Review: Blinded By Our Eyes by Clare London

Blinded By Our Eyes
by Clare London
eBook
Publisher: Carina Press
Available: June 22nd 2010
Genre: GLBT Romantic Suspense

London art dealer Charles Garrett has devoted his life to appreciating and acquiring beauty, both in art and in his companions. His fashionable life is rocked to the core when he discovers the body of a young artist, Paolo Valero, in a pool of blood in his gallery.  As Paolo’s mentor, Charles is haunted by the horror of his violent death. Seeking closure, he investigates Paolo’s past and soon discovers a tangled web of motives and potential suspects, some closer to home than he ever imagined. He’s drawn to Antony Walker, an aggressive, handsome sculptor with unsavory ties to Paolo. Charles is unsettled by Antony’s forceful nature but irresistibly attracted to his passion and his art. When the evidence points toward Antony’s guilt, Charles is thrown into emotional turmoil. Has he lost his heart to a killer?

Reviewed by: Samantha

When Charles Garrett walks into his art gallery one night and finds a grizzly scene full of blood, a dead body, and a sobbing ex-lover, his world gets turned upside down. Charles then sets about trying to put together the puzzle pieces behind the murder of his friend and talented artist Paolo while he helps Paolo’s brother (and Charles ex-lover) deal with his grief. But nothing is making sense to Charles as he slowly starts to discover Paolo’s secrets. And one of Paolo’s secrets lead Charles straight to the fierce and fiery Antony. But can Charles trust that Antony is telling him the truth and how should Charles handle his instant attraction to Antony when Antony may well be a suspect?

The one thing I can say about Blinded By Our Eyes is that Clare London really got the mystery part right in this book. It was suspenseful and when the truth was revealed I was quite surprised. In fact my mouth was definitely hanging open for a period of time while I continued to read. However it did take a while to get to some romance. The romance definitely does not take center stage in the story. Once it got there, it was fairly hot but it definitely left me wanting more. What I struggled with a little while reading this is the way the story is told. It is written in first person and often it felt like Charles was actually reciting the story to me. I didn’t really feel like I was on the journey with him while he sought to solve the mystery behind Paolo’s death. It felt more like I was sitting in a coffee shop with him and he was telling me a story that had happened to him. I haven’t read anything else by London and perhaps this is her writing style, but it took a little getting used to at first.  I also felt the reveal of the big mystery seemed a bit rushed. After Charles spent so much time on his own seeking out the truth or thinking about why Paolo would have been killed, when the truth was revealed, it really wasn’t through Paolo’s self-discovery. This felt a bit strange to me considering the overarching theme of the book.

Overall the plot of the book had me mildly satisfied even though I could have used a few more sexy scenes to also keep the heat going along with the mystery.

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Purchase Links: Amazon || Carina Press

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