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The Butterfly Garden
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.
307 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
242 people are currently reading
949 people want to read
About the author
Annette Blair
43 books1,007 followersAnnette Blair's romantic comedies owe their beginnings to a root canal and a reluctant trip to Salem Massachusetts. Though she had once proclaimed she'd never write a contemporary, she stumbled into the serendipitous role of Accidental Witch Writer on that trip. Funny how she managed to eat her words even with an aching jaw. Magic or destiny; Annette's Bewitching Romantic Comedies became her first National Bestsellers.
Her August '07 release, SEX AND THE PSYCHIC WITCH, the first in her Triplet Witch Trilogy, hit the #1 bestselling spot for contemporary romance-humorous on Barnes & Noble. It also hit B & N's overall bestseller lists for mass market and fiction mass market and #7 for romance mass market, topping Nielsen BookScan and Borders Bestseller lists as well.
Her August '07 release, SEX AND THE PSYCHIC WITCH, the first in her Triplet Witch Trilogy, hit the #1 bestselling spot for contemporary romance-humorous on Barnes & Noble. It also hit B & N's overall bestseller lists for mass market and fiction mass market and #7 for romance mass market, topping Nielsen BookScan and Borders Bestseller lists as well.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
April 4, 2017
I read this for the URR 2017 New Year's Reading Challenge prompt 'An Amish Romance'
17/2 - Okay, so my first experience of 'Amish' romance didn't go too badly. The religiosity wasn't too overt (as a well-read atheist I know many bible stories, but don't enjoy having the themes shoved in my face so I was pleased about that), in fact for the first 30% you'd hardly know it was set in an Amish community. It could have been any close-knit community in Midwest 1880s. It wasn't until the bishop forced Sara and Adam to get married or face the shunning of the entire community that hints of Amishness appeared.
There were a lot of punctuation problems, mostly speech marks related - speech marks for internal dialogue, none for conversations, an opening set but no closing and vice versa - there was barely a page that was spared the curse of the incorrectly placed speech mark.
I also noticed a couple of strangely described situations where I questioned Blair's understanding of simple terms
'...until a milk stream pierced her cheek and dripped down her face.' from page 103
Has Sara got dangerously thin skin or does that cow udder have the propulsion of a rocket?
and the time on page 148 when Adam's daughters suggested that nettles be one of the flowers they planted in their new garden the next spring. Being Australian I've never actually seen a nettle, but Wikipedia makes them sound like a plant to be avoided - "bear many stinging hairs whose tips come off when touched, transforming the hair into a needle that can inject several chemicals" (I wouldn't be planting that in any yard with little kids around to get spiked).
The sex was pretty good, but I would say that this was a bit of a slow burn with not that much burning because while they were both 'rebels' in the eyes of the church (Sara a spinster midwife who dressed in 'bright' colours and Adam called 'mad and bad' by the townspeople because of his behaviour), they were believers so they didn't stray that far from their faith.
17/2 - Okay, so my first experience of 'Amish' romance didn't go too badly. The religiosity wasn't too overt (as a well-read atheist I know many bible stories, but don't enjoy having the themes shoved in my face so I was pleased about that), in fact for the first 30% you'd hardly know it was set in an Amish community. It could have been any close-knit community in Midwest 1880s. It wasn't until the bishop forced Sara and Adam to get married or face the shunning of the entire community that hints of Amishness appeared.
There were a lot of punctuation problems, mostly speech marks related - speech marks for internal dialogue, none for conversations, an opening set but no closing and vice versa - there was barely a page that was spared the curse of the incorrectly placed speech mark.
I also noticed a couple of strangely described situations where I questioned Blair's understanding of simple terms
'...until a milk stream pierced her cheek and dripped down her face.' from page 103
Has Sara got dangerously thin skin or does that cow udder have the propulsion of a rocket?
and the time on page 148 when Adam's daughters suggested that nettles be one of the flowers they planted in their new garden the next spring. Being Australian I've never actually seen a nettle, but Wikipedia makes them sound like a plant to be avoided - "bear many stinging hairs whose tips come off when touched, transforming the hair into a needle that can inject several chemicals" (I wouldn't be planting that in any yard with little kids around to get spiked).
The sex was pretty good, but I would say that this was a bit of a slow burn with not that much burning because while they were both 'rebels' in the eyes of the church (Sara a spinster midwife who dressed in 'bright' colours and Adam called 'mad and bad' by the townspeople because of his behaviour), they were believers so they didn't stray that far from their faith.
June 22, 2024
Years ago, before Goodreads became a household name, I read Ms. Blair's Rogue series. But for the life of me, I can't remember anything about the individual romances. So, when I recently came across her name at our local library, I checked out The Butterfly Garden.
First off, though someone tagged this as Christian fiction, it is not. Sure, it has an Amish theme, but the romance contained quite a bit of descriptive sex.
At the opening, Adam Zuckerman's wife died while giving birth to their 4th daughter. When Spinster Sara Lapp, the community's midwife as she was known, arrived shortly thereafter he asked her to take all of his daughters. Long story short, she did but with temporary intentions.
Adam was at a crossroads. He was attracted to Sara but didn't want to be. Sara enjoyed being a mother and taking care of the girls, but something had to change. And it did. In turn, they were given an ultimatum by the Amish: marry or else.
The story itself was similar to many historical romances written in 2005. Man and woman were introduced, she's a virgin but he wants her. He's angry, she's angry. He lusted; she was confused. Yada, yada, yada. I probably would have enjoyed this more if I read it when it was first released in 2005. As it is, I am going with 2 stars.
First off, though someone tagged this as Christian fiction, it is not. Sure, it has an Amish theme, but the romance contained quite a bit of descriptive sex.
At the opening, Adam Zuckerman's wife died while giving birth to their 4th daughter. When Spinster Sara Lapp, the community's midwife as she was known, arrived shortly thereafter he asked her to take all of his daughters. Long story short, she did but with temporary intentions.
Adam was at a crossroads. He was attracted to Sara but didn't want to be. Sara enjoyed being a mother and taking care of the girls, but something had to change. And it did. In turn, they were given an ultimatum by the Amish: marry or else.
The story itself was similar to many historical romances written in 2005. Man and woman were introduced, she's a virgin but he wants her. He's angry, she's angry. He lusted; she was confused. Yada, yada, yada. I probably would have enjoyed this more if I read it when it was first released in 2005. As it is, I am going with 2 stars.
May 29, 2010
I definitely didn't expect this from this author. I have read her PNR books and this one couldn't be more different. This one is a really cute, sweet, innocent love story set before in the late 1880's, about a sassy Amish woman and a stubborn Amish man. Sara is a spinster with no family bucking the culture and being a midwife. Adam's wife just died after giving birth the their 4th daughter in 4 years. Both of these people have baggage galore and they spend most of the story trying deal with how they feel about each other.
If you are looking for a really good feel good story make sure to check this one out.
If you are looking for a really good feel good story make sure to check this one out.
January 29, 2014
I've never read an Amish romance before, although I was familiar with the concept. If this one's typical, I don't think I'll seek out any more.
At first I really liked it, but it dragged on, with huge gaps and then things happening too closely together without enough explanation in the text - like a character just appearing in someone's house for no reason. And both characters got increasingly histrionic as the story progressed, lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth without nearly enough reason for it.
I was also annoyed by the depiction of the Amish lifestyle. Apparently they had it pretty easy - the husband is able to take seven weeks off, during planting season, to drop a stranger's family off somewhere safe, and while he's gone his wife and children frolic in their butterfly garden rather than slaving away on the farm. It's okay, because the neighbour does the husband's chores for him - apparently the neighbour doesn't have anything better to do with his time, either, and apparently all farmers do is barn chores. Well, later on there was mention of "harvest chores", but given that they'd never apparently bothered to plant anything I'm sure the harvest couldn't have been too onerous!
And there seemed to be strange contrasts in just how rigid the rules were... the husband had to keep his whiskers trimmed to the proper length to avoid censure, but it was okay for the wife to trot all over the place with the English doctor, snuggling with him and caressing him in public? Really?
I don't know. I'm glad I read it, just to say I've given the Amish Romance thing a try.
At first I really liked it, but it dragged on, with huge gaps and then things happening too closely together without enough explanation in the text - like a character just appearing in someone's house for no reason. And both characters got increasingly histrionic as the story progressed, lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth without nearly enough reason for it.
I was also annoyed by the depiction of the Amish lifestyle. Apparently they had it pretty easy - the husband is able to take seven weeks off, during planting season, to drop a stranger's family off somewhere safe, and while he's gone his wife and children frolic in their butterfly garden rather than slaving away on the farm. It's okay, because the neighbour does the husband's chores for him - apparently the neighbour doesn't have anything better to do with his time, either, and apparently all farmers do is barn chores. Well, later on there was mention of "harvest chores", but given that they'd never apparently bothered to plant anything I'm sure the harvest couldn't have been too onerous!
And there seemed to be strange contrasts in just how rigid the rules were... the husband had to keep his whiskers trimmed to the proper length to avoid censure, but it was okay for the wife to trot all over the place with the English doctor, snuggling with him and caressing him in public? Really?
I don't know. I'm glad I read it, just to say I've given the Amish Romance thing a try.
November 3, 2014
Not typical of Amish romances. This one has sex in it. Granted the sex is pretty flowery but it's there. I enjoyed this one mostly because of the hero. I like a taciturn hero. This one had been abused by his father and equated love with beatings so he tried not to love his kids. There were some big coincidences and not a lot of reality in the day to day life of a working farmer but all in all a pleasant read. Not a lot of religious stuff either so I wouldn't really consider this Christian Fiction.
July 9, 2014
Wow, I think this is the worst Amish fiction book ever written. The author knows nothing about these people. It seems she wanted to write a trashy romance novel (perhaps that is all she knows how to do) and was looking to cash in on the high sales figures in Amish fiction. If you want to write this stuff, this is not the genre to do it in.
August 16, 2016
Great fast read...loved it. I seriously want Sara as a friend! Adam...what can I say ;) Loved the Way Annette wrote this relationship... I need to read more of her work! (Oh and is there an Emma based story out there?)
August 24, 2016
I'm all about midwives and the Amish so this story was a good one for me. It's labeled as an Amish Historical Sensual book, but I didn't find it to be too sensual. The book is a great read for getting over grief, and abuse while learning to love again.
October 21, 2008
Wow! What a pleasant surprise!!! This is one of those books that really blows you away, it did me anyway! The subtle romance leaves you wanting more.
July 10, 2012
Whoa! Way too explicit for an Amish story. Good story line but holy cow! Not as good as her last Amish novel.
December 19, 2010
I loved this book and gobbled it up in two days!!
May 9, 2025
3.5 stars
POV: alternating 3rd person, past tense
Adam loses his wife during childbirth. Sara, who is training to be a midwife, takes him to task. Adam decides that the best place for his children to be is far away from him, so he sends them home with Sara. Sara is determined to return the children to their father, but it isn't until Adam has an accident and needs looking after that Sara and his children move in with him. And because of that, they are forced by the Elders to marry or be shunned. Adam is determined not to love anyone, but having Sara and his children around all the time is weakening that resolve.
This was... it was good. But. There were editing and format issues galore. The writing was a little clunky and awkward in places, to the point where I kept wanting to stop reading because I was so disengaged. And my biggest issue is that I had to keep reminding myself that this was a historical. The attitudes and conversations and writing just seemed so modern. However, when I could connect with the characters, I liked them. They had real issues and worked through them.
POV: alternating 3rd person, past tense
Adam loses his wife during childbirth. Sara, who is training to be a midwife, takes him to task. Adam decides that the best place for his children to be is far away from him, so he sends them home with Sara. Sara is determined to return the children to their father, but it isn't until Adam has an accident and needs looking after that Sara and his children move in with him. And because of that, they are forced by the Elders to marry or be shunned. Adam is determined not to love anyone, but having Sara and his children around all the time is weakening that resolve.
This was... it was good. But. There were editing and format issues galore. The writing was a little clunky and awkward in places, to the point where I kept wanting to stop reading because I was so disengaged. And my biggest issue is that I had to keep reminding myself that this was a historical. The attitudes and conversations and writing just seemed so modern. However, when I could connect with the characters, I liked them. They had real issues and worked through them.
December 30, 2018
Amazing love story!
Sara and Adam certainly seem ill-suited at first, and it's a wonder anyone could love the gruff, broody man who insists that he cannot father his children. The author brilliantly sets up the necessary circumstances so that these two come to understand each other better as they care for his children and as Sara tends to Adam's healing.
The love and intimacy that build is beautifully portrayed, sensitively detailed, and gently persuasive. Sara proves to have the insight necessary to help Adam heal his heart, too, and this part of the story was gut-wrenching in its honesty yet absolutely essential to their HEA. This book sets the bar high, and was such an absorbing story that it has ruined me for all other Amish romances.
Sara and Adam certainly seem ill-suited at first, and it's a wonder anyone could love the gruff, broody man who insists that he cannot father his children. The author brilliantly sets up the necessary circumstances so that these two come to understand each other better as they care for his children and as Sara tends to Adam's healing.
The love and intimacy that build is beautifully portrayed, sensitively detailed, and gently persuasive. Sara proves to have the insight necessary to help Adam heal his heart, too, and this part of the story was gut-wrenching in its honesty yet absolutely essential to their HEA. This book sets the bar high, and was such an absorbing story that it has ruined me for all other Amish romances.
January 19, 2023
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2017
I found this a nice read, but would not recommend this book to most Christians who devour many Amish books, because of the sensual nature and a couple of swear words. However, if this doesn't bother you, then go ahead and enjoy; it is a fun read.
I liked the characters and storyline, but the writing style is a bit confusing from time to time. An editor should have fixed this before publishing. I read this book for free and considering this it was good enough to read, but I'm glad I didn't pay for it.
I liked the characters and storyline, but the writing style is a bit confusing from time to time. An editor should have fixed this before publishing. I read this book for free and considering this it was good enough to read, but I'm glad I didn't pay for it.
April 17, 2022
Unfinished. The premise of this book sounds intriguing though I honestly did not see the cover with the description of “sensual Amish historical”…but I’m about 30% in and it’s not my thing. Lacking so much depth of character and things moved FAST after this poor woman died in childbirth. The midwife is forced to move in with the widower to care for his children after an accident—then they’re forced to get married after like a second…like I said I’m 30% in!!! Not gonna waste my time.
September 21, 2021
Butterfly garden
Another five stars for this Author this is the third book that I have read of hers about the Amish community and I absolutely loved it it was so well written and the story so good I will recommend it.
Another five stars for this Author this is the third book that I have read of hers about the Amish community and I absolutely loved it it was so well written and the story so good I will recommend it.
December 5, 2024
A brilliant love story
I enjoy Amish stories and this one didn't fail. I also enjoy Annette Blair, so it's easy to love her book. I highly recommend for those who enjoy Amish stories.
I enjoy Amish stories and this one didn't fail. I also enjoy Annette Blair, so it's easy to love her book. I highly recommend for those who enjoy Amish stories.
November 30, 2016
Another good one.
I really like these sensual Amish stories by Blair. I wish there was more of them to read. Maybe someday...
I really like these sensual Amish stories by Blair. I wish there was more of them to read. Maybe someday...
June 30, 2017
This was a great story! I loved it but didn't give it 5 stars because at some places it jumped oddly and the punctuation wasn't always right.
February 10, 2018
This was an excellent read. The author kept the story moving. It was hard to put the book down.
March 16, 2018
Amish story love story, with each suffering childhood loss/abuse
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2018
This is a beautiful book that's a well written story of healing and hope. It's predictable but that makes it comfortable.
December 18, 2018
FAST read. Predictable. Two hundred pages of sexual tension and you can predict what will happen. ZZZZZZZZZZ. Wake me when you finish.
February 18, 2019
Overall, a pretty predictable story. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. I loved the touches of humor.
November 17, 2019
I thought it was a very good book with believable characters. Interesting to learn more about the Amish.
April 10, 2020
From page one, too predictable.
July 4, 2022
Fantastic!
I LOVED this story! What a lovely thing to have passion on the correct side of marriage vows! Don't miss it!
I LOVED this story! What a lovely thing to have passion on the correct side of marriage vows! Don't miss it!
March 12, 2014
While this novel had some captivating qualities, it had several problems which, had they'd been worked out, it could have been a phenominal story, but instead it not only missed it's potential, but seemed to disintegrate into falling so short I was left disappointed and gave it a 2 out of 5.
A biggie: I couldn't buy into the whole unexplained reason for awesome sexual compatibility which then mysteriously solves some huge relationship and character growth problems.
Incredulously, somehow the main couple have mind blowing sex while one is asleep and the other half dead --- ???? After reading books like this, I begin to wonder if something is wrong with me or my marriage if I have difficulty achieving mind-blowing sex while A) fully awake, B) healthy, and C) with a husband who is nowhere near as dysfunctional as Adam. Or wait, come to think of it, we are still married after many years while 1/2 of other marriages have ended in divorce, so apparently mind-blowing sex as a relationship savior is not so common after all. It certainly didn't work to salvage a storyline with so many flaws.
The graphic sexual scenes would be so much more powerful if the book had some semblance of believability in the way the characters and the events played out. Other reviewers have pointed out the lack of explanation for 1) how the farm stayed productive with no one to run it for weeks on end during busy seasons. 2) how a married Amish mid-wife and the single doctor she worked with get away with being so openly affectionate with each other 3) how people coincidently keep appearing on the doorstep during every critical relationship point. I also add: 4) how a man bedridden for months with multiple fractures managed to keep a hunky muscular physique.
The aforementioned items are external. There are also unexplained inconsistencies with the characters' behavior, in particular the schizo personality of the protagonist: she reacts unpredictably to various challenges with a rotation of fortitude/ strength/ perseverance, vs impulsivity vs just give up /withdraw and exhibits a surprisingly patient tolerant attitude vs tempermentally mouthing off.
There was a previous comment from a reviewer how the author did little to describe some of the main characters' appearance, but the difficulty getting to really know the characters' personalities with all the incosistencies was an even bigger problem for me.
It was hard to figure out where the author was trying to take us (and what type of audience she was trying to appeal to with so many changes in literary strategy throughout the novel.
A biggie: I couldn't buy into the whole unexplained reason for awesome sexual compatibility which then mysteriously solves some huge relationship and character growth problems.
Incredulously, somehow the main couple have mind blowing sex while one is asleep and the other half dead --- ???? After reading books like this, I begin to wonder if something is wrong with me or my marriage if I have difficulty achieving mind-blowing sex while A) fully awake, B) healthy, and C) with a husband who is nowhere near as dysfunctional as Adam. Or wait, come to think of it, we are still married after many years while 1/2 of other marriages have ended in divorce, so apparently mind-blowing sex as a relationship savior is not so common after all. It certainly didn't work to salvage a storyline with so many flaws.
The graphic sexual scenes would be so much more powerful if the book had some semblance of believability in the way the characters and the events played out. Other reviewers have pointed out the lack of explanation for 1) how the farm stayed productive with no one to run it for weeks on end during busy seasons. 2) how a married Amish mid-wife and the single doctor she worked with get away with being so openly affectionate with each other 3) how people coincidently keep appearing on the doorstep during every critical relationship point. I also add: 4) how a man bedridden for months with multiple fractures managed to keep a hunky muscular physique.
The aforementioned items are external. There are also unexplained inconsistencies with the characters' behavior, in particular the schizo personality of the protagonist: she reacts unpredictably to various challenges with a rotation of fortitude/ strength/ perseverance, vs impulsivity vs just give up /withdraw and exhibits a surprisingly patient tolerant attitude vs tempermentally mouthing off.
There was a previous comment from a reviewer how the author did little to describe some of the main characters' appearance, but the difficulty getting to really know the characters' personalities with all the incosistencies was an even bigger problem for me.
It was hard to figure out where the author was trying to take us (and what type of audience she was trying to appeal to with so many changes in literary strategy throughout the novel.
February 11, 2021
I absolutely cannot fathom why this book possibly has so few bad reviews. The story line was so jumpy that from the beginning of the book to the point where they get married (note: 75 pages in), the author could have easily stretched that into a book alone. Months passed within paragraphs, and integral plot was skipped over. Because of this, the two main characters went from hating each other to falling in love, with no explanation of the time in between.
My kingdom for some description! I have no idea what even one of the characters look like, aside from the fact that they're male or female and a rough age range. The only time we even figure out Sara's hair color is during one of the many sex scenes, which are by far not the norm for an Amish-themed book, and unnecessary in my opinion. This genre generally isn't sought out by those who want to read something so explicit.
Half the time, I thought that Adam was a werewolf or something, with the way he was carrying on about how he had to hold himself back and couldn't be allowed to love and couldn't get a woman pregnant, for fear of her life. His reactions and inner monologue were far too extreme to be for the reason it was.
The interaction with Jordan, the doctor, was also inappropriate. Sara acted like she either had an ongoing relationship with the man, or had in the past. She was a married woman and he was kissing her, cuddling up to her, and she was stroking his cheek and smiling fondly to wake him from his sleep with his head in her lap. No forgiveness was asked for these actions, even though they were by far not those found in a normal friendship. He also had feelings for Adam's sister, which just ended up looking inappropriate, because we never found out what his sister's age was - and she was made out to be around thirteen or fourteen, with the way she was acting. This made the doctor into a pervert.
I have never heard a child speak like his children did, either - using "my" instead of "I" was extremely, teeth-grindingly annoying, and it was never corrected. "My doesn't want you to go?" What in the world is that?
Not a good book. If it was stretched out, description was added, a chill pill was given to Adam, and time was given for events to occur, then maybe it could have been salvaged in some way. Please don't waste your time on something that will only annoy you.
My kingdom for some description! I have no idea what even one of the characters look like, aside from the fact that they're male or female and a rough age range. The only time we even figure out Sara's hair color is during one of the many sex scenes, which are by far not the norm for an Amish-themed book, and unnecessary in my opinion. This genre generally isn't sought out by those who want to read something so explicit.
Half the time, I thought that Adam was a werewolf or something, with the way he was carrying on about how he had to hold himself back and couldn't be allowed to love and couldn't get a woman pregnant, for fear of her life. His reactions and inner monologue were far too extreme to be for the reason it was.
The interaction with Jordan, the doctor, was also inappropriate. Sara acted like she either had an ongoing relationship with the man, or had in the past. She was a married woman and he was kissing her, cuddling up to her, and she was stroking his cheek and smiling fondly to wake him from his sleep with his head in her lap. No forgiveness was asked for these actions, even though they were by far not those found in a normal friendship. He also had feelings for Adam's sister, which just ended up looking inappropriate, because we never found out what his sister's age was - and she was made out to be around thirteen or fourteen, with the way she was acting. This made the doctor into a pervert.
I have never heard a child speak like his children did, either - using "my" instead of "I" was extremely, teeth-grindingly annoying, and it was never corrected. "My doesn't want you to go?" What in the world is that?
Not a good book. If it was stretched out, description was added, a chill pill was given to Adam, and time was given for events to occur, then maybe it could have been salvaged in some way. Please don't waste your time on something that will only annoy you.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews