Blind Kiss by Renee Carlino // Book Review

About The Book

Blind Kiss
Renee Carlino
Published by Atria Books on August 14th, 2018
319 pages
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Penny spends her afternoons sitting outside a sandwich shop, surrounded by ghosts. Fourteen years ago, this shop was her childhood dance studio... Now she’s a suburban housewife, dreading the moment her son departs for MIT, leaving her with an impeccably decorated McMansion and a failing marriage. She had her chance at wild, stars-in-her-eyes happiness, but that was a lifetime ago. After The Kiss. Before The Decision.

The Kiss was soulful. Magical. Earth-shattering, And it was all for a free gift card. Asked to participate in a psych study that posed the question, “Can you have sexual chemistry without knowing what the other person looks like?” Penny agreed to be blindfolded, make polite conversation with a total stranger, and kiss him. She never expected The Kiss to change her life forever and introduce her to Gavin: tattooed, gorgeous, and spontaneous enough to ask her out seconds after the blindfolds came off.

For a year, they danced between friendship and romance—until Penny made The Decision that forced them to settle for friendship. Now, fourteen years later, both of their lives are about to radically change—and it’s his turn to decide what will become of their once-in-a-lifetime connection."

Overall Thoughts

cw: cheating

I'm just gonna bring up the fact that I really kind of hate the cover to this book. It's kind of creepy...

I don't think I've read a Renee Carlino book and didn't like it. This one is no exception! I was addicted to this story. I love Penny and Gavin's story, as it is a long one. I love how this book panned out. It's a love story years in the making. I know most people would hate this book for the cheating aspect, but I'm a person that as long as it doesn't happen in real life, it won't bother me.

My only gripe about this book is their romance starts in like the last chapter of this book. I need more Penny and Gavin in love with each other!

☆☆☆☆☆

Spoilers below this line!

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Story

Blind Kiss follows Penny and Gavin, they meet doing an experiment about kissing someone you cannot see. They automatically realize they have chemistry. It definitely helps that when they take off their blindfolds, they are attracted to each other. Penny is a girl that doesn't want to date. Her father told her that she should sort of stay away from someone that makes your heart race like crazy and makes you want to do absolutely insane things. She does this to save her heart from heartbreak and to make sure she finishes college. She asks Gavin to wait for her until college is done. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned.

Gavin, even though he's really in love with Penny, decides to date other girls. This prompts Penny to date a guy she doesn't really even like but knows she can learn to like. Gavin and Penny kind of lose site of their friendship when she gets hurt and Gavin wasn't there for her. She soon gets pregnant with Lance's baby and marries him. She stays married to him for fourteen years. Throughout this time, Gavin and Penny are still friends. Lance hates it and eventually it drives a wedge between their marriage.

This book is told in alternating time frames. We get Gavin and Penny's college life and their adult lives. I really adored this story. Renee Carlino write romance and longing so well. This book made me feel so much. Love. Hate. Adoration. Aggravation. Another five stars!

Romance

The romance section of this book is almost nonexistent. I'm not counting the marriage between Penny and Lance because there was no romance there. You can just sense throughout this entire book that Penny and Gavin were meant to be. I just wish Penny wasn't so stubborn and just went with Gavin in the beginning. Lance was not needed!!

Gavin's longing for Penny in this book made me so sad. I honestly hated Penny at times. Why drag him along to break his heart? I'm just glad they managed to be together in the end.