Blue Mountain is the first book in the wolf shifter series, Pack. It’s also the first book by Cardeno C. I’ve read. This story is told in third person through the eyes of Simon Moorehead, an Omega wolf, and Mitch Grant, one of two alphas of the Blue Mountain pack.
4.5 Stars


Simon shows up on Blue Mountain pack territory to fulfill a promise to his mother. Worn-out from running from other shifters more than eager to terrorize him, he fights Mitch, the huge Alpha wolf that finds him. Mitch knows without a shadow of a doubt that Simon is his mate. But Simon is terrified, distrustful and wants nothing to do with Mitch. Mitch takes Simon home to heal him and all Simon tries to do is escape.

Mitch in a way is a lone wolf, even though he’s an Alpha. He doesn’t like visitors and prefers living away from the pack and acting as protector and enforcer. His charismatic twin brother Nathaniel, is the congenial face of the Blue Mountain pack. Mitch is forceful and not at all tactful. He learns through interacting with Simon, that if he doesn’t wish to scare Simon off and to gain his trust, he needs to move slower, speak quieter and restrain all his impulses to touch and hold Simon. It goes against all his instincts, but he wants Simon to stay. He and Simon make a deal for Simon to stay a month, and then Simon can decide if he wants to stay permanently.

The author skips about three weeks from the time Simon agrees to stay to when he and Mitch actually are comfortable with each other. I would’ve liked to see some more of their relationship as it grew, but on the other hand, I can understand that there really wouldn’t be much the author could show us other than things like Simon cooking, greeting Mitch when he came home and talking to Mitch more. To describe each day like a diary would have been dull indeed. So skipping ahead in the story made sense. There isn’t any sex in the first part of the book, but there are quite a few scenes in the last third.

There’s a part of the story that’s inconsistent with another part of the story. On pages 51-52 on my Nook, Simon explains to Mitch: “They (meaning other shifters) said my scent was off because I wanted men like a woman, which means I wanted them to-" He gulped. “Do what they did. But I didn’t want that.” This information implies that the shifters forced Simon. They raped him. But that doesn’t match up with what Simon says later on page 77, when he and Mitch have kissed for the first time: “Because I, uh-" Simon gulped and then, in a rush, said, “I’ve never done this before. None of it.” What? That’s not what the author wrote before when Simon had an encounter with the shifters. Either he was or wasn’t raped. The author needs to be clear on what she’s telling the readers.

Anyway, despite that obvious error concerning Simon, I enjoyed this book. Both Mitch and Simon had distinctly different voices. I could feel Mitch’s desire, and frustration at not being able to claim Simon. Also Mitch’s restraint to give Simon space until he was ready. What I especially liked, which I haven't found all that much in other shifter books, is Mitch's strong desire to look after Simon. Not just protect Simon, but to care for him in a nurturing way. That was a nice change to the big Macho Alpha willing to only physically protect his mate. I could feel Simon’s fear and understood why he behaved the way he did. Blue Mountain was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I’d like to give it 4.5 Stars, but again because of Goodreads system, I can’t. I give this book 4 Stars and recommend it to anyone who likes shifter stories.


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I enjoyed this short read, although I think the novella aspect cut out some character development. I guess with legit fated mates here, we didn’t need to learn as much about their backstory (we did get more of Simon’s but not so much of Mitch’s). ( )

This was a short, fun and fluffy story. Simon is an Omega traumatized by past experiences, and Mitch is a loner Alpha whose wish to find his mate was finally fulfilled. When the two meet, Mitch must convince Simon that having a mate and being a part of a pack is a good thing.
I liked the story but I feel it was cut a little short. I will definitely read more from this series.
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Blue Mountain rests like sharing half your food with a friend in a restaurant. It's good, but it's not whole. You are only getting half of what you could be. Does that mean the book is bad? No. This is one of the better books, but it has typos here and there, nowhere near enough meat on its bones, and even shies away from being a simple modest 50k.

I initially expected Stockholm or rape but got a more consensual and kind romance, even if it feels, again, bare bones. Simon loops to everyone and everything, but we never get the full effect of what him connecting to -say- Donia's grandmother actually means. What his mother's death actually does to the pack as a whole. These things happen and there's no weight, just a sorry and moving on.

So the book feels like half a meal. Leftovers that are still tasty, but in no way fill you up. ( )

Story: 7
First MC: 7
Second MC: 7
Secondary characters: 5
Mystery: 3
Sexual tension: 5
Humor: 2
Hotness: 5
Product placement: 2
Ridiculousness: 3
Annoying: 3
Audio: 8 (3h 38min)
To re-read: 5

I used to be a huge Cardeno fan, but we kind of drifted apart. I blame the family series [b:Something in the Way He Needs|27212266|Something in the Way He Needs (Family, #1)|Cardeno C.|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444940756s/27212266.jpg|23904642]; it kind of put me off.
Lo and behold a mating shifter story without the sex marathon! The story has an old fashion feel to it, something someone just started reading MM shifters should start with. My main issue is the lack of secondary characters. They exist but they don’t much screen time. It’s a short-ish story, so we don’t get explore the town. A Light reading for lazy days.
Alphas, cooking lessons, giant shifters, assholes alphas, and herb plants. ( )