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Maple Springs #1
Falling for the Mom-to-Be
The Widow's Surprise Baby
When Annie Marshall discovers just weeks after her husband's death that she's carrying his baby, her sadness turns to hope. Scared of facing this all on her own, she reluctantly accepts the help of her husband's best friend, Matthew Zelinsky. The kiss they shared after the funeral was just two friends comforting each other—or so she tells herself. Yet spending time together makes them wonder if what they feel is more than friendship. When people in town start raising eyebrows and her business begins to suffer from the gossip, Annie must decide if loving Matthew is worth the risk.
When Annie Marshall discovers just weeks after her husband's death that she's carrying his baby, her sadness turns to hope. Scared of facing this all on her own, she reluctantly accepts the help of her husband's best friend, Matthew Zelinsky. The kiss they shared after the funeral was just two friends comforting each other—or so she tells herself. Yet spending time together makes them wonder if what they feel is more than friendship. When people in town start raising eyebrows and her business begins to suffer from the gossip, Annie must decide if loving Matthew is worth the risk.
- GenresLove Inspired
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 18, 2015
10 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Jenna Mindel
43Ìýbooks80ÌýfollowersI live in Northern Lower Michigan with my husband and our three adorable dogs. I enjoy the Great Lakes, anything outdoors, and a really strong cup of coffee.
My love of fairy tales as a kid paved the way for me to create my own happily-ever-after stories. My passion grew in writing flawed characters who realize their need to trust God before they can trust each other.
I love to hear from readers and can be reached through my website at .
My love of fairy tales as a kid paved the way for me to create my own happily-ever-after stories. My passion grew in writing flawed characters who realize their need to trust God before they can trust each other.
I love to hear from readers and can be reached through my website at .
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 11, 2022
I got another stack of Love Inspired (okay, THREE bulging paper sacks), and since I'd just read #4 in this series and hadn't minded it, I thought I'd go back to the beginning and read the others.
I read this, but...
-- BUT. --
First, the Author's note says that this is *NOT* the first in the series, so now I'm utterly confused. Because Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ says it is. Who even knows.
Anyhow, this one's not as good as #4. Starting with the intro - which starts a week after the Annie's husband died of a heart attack, because he 'didn't take care of himself'. Except his wife is practically vegetarian, cooks with all natural, herbal, organic, etc. ingredients. And he's home with her ALL WINTER and one out of every three months, so... he's eating healthy most of the time. How is it possible he didn't 'take care of himself', in that kind of a circumstance?! Plus (pg 56) Jack said they 'ate well' on the ship. So...? Story not supported by story's facts. Fun, fun.
Anyhow, just days after the funeral, Matthew (? Who's Matthew? We're not told for another page and a half) shows up in the grocery store, puts back her food (!!) , takes her out to his truck, and starts making out with her. ONE WEEK widowed, and his best friend's wife. We have NO idea the history here, or what's going on... *and it isn't explained, either.*
What. The. Heck?! Who gave him permission to end her shopping, and WHY are they making out?! What is that?!?! But it's okay, because it's just "kisses between grieving friends". Um... that's not okay. In anyone's book. Something WRONG here...
Chapter One: Annie's pregnant. Married FIFTEEN YEARS to her deceased husband and couldn't get pregnant any of them - not even with alternative measures - and *now* she's pregnant. What the what?!
And as if that isn't illogical enough, she just left the "ballet troupe in Grand Rapids" and started a dance studio up north... except her husband was a freighter captain for a fleet in NE Michigan on the coast of Lake Huron, and Grand Rapids is three hours away, landlocked down in SW Michigan, so how does THAT work?
NONE of this makes sense or is well-written. It feels more like a fish flopping than a story's journey.
But we're not done. Ginger had become a close friend after Jack died. It's April, he died sometime in March... that's a FAST close friendship! If Annie has lived there FIVE YEARS with her husband gone months at a time, wouldn't she have close friends helping, already? This also makes no sense.
Then we're told she's FORTY years old. The cover of the book as a 20-something on it, so... this is a shock. Which means she's an elevated age pregnancy, add in the inability to conceive, and in the throes of emotional distress (grieving/depression/loss of spouse)... and we're suppose to believe she *doesn't* lose the baby due to the combination of all three risks? All of this put together makes the story really, REALLY hard to buy.
And the writing...!
Matthew goes to Ginger's shop, and "she smiles at him - not an unkind smile." ((!??!?! What is an unkind smile?!?!?!) He asks for tea for Annie, as a sorry-I-kissed-you apology. R'something. It's been two months, now, so with that much time passed, it's all shades of weird, at this point.
He goes to her house, pulls out the paper with the ingredients on it, and reads it. Then makes her tea... sees her blanch and ball up the paper, watches her drink the tea... then he inexplicably UNBALLS the paper to read it's morning sickness tea that he bought. WHAT . THE. HECK?! What kind of bad writing is that? It's manipulating the story, and done very badly, too.
Here's another one: "He placed his hand on her back and held out the napkins. She gripped his hand. Hard." � WHICH ONE? One is on her back (THAT would be awkward), and the other is full, hello...!!
Same page: Annie throws up. Luke is grossed out. Matt asks him to just call it a day, take the truck, and go home. "What's going on?!" Luke asks. Um... duh, she's SICK?! What kind of a question is that?! Even if he suspected pregnancy... she just got SICK, hello. "What's going on?" Really?!
How about this: " 'What's that for?' She met him at the sidewalk and pointed at the back of his truck. He hoisted the box of leftovers. 'Your garden.' Her eyes widened. 'That's leftovers?' 'My mom sent syrup, too.' " � could that be ANY more convoluted and out of order?!
Is anyone else seeing that there are
SO MANY ISSUES with the writing,
the story, the plausibility of all of this...
the whole thing?!?!
I'm not saying I didn't sort-of mostly kind of enjoy this. But it's a trope done over SOOOO many times (See Love Inspired's "A Forever Family", where she's pregnant and marries her dead husband's brother, or this other one I can't remember the title of where she's pregnant and marries the foster brother) - in this one she's pregnant and marries the honorary brother. They even throw in the Levirate Law (well, the chrischun version thereof) to try to validate it.
What I really didn't like the most, though, was that instead of talking to the Lord, she talked to her dead husband all thru the book. And her faith never really grows. She hates God, and that's where it's left - the author doesn't bring her away from that and renew her relationship with the Lord. I have issues with that.
Amongst other things, obviously...
It wasn't awful. It wasn't even bad. But it wasn't good. Not by a long shot.
I read this, but...
-- BUT. --
First, the Author's note says that this is *NOT* the first in the series, so now I'm utterly confused. Because Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ says it is. Who even knows.
Anyhow, this one's not as good as #4. Starting with the intro - which starts a week after the Annie's husband died of a heart attack, because he 'didn't take care of himself'. Except his wife is practically vegetarian, cooks with all natural, herbal, organic, etc. ingredients. And he's home with her ALL WINTER and one out of every three months, so... he's eating healthy most of the time. How is it possible he didn't 'take care of himself', in that kind of a circumstance?! Plus (pg 56) Jack said they 'ate well' on the ship. So...? Story not supported by story's facts. Fun, fun.
Anyhow, just days after the funeral, Matthew (? Who's Matthew? We're not told for another page and a half) shows up in the grocery store, puts back her food (!!) , takes her out to his truck, and starts making out with her. ONE WEEK widowed, and his best friend's wife. We have NO idea the history here, or what's going on... *and it isn't explained, either.*
What. The. Heck?! Who gave him permission to end her shopping, and WHY are they making out?! What is that?!?! But it's okay, because it's just "kisses between grieving friends". Um... that's not okay. In anyone's book. Something WRONG here...
Chapter One: Annie's pregnant. Married FIFTEEN YEARS to her deceased husband and couldn't get pregnant any of them - not even with alternative measures - and *now* she's pregnant. What the what?!
And as if that isn't illogical enough, she just left the "ballet troupe in Grand Rapids" and started a dance studio up north... except her husband was a freighter captain for a fleet in NE Michigan on the coast of Lake Huron, and Grand Rapids is three hours away, landlocked down in SW Michigan, so how does THAT work?
NONE of this makes sense or is well-written. It feels more like a fish flopping than a story's journey.
But we're not done. Ginger had become a close friend after Jack died. It's April, he died sometime in March... that's a FAST close friendship! If Annie has lived there FIVE YEARS with her husband gone months at a time, wouldn't she have close friends helping, already? This also makes no sense.
Then we're told she's FORTY years old. The cover of the book as a 20-something on it, so... this is a shock. Which means she's an elevated age pregnancy, add in the inability to conceive, and in the throes of emotional distress (grieving/depression/loss of spouse)... and we're suppose to believe she *doesn't* lose the baby due to the combination of all three risks? All of this put together makes the story really, REALLY hard to buy.
And the writing...!
Matthew goes to Ginger's shop, and "she smiles at him - not an unkind smile." ((!??!?! What is an unkind smile?!?!?!) He asks for tea for Annie, as a sorry-I-kissed-you apology. R'something. It's been two months, now, so with that much time passed, it's all shades of weird, at this point.
He goes to her house, pulls out the paper with the ingredients on it, and reads it. Then makes her tea... sees her blanch and ball up the paper, watches her drink the tea... then he inexplicably UNBALLS the paper to read it's morning sickness tea that he bought. WHAT . THE. HECK?! What kind of bad writing is that? It's manipulating the story, and done very badly, too.
Here's another one: "He placed his hand on her back and held out the napkins. She gripped his hand. Hard." � WHICH ONE? One is on her back (THAT would be awkward), and the other is full, hello...!!
Same page: Annie throws up. Luke is grossed out. Matt asks him to just call it a day, take the truck, and go home. "What's going on?!" Luke asks. Um... duh, she's SICK?! What kind of a question is that?! Even if he suspected pregnancy... she just got SICK, hello. "What's going on?" Really?!
How about this: " 'What's that for?' She met him at the sidewalk and pointed at the back of his truck. He hoisted the box of leftovers. 'Your garden.' Her eyes widened. 'That's leftovers?' 'My mom sent syrup, too.' " � could that be ANY more convoluted and out of order?!
Is anyone else seeing that there are
SO MANY ISSUES with the writing,
the story, the plausibility of all of this...
the whole thing?!?!
I'm not saying I didn't sort-of mostly kind of enjoy this. But it's a trope done over SOOOO many times (See Love Inspired's "A Forever Family", where she's pregnant and marries her dead husband's brother, or this other one I can't remember the title of where she's pregnant and marries the foster brother) - in this one she's pregnant and marries the honorary brother. They even throw in the Levirate Law (well, the chrischun version thereof) to try to validate it.
What I really didn't like the most, though, was that instead of talking to the Lord, she talked to her dead husband all thru the book. And her faith never really grows. She hates God, and that's where it's left - the author doesn't bring her away from that and renew her relationship with the Lord. I have issues with that.
Amongst other things, obviously...
It wasn't awful. It wasn't even bad. But it wasn't good. Not by a long shot.
August 27, 2015
A sailor and a dancer dealing with grief over the death of her husband and his best friend make for an unusual premise for a romance, yet this story grabbed my attention and held it to the end. A few tears later, I reached the last page with a contented sigh. Yet another happily-ever-after!
July 17, 2017
I always feel iffy when reading a novel about a person who's spouse has recently passed away, I knew know how to feel because I don't know if I should remain faithful to a person I don't know or be happy someone else is getting happiness again.
July 25, 2023
I really enjoyed this spiritual inspirational love story...it shows that with trust and respect, Love, can be achieved a second time around!
Highly recommended
Highly recommended
October 9, 2018
Another book I read for work. Definitely not something I enjoyed, but I feel it's a good representation of contemporary inspirational fiction. This title, part of Harlequin's Love Inspired imprint, is larger type and mass-market paperback, so I read it in maybe an hour and a half or two hours. Mild family drama revolving around a pregnant widow. Very chaste. Some praying, but not overly religious.
May 31, 2024
a great story
The characters are well written and very realistic. The storyline is good and deals with several issues that come up on every day life. I m looking forward to the next story in this series.
The characters are well written and very realistic. The storyline is good and deals with several issues that come up on every day life. I m looking forward to the next story in this series.
April 25, 2024
A 2nd read
This was a 2nd read of this book for me and i throughly enjoyed it both time. The characters were interesting and the story flowed well.
This was a 2nd read of this book for me and i throughly enjoyed it both time. The characters were interesting and the story flowed well.
July 17, 2015
Falling for the Mom-To-Be is a Maple Springs novel by Jenna Mindel. Since it is an inspirational romance, there are no graphic sex or violence scenes and no unacceptable language. It is a nice, Christian book that tells about second chances at love.
Annie Marshall is devastated upon hearing of the death of her husband Jack. He had a heart attack while on watch on the ship he was on. His best friend, Matthew Zelinsky was the one to find him which was very hard on him as well. Annie was left with only Jack’s parents as family and his mother had always disapproved of her.
Matthew felt obligated to help her out as much as he could since he knew Jack would have wanted him to. It was partially obligation and partially a need to be close to her. Matthew and Annie had been good friends and would talk and tease as they would if they were brother and sister. Matthew was quickly to discover that his feelings for Annie were not brotherly; but that he loved her and had always loved her. Now he wants to help her simply because she is Annie. His brothers, sisters, and later his parents were concerned about his feelings for Annie. Was he just feeling these things because he needed to take care of Jack’s family?
A month after Jack’s death, Annie finds out she is finally going to have Jack’s baby. It is bittersweet because they had been trying for a long time with no results. Now she would have the baby alone and Jack would never see his son. She begins to lean on Matthew for help against her own need to stand on her own two feet. Was she feeling gratitude for Matthew’s help? Was she taking her feelings for Jack and just transferring them to Matthew? What was she to do and not ruin her reputation and ultimately her dance studio?
Annie Marshall is devastated upon hearing of the death of her husband Jack. He had a heart attack while on watch on the ship he was on. His best friend, Matthew Zelinsky was the one to find him which was very hard on him as well. Annie was left with only Jack’s parents as family and his mother had always disapproved of her.
Matthew felt obligated to help her out as much as he could since he knew Jack would have wanted him to. It was partially obligation and partially a need to be close to her. Matthew and Annie had been good friends and would talk and tease as they would if they were brother and sister. Matthew was quickly to discover that his feelings for Annie were not brotherly; but that he loved her and had always loved her. Now he wants to help her simply because she is Annie. His brothers, sisters, and later his parents were concerned about his feelings for Annie. Was he just feeling these things because he needed to take care of Jack’s family?
A month after Jack’s death, Annie finds out she is finally going to have Jack’s baby. It is bittersweet because they had been trying for a long time with no results. Now she would have the baby alone and Jack would never see his son. She begins to lean on Matthew for help against her own need to stand on her own two feet. Was she feeling gratitude for Matthew’s help? Was she taking her feelings for Jack and just transferring them to Matthew? What was she to do and not ruin her reputation and ultimately her dance studio?
March 9, 2018
This book is about love and shows that is only okay to marry twice when your husband or wife dies. If you like grown up romance this is perfect then for you to read. It showed me how a Christian lives.
August 3, 2015
Intrigued with the story line at the back of the book.
Love the backdrop that Matthew is very religious, from all Love Inspired that I have read mostly are the female characters that more religious than the male characters portrayed.
Only it gets a little bit boring in the middle and actually would love if the author give a little more detailed prologue or backstory how did Matthew end up having feeling to Annie in the first place before the death of Annie's husband, Jack.
But truly a delightful story to read especially knowing that Annie is few years older than Matthew, actually would like that part to elaborate a little more by telling how much of their age difference from one to another but glad the author make Annie sound and look much younger than her age portrayed in the story.
Love the backdrop that Matthew is very religious, from all Love Inspired that I have read mostly are the female characters that more religious than the male characters portrayed.
Only it gets a little bit boring in the middle and actually would love if the author give a little more detailed prologue or backstory how did Matthew end up having feeling to Annie in the first place before the death of Annie's husband, Jack.
But truly a delightful story to read especially knowing that Annie is few years older than Matthew, actually would like that part to elaborate a little more by telling how much of their age difference from one to another but glad the author make Annie sound and look much younger than her age portrayed in the story.
June 1, 2016
New: Maple Springs series
I especially liked that this book took place in northern locations of Michigan's lower peninsula with lake freighters playing a role. An entirely different scenario to me.
Annie's husband, Jack, was the captain of a lake freighter. He was found dead from a previously unknown heart condition. His best friend and first mate Matthew has been looking out for Annie. Then she finds she is pregnant with Jack's long tried-for baby.
Why does Matthew feel obligated to help her?
Is it his duty?
A dance studio owner, she's been independent. Does she want Matthew's help?
What will his family think?
What will her friends think?
What will her business clients think?
How will she respond to the gossip, rumors?
What affect will the gossip have on her business?
Is there a message in Jack's Bible?
I especially liked that this book took place in northern locations of Michigan's lower peninsula with lake freighters playing a role. An entirely different scenario to me.
Annie's husband, Jack, was the captain of a lake freighter. He was found dead from a previously unknown heart condition. His best friend and first mate Matthew has been looking out for Annie. Then she finds she is pregnant with Jack's long tried-for baby.
Why does Matthew feel obligated to help her?
Is it his duty?
A dance studio owner, she's been independent. Does she want Matthew's help?
What will his family think?
What will her friends think?
What will her business clients think?
How will she respond to the gossip, rumors?
What affect will the gossip have on her business?
Is there a message in Jack's Bible?
June 23, 2016
A little intense, tho given the plot that's not surprising. Sudden loss of a loved one & then surprise news of a baby not a great combo. However, this is a sweet clean Christian themed romance - with serious issues being raised and dealt with.
Read
January 12, 2016"The reader will be rooting for the couple to succeed" (RT Book Reviews, 4 stars).
Miniseries:
Miniseries:
Read
January 12, 2016received 4 stars @ RT Book Reviews
Miniseries:
Miniseries:
September 20, 2015
Another sweet and hopeful read by Mindel, whose characters come to life in the pages. Loved the characters and the small town setting. Would love another Maple Springs story!
November 14, 2015
Cute story about a widow and her husband's best friend finding love through their shared grief. Sweet read.
Read
May 20, 2016This book was hard to keep in tune with. I liked it; but I was unsure if I eould finish this book; but I did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2023
Like the romance
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