Friends

Not a Game

Not a Game
  • Word Count: 55,872
  • Price: $4.99
  • Release Date: 07/15/2016
  • ISBN: 978-1-942184-58-4
  • ASIN: B01IC2BGB4

An accidental meeting and a misunderstanding lead to a life-altering connection.

A new job, a new city, and hopefully a new life. When chubby gamer Oliver Barnaby receives a job offer from the best boutique game developer in the country, he leaves his family and his less than spectacular existence in Oklahoma without a second’s hesitation. Determined to change more than his career and his geography, Oliver implements a plan to finally land a boyfriend. Step one is improving his skills in the bedroom.

A life that looks perfect on paper, but feels empty in reality. Attractive, successful, charismatic Jaime Snow has a life other people envy. His already booming business is growing. He isn’t lacking in friends. And he has no trouble finding a date. But there’s an emptiness in Jaime’s heart and a hole in his life that only the right man can fill.

An accidental meeting, a misunderstanding, and falling in love. When Oliver and Jaime end up at the same bar at the same time, they each see something they want in the other. Going to bed together that first night is easy. Building the lifetime relationship they both desperately crave will require trust, time, and a little misunderstanding.

Word count: 55,872

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  • Length: 6 hours and 4 minutes
  • Price: $19.95
  • Release Date: 11/07/2016
  • ASIN: B01MREJXV0
Not a Game
  • Page Count: 220
  • Price: $13.99
  • Release Date: 07/16/2016
  • ISBN: 1-942184-60-3

Excerpt

Full Excerpt

Chapter 1

 

He had chosen the bar because of its name: The Bookstore. It was clever and unusual and he had laughed internally at how happy his mother would be if he told her he was spending time at the Bookstore instead of in front of his computer. Oliver’s entire life, she had mourned the fact he wasn’t a reader, and even though he had now moved two thousand miles away from their home in Oklahoma City, she still sent him books she was sure he’d love. Maybe someday he’d open one of them.

For now, he glanced down at the only book he had read countless times and adjusted it at the edge of his table to make the spine as visible as possible. The title—Coding—wasn’t as clever as the bar name, but the information and the way it was phrased had clicked perfectly in Oliver’s…

Reviews

When you sign on to read a Cardeno C. novel, you are positive to get three things in return: first, a romance that is sweet and rewarding; second, a happy ever after that comes with very little angst or troubles; and third, a feel good emotional reward that leaves you smiling long after the novel’s end. Cardeno C. is a master at romance—sweet, sometimes sappy, yet always a complete story where boy meets boy, boy gets boy and they both live happily ever after....This author dares to create a happy ever after for an average guy, with an above average man who desires him. In the end, Not a Game becomes a magical fairytale romance that delivers all the feels and emotions with a twist—characters who are, for once, utterly real and worthy of love.

The Novel Approach

"To put it plainly - I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! The differences between Oliver and Jaime are there to see, and yet it still works. The attraction is instantaneous and hot. The connection is both comfortable and intense. Cardeno C. has managed to convey how not every body is perfect, but everybody is perfect for someone. With a mixture of romance, sexy scenes, heartbreak and humour, this book was a delight to read. Definitely recommended by me."

Archaeolibrarian

I had so much fun reading this almost zero-angst, fluff-filled, fairy tale-like story that I am still smiling when I think of it....The HEA was glorious, and left me smiling wide.

Gay Book Reviews

This was an amazing story and I fell in love with Oliver and Jaime and their full of Feelz relationship! ...If you have not ever had the privilege of reading a book by CC this is the perfect book to start. Those of us who are Cardeno C fans will love this story and the connection created between Jaime and Oliver. ...This wasn’t an insta-love story but one that was semi-realistic (maybe more than that, if people hire escorts to teach them how to be better at sex) and allows the reader to believe in happily-ever after for ordinary people!

 

Alpha Book Club

All Reviews