I will start by saying this was not an easy read. It will definitely be a read that will leave you with all the feels and more. I had such a hangover after this story. My heart broke some. I was frustrated. However, through all that, there was so much heart and passion and I just wanted to fall into this world created by Renee Carlino. It was absolutely beautiful and oh so worth the emotional roller coaster you will be in.

That emotional roller coaster is what made me fall in love with this book. I love the angst and the unknown when reading a story. It draws me in. I also love how different this story was. It was original and fresh and I loved that. I always love Renee's work and I am dying to see what she has in store for us next!

I’ll admit, this is my first book by Renee and I’m going to have to put the intensity right up there with my dear, beloved Colleen Hoover. I mean, come on!!! This book gave me heart palpitations with all of the angsty chemistry between the two main characters. So much so, that at times it was hard to read.
The characters themselves got me bad; they were their own worst enemy and for the most part of this book, it frustrated me. Penny is a woman who I feel that most can connect and relate with. She’s a mom who has somehow lost a part of herself in the midst of domestic life. Gavin is lost in his own way, just trying to survive in a life that he’s not sure he wants anymore. He’s lonely and agonizing over what could have and/or should have been.
The plot itself was amazingly well written; as readers we feel everything Penny and Gavin go through. Renee tells both of their POVs through a past and present narrative and with that we get the good, the bad, and the ugly of their relationship. When I say we feel everything what I mean is we feel the chemistry, the passion, the friendship….but we also feel the frustration and pain that goes along with a friendship that deserves to be more. The whole timing of their relationship always felt off; I felt as if there was just so much sitting under this ruse they called friendship. I hated it, I loved it, and I genuinely wanted to scream my heart out. My heart hurt in ways that made my whole body feel as if it were slowly dying; not just for Penny and Gavin but the people left in their wake as well.
Overall, I loved and hated this book. I think that’s the only way I can explain a book such as this. If you want angst, back-in-forth, past and present with everything in between then this is the book for you. Just beware….you will most definitely get your heart ripped out of your body, have it stomped on, and then put back in, healed but with scars.

Carlino's novels always touch on topics that leave the reader between hopeful and heartbroken and Blind Kiss is no exception. Two people who meet by chance during a scientific study, are drawn together by a powerful attraction to one another but then separated by wrong choices and fate.
Later, when they meet again, Carlino's narrative is at her best in crafting a love story that we can immerse ourselves into, and characters who we can root for, despite their frequent lack of judgement.
Carlino is an optimal writer of relationship drama and Blind Kiss is a definite winner.

I don’t think I have read a book that frustrated me as much as this one. Talk about some angst and the connection these two characters had. This is a book you will either love or hate. This was an intense story that would make me so mad at times but I couldn’t stop reading, I had to know what happens next.

Penny and Gavin have been best friends after meeting in a study. They have an instant chemistry. Penny is a dancer with a fierce personality and only wants to focus on finishing school. Gavin is a musician and a mechanic who can make any girl swoon.

This book was so good but there were times I was ready to throw my kindle!
Renee Carlino wrote a fantastic story that takes you on a bumpy roller coaster. It days later after finishing this book and I am still shaking my head. I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

Carlino has proven she is a master at her craft, and weaving spectacular characters and riveting romance, with BLIND KISS. We loved SWEAR ON THIS LIFE, but if it's possible, we enjoyed BLIND KISS even more.

3.5 Stars
I'm a huge fan of Ms. Carlino and I was excited to read Blind Kiss! I'll be honest, this book is full on angst and frustration, I had to put the down for a couple days. Picking it back up didn't help, but I powered through Penny and Gavin's story, because this author's writing is always amazing and her story telling is powerful.

Penny and Gavin's relationship builds over the course of many, many years. Gavin is a great character, who is full of charisma and has the patient of a saint. Penny's character drove me up the wall. Her wishy-washiness and constant push of Gavin is what made me put the book down for awhile.

If you are looking for instant chemistry and a love connection, then hold up, this book is not for you. The relationship between Penny and Gavin is a very slow burn, but in the end, it is worth it.

Blind Kiss by Renee Carlino is a beautiful, heartbreaking, angsty friends to lovers, second chance romance.

One of my favorite books I’ve ever read is Swear On This Life by Renee Carlino. So I was excited to read Blind Kiss. Author Renee Carlino has a way of drawing you in, until you’re part of the story.

I love the premise of the story, the why behind the title. Penny is beautiful, talented, driven and afraid of her feelings. She has goals that she hides behind. She is extremely frustrating. Gavin is the perfect book boyfriend. He is gorgeous, smart, funny, sexy and sweet. What more could you ask for?

They have an instant connection, a palpable chemistry, but the push/pull is exhausting. Penny’s fears of heartbreak keeps their relationship firmly in the friend zone. They develop a deep, caring, uniquely intense friendship.

The story is told in past/present alternating POV. This lets you understand the depth of their relationship but adds to the frustration because they should be more than friends. Their story is complicated, confusing, emotional with many twists and turns. The one thing that remains constant is their love for each other and their profound friendship. It takes a very very long time for them to admit what they’ve known all along. I would’ve liked more of their relationship as a couple.

Beautifully written with heartfelt emotion

Blind Kiss is a friend to lovers and second chance romance rolled into one it’s concept was nothing like I had read before and to be honest I wasn’t sure where this story was going to go, it intrigued me, it’s unique and it has its fair share of angst and intensity but once I started reading I couldn’t put it down I needed to know where Gavin and Penny’s journey took them.
Gavin and Penny meet in college where they agreed to kiss a stranger while being blindfolded but the timing was all wrong and even though the attraction has been there since day one it’s taken them fourteen years of being just friends to realise they belong together.
This book is an emotional roller coaster it’s a story about a man pursuing a woman who has put him in firmly that box we call a friends zone, a couple unhappy apart but scared to be together. This author is not afraid to tell you the good the bad and sometimes the damn right ugly that happens in life and love. Second chances are just that but you also need to be brave enough to take the chance when fate steps in with an opportunity. Great read.

Phenomenal!
There are stories that take you on an emotional ride and then there are stories that take your emotions through the wringer.
This is a story that takes you through that wringer and then leaves you out to dry!
Would you leave the life you know and take a leap of faith?
The writing was smart, thought provoking and complex. The characters were flawlessly developed which is why I loved and hated them.
Brutally emotional, an gut wrenching.
This read really hit a nerve.
Sometimes in life love is not enough. Sometimes it’s timing, or taking advantage of opportunities. That’s the dilemma between Penny and Gavin.
This is their story, their journey spanning 14 years following their participation in a college project.
What happens to them you’ll have to read and discover for yourself.
Told in dual POV, past and present you decide which way their journey should have gone.

I love Renee Carlino’s writing style and her stories are always so captivating. I couldn’t wait for Blind Kiss, and she definitely didn’t disappoint! With each new book from her, she just seems to get better and she always exceeds my expectations, delivering solid and unique stories that you can’t help but feel emotionally invested in. Blind Kiss is one of those books that will hook you from the start, and stay with you long after you have turned the last page .

Penny is a housewife that spends her time dreading her son leaving for college and sitting outside a sandwich shop that used to be her dance studio. Her marriage is failing and she can’t help but remember a time when things were different. When she was in college she was asked to undergo an experiment where she was blindfolded and asked to make small talk and kiss a stranger to see what natural chemistry was like without seeing or knowing the other person. It was intense and something that never was far from her mind, especially since it introduced her to Gavin. But what could have been so much more between them was made to be only friendship after Penny made a decision that changed everything. After 14 years though, it will be Gavin’s turn to decide what happens next as both of their lives are about to drastically change yet again.

I will admit that these characters had me experiencing all the emotions. While I loved them and felt for them, there were times that they pissed me off and frustrated me. The one thing I can say for sure though is that I couldn’t get enough! I couldn’t put the book down and I felt everything so strongly! I was invested in them and really felt as though I was having my heart broken at the same times they were. I never stopped hoping that they would figure things out, and I will say that there was a lot of angst and push and pull here. While that usually gets on my nerves, it was different here. Renee Carlino writes like no one else, and she always has a way with words that is different from anyone else.

Overall, this book was fantastic. While I know some readers will have some issues with the characters and story, to me it was one of Carlino’s very best! It was everything I have come to know and love from her, and impossible for me to put down. I never wanted it to be over and I was lost in this world the entire time I was reading it. I can’t recommend it or any of her books enough! To me, this is a must read!

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

4.5 Stars

You know those people who are clearly soulmates but just can’t seem to get their timing right? Well, that describes Penny and Gavin to a T. Their connection was pretty much instantaneous when they met during a psych study which required they be blindfolded, answer a few questions, and then kiss. Neither one of them expected the kiss they shared to be life-changing but that’s exactly what it was. But even though they had insane chemistry, at that point in Penny’s life, she couldn’t afford to go anywhere beyond friendship with Gavin. Despite the fact that he said he would wait for Penny to figure out her feelings, sometimes things happen in life that sends you down a different path and that’s exactly what happened for Penny. Things may have changed but the love between her and Gavin was always a constant over the years but as the hits keep coming, it seems less and less likely that they’ll ever get their timing right and finally be together the way they were always meant to be.

This is one of those books that sends your emotions all over the map. It bounces back and forth between the past and present (or almost present) so we get to see the good time and the not so good times all woven together. In the past, Penny was driven and full of spirit but as she suffers blow after blow, the Penny we see in the current timeline is a much different version and it’s kind of sad to see how the years changed her. Gavin was a breath of fresh air, from the way he barrels into Penny’s life and just refuses to leave, he was quite a charmer and it was easy to fall for him. He was a lot to handle so I could definitely understand why Penny was hesitant way back then to have things go further than friendship but as time went on it was so clear that they were soulmates and meant to be together. It’s just that so many things kept happening that didn’t allow them to ever go down that path and let me tell you, it was hard to read!! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I loved this book, my heart ached over and over for these two because they just couldn’t get it right. It’s one of those stories that makes you work for it, if you want to see the satisfying ending, then you’ve got to take this difficult journey with Penny and Gavin. I loved how it all wrapped up (although I with there was a little more!), it made all the heartache worth it in the end and I especially loved the epilogue. It was a very clever way to wrap it all up. If you’re looking for a unique, friends-to-lovers story with LOADS of angst then you should definitely give this one a try!

Blind Kiss is a very different friends to lovers/second chance romance, and I loved every moment of it. It was almost told backwards with flashbacks of very important moments shared between Penny and Gavin that would determine their future. It is one of those rare books that just wrapped me up into it, and I hated telling the characters good-bye!

While the book is full of angst and emotion, at its core, it is one of the most beautiful friends to lovers/second chance romances I’ve had the pleasure to read. To say Penny and Gavin had a complicated relationship over the past 14 years would be an understatement. One chance encounter, literally a blind kiss, brought these two together. It seemed like they were soulmates from the beginning, and love should have been easy. But, it was anything but that. Misunderstandings, hidden feelings would keep them apart romantically for years, but their underlying friendship kept them in each others’ lives, although at times, they hurt each other and those close to them.

I loved the way Carlino told the story, in the present and months and even years in the past. It showed the way in which their relationship/friendship developed and deepened over the years. I really liked both Penny and Gavin. They were far from perfect which made me relate to them even more. I could see how much in love they were with one another, and I wanted to slap them at times when they hurt one another or made the wrong decisions! Carlino was excellent at using secondary characters to show the emotion and feelings Penny and Gavin shared with each other, even showing how much pain their relationship caused their significant others.

As much as I wanted these two together, I also knew they needed to work on themselves before that could happen even though they were with other people during that time. I liked that Carlino told the story in both POVs. It gave me a great deal more insight into who Gavin and Penny were and what each one of them struggled with. It is always amazing to me when characters grow from the beginning of the book until I get to the end. Both of them were very different people by the end.

This is my very first read by Renee Carlino, and I’ve heard so many wonderful things about her writing, and she far exceeded everything I read about her. I can’t believe I waited so long to read one of her books. I have already downloaded her other books, and I can’t wait to read them!!!

Blind Kiss by Renee Carlino is a standalone romance novel.
Penny is caught up in her everydays life. Her dreams took a backburner. Her son is about to go to college and don´t start about her marriage. She´s blaa. And to top it off, her best friend forever is about to follow his girlfriend and move around the world.
Penny is devastated, ´til she grows and starts living her life for herself alone.
Blind Kiss is a heart wrenching story about love and life and I ´til the end it was a 5 star read - but then came the what????? this is the ned???? I have questions !!! moment. I will not spoiler here, only so much, one woman + one man + a lot of heartbreak = HEA.

This was my first time reading a Renee Carlino novel and while I thought BLIND KISS started out strong, it didn't finish on a high note for me. I was left feeling unsatisfied.

I loved the initial introduction to the characters- Gavin and Penny- and the scenario in which they met. The friendship Carlino then began to develop between them was believable, and you could feel the fun, sweet, and strong bond between them grow. They loved, trusted, and supported each other, this couldn't be denied. The chemistry between the pair and their friendship was what I truly enjoyed in the story.

My enjoyment began to waiver as the angst became heavy and there seemed to be a never-ending string of bad decisions and frustrating moments involving Penny and Gavin.
While I crave some tension and obstacles to overcome for the MC's, the reasons behind these two friends/lovers(?) separation appeared trivial, and the length of time they were kept apart was exasperating. 14 years apart for no reasonable reason felt like unnecessary torture!

Overall, for me, the character conflicts went on for far too long and when things finally began to get sorted out, it felt rushed and over too soon. Personally, I needed more insight into the happier times! You may feel differently, so if you love ultra slow-burn and the friends-to-lovers/second chance trope, check Blind Kiss out for yourself.

I’m not quite sure how to rate this novel. So, first let me say that the writing, as usual from this author, was great. The words flowed seamlessly, and it should have been one that I easily rated and reviewed.

But, there was just this constant niggling and anger in my brain that Gavin and Penny HAD to go through all of the crap they did. She couldn’t date. He couldn’t keep his stuff in his pants. Push, pull, anger, hurt, wrong timing, and lost love. I don’t know. It just didn’t work for me with this couple.

Penny and Gavin were definitely destined for one another, without a doubt. I think that’s probably the thing that drove me mad throughout most of this story. They always loved each other, and then we got the Hallmark 5 seconds of HEA at the end. Because of each of their own endearing quirks, they deserved more time than that together. I know some would say we got that throughout the story because they were always really only each other’s person. But, I didn’t see it that way. To me, it was life wasted without THE ONE.

Having word vomited all of that, I must add that Author Renee Carlino is truly a gifted writer. She brought out all of these feelings in me and really made me think and dig deep when embracing Penny and Gavin. She also gave that happy ending craved my romancers and devilish angst that made me want to throw things and beat my head against the wall.

If you love friends-to-lovers novels with serendipitous love, this may be the novel for you. Just make sure to have your e-reader protector in place.

NOT REVIEWING ON RELEASE WEEK


I don’t know how to write this review…

I LOVE Renée Carlino’s writing…

But this book, sadly, didn’t work for me.


I expected so much more, the story started so well, and then…

I am sorry, but I have to admit that I’m really frustrated and pissed.

I loved the plot, but in this story, the author pushed the angst and the drama too far, too long through the whole book, only to rush things in the end.

Sadly, the Epilogue didn’t make up for all the heartbreaks and bad decisions/bad timing.

All the characters pissed me off so many times, I nearly did a DNF.


I love my angsty stories, but I need solid characters, and above all, a proper development with the events, and CLOSURE, not a rushed ending.

I truly believe this story could have been amazing, maybe with less twists in the last chapters (and the bad decisions that were taken, that were as bad as the ones taken in the beginning of the story), and more chapters about the main characters getting “closure” …

Angst is great, but in order to get a proper HEA, things don’t have to be rushed or get too complicated…

Renée Carlino is one of my favorite authors. With her ability to write realistic characters immersed in emotional situations, I never fail to fall into her stories knowing my tender heart is about to be battered and bruised. But when I picked up Blind Kiss – oh, my friends, I had no idea of the angst I was about to encounter. Some might find it overkill, some might revel in it, and I must be a glutton for emotional punishment because I dove right in and wallowed all in it.

Fourteen years ago Penny met Gavin while participating in a college psychology study. The purpose? To determine whether physical attraction can be felt without sight. That blindfolded kiss changed everything and set into motion a relationship that ebbed and flowed for years to come. Penny and Gavin were both multi-layered characters that I (almost always) loved. Their chemistry is off the charts and it seems obvious that they’re destined to embark on the love affair to end all affairs. But, not so fast. Because Penny puts on the brakes faster than you can say friend-zone. Convinced that getting romantic will ruin the friendship she cherishes, Penny tries (often unsuccessfully) to set aside her feelings for Gavin. So Penny starts to date Lance, the earnest microbiology student, and Gavin starts to date… many others. And so it goes.

The ensuing years bring changes to both their lives but their intense friendship is always a constant. And that off the charts chemistry I mentioned? Yeah, that’s still there – aplenty. Gavin is more upfront with his feelings for Penny but even so there’s always something – some obstacle that prevents these two from taking that next step. Whether it’s bad timing, or other relationships, or misunderstandings, they just… can’t… get… there. And therein lies the angst. This constant, low simmer of longing and wishing and pining that goes unfulfilled.

I’ll readily admit there were times I wanted to shake Penny. She was stubborn, she could be unreasonable, and more than once I was annoyed with the expectations she had of Gavin and the way she lashed out at him when he disappointed her. (Not cool, Penny!) But despite that, I always, always pulled for Gavin and Penny – both separately and together. I hurt when they hurt, I laughed at their jokes, and my heart melted when they were at their most vulnerable with each other.

Blind Kiss is told from both Penny and Gavin’s points of view and from both the past and the present. It’s a story of soulmates, a story of timing (usually bad timing), and a story of two people so meant to be that they were determined to stay in one another’s lives even when it hurt to do so. Their connection was amazing and their friendship was so true and enduring. Penny and Gavin’s journey isn’t an easy one but I loved it. And if you love a story than can equally enthrall you, frustrate you and make you fall in love even while your feelings are being trampled, then I think you’ll love this one, too.

Renee Carlino has once again tapped into her readers psyche and delivers an emotional Ka-Pow. I'm a seasoned reader of Ms. Carlino and I did the right and proper thing by setting aside a good chunk of time to be able to read and process this story in one fell sweep, and still I managed to lose hours of sleep. Ever so slightly reminiscent of Sweet Thing, her debut, Blind Kiss' heroine Penny is a character that I simultaneously wanted to hug and throttle. As for our hero, Gavin, my heart ached for him, always wanting something with someone that is just out of reach.

What's so spectacular about Renee's writing is how the story unfolds. I wasn't sure where the story was going until "The Blind Kiss". Our main male leads remain nameless until that certain point, and even then what their roles are in Penny's life was a mystery. The story is told in both present, past and recent past, but your always reminded of what occurred in the early chapters, just aching to understand the situation and just what brought about the subtle dismantling of Penny's relationships.

Renee's characters are on their own paths and not there to serve the readers every whim. They are on a journey and we are there to witness their decisions, misguided and ill planned though they may be. As the weeks and then years go by we gain insight into what Penny thinks about her and Gavin:

“We have something. I don’t what it is, but it’s something different.”

But just how she deals with this is what drives the story. She's a passionate woman who down plays the passion that enters her life. It's how she lets fear rule her world that will frustrate the reader. It's a particular quandary, how to stay patient with these characters, especially Penny.

As with every book that I read by Renee Carlino, days and weeks later I find myself thinking about the characters. I want to compare them and although there's a sense of " this feels a little like..." but her characters and the situations are always unique. Penny is as guarded as they come. Gavin on the other hand is an open book, romantic and up against the wall of Penny's notions about she and Gavin

"Penny and I still had a spark that couldn’t be snuffed out. All the plans I’d drawn for the life I thought we’d have together were playing out in some parallel universe. Even if I was stuck in this stupid version of us, where she was encouraging me to go out with other women, I knew there was a Penny and Gavin living as a couple out there, right along beside us."

I love this sentiment and once again, Ms. Carlino delivers a 5 star story that takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster to enjoy :-)

I’ve sat at my computer for two days, staring at a blank document, trying to come up with the proper words to describe how I felt about Blind Kiss by Renee Carlino. Honestly, I’m still at a loss. Penny and Gavin’s story was intensely emotional, heart-wrenchingly complicated, and one of my favorite love stories from Renee to date.

Blind Kiss left a raw ache in me, a bruise I keep poking as I think back on this book and all the emotions it brought out in me. This story has worked its way under my skin and made a permanent home in my heart.

We all love books that make us feel things, and Renee told this story so wonderfully, I had a physical reaction to it. I felt like I was experiencing all the bliss, all the sadness, all the pain, and all of the joy right along with these characters.

This dual POV novel takes the reader on a journey between the past and the present, detailing the unusual beginning of the intense relationship between Gavin and Penny, cataloging the far-reaching consequences of the decisions, be them right or wrong, that the two have made along the way.

In my experience, Renee Carlino delivers a fantastic story every time. Every book I’ve read of hers has been a rich reading experience, leaving me breathless after the impossible highs and devastating lows, and eager to do it all over again. She’s got a place in my author Hall of Fame, and Blind Kiss will surely be a top read of the year for me.

I have to say.... I wasn't sure if I was going to like how the story was laid out, how it followed their entire relationship from the time they met. The author begins with the present, then 14 years prior, then so many months prior to the present. We literally get to see their entire story evolve, which I LOVED!! I adored Gavin. I loved Penny. Their relationship was great, best friends to lovers. Sometime the person we love the most has been by our side the entire time. Due to circumstances, Gavin and Penny never cross that line. They are best friends. Penny's relationship with Gavin has caused turmoil for her relationship with her husband. Her husband never truly understood her relationship Gavin, he was threatened by it.

Penny and Gavin had something special. They were always there for each other, no matter what. Time would pass, yet that never mattered. Gavin was in love with Penny. Gavin wanted to explore a relationship with Penny, but Penny always had a reason to keep Gavin at bay when they were in college. Gavin continued to love Penny, despite the situation Penny got herself into.

Gavin loved Penny from afar. Deep down, Penny knew she was in love with Gavin, but life seemed to steer her on a different path. One that she continued down, due to obligation, due to being comfortable.

I wanted to smack Penny several times. We get one life, and we have to live it to the fullest. Staying in a relationship that doesn't fulfill you can be draining. You become numb. You go through motions to just get through the day. When the stars align for Penny and Gavin, I cheered. I routed for them. I wanted them to get the HEA.

I have only read a few books by this author, and I definitely will pick up a few more !!!