The Blinding Light by Renae Kaye

 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.

The Blinding Light is the best kind of read – it made me laugh and cry (just a teeny bit), it made me happy and sad, it turned me on, it made me fall in love with not one but two gay men, and it left me feeling hopeful. It was an emotionally satisfying read that I absolutely love.

Jake. Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake. He’s freaking perfect and I want him as my new best friend. He’s a sarcastic smart mouth who has such a huge heart and cares deeply for those that are important to him. More than once, he gives up the last bit of his money to one of his sisters as he would rather go without than have them do without. His antics throughout the book and his banter with Patrick once they finally meet and their relationship develops kept me cracking up; and Patrick was no slouch in the humor department either. Even knowing that this was an m/m romance, I was right there with Jake wondering about Patrick’s sexuality because he really didn’t give off any signals prior to him visiting Jake at the bar. But thankfully once Patrick’s “secret” was out, they wasted very little time before turning up the heat … frequently.

Ms. Kaye has written a beautiful romance, at the center of which are two extremely delightful characters – Jake and Patrick. I loved how Jake accepted Patrick’s blindness as just one more facet to the man; he made the necessary accommodations for Patrick out of concern for his safety in the beginning, and then later out of love. I love this book. I loved spending time with Jake and Patrick and watching them fall in love. My only dislike of the book is that is now over, but at least I can always reread it. Ms. Kaye, my feelings wouldn’t be hurt at all if you chose to write a sequel and show us where Jake and Patrick go from here.

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