Dana reviews McFarland’s Farm (Hope Book 1) by Cardeno C. Blog tour with Giveaway.

McFarland’s Farm: Hope, Book 1

Length:2 hrs and 34 mins

UnabridgedAudiobook

Release Date:11-11-14

Blurb:

Wealthy, attractive Lucas Reika treats life like a party, moving from bar to bar and man to man. Thumbing his nose at his restaurateur father’s demand that he earn his keep, Lucas instead seduces a valued employee in the kitchen of their flagship restaurant, earning himself an ultimatum: lose access to his father’s money or stay in the middle of nowhere with a man he has secretly lusted over from afar.

Quiet, hard-working Jared McFarland loves his farm on the outskirts of Hope, Arizona, but he aches to have someone to come home to at the end of the day. Jared agrees to take in his longtime crush as a favor. But when Lucas invades his heart in addition to his space, Jared has to decide how much of himself he’s willing to risk and figure out if he can offer Lucas enough to keep him after his father’s punishment is over.

Sample: https://soundcloud.com/mbowman7/mcfarlands-farm-by-cardeo-c-audio-sample

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzWf6FzmByk

Buy links: Audible, (ebook – Amazon | B&N | ARe)

My review:

Narration – I’ve listened to many books narrated by Paul Morey and find him to be a good narrator. He creates different vocal tones and accents for most of the characters. I can’t say that I know an Arizona accent, but I thought his drawl for Jared might have been a little too strong. Still it was well narrated without mistakes and a good amount of variety.

The story – For Lucas and Jared this story is a case of Beauty and the Beast with a twist. Lucas is a large man, physically scarred by an accident that happened in his teenage years. Jared is a beautiful, trim man, flawless in his looks. But Jared is also a man who didn’t receive a lot of attention during his formative years, his father much too busy with his business to actually raise him. It made him bristly, attention seeking, and somewhat selfish with money as his closest companion. Jared whose father was never in the picture and mother died in the same accident that disfigured him, was taken in by the town of hope and given work, a place to stay, and food. Though his situation growing up was dire, he was a beautiful man inside, due to his realization of human goodness. Both Lucas and Jared are attracted to each other, but have no expectation of acting on those feelings. until a moment where they see the physical evidence of each other’s desire.

For me this was a sweet romance, which is a specialty of Cardeno C. Outside of Jared’s need to find his own self worth, there is not a lot of angst. There were no questions left unanswered and as the attraction grew to love for the two men, Jared managed to make up with his father who sent him to Jared as punishment. His attitude after was improved and became even better when the two men gave in to their feelings. Another plus in the story was the character of Susan. As Jared’s sister and Lucas’s ex-wife, she is the tie between them and the reason for Jared’s banishment to Lucas’s farm. Even though things didn’t work out between her and Lucas, you could see the strong friendship between them that had to be the basis for their marriage in the first place. There was no bitterness from discovering Lucas was gay and that their relationship was not one that could last. She saw the best in both Lucas and Jared and ultimately played matchmaker for them along with her father.

It was a great story with a decent narration that I definitely recommend to any Cardeno C. fan, and any fan of m/m romance.

8/10 pots of gold

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.

Cardeno’s Home, Family, and Mates series have received awards from Love Romances and More Golden Roses, Rainbow Awards, the Goodreads M/M Romance Group, and various reviewers. But even more special to CC are heartfelt reactions from readers, like, “You bring joy and love and make it part of the every day.”

Website : https://www.cardenoc.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CardenoC/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CardenoC

Cafe Risqué ~ Shared Blog: http://caferisque.blogspot.com

Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/cardenoC/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+CardenocAuthor/posts

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcd9agMh5c_HQEPP9_CEhSA