Until Forever Comes (Mates 2) by Cardeno C. at The Romance Authors
Genre | Gay / Paranormal / Shifters / Vampires / Erotic Romance |
Reviewed by | Christy Duke on 16-August-2015 |
Genre | Gay / Paranormal / Shifters / Vampires / Erotic Romance |
Reviewed by | Christy Duke on 16-August-2015 |
A sensitive wolf shifter and a vicious vampire challenge history, greed, and the very fabric of their beings in order to stay together until forever comes.
Plagued by pain and weakness all his life, Ethan Abbatt is a wolf shifter who can’t shift. Hoping to find an honorable death by joining his pack mates in a vampire attack, Ethan instead learns two things: draining his blood releases his pain and his wolf, and he has a true mate—a vampire named Miguel.
Over four centuries old, strong, powerful, and vicious, Miguel Rodriguez walks through life as a shadow, without happiness or affection. When a young shifter tells Miguel they're true mates, destined to be together, Miguel sends him away. But Ethan is persistent and being with him comes so naturally that Miguel can't resist for long. Their challenge is staying alive so they can be together until forever comes.
NOTE: This book was previously released by Dreamspinnr Press in May 2013.
Ever since I read 'Wake Me Up Inside', book one in the 'Mates' series by Cardeno C., I've been eagerly anticipating this next installment. Ethan and Miguel had intrigued me with the small glimpse I had of them in the first book so I was incredibly excited to read the story of their romance. I also had a pretty strong feeling the author was going to shake the story line up, and since I adore her writing, I was thrilled. 'Until Forever Comes' takes place several decades before the events of book one and they are set in two fictional Southern towns. Places where being gay was just not done. Ever.
Ethan is a wolf who has never shifted. At twenty most of the pack figure he's an abomination that would be better off dead as male wolves usually shift for the first time around ten years of age. Ethan is also the smallest male in the pack and the weakest, growing weaker every year. Fully understanding that he would die young, Ethan joins some of the other young males of the pack to hunt some vampires in town. The vampires hand the boys their heads and leave Ethan bleeding out. Not before he glimpses Miguel, the head vampire, so to speak. When Ethan wakes up the following morning, he has inexplicably shifted for the very first time.
After getting home, he can't stop thinking about Miguel and how good he smelled. Ethan heads back to town to find Miguel, and along the way he realizes his skin is feeling too stretched, the pain in his limbs is back, and he can't call his wolf again. Not until he bleeds out a little, at least. He finds Miguel and Ethan is intent on staying with him and convincing Miguel that they are true mates. This is not going to be an easy road. Shifters and vampires are mortal enemies, and shifter blood is poison to vampires. Ethan's pack and his family are not going to understand or accept that his true mate is male and a vampire. And Miguel's fellow vampires certainly aren't going to accept a shifter.
Miguel is an over four hundred year old vampire and from the day he was turned he's been hungry. Always hungry. The last few days it's just gotten way worse, to the point where he's feeding almost continuously and still he isn't sated. The other vampires capture him and are deciding whether they should kill him because his bloodlust is going to get them discovered, when Ethan shows up. The others leave them alone, assuming Miguel will drink from the shifter, get poisoned and die, taking care of their problem. While Miguel and Ethan are talking, Miguel can literally see Ethan's veins swelling with more and more blood, and in an effort to help him, Miguel drinks from him. I could easily imagine both of their surprise when not only doesn't Ethan's blood poison Miguel, but, in fact, he is no longer hungry. Ethan, of course, feels a million times better.
I loved Ethan. He's such a good person that his wholesomeness just overwhelmed me and made me want to wrap him up and take him home. Ethan is innocent but very stubborn, which I adored. Ethan knows how to trust and how to be loyal. What surprised me was that I loved Miguel, too. Miguel is not innocent and he doesn't trust well. He is fiercely protective and tender with Ethan. Miguel is the spice to Ethan's sugar. They were such a great representation of two halves of a whole.
I loved, loved, LOVED this book. Everything about it from the incredible writing to the strong and fascinating characters just pulled me in and kept me turning pages. Now I'm sad because I've finished and I don't know when the next book in the series will come out. Much thanks to Cardeno for giving me another set of wonderful men to add to my list of favorite couples.
DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.
Format | ebook and print |
Length | Novel, 274 pages/60785 words |
Heat Level | |
Publication Date | 15-July-2015 |
Price | $4.99 ebook |
Buy Link | http://cardenoc.com/en/book/untilforevercomes |