Review: This is why I read romance novels. (slight spoilers)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 9, 2014
Cardeno C.'s books have just gotten better and better through the years.  They were good to start with, but Walk With Me may be the finest in the series.  I have enjoyed all the books and all the characters, but Eli and Seth may be my favorites.  It's the most light-hearted, comic, book in the series and a great read from beginning to end.What I like about all these books and Walk With Me in particular is that the relationship is the important motif in the story, not the sex, but the pure romance of two people meeting, becoming attracted to and finding each other in deep and important ways and sticking it out (or not) through thick and thin.  There may be attraction and love or lust at first sight, but each couple has to go through their journey, together and apart, before they get their happy ending.  This makes for rich, complex, satisfying story-telling.  There is always some angst and drama, but the way the characters work through their issues feels pretty much like real life.Eli first sees Seth when he's 11 and Seth is about 19.  Somehow Eli knows.  Knows that Seth is the one for him, even though Seth is years older and on a different path.  When they meet again years later at Eli's parents' house, Eli, at 18, practically blows Seth's mind with his come-on and not in a good way--the whole scene is very funny --poor Seth is bewildered by Eli, and his parents' attitudes about the whole situation confuse him even more.The remainder of the book is punctuated by nutty weddings, that Seth, new assistant rabbi at the synagogue, is required to officiate at.  Since he has made it pretty clear to Eli that it isn't gonna happen between them, they instead become close friends.  Some of the funniest scenes in the book involve Seth telling Eli about the disasters at the theme weddings.  This is comedy at its finest--the oh so dry retelling of a catastrophe that becomes hilarious viewed in the aftermath.So Seth and Eli continue in their platonic relationship, spending lots of time together, Eli pursuing his college degree, Seth continuing his rabbinical career, but spending as much time as possible together.  Neither is completely happy with the way things are, but Seth is straight and Eli is too young, etc. and so friendship it must be.  For the time being.As the years go by, Eli and Seth's friendship starts to shift.  Eli becomes a true adult and Seth begins to wonder about the status quo for himself.  It's hard to write a review about a book this good without a spoiler or two, but suffice to say that it's a great story and as funny as it is in parts, by the end I was tearing up in a very good way.  There is no need to read the prior books in this series to enjoy Walk With Me, but reading them would be worthwhile just because you'd get to spend more time with all the great guys in Emile City.