Blind Sided

by Cheryl Leigh

Jenna Rainey can turn the reality of the bitter northeastern winter wind into a daydream of her childhood summers in Texas just by sinking to the bottom of the pool. It’s only a brief respite from the climate that she detests, but it’s the only one she’ll get after relocating from her southern home to Baltimore to live with her cousins, Rowdy and Laura. A tragic drunk driving accident has robbed Jenna of her mother and damaged her eyes, transforming a successful college graduate into a lonely, disabled dependant. After finding employment as a spin instructor and volunteer at the local school for blind children, she begins to gain confidence and independence in her new surroundings. When Jenna meets Rick Bentley, a swimming coach and accomplished athlete, her feelings of uncertainty and vulnerability mask her kindness leaving him rightly offended and their first two encounters threaten to be their last. It will take forgiveness, loving families, and a debilitating migraine to take their two broken hearts and make them into one great everlasting love.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Lds Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks, Clean Romance, Fiction

310 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2011

Reviews

[Cheryl Leigh]

Well. I loved it but I'm a little biased.

[T.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this rather unusual story. The main character's sudden disability and how her family helps her cope with it was intriguing. However, her romantic interest has deep-seated emotional problems stemming from abuse, and sometimes behaves very badly. That in itself, isn't a problem; it was the naive attitude of "he'll change" and "I forgive him," that sounded enabling and really unhealthy. It made the happily-ever-after pretty hard to swallow.

[Carisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. While it is an LDS author that wrote this it's not overly religious and it was great. I really liked the characters.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE MOST AMAAAAAAAAZING BOOK EVEEEEEEEER!!!!!!

[Jillian Sloane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!! I can relate with Jenna on many levels, the main one being I lost all my site as well. I moved to a entire new city and met a great guy and found my self like she did. This book will forever be one of my favourites!

[Bren Finn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light hearted and fun but predictable

Enjoyed the storyline, but it was a tad too predictable for my taste. Some interesting plot lines seemed too easily discarded

[Misty Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you ever have those days where you want to do absolutely nothing; sit in bed and gorge out on bon-bons while the rest of the world does amazingly productive things? (Please nod your head because I don’t want to feel like the only loser on the planet) Today was one of those days for me. Long story short, yesterday (the day I have formally dubbed “The Nursing Home Debacle of 2011″) sucked. I spent hours (HOURS!) stuck in a Dr’s office surrounded by people who (despite my killer glare and several inconspicuous coughing fits) did NOT get the hint that all I wanted to do was pretend I was on a cruise to Tahiti and read my book. As a result…I woke up in a crabby mood with the motivation of a pot smoking snail, (<– that’s slang for “none”) Since my motivation was pretty much as low as it can get, I came to the realization that zombie thrillers, psychological who-ta-do’s and anything of the fantasy variety probably wasn’t a good idea, (they require brain function…no pun intended.) So instead I opted for this, “Blind Sided” by Cheryl Leigh. A no thought required, could pop up on ABC Family at any moment romance novel. (Fist pump for romance!)

“Jenna Rainey can turn the reality of the bitter northeastern winter wind into a daydream of her childhood summers in Texas just by sinking to the bottom of the pool. It’s only a brief respite from the climate that she detests, but it’s the only one she’ll get after relocating from her southern home to Baltimore to live with her cousins, Rowdy and Laura. A tragic drunk driving accident has robbed Jenna of her mother and damaged her eyes, transforming a successful college graduate into a lonely, disabled dependant. “

“After finding employment as a spin instructor and volunteer at the local school for blind children, she begins to gain confidence and independence in her new surroundings. When Jenna meets Rick Bentley, a swimming coach and accomplished athlete, her feelings of uncertainty and vulnerability mask her kindness leaving him rightly offended and their first two encounters threaten to be their last. It will take forgiveness, loving families, and a debilitating migraine to take their two broken hearts and make them into one great everlasting love.”

So first…lets start with what this book IS NOT. It is NOT a YA novel. It is NOT a Harlequin (the sweaty sailor saved me from a man-eating octopus) novel. It is NOT erotica. It is NOT depressing (though it does have a few tear worthy moments) and it is NOT for everyone.

What this book is, is a nicely written CLEAN romance with a few (and I do mean FEW) religious undertones and a pleasant plot.

The characters are believable, and flawed (which makes them wonderfully realistic.) Especially Rick, who (like most of us) jumps to conclusions, has demons in his past and has a hard time swallowing his pride. These traits mixed with Jenna’s southern charm make for a delightfully charismatic couple.

As for the plot, it’s nice. Yes, it can be a bit hokey at times (think Valerie Bertinelli ala the Hallmark Channel) but the simpleness of it is what makes the book work. (Sometimes less really is more.)

Overall, I thought it was a cute book, with a few great moments of depth, and glimpses of unexpected sparkle. It may not be for everyone, but it will definitely call to those of you that are into romance for more than heavy petting and 1 night stands.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: it’s not stalking if they don’t catch you. Right?

[Amber Delaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully well-written for a self-pub novel (almost all of which tend to disappoint me), Blind Sided has a little bit of everything including humor, drama and, of course, plenty of romance.

Jenna Rainey loses her mother and her eyesight when a drunk driver plows into their car. Blinded and broken-hearted, she learns to live and love again with friends and family as she heals. Along the way, she meets Rick Bentley, a professional swimmer. Jenna couldn't be less interested, but Rick has had his eye on her for a while and her sour attitude isn't quite enough to throw him off. Though their romance has a rocky start, Jenna and Rick discover the importance of forgiveness and love.

I found Blind Sided to be a nice, comfortable read and really enjoyed the good, clean romance. If you're trying to avoid romance novels that sell themselves with sex, I recommend it. I had a hard time putting it down. Jenna and Rick's sweet romance was a refreshing change from stories with characters that were hung up on a physical relationship. The storyline has plenty of variety to keep the reader's interest. The characters were both lovable and memorable and I found myself consistently surprised by the unpredictable nature of the story.

Blind Sided read like a mini series with ups and downs, smaller stories within the larger story and sub-plots that will keep you entertained even if you are like me and don't have long stretches of time in which to read. If you're from the South like I am, there will be some laugh-out-loud moments. Well worth it, especially at this awesome price!

[Lucinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

After seeing 'Blind Sided' on my Kindle recommendations list for quite some time now, I finally got it and read it in one day. I have to confess that I didn't like the cover too much, but after reading the first chapter, I couldn't put it down. I loved the main characters, Jenna and Rick, loved the way their relationship grew and how they fell in love; the secondary characters, especially Jenna's cousins and their friends, were also well developed and added just the needed touch to add more depth to the novel. It is well written, the plots and subplots are woven in to keep the reader's interest and the romance parts are very sweet and attractive.
Yes, it does have some formatting issues and misspelled words (otherwise I would had rated it with 5 stars) which, in this case, I am willing to slightly overlook due to how much I liked the writing and the main characters. I suggest a tighter editing job.
I'll be reading it again and I'll be happy to recommend 'Blind Sided' to anyone who likes sweet, clean, romance stories with realistic characters (the religions references are very subtle).
A job well done, I'll be looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do I say? This was a great book. I guess I wasn't expecting much, seeing as how all the other LDS books I have read were...sorry to say, cheesy. Not Blind Sided, though. It was GREAT!! This book had moments of sadness, happiness, and comedy. It made me tear up/cry, laugh, roll my eyes, get on the edge of my seat wanting to know more, and it even had me mad! Leigh did an awesome job of really allowing the reader to connect with the main character, Jenna and even the male character Rick. I really enjoyed this book and though I was reading it late into the night, trying to finish it, I am sad it's over. Part of me wishes this was a series, I want more! I will read more by Cheryl Leigh.

[Valerie Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I liked the characters and their fun personalities. I liked that it was a lds novel but that wasn't the focus, I don't read fiction to get a spiritual uplift. But I love clean romance with good morals. I didn't like the lack of editing. It drove me crazy! At one point the main character was called the name of one of the other characters. It was weird. I didn't love the epilogue either. It was kind of anticlimactic. Other then those things I really did love the flirting and fun dating stuff. More then once I found myself smiling or really laughing at something in the book. Cute story.

[M.B. Mulhall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Although, it surprised me because as someone who knows next to nothing about a Mormon lifestyle, I didn't even realize that's the MC and her cousins were Mormon until they started talking about not drinking liquor or caffeine. I didn't know what the "wards" referred to. Regardless, I thought it was a good story. Something a bit different. I normally like my romances to be a little...steamier, but it was still well done and enjoyable and for a change, it didn't feel like I had read the story before. I always like that.

[Erin Dutro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been a more pleasant read had I not been so distracted by the atrocious punctuation and spelling, but that's a formatting issue, not a problem with the story itself.

This is not the kind of book I usually read. I'm not very much into happy little romance novels, but it was like a dessert in which you don't often indulge...pleasant, comforting and very sweet. Sometimes it's good to just relax with a positive love story. In short, don't expect great literature, but if you're looking for a good quick, light read, this is a pretty good choice.

[Allison IG: RNs_booknook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely gave me a surprise, I really enjoyed the story and the character's. This being an LDS romance, I thought it might have several layers of cheesiness in it, but it really didn't. Although the characters are LDS, the church is not the focus, just the morals. This was a refreshing, clean, but adorable romance that I had a really hard time putting down. I almost fed my family cereal one night since I just wanted to read this story. :) There was a lot of humor, plenty of tenderness and a really good message about forgiveness and second chances.

[Michael-Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

2-1/2 to 3 Stars - A young woman is blinded in a car accident that killed her mother leaving her without immediate family. Doesn't delve much into her newly darkened world. Romance blooms with a semi-famous athlete with his own family issues. I had to suspend my disbelief several times to finish the book. Her mothers funeral was surreal...and completely ridiculous. The romances were sweet but also a little out there in terms of believability. Overall, though, it was a sweet story and I found myself rooting for the main character.

[sabrina caho · Rating 1 out of 5]

It started good, drama mixed with fun stuff... I thought it was going well. The building up of romance was good too, until about 20% of the book. Do the math, 20% good equals 1 star.

After than everything was like a bad soap opera with many mixed boring sub-plots. It should have stopped when the MC got her sight back and solved the issue with the love interest.

Then the dialogs were confusing, the religious stuff began to bother me, and it was too long and boring! After chapter 25 (around 55% of the book) I gave up, it was too bad!

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm finished with Blind Sided: I like the book, but was very confused at times, and has to go back and reread a couple of pages. I didn't care for the religious things in the book. I word God is find but when mention of religious groups its not for me.. I didn't know what a ward was. Or LDS. I believe there is a God and a Heavenly father but those are my believes and I don't force them on anyone. Thanks!

[Merla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This showed a young adult women's courage and determination to find meaningful activities she could do despite the tragedy she had to face. It became a fun romance story that was clean and typical of some LDS young single adults. Although it was self-published, it was well written and I found very few errors, which did not affect it's readability or storyline. I enjoyed reading it on my Kindle and downloaded it because it was 1.99 and sounded interesting.

[Briana Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I was cracking up during quite a bit of it while reading the banter that went on between the two main characters. I thought this book was well written. The characters in the book are LDS, but the author did not fill it will lots of gospel doctrine like other LDS books i have read. I thought this book was well written.. I did have a couple little complaints, but overall, it was a great book and I would definitely recommend it.

[Tracee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. There were sad parts, but it was a feel-good read, and definitely had some humor. The only part I didn't really like was the ending and the epilogue. I guess for me I wanted more details, more closure for the story, or nothing. There was closure, don't get me wrong, but I loved the story in the middle. Then the end just kind of fizzled out.

[Charissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun book to read. The character development was great for Rick and Jenna; I couldn't put it down once I started. Well-written romance that was clean and uplifting, with me cheering Jenna the whole way through. I love when a character gets into your heart and feels like your new friend.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story had so much potential, but the characters were just so nice to each other. Even when they were mad they were quickly apologizing and being so positive. I found it unrealistic. That's my biggest complaint about the book. The love story part was cute. The writing was good for an LDS author and it was an enjoyable read.

[Stevie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is an adorable romance, with great character development and a captivating plot. It was a little unpredictable, which is a definite plus. All in all a fun read, and for a great price on both Kindle and Nook.

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a love/hate relationship with it. I loved the characters but when the predictable break up scene happened,the reason made me so mad that I gave it a 3. I liked that it was LDS fiction but had no church scenes in it.

[Revati Ragini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a big, hot, muscle-y man, what can I say? The whole mormon thing was unexpected and interesting, it wasn't a huge deal being shoved in your face but there were some things that took me a little while to understand.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read i,t but had issues with it. There were some plot points that made me crazy. Obviously others liked it so I'll keep my opinions to myself. Plus I can't even remember the MC's names to do a rant justice.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. LDS fiction usually rubs me the wrong way, but this book didn't make everything about being LDS. It was just a natural part of their lives instead of being in your face about it. I enjoyed the characters and all of their many relationships and facets.

[Karijean31 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. About a LDS girl who loses her mom in a car accident and also loses her sight temporarily. she is from Texas and goes to Maryland to live with her cousins and they help her while she is regaining her sight. How she meets her true love is very fun. Loved this book!

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is Mormon fiction. I liked the story, but was frustrated by the misunderstanding that was the conflict of the book because it was inconsistant with the characters. Overall, it was a fast interesting read.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet, clean romance a novel. Great work for a self published book. Kudos to the author. Liked the story and Jenna, like her overcoming obstacles to regain her life and eventually find love. A great story of family and good morals and values .