This book has everything I could hope for in a romance. It's a beautifully written love story, is intensely moving, and has deep, layered and completely developed characters. I enjoyed everything about it.

It's a story about forbidden love and also one about faith. Geoffrey D'Aubrey returns as Lord to the home he ran from as a child. With him he brings his wife. His beautiful, cynical, lonely and battered wife Anne. War and soldiering are the only things Geoffrey truly loves. Before they've barely moved in he leaves Anne to fight another senseless battle. He leaves his horse and her (and in that order) in the care of his childhood friend Christy - a minister.

Christy is gentle, kind, caring, loving and he and Anne become fast friends despite their differences in faith (she's an atheist). They have a great time joking about their differences and are open and honest with each other. Despite their attempts to avoid and deny it they fall in love but are both such! honorable people they refuse to do anything about it - until Geoffrey is reported dead. But before they can live happily ever after they must struggle through some horribly bleak times.

I ached for this couple as they suffered through so much darkness and pain. This book is so good that it haunts me still. I don't say this often, and haven't said it in a long while, but if you haven't read this already go find it immediately.