Love is Blind by Shayna B.

Hailey Baker was a normal teenager- friends, the occasional party and a great boyfriend. But that all changes one night when an accident kills her parents and leaves Hailey with a serious back injury.

Seven months after the accident, Hailey has struggled to learn to walk again and is now about to start at a new school after moving in with her uncle. Determined to live a normal life, she doesn't let her injury slow her down. When she meets Blake Adams, her life changes once again- this time for the better.

Blake was the school's golden boy until he lost his sight in a freak accident two years earlier. Going through life withdrawn and miserable, he expects to remain alone for the rest of his life. But then he meets Hailey, and all his expectations are thrown to the wind.

Four Stars

“Since I’m blind, you shouldn’t get mad when I don’t see things other people can see.” 

This book was brought to my attention from one of my GR friends. Once I read the synopsis, I was intrigued. I love stories involving damaged Heroes. I find them extra brooding and extra moody. More often than not, that hard exterior is just a cover up. Buried underneath all that lays a man who’s sensitive, caring, loyal and loving. And boy was I right.

“What if I decide to keep going the way I have been?”

“Then I feel sorry for you. Life’s full of too many wonders to waste it wallowing in misery. Do you want to just exist? Or do you want to actually live?” 

Our heroine, Hailey is on the hard road to recovery. She’s been through a lot in the past year. She’s lost her parents to a horrific car accident, while in the same accident leaving her brother in a coma and leaving her with a severely injured back. Depression and doubt was plaguing her, especially when her prognosis for walking again was low. However, with the help of her Uncle Liam and her brother’s best friend, Jared, she was able to overcome a lot. Though she’s not a 100%, she is able to walk, but does have bouts where she still occasionally uses a wheelchair. After the accident, she wasn’t ready to face her friends so she moved in with her Uncle and started at a new school. 

He nuzzled at my neck. “I can’t change who I am.”

I shivered a little as his breath tickles me. “I’ll never ask you to change who you are. Although I might try to tweak you a little bit here and there.” 

Blake lost his sight about two years ago. A lot has changed since that time. He no longer wants to hang out with his friends, he’s become unapproachable and known to have a quite the temper. When he meets Hailey he was rude, harsh and just downright unfriendly. What did this girl want from him?

Hailey didn’t know what to make of Blake the first time she met him. She sensed a connection of some sort from him despite his cranky and moody disposition. It wouldn’t take long to find that out that she and Blake share a commonality. It was this commonality and empathy for each other that eventually brought them together.

He gave me a light kiss. “So you’ll be my girlfriend?

“Yeah, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

“You’ll probably regret it at some point.”

I laughed. “You’re probably right,” I agreed teasingly. 

This was story had lots of emotional moments and is very heartwarming. I really enjoyed seeing Blake’s moody exterior coming crashing down. Bailey didn’t try to change him. As a matter of fact, he was still pretty moody, but just a toned down version of him. I loved it. The pace was just right and nothing was rushed, nor was there a ton of unnecessary drama nor angst. Just an all-around good, YA story.