Review: Not Calmes' or Cardeno's best work.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2014
Well, the good news is this is considerably better than “Floodgates.” But, honestly, would that be so hard?The even better news is that there is no jerky ex-boyfriend. There is no 200 page discussion on said jerky ex-boyfriend.And I just realized there is no 18-25 page discussion on how absolutely, positively wonderful the smaller of the 2 MCs is (Vy). Actually, he's kind of a melodramatic jerk.And only once in the book did Vy express that men rarely come on to him - cause, you know, he's super PLAIN. (No, you're not, dork.)There were four eyebrow waggles (I almost missed them in “Floodgates”) and there are no pea coats - but there is a lined barn coat & a fully lined denim jacket. Why do we need to know that these items are lined?Also, the cop in this is a supporting character.Oh, and there were several plot threads that seemed to go nowhere. Hello? What happened with the wolves? That event took place off-page, which is annoying, but you don't find what actually happen with the wolves until maybe at 70%?Aaand, there were at least 2 or 3 episodes where Vy drifted off into exposition or some kind of flashback, when whoever he's talking to in the present sits there counting their toe hairs until they finally yell him into attention. Dude needs to take some ginko baloboa.I did like the conflict between the two characters: Vy is the kuar (leader) of his ket (pack) and as a gay man worries about maintaining “control” and proving his leadership abilities to his pack. Robert (the bear shifter) chooses never to shift (always remains in “control”) because he's scared of hurting people. He's a loner who moves from place to place. Vy has only ever topped in relationships because he must always be the alpha, but he longs to give in and submit. Robert is a total top and he wants to do nothing more than cuddle his "little bird" and [make violent love to] him into submission. Vy believes fated mates & destiny are everything and Robert believes that a man is what he makes of himself in spite of his destiny.All this is great, I just wasn't fond of Vy's reaction to it all. When he discovers that Robert has gooey feelings for him, but doesn't recognize him as a mate, he freaks out and runs away. Then he acts like a super jerk, gets into fights & gets drunk. He refuses to talk to Robert or listen to anything he has to say. Then when he finally does start talking to him again, he will not allow Robert to FINISH A SENTENCE. This is typical Mary Calmes, the MC decides that he's not wanted & so just carries on, smiling bravely, refusing to listen to anyone around him. Dude, that's not brave, that's being a jerk.I also felt Cardeno C & Mary Calmes lacked cohesion as joint authors. It was jarring to switch back & forth between the two narrators (Vy is clearly penned by Calmes & Robert by Cardeno C). For me it was a similar feeling to watching Tom Cruise in a movie; I can never forget that he's Tom Cruise playing a character instead of getting lost in the idea that's he's  -- I don't know -- an astrophysicist late for a date with a beautiful garbage collector. I wanted to relax into a combination of these two authors -- and I honestly thought that would blend well, they each write such sweet reads -- instead it just felt jumpy & lacked consistency.What saved this book for me is Robert. He's such a sweetie and I loved how he wanted to take care of Vy. He wanted to be Vy's home & comfort. He also wants to [make violent love to] his brains out which is always enjoyable to read. I loved when he was explaining to Vy why exactly he thought two people choosing each other because they liked each other was more important than fate or destiny. It took Vy awhile, but when he finally accepts Robert as is they are so sweet together. I could really see Robert as the Mama Bear who calms Vy & literally smooths his feathers. The ending, also, is pure sugar sweet, just like I like it.This is not the best Mary Calmes book (see the Matter of Time series) and it’s not the best Cardeno C. novel (see the Home series). It’s just okay and you can definitely find better books elsewhere on Amazon.