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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 1,009 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
    31 July 2015
  5. File size
    3.7 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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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 (31 July 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 1,009 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
1,009 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the characters and find the book engaging. They describe it as a great read with an interesting plot.

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Character developmentReadabilityStory quality
6 customers mention ‘Character development’6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the characters and their development. They hope to see more of them.

"...Steady pace, good plot, sexy characters." Read more

"...The characters are well developed with good support players. I look forward to catching up with the rest of this series." Read more

"...I loved the characters, and how they developed...." Read more

"...Loved the story, loved the characters hope we see more of them. Going to read the third one now. Definitely recommend this series" Read more

6 customers mention ‘Readability’6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it a great read and a must-read series.

"Just as good second time of reading. Loved these guys together and learning about their story. Steady pace, good plot, sexy characters." Read more

"...This is an excellent m/m, shifter book, it has the soul mate, angst and humour so it has it all. Thoroughly recommend reading this book." Read more

"I really enjoyed this book I was intrigued and rooting for Johan and Zev all the way. I love shifter book and when it’s done right it’s brilliant...." Read more

"...Not a bad read but not sure if ill remember it in a few days. Like the characters and the way the story unfolded just felt the ending was rushed." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Story quality’5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the stories and characters. They find the stories engaging and hope to see more of them. The book is described as a decent shifter romance with a steady pace.

"...Loved these guys together and learning about their story. Steady pace, good plot, sexy characters." Read more

"...The romance was stunning, I am quickly becoming obsessed with this author." Read more

"...Loved the story, loved the characters hope we see more of them. Going to read the third one now. Definitely recommend this series" Read more

"A fairly decent shifter Romance. Easy to read slow burner with the over top pack trouble towards the end...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Fiona
    5.0 out of 5 stars Steady burn MM paranormal romance
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 February 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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  • kindleaddict
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not just a love story
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 July 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I love the way this book spans the whole of Zev and Jonah's lives. The characters are well developed with good support players. I look forward to catching up with the rest of this series.
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  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars I'm a sucker for shifters.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I really liked this but I felt the last 20% was a super rush of plot that has been ignored. The romance was stunning, I am quickly becoming obsessed with this author.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent re read for me
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 March 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I read this before and loved it, it was one of the first shifter books I read and I fell in love with it. I loved the characters, and how they developed.

    This is an excellent m/m, shifter book, it has the soul mate, angst and humour so it has it all. Thoroughly recommend reading this book.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Ruthie T
    4.0 out of 5 stars Wake Me Up Inside
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 September 2015
    ~~I received a free copy of this book to read and review for a Wicked Reads~~

    An ever faithful C.Cardeno fan, I was delighted to get the opportunity to read these three new releases.

    I enjoy shifter stories, and those which buck a preconceived trend are usually even better. The relationship between these two best friends, which continues through a very long period as Jonah trains to be a doctor, is lovely to witness. I love the reveal, the acceptance and the promise of a great future. There is a great build up to what definitely could be described as a hot, chemistry laden romance. There is a wonderful twist, which I sort of guessed must somehow be the case, and it ties the pair firmly together. I highly recommend this lovely story to you - and the fact that we meet the main protagonists of the next book, is a great segue into that story.

    ~~Wicked Reads Review Team~~
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  • mapasa masila
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 August 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I really enjoyed this book I was intrigued and rooting for Johan and Zev all the way. I love shifter book and when it’s done right it’s brilliant. First of many reads from this author.
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  • Sandy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brill
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I read the second book first then this one but it didn't spoil them for a second. Loved the story, loved the characters hope we see more of them. Going to read the third one now. Definitely recommend this series
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  • Debbie Attenborough
    4.0 out of 5 stars great tale, and fab narrator
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 February 2014
    Will leave full review later, as listening to a book is different to reading it.
    what the blur says....Zev Hassick is surprised and confused when he finds himself attracted to his best friend. His very human, very male best friend. Zev is the son of the pack Alpha, regarded as the strongest wolf in generations, born to lead. And everyone knows a male shifter has to mate with a female of his own kind to keep his humanity. So shifters can't be gay, right?

    Jonah Marvel wants a relationship with Zev, his best friend, the man he has loved since childhood. It wasn’t easy to maintain that relationship over years spent living apart while Jonah studied to become a doctor. And then things grow more difficult when Jonah becomes his own patient. Before he can make a life with Zev, he has to understand his past and cure the unexplained ailments that plague him.

    Zev and Jonah know they’re destined for each other, but they’re facing traditions ingrained over generations and long-buried secrets that may threaten any future together.

    what I say.... this is my first audio book review, and as I listen to more, I may change the way I review them, but for now, i'll do them same as the real books.

    I really enjoyed this book. it tells of a love that spans a lifetime, quite literally, and the fact that Zev and Jonah wait for each other for so long. the story is told of their past, and how they came to love each other, how they managed apart for so long, and what happens when Jonah finally comes home to Zev. it tells of Jonah's past, that he knew nothing about, of Zev's pack's deep rooted prejudice against those who are "different" and the lengths some other packs will go to keep shifters and humans apart, devastating consequences. the plot moves along at a fair pace, with well rounded characters. the plot is slightly different to the normal shifter theme, with males being able to fully shift from birth but females only being able to shift are tying to their mate. there is a second book, which is a prequel to this book, and at some point I will get it.

    with regards to the narrator, after getting over the very American accent, I loved him and the way he told the tale was brilliant. the emotions were portrayed beautifully and I was totally engrossed, laughing out loud at some points, and "OH NO"-ing at others. some of it was the plot, and some the way the narrator came across.

    for me, a great introduction to audio books, and a great real book for those not into audios.
    Helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Susan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hot hot hot!
    Reviewed in Australia on 9 June 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 16 August 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 11 October 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 25 January 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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  • Tracy
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Poignant Emotional Journey
    Reviewed in the United States on 23 June 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Zev Hassik is running out of time. The Alpha of the Etzgadol wolf shifter pack is young for his position, but at thirty, he's lived far longer than any male shifter ever has without tying with a female. And it's slowly killing him. Well, killing his humanity anyway. It's the nature of the beast, so to speak. The females of his kind are necessary to keep the males balanced between man and wolf.

    That balance is quickly slipping from Zev's grasp. If he doesn't tie, he will soon no longer be able to reclaim his human form after a shift. He will be forever lost to the wild inside him.

    Despite his family's worried intervention and what they feel is his inevitable fate, Zev has no intention of tying with any female. First of all, he's gay, though his family refuses to acknowledge it. Shifters aren't supposed to be able to be gay. If it weren't for one very important thing, even Zev would worry that he was abnormal and flawed, but Zev knows something that he hasn't even told his family. He has a true mate. A male, human true mate.

    A gift beyond price and rare to the extreme, Zev has held strong against his very nature for the promise of that future bonding with the man who has been his best friend since they were children. Jonah Marvel has always been his, Zev has loved him for years, but he had to let Jonah go when they graduated high school. Jonah had to leave town to follow his dream of becoming a doctor and Zev had to stay to take over the pack.

    Twelve years have passed now, though, years of struggle with the agony of being separated from his true mate. And if Jonah doesn't return soon, even a shifter as powerful as Zev will lose the battle to conquer the wolf inside him.

    ~*~

    Stylistically unique and deeply emotional, the story of Zev and Jonah is told mostly through flashbacks of their lifelong history with each other and the friendship, then more, that bind these two amazing men together so tightly. It was more than a book, it was a sweeping emotional journey through time and across two very different cultures and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    I don't normally favor books that have a lot of flashback scenes, and the first seventy percent or so of this book is mostly flashbacks, but in this case, it totally worked. It did more than work. I don't think the book would have been nearly as emotionally intense if it hadn't provided such a deep and rich history for the characters' and their lives from their first meeting as children through every haunting moment of their time apart as they grew into adults.

    Those flashbacks were my favorite part of the story, and that's not something I ever expected to say. With touches of gut-clenching angst, gentle humor, and searing passion, the path of Zev and Jonah's romance is fraught with a myriad conflicts and hazards both internal and external that were woven together into a very powerful read.

    It wasn't flawless, though. Even as the story captivated my emotions and held me in tense anticipation of the culmination of their relationship, there were things that niggled my more analytical side. For all that the pain and misery that both men went through while they were apart made for a gripping story, and as amazed as I was by Zev's utter selflessness and patience with Jonah, I got a little frustrated that Zev kept him in the dark for so long.

    If Jonah had known why it was so important that Zev withhold some specific things, or had even the first inkling of the sacrifice Zev was making for him, it may have eased some of the burden on both of them. It certainly could have prevented the most painful moments of fear, doubt, and recrimination, and all the subsequent bad decisions. It's not like Zev wasn't going to have to tell him eventually anyway, so the fact that he didn't when it could have helped bugged me.

    The few threads of external conflict that cropped up in the present timeline were also a little underwhelming. Light on development and a bit awkward in places, I couldn't quite connect with the ancillary plot threads that related to Jonah's mother. They offered a chance at creating some three dimensional conflict in the adult lives of the characters, but the execution wasn't as successful as I'd hoped. It lacked the gravitas and emotional complexity that had been present in the flashback scenes, so it never felt like it added much to the story.

    Don't get me wrong, it didn't detract much, either. The rocky, emotional road to Happily Ever After for Zev and Jonah was really enough to keep me fully entertained and leave me pleased with the read. I'm looking forward to continuing with the series and hope that future books will include at least some mention of both of them. I fell a bit in love with the guys in this book, and I'm dying to see how their lives progress from here.

    ~*~*~*~
    Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
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