THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN

Author: Annette Blair ISBN: 1594143145 4/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: THE GALE GROUP
Time Period: 1880's

Amishwoman Sara Lapp, all but shunned for studying with the local doctor to become a midwife, is shocked that, after months of waiting, her first call to tend a birth comes from self-appointed outcast Mad Adam Zuckerman. Adam’s wife has died in childbed. He did not call Sara to tend the birth, but to give her his children. Though Sara knows his girls belong with their father, how can she leave them with a man who seems not to care for them? As much as she loves and wants the girls, she will only take them long enough to teach Adam to love them. Adam is afraid to love his children, afraid that in doing so, he will hurt them in the way his father hurt him. Without Abby to protect them, Adam must find someone else, and he can think of only one woman brave enough, Spinster Sara Lapp, the little midwife whose passion for things beyond her control is greater than is good for her. When Adam falls from the barn loft, drunk, Sara moves in to tend him, and she brings his girls. Then the Bishop takes a stand—a man and woman living together must marry or be shunned—and Sara and Adam are forced to face the greatest challenge of their lives.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN boasts a love story as memorable as the two characters who share it.

Ms. Blair not only captures the essence of a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love, she delves deep into the romantic couple to create two full-bodied, multi-layered, unique characters.

Pit a spunky, determined, passionate heroine with a gruff, cantankerous, emotionally crippled hero and the sparks are guaranteed to fly. Add a heavy dose of sexual tension and fireworks erupt. For all their bickering and the obstacles placed before them, Sara Lapp and Adam Zuckerman are perfect together—two halves of a whole. Adam might not recognize Sara as the wife of his heart, at first, but the reader will.

Ms. Blair writes beautiful, richly detailed characters. THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN's two lead characters practically leap from the pages of this Amish romance. This fast moving story works so well, for the most part, because these two fit together so
well—despite their different temperaments. Or maybe because of their differences.

This character-driven story is also peppered with some nicely sketched, interesting secondary characters. Two, maybe three, are just begging for their own story.

Warm and witty, THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN is a wonderfully touching story. I hesitate to call any story sweet—because of the sappy connotations—but this story is sweet. Without being sappy.

Beautifully written, this more-often-than-not amusing story is one I'd highly recommend. A top-notch read. A gifted writer.

Debbie Jett