Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Aggressive, physical, and brave, Jake Owens is a small town football hero turned big city cop who passes his time with meaningless encounters believing he can’t have who he really wants: Nate Richardson, his best friend since before forever. Thoughtful, quiet, and kind, Nate is a brilliant doctor who has always known who he is and has never been able to shake his crush on loyal, courageous, straight Jake.

After a passionate night together, Nate realizes Jake isn’t as straight as he assumed, but he worries that what they shared was a fluke, a result of too much closeness for too long. For Jake, the question isn’t how they ended up in bed together because he has always known that Nate holds his heart, it’s how he’ll convince Nate that he wants and needs to stay there.

NOTE: This book was previously published by Dreamspinner Press in June 2011.

 

Book Review

When Cardeno C. introduced Jake and Nate near the end of 'He Completes Me' I was hooked immediately by the thought of two people not being whole unless they were together. The author's description seemed more than soul mates to me, it was as if Jake and Nate were two pieces of a circle and only when they were joined together were all the seams obliterated. Because of my strong reaction to the small amount of these two characters that I saw, I was thrilled to discover that book three in the 'Home' series, 'Where He Ends and I Begin', is the story of Jake and Nate, two halves of a whole.

One of my favorite things about this author's writing is I open each book thinking I know which way the author will write it, i.e. point of view, pacing, beginning to end or jumps between past, present and future, etc., and every single time I'm wrong. I love that. It means I've never once gotten bored with Cardeno C. So, this story begins when both Jake and Nate are twenty-eight and they've never been apart since the day they were born, literally, and Jake has dragged Nate on an island vacation for a week. It compromises both of their points of view and their recollections, which, frankly, gave me a much more personal introduction into who these men are. And, wow, these are some amazing men! Nate is a genius, a science geek, he came out in the eighth grade, and besides loving his best friend, Nate has been in love with Jake for forever. Jake is loyal, hardworking, gorgeous, he was the popular kid in school, he has always loved Nate, and he isn't as straight as Nate thinks.

The first twenty-four hours of their vacation bring out the fact they're both in love with each other, Jake assumed Nate always knew how he felt but didn't want him, while Nate assumed Jake was straight with all the women he had sex with. Turns out the only man Jake has ever wanted is Nate, which Nate has some trouble wrapping his head around. He might be a genius, but, seriously? He's still a man. They spend the week exploring everything they didn't already know about each other and doing a lot of it in bed. Then it's time to go home to their real lives, the apartment they share, their jobs, and all of Nate's insecurities rear their ugly heads causing quite a few upsets. Honestly, for two guys who have been joined at the hip from birth, I would have thought they could communicate a little better. *head desk*

This was another incredible addition to the 'Home' series. Watching Nate and Jake work through their insecurities to finally find what they never dreamed to have was unreal. The whole story just worked for me and it really reminded me that if there were more loving and tolerant people in the world as portrayed in this story, perhaps so much evil would no longer occur. Thank you, Cardeno, for an unbelievably gorgeous book of the kind of love that lasts from cradle to grave.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 82000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	08-February-2015
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	http://www.cardenoc.com/whereheends.php