Blind Heat

by Delta Dupree

Denver potter Joni Hammond still shelters quiet contempt for the military after her soldier husband's suspicious death. She's open to uncomplicated companionship, except attorney Sylvester James is nagging her toward the altar. He's packing serious baggage—an unusual divorce, teenaged hellions, and widowhood by a car accident—much more than Joni thinks she's able to handle. Needing time to consider her answer, she travels to her new stomping grounds in Phoenix. While there, fresh temptation comes in the form of a successful artist, a man Joni believes is simply a painter. A man whose impatient touch will leave her craving him more.

Semi-retired, Colonel Fletcher Maguire leads a secret, double life. The Army is his first love. Painting a woman's portrait usually adds a notch to his oil brush. But the two great professions come with one catch; Fletcher is going blind. Haunted by a deadly mission, old war wounds equally threaten his careers. Somehow, an unflappable, fearless potter will manage to wage war on his psyche and soothe his soul at the same time.

Seduced by two talented men, Joni wants both tenderness and impatience wrapped into one delicious package—until she discovers each lover hides a devastating secret. Both insults guarantee emotional chaos. Both men deserve her stinging rejection. Satisfaction will take more than an apology for Joni to listen to her heart, but only skilled courage will stop one man's unpredicted reaction.

Genres: Erotica, Interracial Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romance

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 3, 2010

About the author

Delta Dupree writes as hot as the Arizona desert heat where she lives. She and her husband, another romantic at heart, are avid travelers. While touring exotic locations throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, Central and South America, reading has always been Delta's pleasure, but writing novels is her passion. Inspired by the people and the places she has visited, Delta enjoys inventing characters and stories in which lust, love, and destiny leave the readers' hearts stuttering.

Reviews

[Disgusted Reader]

This book is so long for no reason & these characters are extremely unlikable.

[Shardae]

Hot Read

Mrs. Dupree knows how to write a hot book and she excels at it to the highest degree. I enjoyed this story and anyone looking for a hot read about a no nonsense man and a feisty beautiful woman should download Blind Heat today.

Fletcher, an artist, meets fiery Joni at an art gallery and is immediately attracted to her. Joni on the other hand is put off by Fletcher's attitude towards her, but she can't deny her attraction for him either. They argue and fight then go at each other like animals. Wish I had me a Fletcher right about now.

Warning Spoiler ahead!!

The only thing that didn't seem right was the climax of the story. Where Syl held th he party up, it was a traumatizing experience and everybody goes back to the party after Fletcher saves the day. Who does that!

But all in all a very very good read!!

[Alicia]

First time reading anything from this author, I must say I enjoyed it. The chemistry was wonderful between Joni and Fletcher. This was not the typical meet fall in love romance novel and I could not put it down.

[Rosepetal78]

Besides the slang words (jump pregnant) and the "Gee" "Golly "Gosh" I actually liked this story. Could've done without the rollercoaster relationship between the main characters though. Also, unless I missed it, never really found out what was up with dude's eyes; only guesses

[Keshia Rambo]

I really liked the book except for some of the language kindda through me off. Joni started working on my nerves some but otherwise a good book.

[Victoria Lovell]

I enjoyed this book. The friction between the two main characters is frustrating at times but complete can relate to the whole "I hate you but don't" and "I will have the last word" aspect!

[LaTanya Galloway]

My fave reread

I purchased and read this book several years ago. I haven't it since but decided to reread because it was a great story. Over the years, I've become a more astute reader and even with the glaring grammactial errors and choppy layout, this was still better than most books out today. Great, instalove between Fletcher and Joni. Their connection is deeper than they know and it leads them on a whirlwind love journey.

[Justine]

While it's a good read, sometimes it was slightly difficult to figure out who was speaking.
Amusing hot. I do feel the chemistry.

[The Bourbon-Sipping Bibliophile]

Review: Blind Heat – The High-Rye Burn
Title: Blind Heat Author: Delta Dupree Genre: Romantic Suspense, Interracial Romance, Erotica Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5) | Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Sizzling Hot)

The Pour: A High-Proof Blend of Sizzle and Concealment
Pour a glass of something high-rye and dangerously smooth, because Blind Heat delivers a romance with a definite, complex edge. This book is a perfectly mixed cocktail of sizzling chemistry and genuine, captivating mystery, earning it a top-shelf 4.5-star rating.

The core of the blend lies in Joni Hammond, a Denver potter still nursing contempt for the military after her husband’s death, and Colonel Fletcher Maguire, a successful artist leading a secret, double life. The layers here—Fletcher’s impending blindness threatening his two great loves (the Army and painting), Joni's own baggage with attorney Sylvester—create a thrilling, high-stakes drama. This connection is electric—the kind of powerful dynamic that truly haunts you and warrants multiple re-reads.

What I Sip and Savored 🥃 (The Smooth Finish)
The parts of this pour that went down flawlessly:

🥃 Art vs. War Tension: The conflict is brilliant. Joni is a potter, expressing her soul through clay, while Fletcher is a painter whose career is tragically threatened by war wounds and blindness. This shared, deep connection to art vs. the military life (which Joni despises) is the perfect, ironic foundation for their passion.

🥃 Complex Character Baggage: Both leads are burdened by compelling issues. Fletcher's secret is devastating; Joni’s desire for "uncomplicated companionship" is immediately destroyed by both Fletcher and the persistent Sylvester James. The plot doesn't shy away from the emotional chaos promised by these devastating secrets.

🥃 Electric, Unruly Chemistry: The interactions between Joni and the Colonel—a man whose "impatient touch" leaves her craving more—are pure fire. Their chemistry is witty, passionate, and deeply engaging, making the emotional connection feel deeply earned and incredibly powerful.

🥃 Unforgettable Reread Value: A book I re-read multiple times is a book that has achieved classic status on my shelf. I was completely absorbed in their world and genuinely didn't want it to end.

What I Side-Eyed 🥃 (The Fleeting Jolt)
The minor notes that kept this from being a perfect 5:

🥃 The Slow Entry: The beginning, particularly with the setup involving Sylvester James, felt a touch slow, requiring patience before the sizzling romance with Fletcher fully took off.

🥃 Minor Distractions: There were a couple of minor editing slips (inconsistencies and grammatical hiccups) that momentarily broke the powerful immersion. A book this good deserves a polished bottle.

The Finish
Blind Heat is mandatory reading for anyone who loves their romance with a powerful kick and a labyrinth of secrets. It offers strong, art-infused characters, sizzling chemistry, and a compelling layer of romantic suspense. This is the perfect read for those who like their love stories to have an edge and the kind of depth that truly haunts you.

The Perfect Pairing
Pairing: A Manhattan, served neat. Why? The Manhattan is a spirit-forward cocktail—bold, complex, and mature. It mirrors the deep, high-proof flavors of the romance and the dark, intriguing history that surrounds Fletcher. It’s a classic that demands respect, much like this highly satisfying novel.

Tropes: Romantic Suspense, Interracial Romance, Secret Identity/Hidden Past, Love Triangle, Artist/Military Hero.

[Maria]

This book was a delightful and fun read, I couldn’t put it down. There’s drama, pain, but also humor, joy and, of course, lust, sex and love. The characters are dense and multidimensional.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most in the romantic plot was the way the hero (a very strong military alpha male) goes from a fervent non-commitment “only-for-sex” stage to a tender one and the way he tries to convince himself that they are only “people in lust” and not lovers. “One night was all he needed to rid himself of her appeal”, he even thinks at the beginning. I think the author handled very well the evolution from the initial instant attraction towards the more profound gradual involvement.
I loved the way both the hero and the heroine’s pasts are painfully, tragically related and how this dramatic bond is so gradually revealed throughout the narrative.

[NJS]

Thank god this was free. This could have been good. There was so much potential. But, the story did not have a good flow. It felt choppy. It was never quite clear why the male MC just had to have the female MC or vice versa. I think that could have been detailed better. BUT the most annoying, 'I almost didn't finish detail' was some of the damn diction. It killed this story for me. I do not know one black person, let alone a young black female that says, 'golly, gee whiz, hell's bells, gosh is even pushing it.' Especially if she is trying to be 'sassy', no one says that word either. It took me so out of the story and in 1952 white suburbia I was cringing. Anyway. I didn't like it, a definite skipper.

[Cheryl]

I really liked this story although it seemed to move really slow for me. I loved the characters and found myself laughing out loud quite a bit. There was some drama but not over the top which I was really thankful for. The supporting characters were great as well and enjoyed their interplay within the story line. I think the quality I liked most was that the leads had normal lives and jobs, granted they made great use of their money and were not piss poor but I loved the fact that neither were filthy over the top ubber wealthy. I am not sure if I liked the way the story ended but I guess it worked.

[Tanielle]

Loved this! Joni and Donni were funny and meeting Fletcher was the icing on the cake. Their relationship was right for them but the whole Sly situation was a mess. Not to mention the Sonny stuff when it came out with the truth which is really accurate with the relationship of most military people meeting at some point. Then Pappy was a character that was entertaining in the little parts that he had. Sly was a fool for even thinking he could do what he did or was trying to do. I'd love to read more about them and see what happens with the rest of the gang.

[Edith Covington]

This was a good book. I didn't give it a five star because Joni got on my nerves for real. The back and forth and the games being played. She wanted the last say, even though she really wanted to give in to Fletcher. Joni really was an army brat. I enjoyed the relationship between Joni and her father. I don't know if Joni's friend Dionne made it better or worse with her advice. Even though Joni got on my nerve sometimes, she was still a good person and had a good heart.

[Adrienne Gale]

Alg

It was long good at points predictable lead characters played to many games and the editing could have been better, Kimi can not believe someone got paid for that. it was confusing hard to follow at times and unoriginal.

[tamika d moore]

Second time around

I have had this book for a while and forgot how easy it was to get lost in the pages. It is fun and sassy. I do with that the male lead had more going for him in personality and the female lead was not so easy with her body. But it was still good.

[Amanda]

The writing style comes across as "ghetto", as do the characters. I wasn't impressed & would like to give '0' stars.

[Kimchi]

Childish , the characters fought about everything ,Everything I was so tired at the end that I couldn't even remember any good points .

[Missa Irish]

Sheesh! Holy, messed up people, so quick to assume. Do people really act this way? I just couldn't get into it, at all.

[Mary]

OK read but too slow.

[EJ MACK]

When you have pain like that you should not cover it with fake love.

[Charmaine Gray]

Very good book couldn't put it down.