After Sundown by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

An impending solar storm with devastating consequences for the world is seen from the perspective of one small Tennessee town in After Sundown by Linda Howard and Linda Jones. Sela Gordon runs a small gas station and general store in Cove Mountain, but she keeps mostly to herself since her divorce. Ben Jernigan is still recovering from his experiences in the military and has created his own survivalist retreat on the mountain. The chaos generated by the solar storm makes it impossible for each of them to maintain their solitude, or to fight their attraction to one another.

I’m always up for a good disaster/apocalypse story, and solar flares or EMPs that take down the power grid are a popular setup in recent years. Examining how precariously our lives depend on many things that we take for granted is always thrilling. In After Sundown, we look at this story from a small-town perspective. With short warning, the town residents pull together and do what they can to prepare and come together again after to see what needs to be done to survive.

One of the best parts of these types of stories is the way it forces people to step outside of themselves a little, revealing hidden strengths and skills, as well as hidden dark sides. The challenging circumstances also bring emotions closer to the surface and allow people to act on feelings that they perhaps wouldn’t otherwise. This creates an opportunity for romance and Howard and Jones fully explore that as Sela and Ben give in to the passions that they had both been keeping in check.

After Sundown does a great job of highlighting the tensions of a disaster as well as the satisfaction of pulling together as a community to face the challenges of the situation, both internal and external. Howard and Jones create strong characters and allow you to explore their hidden strengths and emotions. Sela and Ben both bear emotional wounds. Ben responds by retreating both physically and emotionally. Sela responds by clinging tightly to her family, but not allowing herself to become romantically vulnerable. Their attraction is palpable, and the disaster gives them just the nudge to find each other.

This book puts together an exciting plot with tension and some exciting action including some with deadly consequences. It pairs this with great lead characters and some very strong secondary characters. The romance feels both earned and satisfying. Howard and Jones do a great job of creating a romantic suspense story sure to please a wide variety of tastes. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

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