I don't think I have ever read a book by Cardeno C. that hasn't tugged at my heartstrings. Cardeno has a way of writing MCs that just pulls me in and makes me fall in love with them immediately. ... This book touched me so deeply for many different reasons.... It is so sweet to witness Emilio demonstrate the reasons he can't resist Spencer and even more wonderful to watch Spencer start to believe he is handsome. I love how Emilio helps Spencer get over a past trauma that is still causing side effects even now. One of the best parts of the story was the love and acceptance Spencer finally finds, not only from Emilio, but from his entire family. Emilio's uber-tough brothers, his loving sister and his parents all took Spencer in and adopted him into the Sanchez family. ... I love Cardeno's books and this one is no exception. Watching Spencer come out of his shell and seeing that there is more to Emilio than his great body was a fun ride, and it is one I plan on taking as many times as possible. Seriously, you will miss a wonderfully sweet romance if you miss this one!

Cardeno C.'s moving and insightful novella, A Shot at Forgiveness, provides a rather different view of the bullying many gay and lesbian children and teens are forced to endure. ... Is it credible that in some situations the bully is more confused about and tormented by his sexuality than his victim? In my own view, for whatever it's worth, that might explain more than a few cases of bullying. Without including spoilers in this review, I can say there are even more surprising turns in A Shot at Forgiveness than a famous and wealthy NBA MVP's making contact with his former victim. I can also affirm that the way Cardeno C. shapes the story makes them all believable. They certainly don't happen every day, but who'd wish to write or read about every-day matters? I must also praise Cardeno C.'s writing style... Rafi and Isaac's story won me over. I highly recommend it.

This was smufftastic fun as most CC novels and novellas are, and as such I enjoyed reading it.

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.

The author was able to convey some pretty sizzling chemistry between them [the leads]