The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
kelz31's review against another edition
2.0
Did not care for this. Sheesh. So many lectures. I can suspend a lot of disbelief for a fun story, but this was egregious. Maybe Nowhere Ranch was a fluke and this author isn't for me.
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Set amongst the bright lights and sheer decadence of Las Vegas, Heidi Cullinan's Double Blind is a captivating story of redemption for lead protagonists Randy Jensen and Ethan Ellison. It is also a breathtaking love story that is full of down and dirty sex and surprisingly tender emotions between our two über stoic heroes.
This second installment in the Special Delivery series begins about two years after the first book ends and this time, it is Randy's turn to find love. Randy is an expert poker player but it is his uncanny ability to read people that is the true secret to his success. Accepting a bet from his friend (and former gangster), Crabtree, Randy approaches Ethan just as he loses the rest of his money on the roulette wheel and when these two make a wager between them, they set off for a little fun, a la Vegas style which of course includes innocent sightseeing, LOTS of booze, gambling and if they're very lucky, some seriously hot sex.
Ethan is coming off a bad break up that did a real number on him emotionally and financially. With literally nothing left to lose, he accepts Randy's offer to stay with him while he figures out what he is going to do next. He veers between the highest of highs and lowest of lows, and Randy is unexpectedly good at helping Ethan find middle ground. With Randy's (unwitting) help, Ethan receives a job offer from Crabtree to help bring Herod's (the casino where he and Randy met), back from the brink of financial ruin.
Surprisingly enough, Randy is the bigger mess of the two men and he is going to have to get up close and personal with his own demons if their relationship is going to have a chance of surviving. Mitch and Sam come back into his life for an extended period and while their appearance certainly complicates things, they also help Randy get his head on straight on more than one occasion.
The sexual attraction between Ethan and Randy is pretty darn hot right from the start and their first kiss is over the top SEXY. While their sex scenes are undeniably erotic, Double Blind is nowhere near as kinky as Special Delivery. There are a few light scenes with BDSM elements and of course Sam and Mitch are always ready for a little group lovin', but a lot of their scenes fade to black or take place behind closed doors. But somehow less sex really works in the story and I really felt the emotional connection between all of the characters, not just Ethan and Randy.
Superb location, fascinating characters and super steamy sex scenes make Double Blind an outstanding read. All of the characters grow and mature and become more at peace with their pasts. Heidi Cullinan takes everyone (including the readers) on a bit of an emotional roller coaster but in the end, it is completely worth all of the turmoil.
This second installment in the Special Delivery series begins about two years after the first book ends and this time, it is Randy's turn to find love. Randy is an expert poker player but it is his uncanny ability to read people that is the true secret to his success. Accepting a bet from his friend (and former gangster), Crabtree, Randy approaches Ethan just as he loses the rest of his money on the roulette wheel and when these two make a wager between them, they set off for a little fun, a la Vegas style which of course includes innocent sightseeing, LOTS of booze, gambling and if they're very lucky, some seriously hot sex.
Ethan is coming off a bad break up that did a real number on him emotionally and financially. With literally nothing left to lose, he accepts Randy's offer to stay with him while he figures out what he is going to do next. He veers between the highest of highs and lowest of lows, and Randy is unexpectedly good at helping Ethan find middle ground. With Randy's (unwitting) help, Ethan receives a job offer from Crabtree to help bring Herod's (the casino where he and Randy met), back from the brink of financial ruin.
Surprisingly enough, Randy is the bigger mess of the two men and he is going to have to get up close and personal with his own demons if their relationship is going to have a chance of surviving. Mitch and Sam come back into his life for an extended period and while their appearance certainly complicates things, they also help Randy get his head on straight on more than one occasion.
The sexual attraction between Ethan and Randy is pretty darn hot right from the start and their first kiss is over the top SEXY. While their sex scenes are undeniably erotic, Double Blind is nowhere near as kinky as Special Delivery. There are a few light scenes with BDSM elements and of course Sam and Mitch are always ready for a little group lovin', but a lot of their scenes fade to black or take place behind closed doors. But somehow less sex really works in the story and I really felt the emotional connection between all of the characters, not just Ethan and Randy.
Superb location, fascinating characters and super steamy sex scenes make Double Blind an outstanding read. All of the characters grow and mature and become more at peace with their pasts. Heidi Cullinan takes everyone (including the readers) on a bit of an emotional roller coaster but in the end, it is completely worth all of the turmoil.
boatreads's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, it was funny, romanic and sexy. I didn't really like Randy in Special Delivery, but loved him in this book
triftwizened's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I honestly think this is better than book 1. It’s a little slow in the middle - or perhaps beginning around the end of the first act - but act 3 is a wild ride. Really surprised by how much I liked this.Â
mikilah's review against another edition
4.0
Really bound the series together and gave some good depth. Interesting portrayal of therapy. Still solid.
dancpharmd's review against another edition
5.0
(Full Disclosure - I'm married to the author.)
Double Blind is the sequel/spin-off to her well-received novel Special Delivery. When she finished writing Special Delivery, Heidi declared to me that Randy really needed his own story. Randy enters Special Delivery towards the end of its second act, and I'll admit, the first time I read it, I didn't really find him incredibly sympathetic - at least not initially. But I was willing to go with it - her instincts are rarely wrong when it comes to her writing. And so Double Blind was born, written in November of 2009 - the month to which we are used to losing Heidi to NaNaWriMo.
Double Blind opens in Herod's Casino in Las Vegas with Randy watching a video feed of Ethan Ellison at the roulette table. He is betting on black over and over again, and he is also losing over and over again. Randy is well known for his ability to read people, he makes a bet with Billy Herod, the owner of the casino, that he knows exactly what Ethan's story is. But has Randy finally met his match in Ethan?
While the book is, as most of Heidi's books are, a romance between two people - and, more abstractly, four people as Sam and Mitch from Special Delivery are back for an encore performance - it also throws Mafia machinations and Vegas' games of chance into the mix. There's quite a bit of poker in the book, and for those that might be afraid to wade into it because of the poker - trust me, you don't have to worry. The rules of the game are explained very well and in such a way as they contribute to the story. Somehow, even when explaining the rules to a game, Heidi still manages to show rather than tell.
I mentioned that Double Blind is a sequel of sorts to Special Delivery, but what I love about Double Blind is that it doesn't suffer from what I refer to as "The Mummy 2 Syndrome." It resists the temptation to take what worked in its predecessor and dress it up with more bells and whistles until it collapses under its own weight. Rather than rehash the past, what happens is that the familiar shows up and goes off in new directions. Consequently, it's not essential to have read Special Delivery to enjoy Double Blind (although reading the former is highly recommended.)
As I said when I reviewed Libby Drew's State of Mind, I really like it when the main characters in m/m fiction read like real guys as opposed to (as Mrs. Giggles said in her review of Special Delivery) "little girls with a pee-pee." Nothing bugs me more than seeing these men act as if they were somehow not men - as if by virtue of their orientation, their masculinity necessarily has to be ratcheted down several notches. This bounces me out of the story and mostly just makes me angry. So when the characters seem authentically written as men, I'm in. The flip side of that is that the emotional connection between men, regardless of orientation or the presence of absence of sex, is the draw for me in these novels, and that can sometimes seem not-very-mannish. Randy even thinks this during a particularly intense scene with Mitch "What the fuck, guys don’t talk like this, not even gay guys!" But as I have said a million times, although that may be the rule, it doesn't mean that it HAS to be that way. In fact, I feel like we would all better served if we banished the kind of statement that Randy made from our collective definition of masculinity. Men of all orientations have so few examples of real emotional connection and if m/m fiction can provide this, so much the better. Too bad that straight men (who, arguably, could use the education the most) will be the least likely to read it. If anyone ever asks me why I enjoy reading m/m fiction, those are the reasons I cite.
And even if I weren't married to the author, I think Double Blind is a more than capable entry into the genre.
Double Blind is the sequel/spin-off to her well-received novel Special Delivery. When she finished writing Special Delivery, Heidi declared to me that Randy really needed his own story. Randy enters Special Delivery towards the end of its second act, and I'll admit, the first time I read it, I didn't really find him incredibly sympathetic - at least not initially. But I was willing to go with it - her instincts are rarely wrong when it comes to her writing. And so Double Blind was born, written in November of 2009 - the month to which we are used to losing Heidi to NaNaWriMo.
Double Blind opens in Herod's Casino in Las Vegas with Randy watching a video feed of Ethan Ellison at the roulette table. He is betting on black over and over again, and he is also losing over and over again. Randy is well known for his ability to read people, he makes a bet with Billy Herod, the owner of the casino, that he knows exactly what Ethan's story is. But has Randy finally met his match in Ethan?
While the book is, as most of Heidi's books are, a romance between two people - and, more abstractly, four people as Sam and Mitch from Special Delivery are back for an encore performance - it also throws Mafia machinations and Vegas' games of chance into the mix. There's quite a bit of poker in the book, and for those that might be afraid to wade into it because of the poker - trust me, you don't have to worry. The rules of the game are explained very well and in such a way as they contribute to the story. Somehow, even when explaining the rules to a game, Heidi still manages to show rather than tell.
I mentioned that Double Blind is a sequel of sorts to Special Delivery, but what I love about Double Blind is that it doesn't suffer from what I refer to as "The Mummy 2 Syndrome." It resists the temptation to take what worked in its predecessor and dress it up with more bells and whistles until it collapses under its own weight. Rather than rehash the past, what happens is that the familiar shows up and goes off in new directions. Consequently, it's not essential to have read Special Delivery to enjoy Double Blind (although reading the former is highly recommended.)
As I said when I reviewed Libby Drew's State of Mind, I really like it when the main characters in m/m fiction read like real guys as opposed to (as Mrs. Giggles said in her review of Special Delivery) "little girls with a pee-pee." Nothing bugs me more than seeing these men act as if they were somehow not men - as if by virtue of their orientation, their masculinity necessarily has to be ratcheted down several notches. This bounces me out of the story and mostly just makes me angry. So when the characters seem authentically written as men, I'm in. The flip side of that is that the emotional connection between men, regardless of orientation or the presence of absence of sex, is the draw for me in these novels, and that can sometimes seem not-very-mannish. Randy even thinks this during a particularly intense scene with Mitch "What the fuck, guys don’t talk like this, not even gay guys!" But as I have said a million times, although that may be the rule, it doesn't mean that it HAS to be that way. In fact, I feel like we would all better served if we banished the kind of statement that Randy made from our collective definition of masculinity. Men of all orientations have so few examples of real emotional connection and if m/m fiction can provide this, so much the better. Too bad that straight men (who, arguably, could use the education the most) will be the least likely to read it. If anyone ever asks me why I enjoy reading m/m fiction, those are the reasons I cite.
And even if I weren't married to the author, I think Double Blind is a more than capable entry into the genre.
cadiva's review against another edition
5.0
Oh I loved loved loved this one. Randy went from being a sort of pain in the arse in book one to being my favourite and his relationship with Ethan was beautifully drawn out and expressed.
Loved all the little nods to the classic Mob Vegas era in this particular book as well, the seedy secret behind the glamour.
Loved all the little nods to the classic Mob Vegas era in this particular book as well, the seedy secret behind the glamour.
cmira2027's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Randy here, I loved his relationship with Ethan, and with Mitch and Sam.
chocolatemeerkat's review against another edition
5.0
Randy grew on me like a prickly cactus and now I absolutely love him. I love all of main characters and every inch of this book.
mordecai's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0