Love at First Sight

Home Collection, Book 4

By: Cardeno C.

Narrated by: Alexander Collins

Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The moment naïve, optimistic Jonathan Doyle glimpses a gorgeous blue-eyed stranger from afar, he believes in love at first sight. Unfortunately, he loses sight of the man before they meet and then spends years desperately trying to find him. Just as he is about to give up, Jonathan gets a break and finally encounters David Miller face to face.

Successful, confident David turns Jonathan's previously lonely life into a fairy tale, giving him more than he ever imagined. But the years spent searching were hard on Jonathan, and he's terrified his young son and scandalous past will destroy his blossoming relationship. For David and Jonathan to build a future together, they'll both have to dig deep: David for the courage to share himself in a way he's never considered and Jonathan for the strength to tell the truth.

©2013 Cardeno C. (P)2016 Cardeno C.

Liked the original a bit better...

Jonathan sees David across the hallway in a hospital one day and falls immediately in love. Jonathan doesn’t know his name, but he somehow knows he’ll find him again one day even though he has to move to New York, NY to try to find him.
In the meantime, Jonathan gets his high-school bff pregnant and ends up offering to raise the child alone. Scared and on the brink of parenthood, he takes a job doing porn to make money and because he doesn’t know what else to do with himself.
Luckily, Jake (from Where He Ends And I Begin) helps him to see that there is a better life out there for him and helps him leave the industry.
Eventually, Jonathan gives up on finding his blue-eyed love and moves back to Emile City to be near his family.
Serendipitously, Jonathan runs into David in Emile City! David is immediately attracted to the shy, beautiful boy and they go home together for a night of passion.
Though Jonathan is scared that David will shun him because of his son and his career past, he grabs the opportunity to be with David for however long it will last.
David, who has never been able to commit before, is ready to do anything to keep Jonathan by his side and is in no way put off by his son.
Together, David and Jonathan begin to build a life together, only to be shaken up when a jealous-would-be-lover shows David some of Jonathan’s porn.
**
As always, Cardeno C has given us a beautiful, if somewhat unrealistic love story. It is full of really, really hot sex. Lots and lots and lots of “I love yous”. Glimpses of the people from earlier and later books in the series. And a brief, but tense potential disaster in the form of an old career in porn.
I loved Jonathan as a character because he is a delightful mix of doe-eyed innocence and dirty-porn star mixed in with a doting father and loyal son. David is a clueless, muscle-bound softie who knows a gem when he meets him.
Though this isn’t my favorite in the series, I really enjoyed it and have read/listened to it many, many times.
Audio
Alexander Collins has re-done this audiobook, as he’s done with the others in the series. Paul Morey had done the original and he did a really excellent job (especially with David and Frank) but I think Alexander did a pretty good job as well. I think that either narrator is easy to listen to and that Paul gave David a better growly, alpha voice, but Alexander did a better job with the other characters who play a role in the series later on. Either way it’s all good!
I still love this in book or audio format and would highly recommend it anyway you can get it!
Overall Impression:
4.25 of 5 stars

love love LOVED this!

Any additional comments?

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian I Dig Good Books.

I've decided, going forward, I'm not writing a blurby bit in my reviews, I'm just going to jump straight in.

I've had a few of CC's books recently that didn't quite work for me. Not so here.

Jonathon sees, and falls in love with David on a trip to New York. Love at first sight?? certainly for Jonathon. What follows for several years is a massive life changing trip to stay in New York to find David. In New York. With no name or anything. Totally do-able?? nah! Jonathon finds himself in a mess, and then a daddy, and returns home. ONLY to find the love of his life, right there on his doorstep! Oh its a beauty of a meeting, it really is! And then, boom! David is struck by that same bolt of lightening, and also falls in love at first sight, although its a little while before he admits it.

Jonathon is just a sweetie, and David, so much more so. He loved Jonathon, unconditionally, and when he discovered what Jonathon had been upto in New York?? OH, just, OH. Everyone should have a David, they really should. And that David took Samuel on as well, without hesitation? Some straight guys should take heed.

Following a tried and tested plan by Cardeno, no major breaks ups and make ups, but an added extra chapter since the original was released. Loving these extra bits, and they just all finish off each other.

A beautiful story, it really is.

This is a book in The Home Series, revamped, and with extra scenes and bonus chapters. There is no need to read them in order, all the time lines overlap, and all the characters pop up at some point or other in the books, and its nice to catch up with them at later or even earlier points on their journeys. I love that. I really do.

5 full stars.

**AUDIO REVIEW**

*insert whining!* I'm so very sorry!! I tried, so hard to like Alexander Collins' narration of The Home Collection, I really REALLY did. But I just can't and I've no idea why!!

I do much prefer his narration of the third person narrative books to the first person, so that's good, cos THIS one is third person. His voices for Jonathan and David are almost perfect to what I heard when reading it.

There's just something about his reading voice that I didn't like and I can't pinpoint exactly what, and you all know how that pains me!! So, this review is short, and sorry.

5 stars for the book
3 for the narration
4 overall.

**same worded review appears on Goodreads, Audible.com, Amazon.com, and Amazon.co.uk, Barnes and Noble and Kobo**

Another Hit

Jonathan believes in love at first sight, especially after seeing a stunning blue eyed man. Boy does David get his heart thumping, but just as fast as he finds him he loses him. So Jonathan sets off on a quest to find his soul mate, spending years looking. He ends up doing something he never thought he would do in his life and ends up in a pretty bad situation. Just when he's finally ready to give up his search and head home he finds David! Now that's he's found David can he keep him? If he tells him about the best and worst of him will David stay or will Jonathan lose the man he fell in love with at first sight?
I really enjoyed this book and the narrator did a wonderful job, I fell in love at first listen. As usual Cardeno made the characters sweet and love able and I really enjoy how all the stories tie together
Independent reviewer for Romance Authors That Rock.

3 sweet stars!

I listened to this audio book. The narrator, Alexander Collins, has narrated several of Cardeno C.'s audiobooks and I do like his style.

Love at First Sight was difficult for me to get into. The beginning had several parts that made me want to shake Jonathan and slap some sense into him. I wish Jonathan had a bit more of a spine.

Here's the premise: Jonathan sees David through a window. He falls instantly in love with him. But the "blue eyed man" slips through his fingers. Jonathan Moves to New York determined to find him.

After 3 years he gives up and moves back home. And he finds him.

And David, taking one look at Jonathan, falls pretty much instantly in love with Jonathan.

I admit, I was expecting David to react quite a bit differently to Jonathan's past, but this couple is pretty sweet together. They have scorching hot chemistry - I mean HOT!!

While not very realistic, this book was entertaining. I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than I enjoyed the first half of the book.

Sweet and Fluffy

Any additional comments?

I love Alexander Collins' narration of this series. He does a great job with the narration making Jonathan's naïveté sweet and David's possessiveness super hot. I really enjoyed the pacing and his character voices.

This love at first sight romance has great narration, likable characters, hot sex, humor, and lots of wonderful feels.

A sexy read and an even sexier audiobook!

*** Audiobook provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***

When Jonathan was eighteen he saw a man with navy blue eyes from afar while in NYC and fell in love at first sight. After graduating he moved to New York in the hopes of finding him, to no avail. Lost in despair and feeling lonely he loses his way for a little bit. Three years later he moves back Emile City with his parents and his son, Samuel, only to find there the man he's been looking for for so long.

David has never wanted to be in a relationship. Sure, he has what his friends call monogamous several-month-stands, but no feelings come into the mix, at least not for him. All that changes when he meets Jonathan, to whom he is drawn irresistibly.

Jonathan has some secrets that might put their relationship in danger, or won't they?

This story was very sweet and I believe that it is one of Cardeno C.'s hottest books. The chemistry between David and Jonathan and the irresistible pull they feel for one another is almost palpable. I just adored Jonathan, he was such a sweetheart and just what David needed at that time of his life. And David might have been a jerk before, but he just melted when he was close to Jonathan. Samuel was adorable as well and I absolutely adored him. And of course, seeing all the other Home Series characters is always a pleasure!

All in all, a very sexy read and even sexier audiobook! Alexander Collins did a very good job with the narration. The beginning of the book felt a bit monotonous because there was a lot of description, but once the story started to move along it was much better. It was very entertaining and hot and amazing all around! Definitely recommendable!

Rating: 4.5 Stars!

Nice continuation

I really loved that the "conflict" was addressed right away and no one flew off the handle and that David waited to hear everything from the source. It's a little far-fetched but just go with it I loved the family characters made it a little more fun. Narration is done well.

Another CC winner with Alexander Collins' voice

Any additional comments?

Once again, the Home Series by Cardeno C has found a way to capture my heart with another story about how life goes awry, but there is that one person who helps make it all better. Jonathan was such a sweet man who honestly wanted nothing more than to be loved. He didn't have grand expectations of ruling the world. He wanted to be loved completely by the navy blue eyed man, from the moment he saw him. Surviving the intervening years was a challenge for him, one that is only slightly discussed in the book, until he meets back up with David in Emile City, holding back his secrets.

Meanwhile, David was living his life with short relationships where the most random things would cause a breakup, because he hadn't found what he was looking for. When they finally found each other, they clicked. They just worked together, even having different lives and goals, they worked as a couple. Their focus was on each other, and of course Samuel, and quickly finding a life together.

Alexander Collins, as always, does a great job of narrating. Because so many of the books in this series I have only read through Alexander Collins' narration, his voice is now synonymous to the Home Collection for me. I'm not sure I would read them again, because I have enjoyed his narration so much.

It's insta-love, but it's still wonderful!

I'm not normally a fan of insta-love in a book simply because I think it's not really something you find in the real world...at least not that will last in a relationship. But Love At First Sight-a story that is the classic example of insta-love-is one of my few exceptions. The whole reason why? The characters.

Jonathan is quite possibly one of my favorite Cardeno C. characters. He is so innocent and naïve that I felt like he needed someone to act as his protector-a role that David so perfectly fills. Jonathan is too easily taken advantage of by both friends and strangers. He is instantly taken with David when he first sees him, and spends many years trying to find his beautiful blue-eyed stranger before finding him again. David doesn't see Jonathan that first time, but when he finally does (while coming to Jonathan's defense), he is immediately enamored with him as well.

The chemistry between the two is immediate and explosive, and even though they've just met in person for the first time everything between them actually feels quite realistic and natural. Yes, even though it's insta-love. Watching as the two of them come together and their lives become instantly entwined is enthralling...and all with the secrets of Jonathan's past still dangling out there. David is so accepting of everything about Jonathan that the two of them just snap right together like matching puzzle pieces.

I think David's character went through the most growth in this story as he comes to accept Jonathan's son and his past. Jonathan is who he is, sweet and shy and blundering but so full of love for the one man he instantly fell for. He really doesn't change much at all, instead just adjusts his life to fully include David right from the moment they come together. And honestly? I loved Jonathan just as he was...and really enjoyed watching David's character evolve to the point where he was comfortable with his new roles in both Jonathan and his son's lives.

Love At First Sight was a 4.5-star read for me, and I loved seeing characters from the other Home series books in this story--it really makes the series as a whole even more enjoyable to read when we get to see them from other characters' points of view. I'll be honest here-if you hate insta-love stories, you will probably have the same feeling about this book. But remember-I feel the same way about them, but I loved this book purely due to the wonderful characters and how they interact with each other as their relationship evolves. I highly recommend both this book and the series, if you are a fan of M/M romance this belongs in your library! It's for the 18+ crowd due to adult language and explicit M/M sexual content.

The audiobook...I really liked the way Alexander Collins brought this story to life. He does an excellent job voicing the individual characters, and his voice is naturally soothing to listen to. The narration is paced perfectly, and made for a listening to the story quite enjoyable...which for me is a surefire way to enhance my enjoyment of the book.

Very Enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this audio. The narration was spot on. The storyline probably my fave so far in this series. Kudos!