Blue Skies (Kendrick/Coulter/Harrigan, #4) in Romance Series Lists

Jun 30, 2008 Miss Kim rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary, 2008, she-is-tstl

Ok, I couldn't spare more than 3 stars for this one. I was about one third through Blue Sky and the story line was SO irritating me. The heroine, Carley, has an eye disease that has caused her to blind since birth. After college, she has a surgery that restores a good percent of sight. She has been able to see for about 3 weeks when she goes to the bar with her friend, and proceeds to get hammered, then she sleeps with a stranger in the back of his truck. I forgot to throw in that she was a virg ...more

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Jul 21, 2009 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance-contemporary, favorites, read-own, read-in-2009

I really like this book! So far every book in the series has been EXCELLENT! Anderson's stories are always so tender and sweet. I love her less than perfect heroines who find their prince charming in the hunky cowboys who’d move heaven and earth for them!

I was so drawn into the story at page one. Carly was blind all her life but recently went through surgery to regain her sight so when she first sees Hank Coulter at a local bar she thinks he’s the most gorgeous man she’s ever seen. When he walk I really like this book! So far every book in the series has been EXCELLENT! Anderson's stories are always so tender and sweet. I love her less than perfect heroines who find their prince charming in the hunky cowboys who’d move heaven and earth for them!

I was so drawn into the story at page one. Carly was blind all her life but recently went through surgery to regain her sight so when she first sees Hank Coulter at a local bar she thinks he’s the most gorgeous man she’s ever seen. When he walks straight to her, dances with her and calls her the most beautiful girl in the bar Carly gets caught up in the moment. For the first time in her life the hottest guy has eyes only for her. Who cares if he’s feeding her lines to get her in bed? She’s been blind all her life so she decides to go with it. Both completely wasted, they get hot and heavy and end up in the back seat of Hank’s truck. When Hank realizes Carly was a virgin he swears under his tongue and passes out! The next morning Hank wakes up in his truck with hangover and can’t believe what he’s done!

Weeks later Carly is pregnant but the pregnancy will have a negative effect on her sight and eventually she will lose her sight again completely. There is no way Carly can finish school, hold a job and care for a baby if she’s blind. She does not want to have anything to do with Hank Coulter because he made an absolute fool of her but she has no other choice. She has to contact him. Hank steps up to his responsibilities and he won’t have his child growing up without a father. They get married temporarily because it’s the only way he can afford to support Carly and the baby. She doesn’t plan to love Hank, after all it’s only a marriage of convenience, but soon enough she’s madly in love with him. Hank’s loved her all along. She doesn’t want to burden him with a blind wife but Hank won’t live without her. He’ll do anything to keep her with him.

Wow, these cowboys they just don’t take no for an answer. Once they have their minds set there is no changing it. Love it! Hank was so patient with Carly and he knew he had to make things right with her. I really liked the part when Hank apologized with the flashcards. It was so cute and very unique! Hank wasn’t the richest man and he was willing to give up everything for Carly. He’d rather be in debt than live without her. I really love this series and can’t wait to read the rest!
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Dec 29, 2007 Christel rated it really liked it

Shelves: catherine-anderson

Great story, Just reread it. Carly has a rare eye condition and has just gotten surgery so her sight has been restored. Hank has really no plans to settle down but a chance encounter with Carly changes everything.

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Mar 21, 2008 jenjn79 rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, favs-reread, info-full, stars-4, genre-romance-drama, author-catherine-anderson, series-coulters-etc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 16, 2008 Julianna rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-romance, desert-island-keepers, read-2012

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" Blue Skies is another tender, emotional romance from Catherine Anderson's pen. In the tradition of Phantom Waltz, an earlier book from the same series, Ms. Anderson has created a disabled heroine, one who is this time blind. I was very impressed when I found out through the author's note at the end of the book that Blue Skies was inspired by a real-life young woman who had contacted her following the release of Phantom Waltz. This lady suffered from the same r Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" Blue Skies is another tender, emotional romance from Catherine Anderson's pen. In the tradition of Phantom Waltz, an earlier book from the same series, Ms. Anderson has created a disabled heroine, one who is this time blind. I was very impressed when I found out through the author's note at the end of the book that Blue Skies was inspired by a real-life young woman who had contacted her following the release of Phantom Waltz. This lady suffered from the same rare eye disease that Carly does and Ms. Anderson consulted with her and her doctor to make sure she got all the medical details correct. I think the research showed, and as a result, Blue Skies was a very touching, inspiring story that has become one of my favorites from this author.

Carly Adams was born blind, but through surgery was able to regain her sight just one week before the novel begins. She is a tough woman who has learned to live independently in spite of her disability. Carly goes to a bar with her best friend where she sits admiring Hank Coulter from afar. She can hardly believe it when the handsome cowboy approaches her and invites her to dance, then spends the rest of the evening sweet-talking her. Later, when Hank takes her out to his truck for a little hanky-panky, things don't go well in more ways than one, and she ends up pregnant. My only real issue with this book is that Carly was a little too stubborn at times. Not only was she contrary, but she was also somewhat contradictory too, making me occasionally want to leap into the story to shake some sense into her. Carly was understandably upset about what happened between her and Hank, and especially about the fact that she was now pregnant as a result. I did understand that she felt Hank had treated her callously and that she now had to face the possibility of loosing her sight again after having just regained it, so on some level, her continuously turning Hank away made sense. However, if I were in her shoes, I think I would have been so concerned about financial matters and what might happen without his help that I'd at least have been willing to listen to him. Carly is also pretty stand-offish with Hank even after they get married. I realize that their first time together was pretty crappy, and she believes that Hank was only looking to get laid which is pretty much the truth. However, from the moment Hank realized what he had done, he was absolutely nothing but nice to her, simply wanting to take care of her and their baby, yet she jumps at his slightest touch almost like a woman who's been raped. Thankfully, Carly does slowly come around and starts to consider the fact that she was as turned on by him as he was by her and from there things become really sweet and romantic as well as a little steamy. But when she left him again, I was starting to get rather frustrated with her. She also doesn't communicate well with Hank sometimes. Knowledge of her condition and things that happened in the past that still affect her today had to come from her friend and her father, a plot device which I'm usually not fond of. It didn't bother me quite as much as it has in some other romances, but I still would have liked to see a little more vulnerability from her in that respect. I hope I don't sound too critical of Carly though, because ultimately, she was a sweet young woman who was also an inspirational character in many ways for her positive can-do attitude and for not allowing the blindness to get the best of her.

Hank was an absolutely dreamy hero. In the opening chapter, he is a real seductive charmer in spite of being under the influence of alcohol. If I had been Carly, I don't think I could have resisted him either. Of course, he was totally off him game when it came their first sexual encounter which left him with a whole lot to make up for, but he ended up doing an incredible job of it. I love that he was a man who took his responsibilities seriously. He immediately started trying to find Carly the minute his foggy memories began to resurface. When he found out she was pregnant, he repeatedly offered her financial and moral support even though she kept blowing him off and refusing to talk to him. I like that he could get tough and put his foot down when he needed to. He could be equally as tenacious as Carly could be although in a good way instead of a frustratingly obstinate way, but overall he was a sweet beta hero who was willing to move heaven and earth to be with Carly once he realized he was in love with her. I love how Hank tenderly cared for Carly when she was sick on their wedding night, as well as all the concessions he made and things he did for her both before and after they were married. The way he completely renovated his ranch to accommodate Carly's disability reminded me of Ryan from Phantom Waltz, another of my favorite Catherine Anderson heroes. Hank trying to show Carly all the things he possibly could in order to make wonderful memories before she lost her sight again was also very romantic. Hank was just a thoughtful, patient, kindhearted and thoroughly loving man who has definitely earned a spot on my all-time favorite heroes list.

Hank and Carly are certainly the stars of the “show.” There are a few secondary characters, but mostly they play relatively small roles. Hank's sister, Bethany and her husband, Ryan (Phantom Waltz), as well as Hank's brother Jake and his wife, Molly (Sweet Nothings) were there to support Hank and Carly. Rafe and Maggie (Baby Love) appear at a couple of family gatherings, but don't have any actual lines. Another of Hank's brothers, Zeke, gets a pretty good introduction as the calm voice of reason when Hank needs a shoulder to lean on. Zeke gets to be the hero of the next book in the series, Bright Eyes.

In spite of Carly's stubbornness, Blue Skies turned out to be a wonderful read. I can't imagine what it must be like to loose one's sight, but Catherine Anderson gives the reader a seemingly authentic look into the life of a blind woman. Not only that, but she also created a story that was deeply emotional and sweetly romantic with a hero to die for. I couldn't have asked for much more. Blue Skies is the fourth book in Ms. Anderson's Kendrick/Coulter/Harrigan Families series. It has earned a spot on my keeper shelf and I look forward to reading more from this series soon. ...more

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