A Baby for Easter

Willow Park #2

by Noelle Adams, Jane Cramer (Narrator)

Alice Grantham lost her fiancé and her job, so she’s had to come home to Willow Park to live with her parents. To recover some sense of independence and security, she’s cobbled together different part-time jobs, including one as assistant to the pastor of her hometown church. Nothing seems to be going right for her. Even Micah, the pastor’s brother and the first boy she ever loved, is standoffish with her now.

Micah has always been a prodigal son, but now he’s trying to put that lifestyle behind him. Then a five-month-old daughter he never knew existed is dropped on his doorstep, the result of one of his many one-night stands. He needs help from Alice to care for his daughter, but he can’t let himself hope for anything more from her than that. He can’t help but want it, though…

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Small Town Romance, Christian, Second Chance

Audible Audio

First published April 7, 2014

About the author

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn't stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

Reviews

[Carvanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread:
I wasn’t sure if I would have the emotional reaction to this book during my reread as I did the first time around. But I absolutely did. This story once more wrenched my heart and pushed me to feel so much more for characters than what I ever expect to feel when going in. Even knowing what was going to happen in this story, I was still emotionally stretched.

Original:
This is such an emotional read with a hero who is struggling to deal with past decisions and how they have affected his current wants and desires. Although we never have his point of view, this author easily conveys the turmoil of that struggle. My heart hurt for Micah and the battle that he’s had to war in order to find a place of peace and happiness.






Alice’s heart was hurt years ago. Her façade was impenetrable to those around her. As much as this story is about Micah’s redemption, it’s just as much about Alice’s healing. Both are brought to the surface by an unexpected development in Micah’s life. Watching them come together as one unit was wonderful.





This is a fast read with some amazing characters. The steam level is low and the angst is high.

Heroine POV
Safe no om drama; ow drama - h is jealous of girl from school that is friendly with H but there is nothing between them although it is made to look like there might be just a tiny bit; H ex manwhore - celibate for over a year; h not a virgin
Triggers no apparent triggers

[Paula Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up as I wanted a book to read and one I knew that I would probably enjoy as I have been in and out of a reading slump the past week. I am finding myself getting pickier at the type of books I am reading. Before I start this review I will have to say that unless you like books with a strong faith and religious background then this isn't the book for you and do not read any further. A Baby For Easter was set mainly around a church office as the main character Alice works there currently as a secretary for Pastor Daniel. Alice has recently moved back to her hometown and running into people she knows and one guy in particular keeps giving her mixed messages - Micah. When she was younger, she had the biggest crush on Micah and they had a moment but nothing eventuated out of it. With two failed engagements under her belt, Alice has temporarily sworn off men and relationships as they only end in disaster. Micah has received some news that he has a five month old daughter Cara and he is her last remaining parent as her mother has just died. Micah is struggling and so he asks Alice a favour, if she can help him with his daughter. Alice agrees and the pair of them start to raise Cara. What will happen though when Alice is offered a librarian job at a Christian college in the next town over ? Will Alice leave Cara and Micah behind or will Micah fight to keep Alice by his side as he already let her go once before ? Will This Easter be special for Alice ? Find out in Noelle Adams Christian fiction romance today.

[Alvina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tags: childhood friends, kid fic

I picked this up since I enjoyed Book 1 but damn, this was bleak. I saw no romance in this, at all.

Just a glorified nanny, a judgmental town, and troubled adults stuck on halcyon days.

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, short, surprise Baby for a single dad. She becomes his nany and sparks fly.

3.5 stars
Puff of steam

[Ceri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice has been through a hard time; her fiancé has broken up with her, and he’s not the first fiancé to do so. Plus she has lost her job through cutbacks, so she’s had to return to her home town, Willow Park and move back in with her parents. Alice is a librarian, but she’s only been able to secure 10 hours a week working in the library, and has supplemented her income by going to work to assist the town’s pastor Daniel (from Married by Christmas) with some office work. Alice enjoys being home although she can’t afford a place to rent in the town, and she’s not overly sad that her engagement was called off but she feels disappointed with herself that she put up with a relationship that was going nowhere for as long as she did. To prevent future heartbreak she has made herself five rules to live by to prevent her getting hurt again. These rules basically are intended to stop her getting her hopes up with another man unless he’s made it crystal clear what his intentions are.

Unfortunately for Alice, the potential for heartbreak is popping into the office all the time. Daniel’s brother, Micah and Alice had a summertime romance as teenagers which ended when he went off to college without a backward glance for her. Alice had felt a real connection with Micah and he’s become the yardstick that other relationships are measured against. However, he doesn’t seem too pleased to see her now, being markedly less friendly towards her than towards other people.

After leaving town to go to college Micah’s life went off the rails and he moved away from his religious beliefs and towards a life of excess with lots of partying and one night stands. For the past year or so he’s been working hard to get back on track, acting as a deacon for the church. However, his past catches up with him when he has a baby foisted on him which he is told is the result of one of his one-night stands. The baby’s mother has died in a car accident and Micah had no idea that he had fathered a child but now he’ll have to decide what to do about the situation, pending paternity tests etc. Alice minds the baby for him while he deals with some of the initial practical issues, and they come up with a temporary solution – Micah’s house has an apartment above the garage which Alice will live in rent-free in return for helping him out with the baby while he has to work. This means that Alice and Micah have to spend a lot more time together, with all the potential for heartbreak that could bring, particularly as Micah has shown no compunction in breaking Alice’s heart in the past.

I thought this was an enjoyable escapist read and I read the whole book in one go. Alice was a likeable heroine, but she had pretty poor self-esteem due to her poor judgements in the past. Add this to rule 1 (never assume a man likes you unless he both tells you and shows you) means that she misses all signs that Micah has feelings for her and she shows him zero encouragement for a long time. Micah was a bit more complicated, having been through a self-imposed crisis – he didn’t feel worthy compared to the rest of the family so he behaved in a way that made him feel even less worthy and got into a vicious circle. This in itself wasn’t hard to forgive, but he didn’t seem that worried about breaking Alice’s heart again, which was a bit selfish, made you want to give him a good shake! I liked the dynamic that the baby brought to their relationship and some of the times the romance was realistically reduced by the baby – hero with baby poo on his shirt for example! The flipside of this was that it allowed us to see Micah’s tenderness as he fell in love with his baby. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of that tenderness directed towards Alice though, would have been good to have seen him have to work a bit harder for her.

This is a follow-on from Married for Christmas, but it reads fine as a stand alone. It was good to see Daniel and Jessica from the first book, and it made me smile that she was still having cooking difficulties, as this was something she struggled with. Although both books have religious themes, in a way I felt this one felt more strongly Christian though it doesn’t hit you over the head with it. The idea that God doesn’t give us things because we deserve them but because he loves us is an idea that Micah has to be reminded of. There are no sex scenes in this book, if that is something you prefer to avoid, but there is a scene that veers into intimate territory before it comes back out of it.

This review first appeared on Babblings of a Bookworm http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot....

[Beanimous · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just ok. It has a strong religious, spiritual element in it that I thought I will love, but eventually I fail to connect with the characters and fail to understand the character's struggles...

This book has characters in a very strong religious background and is about people who are quite conservative. Meaning, sex before marriage is frowned upon. Prior to this book, I had just read Joey W. Hill's book on Bondage, S & M, dungeon sex club and three-way, and seriously I can not picked two books more polar opposite as these two.

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐⭐⭐ - OK, or decent reads.
=========================

August 21, 2022

Then Bill, her fiancé, dumped her because he decided she wasn’t what he needed in a wife. Then, two months later, she’d been laid off at work. They liked her at the university, but she was the library’s newest hire, and the budget cuts they were facing were too severe to keep her position.

She’d known Micah all her life. They’d lived in the same neighborhood and had both been raised in this church.

She’d fallen for him hard, and she’d genuinely believed that he’d felt the same way. She’d started to hope. She’d started to dream.

But nothing else happened. No date. No words spoken about feelings. No request to keep in touch. The summer ended, and he left for college. And nothing.

Micah had gone wild in college. He started to party and drink and sleep around—things he’d never done in high school—and it just got worse when he graduated.

He must think she was still holding a torch for him, from all the way back in high school, and he didn’t want to encourage her.

He was always teasing and laughing. Everyone in town loved him. And he seemed to like everyone he encountered. Except her.

Girls all over town were crazy about him, from age eighteen to thirty-five. Any one of them would jump if he showed any interest in them.

She’d never been deluded about her own desirability. She was okay-looking—with long curly brown hair and big blue-gray eyes—but there was a reason that, when she was twelve, Micah had coined the nickname “Dormouse” for her. It had been a play on her name, of course, since instead of looking like Alice in Wonderland, she instead looked like the Dormouse—tiny, with a too-big mouth and too-small nose, and by nature more of a reader than a talker.

Jessica was quiet and unassuming, never trying to be the center of attention. Growing up, she’d always been like Alice—not one of the popular girls, not the one the guys always went after.

There were five of them. 1. Never assume a man likes you unless he both tells you and shows you. 2. Never go out of your way to encourage a man to ask you out. 3. Never trap a man in a conversation about his feelings that he doesn’t want to have. 4. Never analyze a man’s behavior or read into his motivations and intentions toward you. 5. Never, ever, ever daydream about a future unless he’s promised you a future.

It sounded like a baby whimpering. Finally, her eyes drifted down to something Micah was holding. A baby carrier. A baby carrier.

His features twisted slightly—maybe anxiety, maybe disbelief. “That’s the thing. I think…I think she’s mine.”

She knew what Micah’s lifestyle had been for many years. She knew all that time he hadn’t been living out what he believed. Sometimes choices came with serious consequences. She knew all about consequences.

Lydia had always been popular, outgoing, and athletic—everything Alice was not. She’d gone on to law school, if Alice remembered correctly. “Yeah. It’s good to see you too.”

She glanced back over her shoulder, murmuring soothing words to the baby. And she knew, when she saw Micah smiling at Lydia, that she’d never had any real hope with him.

“That thing is big, and you’re such a little Dormouse.”

“Nothing. I’m just tired of thinking I’m going to get something good out of life, only to have it snatched away from me.”

“I know he has. I’m not saying he’d ever do anything on purpose. But men…men sometimes take what we give them, just because it’s offered, without giving anything back in return.”

Definitely not the SUV. But Micah was getting out of it. Peering more closely, Alice saw who was in the driver’s seat. Lydia Morgan. Gorgeous, red-haired, confident, always successful Lydia Morgan.

Micah must have been hanging out with Lydia afterwards—having dinner or something.

“No. Nothing happened.” “Then why did you change so much?” “I don’t know.” He must not have his normal defenses up either, since he answered much more easily than she expected. “There’s no good reason for it. Nothing happened. Nothing provoked it. I just wasn’t around people I knew, people who knew me. So I could be anyone I wanted.”

She’d thought he might want to hold her hand for longer than the summer. But he hadn’t.

“I don’t know. It sounds silly, I’m sure, but it just sometimes feels like the world is taunting me with…with…” She thought for a moment for an appropriate analogy. “…with a big basket of beautiful flowers, making me think they could be mine. But then, when I reach out for them, all I get is a broken dandelion.”

“I’m sure there will be flowers for you, Alice.” His voice had changed, gotten soft, almost rough.

But the look that summer hadn’t led to anything, and it might not now, either.

“You mean marriage?” Something changed on his face. “No. I mean marriage to men I’d made up in my head, but who really just…just weren’t worth it.”

“Smart women don’t trust men who aren’t worthy of that trust.”

As they were walking back, a young woman in a nurse’s outfit down the hall gave a start when she saw Micah, as if his presence surprised her. Then she smiled in a very significant way and winked at him as they past.

“Did you know her?” she asked, since it seemed clear that the woman had known him.

“No. I didn’t.” Glancing back at the woman, who was still smiling in Micah’s direction, Alice had serious doubts about whether that was true.

She came out a few minutes later and saw that the woman who’d winked at Micah before was now talking to him.

Alice was absolutely certain about who the woman was. Micah must have had a one-night stand with her at some point in the past.

If this thing with Micah was over, then it was over. What she wanted was never what she actually got.

“You think…you think that’s best?” It hurt so much to ask. Hurt so much that he obviously meant it. “Yeah. You should go where the job is. There’s nothing tying you here.”

[Leya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think book 2 was better than book 1, though it drugged on a bit. Alice had her 5 rules that works protect her heart from hurt break 💔 but still fell in love and got a broken 💔 for a few hours. Open communication could have resolved the issues between Micah and Alice. I still don't think these are faith based books though.

[Brandy Painter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did the Christmas ones in the series, but I continue to appreciate the way Adams portrays faith and family in these books.

[Janine Ballard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 stars

In 2014, I read and enjoyed the first novel in your Willow Park series, Married for Christmas. Jessica and Daniel’s romance appealed to me in part because the characters were people of faith but the book was not an inspie and did not proselytize. Since I’m not Christian, the latter can really turn me off.

A Baby for Easter is the sequel to Married for Christmas, and it also takes place in Willow Park, and again, uses a similar approach to the characters and the issue of faith. Its hero is Micah, Daniel’s brother, and its heroine is Alice, who works part time as Daniel’s secretary at First Presbyterian Church in Willow Park, North Carolina.

Six months earlier, Alice was dumped by her fiance, Bill, who decided she wasn’t the right wife material for him. Two months after that happened, Alice was laid off from the university library where she worked as a librarian. Twenty-six year old Alice was forced to relocate back to Willow Park, move in with her parents, and take the part-time secretarial position at the church.

After two broken engagements, one with Bill and one with the college boyfriend who said he outgrew her, Alice is tired of bad relationships and has crafted a set of rules to ensure she doesn’t end up in another.

1. Never assume a man likes you unless he both tells you and shows you.

2. Never go out of your way to encourage a man to ask you out.

3. Never trap a man in a conversation about his feelings that he doesn’t want to have.

4. Never analyze a man’s behavior or read into his motivations and intentions toward you.

5. Never, ever, ever daydream about a future unless he’s promised you a future.

The only fly in this ointment is her boss’s brother, Micah. Micah and Alice had a subtle romance when Alice was sixteen. As church summer camp counselors, they spent a lot of time together. In the evenings they’d go for walks and open up to each other.

Their budding romance never had a chance to develop because Micah never asked Alice out and didn’t stay in touch when he went off to college. In college Micah became a party boy and began to sleep around and drink.

After graduating, Micah continued partying while doing handyman jobs for work. Eventually these gigs developed into a contractor business that somehow succeeded. And one day, a year ago, Micah decided to change his behavior and returned to the church.

Since Alice works with his brother, she sees Micah periodically. But though he is friendly to others, he is always distant and aloof with her, in contrast to his behavior in high school, and Alice doesn’t know why.

A slight thaw begins when Micah discovers that he is father to Cara, a baby daughter he did not know about. Cara’s mother, with whom Micah casually hooked up just before he changed his lifestyle, died in a car accident, and her grandparents can’t raise her.

Micah feels overwhelmed at the prospect of raising a child but he has an extra apartment that is attached to his house and after she displays competence and care with Cara he offers Alice a deal: Live in the apartment rent-free, and receive additional wages, in return for working part time as Cara’s nanny, on top of her secretarial position.

Alice agrees and the job throws her and Micah into close proximity. Alice’s feelings for Micah begin to rekindle, but she is gun-shy and determined to stick to her rules, as well as uncertain because of Micah’s distance. Can baby Cara and the renewal of spring bring Micah and Alice together?

I really enjoyed A Baby for Easter. In some ways it’s similar to a good category romance, but the characters issues are viewed through the lens of their faith and that gives it another dimension. The novel is set during Easter and there is a theme of renewal / resurrection that was woven through.

But most of the book is about the romance between Alice and Micah. This was a lovely relationship because time was taken with the emotional beats of the romance. Not a step was missed and it’s also a poignant romance because both characters are strong but somehow also a little fragile.

This is a partial review. The complete review can be found at Dear Author, here: https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o...

[Kate Dirty Girls' Good Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Baby for Easter (Willow Park #2) by Noelle Adams
B, spark, no kink, contemp, 226 pages

Alice and Micah spent a summer together as camp counselors in high school, culminating in hand holding and a memorable kiss. But while Alice hoped for some kind of commitment, Micah left for college where he became a bit of a wild man. Now, years later Alice has returned home to Willow Park after two broken engagements. She's made a set of rules for herself, to keep her from falling for the wrong guy again. Tired of trying to live the playboy life, Micah has also returned home, hoping to live a life that makes him feel better about who he is. When a baby is dropped off and turns out to be his daughter, Micah turns to Alice for help.

Yes, this book includes religion. Both Alice and Micah were raised in religious families. Both are actively involved in their church. But I wouldn't classify this as a Christian romance, it was more just a part of who Alice and Micah were, rather than being preachy.

What this one was a gentle tale of two people striving to be better people and yet sometimes being their own worst enemies. Alice is so caught up in her list of rules that she forgets to trust herself. Micah is so caught up in trying to overcome his past that he can't get out of his own head at times. Yet the story manages to be emotional and gripping, rather than whiny and annoying. If fact, I was so involved in the story and characters that I didn't even realize that there wasn't any sex. I perfer my romances to have some sex in them but this one was great without it.

If you like small town contemporary romances, give this one a try. Noelle Adams has a unique voice that I've enjoyed at every turn of the page. I look forward to investigating her backlist more.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read 01-29-2025. 3.5 stars bumped up. This isn’t a knock-your-socks-off romance, but the story is infused with the humanity and genuine emotion I expect from Noelle Adams. Micah and Alice’s story is basically a teen sweethearts-second chance romance, along with an unexpected-single-father storyline. Usually this a tough sell for me - especially when it involves a hero who ran from his feelings and went on to lead a dissipated existence - but Noelle Adams’ skillful writing and character work won me over. I am a sucker for a hero whose feelings for the heroine are so overwhelming, he can’t help becoming stoic and reticent with her, and it’s made clear for the reader this is the case with Micah.

Minor quibble: I deeply dislike when everyone encourages the heroine to continue holding out hope for the hero. Thankfully it’s kept short and brief.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. The writing is emotionally charged and the characters are engaging. Both have baggage that inhibit the relationship, and to move past their feelings of inadequacy, they must place their faith in the forefront. The hero has a checkered past that has caught up with him. The heroine’s past love relationships did a number on trusting her instincts. All this made for an absorbing reading experience . Glad I found this book via the Audible Escape subscription. Happy reading/listening!

[Kinga · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars

This is the second book of the Willow Park series, we get new characters, but come back some of the old ones too.

Alice is the main heroine in this novel. She has just lost his job and his fiancé, so she is moving back to her parents to Willow Park what is her hometown. Her dream is to work in a library again, but in Willow Park there is little employment opportunities, so she works part-time job at Daniel, who is the local pastor. Alice wants to be self-dependent again, but there is little chance to rent an appartment because of the high price.

Alice is insecure with herself, so she sets up rules. One of the rules is that you don’t daydream and don’t think that a guy likes you until he tells you and shows you.

In Willow Park Alice reunited with Micah who is Daniel’s younger brother, and he works as an assistant pastor. Ten years ago Alice and Micah spent one summer together in a summer camp, then it seemed they had feelings for each other, but after he went college and the relationship between them it’s all over.

Alice remembers the old memories but it seems to her that Micah is kind with everybody but not with her… Micah has just now converted after many years of fickle lifestyle, he wants to fix up his life… but the past catches up with him and he gets a 5-month-old little girl who was born from his last one-night stands.

After the little girl’s mother has died in a car accident and the grandparents are not able to take her in the long run because of their state of health, they entrust the baby to Micah.

Micah offers a job and a lodging to Alice: he wants Alice’s help care for the baby. So our heroes spend more time together. Alice has a feeling for Micah again, but she is insecure about Micah’s feelings, and she doesn’t realize what is obvious to the reader.

Alice loves both Micah and the baby so she would be the ideal woman to Micah, but none of them dare to take the risk - Alice because of the possible disappointment and her rules, while Micah’s guilt because of him previous lifestyle.

Easter draws near which is the favorite fest of Alice and maybe it brings something new to both of them and to the baby, but they needs to take action…

Micah turns rusty while Alice finds out she must take some risks so she breaks her rules…

This is a facile story but it has something to say and it’s pretty much emotional. Noelle Adams pictures wonderfully with us that the human soul is complicated. There is uncertainty, fear in us, sometimes hope too. It’s up to us what we do ourselves and dare we risk because of our dreams come true.

"God doesn’t give us things because we deserve them. He gives them to us because he loves us. Just because he loves us."

It's definitely I will continue this series.

[Sherri Babb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Noelle Adam's books. This one was such a sweet and heart felt read. I loved Alice and Micah. One summer a long time ago they got close and Alice hoped it might become more but Micah left town for college and that was that. Now years later they are both back in Willow Park and both have been hurt deeply in the past. Micah now just learned he has a baby daughter that needs him. His emotions are all over the place and no matter how much he wants Alice he just can't let himself go there. Alice is struggling with her past mistakes and she really just wants a second chance with Micah. Will they be able to get past the things that are holding them back or will they both move on a lone? Great read pick up this book because you will not be disappointed.

[María Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I read this book in one sitting, not that is too long but I did have work to do. Though this books was beautiful I like the first one more. This story was beautiful but that ending was 'meh' or maybe I just like dramatics haha. Still I enjoyed it. It was nice. Now I need to sleep and continue with TOG book 2 probably tomorrow evening. :) or today I might say.

(This can't be healthy!)

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this, but I like the way she writes characters as religious without moving the books into being inspies. Because there are people whose faith is central to their lives without them proselytizing, and those people deserve romance novels too. I didn't like this as much as I liked the first one, but if I can get deals on the other two at some point, I will probably read them as well.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story! I loved reading about Daniel's brother and I loved getting glimpses of Daniel and Jessica's relationship!


Second time around was just as sweet! Book 1 of this series is one of my favs, but I’ve never finished this entire series up, so that’s my goal for ‘23!

[Maria]

Got my copy from Amazon Kindle just for 0.99$

[The Romance Evangelist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice second entry in the Willow Park series. These books are the exception to my rule about not reading faith-based romances because they are really well done and not even a tiny bit preachy.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a lovely, emotional story of love, redemption, and faith. This one gave me all the feels.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be the only version of secret baby I don't mind. Micah finds out he has a 5 month old daughter resulting from a one night stand after her grandparents drop her off with him. (Their daughter, the baby's mom, died in a car accident.) Micah changed his ways shortly after that one night stand and has been trying to be a better person. He has no idea what to do with a baby and turns to Alice, his old almost-girlfriend, for help. Alice is working a couple of part-time jobs and since taking care of Cara would allow her to move out of her parents house and into the apartment at the back of Micah's house, she accepts.

The close proximity allows Micah and Alice to form a friendship again. Alice has leftover feelings for him but she developed rules about men and dating after the end of her second engagement and she's determined not to look into any of their interactions. Her rules make sense on the surface but they're also an overcorrection. It allows her to hide, instead of clarifying what Micah wants or means. But it's not all on her.

Micah deals with intense shame from his past and doesn't believe he's good enough for Alice. He also struggles to believe he can be a good father to Cara. This is all framed as a spiritual issue. I wasn't completely keen on how that was handled, mostly because it seemed to be tied to purity culture without ever naming it as such. Tread carefully if you have qualms about stories that might shame someone's sexual past. I don't think that's what the author was trying to do but she's also toeing the line by engaging with religion (so many Easter metaphors) while not writing an inspirational romance. She nailed that balance in the first book of this series but this is a much thornier issue.

That aside, Micah and Alice have a great connection and I enjoyed watching them fall for each other again.


Characters: Alice is a 26 year old white part-time church administrative assistance, librarian, and nanny. Micah is a 28 year old white contractor and church deacon. He has a 5 month old daughter named Cara. This is set in Willow Park, NC.

Content notes: secret baby (result of one night stand), baby's mother died in a car accident, FMC adopts MMC's daughter, past infidelity (FMC's ex-fiancé left her for another woman), baby vomit, ear infection (baby), secondary character planning to work with human trafficking victims in India, references to off page sex, alcohol, small penis joke, gendered pejorative, gender essentialist language, ableist language

[Jessica CW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice and Micah

After reading a ton of Noelle Adams books this one was a slower pace but still a beautiful quiet love story. About finding your faith again, believing that you do deserve what your given and that you will be provided for.

Alice has returned to Willow Park after two failed engagements and being laid off.
She's lost faith in herself and being able to tell when a men loves her and wants a future with her. So she's createf 5 rules she needs fo follow. Sparing her heart from its fourth break.

Her first love Micah is in town and has turned his life around from a party playboy time. He's also got a surprise, a five month old daughter he didnt know existed nor knew that her mother had passed in a car accident.

Micah knows nothing about raising a child so he enlists April's help who loves babies and still cares for Micah- not that she'd admit that.

This story talka about having belief in yourself and trust in what's being offered.

It's a clean, religious read but a nice second chance.

[Chessela Helm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has the characters I liked from the first Willow Park book, but waayyyyy more Christianity. I would call this one inspirational, and it's very judgy of the hero's sexually open past. So there is no sex in this book. There's all of one kiss before the hero and heroine decide they're in love and it's FOREVER. Needless to say, there's not a lot of time spent on their development as a couple. It's basically two people who haven't admitted they like each other, then then admitting they like each and one of them going AWOL so he can pray or some s***, and then him coming back and being like 'b t dubs I love you let's skip actual dating and you can raise my child now' and the heroine being like 'yea, I dunno, that sounds okay.' Meanwhile, I'm sitting here like 'wtf maybe you two should communicate.' Yeah, won't be reading any more of this series.

[Zarah Gagatiga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice is back in her hometown of Willow Park after a series of failures. She had lost her job and her fiance broke off their engagement. She lives with her parents and couldn't find a stable job to keep her finances and her life back to normal. She gets by working as a part time librarian for the local pastor and her prospects are slim.

Micah is the pastor's brother whom she nurtures a special attraction to after all these years. However, she has agreed to follow the 5 Nevers in Dating and Relationships (a five point guide to prevent her heart from being broken again). But this self imposed strategy to distance herself from Micah never really worked out especially when a baby came into Micah's life from a past relationship and he needed a nanny.

Who else to trust but the Pastor's new librarian and secretary? What follows is a romantic adventure on taking risks, going back to things lost and remembering that the human heart is big enough to forgive and to love again. I liked it. It gave me that warm, cozy feeling of falling in love for the second time around is indeed sweeter.

[Thereadingbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was not that great to me to much religious spin to it. People being broken and only God can fix it for you. I thought it would be better. Alice seemed a little crazy to me like thinking every look or facial expression from Mica meant something. It sort of drove me craze and pulled from the story. I expected more from the story and it is ok to be spiritual and speak about God but it was way to much. Kara mom dying was sad enough and Alice stepping to help with her was great but the broken feeling each had was to repetitive.

[Fanica Rarinca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good one

Wonderfull book, filled with inocent romantic moments, full of hope, dreams and faith. Its a book about overcoming the struggle with himself as a broken, yet accomplished man. Yet, this book and the previous in the series presents the action, the feelings and the thoughts of woman character only. I think it would be good If the author presents his action and struggle from his own perspective. Anyway, it is a good novel, and the reader cam identify some of his own struggle in life. And find solutions for his own life.

[Heliga · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars. One of the most boring romance novels I've ever read, if it wasn't so short I wouldn't have finished it. Or started it, I wanted a quick read and I already had this on my kindle. This book is terrible pr for Christianity, makes a devout life seem so dull. At least if it were set 200 years ago it would have been a marriage of convenience and we would have gotten some sex to distract us from the monotony of the boring life of these boring puritans.

[Melissa Salinas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

What a beautiful story. Despite having a child dropped on him that he didnt even knoe about, and being secretly in love with Alice. It was so sweet when Alice became so motherly to Cara and Micah falls even more in love with her. I love these love stories that Noelle writes and the men who are utterly amazing.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much for such amazing books. This whole series has my heart 💖💖 Such a beautiful portrayal of characters, their internal dilemma and slow burn romance. Difficult to put down your books. Thanks for all the happy endings and such lovely stories, which not only make you believe in love but also increase your trust or faith in family, love, relationships, God.