Plot Summary (from Barnes & Noble):  Montana Territory in 1883 was a dangerous place-especially for a blind woman struggling to make her way through an early winter snowstorm. Undaunted, Noelle Kramer fought to remain independent. But then a runaway horse nearly plunged her into a rushing, ice-choked river, before a stranger’s strong, sure hand saved her from certain death. And yet this was no stranger.
Though she could not know it, her rescuer was rancher Thad McKaslin, the man who had once loved her more than life itself. Losing her had shaken all his most deeply held beliefs. Now he wondered if the return of this strong woman was a sign that somehow he could find his way home.

This is a different kind of romance novel than what I typically read.  There isn’t a single sex scene in it.  They don’t even kiss until the last chapter – heck, nearly the last page.  If there was such a category as “Christian historical romance,” this would belong there.  I really enjoyed it.

I thought it was a really sweet story.  I also found that I liked some of the subtle differences between this and books where the hero and heroine go at it like bunnies.  Many romance novels constantly refer to the physical attraction between the couple, going on about how “his loins burned for her” or “her need for him consumed her entire being.”  This one was chaste, but more emotional.    Joy wells up in their hearts, or contentment settles over their entire being.  I rather liked that.

The heroine, Noelle, is blind.  I can’t vouch for how well or poorly the author portrays this difficulties of being blind, but it seemed to be realistic enough.  Noelle gets disappointed by not being able to remember certain colors very well, or sometimes has to grope a bit to get her bearings, even in a familiar room.  There’s a point where she spoons sugar into her teacup, but is oblivious to the fact that nearly half of the sugar ended up on the table.  Details like that make it seem like a realistic depiction of blindness.

I downloaded this book from Amazon because it was free.  There are a number of people who wrote reviews for Amazon that totally panned it.  I think that, while some of their complaints have a grain of truth to them, giving this book a single star with the warning “don’t bother” is completely unwarranted.  Some of the descriptions of the emotional turmoil the main characters go through is a bit repetitive, but no more so than the multiple sex scenes you find in many other romance novels (really, how many different ways are there to take up 2 or 3 pages to say “they had sex?”).  Also, it is a bit predictable, but no more so than any other romance novel.  Really, the romance between the two main characters is so sweet and touching I think it deserves a read.  Maybe even two.  I started reading it because I already had it downloaded to my phone and needed something to kill some time.  Once I started, I couldn’t put it down.  I’ll probably end up re-reading it.

One last thing that might turn some people off: this book dares to mention God and the characters’ belief in Him.  It’s not preachy or obnoxious, but Noelle’s faith in God and His plan for her does run through the book.  As an active Christian myself, I had no problems with this.  However, I could see other people being turned off by this.  It never mentions a specific religion, but there are multiple references that tell the reader that Noelle (and her family) are Christian.

Once my daughter gets interested in romantic love, I might let this be her introduction to the romance genre.  Then again, there are a lot of books that will never live up to the standard this one would set.