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.
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?" No. No, you little twit. I don't know if this was taught to them or if it was never corrected, but it needed to be, or he's going to have a couple more "spinsters" on his hands - and don't even get me started on 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.
What do You think about The Butterfly Garden (2005)?
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.
—Darcy
Amish woman Sara Lapp, all but shunned for studying with the English 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. For his wife’s sake, Sara boldly tells Adam that he is killing Abby with so many babies so close, but Abby is already dead. Adam did not call Sara to tend the birth, but to give her his children. Though Sara knows Abby’s 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 decides that she will only take them long enough to teach Adam to love them. As a child Adam heard the words, “I do this because I love you,” with his father’s every abuse. Adam is afraid to love his children, afraid that in doing so, he will hurt them. Without Abby to protect them, Adam must find someone else, and he can think of only one woman strong and brave enough, Spinster Sara Lapp.
—Jean
I was pleasantly surprised that this book put a little spark in an Amish romance--something fairly unfamiliar to me despite having read several other books in the genre before. The story as a whole I enjoyed, however, as other reviewers have pointed out, there are a lot of inconsistencies and surprises in reading this. The relaxed relationship between Sara and "The English" not to mention Adam assisting so intimately with Jenny's birth was shocking to say the least. I also didn't understand how Adam was so wealthy despite having only enough farmland to work himself (or with his neighbor's help during his long stretches of travel or disability). There was also seemingly little focus on district gatherings which seems to be integral to the Amish community. The book could also use another edit--lots of quotation marks not around the correct text!
—Sarah Magner
