Love is Blind

Love is Blind
Kathy Lette
London, Transworld, 2013, 121p

I thought I would take a short break from teenage literature to indulge in a trashy romance. It's been a while since I read something with such a bright pink cover, but I tried to put aside my prejudices and read something less challenging.

Unfortunately, I found this short novel so far from challenging that I was bored. Love is Blind is a story about two sisters, Anthea and Jane. Anthea is beautiful, successful, and engaged to a rich lawyer. Jane is plain, spontaneous, and lonely; so travels to Australia in the hope of meeting the man of her dreams. When Jane succeeds, Anthea follows her to the Outback, determined to talk Jane out of marrying a ruffian. Unfortunately, things conspire against her, and she is stranded with said ruffian during a terrible storm, culminating in bush fires and an inland tsunami.

Yes, it is as weird and unrealistic as it sounds. I have nothing against novels where you have to suspend every concept of reality and step into a new world (see previous review), but this was beyond belief. All the events happened with quick succession, as is inevitable with a short read, but it was all just too much. 

None of the characters were particularly likable. And the plot is incredibly predictable. As you might guess, Anthea's eyes are opened to what true love can be when she sees her sister infatuated with this strange Australian man. I was hoping for something more unusual, like one of them actually going blind. Instead, nothing was left to mystery - the plot and context was laid out in such a manner that I could not imagine anything for myself. I read on in the hope that things would get better. I was disappointed.