ACOTH is an excellent story of an inter-faith relationship between Adam who is Amish and Quinn who is ... not Amish. And here lies the main confict of the book. Adam and Quinn are childhood friends who become sweethearts then lovers. This story is filled with angst and very deeply emotional. Before reading this book I have always thought of the Amish people as sweet and gentle. But there is a dark side to their religion that I found disturbing. When a member goes against the rules of their very rigid community they can be 'shunned'. This is an extremely cruel practice where the person shunned is never spoken to again and they lose all their posessions. This is the way the leaders control their members so they don't dare step outside their world and I found it very cult-like and cruel. Of course if that person were to repent and ask forgiveness which I think involves prostrating themselves in front of the whole community, they are forgiven. Nice. So the person can live in misery as a non-person within the community, or leave their family and friends never to see or speak to them again, or kowtow to their rigid rules and leaders.

So when Adam and Quinn fall in love and want to be together, he has a choice of being shunned or leaving his family. Quinn makes that decision for him trying to do what she thinks is best for him and she goes away. The story begins 11 years later when she buys her parent's old house and finds Adam is doing the restoration work. And he still wants her. I think I was on the verge of tears throughout most of the book. Reavis is an excellent writer and I read it in one sitting. The characters were well drawn and so real. The sex scenes were steamy, emotional and well written. The HEA was unusual in that it was both happy and sad. An excellent book, but the h/h plight was so painful that I don't think I'll be able to read it again. If you like Reavis, definitely give this on a try. (Grade: B+) ( )

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