Blog Tour & Group Review: Double Blind by Heidi Cullinan

OR . . . In which all the Unicorns change their last names to Jensen because of the ridiculous amount of love they have for Randy.

DOUBLE BLIND Release Date: March 4, 2014 Book Two in the Special Delivery Series

Know when to show your hand…and when to hedge your bets.

Randy Jensen can’t stand to just sit by and watch as a mysterious man throws money away on the roulette wheel, especially since Randy’s got his own bet going as to the reason this guy is making every play like it’s his last day on earth. The man’s dark desperation hits Randy right in the gut. Half of him warns that getting involved is a sucker’s bet, and the other half scrambles for a reason—any reason—to save the man’s soul.

Ethan Ellison has no idea what he’s going to do with himself once his last dollar is gone—until Randy whirls into his life with a heart-stealing smile and a poker player’s gaze that sees too much. Randy draws Ethan into a series of wagers that leads to a scorching kiss by midnight, but he isn’t the only one with an interest in Ethan’s vulnerability. Soon they’re both taking risks that not only play fast and loose with the law, but with the biggest prize of all: their hearts.

Warning: This story contains high-stakes poker, gangsters with a weakness for kittens, foursomes, and kinky consensual sex.

Available March 4, 2014 from Samhain Publishing and wherever books are sold.

This book has been previously published and has been revised from its original release.
Buy from these sellers: Samhain, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

Excerpt on Heidi’s website

So, no huge surprise, the love in the clubhouse continues for this series. Just like Special Delivery, this was a re-read for a couple of us and a new read for the others. Being that we are all Randy Sluts and we wear that moniker with great pride, our collective rating for Double Blind is:

And now, straight from the Unicorns themselves, we have . . . . .

#1 Queen Randy Slut – Jenni Lea

For all the world that I loved Special Delivery, I loved Double Blind even more. Holy crap, did I love this book! I can’t even… I mean… just… Gah! I don’t even know where to begin!

Randy, Randy, Randy. Sir, I sure do love you. You are the most irritating, rambunctious, courageous, annoying, loud, hilarious, crafty, sexy crazy-ass motherfucker I have ever met. You are wonderful. I want to push Ethan out of the way and marry you instead. Except, I love Ethan too. He is certainly your other half, flip side of your coin, the yin to your yang. In other words, he is perfect for you.

I lurve this book. I lurve it so HARD.

Randy Harlot Numero Dos - Lorix
(she's a harlot onacounta she's the classy one)

Randy, Randy, who-fore art thou Randy?

So you read Special Delivery and loved Randy (you did, come on, EVERYONE loves Randy...right?), then you read Hooch & Cake (great title huh!) and loved him just a little bit more - yeah? You all agreeing with me? Well pick up Double Blind and hold on tight because here we see all of Randy and I ain't just talking up a naked bod (though of course we see that too).

I loved Double Blind because it filled out Randy's character. I thought I knew him, he was the kinky all knowing, super cool, don't give a fuck third person to Mitch and Sam's couple. That was Randy right? Yeah it is but in Double Blind we saw more of him - all of him, the whole person - and we learnt what makes him tick, what scares him and so much more. Kinky, sexy, no holds barred Randy is ever present in this story, he is still able to read people like a book....most of the time....but we see the other side to him as well and I LOVED it.

We also are introduced to some amazing new characters and a demon statue with a lucky knob, all it needed was a little stroke to bring you luck. {Hmm, we'll have to see about installing one of those in the clubhouse}. So if you haven't read this book yet and loved Special Delivery, what are you waiting for? Tough Love is out soon and I for one can't wait to get my hands on it!

Miss Slutty Sunny Sunshine, Randy Slut # Trois - Sunny

I loved Randy. I loved his compassion mixed with pragmatism. I loved his self assurance and openness to different experiences...and how casual and unapologetic he was about those experiences. Most of all, though, I loved his vulnerability.

He was so good at reading people, knowing what made people the way they were, what they needed. He was not so good at accepting what he needed. The counseling sessions with Sam broke my heart.

I liked how Ethan was such a good match for Randy. A little naive at first, but he was smart and it didn't take him long to catch on. Once he got his bearings, his confidence came through and he was able to hold his own...with both Randy and Crabtree. And...it was really hot when he got "...all elegant and strong and in control."

Even though this story was about Randy and Ethan, and I loved them as a couple, two of my favorite lines were about Randy's feelings for Sam: "Sam is from Iowa. Despite what he can do with his mouth, he's pretty innocent."

This was what he loved most about Sam, how he managed to be so sweet and innocent and absolutely depraved all at once.

Side note: I heart Crabtree

Bringing Up The Rear Randy Slut 4 - Ann
(because that's how I likes it)

I think I liked my re-read on Double Blind even more than the original read. Not because of any changes but because there is just so much story and so many amazing characters, they can’t possibly be digested the first time around. While this is Randy and Ethan’s story it is really so much more and getting sucked into a world that is “so much sin wrapped up in so much pretty” is a damn fine ride.

While Randy and Ethan are definitely the main characters and their romance is a major subject line, obviously, this is so much more than a sequel to Special Delivery. You know the kind of sequel/series thing where the next book is just the next two characters in line for a romance with a passing nod to previous couples? This is not that. This is a character study of fascinating people, circumstances and settings. Sam and Mitch are back and aren’t just mentioned in passing, they are an integral part of Randy’s life, just like loved ones are in real life, and seeing all their relationships grow and change was just as good this second time around and I think I appreciated all the subtleties in dialog and action even more.

Going back to the “romance is a major subject line” thought, Ethan and Randy were just so perfect for each other. As heartbreaking as Ethan’s story was, he and Randy never would have ended up together without it. I don’t mean just logistically either. Ethan really had to be at his “lowest Ace” point to see Randy and be open to his special brand of wisdom. I got the feeling that each one was the others first to really see the other, faults and all. In fact, I think they loved each other more for the perceived faults. It may have taken them each awhile to fully admit ALL their feelings, but they both knew from early on they needed each other and they really had been looking for each other forever, they just didn’t know it.

“Because Randy is the strangest, most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen and right now he’s the sun I can’t otherwise seem to find, even when it’s right above me in the sky.”


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