In Your Eyes

Mates Collection

By: Cardeno C.

Narrated by: Charlie David

Two very different men with a tumultuous history must overcome challenges from all sides and see past their society's rules to realize they are destined for one another.

Raised to become alpha of the Yafenack pack, Samuel Goodwin dedicates his life to studying shifter laws, strengthening his body, and learning from his father. But despite his best efforts, Samuel can't relate to people, including those he's supposed to lead.

When Samuel meets Korban Keller, the son of a neighboring pack's alpha, he reacts with emotion instead of intellect for the first time in his life. Resenting the other shifter for throwing him off-balance, Samuel first tries to intimidate Korban and then desperately avoids him. What he can't do is forget Korban's warm eyes, easy smile, and happy personality.

When a battle between their fathers ends tragically, Samuel struggles to lead his pack while Korban works to break through Samuel's emotional barriers.

©2014 Cardeno C. (P)2015 Cardeno C.

really great story. awesome narration.

I really liked the story and the character building was wonderful. Can't wait for the next book.

LOVE the narration!

Any additional comments?

This is what you get when you put together a story I already love with a narrator I love.

Samuel Goodwin and Korban Keller are both the prospective Alphas of their respective shifter packs and they meet initially at an interpack council meeting when Samuel is eight and Korban is eleven.

Told entirely through Samuel’s perspective, he's initially distrusting and suspicious of Korban and how bright, sunny, smiling, and seemingly carefree he is. Duty and responsibility is very important to Samuel. He takes his prospective Alpha status very seriously. Samuel desperately needs order, control, facts and rules to function.

QUOTE
My father said people shied away from me because I was strong and they knew I’d be Alpha one day. He said that meant I needed to make the effort to approach them instead of waiting for them to approach me. Apparently he didn’t realize I wasn’t waiting for them and I had good reasons.

As the boys continue to meet at different points in their lives at different interpack council meetings Samuel becomes more frustrated because he can’t figure out what it is about Korban. Spoiler: Korban is his True Mate! Samuel finds it strange that he has “feelings” for Korban, because Samuel doesn’t really have feelings per se, he relies solely on intellect and is a complete over thinker. He doesn’t know how to go with his gut, no matter how hard his father tries to teach him. He constantly studies oh-so diligently, reading all the old lore and shifter laws and runs and shifts to make himself into the strongest wolf he can be.

QUOTE
I was more a brain man than a gut man, always had been. When my father used to ask me what my gut said, I always wondered what he meant.
“How do you feel, Samuel?” he’d say. “Not what do you think up here.” He’d tap his head. “What do you feel down here?” He’d pat his belly. “Go with your gut.”
All those years and I never understood, but suddenly, I thought maybe I did. Maybe that feeling in my belly telling me to keep trying, telling me there was something I was missing, telling me to look harder, maybe that was my gut.

So, it doesn't really come as a real surprise that Samuel doesn’t have friends, or share normal pack intimacies, and that he’s completely awkward and socially backward, often saying the wrong thing and not knowing how to interact with others. Which is the absolute opposite from Korban in every way possible. (Personally, I think Samuel is definitely on the spectrum; from his mannerisms, to his thought processes I would lay a bet for high-functioning autism.)

QUOTE
“I like order. When things aren’t where they’re supposed to be, I can’t focus on anything else,” I explained, hoping that wouldn’t make me sound as rigid as I probably was. I didn’t want Korban to be worried about living with me.


I love the UST in this story. I love Samuel's father and I absolutely love Korban! The story takes a while for the guys to get together, but once they do, it's full steam ahead!

I won't lie to you - the first 40% or so of this story is a bit hard to take because Samuel isn't the most likeable of characters. It's juxtaposed with how he is once he is able to tie with his other half. In true Cardeno fashion once our two mates actually connect and get together they are each other's rock and strike a perfect balance. Truly two halves of a whole. It takes a while to get there, but once it does, Cardeno doesn't disappoint - the smexy times are awesome and abundant (thank heavens!).

I love visiting this world Cardeno has built and Charlie David brings to life through his absolutely wonderful narration.

RECOMMENDED!

Just Your Average Shifter True Mate Story

just your average shifter true mate story in typical M/M fashion. In Your Eyes is nice if you like mates, sex and happily-ever-afters.

Fantastic!!!

What made the experience of listening to In Your Eyes the most enjoyable?

The narration was so perfect! I loved this book from the start, but Charlie David's voice elevated the experience for me. I've said it before, but really, he has a way with transmitting emotions through his voice that is unparalleled for me. The different tones and voices just take an already great story and turned it in extraordinary.

What did you like best about this story?

Samuel and Korban are members of different wolf shifter's packs, each of them destined to become Alpha of their own packs.

Samuel is more in touch with his wolf than Korban, and he's a bit of a scholar, preferring to submerge himself in his studies than to play, intent on being the best Alpha he can be, despite his father always reminding him that he needs to feel more empathy for their pack members. He's confused by his reactions to being near Korban and stays as far away from him as he can. Until something happens to bring them together and having to change his views in just about everything he'd held as truth all his life.

Korban is sweet, and more in touch with his feelings than Samuel, so he had realized the truth beforehand. It takes a tragedy for them to be able to work through some of their issues, but there's more than that getting in their way.

I loved this story! Both Korban and Samuel are loveable in their own right and together they are dynamite, so damn hot! I really liked the take on the feuding packs, it was different, and I enjoyed how Cardeno C. wove such an interesting story line with the romance and the conflict Samuel felt at his attraction for Korban.

Charlie David has the SEXIEST VOICE!

I don't care what he's reading, it can be a death certificate and that voice can still melt my panties off.

Enjoyed this one

What made the experience of listening to In Your Eyes the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed the narrator's version of this. Charlie David did a fantastic job.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed that although it was a shifter book, it didn't portray it only from that aspect.

What about Charlie David’s performance did you like?

His voice modulation was well done, and great pronounciation.

Probably my favorite in the series

Samuel is the presumptive Alpha of his pack, and trains for it diligently every day of his young life. He’s socially awkward, has a hard time relating to “feelings”, very smart and dedicated to his future position. When he meets Korban he just “knows” something is “off” about him and thus begins their love/hate relationship.

Korban is the presumptive Alpha for a neighboring pack and he’s bright, shiny and friendly. All things that make Samuel nervous. But Korban only wants to spend time with Samuel… for some reason.

When Samuel is forced to take over his pack earlier than he thought he ends up making several bad choices. One ends up putting Korban in his hands as a blood tribute – slated to be killed. But something in Korban calls to Samuel and he can’t go through with the killing. In fact… he ends up mating with Korban because he can’t deny his wolf’s longing any more.

Luckily, Korban has things all figured out and together they work through their conflicts and end up with a very, very HEA.

**

I loved this book! Loved it! Samuel is so clueless and earnest! I just love how Korban has to gently urge him into understanding their situation. It’s so sweet!

The whole shifter lore and True Mates thing always pushes my buttons. Nothing like a growled “mine!” to make my heart flutter. Because Samuel spends a lot of time in his wolf form there is a lot of their animal characteristics in this book – which is another thing I love.

Audio
Charlie David has done this entire series – which is amazing! I love how he tells the story and I adore his deep voices and have to fan myself when he does the romantic scenes. He’s an amazing narrator and combined with this amazing story I give it 6 of 5 stars! Fantastic!

It's okay.

Some issues with the MC, he is so "intelligent" but forgets one of the most commonly known lores about ties until his father mentions it? Never find out what happens with the other pack at the end. And I love a dirt book but there was a LOT of sex at the end, like they were trying to make up for the lack of it in the first half. It was eh, first one was better.

Stubborn mate

This book I think was the hardest for me to listen to. Don't get me wrong it was a great story but it was a bit angsty for me. Stupid Samuel is lucky he gets such a kind and patient mate. There were a few times I wanted to punch Samuel. Korban really made the story for me.

The importance of seeing with your heart's eyes.

I love how the books in this series are played out. Following the two MCs from childhood, through all the significant moments in their lives and then to their final HEA.
Samuel and korban are both prospective Alphas of neighbouring packs and have known each other since childhood.
Bot, while Korban has immediately recognized Samuel as his true mate, such a concept is so foreign to Samuel, who seems to be incapable of feeling with his guts and only focused on learning with his brain, that he doesn’t recognize Korban as his mate until external, dramatic circumstances force him to.
Reading about Samuel was pretty frustrating at times: he’s so prickly and stubborn. But it all changes when he finally completes the mating bond with Korban. Then you really understand what it means that two true mates are half of the same soul and are meant to bring out the best in each other!