I loved this book. While I got through it in the space of a couple hours - it's a very quick read - I didn't feel cheated by that. The story itself was very touching and beautiful, and I felt for the characters. This is a story of emotional grow and realisation, each character's self-perceived flaws making them perfect for each other and drawing them closer together. That closeness in turn helps them realise that their 'flaws' are not so great as they believe, and that allows them to reach their true potentials - Christopher as a man capable of great fierceness yet also warmth and love who truly doesn't need his sight, and Gillian as a lovely woman with courage and strength that she believed she would never have.

One thing I particularly enjoyed was the much-needed break from the 'powerful and headstrong Scottish lassie who needs no help from any man and is the Chieftainess of her clan' stereotypical woman found painfully often in Scottish historicals. I have seen so many of those wholly unbelievable women that I'm sick of them, particularly since I'm a Scot myself, and this book was blessedly free of them. I found the characters much more believable than in many other stories, and through that connected with them very strongly.

Gillian, though she wields a sword, still needs the protection of her husband, Christopher. She is considered plain by many characters' standards, a far cry from the brazen, red-haired, green-eyed beauties found in so many other stories. Her simple plainness makes her believable, as does her gradual realisation of her own inner beauty and courage, beauty that helps enhance how others see her - and how she sees herself. That her inspiration to take a village witch's 'magical herbs,' in reality no more than crushed rose petals, is to win her husband's heart rather than for personal gain, is truly touching.

Christopher was wonderful to watch grow as well. Blind and tormented by his first wife's assurances that no woman would want such a flawed man, and that anyone who married him would do no more than take his gold and then leave him, he is reluctant to trust Gillian's motives. But as Gillian grows to realise her own (realistic) potential, Chris grows to realise that his wife, though knowing of his blindness, wants only his love. She has his money through her marriage to him, yet still craves his affections. She wants to bear a son for him only so he won't send her away, even if he keeps her only as a servant. It's beautiful, see how Chris comes to realise what a treasure his wife really is, that he would never have her were it not for the blindness that he so despises - and that because of that fact, his sight was an inconsequential price to pay.

The secondary characters are just as enjoyable, from Chris' squire Jason to Colin, who begins as one of Gillian's enemies yet, as he takes the 'beauty herbs' alongside her and realises before Chris what a remarkable woman she is, becomes one of her fiercest and most loyal protectors, defenders and friends.

Those who want only passionate sex will not like this book; the sexual scenes are few and cut out without graphic descriptions. That does not, however, detract from the overall enjoyment of the read, though it would not be objectionable to see Chris learning Gillian's body without his sight.

Overall, this was a wholly enjoyable book, a quick read, and a beautiful romance that I will be returning to time and time again.

Gillian has been tortured and abused by her father for most of her life. Now she believes that she is going into an even worse fate than what she had to endure. Gillian's father has sold her to Christopher, the Dragon of Blackmour, as a bride. Gillian has heard gruesome stories of Christopher's ruthlessness; his dabble into the black arts and the unspeakable crimes he's committed. What Gillian eventually learns is that most of what she's heard is false and that Christopher is just another damaged individual like her. His first wife's treachery has robbed Nicholas of his sight and his trust in loving a woman. Nevertheless, Christopher and Gillian grow to love one another, but the battle isn't over. Gillian's father is a relentless and formidable foe. He has planned for years to rob Christopher of his life and lands and nothing, absolutely nothing will stand in the way of his goal.

There are absolutely few words to describe just how beautiful a read this is. I have to say it's one of the best books I've ever read. The storyline pulsates with life, enigmatic and memorable characters that try to survive in the harsh and bitter reality in which they live. I have to say that this is one of the best Lynn Kurland books I have ever read.