Blind Kiss

Starred review from June 18, 2018
Carlino (Wish You Were Here) impresses and astonishes with this complicated, beautiful contemporary that shifts between past and present with devastating effect. Penny Piper and Gavin Berninger meet at Colorado State University in Fort Collins in a most unusual way: participating in a psych class experiment that has them kissing blindfolded. Little does either realize that kiss will be life-changing. Dance is Penny’s deepest passion, and she refuses to allow herself to fall in love with Gavin, even though she thinks the engineering student is drop-dead sexy. An accident ends Penny’s dancing dreams and leads to both Penny and Gavin making a series of terrible life decisions, and it seems that the two of them will never find their way back to each other, but after almost two decades, they get a second chance. Carlino’s sharp, incisive prose calls the traditional romance novel ending into question throughout. The expert characterizations and a constantly surprising plot are enthralling. Deep and complex, this heartbreaking and heartwarming tale will live in readers’ memories long after the final page is turned.

June 15, 2018
A blind date is bad enough. But what about a blind kiss--as in blindfolded, with no idea whom you're kissing?When Penny was in college, she was pressured into participating in a psychology project to see if physical attraction could exist without seeing, or knowing, a person. Participants found the blind kiss rather repulsive--but not Penny and Gavin. Their kiss was hot and sensual, and they were both instantly attracted to each other. But Penny was on a mission to graduate and perfect her ballet, which she needed to devote all her time to. They would remain friends, she determined. And because he wanted her around, Gavin agreed to a hands-off friendship. Fourteen years later we find Penny married with a son. Gavin is still her best friend; neither has broken the hands-off vow, although, understandably, Penny's husband is jealous of their relationship. When Penny's marriage begins to flounder, she is nothing but virtuous with Gavin. Then circumstances change. A girl Penny introduced to Gavin is moving to France...and he's going with her. This might be a realistic stopping point, as readers may find the focus on a friendship that should be more a bit overlong. Fourteen years! Really, you two. Get real! Or move on! But as they say, "It ain't over till it's over."Carlino's (Wish You Were Here, 2017, etc.) tale of a couple who exchange passion for friendship is engaging, but she misses the chance to go more deeply into her characters' motivations, giving the reader little empathy for their decisions.

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