In this touching Amish romance, a brokenhearted woman and a steadfast man discover that the safest place to weather tragedy is in each other’s arms.

After the murder of both her parents, Emma Hochstedler returns to the small community of Johns Mill, hoping to resume her quiet existence. Reclaiming her place proves harder than expected—especially now that a movie is being made about her family’s loss. But then, an old friend offers her a lifeline that gives her new purpose.

Amish builder Samuel Christner is the biggest—and the strongest—man in town. In fact, the gentle giant has only one weakness—Emma. Even though she broke his heart, he won’t let his childhood sweetheart face her troubles alone. He hires Emma as a nurse for his elderly aunt…and finds himself falling for her all over again.

But while romance blooms, storm clouds gather. And when darkness falls, it will take all Sam’s strength—and all their love—to see them through.

My thoughts: I enjoyed the uniqueness of this story, with their being a bit of a suspense surrounding the murder of Emma's parents and her family learning to move past the trauma of that event in an Amish community. I can only imagine how hard it would be to have Hollywood after you for a story, when you are in a faith that doesn't even want photographs taken.

I loved how sweet and sensitive Samuel is to Emma and her needs, as she tries to pick up the pieces of her broken family. It detracted a bit from the story that it goes on and on about how gorgeous Emma is, but that is just something that gets on my nerves. I prefer for the focus to not be on looks. That might not bother a lot of readers though.

Overall, a unique story that is different from most of the Amish fiction I have read. It's an enjoyable read!

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

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About the Author

Laurel Blount headshot Award-winning author Laurel Blount writes inspirational romances full of grit and grace—with characters who’ll walk right off the page and into your heart! She lives on a farm in Georgia with her husband, their four fabulous kids, and an assortment of ridiculously spoiled animals.

A enthusiastic multi-tasker, Laurel writes for both Berkley/Penguin Random House and Love Inspired/Harlequin. She’s the recipient of ACFW’s Carol Award, The New England Reader’s Choice Award and GRW’s Maggie Award. She’s represented by Jessica Alvarez of Bookends Literary Agency.

Strength in the Storm is Laurel’s seventh book—and four more stories are in the works! Stay tuned!

More from Laurel

A word from Laurel:

Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet Emma and Sam—they’re one of my all-time favorite story couples! And what an intriguing combination they are: a gentle man known far and wide for his physical strength…and a heartbroken woman—his boyhood sweetheart—who’s his one and only weakness.

Don’t you just love a good second chance romance? I know I do! There’s something so satisfying about seeing a broken love story beautifully mended. Of course, it won’t be easy. Emma and Sam’s story is mixture of joy and sorrow, laughter and tears—lots and lots of bumps on the road for these two. But they’re about to discover that love and faith shine their brightest in life’s darkest moments—and that trouble only makes a hard-won “happily ever after” even sweeter!