Johns Mill, Tennessee, is the setting for a tension-filled romance novel set among an Amish community reeling from a devastating shock. Emma Hochstedler needs to find STRENGTH IN THE STORM as her parents were killed in the previous book of the Johns Mill Amish series. I had not read that book, but the backstory is explained. Emma was a pretty young woman, and she underestimated the affection of her school friend Sam, now capable Amish builder Samuel Christner.  

I don’t want to spoil the stories for anyone picking up the series from the start. The drama is certainly strong, and we see that pride comes before a fall. Emma is living in the house where she grew up, with her brother Joseph, young sister Miriam and her sister-in-law Naomi. As the saying goes, two women in one kitchen can’t agree. Naomi is making the house hers to manage, and unmarried Emma, now in her mid-twenties, has no right to object. Seems better in many ways for Emma to move in with a spinster lady, Ruth Christner, who is recovering from a hip operation. Ruth is a contrast with the kind and helpful farm wives, being snippy and fault-finding, but she is nicely balanced in portrayal. Birdie, an Englisch lady who has a small holding nearby with a precious telephone, compares well with Ruth but is too outgoing for Emma to confide in her completely. And Ruth’s nephew, Samuel, keeps coming around to do some mending or show off his new half-trained buggy horse.  

While the men do most outdoor work in this area and women are relegated to gardening and chicken keeping, besides the indoor work of bottling vegetables and cooking, we see the tables get turned. Fate hasn’t finished with Emma yet, and Ruth’s warning that a pretty girl who turns men’s heads is not wanted in a small community seems to come to pass.  Find out how by reading Laurel Blount’s nuanced romance story. Her characterization is splendid, and I love the way the problems just keep mounting, even as the good folks try to live by Plain rules. STRENGTH IN THE STORM is a great read, and can even be challenging, as people we’ve come to care about are in trouble. I also love the many horses involved in everyday life.