The Buttefly Garden [Paperback]

Annette Blair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2006

Amish woman Sara Lapp is shunned for studying to become a midwife. Her first call to tend a birth comes from Mad Adam Zuckerman. But Adam's wife has already died, and Sara learns that Adam called her only to take his children. Adam is afraid he will hurt his children in the way his father hurt him. Without his wife to protect them, Adam must find someone else, and he can think of only one woman brave enough, Sara, whose passion for things beyond her control is greater than is good for her. When Adam is hurt, Sara and his girls move in. When the Bishop insists that they marry or be shunned Sara and Adam face the greatest challenge of their lives.

Annette Blair is the Development Director and Journalism Advisor at a private New England prep school. Always happy crafting a new romance, Annette loves hearing from her readers, antiquing and collecting glass slippers. The Butterfly Garden is her second Amish historical Romance. (20050401)

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" . . . has all the warmth and beauty of an Amish quilt . . . a tale of love, commitment, and family ties, told with tenderness and sensitivity."
-- Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of Thee, I Love (20050301)

"Answering gruff Adam Zuckerman's summons, Amish midwife Sara Lapp assumes that she is to assist in the birth of Abby Zuckerman's latest child. She arrives to find Abby dead, the baby already born, and Adam determined to give his four young daughters into her care. Spinster Sara agrees to take the girls--for a time. Then Adam is injured in a drunken fall, and Sara and the girls move in to care for him, prompting the Amish elders to insist that they marry or be shunned. The results are predictable, but it takes Adam a long time to come to terms with his reservations. A giving, intelligent heroine, a conflicted hero, and a quartet of adorable girls will charm their way into readers' hearts in this heartwarming, leisurely paced story, one of several romances featuring the Amish to hit in recent months. With a goodly amount of cultural but not necessarily religious detail, this story will appeal to historical and some inspirational fans who like their romances sexy and romantic but with a gentle, introspective touch. Blair (The Kitchen Witch) is a seasoned writer of both historical and contemporary romance; she lives in New England."
--Library Journal, April 2005 (Library Journal )

"The Butterfly Garden tells and exceptionally moving tale of life and love in a community apart from the mainstream but with humanity in common with the rest of us. Sara is totally sympathetic as a heroine; who could help but her with a feisty, yet caring and giving nature. Adam on the other hand, evokes as much or more sympathy, but you?d still like to give him a good shaking. Two characters from the past show up that test him even more. Yet, when faced with emergencies, Adam rises to true heroism. Two protagonists face many conflicts, internal and external, that give richness and suspense to The Butterfly Garden."
--Romance Reviews Today, April 2005 (Romance Reviews Today )

"The author, Annette Blair, has a real writing talent. She inserts tiny things that the reader does not immediately notice, but makes the reader come to care for the characters as if they were kin. You may need tissues nearby at some points of the story. Another award winner that I cannot recommend highly enough."
--Huntress Reviews, March 2005 (Doody Enterprises ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Five Star Trade (June 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410402665
• ISBN-13: 978-1410402660
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,013,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dear Reader,

I finally became a full time writer in 2006 after retiring from my job as a Development Director. I didn't always know I wanted to be a writer, but I discovered Jane Eyre soon after I got my first library card. I was eleven and put a romantic spin on every story I read. I wrote romances about friends and their boyfriends. Racy stuff for which my friends' mother's did not thank me. I could title that time in my life 'THE FIRST TIME A GOODY TWO SHOES GETS IN TROUBLE-YAY!" When my children were young, I jotted plot ideas on corners of envelopes, recipe cards, and such, and threw them in my nightstand.

After discussing a romance novel with my high-school aged daughter, she challenged me to write a romance of my own. That day, I sorted through my plot ideas, picked one, and started. I didn't know what I was doing, but I had a good time. I made my first sale in 1998. I have since moved from Regency England and settled in twenty-first century Salem, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island; Mystic, Connecticut; with mysteries and romances and a host of sassy, sexy witches who tantalize and torment the men in their lives. Hopefully those same characters will sprinkle some magic dust and get a laugh or three out of you.

I have recently seen the re-release of JACOB'S RETURN and BUTTERFLY GARDEN, both Amish Historicals set in Pensylvania & Ohio. Recently, my 4th Vintage Magic, a paranormal cozy mystery series, set in Mystic Connecticut, SKIRTING THE GRAVE followed the release of VAMPIRE DRAGON my 3rd Works Like Magick Novel set in Salem MA.

I'm currently working on my 6th Vintage Magic Mystery, OPERATION PETTICOAT, and the 1st SISTERS OF SPIRIT Anthology both due out next year (2012) along with CLOAKED IN MALICE, my 5th paranormal cozy mystery. Meanwhile, watch Kindle for a new series of magical books in the months to come.

Some of my favorite authors are: Ruth Cardello, Hannah Howell, Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich, Linda Wisdom & Madelyn Alt.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Butterfly Garden, December 13, 2011

By 

Elizabeth (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Butterfly Garden (Kindle Edition)

I really enjoyed Jacob's Return, so was happy to find this book, as well.

Not quite so polished as Jacob's(bails for bales, moon shining in a blizzard, etc.), but a very good read, nonetheless. Blair's writing has something mesmerizing about it.

I hope she writes many more 'bonnet' books. I like the reality she throws in them, sex and all. Her Amish world is not all sugar-coated and well-mannered. Her characters are so well-developed, and so real.

I was sorry to come to the end of this beautifully redemptive story.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful story of love and family to hold in your heart forever, November 9, 2011

By 

Lisa Norato (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Butterfly Garden (Kindle Edition)

Butterfly Garden is a true, heartfelt story that celebrates the bonds of family, the restorative power of God's love, and the healing that comes from having loved ones to share our joys and sorrows. This is a very emotional book with passages that will bring you to tears as well as passages to make you laugh. Amish fans, Christian romance fans, historical fans will all love this book!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Keeper"., April 25, 2005

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Butterfly Garden (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)

The story begins in Walnut Creek, Ohio, 1883. Amishwoman Sara Lapp, has all but been shunned for studying with "the English" local doctor, Dr. Jordan Marks, to become a midwife. After months of waiting, she is called to tend the birth of her best friend, Abby. However, upon arriving, Sara finds Abby has already died in childbirth. Abby's husband, "Mad" Adam Zuckerman, did not want Sara to help Abby deliver the baby. He wants Sara to take his four daughters, including the new born, home with her to raise.

Adam is a self-appointed outcast. He keeps everyone at a distance. He dares not love anyone, including Abby and his children. Adam's childhood had been far from happy. In fact, Adam never recalls smiling even once in his entire life. Adam fears that he has too much of his father in him and he cannot have his children around him without Abby to protect them should his father's blood prove true. It is best for him, and his children, that they be raised with someone who could give them the love they so desperately need. Someone like Sara.

When a drunken Adam falls from a barn loft Sara moves in to tend him, and she brings his girls. Then the Bishop and the Elders take a stand. They must marry or they, and the children, would be shunned. Sara knows there is something good in Adam. There has to be or Abby would never have fallen in love with him and married him. Sara has hope of drawing it out of him. She hopes to heal him. If not, she will love and raise the children as her own.

Unexepected help, and trouble, arrives when Lena (Adam's mother) and Emma (Adam's quiet sister) knock on the door. Adam has believes them to have died long ago, another lie from his father. Now Sara has help with the children and can do her midwife duties without worrying about the children. However, Adam, Lena, and Emma have much to resolve. Sara must teach everyone in her new home that there is a time for everything under God's heaven. Now is the time for healing. Yet as Sara teaches those she loves to bloom, they teach her much more in return.

***** Fans of the TV show "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" will adore this novel! Sara came across to me as almost a mirror image of Dr. Quinn. She is strong when need be (stubborn), stands up for those in need (sharp tongued), and has so much love to give everyone. She also must deal with the Amish ordnung (rules) which makes everything near impossible. I found myself cheering her on to victory.

The author, Annette Blair, has a real writing talent. She inserts tiny things that the reader does not immediately notice, but makes the reader come to care for the characters as if they were kin. You may need tissues nearby at some points of the story. Another award winner that I cannot recommend highly enough. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.