Love is Blind

Love is Blind
4 Stars

Lady Clarissa Crambray should be the belle of the ball as she has beauty, wit and charm. Unfortunately, she is also as blind as a bat without her glasses, and her clumsiness means that every eligible bachelor is giving her a wide berth. That is until Adrian Monfort, the Earl of Mowbray, spies her across the room, and decides that no one else will do. A veteran of the Napoleanic wars, Adrian is only too happy to have a bride who cannot see his scarred visage. But what will happen when Clarissa regains her spectacles? Will she be able to see past surface imperfections to the worthy man beneath?

A mix of Beauty & The Beast and Cinderella, Love is Blind is a lovely romance with endearing characters. Clarissa is endearing show more and her klutziness leads to several laugh out loud moments. Adrian is gentle and caring, and his suffering at the hands of the cruel and superficial ton makes him all the more appealing. The chemistry between Clarissa and Adrian is wonderful and there relationship is relatively angst free although the whole "return of the spectacle" theme goes on for a tad too long.

The minor suspense plot has potential. However, the identity of the culprit is obvious from the start and the resolution is too pat for my tastes.

Overall, a lovely read and I really need to read more of Lynsay Sands' books. show less

Lady Clarissa Chambray is a clumsy embarrassment to her stepmother, Lydia, who is desperately trying to marry her off while her father is away on business. But it's not Clarissa's fault! Her clumsiness is cured when she can use her spectacles. However, her cruel stepmother breaks them so she won't wear them around eligible men, convinced they make Clarissa hideous.

Hideous is a term Adrian Montfort (who happens to be the Earl of Mowbray) has gotten used to since returning from war with a scar across the length of his face. He escaped several seasons in his country estate but, at the nagging of his mother, he has returned to society in the hopes of securing a marriage. Meeting a beautiful eligible woman who cannot see anything, much less show more his scar, seems almost too good to be true. Once he discovers that many of her accidents do not add up, he is set on a mission for her protection and her heart.

Apparently, I'm on a historical romance roll, but I don't mind. Especially when I simply adored each of them! This book was recommended to my by a friend and the first book that I have read by Lynsay Sands-I loved it! I thought it might just be a regency romance but there were plenty of obstacles for Clarissa and Adrian to overcome not just together, but with the help of their supporters. There was adventure, mystery, romance, and best of all-forgiveness. I loved Clarissa because she is determined to not let anything get her down, she sees the best in everyone, protects those closest to her, and is quick to forgive. She reminded me of Cinderella (my all-time favorite Disney Princess) at times, which may have added to my fondness for her. I had a very difficult time putting this book down as it did have a fast pace as well as many moments where I had to muffle a laugh.

I would recommend this book for fans of historical romance as well as for those who enjoy reading about characters overcoming adversity.

However, I would not recommend this book for readers who are offended or triggered by mild foul language, explicit sexual scenarios, bullying, violence, and infidelity. show less

Lady Clarissa Cambray has a reputation for clumsiness, what no-one knows is that this could be easily fixed if her step mother hadn't broken her glasses, without them she's almost blind. Her step-mother is convinced that men don't make passes at girls that wear glasses, and they definitely don't want to marry them. However because she can't see properly she keeps stumbling over things and spilling things so now she has a reputation for clumsy which is driving off prospective suitors.

Adrian Montfort, a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, scarred and looking for a wife, he finds himself intrigued by the plain-spoken Clarissa and they find themselves drawn more and more to each other as time goes on.

I really enjoyed the story and the two show more characters dealing with each other and perception and doing it well. show less

A dollar store book that I picked up because I recognized the author. Then I read the back. Heroine who needs glasses and isn't allowed to wear them! Scarred hero! Two of my favorite tropes! Yay!

This was VERY good, the conflict within the couple was very realistic, the hero was selfish, but recognized it and made up for it, the heroine was understandably insecure, not crazy and annoyingly insecure like many heroines. The overarching "mystery" was obvious and pretty much unnecessary since the rest of the book as so good, but that wasn't a big problem. The heroine was a bit too sexually naive for my taste, but the sex was still very hot and well written.

very enjoyable, glad I own it since it will be a reread.

Clarissa needs glasses! This sets up the plot and some the humour of the tale. It WAS silly, but it is diversionary for sure. Adrian, Earl of Mowbray, is a sincere suitor, and at least he sees beyond the silliness.

The premise of this historical romance is that the 'evil stepmother' won't let the heroine wear her glasses so she's effectively blind. This leads to many mishaps as she mistakes gentlemen's laps for tea trays, and you get the idea. Adrian is the only gentleman to see past Clarissa's issues but then he has problems of his own that Clarissa's vision troubles alleviate. It's a sweet story with an unfortunate side plot of someone trying to hurt Clarissa that didn't work for me. It's still a good book, but I thought it might have been better without the murder attempts.

The characters are not all that bright, and the plot was transparently predictable. But, it did make me chuckle quite a few times