[Portia’s Review]: Blind Side by Kandi Steiner

The hottest college football safety in the nation just asked me to be his fake girlfriend.

And I just asked him to take my virginity.

Clay Johnson has the abs of Adonis and the deadly smirk of the devil, himself. There’s hardly a day he’s not headline material during football season, and never a day he isn’t a bullseye target for every girl on campus.

He used to be the easiest of all the players for me to wrangle as the Public Relations Coordinator, but after a nasty breakup with his high school sweetheart, he’s a mess.

And a complete pain in my ass.

We meet to discuss his behavior and review media relations standards. But when he witnesses how I fall to pieces in front of my guitar-toting crush, his wheels start turning. And he cooks up this absurd plan.

He helps me get noticed.
I help him make his ex jealous.
All by pretending to be in a relationship.

What he doesn’t realize is that this bookworm is a virgin, and far from versed in seducing a musician. So, to sweeten the deal, I convince him to help me — not just to get my crush’s attention, but to knock his socks off once I have it.

But the more I come unraveled at the hands of Clay Johnson, the more trouble I have discerning what’s fake and what’s undoubtedly real — particularly, the way my heart flutters every time that breathtaking man touches me.

We set the rules. We put the safeguards in place.

But they say rules are meant to be broken.
They probably should have added that hearts are, too.

Blind Side is a fake dating college sports romance with "lessons" and opposites attract. It is a complete stand-alone.

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I really do enjoy a good fake dating trope, especially in New Adult books.

Blind Side by Kandi Steiner might be one of the better NA fake dating books I have ever read, and boy was it SPICY (for contemporary, college age NA anyway). Oh and FYI, while this can be read as a stand alone, it is set in a world with connected novels, and the one before this is where we first meet Clay and Giana, Here is my review and info for Fair Catch.

Anyway, Giana has her sights set on a local musician who might not even know she exists, and Clay has his sights set on his ex-girlfriend who he desperately wants back. So they strike up a deal, to fake date each other to get the attention from the ones they have their hearts set on. To make it even more interesting, Giana is a virgin, with no experience of any kind (outside of what she has read in romance novels). But lucky for her, she is fake dating someone who could be a great teacher….

I loved their dynamic. They were clearly becoming great friends along the way. But one of the places this story felt like it lacked a little to me was getting to know Clay better. Even though we read from both of their perspectives, I feel like I really got to know Giana’s personality well, while it didn’t feel that way with Clay. Regardless of that, I loved watching them slowly realize how important they were becoming to each other, it was so freaking sweet.

YAll, the SPICE in this book was way more than in Fair Catch. One of my favorite things about Kandi Steiner is how gracefully and well she carries out sex scenes without feeling cringey or awkward, and she KILLED it in this novel! Clay helping Giana figure out who she was sexually, what she liked, and how they both found pleasure had me fanning myself. This is heavily on the much sexier side of new adult. I loved it.

I also love seeing past characters and keeping up with them. I also love the little sneak peak into who the next book is about and how it sets it up! It’s got me really excited for the next one!!!

Still not super into the sports aspect of any book, but it manages to not overtake the story and is really tolerable in these novels! I highly recommend these books to any NA fans!

Portia

Hi, I’m Portia! I’ve been an obsessive reader and pop culture addict my entire life, with a particular passion for horror and thrillers. I love being a part of the book community and can regularly be found working various book events. I’m an admin here at Ideally Inspired Reviews!

When I am not binge reading or obsessing over true crime podcasts and shows, I am a bar manager by night and a mom and wife by day. If I find any time after that, I love to travel, spend time outdoors, and fit as much live music into my life as possible. You can find me on Instagram @Ideally.Portia or TikTok @itsportiabitch.