Eli Easton returns to rural Pennsylvania for a new book (the third) in her Men of Lancaster County series, and a heartfelt, age-gap romance between two wounded men who need to heal and learn to trust themselves. Season of the Witch is full of the complex emotions and connections and feelings that continue to draw me to this author’s work, and it once again centres a character who is struggling, in some way, to reconcile the faith he was brought up in with his desire to live an authentic life as a gay man. There’s also an interesting sub-plot centred around the braucherei, the alternative/faith/spiritual healers of the Amish community which, I confess, I’d never heard of until now. (Who says romance novels can’t be educational?)

When he was just five-years-old, Elijah Schultz – thirteenth child of sixteen and the seventh son – was identified as having a special gift for healing by his Dawdi, his grandfather. Since then, he’s studied the braucherei with his Dawdi, learning how to help people who are sick or in pain through the power of God. When he’s nineteen, Elijah is caught in flagrante with his married lover and given an ultimatum. Sins of the flesh open the way for Satan to get a foothold in his soul and corrupt his abilities, so either he will submit to a beating and then marry the girl chosen for him or he will be cast out of the community and separated from his family forever.

Elijah has known this moment was coming since he was eight years old because he saw it in a vision – and knows what his choice will be, if only he can be strong enough to carry it out. He doesn’t believe that wanting love is wrong or that loving someone is a sin, and knows he can’t live for braucherei alone. He packs his meagre possessions and leaves.

Samuel and Eddie (from book two, Tender Mercies) are now happily married, and in addition to running their animal sanctuary, they also run a Youth Rescue hotline. A late-night call to this finds them heading to town to search for a boy they’re told has been sleeping rough behind a store. It’s bitterly cold and they fear for his life as they look through the garbage bins out back, but their search seems fruitless until Samuel, who used to be Amish, speaks softly in German – and hears a reply in the same language. He and Eddie take Elijah back home with them and offer him food, shelter and work at the farm (even though they both know there won’t actually be a lot for him to do that isn’t already taken care of by their farmhand, Jon). But Samuel was in a similar situation to Elijah not so long ago – cast out of his home and community – and isn’t about to just send Elijah on his way the next day with nowhere to go and no real way forward.

Jon Bruneau, originally from Louisiana, moved to Pig Bottom Farm after the tragic death of his girlfriend in a car accident. Even though it’s been a couple of years since it happened, he still has nightmares and still feels numb, like he’s dead inside. He enjoys working with the animals at the farm but mostly keeps himself to himself and lives quietly in his small apartment in a converted garage on the grounds. When Samuel tells him about Elijah, Jon isn’t very pleased; he doesn’t need any help with the work and doesn’t like the idea of his routine being disrupted, but Samuel is the boss at the end of the day, so he has to accept Elijah is going to be around for a while. Although he doesn’t have to like it.

Jon and Elijah are very different people from very different backgrounds, but they have more in common than they realise at first. They’ve both experienced traumatic events they need to heal from – Jon has been adrift since his girlfriend died and Elijah is stuggling to adapt to a whole new way of life since losing his home and family – and both have knowledge of alternative healing methods, Elijah as a braucher and Jon through his Aunt Jolie, who uses herbs and plants and traditional remedies to help the sick back at home. Although not a healer himself, this does help Jon to understand Elijah’s gift and encourage him not to dismiss it or be afraid of using it.

Their romance is very much a slow-burn, which feels exactly right given the circumstances, and they share some very sweet moments together and with the animals on the farm. Elijah knows right away that Jon is the one for him:

The voice in Elijah’s head said, clear as day, This one’s for you.

– but Jon takes a while to catch up because he’s more reluctant to accept that his frozen heart is starting to defrost, and that perhaps he can fall in love again after all. I enjoyed seeing them both slowly moving on and towards each other, the emphasis on the emotional connection developing between them. I have to say that their chemistry is warm rather than hot, but again, it works in the context of the story.

As in the other books in the series, the author writes about Amish life thoughtfully, and I like that she uses Elijah’s somewhat different speech pattern, with its occasional German word or phrase, to show that he comes from a very different background to the “English” around him. The detail given about the braucherei practices is interesting and adds a unique quality to the story, and Elijah’s inner conflict over whether he should be using his gifts is really well done; he knows Samuel is wary of braucherei and doesn’t want to upset him, but he longs to be able to help those in pain – and those two things aren’t easily reconciled.

There’s a small but strongly-written secondary cast, including Samuel and Eddie, and Jon’s Aunt Jolie, who takes to Elijah straight away and encourages him to find other ways to use his healing talents.

Season of the Witch is a sweet and charming hurt/comfort romance with a fascinating background, likeable, well-drawn characters – and cute animals. The first book, A Second Harvest, remains my favourite of the Men of Lancaster County series, but this one is a good runner-up.