The Baby Next Door

Indiana Amish Brides #7

by Vannetta Chapman

Some secrets are harder to keep…in this novel from USA TODAY bestselling author Vannetta Chapman

Can she help her neighbor

without exposing the truth?

When Amish single mother Grace Troyer and her baby girl move back home, Adrian Schrock can’t resist the little family next door. But his plan to nudge Grace out of her shell by asking her to cook for Englischers on his farm tour doesn’t go over well. After all, Grace is worried the job will expose secrets she hopes to keep buried…

From Harlequin Love Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.

Indiana Amish Brides

Book 1: A Widow’s Hope

Book 2: Amish Christmas Memories

Book 3: A Perfect Amish Match

Book 4: The Amish Christmas Matchmaker

Book 5: An Unlikely Amish Match

Book 6: The Amish Christmas Secret

Book 7: The Baby Next Door

Genres: Amish, Love Inspired, Romance, Amish Fiction, Harlequin

368 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 2021

About the author

Vannetta Chapman is a New York times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of over t0 novels. She has sold over one million copies and writes in a variety of genres that include dystopian, suspense, dystopian, romantic suspense, romance, and cozy mystery.

Chapman has 25 years educational experience as an English teacher at the high school and collegiate level. She currently resides in the Texas Hill Country where she writes full times.

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Reviews

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an Amish Fiction/Clean Romance, and this is the 7th book in the Indiana Amish Brides series. I have not read or review any of the other books in the series. I was pulled into this book very fast, and I did not feel lost at any point while reading this book. I loved the characters and animals in this book. I really love books that has animals in the book that has their own personalities, and this book as that in a lot of ways. It also has great characters that was so much fun learning about and following. I love the storyline of this book, and it was so well written. The only thing I did not love about this book is that the beginning was a little bit slow to get started. This is a short and quick read, but there is so much put into this short book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Love Inspired) or author (Vannetta Chapman) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

[Sunnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! I was so happy to read this sweet and fun read!. I say fun because there were some humorous parts that were light and make you laugh. It was so enjoyable to read Grace and Adrian's story. Grace has a secret that weighs her down and keeps her from the happiness that she hopes for. Adrian runs a quirky and fun farm zoo of sorts and decides that tours for the Englischers would be a good way to earn some money. He engages Grace into his tour plans and from there the story unfolds.
It's just a good book and I really enjoyed reading it! I am sure you will too!

I received a copy of this book from the author. All thoughts are my own.

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Baby Next Door by Vannetta Chapman is the 7th book in Indiana Amish Brides series. Each book can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed reading this entertaining Amish tale. I was drawn into this unique story right away, and the story held my attention until the end. The Baby Next Door is well-written with steady pacing. I liked the relatable characters and the lovable animals. There are some special and exotic animals. You could tell how much Adrian loved each one of them. I liked that this was different from other Amish stories. There are good life lessons in the book with the most important being to trust God because He knows what is best. Three of the themes In The Baby Next Door are family, faith, and forgiveness. I enjoyed the humor in the story. Grace’s determination to stop the tours led to some laughable situations. I appreciated how the epilogue that nicely wrapped up the tale. The Baby Next Door is a humorous and sweet Amish story. I look forward to reading Vannetta Chapman’s next entertaining book.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Baby Next Door was such a fun, sweet story. Although it is part of the Indiana Amish Brides series, it is definitely a book that can be read as a stand alone novel.

Adrian, with his exotic animal farm, was not your typical Amish man. He definitely showed his caring heart with the way he took in all kinds of animals and had a lot of patience for their quirks.

Grace was a single mother who loved her daughter and wanted to keep her safe. She struggled with guilt and definitely some fear. Her efforts to thwart Adrian’s Amish tour idea were pretty funny.

I really liked these two characters and the way they grew closer as the story progressed. It was sweet to see how much little Nicole liked Adrian and how much he grew to love both Nicole and her mom.

(4.5 stars)

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

You can read this review on my blog:
https://brittreadsfiction.wordpress.c...

[Maureen Timerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several of the books in this series, and this is Grace and Adrian's story, and little Nicole, and you are quickly pulled in.

I did love the surprises that happen near the end of this read, and how the book wrapped up.

I was surprised by Grace's attitude early on, but they did lead to some funny happenings. Also Adrian is a different kind of Amish farmer, an Exotic Animal Farmer, but he has a big heart for animals in need!

The star of this read is little Nicole, I wanted to go and hold her! She is a smart little one that will steal your heart.

I enjoyed my return visit to the Indiana Amish Community!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harlequin, and was not required to give a positive review.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

To doubt is normal. We doubt because we're imperfect and we make mistakes. We doubt because life isn't that simple.

God is a God of second chances. Grace had left her Amish community for 9 months to have her baby. Coming back home, everyone assumed that the baby was her niece and she was kind enough to care for it. She never corrected anyone because it was to hard to face the pain she caused so many. Her parents welcomed her back and helped care for Nicole. Their neighbor Adrian approached Grace's family for a business deal that dealt with exotic animals, food, Amish crafts and Englishers. Her family was excited about the new enterprise but Grace was fearful. Would the father of her daughter return and lay claim to Nicole.

I appreciated the subject matter of this sweet romance. Grace in her rumspringa had a relationship with an Englisher. He had left before she found out that she was pregnant. The character development of Grace and her parents pulled me in. She was dealing with raising her daughter, the gossip of the community, the hurt that she caused her parents, and the attraction towards Adrian. It was an accidental attraction that came because of kindness and patience. The character development was based on relationships. What hurts relationships and what causes relationships to grow. How difficult it is to be honest with our fears and feelings. Adrian and Grace trusted in the better way. A hopeful romance.

A special thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Pamela Pavkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Baby Next Door is a very sweet story written by Vanetta Chapman. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and found them very likeable. The author has done an amazing job telling this story of love, forgiveness, and a new beginning. When a young single Amish mother returns home with her daughter she is accepted by many in her community but a few are very rude to her. When her neighbors exotic animals keep wandering to her family's farm Grace Troyer forms an unlikely friendship with Adrian Schrock. The secret Grace is keeping causes her to sabotage the Amish tours that Adrian has her involved with. As their friendship grows and Grave reveals her secret will Adrian be able to forgive Grace? Can Grace forgive herself? This story is so heartwarming but it still holds a few surprises within the pages.

I was not given a complimentary copy of this book to read and review. I was not approached to post a favorable response and all opinions are my own. I have rated this story with five stars for meeting my expectations of a wonderful story that I can highly recommend to others.

Congratulations to Vanetta Chapman on writing another fantastic story for her readers enjoyment. I look forward to more stories from this author.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A secret hidden behind a beautiful Amish lady(Grace)and her beautiful baby(Nicole)who she does not know who the father is to her beautiful daughter.Grace fears the father of Nicole is going to come and fight for custody of his daughter.But Grace be comes friends with her neighbor who owns odd animals and shows them to English people,while she cooks meals for the visitors.But falls in love with Adrian(the neighbor)and tells him the truth about her daughter,he wants to adoption her daughter and marry her.Great happy ending too and great book to read too

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicole stole my heart from the start of this fun, humorous and faith story. Grace return to her parents’ home with Nicole is not all she anticipated. She felt isolated by her own choice to protect Nicole. Then Adrian enlisted her parents to have her cook for the new tour he developed for his Exotic Animal Farm along with other Amish stops. There are laughable, tender, tense and overall feel good moments as Adrian and Grace learn more about each other. The theme of family, faith, forgiveness and romance are prevalent throughout this heartwarming story. Will an incident with Nicole bring them closer where secrets are reveal, forgiveness asked and new beginnings?

I’ve enjoyed each book in Chapman’s Indiana Amish Brides series. The Baby Next Door is one of my favorite as Chapman gently weaved the story with the struggles of regrets, being a single parent, different life career, finding renewed faith and forgiveness that brought peace and so much more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and was under no obligation to write a positive review. I have shared my own thoughts. I look forward to reading more of Chapman’s books as they are released.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Baby Next Door by Vannetta Chapman
Miniseries: Indiana Amish Brides (Book #7)
Some secrets are harder to keep in this novel from USA TODAY bestselling author Vannetta Chapman
Can she help her neighbor
without exposing the truth?
When Amish single mother Grace Troyer and her baby girl move back home, Adrian Schrock can’t resist the little family next door. But his plan to nudge Grace out of her shell by asking her to cook for Englischers on his farm tour doesn’t go over well. After all, Grace is worried the job will expose secrets she hopes to keep buried…
This is Grace and daughter Nicole Troyer and Adrian Schrock's story.
Goshen, Indiana, was a beautiful place to be in April, but when Grace Troyer glanced out the kitchen window into the eyes of a llama she fought the urge to scream. She wasn’t afraid of llamas, but this particular one tended to spit, and it belonged next door, not on her parents’ property. Unfortunately, baby Nicole saw the llama at the same time that Grace did. Nicole wasn’t particular as to what animal she was petting. She simply called out, “Mine!” and insisted on moving closer.
“Nein, baby girl. That is Adrian’s llama, and hopefully he will fetch it soon.”
“Problem?” Her mamm walked into the room, carrying her knitting basket.
Leslie Troyer carried knitting with her wherever she went. “If we’re sitting, we’re knitting” was her favorite slogan. It should be cross-stitched and hung on the wall, right beside the Golden Rule.
Aaron resettled his straw hat on his head and smiled. “Gudemariye.”
“Your llama has escaped again.”
Instead of responding to her perturbed tone, Adrian laughed. “When you moved back home, I guess you didn’t expect to live next to a Plain & Simple Exotic Animal Farm.”
“I think of your place as Adrian’s Zoo.” “Not a bad name, but it doesn’t highlight our Amish heritage enough.”
I highly recommend reading.
The Baby Next Door by Vannetta Chapman is a wonderful well written 5 star book.
I am looking forward to reading more books by Vannetta Chapman.

[Vicky Sluiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book! Author Vannetta Chapman writes a story of family, humor, dedication to family, and of course romance. I really enjoyed this from beginning to end.

The characters were well developed and relatable. And who wouldn’t enjoy living next door to an Amish exotic animal farm? Well, Grace wasn’t sure she did, especially when it included cooking suppers for Englischers. The shenanigans she pulls to sabotage the meals kept me laughing. Add in sweet little Nicole and you have a book that you’re sure to enjoy.

With family, faith, and love even during trying situations, this is a heartwarming story I highly recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.

[Jean Thurmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace story was pulling at my heart strings. The story move at a pace where it's easy to follow along. It leaves you wanted more and hope their story continues and learn more about the family.

[Debra Howdyshell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. Enjoyed reading it.

[Kay Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE BABY NEXT DOOR by Vannetta Chapman is the 7th book in the Indiana Amish Brides series. It’s the delightful story of Grace Troyer and Adrian Schrock that takes place in Goshen, Indiana.

After getting pregnant and forced to go live with out of state relatives, Grace has moved back home with her daughter, Nicole. However, everyone is under the impression that brought back relative’s child to raise. She loves her Amish faith, the community where she grew up in and wants to make it work, but dislikes the fact that she hasn’t corrected them. As she’s trying to make peace with her past and tries to find the direction of her future, her life becomes complicated by Adrian, who lives next door with his menagerie of animals, who wanted to include her parent’s farm in his endeavor of an Amish tour. Grace worries that with Englisch coming to the farm that it could cause her problems. After all, Nicole’s father was Englisch. Although she has no idea where he is, she’s scared if he showed up that he might demand his parental rights or fight for custody.

Adrian, has always felt more comfortable around animals than people so it was surprise to his family when he bought a large parcel of land with hopes to have all sorts of animals that folks can come to see and learn from. With most of his money going towards feeding and carrying for his animals plus acquiring more kinds of animals needing a home, there’s not much left for much else. That’s ok with Adrian who is content to live in a small sectioned off part of the barn as his needs are few. His plan is to give tours of the farm to bring in money maintain the property, to continue what he loves to do and to have a small income. In order to do that, he needs more on the tour route than just his farm. Having tourist stop next door for a chance to enjoy a real Amish working farm, enjoy a delicious meal and possibly buy some Amish made goods only makes perfect since to Adrian and Grace’s parents agree.

What starts off as a standoff soon becomes friendship. Grace is scared of opening her heart up again for fear of greater disappointment. And besides now her first obligation is to her daughter’s safety and well-being. Adrian has never been very good with the opposite sex and never really dated. But he’s taken an immediate liking to Grace and Nicole. But what does he have to offer anyone? After all, he’s living in a barn!

Can the tours pan out as Adrian had hoped and help support his dream? Will Grace’s attempt to get the tours to stop only make them more desirable to the Englisch? What will it take for Grace to stop sabotaging the tours and get on board to making them successful? Do they dare to take their blooming friendship a step further? Will Adrian’s kind heart and support give Grace the courage to announce the truth about Nicole and to take a chance of love? Will Adrian figure out after Nicole wraps her arms around his heart and he seeing the beauty inside and out of Grace that there there’s more to life than critters and that maybe, just maybe he needs to start planning for his future in order to take on a bride?

In THE BABY NEXT DOOR, Vannetta Chapman writes an inspirational story of forgiveness, having the courage to follow your heart, learning that kindness and patience can overcome prejudice and gossip, and trusting that what is put in our path has a purpose all woven with the fiber of faith. It’s a story that will have you pulling for a happily ever after while keeping you entertained with antics that will have you laughing for sure. It can definitely be read as a standalone, but if like me, will have you checking out more books in this series as well as other books by this wonderful author. It’s a big 5 STARS book for sure!

[Cherese Akhavein · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Baby Next Door by Vannetta Chapman is a Love Inspired Inspirational Romance and I would give it a higher rating if I could. As with all of Vannetta’s books this one is filled with faith, hope and Forgivness and I know you will love it as much as I did.
You will meet the characters Grace Troyer and Adrian Schrock, Grace is a young women who has just moved back to her community and hopes to raise her daughter, and forget the past and the mistakes she has made. By joining the church and confessing all her past in doing so to start fresh.
Adrian has purchased the farm next door and is living the dream he has always had, of taking care of God’s creatures in his zoo of animals that most would have turned away.
But now he needs his communities help as well as his neighbors, problem is Grace is having no part of it, can these two find a bridge and build upon that? Will Grace be able to let go of her past and trust again or will there be to must water under the bridge to withstand the pain and heartache. Can Adrian learn the key to work with people as easy as he works with his animals so he can build a life with a family he now desires.
I really enjoyed this book and the characters made you realize that it’s important to remember there will always be people in our life that latch out at us and say things that are not so nice however if you try to remember that God is standing by our side and that there are far more good people and ones that believe In us than we think. Pick up a copy of this wonderful book and enjoy it as much as I did.

[Dali Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful!

The Baby Next Door is the seventh book in Vannetta Chapman’s Indiana Amish Brides series. One of the things that makes this series so enjoyable is the uniqueness of each story line. Another is the unfolding of each story. Although the reader has an idea of how the story will end, the journey that Ms. Chapman takes the reader on to get to that end is absolutely delightful.

Grace and Adrian have very different ways of looking at things, and thus their interactions are often quite entertaining. However, at other times their interactions are very heart felt which helps the reader understand and connect with the characters so much more. And then there is Nicole. Her contributions to Grace and Adrian’s story are just so sweet.

The story contains romance, faith, and forgiveness. It also brings up topics of reflection such as judging others and the effects of it. On a lighter note, the story also has contributions by some very interesting two legged and four legged characters which add a wonderful touch of humor to the story. All of this together makes The Baby Next Door a beautiful and delightful story that you are sure to enjoy.

****I received a copy of this book, but I was not required to write a positive review. All comments and opinions are my own.

[Mindy Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet and fun book! Grace and Adrian are a pair for sure and certain. I loved the banter between the main characters and watching both of them grow into better versions of themselves.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book. I knew I was going to like this story from the very beginning when Grace comes eye to eye with her neighbor's llama at the kitchen window.

Grace was away from her community for many months and she returned home to find Adrian living next door with numerous animals. Grace also returned home as a single Amish woman with a daughter.

I didn't like Grace initially because she was purposely trying to sabotage the tour groups coming on to her property. I came to understand why she was doing that, but still thought she was handling it poorly. She grows throughout the book and I respected her at the end.

I enjoyed watching Adrian woo Grace. I was pleasantly surprised with how Adrian handled Grace's secret and I loved how Adrian's family accepted Grace and Nicole. The animals, Adrian's friend George, and Adrian's sister Beth were nice additions to the story.

This is the seventh book in the Indiana Amish Brides series, but can easily be read as a stand alone.

If you like Amish fiction, I recommend this book.

[Patti Whitson Stephenson She Lives to Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful Amish story. I loved Grace’s spirited personality, and the different ways she tried to sabotage Adrian Schrock’s Exotic Animal Farm tours made me laugh. (There’s an especially funny scene with how some goats disrupted a tour dinner—it’s worth reading the book just to read that chapter.) I loved Adrian’s tender heart for all of God’s creatures. There are different animals from Adrian’s farm that have their own memorable turns in this book, especially Kendrick the llama. Grace’s baby daughter, Nicole also adds charm to this story.

However, this sweet story is not just about the animals; it’s about returning to faith; asking for forgiveness; and finding the courage to trust again. Nicole faces some challenges as she settles back into her Amish community as a single, unmarried mother with a baby. Her determination to join the church and embrace the Amish lifestyle was touching. Adrian’s support of Grace and his love for her demonstrated his kindness and forgiveness. There are lessons we can all learn from this charming, thoughtful, and humorous story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet romance with an unlikely couple, a charming tale of second chances and starting over.

Grace Troyer and her young daughter have moved back to her hometown and are staying with her parents. Adrian Schrock is a young man with an unusual passion for exotic animals, and he wants to turn his passion into a business so he asks the Troyers to join with him to put together an Amish tour. I loved how he is great with little Nicole, and the care that he takes with his animals. I liked that he is patient with Grace, and he takes things in stride, working with her even when she makes it difficult.

This is a sweet Amish romance, I liked the themes of forgiveness and that Grace wanted everyone to know the truth. A fun quick read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Baby Next Door ( Indiana Amish Brides #7 )
By: Vannetta Chapman
The Baby Next door is the seventh book in the series Indiana Amish Brides. This is a Love Inspired International Romance and I loved it. The author writes a good and clean romance with lovable characters. This is Grace and Adrian’s story. There were times that I caught myself laughing. Grace is raising a loveable little baby girl that stole my heart. Grace has a secret that she is hiding. Adrian is Grace’s neighbor and he runs a fun animal zoo that he does tours for the people. I was drawn into the story at the start and could not put it down.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, but was not told that I had to give a positive review. All opinions are my own.

[Dana Busenbark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who are Adrian and Grace? How do they know one another? Who is Nicole? Where are they all from? What unexpected face shows up in the kitchen window? What business does Adrian run? WHo is Eli, where is he, and what does he do for a living? What secret is Grace keeping? Who started the rumor about her and Nicole? What happens when Grace starts to reveal her secret? How do various people take the news? Read and see what happens!! This was truly a read I enjoyed.

RECEIVED THIS BOOK from Harlequin through Netgalley AS A GIFT FOR A FAIR/HONEST REVIEW and REVIEWER FOR Bloggin' With M. Brennan.

[Nicola “Shortbookthyme” · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Baby Next Door is a heartfelt, clean romance. As with the previous books in the series, the characters are likeable and engaging. The main characters are Grace and Adrian. Watching their relationship blossom was heartwarming.
Will secrets keep Grace and Adrian apart?
A feel good read that I totally enjoyed reading.

[Kaye Wingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Vannetta Chapman....love reading her books

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Inspirational Romance, Contemporary Romance, Amish & Mennonite, Wholesome Romance
Miniseries
Indiana Amish Brides (Book #7)

[Kathy Wallen · Rating 1 out of 5]

October 13, 2025

For some reason, I keep reading Vannetta Chapman's books even though I am fully aware that I don't like her writing style, plots, or characterization. What can I say.

I noticed something odd before the book even began, in the dedication:

...who loves a good book every bit as much as I do.

Bit = not a lot
Much = a lot

?? You could have just said "as much as I do" and everything would be perfectly fine. But I'm nitpicking.

One more writing thing. This is the opening sentence of chapter one:

Goshen, Indiana, was a beautiful place to be in April.

Okay, fine. But further down on that same page is the exact same description.

In Grace's opinion, they'd already passed that point, but no use bringing it up on a beautiful April morning.

Given that we already know those three things—it's morning, it's April, and it's beautiful outside—you can just omit the description entirely and state that "there was no use bringing it up." This is called redundancy, and it drives me crazy.

Now to get to the actual plot of the book. Grace is a young single mother with a toddler named Nicole, and her next-door neighbor, a young single man named Adrian, owns an exotic animal farm. Adrian hosts tours with a few other people around the community to earn some income, and he asks that Grace cook for the tourists. It's a win-win: he keeps his tourists happy and fed, and Grace gets to make some income. And her parents, with whom she lives, also make money from selling her mother's knitted items.

But for some reason, Grace doesn't want to cook for the tourists, so she sabotages the meals. She pours salt into a casserole, puts the tourists by a bunch of bees, and lets the goats run wild. Grace, are you stupid? Are you incapable of being an adult and saying, "I don't want to cook for your tourists, and I'm not going to do it"? Adrian, are you incapable of finding a competent cook who won't ruin your reputation?

Grace's reason as to why she doesn't want to do the tours is because she doesn't want to risk the possibility of her child's father suddenly appearing and demanding custody of Nicole. Okay, fair assumption... if it were backed up by any evidence and stakes. We know literally nothing about Nicole's father because Grace shares very little information about him. Basically, he charmed her, then left her before he knew that she was pregnant. He wasn't abusive from what I gather. He just exists in the background and is pretty much a non-entity. Then you get to the end of the book and discover that "Kolby" is an alias. The father took some random guy's name and operated under that identity. The father never even shows up in the entire book.

All of this is to say that Grace's fears are completely weightless and meaningless to the readers. There are no stakes because we don't know enough to draw any conclusions other than the limited information that Grace offers.

Grace then says this about her shenanigans:

Though she had to admit that her behavior had been less than stellar. In fact, she wasn't proud of the steps that she'd taken to put a stop to the tours. They had seemed necessary at the time. Had they truly been necessary? She'd been quite conflicted about her sabotage efforts before as she'd read her Bible. She'd been working her way through the gospels, and the twelfth chapter of Mark seemed to be written specifically to her. Love thy neighbor as thyself. That was the problem with the Bible. It was so black-and-white. It didn't leave much room for justifying her actions. Still, she could defend what she'd done. She was protecting her child. What if Nicole's father showed up out of the blue and demanded joint custody? What would she do then?

Let me repeat that: "That was the problem with the Bible. It was so black-and-white. It didn't leave much room for justifying her actions." I'm pretty sure that this is supposed to come off as sarcastic and joking, but still... To hear that coming from an Amish woman is mildly concerning, to put it lightly. And she still tries to justify her childish antics by bringing up her child's father, which means nothing to us as readers because we know nothing about him.



There's also a point where Adrian ponders if he's falling in love with Grace. My guy, she has sabotaged your tours three times and is putting your reputation and source of income on the line because of her immaturity and inability to tell you that she doesn't want to cook for your guests. She is only pitiable at this point in time because her daughter is sick and has an ear infection. How does this equate to attraction??

And then there's just all this filler. Adrian likes to talk about the poets and authors that he reads, so we're treated to a conversation of him quoting George Eliot and Grace commenting that she only remembered the name because Eliot was a woman writing under a man's pen name. They also talk about Ralph Waldo Emerson and mention checking out organic farming books from the library. Oh my goodness, I don't care. Where's the action? Where's the interesting part of the story where there's an actual plot??

Doctor Amanda suggests that Grace go to "Meijers grocery store." NO. It is not plural. Look up and read the big red letters: Is there an "s" anywhere in there? No. It is Meijer. Not Meijers. I know that this is absolutely a nitpick, but my family goes to shop at Meijer all the time and it drives me crazy how everyone pluralizes the name. It's just Meijer.

Then:

In the end, [Grace] chose three books—a picture book for Nicole, a historical romance with a picture of a castle on the front for Georgia, and a murder mystery with a drawing of an Amish B&B on the cover for herself.

First, more filler. Wonderful. Second, I see what you did there, Mrs. Chapman. I'll just leave this here.

That reminds me that Grace mentioned throughout the novel that she finds it annoying when characters do this, that, and the other in romance novels. It felt like lampshading, and I did not like it.

And there are parts of the novel that just read like a textbook:

A more recent change to their Ordnung had been to allow the gradual adoption of solar power. Some Englischers saw that as hypocritical, since they didn’t use electrical power. Amish didn’t believe in being connected to the grid. They were supposed to live their lives separate, set apart. Could someone live set apart with electricity in their home? Possibly, but with that electricity would come many temptations—television, radio and even the Internet.

Solar power, on the other hand, allowed them to be separate but with some of the conveniences of modern life. They still wouldn’t have a television or a radio or a computer, but they would be able to charge their tools and batteries, possibly even hook their refrigerator and stove up to it. Solar power would be much simpler and cheaper than propane. Plus solar power was basically free once the panels were set up. The sun was a part of Gotte’s creation. The Amish saw it as using Gotte’s natural resources.

It was a massive infodump that didn't hold my interest at all, and it disrupted the flow of the story by randomly switching gears to "research essay" instead of "novel."

...for what amounted to less than two hours work.

No. Two hours of work.

Adrian and Grace marrying and having a second child, tornadoes destroying barns, and Adrian's mother dying of some medical issue all happen off-screen and are summarized in the epilogue. Just great.

Hopefully, I'll learn my lesson for real this time and stay away from any more Vannetta Chapman novels.

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Inspirational Romance, Contemporary Romance, Amish & Mennonite, Wholesome Romance
Miniseries
Indiana Amish Brides (Book #7)

[Tambra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all Vannetta books and loved this one, great story.

[Tammy G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new interest is the Love Inspired Inspirational Romances.
Of course, Vannetta Chapman also happens to be one of the authors I love.
In this Love inspired romance an Amish single mother with a little girl has a "nosey" neighbor who likes to help her.
Grace Troyer and her baby girl like their neighbor, Adrian Schrock, but Grace prefers to keep quiet and not bear her soul even to a kind hearted neighbor.
Poor Adrian he thinks Grace needs to get out of her shell but Grace thinks Adrian needs to keep his distance.
Grace has secrets and cooking for the English on Adrian's farm doesn't seem too intrusive but people have a way of asking too many questions. Questions that Grace might not want to answer.
A great short story with a lot of romance and that feel good feeling for a happy afternoon of reading.