My Fiction Nook I don't read a lot of shifter books. Because reasons. But now, now that I've read this first book in the Mates series, I'm about halfway to being convinced that I've been missing out. Holy hot boysecks, Batman.... The part how they were drawn together, so perfect for each other, from the very beginning recognizing their true mate bond ...I loved the easy banter, the deeply formed relationship....Fully developed characters give this book the extra oomph. Witty dialogue, snarky snark and humorous banter had me laughing out loud on many occasions, and only CC can manage to make me giggle and go 'awwwww' at the same time....Let's not forget, this is a shifter book. A book about shifter mating, and holy cow, that first time for these two - it nearly melted my Nook. I felt like I was intruding on something sacred when Zev and Jonah make love for the first time....this was a wonderful story to convince me of the merits of shifter stories.

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Night Owl Reviews Some of the basic plot of true mates was tried and true but the author put such a unique spin on different aspects that he/she made this story really stand out. If you enjoy shifter stories and/or stories about people fated to be together I highly recommend this book.

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One Good Book Deserves Another Stylistically unique and deeply emotional ... It was more than a book, it was a sweeping emotional journey through time and across two very different cultures and I thoroughly enjoyed it. ... With touches of gut-clenching angst, gentle humor, and searing passion, the path of Zev and Jonah's romance is fraught with a myriad conflicts and hazards both internal and external that were woven together into a very powerful read.

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Rainbow Book Reviews I absolutely loved this story and Zev and Jonah have joined my list of favorite couples. Their love story was, on the one hand, amazingly sweet having begun as babies essentially, and on the other hand, hotter than hot as they waited through all those years to be together. I can't recommend this book enough. If you love shifters, then this is the story for you.

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Wake Me Up Inside is the first book in the Mate series from Cardeno C and I can't wait for more. Cardeno C has a straightforward narrative that delivers the story in a manner that makes it easy for the reader to follow the timeline of Jonah and Zev's relationship as it grows from childhood to adult. ... Take a good long look at that marvelous cover and it gives you an accurate picture of a scene in the book. Boy and wolf pup and Jonah and Zev, always together no matter the form Zev is in. How does that idea not draw you in? It is the characterizations that make or break a story for me and in Zev and Jonah we get two characters to connect with immediately.

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