I enjoyed Not a Game and highly recommend it. With its distinctly different characters, strong scenes of physical and emotional connection, and sweet HEA, it is a lovely m/m romance with excellent promise for a new series.

For me, the characters-especially the main characters-are the driving factor in determining if I like a story or not.  That's one of the reasons I keep coming back to Cardeno C.'s books...I know I'm going to get wonderful characters who are complex and deep, and with distinct personalities.  I'm also going to get characters that are easy to relate to, and that is clearly illustrated here in Not A Game.

In Your Eyes by Cardeno C is perfect for those of us who love MM stories with paranormal settings and a plot guaranteed to engage our heart. In Your Eyes will have you laughing and crying but above rejoicing when the story ends.

I must say though that when reading this light, short read, it had a dreamy quality to it. I cannot really put the right words on text, but it was like I was participating in the events that unfolded in a quality very dreamlike and quite blurry. It felt so good and in spite of the sensitive topic involved, it left me with a feeling of such great HOPE. Something which could only be felt during hopeful holidays like Christmas....There was something magical about this story that speaks of love, commitment, hope and faith. Yes, this is a very short and light read but it was bigger than the quantity of the text.  It made me think deeper and it reached out to something deeper inside me (and hopefully other readers). It teared up quite a bit but as the story was not sad, it was good tears. Hopeful tears. It was a beautiful.

It's a fun and entertaining book with a steady pace, a surprising amount of tenderness, considering Miguel's bad-ass attitude at the beginning, and some vivid world building. Both Miguel and Ethan have well developed personalities and they blend together nicely as a couple - and their chemistry - it's sizzling. There are several seamlessly placed secondary characters but I enjoyed Ethan's sweet sister, Crissy, the most. That's not to say a number of those other characters don't supply some needed action and danger - so watch out for troublemakers.