in their shared apartment with his dick in another dude's mouth. Which Noah did intentionally... just to prove to his (gay-yet-homophobe-and-also-obviously-in-love-with-Clark) brother that Clark wouldn't leave him.

I don't know, call me crazy, but that seems like A PRETTY FUCKING GOOD REASON TO LEAVE SOMEONE.

Yet, upon their reunion while Noah is in the hospital, Clark apologizes like 500 times for being the one who left. And then about a 1,000 more times after they return home.

But my FAVORITE part is when Noah says, "And, to be clear, I always knew you'd be back." ARE. YOU. FUCKING. SHITTING. ME?!! You intentionally cheat on your partner, WANTING him to catch you in the act just to win a childish bet, but you just ASSUME he'll come running back to you eventually?!!

I just don't even know what to say to that. I am too disgusted.

And then there's this completely unnecessary BDSM subplot, where Clark is blaming himself for Noah's infidelity because he didn't fulfill his need to be dominated in bed... And that bizzaro confrontation with Ben (the brother) at the end...

Okay, this review is now about as convoluted as the book itself.

Whatever. I would have given the book just the 2 stars I rated it, but the past plot line earned it the extra half star.

*Special thanks to Dreamspinner Press for the TweetAway!

...Yet another book I am SUPER grateful I didn't pay for. -_- (Don't even get me started on the cover art, either.)

[Ami · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, I'm having SUCH HARD TIME deciding the rating for this one. This story has "Present" and "Past" structure storyline; with Noah as the narrator in the "Present", who wakes up in the hospital after weeks being unconscious and he can't remember three years of his life. While Clark (Noah's lover) narraters the "Past" proportion of the story, as he tells on how at the age of 17 years old, he first met Noah (who was only 13 years old), and falls in love.

At one side, I love the "Past" story ... there is something intense in how Clark manages to "save" Noah from self-distruction. I kinda like the idea of 'soulmate', you know (yeah, I still have a romantic side, I guess), and how Noah makes a promise that he WILL return to Clark's side when he's legal, and there is nothing to stop them then.

But oh my GOD, when it comes to the "Present", I find myself in torn. While I'm curious to find the reason of the lost years, but I cannot stand the way Noah keeps calling Clark "angel" (yeah, I know, there are some terms of endearments that if keep appearing, makes me want to gag!), and the too lovey-dovey "You are mine-I love you forever" stuffs, AND, this one is the worse, the lame sex scene!! It's like I'm reading those bad free stories at Nifty, I hate it when they use the words like "I want to cum, oh, I want to cum so bad". Not to mention, the sense of dominant/submission and a little rope play is a bit weird to be in the story like this. It turned me off SO BAD!

So, there, I want to give 4 stars for the "past" but "1" stars for the whole present story. That is why I guess I settle with "2" stars.

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is for the second edition of this book, which includes a bonus chapter originally published in:



This book starts with a bang. Noah wakes up following a car accident and immediately asks for his partner, Clark, but Clark isn’t in the hospital with Noah. Ben, Noah’s older brother, is.

The book alternates between the present (2010), which is told in Noah’s first-person POV, and the past, told in Clark’s first-person POV. Noah and Clark meet when Noah is a 13-year-old rebellious teenager and Clark, Ben’s best friend, is a senior in high school.

Noah doesn’t remember the last three years of his life, and it immediately becomes apparent that there’s something Ben and Clark aren’t telling him.

The relationship between Noah and Clark is all-consuming. Noah is very (and I mean, VERY) possessive of Clark.

What did not work for me was the incident of three years prior, the traumatic event that Noah has blocked from memory.

Yes, Ben is a complete and utter bastard, a delusional douchebag of the highest order. But Noah and Clark’s relationship was portrayed as being so strong, I simply didn't buy that there was anything Ben could have said to Noah to make Noah cheat.

It was completely out of character for Noah, who'd always been mature and deeply in love with Clark. I didn’t believe it, just like I didn’t believe that Clark would disappear so completely and that none of Clark and Noah’s friends would have known that Clark was gone, not just working out of town. You can’t keep a secret like that for three years, not from real friends.

We needed a probable reason for the separation and more talking/apologizing FROM NOAH upon him remembering what happened. The reunion was too easy. Also, I love endearments, but there was one too many "sweethearts" and "angels" here even for me.

This is one of Cardeno C's first novels, and it's not as well developed plot wise as his later work. I still enjoyed it, however, because I love sexy, fluffy goodness.

The bonus chapter (set in 2013 after DOMA was overturned) is a nice addition, although I have to admit I was still angry with Ben, who is mentioned in the bonus chapter.

I had to immediately go and read Ben's story in



to finally stop seething with resentment.

[Kassa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read Home Again because I wanted to read the sequel – He Completes Me – and assumed I had to read the first book in the series. Unfortunately the couple in the sequel is only in one scene of Home Again so I could have saved myself the agony of reading this one. Except to be fair it isn’t agonizing. The story is easy to read just not very good. I hear the sequel is funny and the characters are adorable so I’m still game to read that one but sadly this book went off the rails at the beginning and never quite recovered. I don’t recommend it at all and suggest readers look for some of the better amnesia plot books out there (such as Amor En Retrograde).

The plot of Home Again starts with Noah in present time waking up from a coma. He’s been there due to an accident, though the details of which are never explained, and he’s anxious to see his long time lover Clark again. Although Noah’s only been in the hospital for a few weeks, the last thing he can remember is three years ago. There’s obviously an elephant in the room relating to something that happened between Noah and Clark but Noah doesn’t remember what that is until much later with Clark’s help. Noah only knows that he loves and needs his partner. Interspersed between the Noah’s present day recitation of events are flashbacks from Clark’s perspective as he reveals how the two met and fell in love.

The basic premise of the story isn’t bad - two lovers dealing with an accident get a second chance at their relationship. Unfortunately, the writing, pacing, and characterization just kills this story entirely. To start with the writing is problematic. The tense is past but tends to slip into present repeatedly. The prose and language are simplistic with basic words and lack a real literary eloquence. The descriptive portions are stale with overused phrases and analogies. There are also a lot of sex scenes in the book, in fact the second half is almost entirely sex scenes with large passages of exposition. The graphic sexual writing had me cringing and I skimmed these scenes since I didn’t find them sexy, titillating, or enjoyable. Additionally, the large information dumps keep a telling rather than showing tone with information repeated constantly throughout the story.

The biggest problem I had though is with the characters themselves. Noah and Clark meet when Noah is only thirteen to Clark’s seventeen yet both Noah and Clark display a maturity and emotional stability of men decades older. Even Noah’s wild child, acting out antics are more cries for help and Clark’s attention than real teenage angst. Noah’s dialogue and thoughts and Clark’s perspective just don’t add up to two young men. This definitely plays into the inconsistent presentation of both men. Noah goes from being a mature, intelligent man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to defend it to being stupid, immature, and destructive. Neither of these feel like variations of a complex person but more so wildly different people smashed together in the same name.

Similarly Clark bounces back and forth from an understanding and intelligent young man to overly nurturing and almost suffocating. The story is trying to portray how deeply in love the two men are. That they are soul mates and knew that from a very young age. Yet their constant use of nicknames, angel and sweetheart, becomes too precious and overused. Likewise Noah has some totally random and outrageous jealousy problem, which makes no sense given how the two are always eating each other’s faces. So how and why could Noah ever be jealous? The story goes to great lengths to show how in love they are so I never understood where Noah’s jealousy or the vague BDSM references came from.

The actual event that Noah initially refuses to remember is ridiculous, flat out. It’s so stupid and the rationale may baffle even the most willing reader to understand. Not to mention the equally ridiculous reactions and justifications of both men. It’s out of character for all the participants, makes absolutely no sense, and is simply an obvious manipulation to inject tension into the story. Tension, which outside of that event, doesn’t really exist. There’s an attempt to throw Noah’s brother, Ben, into the mix but again this is unnecessary and an obvious misstep since it simply doesn’t belong nor does it really work with the characters and the story.

Having said all of that, which adds up to a pretty bad reading experience, the actual book flies by. It’s easy to read, even if not always enjoyable and entertaining. Reader tastes may vary so if the issues I had are not the same as another reader they could perhaps like this. Unfortunately the story simply needs more work in my opinion so I wouldn’t recommend it. I will however go to the second book –the whole point of reading this one – and hope for the best.

[Jennifer☠Pher☠ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book, you did not make me happy. You left me in a complete head spin and all my brain can come up with is WTF? I have been assured that the series is awesome and that I should continue, so you should thank my friends.

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saying you cheated because "I wanted to prove that you wouldn't leave me. I wanted to prove that you'd stay with me no matter what.” is definitely a new one.

And then he got left regardless so. 💀Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

How this book ended up being 85% sex was astounding.

It starts with Noah in hospital after an accident and no memory of the 3 previous years of his life. So the book is told in alternating bits between the past (Clark's POV) and the present (Noah's POV).

Turns out he'd blocked out everything from the moment Clark walked in on him getting a blowie from a random in their home and noped TF out of there.

Somehow this manages to bleed through all the sex, past and present.

Funny thing is, it's Clark doing most of the apologizing. For leaving after Noah cheated.

I am......confused. There's a very astonishing reason behind why Noah came up with this asinine plan but no one above 13 should have fallen for it. And that's unfair to 13 year olds.

"I‟ll never forgive myself for leaving you, Noah.”

This really was the physical manifestation of two dumb bitches telling each other "Exactly!!! "

Had to create a new tag just for this one because....sure, why not?

[LenaRibka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible


2,5 stars.

What I liked:

* The beginning, it was mysterious and thrilling. Even when I already guessed in what direction the story would go, I found it NOT boring at all. At the beginning.

* The flashback. The switching between the present and the past, between Noah's and Clark's POVs let the whole story appeared kinda three-dimensional. Normally I am not a big fan of constantly changing POVs, but here it provided the variety and the diverse possibilities of the narration, IMO.

* The narrator. (I'm talking about the audio book.) It was my first Jeff Gelder and he made a nice job. Actually thanks his uncomplicated style the endless number of "angel" and "sweetheart" didn't course a tic doloureux by me, but only a light eye roll when I heard it the 300th time.

What I didn't like:

* The explanation for Noah's mistake is the most stupid one I could ever imagined. But I understand- it was the shortest possible way to drama that seemed to be a target aim of the story. Even if it was the most illogical one.

* The second half of the book. It started like a solid 4 stars for me and ended between 0 and 1stars. I had an impression that author totally lost control over the characters and the story itself. Everything went down, very rapidly. It became melodramatic, kitschy and overly sentimental. Very pity.

* SEX. Too much BORING SEX + INSTA-LOVE!!! HEEEEELP!!!!
And what was suddenly THAT about -"You'll come when I say you CAN"?!
Let us push quickly a bit of a control kink into the love story to cheer up the "angel" and "sweetheart" repetitions?!

Though I have to admit Jeff Gelder performed "Ahh" &"Ohhh" lovely.

I know, I would have never ever managed to finish this book if I had to READ it, but I managed to finish it as an audio version!
Viva Jeff! *applause*

I'd recommend it ONLY as an audio book when you are in the mood for a light melodramatic instalove mainstream MM romance with a HEA.

3,5 stars for the beginning
1 stars for the second half
0,5 stars as a bonus for an audio book.

[Belen (f.k.a. La Mala ✌) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Este tiene que ser uno de los peores libros que he leído en la vida (aunque no peor que esta vergüenza.)

Es como si el autor (o la autora, no me fijé) no hubiese siquiera conversado jamás con otro ser humano y, en vez de darse una vuelta e investigar el comportamiento humano real, directamente hubiese dicho FUCK THE SYSTEM, y copiado las "interacciones" "humanas" de cosas como Glee u alguna otra de esas series de Ryan Murphy

- American Crime Story (que es excelente) + American Horror Story: Circus/Coven x Scream Queens (aunque admito que solamente aguanté dos capítulos) = romance sin el horror explícito y gratuito

...pero con horror explícito de otro estilo. Hay una escena en donde, en un ataque de celos, uno de los protagonistas empieza a frotarse contra su novio en frente del tercero en discordia, y a gruñirle cual héroe de JR Ward (sin la tensión sexual que tienen algunos y sin la excusa paranormal.)

Estos personajes no son realistas, ni siquiera son personas, ni siquiera bolsas de nylon flotando en el aire. Para ser claros y redondear (porque ya se me está empalagando la visión), esta novela es la versión erótica berreta de ésto pero con gruñidos y amnesia-- y sin la gracia, obvio!!

No lo leí entero, me salteé varias escenas. Hubo partes en las que me daba vergüenza ajena leer. Muy cursi, muy irreal, muy ridículo. Mucho angel ésto, angel aquello. PUAJ. PUAJ.

[Elsa Bravante · Rating 2 out of 5]

He leído toda la serie y lo he hecho de forma desordenada en uno días según me interesaba una pareja u otra. Todas las historias tienen unas características comunes, la que más destaca es que lo que pasa no se lo cree nadie, los diálogos muchos son nefastos y el rolling eyes es contínuo. Pero, son entretenidos y están en KU, es lo mejor que puedo decir de ellos.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A big thank you to the author for gifting the audio code. This book has been on my list for a while.

This started off very interesting (though I brought out the squinty eye when the MCs are touching each other's faces seconds after meeting), and I LOVE an amnesia story. I thought I knew the reason behind their separation but I was so wrong. Thus the start of the downfall for the story for me. The guilty party was the opposite of who I thought and I just didn't like how the whole reasoning played out. Clark blamed himself for Noah cheating! Really? I didn't like this at all. Clark felt guilty and that he had let Noah down by not fighting for their relationship. And Noah's reason for cheating? Stupid. Trying to prove to his brother that Clark would love him no matter what. Stupid.

Then there was all the sex. They are having sex like every 30 seconds. Way too much. Skipped most of that.

The ending is cute, in a weird "why didn't I get Noah's brother's story kind of way." Noah's brother is a tool and yet he gets an HEA too? Anyway, overall the ending was nice.

Narration at times was vocally harsh and deeper/older than the characters but still a well done production.

Story: 2.5 stars, because weirdness all around
Narration: 3.5 stars

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had warring emotions with this book. The first half was at least a 4 star. It had everything to make a good story about people that I cared about. The second half gave me a problem. The reason for the split was irritating. With all the waiting and communicating they had done during their teenage and into adulthood years, their actions did not fit. And to continue with no communication for a period time was also not consistent with their shared pasts.

I did love them together. I felt their love. Noah possessiveness of Clark did not bother me since they were so into each other and Clark seemed to like that possessiveness. I was into the story and wanted a HEA for them. I enjoyed them together.

[BWT · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's some kind of magic to Cardeno C.'s stories. With every re-read I find a new angle, or a new understanding of the story, which makes it all fresh and new.

The story spans from 1996 to January, 2011 and grabbed me from the first page. This romance takes the reader on a journey along with the characters from the first moment Noah and Clark meet, what they go through to be with one another, to the moment it all went wrong, and how they make their way back to one another. There's a lot of sex, a lot of growly "MINE!", and a lot of love.

There's a moment in the story, I'm not going to give it away, when I felt like killing Noah. I couldn't believe his reasoning for such stupidity. Then Clark not only forgives him, but he APOLOGIZES. I. Lose. My. Mind. Seriously - lose it every time...screaming, wanting to grab up Clark and shake him and then punt Noah right in the 'nads and make him grovel and crawl.



THIS. This is what Cardeno's writing does to me. It drags me in and makes me think these characters are real. It sucks me down every time, and every time I find something new to appreciate about it.

I love Alexander Collins' narration of this series. Collins purring out "Angel" to Clark is endearing, and hearing him growl out Noah's possessiveness of Clark is just hot. The audio is a great way to experience this story. If you are looking for a romance with great narration, charismatic characters, lots of mind-meltingly hot sex, and a lot of emotion - make sure to grab this up.

Recommended!

Audio copy of Home Again provided by Author in exchange of an honest review.

This review has been cross-posted at Gay Book Reviews.

[Makhda · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked :
- All things put aside, I did like them. They're intense. And I love intense.

What I disliked :
- The reason for the cheating is absurd. Seriously weird. I'm pissed.
- 'Present' and 'Past' storyline. Ugh.

*******************************************

I'm having a hard time reading this.
I hate flashbacks.
I hate 'Present', 'Past', back and forth, and so on..

Will come back later. Maybe..

[Robert Greene · Rating 1 out of 5]

For starters, I don't like the way the book was written. It's in the "low base harlequin style" of writing. It also does not reflect the way gay men interact or speak. No wonder this was a free ebook giveaway.

I read somewhere that there was a strong "women's" following of gay romance fiction and I think this falls into that category. It does not reflect what I think gay male readers would appreciate.

My question to fellow "gay fiction" writers...Why does your characters always have to be:
1) The most popular
2) The most handsomest
3) The captain of the football team
4) The lead in the school play

Why can't they just be ordinary people?

Frankly, I find it nauseating to "over emphasis" these things.

I guess this is why I write because I want a better reflection of reality, even in romance stories.

[Cole Riann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Home Again opens in the hospital room of Noah Forman, who has been in a coma for four weeks. Upon opening his eyes, he is surprised to see his brother Ben, to whom he has been estranged, not his partner Clark. Immediately, his first fear is that Clark has died in whatever accident has landed him in the hospital. He is quickly reassured, however, that that isn’t the case. Before Ben can explain why Clark isn’t there, Noah assumes that Clark is being kept away from the hospital by his brother, both of whom used to be best friends before they told Ben that they loved one another. After they both came out to Noah’s family, each as gay men and as a couple, they have been estranged from Noah’s family, of which Clark was always close after the death of his mother at eighteen. When Clark finally makes it to the hospital, Noah can’t understand why he looks so much older, until he finally realizes that the last date he can remember is three years prior. The doctors are worried, however, that Noah doesn’t seem to have any brain damage, and they decide that there must have been some emotional event that Noah doesn’t want to remember. On top of this revelation, Clark seems to shy away from any reminders of the past three years, all of which Noah assumes were shared as a happily domesticated couple.

About half of Home Again is told through flashbacks to the time when Ben first befriended Clark in high school. At that time, Clark also meets Ben’s younger brother Noah, the black sheep of the family, and is immediately smitten. I thought that the past/present dynamic worked well for the story, as we need a great deal of back-tracking from where the story starts to understand how the two characters came to be in the hospital room. I did, however, have a problem with how they met. When Clark came home with his new friend Ben, he was seventeen. The problem is that when they meet, Noah is only thirteen. There is no sex until Noah turns eighteen, but the romance is basically already established at this point. I suppose I could have overlooked a great deal of this if I felt like the situation was properly explained, but I never really felt like I understood it. Noah, at age thirteen, is already sneaking out of the house every night and having sex with strangers, while Clark, at seventeen, is not only virginal, but incredibly naive. Not only has he not realized that he is gay at this point, but he also hasn’t sexually woken yet. This is explained a bit by Clark’s nature as well as most of his time as a teenager spent caring for his dying mother. I also understand the message that the author was trying to prove, which is that people mature at different ages. Yet, for all that Clark debates during this time that they are at two different emotional stages in life, it really makes no difference if he is falling in love with Noah at the same time. This is, ultimately, where the problem lies — we’re told this by Clark, but at the same time we aren’t shown that they are at different places and must come together at a later point when they’re at the same stage in life. It really felt like a way to prolong the sex until it wasn’t seen as a criminal act.

I felt like this problem was interspersed throughout the book — the general rookie mistake of telling instead of showing. There were numerous instances throughout the story, specifically where the characters didn’t stay true to themselves, that I never grasped because most of the story was told to me. There were also several times, like I mentioned before, that the characters changed, made uncharacteristic statements, or made very strange decisions that just didn’t seem like them at all. There was even one point in the story where one character, in a moment’s notice, turns into some sort of feral beast and tries to mark his territory on the other by grinding his cock into the other in front of another character (in very strange company, in my opinion). There were several examples like this that dragged me out of the story and made me think … what?

There were also some problems with the pacing of the story. A few times the action would pause at a precipitous moment, only to go back and tell how the character came to that place and why. Examples like these should be woven throughout the story, so that we almost accept them by osmosis; that way, when the character gets to that moment, the pace of the story isn’t interrupted and we understand the character’s actions or feelings without realizing how we got there. This happened a few times as well, when an aspect of the characters would suddenly appear and I had no indication of why (both Noah’s interest in submission and his jealousy). At this point, in the present part of the story the characters have been together for what amounts to somewhere between 6-8 years, so the sudden emergence of new traits that are previously not alluded to drew me out of the story. Furthermore, the reason that Noah is in a coma in the first place is never answered. We never learn about the accident that put him into the hospital.

The good news about this is that these are all things the author can work on. These are all problems that will get better the more the author writes (and the more constructive criticism and editing they receive), and I hope that Cardeno C.’s further stories reflect that...

For the full review, please visit Reviews by Jessewave.

[pbj · Rating 1 out of 5]

You don't have to read this book first in order to read the 'Home' series, so unless you have reader's OCD and absolutely MUST read every book in a series, I highly suggest that you skip Home Again by Cardeno C.

This book is not poorly written, it's just so implausible and mean that I wish I hadn't read it. It starts out like a 1980's soap opera episode and just goes downhill from there.

Noah awakens in the hospital after a horrible car wreck which has left him unconscious and badly injured. All he wants is his lover Clark, but his family seems to be keeping them separated. Then we meet Clark - at the age of seventeen, before he has ever met Noah. So now we have a story told in first person by two different characters, one of whom has amnesia, and we're traveling back and forth through time. I'm not a huge fan of this type of story structure, but I was willing to go along for the ride - until we got to THE BIG MISUNDERSTANDING.

There's no way you don't know what's coming from the first page of this book. You know that Noah and Clark are estranged and Noah doesn't remember. The question is 'why'?


Why?
Well, it turns out after the whole convoluted story of growing up in love with each other and waiting years to be together and supporting each other through homophobia, death of loved ones and forced separation - Noah cheated on Clark who walked in on Noah with his dick in some guys mouth - in the dream house they bought together.
Why?
Well, apparently Noah's brother Ben - who was Clark's best friend and roommate all through college 'convinced' Noah to do it with some whack-job argument about 'trust'.
Why?
Well, supposedly Ben has been buried so deep in the closet this whole time that he spent years saying hurtful things about gay people, screwing lots of girls and being madly in love with Clark.
But,
Somehow Ben is still shocked that his brother is gay and is with Clark - even though Noah 'came out' years ago and he and Clark have been living together for years.
Oh.
And there's some whole subplot about how Clark was too 'vanilla' for Noah, but now that he's back he's willing to get kinky even though he's not into it.
And.
Noah's ragingly jealous of anybody who comes near Clark. Anybody. For any reason.


Everybody in this book is TSTL - including all of Noah and Clark's friends who haven't noticed that Clark left without a word three years ago. I kid you not. They all think he's just been 'out of town'.

Crazypants.

[Rain Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Home Again is written in dual first person POV, and jumps from present to past and back. Noah's voice is in the 'present', while Clark guides us through the past, and I have to admit that part of the story is my favorite. Not only did I love Clark's voice, but it was also essential to understanding the characters.

Noah Forman wakes up in a hospital, after a car accident, and can't remember how he got there... Actually, Noah can't remember the last three years of his life. He *does* remember Clark Lehman, though – the man he has loved since he was thirteen. But although Clark is finally there, they have a long way to go before they can even begin to hope for the happily ever after they once dreamed of.

I had a really hard time rating Home Again. On the one hand, I loved the story. Clark is a great character, and I was in the right mood for some lovey-dovey stuff. POV switching and present/past jumps are something I really like – when done right – so, that was a pure bonus. And, a little frustration can't possibly hurt too much.

On the other hand, there were some things that really didn't sit well with me, and made me question the plot and characters more than once.

What I didn't like so much is the fact that Noah's accident was never explained fully. What happened to him? I'd really like to know. Also, the reason for their break-up is (more than) a bit weak. Actually, it's the weakest part of the story, and feels out of character. You'd think they could have acted like adults and talked, instead of Clark just leaving. It really left me underwhelmed...

Overall, Home Again is a nice, mushy story. If you enjoy that type, and love reading m/m, you should give it a try. You just might end up loving it!


This review was originally written for The Romance Reviews

[Ula'ndi Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall book rating: 3.8 stars
Audio book: Narrator - Jeff Gelder - 3 Strars
Book Cover: 2 Stars

What I liked:
I was really hooked on the whole amnesia idea. I liked the “past and present” theme because it gave me the necessary history and background needed and I wanted to know what brought them together and what made them tick.

What I didn’t like so much:
I was really enjoying this up until the point where Clark enlightened Noah about the happenings in their past. (Not gonna spoil it for others so read the book if you want to know) In my opinion, this really could have used a little more imagination, and the way everything just jumped into place after that in the “present” part of the story made it sort of flat for me. There was no drive to read further really.

If it wasn’t for the “past” part that still very much held my attention I would have maybe just read it to get it over with? I’m being a little b***y maybe but that’s how it made me feel. Maybe the book was too short to put in all the things that I was really hoping for. I should just accept that and move on, but too me it just really had potential. And then...well it didn’t really meet that potential.

I still enjoyed it. It was sweet and all. I really loved Clark’s relationship with his Mother and to me young rebellious Noah ran deeper than we got to delve. But again. It was a short book.

[Mollien Fote Osterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title:Home Again Audible Audio Edition
Author: Cardeno C.
Series: Home Book 1
Narrator: Alexander Collins
Publisher: The Romance Authors, LLC
Release Date: Audible.com Release Date: June 10, 2016
Genre(s): Gay Male Romance
Audio Length: 5 hours and 26 minutes
Heat Level: # 3 flames out of 5
Story Rating: # 5 stars out of 5
Narration Score: # 5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

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.

Review:
I have read or listened to a few of the book in The Home Series by Cardeno C. Each book is a stand alone novel. They are all beautifully and tastefully written. I enjoy reading these heartwarming stories of love. The plot of this story takes us back and forth through time. Noah Forman wakes up in a hospital after an accident. Along with a few broken bones, Noah has also lost 3 years of memories. The narrator brings to life the memories of the lives of Noah Forman and his partner Clark Lehman. It is an interesting story of two men finding love and how they almost lost it. The chemistry between Noah and Clark is evident from the beginning of the story. Although this book is told from two points of view and from two different points in time, the author and the narrator manage to keep us right in the story. The Narrator, Alexander Collins does an excellent job telling this story using different inflections to keep the reader focused on which character is which. All of the Home Series books have that feel good HEA ending. In this story we watch as the main characters go from young men to adults and how outside influences may be too much to handle.

SCORES on a scale of 1-5 Stars rate each of the Following 5 Categories
PLOT: 5 Stars
CHEMISTRY: 5 Stars
PACING: 5 Stars
ENDING: 5 Stars
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 5 Stars



Review Copy of Home Again provided by the The Romance Authors, LLC for an honest Review. Reviewed by Mollien from Alpha Book Club
 

[Cindi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read "He Completes Me" first and I'm really glad I did or I would have been lost. If you read these books in the order they are listed you are going to be confused. Zach and Aaron (from book 2) make an appearance in this book after they are already together. I only read this story to see how Clark's story played out because of how he was depressed in the 2nd one about his lost love. Confused yet? Yeah, me too.

The story in a nutshell: Noah wakes up in the hospital after a bad accident. He has no memory of the previous three years at all. He immediately starts asking for his partner, Clark. Freaks out that he's not there with him. What he doesn't know is that it has been 3 years since he's actually seen Clark and that they are no longer a couple. Clark is called, he shows up and the story plays out from there. It then goes back and forth from Clark's point of view (in the past) to Noah's point of view (in the present). I liked that part of it. You get to see how Clark and Noah met when Noah was 13 and Clark was 17. Clark is Noah's brother's friend but Clark and Noah have an immediate connection, though it was a weird one considering their ages. It goes through Noah becoming a man and then coming to Clark and their relationship really starts. Then something happens that ends it all. Until Noah ends up in the hospital asking for him.

This could have been a very good story. It actually started out that way. Then it bombed. Once the reason for the breakup came out, it went downhill from there. No matter what happened beyond that, it was basically over for me. Then the justification? Worse than what actually caused the break up. There was no coming back from that for me. The reason was dumb. The justification even more dumb. And Clark's forgiveness and willingness to just accept it also killed it. In real life he would be the type of person that you would want to pop upside the head and tell to grow a pair already.

The best part of the book for me (other than getting to the end) was seeing Zach and Aaron. They were entertaining, as they were in "He Completes Me". Zach is hilarious so I was happy to see him and Aaron in this one.

The Ben thing wasn't a surprise at all. I saw that one coming not far into it.

I almost wish I would've stuck with my original plan to not read this book at all. The reviews I read weren't that flattering but I figured since I liked the second book so much, this one couldn't be that bad, right? Wrong.

I will read the rest of the series. That is, if I can figure out which one to read now since they are obviously not listed on here in any type of order. I am thankful I didn't read this one first. Otherwise this author would've been put in my "never again" file. My suggestion is to skip this one completely and go straight to Aaron and Zach's story. It is a very, very good book. If you want to see how Clark works out his issues mentioned in "He Completes Me" I suggest reading a review with a spoiler.

[Lady Macbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This review contains spoilers

This story was very interesting, the author surely knew how to keep the reader's attention by giving him an unusual double pov: Noah's in the present, Clark's in the past. This alternation was a very good idea and made this book very easy and pleasant to read.
Unfortunately I couldn't completely enjoy it.

The plot: Clark, 17 years old, meets Noah, 13, at his house during a sleepover. Clark is a good friend of Ben, Noah's brother. Since their first meeting, Clark is struck by Noah's uniqueness and charm, and befriends him immediately. Noah has a stressful relationship with his parents and hides the fact that he's gay in order to not be kicked out of the house. Clark will help him make a plan to survive until he'll be 18 and they could be together (during the months of his friendship, Clark has indeed figured out he's gay too).
In the present, Noah has been in a catr accident and in a coma for a month and has lost all the memories of the last three years of his life. When Clark come to visit him, it's clear that something happened during those years.

Spoilers from here
Noah and Clark broke up three years before: Clark seems still very much in love with him and after a few days he tells him the truth. Noah, then, remembers: he cheated on Clark and made sure he could see him cheating, so Clark walked away and never came back.

What really bothered me was how could Noah not reach out to Clark sooner and beg for forgiveness.
Clark literally tortured himself for years, first with anger and then with pain and confusion: why did Noah cheat? Wasn't he enough? Were there others? Did Noah want to break up so he organised everything to force Clark to leave?

Moreover, the reason for the cheating was so stupid, I cannot understand how Noah let his brother manipulate him so easily. Did he reaaly think that Clark would have stayed after seeing that scene? Didn't he imagine all the pain his actions could cause to Clark?
And then, the one who begs for forgiveness is Clark himself...

I don't know, this whole plot confused me and disappointed me to no end; the cheating is not the real problem here but I think it was the reason behind it. And, obviously, Ben's behaviour about all of it.
I think I'm going to read the 5th book of this series, Just What The Truth Is, Ben's story, I hope it will make me see him under a different light.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this from Santa!!! YAY!!


I breezed through this in no time at all. First off, I adore all of this author's work I've so far read. This was no different, though it had some things that niggled at me and didn't make it to four stars.

Noah is way too possessive for my taste. And for a while I thought that Clark was forgiving too easily. And he was too damn perfect.

I loved the way this was written, with Noah covering the present and Clark covering the past in flashbacks, and the story flowed well between the two POVs.

I had inklings of things to come all throughout, so none of the revelations came as a huge surprise, not even the one at the very end. I would have liked the narrative to explore further on the accident that put Noah in the hospital (like, what happened and how), and there seemed to be some continuity issues stemming from that. I also thought the time frame mentioned was a little long, especially with the reason for it, but then I suppose the two proved earlier on that they could withstand that sort of thing. Yes, I'm intentionally vague.

It was definitely fluffy and sweet, high on the emotional connection, some holy hot boysecks, Batman, with a wee bit of kink thrown in for good measure, but also uneven and somewhat unrealistic. The characters weren't fully formed - I felt like there were layers missing. I appreciated the earlier days of their relationship more, to be honest. There just seemed to be so much middle missing, specifically the days leading up to the big thing that happened.

I adore the author. This wasn't his best work, and I'm glad I didn't pick this up before I'd had a chance to read his newer books. The writing has matured tremendously from this one.

I think I need to read Ben's story next.

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this story which I finally got around to reading after having read some of the later books in this series.

In this story, Noah wakes up in the hospital and asks for his partner Clark. But unknown to Noah, who has lost his memory of the past 3 years, Clark hasn't been living with him. Clark does show up and when he realizes that Noah doesn't remember what happened, he keeps quiet about it until the night before they are ready to go home. Most of their story is told in flashbacks, much of which I really enjoyed.

Most of the things that bothered me, not in any particular order: --Noah's behavior as a 13 year old was very off the wall, as was his parents reaction to it;
--Noah's reaction to finding out why Clark left him 3 years ago-it seemed to me that he should have been begging Clark's forgiveness and immediately explaining what happened and why, but we don't learn that until the end of the story;
--Clark's reaction and heartfelt apologies to Noah when he reveals what Noah did 3 years ago --Wtf?*? That one floored me!
--Noah's turnaround in behavior and personality between the ages of 13 and 18 was highly unlikely, especially considering that Clark wasn't present in his life other than by phone and email.

There's probably even more that I just can't recall right now, but because I like this author's writing, I'm going to keep going in the series in the hopes that the next few are as good as the later books which I've enjoyed.

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well .... I liked the framework of the story - Noah's amnesia and missing three years, and Clark telling the beginning of their story in flashbacks. Even the incessant "angel" and "sweetheart" didn't bother me (too much). Until ..... we get to the big reveal and it's a what the frackin' hell kinda moment, and from there on out, it was all over for me. Nope.

Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews

[Rohit]

((............::::::::.......:::::::::.............))

(This is me hiding my eyes because I can't handle this telenovella level of awkward writing and ummm weird getting laid concepts and mine Mine Mine syndromes.))

((Bbye Now!))

((Oh! DNF@17%))

[Romanticamente Fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - Voto
.
Nayeli -per RFS
.
Ci guardammo intensamente, lasciando i nostri sguardi liberi di scorrere sui nostri corpi.
Perché volesse guardare me mentre poteva semplicemente guardarsi allo specchio, non lo capivo. Quell’uomo era stupendo.
(tratto dal libro)*

È una storia molto romantica quella di cui mi accingo a parlare. Un uomo si risveglia in ospedale e scopre di aver dimenticato gli ultimi tre anni di vita. L’unica sua certezza è la presenza del suo compagno Clark e l’amore che ha condiviso con lui da quando era un tredicenne ribelle.

Da questo punto in poi l’intreccio procede lungo due filoni: uno percorre il tempo presente, con i due uomini che si ritrovano e provano ad andare avanti; la seconda rivive invece i momenti passati: l’incontro, l’innamoramento, il primo bacio, gli anni di attesa e la loro prima volta.

L’amore, il romanticismo, la passione tra i protagonisti sono così forti che iniziamo davvero a chiederci quale evento possa mai essere successo tanto da traumatizzare Noah facendogli perdere la memoria. Il mistero che andremo a scoprire è sufficientemente complesso e ben pensato da rappresentare un buon svolgimento per questa storia d’amore, ci struggeremo per una separazione motivata da eccesso di sicurezza e troppo amore.

Molta glassa, molto sesso esplicito ma, tutto sommato, anche una buona storia sottostante.

Lo stile è piacevole e molto scorrevole, le caratterizzazioni ben pensate e, nonostante siano tanto, troppo “positive”, non impediscono ai protagonisti di compiere errori.

Presente anche la tematica del coming out difficile nell’ambito di una famiglia troppo rigida.

«Per quanto mi piacerebbe poterlo fare, non c’è modo di tornare indietro a quella notte e comportarsi in modo diverso, Noah. Non posso ricominciare da zero né far sì che ci vengano dati indietro gli anni che abbiamo perso. Ma posso prometterti che, a partire da ora, non ci lasceremo mai. Per nessun motivo. Non importa cosa succeda. Posso prometterti il lieto fine.»
Leccai dalla base del collo di Clark fino al suo mento e poi alle sue labbra.
«Posso avere quel lieto fine, ora?»
(tratto dal libro)*

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 31%.

It's been years since I've read a book from Cardeno C. I've avoided their books as the writing never really worked for me. But I've had this recommended a few times recently and thought I'd revisit Cardeno C. to see if I had changed my stance. Unfortunately, I still don't like the writing.

[misz lei · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I develop diabetes after reading this!