Review: Another excellent book in the series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 14, 2014
If anyone reading this follows my reviews, then you already know that I absolutely, 100 percent adore Cardeno C. I have yet to read a book by this author that hasn't impacted me emotionally and left me wanting more. I'm so very, very, very grateful that Cardeno writes a lot of series because I'd be really lost otherwise. And, frankly, I think Cardeno is tired of me whining about wanting more, more, and even more! So, with all of that in mind, you can imagine the giddy squealing that emitted from my mouth when I heard about 'In Your Eyes', book three in the 'Mates' series. Not only is this another addition to a series by an author that I truly respect and admire, BUT, it's a shifter series and really? Nothing gets my motor revving more than shifters. *grins* Well, that and hot, sexy menz whom Cardeno writes just for me!Samuel, not Sam, was born a very old, responsible, serious man, and he never saw any reason to change that or even notice it was odd. Samuel thinks through every question, every statement, every action directed towards him, about a hundred times, looking for ulterior motives or harm. He isn't bothered by the fact that his peers in his pack don't want to be friends with him, he has no interest in spending time with them and their silly ways. Samuel's entire existence, his life, his world, is wrapped up in learning to be the best alpha he can be. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand or realize that being approachable, compassionate, and caring are traits much needed in a good alpha. Korban is the complete opposite in many ways. He certainly knows and understands his responsibilities, but Korban is outgoing, jovial, and strong in areas which Samuel is not. Korban has been confusing Samuel since the first time they met when Samuel was eight and Korban was eleven. It got so bad one time when they ran into each other at a meeting that Samuel vowed to just stay away from Korban from then on, and that way Samuel didn't have to deal with all the strange and unwelcome thoughts and feelings that occur.If you've read the first book in this series then you understand the unique perspective this author puts on wolf shifter lore. In this world the shifters are raised to believe that male shifters have a hold of their wolf sides from a young age, but their human sides are not as stable, and the female shifters are the opposite. Thus when they reach adulthood, males and females tie to one another, true mates being exceedingly rare, and the female cements the male's human, while the male helps release the female's wolf. If the male shifter goes too long without mating or tying, he begins to lose his human side. The problem, however, is that Samuel has no desire to tie or let any female touch him. In fact, Samuel dislikes being touched by anyone, period. This means that by age twenty, Samuel is finding it harder and harder to return to human and it gets worse as he grows older.Now, I originally wrote a very long and detailed explanation for how their respective fathers managed to exact severe tragedies leaving Samuel and Korban alphas of their packs. After several hours of contemplation I decided that nope, you're going to have to buy this book and read it to get the whole story. What I can say is that Samuel's father is dead, Korban's father is completely incapacitated, and Samuel has finally realized that Korban is his true mate. A fact, by the way, which Korban has known since they first met. However, Samuel's intense mental focus prevented him from ever listening to his heart. I'm not revealing anything more because I don't want to ruin this book for any other reader out there.I loved this addition! Samuel reminded me almost of a very high functioning person with autism and I adored the way the author wrote him. Korban I could've definitely seen more of and I would've loved to have a little of his point of view. Ah, well. C'est la vie! I still loved their story and can't wait for another book in this series. Thank you, Cardeno!NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews