I didn't expect much from this book when I read the back cover, so at least I wasn't disappointed. Carly Adams just had surgery to correct a lifetime of blindness, enjoys a night at the bar with her friend Bess and winds up being deflowered by Hank Coulter. Without a condom.Surprise surprise, she gets knocked up and the pregnancy will fuck up her eyes again. The whole situation is teeth-gratingly annoying to read through. Carly's a stubborn ass who whines about her stupid pride, Hank's just an ass period, we have yet another stupid "marry me or else" blackmail plot and the original "do it or I'll take your baby away" stipulation, Bess tries to be a good friend but ends up temporarily on Carly's shitlist when she's forced to convince Hank to bully Carly into marriage because Carly won't stop being a stubborn ass and it's just really, really annoying.That said, this isn't Anderson's worst book. It's not her best by a long shot and the romance is nothing to write home about, but it has its good moments here and there. After their impromptu wedding, Hank and Carly get to know each other and he nurses her through her terrible morning sickness. We get a cameo from Sunset, the horse from Jake's book. And Zeke catching the bouquet at the wedding got a laugh out of me, I admit it. Of all the ways to go "hey, guess who's getting married next book!" this was the most creative.Most of the second half of the book isn't too bad, either. Hank and Carly build a friendship, Carly spends her time going I can't love him I won't love him but of course she does, and he loves her, and during a vacation to Portland they finally have satisfying sex. Meanwhile, Carly's eyesight is going and going and she tries not to let it depress her until one day she nearly drowns in a pond. She's rushed to the hospital, totally freaks out and goes home to her dad. Of course. It's not an Anderson book without the heroine running away from the man!And it turns out Carly has a skeleton in her closet named Michael, an old boyfriend who dumped her when she wouldn't put out, left her alone in the woods and she almost drowned back then, too! The story lierally infodumps this on us at the last stretch, we're given next to no foreshadowing aside from the almost-drowning scene and Art Adams telling Hank happened offscreen. I was just kind of like "lol wut" at the whole thing.But of course, Carly and Hank are meant to be together and stay that way, Carly has the kid and Hank describes how he looks and the morning light, the end.So yes. I liked about 80% of the second half of the book and the standard sweet ending well enough, but everything else was trite and predictable and annoying.
I really like this book! So far every book in the series has been EXCELLENT! Anderson's stories are always so tender and sweet. I love her less than perfect heroines who find their prince charming in the hunky cowboys who’d move heaven and earth for them! I was so drawn into the story at page one. Carly was blind all her life but recently went through surgery to regain her sight so when she first sees Hank Coulter at a local bar she thinks he’s the most gorgeous man she’s ever seen. When he walks straight to her, dances with her and calls her the most beautiful girl in the bar Carly gets caught up in the moment. For the first time in her life the hottest guy has eyes only for her. Who cares if he’s feeding her lines to get her in bed? She’s been blind all her life so she decides to go with it. Both completely wasted, they get hot and heavy and end up in the back seat of Hank’s truck. When Hank realizes Carly was a virgin he swears under his tongue and passes out! The next morning Hank wakes up in his truck with hangover and can’t believe what he’s done! Weeks later Carly is pregnant but the pregnancy will have a negative effect on her sight and eventually she will lose her sight again completely. There is no way Carly can finish school, hold a job and care for a baby if she’s blind. She does not want to have anything to do with Hank Coulter because he made an absolute fool of her but she has no other choice. She has to contact him. Hank steps up to his responsibilities and he won’t have his child growing up without a father. They get married temporarily because it’s the only way he can afford to support Carly and the baby. She doesn’t plan to love Hank, after all it’s only a marriage of convenience, but soon enough she’s madly in love with him. Hank’s loved her all along. She doesn’t want to burden him with a blind wife but Hank won’t live without her. He’ll do anything to keep her with him. Wow, these cowboys they just don’t take no for an answer. Once they have their minds set there is no changing it. Love it! Hank was so patient with Carly and he knew he had to make things right with her. I really liked the part when Hank apologized with the flashcards. It was so cute and very unique! Hank wasn’t the richest man and he was willing to give up everything for Carly. He’d rather be in debt than live without her. I really love this series and can’t wait to read the rest!
What do You think about Blue Skies (2004)?
Wow....what a beautiful story. Hank is a 32 year old rancher who trolls a country western bar every weekend looking for the next one-night stand. He feeds women lines, uses them and then and disappears the next morning. His pick-up one drunken night is Carly, a 28 year old virgin who had a recent operation leading to temporary sightedness. Major consequences of his callous, deceitful approach result. I really enjoyed his growth, but major slut shaming during the book (virgins don't deserve such treatment but all other women are just "run of the mill" barfly types that have been "rode hard and put up wet" so are beneath him. After he sleeps with them, of course. And his dad "tossed a number of skirts" before meeting a "good" girl.). But then hero really does see how wrong he was and actually realizes that treating any woman that way was just wrong and diminished him. Very believable transformation and beautiful story about love (as action, not just words), honor, sacrifice, redemption and commitment. It's about those things in the way The Notebook ultimately is. And so beautifully written. How could it have been so heartfelt, poetic and heartwarming without being treacly? It just was....that's the author's talent.Loved the secondary characters, Carly's friend Bess, her dad (in the most poignant scene in the book) and Luke's family. I kept hearing his mom as the voice of Marion Cunningham from Happy Days!
—Becky
Bisa dikatakan pertemuan Hank Coulter dan Carly Adams diawali dengan musibah...Untungnya Hank didukung abang-abangnya memperbaiki kesalahan yang dia perbuat. dan Carly Adams terbukti keras kepala....so, pendekatan Hank ditolak mentah2, Carly bersikeras semua bisa dilakukan sendiri...tapi Carly belum tau kekuatan tekad Hank...walaupun sedikit mengancam, akan membawa masalah mereka ke pengadilan, Carly terpaksa menerima tawaran Hank...sedikit demi sedikit Carly dan Hank bisa menyesuaikan diri dengan kelebihan dan kekurangan masing2. sayangnya masalah kebutaan Carly kembali datang gara2 kehamilannya ini, ga percaya Hank akan mendukung 100% kondisinya yang baru, Carly meninggalkan Hank...komen :#so sweeet.....saat Hank meyakinkan Carly bhw hubungan mereka bisa berjalan baik. #baru kali ini melihat kelemahan Carly didukung 100% ama Hank...emang tokoh fiksional, segalanya ada dalam cerita >_<4 bintang
—Felita Hardigaloeh
It was an okay read. But I didn’t much care for Carly or Hank. I found her a little annoying. Hank was a lot more likable than her. Although his actions weren’t ideal, I understood him a little better than Carly which is why I found her so frustrating. She meets Hank at a bar and they have sex in the back of his truck that same night. She was a virgin so of course by the laws of Romancelandia she winds up pregnant. Hank spent a lot of time in this book feeling bad for what he did. I thought it was more than necessary. Carly finally admits that she was in the wrong too but it came too late for my tastes. At that point, I had already written Carly off. Although one thing I really did enjoy about the novel was the research done into Carly’s sight and surgery. I always appreciate good research and I liked that Anderson done so much for this novel.
—Christina A. Marley
