Not by Sight

Stone River #1

by Kay Lyons

Can you love someone and still be free?

Emma Wyatt agrees to tutor a recently blinded, embittered soldier because of the $50,000 paycheck his brother offers. The job is an answer to many prayers. Blind herself, Emma dreams of independence and freedom away from her overprotective family. Tutoring Ian in all things “blind” isn’t easy, especially when the biggest challenge is helping him walk by faith.

Protect someone you cannot see?

Good soldiers show no weakness. Ian MacGregor holds his battle with claustrophobia close to his chest, unsuccessfully trying to cope on his own, too angry with God to seek comfort. Ian knows duty, honor, serving his country. So why is he being punished with this very personalized hell?

As Ian struggles to strong-arm his phobia and let go of his anger, his growing feelings for Emma are overshadowed by the danger lurking around them. Emma would be better off with someone else. Someone sighted.

Someone able to protect her from the person determined to keep them apart...

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks, Amazon, Christian Fiction, Fiction

368 pages, ebook

First published October 17, 2012

About the author

Pseudonym: Ivy James (slightly sexier stories) and Kay Stockham

Kay Lyons always wanted to be a writer, ever since the age of seven or eight when she copied the pictures out of a Charlie Brown book and rewrote the story because she didn’t like the plot.

Through the years her stories have changed but one characteristic stayed true— they were all romances. Each and every one of her manuscripts included a love story. Published in 2005 with Harlequin Enterprises, Kay’s first release was a #7 bestseller. Kay has also been a HOLT Medallion, Book Buyers Best and RITA Award nominee.

Kay's books are known for their heartfelt and emotional storytelling, focusing on themes of love, redemption, and personal growth. Her novels feature well-developed characters who navigate through life's challenges, finding love and new beginnings along the way. Set in charming small-town environments from mountains to beaches, her stories are filled with warmth, friendships, family dynamics, and a strong sense of community. Kay's writing is appreciated for its depth, relatable characters, and the emotional journeys her protagonists undergo. Her books are a blend of sweet and swoony romance that resonate with readers.

If you like slightly sexier books, check out Kay's alter-ego Ivy James. Kay currently focuses on sweet, small town contemporary romance while Ivy James' titles contain love scenes and mild language. Several of Kay's series have alternative versions by Ivy James, and you can find the list below. Just remember Kay Lyons' books are sweet/clean and wholesome, and Ivy James' are sexy.
Stone Gap Mountain Series (Ivy James) = Stone River Series (Kay Lyons)
Tennessee Tulanes Series (Ivy James) = Taming The Tulanes Series (Kay Lyons)
Montana Skies Series (Ivy James) = Montana Secrets Series (Kay Lyons)
Redeeming Love Series (Ivy James) = Small Town Scandals Series (Kay Lyons)
The Crash Before Christmas (Ivy James) = Secret Santa 1 (Kay Lyons)

Reviews

[♡ Jeri's Book Attic ♡ Jeri the Romance Bibiliophile ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice enough and well developed story that kept my attention - at least until it became a little to slow, which is where I found myself skimming some pages. Also I felt it was very confusing to find the book under two different names and author names on amazon and here on GR - both available to buy. And it is not only this book but the complete series of the book.

Because of an unusual turn of events I was able to finish reading the book instead of putting it down but still I knew a lot of what was going to happen very early on so it does not take a genious to figure out the story. I am still considering to pick up the second book as it is about a scondary character I liked ( at least it seems to be the second book - not sure with this confusing series )

═══ PLEASE SUBSCRIBE / LIKE / FOLLOW US ════

Blog : http://www.jerisbookattic.com
FB Page : https://www.facebook.com/JerisBookAttic
Twitter : https://twitter.com/JeriTRyan
Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2...
Bloglovin : https://www.bloglovin.com/@jerisbooka...

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall rating: 3.5 stars!

Triggers:
Cheating: Not between the hero and heroine, but it is found out that the heroine's dad did cheat on his deceased wife with his sister. That was pretty depressing :(
Love triangle: no
Sex with om/ow: No
Intimate pasts: Ian (hero): it really isn't mentioned, but you know he wasn't a virgin. His sexual past is not discussed at all and it's definite that the hero has not been with anyone since before his accident for sure. He never talks about women at all in his inner monologues besides the heroine. Emma (heroine): She is a virgin saving herself for marriage.
OW/OM drama: No

HEA: Yes - the little epilogue was sweet, but I feel like I needed more of a glimpse of these two in the future. I was happy to know that the hero was making plans for his life though.

My review:

This was a freebie read that I took a chance on and I really enjoyed the blurb. I have to say that the premise of the story was good. Very good and even the twists I enjoyed - minus the revelation of the heroine's Dad's secrets; however I felt this story was missing something. I enjoyed seeing Ian and Emma become closer to Ian- both blind, but with the hero being so broody and having trouble coping. And not only was he newly blinded (from a commonly performed surgery gone wrong when a blood clot traveled to his brain) but he is also struggling with his other phobia that existed beforehand of claustrophobia. Being in the military and being such a manly man, it was hard for Ian to take a step back and not be in control. Not to mention to not feel of much of a man for Emma. He loved her enough that he felt like he should let her go at one point and I understand and appreciated that, but I felt like BECAUSE he pushed her away, I needed more. I felt like the ending was too rushed and we needed more of an epilogue, but this was a great start for a new to me author.

Also, for those that are interested, this book does have some intimacy but it is CLEAN. No sex whatsoever. Overall this was an enjoyable read. :)

[CeCe · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was too much with the heroine and her BFFs. I like to feel connected to the two main characters. This story started out with a large chunk of it with Emma and her besties - Morgan, Tasha, and Jolie. SO much so that at the beginning, I had no idea which one of them was the heroine.

Also, there was too much explained about people that I really could care less about. I wanted a clean read, but there was too much inner babble to allow me to connect to the story.

I loved the premise, but sadly it just did not work for me.

[RB Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four star rating is an average of my five stars from the first half and the three stars from the second half.

For me the main story between Emma and Ian (a blind woman tutoring a blind soldier) was a real page turner. As long as the focus was on the relationship dynamics between them and their respective worlds, I'd rate the story five stars, no doubt.

To be honest, I considered the plot for the second half quite soap-opera melodramatic. Yes, the story has extensive backstories for several of its characters, but I thought the sheer amount of plot twists was over the top, as well as the nature of the plot twists seemed forced on the story as plot device.

Nevertheless all in all I enjoyed the book, and I think I'll be back for more on Jolie and Quinn.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (7/8/2019)! 🎁

[My_every_day_chilling · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The world doesn't stop just because something bad happens."

Romance: 1/5
Chemistry: 4/5
1st kiss: +-50% in
Spice: 0/5 (it's a clean one y'all)
Foul language: 0/5
Drama: 4/5
Suspense: 3/5
Humor: 1/5
Cry factor: 1,5/5

Positive thoughts:
- I absolutely loved to read about the world of the blind, how they walk around, how they go about, their tricks.
- The story is a powerful one with a message that the blind do have a life and a future and can be happy and free.
- It is heartbreaking how Ian doesn't think he needs to learn, that his life is over, but Emma is there for him every step of the way.
- I loved that the book had action, suspense, involved some very protective testosterone and at the same time, it was clean and proper. It was not bland, there was plenty of chemistry.

How I felt:
- There are lot's of emotions in this one. Anger, love, sadness and overwhelms. The moments of angst were there as well.
- I did suspect our "bad guy" right from the beginning, yeah I just knew that personality was a bit off and it had to be.
- I did love the surprises the story had, but they weren't any twist to the story, I felt they were just interesting surprises.

Overall:
- It was a clean and proper romance, with loads of chemistry to keep your heart beating.
- It is not overly descriptive, so this make the read extremely fast paced. Although you might feel left out of some details, it makes up with a fast moving story and gets to where you want quickly.
- I'm hooked and will continue to read more.
- The e-book o amazon has book 1 and 0,5 so that was a plus.

Tropes:
- Blind MMC
- Cute dogs
- Loss of a pet
- Claustrophobia
- Healing
- Coping with blindness
- Tight knit friends

[atomickitten]

It does have an interesting premise but it's a christian romance so, naturally, not for me.

I like my romance reads with plenty of juicy smut and haven't voluntarily read a pg-13 book since I was a kid.
And I'm not planning to start any time soon.

No rating.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

MAJOR Plot spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

This story was a very interesting one for me. From the moment that I read the back synopsis, I was immediately intrigued because I don’t think I have ever read a story where both main characters were blind. Usually it would be either one character was or the other, but not both. So I thought it was a very interesting concept especially being that Emma was teaching newly blinded Ian how to live as a blind person since she lived it for the last 14 years. I thought it was a very interesting twist on a semi student-teacher type of relationship. It was taboo, yet not really. So there was a slightly forbidden element there that I appreciated.

When they first met, sparks flew, not so much due to attraction, but due Ian not accepting the fact that he was blind and fighting everyone along the way about it including Emma. Emma refused to back down and forced him to fight. She didnt’ take any of his crap and called him out on it, which I really liked seeing and caused even more friction between them. They bantered, and not playful way, over him coming to terms as blind person and learning to live as one. He fought it all the way, pulling out all the stops in order to get Emma to leave him alone in his bubble of self-pity. I liked she kicked him in the butt quite a few times as she fought to get him to take the first step, but it had to be by his choice only no one could force him to do it. That made for an interesting dynamic in their relationship.

Also what was interesting was since they couldn’t see arch other, there was no emphasis on physical attraction or attraction in general until they got to know each other as Emma was teaching Ian more and more. She felt like his safe space where he could fall if need be because she wouldn’t able to see it. He put his trust her. He felt calmed by her whenever she touched him or soothed him with her words. He didn’t quite feel so alone anymore when he was with her. The more that he had those feelings develop and grow, the more his attraction grew to her.

I will admit I was a little tentative about this and did question his feelings for her as well as her feelings for him. I don’t know if they fell for each other because of who they were or just because it was another person that understood the other and what they were going through with their blindness. I know that was part of what Emma and Ian fell in love with, but I wasn’t sure if it was beyond that. I just didn’t feel that they were complete there. I think they could have had some more emotionally intimate moments, or something else. There was just something missing for me that could back their relationship 100 percent. Apart of it might have to do with I felt like the romance took a back seat at times to other plot points. I thought there might have needed to be more moments that they spent together. Also, I think that Ian had to show Emma more that did have deeper feelings aside from physical that could very easily be interpreted as just a distraction to him. Yes, he was letting her go, believing it was for her own good, but he was doing more that for himself than her I thought. Yes, there was that moment at the end where he faced his fears, but that just off to me because it was done so quickly since it was coming to the end of the book. I don’t know. I had some questions in my mind about the romance between the two of them. I was more neutral than anything else with them as a couple.

That wasn’t to say that they didn’t have there moments. They did. Some of the moments between Emma and Ian were very cute and adorable. I liked seeing them spend time together when they did spend time on the page together. They had some really special, happy moments that I liked to see happen especially for Ian, who was living in this dark place for so long. He finally found some light in life where he could feel like he could live again. I thought it was sweet to see her bring him out of that. I did like what was happening in between them in the story. That was fine, as with other things that happened overall, but I didn’t get that evocative feeling that I expect while reading a romance. That side of it was just kind of bland for me. As I said, that was what I felt for the romance. There was just not a lot feels for me aside from the death of the dog, which wasn’t the feels that I was looking for, and everything was just a little bit flat, even though I did like what was happening. I found I had a very complicated relationship with this story. I just didn’t feel what I was expecting to feel. Something was just missing for me on that score.

And even though this was a romance between Emma and Ian, I could have seen it going a different direction and towards a romance between Emma and Duncan. It was hinted slightly that there was a bit of connection there that I could have seen grown and developed into something more. In all honestly, I almost liked Emma and Duncan better as a couple than Emma and Ian. I don’t know why, but as soon as Duncan point of view came on page, it made me question whether this story was going to be a love triangle or not. I could see it happening especially seeing Duncan’s reaction to Emma. They had these cute adorable moments there that reflected a great friendship that could turn into more if either had an inclination to go there. It just made me question whether Duncan would have been a better fit for Emma than Ian would be. I think Duncan and Emma could have made sense as couple if Emma wasn’t very clear that she wanted Ian. So that kind of skewed my feelings about the romance between Emma and Ian as well.

I knew that this was going to be a tamer type of romance that wouldn’t get overly spicy or sexy and would probably little to no passionate scenes between Emma and Ian. That didn’t bother me in fact I was prepared for it, but what did bother me was the amount of faith based language in this story. It got almost too religious for my personal taste. It wasn’t overly religious content wise, but it just felt like that for me because they kept saying “God” and praying and stuff of that nature. I’m not trying to bash religion or whether it was in there or not, it was just the feeling that I had while reading it. I understand why it was in there, and that it showed personality and how she lived her life as she got through her day to day activities. It showed where her head space was, but it was over saturation for me especially when I wasn’t expecting it to be as prevalent as it was in the story. It just took me out the story a bit whenever another mention would come. I wish it was done more sparingly and not even every single chapter like I felt it was. I understood why it was in here, but I didn’t personally want it or need in my romance.

I loved stuff with the dogs. It was so cute and adorable especially the scenes between Tucker and Ian. Those were funny and cute as they bonded together throughout the story. In fact I liked the connection more between Tucker and Ian than Ian and Emma sorry to say. They had a really special bond and connection that I was looking for with Ian and Emma. I loved that Tucker really took to being Ian’s companion, and that Tucker would not give up on Ian even when Ian wanted to give up on himself. I just loved that relationship so much in the story. There were a lot of other great moments in the story between the dogs and other humans. That was just such a great part of the story.

As were the friendships and the new bonds that were formed in this book. I loved how all the Besties loved and supported each other. Their friendship was solid and true, and was a very beautiful part of the story. If Emma never had the Besties in her corner, she could have very much been like Ian in the beginning of this story, but because she had them she was able to pull through and function in her daily life with their support like anyone else on the planet. I loved see them have those scenes between them. It makes me wonder if all the Besties will get book’s in the future because I’m a little intrigued by it.

Same could be said for the men in this story. I want their stories as well, and I think some of them might connect to the Besties. The men in this book were amazing, not only in their support over Ian, but for Emma as well. They had her back just like they had Ian’s back even though they had just met her. They go to bat for her no question. I really liked seeing her get to know them and bond with them. I loved seeing how much they loved and cared for Ian, only best for him when Ian didn’t even want that for himself. I just loved how they took to taking care of him after he was blinded. That was true friendship, and it was beautiful. That was a really great part of this story.

I knew right away that Genie was an obsessive stalker even before all the stuff that happened happened. Whenever she appeared on the page, I would mutter “psychopath” to myself. I knew she was going to be trouble right away. It was blatantly obvious. I get that Emma didn’t see it being so close to the situation, but it was so clear. I could see it a mile away. The Besties saw it too, but not the severity of it. It just drove me crazy that no one saw it coming, and how long it took for them to figure out. I was literally screaming at the book as certain things happened. I was like “It’s freaking Genie. Wake up.” It made me nuts. Maybe I would have been more surprised by it if I didn’t catch on quite so early on to Genie tendencies, but I did so it drove me crazy that it took so long to see it.

I was surprised with the little twist with Zach. I didn’t see that coming anywhere. It did make sense, but I wish there were a couple more hints because it did feel like it came a bit out of left field. It was really shocking to me. The way it was done was weird. Even though I was thrown this information all at once, I thought once it came to light there would more to it, but there wasn’t really. It was just out in the world without having really an impact on the rest of the story. So it was almost like what was the point aside from making Zach the scapegoat for Genie, but that was it and not enough in my opinion. I guess it did have an impact with Emma’s accident year before, but nothing in the present really. I wish Emma had a conversation or confrontation with her father after the reveal, but there wasn’t one. It actually bothered me that there wasn’t. I thought there should have been more. I didn’t care for the fact of Emma’s father’s reaction to Zach especially when he knew the truth of everything. I get that he wanted Emma to stay away from Zach so she wouldn’t find out the truth, but just some of the stuff that he said about Zach was really off putting especially once I found out who Zach was in relation with her father. Then it just made me angry and not like the father, and what a coward he was. It just rubbed me the wrong way. I just didn’t care for the father as a character.

Overall I did like it, but I did expect more out of the romance. The romance, even though it was cute at moments, didn’t make me feel a lot. I expected to feel a lot especially with the back cover. I thought it would be a lot more emotional. More intimate. Just more. It gave me no real feels though. I just had this neutral feeling for Emma and Ian as a couple. Like I said I did like the things that happened between them, but they just didn’t give me an emotional response like I was expecting. I felt more when the dog died than I did anything else that happened between the two of them. There was just something missing that I didn’t quite connect to the romance like I would have liked. Something was off. I think a lot of their romance took a back seat to other plot points therefore there were not as many moments they spent alone together as I would have liked. It almost felt like a side plot, and I wanted the romance to be the featured plot. It wasn’t the worst romance that I have read, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite. I was a fan of the other characters and the plot just not the romance, which was a shame really because that was what I was looking forward to the most in the book. It just didn’t happen for me. Sorry to say.

[Livia]

Added the audiobook edition on 2-23-20

Full review to follow after I finish listening...

Narrated by: Debbie Andreen

Series: Stone Gap Mountain, Book 2

Collected in Dual Formats – Yes or No? Yes, in Kindle e-book & Audiobook via Audible!

Length: 10 hrs

Release date: 07-11-13

Publisher: Kindred Spirits Publishing

Ratings:

Performance - 5 stars! I have zero complaints about her narrating style. I'd listen to a future title with her featured without hesitation.

Story - 4 to 4.5 stars!
This was a new-to-me-author, and I'm relieved that I wasn't disappointed at all living in the characters' shoes. I liked the pacing, character development, and building romantic tension and eventual resolution a lot.

Overall rating -4 stars! It was a quick and very enjoyable reading experience for me. I plan to read at least one other in this series: That Southern Summer Night

[Hilma · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the yasssssses for Blind Man’s Bluff! This a super sexy book that had me swiping to the next page faster than I could read LOL Emma is so charming and Ian was the perfect alpha male. Talk about hubba hubba. Their relationship was a sexy roller coaster the book was an unlimited pass to the most exciting ride. Also, I have to say how much I loved the writing. The story was a tad predictable, but the author does a fabtastoc job of keeping your attention, keeping you invested, and rooting for everyone because there is more than one blossoming romance. Yay to besties falling for besties!

That ending though! Oh my sweet butterflies!

I am dying to get my hands on the rest of the series. I have found a new favorite author and can’t wait to see what else she has to share.

[Dee/ bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book!!

[Joleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Loved this book! All the way through I kept thinking...finally, a really different book...not the typical Christian Romance...not silly or trite, or eye-rolling, nor one I couldn't wait to put down and just forget. No, this one I will remember!
I think this is the first of Ms. Stockham's books I've picked up, but will go back to check out others. Good writing, great plot, great characters, all of them, and wonderful relationships, oh, and killer chemistry!
Okay, plot...
Duncan meets with Bruce, an old family friend (who is also a shrink) to help him with his brother, who, since a huge mishap following a rescue mission, is now blind and not handling it well...not at all. But Bruce is dying and simply can't take what time he has left to assist with the blind Ian, no matter how much Duncan offers to pay him. But the bustling waitress, who also happens to be Bruce's niece, is the one he suggests can help him out. Duncan watches Emma filling orders and greeting customers, and questions Bruce's wisdom. How can this young, pretty waitress help with his blind, terribly stubborn, and now drunkard of a brother? That is, until he learns she's also blind.
Emma is a lively, self reliant 28 year old with lots of very close friends called besties. She's also a part time teacher at the community college, and dog trainer. Blind since a car accident when she was 14, she has learned her blindness is no excuse to crawl in a corner and not live life. She has lived her life to the fullest and does most everything a sighted person can...short of driving a car.
After accepting the position and battling the seriously resistant Ian, odd incidents start to happen, and things get crazy, most of which is being blamed on the new-hire. The plot thickens, sparks fly, friends help, but there's something happening no one figures out for most of the book.
From the beginning I kept thinking the author has written in some great characters, from the besties, to Ian's Navy Seals buddies, to Uncle Bruce, even Genie, the needy friend/student who everyone keeps in the background. I love that she was written in, even before I knew how vital she'd be to the plot. Good stuff!
Do I recommend this? You bet!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about being blind

If everything was easy then you would be very bored and disappointed. Emma and Ian are both blind but in different ways of how it happened. Ian, a Navy Seal, who was shot while trying to rescue hostage. Unfortunately, he has a blood clot during surgery. However, Emma was in a car accident when she was younger. The book takes you as the reader inside to watch as Emma teaches Ian how to understand that his blindness isn't the end of the world and when her sight returns how she still loves him no matter if she can see and he cannot. Great book!

[mad4rombks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle Freebie as of August 5, 2017.

[Jooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the main characters as well as the side kicks. They formed a nice group with various traits and bringing different qualities to the table. The overall story was a nice balance between tragedy, romance, friendship, family and suspense. Didn't see the drama coming...
I always like it when one of the characters has a disability it brings an extra dimension to the interactions.
Minor remark: there were some small part where the way of writing felt a bit off, but I can't put my finger on the why...

[Λίνα Θωμάρεη · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία

Ωραίοι χαρακτήρες, ενδιαφέρουσα πλοκή ανατρεπτικό αποτέλεσμα.
Σίγουρα θέλω να δω τι θα γίνει στην συνέχεια με τους υπόλοιπους χαρακτήρες ...

[D Call · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: PG13 for violence
Sex: none
Language: a few Lord's name in vain
Violence: arson, vandalism, mischief, gun threats, stalking
HEA or Cliffhanger: HEA
Do I need to read books before this one: no
Would I read more of the series: no

A really slow pace. I know the author was trying to help readers understand blindness, but failed. The romance between Ian and Emma didn't unfold naturally, and the concern that he's taking in love with her because she's convenient and he's recovering from a tragedy was never resolved. None of the characters were developed well enough for me to truly care about them or about what happened to them. While I appreciate including faith in books, I kind of felt hit over the head with it.

----SPOILERS----
Ian was shot in the shoulder during a rescue mission of Max Winston's daughter in Mexico. It was due to a complication of surgery that he lost his sight.

The Besties--Morgan, Tasha, Emma, (and Jolie, but she's not there)--discuss the Great Dane that Emma inherited that's pregnant. Emma is working at her dad's diner, the Shake Shak. She's working extra hours because Laney, her sister, quit because she's been hired as a full-time EMT. Emma needs the money so she can move out before her dad gets remarried and because she wants to open a large kennel. Morgan is married and having trouble at home. Tasha's cop fiancé died last year.

Duncan motorcycles to the Shak to meet with Bruce (Emma's uncle), a former psychiatrist. Bruce won't take the case because he's got 3-6 months to live, and he's going to spend all of it with his wife, Rose. He convinces Duncan to at least take Emma to meet Ian. Duncan has no idea she's blind until Bruce points it out.

Duncan is the owner of a major private security firm in Atlanta. Ian is the big brother. Duncan introduces Emma to Ian, and leaves the room to take a call. Ian wants to get rid of her, so he tries to kiss her. Emma slaps him and leaves the room. Duncan and Ian fight.

That night, Emma is cooking. Genie comes over. Emma tells Tasha over the phone that she's going to take the job because it would take her years to earn the kind of money she can in the next 3 months. Some of her puppies got loose, so she had to leave the house to go get them. Then she hears her smoke alarm going off. She races back to the house, breaks open a window because her seeing eye dog, Roxy, is in the house. She and the dog are safe, but the house is toast.

Duncan's at the Shak playing billiards with Owen when he overhears that Emma's been in a fire and she's at the vet's with her dogs. He and Owen race there, and find Emma with her Besties and Genie, Tasha is the vet. Emma says she understands if he wants to retract his job offer, considering the fire was her fault. He absolutely disagrees. In fact, he increases his offer to include room and board for her and the dogs, plus extra money because she'd be spending more time with Ian. $50K for 3 months, $100K if it takes 6. The only people living in the house are Duncan, Ian, and Quinn, a friend of Ian's who stays to help him. During the day there are workmen who are installing ramps and state-of-the-art security, stuff like that. Own also comes by.

Duncan drives her and the dogs to the house. She meets Quinn, but she can't sense him like she sensed Owen in the examination room. In the middle of the night, she hears Ian bumping his way around. She talks to him, he feels some hope, but pushes her away.

The next morning, she shows Duncan, Owen, and Quinn that she can feed herself, even drink straight from the jug inches above her mouth. Then she waits for Ian in his room. He argues with her after he gets out of the shower, and to get her to leave, he takes off his towel. That's when he learns she's blind.

After giving the dogs a bath, Emma takes a walk with Duncan. He asks her how she lost her sight. As a 14yo girl, she'd said something to her mom, and her mom turned to look at her and that's when they hit the truck head-on.

Emma's dad, Frank, decided to move up his wedding. He and his fiancée, Helen, have a room and bath for Emma, but not for Laney. Emma goes to visit Roxy, her seeing eye dog, and Tasha tells her that Roxy is riddled with tumors.

Monday, Emma tells Duncan that her Aunt Rose asked her to stand up for a former high school student of hers and ask for community service working with her in her kennel and in her college class. Duncan agrees. He asks Emma to convince Ian to meet with Max Winston and his daughter, the woman he saved in Mexico.

After her shift at the diner, she goes to the vet clinic. Roxy only has a few days left, and she's in a lot of pain. Besties surround Emma as Roxy is put to sleep.

The next morning, Ian gives her a hug after breakfast. He challenges her to find a way for him to play darts. She pinpoints a way to do it with a ticking clock. She lets him feel her face to know what she looks like, and both of them are thinking about kissing. Ian's practicing darts during the middle of the night wakes her up.

One day Ian is practicing darts, and one of the puppies won't obey. It's the last straw for Emma, and she almost has her tears under control when a little breath escapes her, and Ian senses that something's wrong. He holds her and they kiss.

They all go to dinner with Max Winston and his daughter. She reveals it wasn't a rescue, that the kidnapper was her boyfriend, and Ian killed him, and she's glad he's blind. That night, he tries to get to the cellar again to get drunk, but his claustrophobia makes it impossible. Emma hears him, holds him until he's calm, and then he kisses her. He begs her to come to his room, but she promised herself she would wait for marriage.

The next morning Zack, Aunt Rose's former student, comes to work. He likes dogs and they like him, so Emma determines he's a good person. Ian is not sorry he kissed her. And she isn't either.

The next day, Emma takes Ian to the diner. The next day, he's there again while they celebrate Jolie's birthday. Duncan describes Emma for him cuz he can tell Ian likes her. Emma father takes Emma to task because she hired Zack.

The following day, Emma goes to Jolie's coffee shop and can't find her wallet. Later at her class, she can't find her binder. Genie finds it for her; it had been misplaced. Zack didn't show up for class, either, and that was a requirement of his probation.

She swims and rides bikes. Ian really wants to see her, but she tells him we have what we have. She talks to her besties. Morgan has kicked Rory out of the house for infidelity. Tasha is kind of seeing Owen, but she's feeling guilty because her cop fiancé died last year. Tasha has been accused of dealing drugs out of her clinic. Morgan is filing for divorce.

Genie comes for dinner. While Emma is changing clothes, Genie talks to Ian, sabotaging their relationship by pointing out possible problems. At a PAWS class, Ian gets frustrated because the dogs can learn to cross streets, so why can't he? He gets lost. Emma and Quinn find him, Quinn goes for the car, she figures out he's claustrophobic, she tells him she loves him, then someone shoves Ian who bumps Emma and she falls into the street and gets hit. It restores her sight. Ian distances himself because she's got the whole world in front of her now.

Ian thinks something's off with the accident. Duncan retraces Ian's steps and sees Zack at the intersection of the accident pick something up off the road and pocket it. Duncan goes to Zack's apartment; Zack's been gone for a week. At the diner, Duncan finds a super expensive camera in Zack's locker with 300-400 pictures of Emma on it. She goes into lock down at Ian's house because it has great security. It's hard because Ian is avoiding her. She dances in the rain with Duncan like she used to with her mom. Duncan thinks Zack overheard her tell Ian she loves him, so he bumped Ian who bumped Emma into the street. She coerces Duncan into giving her a motorcycle ride.

Later that night, Ian listens to Emma play the piano. Quinn tells him to go sit by her, her heart's breaking. He won't because he can't protect her. Quinn says find a way.

Goliath is in labor early the next morning. Emma calls Tasha, Owen answers. Tasha figures the father was a beagle. Emma says it must've been Davidoff. David beat Goliath again.

The besties have a party for Emma that night. She finally gets to see one of Morgan's cakes. The guys are there, too, except Ian. Jolie gives her a knitted afghan in the same pattern as the one her mom had made that got lost in the fire. Morgan gives her mini cakes and everything she needs to decorate them. Laney gives her a scrapbook. Tasha gives her a Bible with large margins and lots of fun pens and markers for faith journaling. Genie didn't show. The guys give her a beautiful charm bracelet. Her dad gives her a car.

Emma and Laney go to see Aunt Rose and Uncle Bruce. Bruce doesn't have much time. The girls tell them about Zack, and Rose runs away. Bruce confesses they'd had a separation, she'd strayed outside their vows, and he made her give up the baby. He can't father children, and couldn't be a dad to this baby. The father is Frank, their dad. Rose blames herself for Zack growing up in an abusive home, for the crash that killed her sister and blinded her niece.

Genie comes to visit. She pulls a gun on Emma. She was Emma's friend, but Emma chose all the others over her. Genie was the one who shoved Ian, not Zack. Genie had seen the towel catch on fire and could have saved the house, but she wanted Emma to live with her. Ian gets between Emma and Genie so he can take the bullet. He tells Tucker in Navajo to attack. The gun goes off, Ian hides Emma under his body, then tries to get to Genie to control her before she can get to the gun. Owen and Zack show up, Owen controls Genie, Zack calls the cops, Duncan and Quinn arrive.

Genie was the one who’d left the note about Morgan’s husband having an affair, the one who had called in an anonymous tip that Tasha’s vet clinic was illegally dispensing drugs. The one who had taken Emma’s wallet and set Zack up to look guilty. No doubt she was also the person who had thrown the brick through Jolie’s window. She wanted Emma to rely on her only.

Owen had found Zack hiding outside the kennel hoping Emma would appear. Zack had heard about Emma’s missing wallet and his supposed guilt and had decided to cut his losses and lay low. But when he’d learned of Emma’s fall into the street, the guy had felt responsible because he hadn’t been there to do his job. At the scene, the kid had found Emma’s Besties necklace near the drainage ditch and come to return it and proclaim his innocence.

Emma stays the night at Duncan's insistence, not Ian's. She packs in the middle of the night, determined to leave before sunrise. She sees Ian by the cellar door again, trying to conquer his phobia. She goes into the cellar, trying to lure him down. She stubs her toe, knocking over wine bottles with a crash. Ian comes down for her. She's hurt; her heart misses him, needs him. He tells her it won't be easy; she says nothing worthwhile is. He proposes.

Two weeks later, they're married. Uncle Bruce makes it. Ian makes a business deal with Quinn to start Mad Dog Security, dogs that look like pets but with a word can defend. Quinn has a thing for Jolie.

[DonnaJo Pallini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this sweet romance. Sometimes you need an uncomplicated story to take you away and just relax.

[Anna Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was... alright.

Emma is blind, but is a bartender, trainer at 'PAWS for a Cause', and also runs a kennel. In all her spare time, she's with her 'besties', a group of four chicks (with a needy girl that Emma isn't all that nice to). And on top of all that busy, Emma is now hired to coach an ex-military type who was recently blinded in the art of living in the dark. In. WHAT. Time?!?! There is NO way she'd have time to do all of that well. Heck, sighted people don't have time to do that. And because of ex-mil dude, she's now got a commute to tack on. ((Not believable...))

That's not even the problem I have with the book. There are three main guys in the book: Duncan, who has hired Emma to help his brother, and he is her chauffer from the house to the bar to the vet to the kennel. There's Ian, the now-blind (and claustrophobic) ex-mil he-man. He's pretty much all about booze and sex, when he's not pouting. Then there's Zack, the guy Emma's letting work for her to pay his debt to society thru community service. Of the three guys, Emma's love interest is - according to Kay Stockham - Ian the Blind. But frankly? There's more chemistry between Duncan and Emma than there is between her and Ian. Hell, there's more chemistry between here and ZACK than there is between her and Ian. It's just NOT there.

And it irritated me. It irritated me that she was rude to Genie. Ian was better for Genie because he needed to be needed, and she was needy... Emma and Ian? NO.

It irritated me that the author had her living a schedule that no person could manage, sighted or not. The whole thing irritated me. I'm not saying that the writing was bad, but the CHOICES were bad, the concept was bad... the story just didn't work. At all. Not happy, Bob...

[(ツ) Has · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hero: Ian MacGregor 33, former Navy SEAL. Recently blind
Heroine: Emma Wyatt 28, Been blind for 14 years, Trains dogs as service animals for blind or disabled people. also a bartender.
POV: 3rd person, Alternating between H&h, and a few times by the Heros brother Duncan

Im not sure I liked this book. It was ok I guess... maybe.
I mainly wanted to read this because I wanted to read a blind romance book where one of the H or h was blind and that's how I found this one. I was surprised that they were both blind, it intrigued me to want to read more.

I'll just say what I like and disliked since I cant write a proper review.

What I liked.
- I like that they were both blind and not have to rely on their looks to full in love

- She was a bartender and dog trainer

- her first meeting with Ian and him not knowing she is blind

- I liked both Hero and heroine. Even though Ian can be a jerk to Emma at times he was also very sweet and really cared for her.

- by the end he accepted his blindness and knew what he wanted to do in his life

- The sex scenes were ok. hardly anything steamy.

Disliked
- This book is easily skimable

- The romance was boring. actually the hole book was a bit boring.

- I knew what the 'danger' was and who the bad guy was from the very beginning everything was so predictive.

- Her many mentions of her friends tagged 'the besties'

- The characters Quinn and Owen, I could never tell who was who

- By the end how after 14 years how she miraculously got her vision back from being hit by a car. I just had to roll my eyes at this.

So would I recommend this to others? No, I kinda wish I hadn't discovered it in the first place.

[Suzanne Paschke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't minding this book and was set to give it about a three - this was when I was about 150 pages into reading it. Then it just kept going downhill for me. The return of her sight, her 'friend' being obsessed with her and producing a gun. It was all just all too much and turned this into a one star book for me.

[MJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2

I didn't really feel much for the main couple, and everything was way too obvious, and fairly simply tied up or forgotten about.

I probably wouldn't have had too much of a problem with it all if I wasn't bugged by the constant 'we trust in god', 'we are godly people', 'we pray to god' etc. It wasn't a bible basher, but it def fell over the edge of just knowing these characters believe in god, to god rulz!

And quite frankly, two of our godly people had an affair (affairs are bad, but this one wasn't on the bad end of this particular grading curve in execution, but way up their in view of who the participants were). Three of our godly people hid it (lied about it for 20 years) and adopted the baby out to hide their sins... but it gets worse. Our three godly people (the third party is actually a shrink) watched on as this innocent child was abused in the adopted home for around 15yrs! The mother tried to help him out of legal trouble in this story after watching the abuse for so long, but the dad was trying to lynch him from the moment he showed up in the storyline... and then, once the bomb is dropped in the main characters lives, he's mentioned a few times, but nothing's actually said about it again.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty enjoyable. All the characters were interesting in their own right and the plot appealed to me greatly.

To be honest, at first I didn’t really think Emma and Ian had any chemistry. If anything, I thought she was better suited for Duncan, however, all ended well and I’m perfectly content with how it turned out.

I had a particular love for Quinn, for some reason I like the quite ones. Though, I don’t see myself reading his book. Sorry.

The “antagonist” was predictable but I didn’t mind too much. I also found that some of the things that happened seemed pretty unnecessary. I understand that they were there to help set up the other books, but still, it still grated me a little.

On a little side note, I keep seeing people saying that this book is clean and very Christian...did we read the same book? Or did we read different editions? Because I remember some extremely “saucy” scenes occurring, all of which would be considered blasphemous if labelled as Christian.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story

Although this book could use a good proof read, I really enjoyed the story line. There was no stuck in their heads, lamenting over and over again about their fears. You got a hint of it, but the author keep the pace going in another direction, while that character fixed things on their own. I am constantly searching for a book that is not page after page of sex, with a good story line, without constant eye rolls, and I hope that future books by this author will of the same caliber.

[Lhenry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed to drag a bit for me. I realize it's pretty much a romance with a slight mystery. It seemed pretty obvious to me who was the bad guy, and the villainous acts were not very intriguing. I found Emma and Ian to be moderately interesting. Didn't really think the soap-opera revelations about Zack added anything to the story. I actually really liked the epilogue and Ian's solution to what his new life was going to be, so I am glad I finished

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was fantastic. I usually don't read romance novels but this one had a little mystery in it. Just enough to keep my interest. I gave a good insight into what obstacles blind people have to overcome in everyday life. I really liked Kay's style of writing. I also liked the little bit of christian values that made it's way in every so often. Just enough so as not to be rammed down your throat. But a real part of the story. I look forward to reading more from Kay in the future.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a book that will tug at your heartstrings, this is the one.

I fell in love with Ian and Emma right from the start. I don't usually fall so quickly for a book but this one just sort of reached right in and grabbed me. I shows how much you can go through and still survive and find love. It's a good book and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Good story. Romantic. But early on, I knew what the conclusion of the mystery would be. The 2 main characters were fleshed out well but the secondary characters were not. One will have to read each of their own books to get to know them better. Even though I enjoyed this book, I doubt I will read the other characters' books.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the premise of the story.
I didn't like:

- "besties" (cringe)
- God this, let's pray, God's plan, blah blah (the book summary gave no indication that this was a Christian romance)
- the family scandal they found out at the end is left unresolved and the characters involved are just terrible

[Ellen YS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the right amount of emotion.

I really loved this book. The characters were well developed, their actions based on believable motivations. It is a great love story, a somewhat predictable twist. Suspense, heartache and a satisfying HEA.

Enjoy