Review: Home Again by Cardeno C.

Author: Cardeno C.

Pages/Word Count: 157 pages

At a Glance: This story really didn’t work for me, but your mileage may vary.

Reviewed By: Angel

Blurb: 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.

Review: This is the first story in the Home series by Cardeno C., even though I read it second. However, I do believe this, and the rest of the books, are readable in any order. I didn’t really notice a difference for having read He Completes Me first, but I can see the differences in the writing and how Cardeno C. evolved as a writer. I am going to continue this series in the hopes the author’s storytelling improves.

Cardeno C. delves into some tough subjects in this book, not the least of which is homophobia, being true to oneself, drug/alcohol abuse, underage sex, and consent. There is also a running theme of hope and extreme sweetness throughout this novel. I like to see realism in the stories I read, but hand-waving away real world problems like some of the ones addressed in the story detracts from the overall enjoyment of the book.

I had issues with this story. First off, it is told in a series of flashbacks, and while I enjoyed the amnesia plot line, the reasons behind some of the content fell flat for me. Clark and Noah are supposed to have this great love affair, the end all and be all for one another, and yet, Noah cheated on Clark for no good reason. Noah is also extremely, and overly, possessive of Clark. The jealousy of his affections was quite intense and really made me wonder why this seemed so acceptable to Clark.

Clark has problems of his own, being that he feels guilty for Noah cheating on him. I was stunned by this, honestly, and it threw me out of the story. When Noah forgives Clark for leaving, I just gave up on them and their story, even though I did finish the novel.

After having said all that, the book reads easily, and as I said, there is the recurring theme of hope and sweetness throughout. It’s just that some real troubling issues for me weren’t addressed properly, or were completely dismissed as nothing, so I didn’t much enjoy the story.