The Blinding Light by Renae Kaye

Title: The Blinding Light
Author: Renae Kaye
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel (212 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (July 14th 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: Jake Manning’s smart mouth frequently gets him into trouble. Because of it, he can’t hold a job. Combined with some bad luck, it’s prevented him from keeping steady employment. A huge debt looms over him, and alone he shoulders the care of his alcoholic mother and three younger sisters. When a housekeeping position opens, Jake’s so desperate he leaps at the opportunity. On landing, he finds his new boss, Patrick Stanford, a fussy, arrogant, rude… and blind man.

Born without sight, Patrick is used to being accommodated, but he’s met his match with Jake, who doesn’t take any of his crap and threatens to swap all the Braille labels on his groceries and run off with his guide dog unless he behaves.

Jake gets a kick out of Patrick. Things are looking up: the girls are starting their own lives and his mum’s sobriety might stick this time. He’s sacrificed everything for his family; maybe it’s time for him to live his life and start a relationship with Patrick. When his mother needs him, guilt makes his choice between family and Patrick difficult, and Jake must realize he’s not alone anymore.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5211
Review: Jake Manning is trying to climb out from under a debt that isn’t even his, but his snarky attitude and inability to know when to shut up isn’t doing him any favors. He finally lands a decent paying housekeeping job for the man who no one wants to work for. It’s a bit of a shock when Jake learns that Patrick is blind, but Jake can give as good as he can get, and the nasty grams that Patrick leave in the form of daily notes actually make Jake laugh. Jake is curious about the man behind the Braille though.

Patrick Stanford was born blind, so he’s never known anything else. He’s rich, handsome and set in his ways, which usually involve him getting his way. He is intrigued by his new housekeeper that seems to fare better than the last dozen or so, but Patrick is working under the assumption that Jake is in fact a female.

Everything comes to a head, so to speak, when Patrick is home sick one day and the employer and employee finally have a face to face. Jake is floored with how young and good-looking his boss is. Patrick pretends to be stunned by Jake’s gender. When Jake goes out of his way to take care of Patrick and nurse him back to health, then genuinely shows an interest in being his friend, Patrick starts to come out of his shell some. Over the next several weeks, the two become close friends, confidants and eventually lovers.

Things may seem perfect, but then they rarely are. Jake has had an awful time in the past, being taken advantage of because of his sexuality. As well, Patrick has had issues with being blind and learning to navigate the world in darkness. Add to that some family issues on Jake’s side that only seem to keep coming and these two will have to learn to bend in order not to break.

It was very refreshing to read a story where the two male leads started out as friends then became lovers over a period of time. Accepted each other, good and bad, and built on that foundation. There were a few times in the story where the author, writing and characters seemed to disconnect. But overall, I loved the blending of personalities and the chemistry between Jake and Patrick. And how they made a life together, while including their life outside each other in it.

This was just a fun, romantic read with a teensy bit of angst and some family drama to make it more interesting. My fellow hopeless romantics are going to love this one.