Home Again

By: Cardeno C.

Narrated by: Alexander Collins

Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

Imposing, temperamental Noah Forman wakes up in a hospital and can't remember how he got there. He holds it together, taking comfort in the fact that the man he has loved since childhood is on the way. But when his one and only finally arrives, Noah is horrified to discover that he doesn't remember anything from the past three years.

Loyal, serious Clark Lehman built a life around the person who insisted from their first meeting that they were meant to be together. Now, years later, two men whose love has never faltered must relive their most treasured and most painful moments in order to recover lost memories and secure their future.

©2013 Cardeno C. (P)2016 Cardeno C.

It's a kind of magic...

Any additional comments?

There's some kind of magic to Cardeno C.'s stories. With every re-read I find a new angle, or a new understanding of the story, which makes it all fresh and new.

The story spans from 1996 to January, 2011 and grabbed me from the first page. This romance takes the reader on a journey along with the characters from the first moment Noah and Clark meet, what they go through to be with one another, to the moment it all went wrong, and how they make their way back to one another. There's a lot of sex, a lot of growly "MINE!", and a lot of love.

There's a moment in the story, I'm not going to give it away, when I felt like killing Noah. I couldn't believe his reasoning for such stupidity. Then Clark not only forgives him, but he APOLOGIZES. I. Lose. My. Mind. Seriously - lose it every time...screaming, wanting to grab up Clark and shake him and then punt Noah right in the 'nads and make him grovel and crawl.

THIS. This is what Cardeno's writing does to me. It drags me in and makes me think these characters are real. It sucks me down every time, and every time I find something new to appreciate about it.

I love Alexander Collins' narration of this series. Collins purring out "Angel" to Clark is endearing, and hearing him growl out Noah's possessiveness of Clark is just hot. The audio is a great way to experience this story. If you are looking for a romance with great narration, charismatic characters, lots of mind-meltingly hot sex, and a lot of emotion - make sure to grab this up.

Recommended!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

"Always have been. Always will be."

Any additional comments?

This story turned out to be a bit unique, somewhat gruff, and incredibly sweet.

I definitely need a story for Noah's brother now. Good entertaining listen.

Couple points to make boys and girls:

1. If your partner who you no longer wear condoms with cheats on you,
DO NOT APOLOGIZE for that crap! I don't care if you feel you didn't do enough to ensure
their sexual needs weren't being met by YOU. It's call COMMUNICATION!!!! If your
partner chose to cheat rather than talk to you, IT'S THEIR FAULT!!!!!! PERIOD! You
deserve better and you're worth not being cheated on!!!!!!!

2. People who have an issue with you because of the color of your skin, sexual orientation,
etc., are NOT GOOD PEOPLE! No matter how you try and make them good in your
mind, someone who shows that type of hate are NOT GOOD PEOPLE!!!!! PERIOD!!!!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

After just a moment...

It took a little while to readjust the voices in my head from reading the story so many times to hearing it in the narrator's voice, which didn't fit the characters as I'd heard them. But the voices grew on me, and I loved the range of tones and cadences the narrator used to make each one distinct. And, as always, Noah and Clark are one of my favorite feel good couple stories to enjoy!

Home is were the heart is

The story of Clark and Noah when it gets to a certain point seems to flow very easy, however the back story while important I wish it had a nicer flow especially telling the younger days of Noah, who by the description of the way they met, seems very good odd. Given Noah is suppose to be 13 at the times, also later when we find out why Noah and Clark are separated I understand the fight they had I don’t understand Clark wanting to take full responsibility. I mean by the time u get to the end it’s a nice ending just the journey to get there and to truly understand Noah is a ride.

Engaging and intriguing!

This book is a bit angstier than the rest of the Home series, but it was balanced with impeccable writing, a lot of sweetness and the smoking hot chemistry between Noah and Clark.

The storyline is engaging and intriguing. I've read other books in which one of the characters suffers from amnesia, but even if it's not an original concept, it was a compelling one and I loved that Cardeno C. gave it a neat twist in the sense of Noah and Clark having been estranged at the time of Noah's accident and after several years finding their way back to one another. It was a story that focuses on having a second chance at happiness, about a love that is strong enough to overcome almost any hurdle that life threw at them and about two men that will do just about anything for each other.

The narration was great. Alexander Collins has been doing a great job with the Home series. His tone is pleasant and he always does a pretty good job with all the different characters that appear in the book, be it male or female. And really, you can't go wrong with how he reads some of the very hot scenes Cardeno C. is so good at writing!

Rating: Story: 4.5 Stars
Performance: 4.5 Stars

Love!

I love anything written by Cardeno C. My favorite, is this story between Noah and Clarke. The love between these two started the furst time they met and withstood all the drama surrounding them. This is true love. This is what a relationship is supposed to be. Even with Noah's cheating, these men hold on to their love for each other. Cheating is not good and can be a deal breaker, but the MC's held on a fought to get back to whete they were. This is life. This is love at its' best. I llike to see lovers fighting for each other without throwing blows. It is plain to see that Noah's cheating was not reallt about Clarke but about Noah being in his head. Great story. Really true to life and realistic. AND these guys were HOT!

Not worth it

This book has the worst narrator. He has a weird cadence and draws out words in weird places and his inflection doesn't sound natural. Had to turn it off.

Home Again-Emotional and Angsty

The Home series is a favorite of mine, primarily due to the strong underlying theme of destined couples. Home Again is a perfect example of this, with a large dash of angst and uncertainty thrown in due to Noah's accident and resulting loss of memory.

I'm not normally a fan of stories that flip back and forth from present to past, but in the context of this story this works well as each flip to the past helps build memories of Noah and Clark as the meet and fall for each other. Those memories are doled out slowly while we see the two men interacting present-day as Noah and Clark are together again...and it's that "again" aspect that provides the uncertainty as readers know there is more to the story, though we're not sure what happened until near the end.

Clark has always had a protective, caring streak for Noah right from the moment the two meet when Clark is 17 and Noah is 13. This continues to build over time, and is still evident when Clark comes to Noah in the hospital-even though it is quite clear to the reader that their relationship is not at the place Noah thinks it is when he finally awakens after the accident. The unsure feelings this provoked in me had me totally drawn in to the story as I was desperate to know what the REAL story between the two of them is present day.

While I wasn't too thrilled with what Noah had done 3 years prior (the part he doesn't remember until near the end), the final resolution made up for it...mostly. It still made me want to slap him silly for the reasoning behind what he did (sorry, can't tell you more as it would spoil it for you). Suffice it to say that this did cause me to remove a full star from my rating-which says a lot since this was a 4-star read for me.

For the narration, Alexander Collins does a terrific job at voicing the characters, and the warm tone of his voice made the story soothing to listen to for the majority of the story.

I'd recommend this story to M/M romance fans 18+ for adult language and M/M sexual content.

Fantastic story

Would you consider the audio edition of Home Again to be better than the print version?

I wouldn't say that it's better just different. I love being able to hear the emotions in Noah and Clark's voices in the audio.

What did you like best about this story?

How Clark wouldn't give up on Noah and did everything he could to bring back Noah's memory of their love and lives together.

Have you listened to any of Alexander Collins’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Just as amazing as any other.

Who was the most memorable character of Home Again and why?

Clark because he believed in his ability to bring Noah back to him.

Any additional comments?

Another great story by one of my favourite M/M authors.

Great addition to the series

Told in a series of flashbacks, shifting from Noah to Clark’s perspectives, this is the story of both how Noah and Clark first met and then how they got back together after a very major misunderstanding.
Noah was a troubled teen-ager when he first met Clark, but from that moment on, he knew he was meant to be with Clark.
Clark didn’t formally identify as gay but leaned that way after meeting Noah. Clark makes Noah wait til he’s 18 before starting anything up with him, but from that moment forward there is nobody for the other. Until…
When we meet Noah and Clark in the present it is after a car wreck that leaves Noah in the hospital with amnesia, unable to remember the last 3 years. Clark knows why he’s forgotten those years.
Fortunately, after they air out all their secrets, the two childhood lovers re-connect and we get a very satisfying HEA.
**
This is the beginning of Cardeno’s Home series and in it we meet many of the series’ MCs. This is one of the very first m/m books I ever read and I have since read/listened to it many, many times. It is VERY sentimental and VERY sweet. There are some who may think it overly so, but not me!
I adore how frank and open Noah and Clark are with one another and how touching their re-union is. I love when Clark finally “calls a spade a spade” and calls out Noah’s needs to him plainly. I also respect how, though it may seem silly, the big misunderstanding is actually kind of justified if you look at it from both of their perspectives.
We get some background on Ben, Noah’s brother, who has his own book later on in the series, as well as meeting Aaron, Zach, Caleb, Eli and Seth.
The sex is plentiful and hot. The emotions are high and sweet. The “I love yous” plentiful.
This story (and the whole series) is a warm blanket on a cold day and definitely gives you the feeling of coming home after a long trip away.
(The bonus material is very cute as well, and helps to wrap up this, and each of the other stories so nicely!)
I highly recommend it and give it 4.5 of 5 stars
Overall Impression:

4.5 stars – I loved it

Audio:
This is the second time this has been an audiobook, and Jeff Gelder did the first narration. Alexander Collins has been re-doing the entire collection and I think he does a tremendous job with all his work. He always adds in variations to his voice to make the person feel like they are part of the story – for example muffling his voice when it calls for it, changing it up for phone calls, really adding in the emotion when someone is upset, etc. I love his version of Noah, he makes him really rough and growly while not making Clark sound like a limpet. I really love this story and this narration only added to my overall enjoyment.
(With this narration we get the bonus chapter too, which is awesome!)

4.5 of 5 stars

Overall 4.5 of 5 stars highly recommended

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Emotional 'coming home' story of love.

Would you consider the audio edition of Home Again to be better than the print version?

Alexander Collins' narration has made a book I thoroughly enjoyed even more special. His characterisation was heartfelt and in line with the men I had seen in my mind's eye as I read the original.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Home Again?

When Noah graduates high school and comes home to Clarke. Clarke hasn't seen the grown up version of the boy he fell in love with and the emotional connection and sexy fulfilment of the longing is so moving!

What does Alexander Collins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

As the book moves from past to present repeatedly, the narration actually made this transition more smooth. It can be a difficult writing style to follow and Cardeno C does it with great skill, and Collins delivers a seamless but easy to follow narration.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Clarke rescued Noah from the drug fuelled party house and Noah curls up on him and surrenders to Clarke's care, I cried.

Any additional comments?

A superb, not to be missed coming of age and 'finding home' love story.