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Cardeno C.
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Wake Me Up Inside (Mates Collection Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Cardeno C. (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,003 ratings
3.9 on Goodreads
6,057 ratings
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A powerful Alpha wolf shifter and a strong-willed human overcome traditions ingrained over generations and uncover long-buried secrets to fulfill their destiny as true mates.

Regarded as the strongest wolf shifter in generations, Alpha Zev Hassick is surprised and confused by his attraction to his best friend. His very human, very male best friend. A male shifter has to mate with a female shifter to keep his humanity, so shifters can’t be gay. Yet, everything inside Zev tells him Jonah is his true mate.

Maintaining a relationship with the man he has loved since childhood isn’t easy for Jonah Marvel, but he won’t let distance or Zev’s odd family get in their way. When unexplained ailments begin to plague Jonah, he needs to save his own life and sanity in order to have a future with Zev.

Zev and Jonah know they’re destined for each other, but they must overcome traditions ingrained over generations and long-buried secrets to fulfill their destiny.
 
Word count: 74,755
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  1. Book 1 of 4
    Mates Collection
  2. Print length
    326 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    July 31 2015
  5. File size
    3.7 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 4 books in this series.
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Bundle price: Kindle price
CDN$19.45
Bundle price: Kindle price
CDN$26.18
By clicking on above button, you agree to Amazon's Kindle Store Terms of Use
Sold by: Amazon.com.ca ULC

Product description

About the Author

Cardeno C.—CC to friends—is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a lot of happiness and a few awwws into a reader’s day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno’s stories range from sweet to intense, contemporary to paranormal, long to short, but they always include strong relationships and walks into the happily-ever-after sunset.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0137I04VQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Romance Authors; 2nd edition (July 31 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.7 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 326 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,003 ratings

About the author

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Cardeno C.

Cardeno C.

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Cardeno C. - CC to friends - is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a lot of happiness and a few "awwws" into a reader's day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno's stories range from sweet to intense, contemporary to paranormal, long to short, but they always include strong relationships and walks into the happily-ever-after sunset.

Heartwarming Stories. Strong Relationships. Forever Love.

www.cardenoc.com

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
1,003 global ratings

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Top reviews from Canada

  • grldmrmy61
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent.
    Reviewed in Canada on March 10, 2018
    Now this is more like it. Love the characters. Story well done. Keeps you turning the pages. Next please. Thanks.
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  • Dr Max
    4.0 out of 5 stars A different take on the wolf shifter story
    Reviewed in Canada on October 7, 2012
    Rating: 4 stars out of 5

    I enjoyed this book. I'm a fan of shifter stories and this one is quite complex and therefore all the more interesting. It's told with a series of flashbacks so that we see the main characters at different times as they're growing up, until we're in the present and the story continues. Zev and Jonah have been friends since Jonah was a toddler although for the first 10 years or so, Jonah had no idea that the wolf pup he played with was really a shifter, nor did he know that he was the true mate of that same shifter. Zev felt the mate bond but because tradition had that occurring only between males and females, he wasn't sure how to deal with it either.

    As the two boys grew through adolescence into young adulthood, they were best of friends until one day Jonah opens up and tells Zev that there's more than friendship going on. From then their relationship should have flourished except that Jonah goes off to university some distance away and stays for med school and a residence. So for 12 long years the two who are fated to be together are apart except for widely spaced out meetings.

    Both men are becoming physically ill because of the separation and, frankly, I was finding it kind os slow as it seemed that they were never going to get to the revelations that needed to be made. Eventually, though, everyone told everyone else all the secrets, the mating tie was put into place, and all that remained was to clear up the mystery of Jonah's birth.

    Once the two men decide they're attracted, there's lots of sex of all kinds, so much, in fact, that I ended up just flipping pages for some of it. I mean, there's only so much description that's different, after all, so why repeat it over and over again?

    This is listed as the first book in the Mates Series so I imagine we'll see two minor characters in this novel take centre stage in the sequel which will also update us on what's happening in Zev's and Jonah's lives. That's a book I'll definitely buy because this one has piqued my interest in the mating of unexpected pairs. Yes, there are some slow parts as the twelve years of waiting seem to take, well, a long time, but even with that this was a good story with interesting plot twists and a satisfying ending. I'll be looking for the sequel.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Andrea Mitchell
    3.0 out of 5 stars Classic Cardon C. Sweet, sexy insta-love!
    Reviewed in Canada on May 29, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Well, we love Cardeno C., picking up one of these stories you know you are in for a sweet sappy, insta-love story, some work and some don’t but Wake up Inside Me, the first on the Mates Series delivers on all good Cardneo C. things. We aren’t usually fans of shifter stories, but this story of love between an Alpha shifter and a human works in so many ways.

    Zev is the Alpha of his pack, and his family is pushing him to claim a mate, but Zev knows that he isn’t like all the other males who crave a female, he is gay. His childhood best friend Jonah is a regular human, byut Zev knows deep down that they are mates, destined to be together. This story follows them over many years, from when the meet as children well into adult hood. It is sweet to see their journey, but a few stops along the way we wish we could move a little faster. When they finally do get tighter it is great, love, hot-between-the-sheets, and so so good.

    There were a few things that created a few ummm moments for us. Zev keeps Jonah in the dark for 12 years. They are ‘together’ but not really??? And by in the dark we mean, he doesn’t talk about being the alpha, why he needs to stay in his small town and why they can’t jump between the sheets. I get about fate, and love and all that, but 12 years for Zev to keep stringing Jonah around seems a little ridiculous, especially if they are really bound as mates.

    But to be honest we are just being picky, we really enjoyed this Wake up Inside Me. It is a great shifter romance full of all good things in the genre, alpha males, insta-love and hot-between the sheets!
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  • Laurann
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous story
    Reviewed in Canada on August 1, 2017
    I'll read this again, it was so engaging. Interesting twist on the usual M/M shifter story. I look for more about the Etzgadol Pack et Al.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!
    Reviewed in Canada on May 16, 2017
    This is a really great book. Awesome characters and wonderfully written. I can't wait to read more from this author!
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Fiona
    5.0 out of 5 stars Steady burn MM paranormal romance
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Just as good second time of reading. Loved these guys together and learning about their story. Steady pace, good plot, sexy characters.
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  • Susan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hot hot hot!
    Reviewed in Australia on June 9, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Couldn’t put this book down, late night reading because there was always a good part. Love the descriptive language about Jonah and Zev, especially the sexual parts.
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  • iluvEdwardCullen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best shifter book I've read
    Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    About 3600 locations and it took me about 4 1/2 hours to read...

    ... If you have read the books in Cardeno's Home Series and enjoyed those then I think you will like this one too. Yes, it's a shifter/paranormal book, but it's written in the same format so to speak as the Home series. If you haven't read Cardeno before, but like shifter books then I think you'll like this one because it isn't just a bunch of erotica as there is actually a plot and even a little mystery involved... Plus, Cardeno C in my opinion is one of the better writers of this m/m genre. Not as powerful/serious as Amy Lane, but Cardeno takes the cake on the sweet romance/soul-mate/love-at-first sight aspect. Now, as this is the first book in the Mates series there is a bit of "world" explaining involved, especially towards the beginning, but I think it adds to the relationship of Zev and Jonah rather than distracting from it because it involves memories/sort-of flash backs from how everything started. I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming this series is gonna be like the Home series and each book will technically be stand alone and focus on a different couple and I have a feeling book two will be Ethan and Miguel's story. We are introduced to them at the end of the book.

    So, I gave this a 5 star because the writing is good, the story was interesting, I liked the characters, and I appreciate the author's ability to create a believable story in a simplistic way where the love between the two main characters is the main focus.
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  • Timber
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gänsehaut!
    Reviewed in Germany on October 11, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Was macht man, wenn man seinen Partner fürs Leben bereits in der frühen Kindheit gefunden hat und dieser auch noch ein Mensch ist? Richtig, man wartet.... und wartet,... und endlich kommt man zusammen. Gäbe es nicht noch weitere Probleme wäre die Geschichte bald zu ende.
    Dieses Buch zählt zu meinen Lieblingen, denn nichts ist so, wie man vielleicht am Anfang erwarten würde.
    Happy End und ein Wiedersehen mit einem Paar aus einem anderen Buch von Cardeno C. gibt es noch oben drauf!
    Klare Leseempfehlung!
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  • Liash
    4.0 out of 5 stars An amazing story - however it was let down by the lack of closure at the end
    Reviewed in Australia on January 25, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This was a fantastic read - until the end, which let the book down. I wanted to give it 5 stars, but the ending was that much of a letdown that it ruined it and made me drop a star. I honestly considered a 3 star rating it frustrated and annoyed me that much! Let start at the beginning though:

    The worldbuilding was fantastic - this is my first book by this author in this world, and I'm not 100% sure what the reading order is between the different series', but the worldbuilding was done in a way that allowed this book to stand on it's own. I love the concept of the shifter pairs and the need to tie in order for the male shifter's wolf to calm, and the female's wolf to be let out. The physical world was well described and the shifters' love of nature and need to be in the woods shone through.

    Character development was very well done - we get great character depth, and the alternating POV give us great insight into both Jonah and Zev's thoughts, fears, feelings and dreams. The secondary characters were also well developed, and complemented our MCs well.

    The storyline was intriguing and unique - I've read shifter books and I've read MM, but this is my first shifter MM and I feel its really set the bar high for any future reads. I loved how Zev and Jonah met, and how both were drawn to the other without knowing why. I also really liked that Jonah was a strong and confident person, he didn't need help or protection from Zev, but still accepted it when Zev offered - and also that Zev offered and explained why he was stepping rather than just taking control and undermining Jonah. Jonah's background and the mystery of his ancestry were revealed in a way that was both easy to figure out, but also had a few twists that were revealed closer to the end which kept me intrigued and guessing.

    From the prologue I had expected that Zev hadn't seen Jonah in years, but was very glad that wasn't the case. This wasn't a story about Zev pining away hoping Jonah would return, the story starts when they are barely 1yr old and builds from there, showing the depth of their connection and bond, and when Jonah heads off to college, Zev has just realised that Jonah is his true mate and they embark on a long distance relationship. It's not easy being away from your mate though, especially for the length of time they are due to Jonah's medical studies and then residency, coupled with Zev's need to stay with the pack and take over from his father. They both suffer emotional and physical withdrawals from being away from their mate, and to top it off, Zev has to deal with his family pushing him to tie with a female, not believing him when he says he knows his true mate is out there waiting for him, or that he is gay despite him having come out to them over a decade ago.

    There are a lot of themes raised in this story, one of the biggest being the acceptance of the strongest Alpha known to the packs as gay and expecting a male mate. His family can't understand what they've never seen before, and Zev has a plan on how to prove it to his family, but Jonah needs to have finished his residency and moved back for them to do that due to the impact of the mate bond.

    This leads me to the ending - after the issue with Zev being gay, and also being the strongest Alpha they've ever seen, taking a very predominant place throughout the story, this was never closed out! The story ends with only his father, sister and brother-in-law knowing about their bond - the rest of their extended family and the pack don't know as that reveal never occurs! Don't get me wrong, it was lovely that it ends with them happy and talking about their future, but given how controversial Zev taking a male mate seemed to be, that was never closed out, nor was Jonah's place in the pack either. I know there are other books in this series, but from reading their blurbs, none of them seem to be about these characters or this pack - so for all intents and purposes this is a standalone that wasn't closed out - the main theme was left unresolved! It wouldn't have taken much to write another chapter about it, or even an epilogue further down the track that closed it out, or even just said they were still working to convince everyone that this was best for the pack. Everything else that Zev had done to break tradition in his pack had a huge benefit and the pack was better for it emotionally as well as financially - I wanted to see them become even more progressive and accept Zev and Jonah. I felt this was a major let down, and ruined what had been an amazing story with that lack of closure.
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