The One Who Saves Me

Home, Book 6

By: Cardeno C.

Narrated by: Alexander Collins

At 14, Andrew Thompson and Caleb Lakes become best friends. As the years pass, they stand by each other through family trauma, school, and the start of their careers. They share their first sexual experiences, learning and experimenting, and they talk each other through countless dates and breakups.

Decades of trust and loyalty build a deep and abiding friendship, one that surpasses any relationship in their lives. But when the parameters of their unique friendship change, neither man knows how to break out of their established roles to build something new. After all, boyfriends come and go, but best friends are forever.

©2013 Cardeno C. (P)2016 Cardeno C.

Captivating!

If you could sum up The One Who Saves Me in three words, what would they be?

Emotional, light, different

Who was your favorite character and why?

Drew. I love all of his tattoos and piercing. He had a lot of emotional scars to work through.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Drew admitted his true feeling about Caleb.

Who was the most memorable character of The One Who Saves Me and why?

The One Who Saves Me

Any additional comments?

I had the audio version of this story. This story was so captivating. It was great! I fell in love with Drew and Caleb. This story had a lot into finding out about each other. I love how they knew each other since they was 8 and then reconnect with each other at 14. Been best friends since then. It was definitely a heart warming read. Can't wait to read Cardeno's next book. Would recommend this book to everyone.

This might be my favorite of the series

I love how the relationship played out from friends to lovers much like Where He Ends and I Begin it starts from a very young age and they remain friends throughout so much unlike the previous these to maintain a FWB kind of relationship for years and I like how this one was set up much better. It moves along at a nice pace with good narration.

Home series book 6

What did you love best about The One Who Saves Me?

The way that Caleb and Andrew are always there for each other regardless.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Drew with his piercings and tattoos. They are a form of battle scars in a way, marking every failed relationship or low point in his life.

What three words best describe Alexander Collins’s voice?

Emotional, light, different

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The One Who Saves Me.

Any additional comments?

Caleb Lakes and Andrew Thompson became best friends when they were barely teenagers, spending summers together at Andrew’s family’s vacation home. Over the years they developed a bond based on friendship and trust. As the years go by there is one constant in each man’s life, each other. They seriously re-define the term ‘friends with benefits’ and are a rock for each other through jobs, moves, break-ups and family drama. And then one look at a New Year’s party changes just one thing, their commitment to each other.

I first listened to this audio book about two years ago, the version that was narrated by Paul Morey. While the narration for this book wasn’t bad, it wasn’t Paul Morey, so I had a hard time giving Andrew Collins a chance. Once I let my perception shift, I was able to enjoy Collins narration. He does a good job with changes in tone and inflections from one character to another, and he really conveyed the emotions of the characters well.

The story is told almost like reading from a journal of Drew and Caleb’s lives. Spanning over more than a decade, the reader is taken on a journey through summer vacations, college, emotionally absent parents, boyfriends, break-ups and much, much more. The two of them continue to live their separate lives, but they always have time for each other. I think that Drew probably realized he wanted more from his relationship with Caleb before Caleb did, and that was fed into the story through the tattoos and piercings Drew got every time another guy bit the dust, because he couldn’t compare to Caleb. The passion and angst were palpable, but rarely was there awkwardness. In fact, when things did become awkward was when they finally figured out that the reason neither of them were lucky in love, was because their heart had been given away long ago.

What I enjoy about this series is that there is a connection between the books and characters, but not in a way that they must all be read or read in order. The story is sexy, emotional, occasionally intense but light-hearted when it needs to be. Definitely worth your time in my opinion.

Friends to Lovers-Caleb and Andrew belong together

I am a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope, and The One Who Saves Me is an excellent example of it. Caleb and Andrew meet as kids, then again as teens (where their story actually begins) and we get to follow them from the time they are fourteen every year for the next twenty years. Each year gives us a glimpse into their friendship as it grows and flourishes, and eventually as it turns experimental when they start exploring their sexuality. It continues with their unique and unconventional arrangement when it comes to sex and intimacy when they are not involved with other people, but that arrangement actually serves to further strengthen their bond and intricately weave their lives tighter and tighter together.

I loved both of their characters, and if asked to choose a favorite there's no way I could do so. Though both of them fully support each other, Andrew seems to need more support than Caleb with his truly bad luck with relationships, especially after having to endure what he experienced with his parents. Caleb is Andrew's rock through everything, just as Andrew is always there for Caleb as well. I actually grew a little impatient as the years progressed wanting them to just wise up to what they truly felt. Even their friends could see how they fit together.

We only get intimate scenes between Andrew and Caleb, never with any other partners either of them had throughout the years...and that is just fine with me--their sexual chemistry rockets clear off any chart I know, and those scenes are positively explosive.

Andrew's quirk of how he deals with his relationships as they each end is interesting, and when Caleb calls him out on it when they finally come together in the end shows just how well the two of them know each other...and how the only logical way for them to be is TOGETHER, not just being emotionally and physically supportive best friends apart. In the end when they finally realize and admit they only want each other, I was breathing a HUGE sigh of relief and thinking "FINALLY!"

The narration of the audiobook by Alexander Collins is done in such a soothing, consistent voice that it makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. He does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life and helping you feel as they feel with every emotion the characters experience. He also did a great job of giving all of the characters both main and supporting their own individual voices.

The One Who Saves Me was a 4.5-star read for me-if I wasn't so impatient for Andrew and Caleb to finally get together, I would have given it 5 stars. The audio was also 4.5 stars and was a really good performance. Recommended for those 18+ only due to adult language and explicit M/M sexual content.

One of my favorites...

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

This audiobook is one of my favorites for sure! Not only is the story trés hot, but I just adored listening to the different voices Alexander Collins came for the different characters. He managed to show us both the sizzling chemistry and the love that Andrew and Caleb felt for each other, and how perfect they were for one another even if it took them so long to realize it. Highly recommendable!

Rating: 5 Stars!!!