Blind Reader Wanted by Georgia Le Carre

NEW ADULT ROMANCE

Publication date: 01/06/2017
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

I’m confused and kind of at a loss with this one.

​First of all, the beginning is GREAT. I was able to overlook the fact that the hero advertising for a blind reader is more than a little odd. I figured there was a good reason for it, and that he wasn’t a deranged serial killer who liked to keep blind girls in a pit in his basement before wearing their heads around like hats or something. (Good news: the hero wasn’t a serial killer. Bad news: there wasn’t really any good reason for the man to hire a blind female reader. He was both literate and sighted, so...yeah. No clue.) Once I overlooked that, the first half of the story was super intriguing, and I was SURE this was going to be a 5-star read. But somewhere around the halfway point, things got...weird.

But before I get into the weirdness, let me tell you what I loved about the beginning of the story:

• Kit is a grumpy recluse. Y’all know I love me some grumpy recluse heroes.   
• Kit is also a scarred war vet and Lara is blind, and y’all know I love me some deliciously imperfect heroes and heroines.
• Kit rescues wolves. What’s not to love about a guy who rescues animals?
• Lara is a GREAT heroine. She’s smart and fearless and her blindness isn’t an impediment to her daily life in any way. The fact that she’s blind doesn’t create any drama or angst in the story. Her blindness is just a part of who she is, and I loved that. She never feels sorry for herself, or laments her condition. She’s inspiring, frankly. ​

Now, up until this point, I was totally digging this story about a grumpy, scarred, PTSD-having war vet falling for the strong, brave, young blind woman who brings sunshine and happiness until his empty, dark little world. But then…

• There’s a sex scene where the hero and heroine talk about their, um, private parts as if they are extra people in the room. I’m not even kidding. The heroine actually asks the hero, “Is he angry?” In case I wasn’t clear, she was asking the hero if HIS PENIS WAS ANGRY.

via GIPHY

• And while I’m on the topic of the hero’s penis, it was, of course, so huge that the heroine asks him if it’s “going to fit.” Sigh. Can’t we have normal penises in romance land? Why is it that so many romance heroes have giant porn star penises? (This might be the most times I’ve ever used the word “penis” in a review, by the way. That’s probably not something I should be proud of.)
• There’s a very cliched stalkery bad guy that pops up OUT OF NOWHERE to cause drama for no good reason. Why? He’s not necessary. And even if he was necessary, why is he such a damn cliche?  
• At this point, we find out that Kit has a secret identity. So, my grumpy recluse isn’t exactly a grumpy recluse after all. Sigh. That was the part of the story I was most in love with, and now it’s ruined! And it turns out that the secret identity was the worst possible thing for Lara, and Kit knew that and was a big fat liar about it. Bummer. Now my grumpy recluse is a lying liar who lies. I hate lying liars who lie.   
• The bad guy gets his comeuppance in a really appropriate-yet-brutal way. I find it SUPER unbelievable that sweet little Lara would be as calm about it as she was.
• Spoiler alert that animal lovers will thank me for: One of the wolves dies. In my opinion, there is NO REASON for animals to die in books, especially ROMANCE books. (Off topic, for all my fellow animal lovers out there, check out this website that will tell you if any animals are harmed in any movie or TV show you can think of. It’s FABULOUS, and frankly I’m a little angry that I didn’t think of this idea first)

So, long-story-short, I feel betrayed by the beginning of this book. I was happily reading along, loving every minute of the story, and then BAM! Weirdness and stupidity jumps out of my Kindle and smacks me in the face. It was like being bitch-slapped by a dead, stinking fish and I didn’t appreciate it one bit. In the end, I’m giving this book one star for Lara (I really did like her) and one star for the first 50% of the book. The rest was a dumpster fire that wasn’t worth even a half star.

And with that, I’m done. So, so done.

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Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s not really stigma-y. Just...wrong.   

Other reading suggestions
Check out Katy Regnery’s Unloved, which features one of my all-time favorite recluses. He’s not all that grumpy, but he’s awesome nonetheless.  ​​​

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