Blue Mountain

Pack Collection, Book 1

By: Cardeno C.

Narrated by: Sean Crisden

Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Exiled by his pack as a teen, Omega wolf Simon Moorehead learns to bury his gentle nature in the interest of survival. When a hulking, rough-faced Alpha catches Simon on pack territory, he tries to escape what he’s sure will be imminent death. But instead of killing him, the Alpha takes Simon home.

A man of action, Mitch Grant uproots his life to support his brother in leading the Blue Mountain pack. Mitch lives on the periphery, quietly protecting everyone, but always alone. A mate is a dream come true for Mitch, and he won’t let little things like Simon’s rejections, attacks, and insults get in their way. With patience, seduction, and genuine care, Mitch will ride out the storm while Simon slays his own ghosts and Mitch’s loneliness.

©2014 Cardeno C. (P)2014 Cardeno C.

Loved it, too short...

A huge C. C. fan, this story did not fail to meet my extremely high expectations assigned to this author. I so enjoyed the story of Mitch and Simon! It was a sweet little romance and I thrilled at getting to know these characters. Sean Crisden is one of my favorite narrators and as typical, he added so much in this story. My only complaint would be that the story ran to short. There was so much more that could have been covered and addressed (in my humble opinion) and it made the story seemed rushed. But perhaps that will be addressed in the (hopefully) upcoming series. Either way, loved this book and certainly recommend....

Excited about a new CC series!

*3.5 stars*

3 stars for the story and another 1/2 star for the narration, very nicely done by Sean Crisden!

I've read stories like this one before... but I keep coming back to them. You know what I mean. The big bad alpha male shifter falling for the formerly abused, more submissive mate. There is insta-love and insta-"MINE"... but I keep coming back! It is a theme that never gets old for me.

Cardeno C. does shifters often and does them well. I really like this author's HOT, uber-masculine guys that often border on romantic enough to be sappy. This story is no different. It was very sweet with some light angst and a fairly slow burn love story for a shifter book. I think that there is a lot of potential there, but there were some plot holes and details that left me wanting more.

I wanted to know a great deal more about the pack and pack structure. This felt like the intro to a longer book in a lot of ways. The way that the pack reacted in the beginning of the story to the news of a male omega in the territory was very different from how Mitch assures Simon that they will treat him. I'm curious as to what their reception of Simon will be and what challenges that would bring someone as skittish as Simon. Also, Simon hinted at a history of abuse of many kinds, and I thought that once his relationships with Mitch finally became physical, we would see some kind of trauma from that abuse peak through. It didn't happen. It was strange to me how Simon morphed from super shy/reluctant to mini porn star so quickly.

However, despite some issues, I enjoyed this novella. A great deal of that is surely from Sean Crisden's awesome audiobook narration. I loved his voice for Mitch (familiar from those used to listening to Crisden but no less sexy!), and I thought he did a great job bringing this book to life.

**Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review**

Sean is one of my favorites, makes this book great

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I liked this book soooo much better in audio! I love Cardeno C, but Sean really brought her story to life for me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Simon and Mitch

Which scene was your favorite?

There first real intimate time together was sweet

If you could take any character from Blue Mountain out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Mitch, He learned to be so patient for love.

Here is another one

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No because I am over Sean Crisdens terrible voices. He has one that literally sounds like Barney.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Didn't have one.

What didn’t you like about Sean Crisden’s performance?

He sounds ridiculous! I mean half his voices are just out there. Props for him trying to make them sound different, but some of them actually sound like Barney or like they are mocking someone.

Was Blue Mountain worth the listening time?

No

Any additional comments?

The werewolf trope needs to stop.

Promising new Shifter series from CC!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would, the combination of writing and voicing were a match made in heaven.

What did you like best about this story?

Mitch and the way you could hear his authoritative nature in his voice, but know when he was softened by his feelings for Simon.

What about Sean Crisden’s performance did you like?

Of course, I always like a Crisden performance, he's a great storyteller.

If you could take any character from Blue Mountain out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Mitch, who doesn't like a strong, large and in charge Alpha male type?!

Any additional comments?

Mitch Grant exudes the scent, strength and characteristics of an Alpha; but proudly stands by his twin brother Fredericks side as his Beta. The two twin alpha wolves took control of the Blue Mountain pack from a cruel and undeserving alpha and his men. The former alpha didn’t believe Omega wolves had any worth, but the Grant brothers believe differently, which is a blessing since Mitch turns out to be mated to one.

Simon Moorehead returns home to Blue Mountain to bury his mother and say goodbye. On the run since he was twelve from wolves that were of the same belief as his father, the Omega wolf has learned how to go against the grain and buck his instincts. So when his mate finds him, Simon doesn’t make the connection or trust the much larger wolf for quite a while.

Mitch doesn’t try to hide his attraction or the pull he feels toward Simon, but he does learn quickly to control it lest he run his mate off for good. Simon is shy, scared and haunted by his past and all those memories do is fuel the fire inside of Mitch, the innate need to protect his fragile mate. Simon has to learn how to trust, how to love and to accept the instincts he has long since trained himself to rebel against in order to understand the feelings he has for Mitch.

When I first listened to this story I skimmed a bit, but by the end I knew I’d missed something so I went back and listened thoroughly and found that little morsel. The angst of the story made me rush through, but the content and character development proved to be worth it in the end. I loved how the author wove everything together and all the lives and events were connected in some way, that was genius, the thread that ran through everything is what gave the story depth.

I really enjoyed the voices that Crisden gave the characters as well. I could hear the authority in Mitch’s voice and then catch when he took on a softer tone for Simon, his emotions were always right there on the surface. Overall I really enjoyed this story. I’m excited to see what story develops in this new pack world CC has created next, and I hope she keeps Sean Crisden as the narrator, perhaps the glue holding everything together.

A must read for fans of CC’s work, Shifter stories and those hard sought Romances that are worth every drop of sweat in the end.

A great short home run!

I loved the story of Mitch and Simon - it was wonderfully executed. I love a good Alpha/Omega story, esp a super tall, super rough, rugged Alpha, count me in. Sean C. is seriously a treasure. He knows how to bring a story come to life. I do agree with some reviews that the only "negative" thing to say would be that the story was a bit too short but on the flip side it's allowed me to listen to it several times. Each time putting a smile on my face. I sure recommend this book.

Short and sweet

start to the series. There were some things that could have made this one a little better but overall its an enjoyable novella with great narrations.

Just Blah

Narration was monotone much of the time and story was not very interesting, blah.

Good Start to the Series, Crisden!

Solid omegaverse story by Cardeno C. Interesting storyline and a really good start to the series. Nicely narrated by Sean Crisden.

Mitch and Simon

Simon has lived a hard life on the run for the last several years. Enduring horrors and hardships, leading up to burying his mother really spoke of his fortitude. The man has walls up a mile thick. Mitch made some real bonehead moves after finding Simon. I admired Mitch's determination to build trust and win over Simon.
Highly recommended author and series

Audiobook: great job by the narrator