The Midwife's Choice

GIVEAWAY

PARR, DELIA
A MIDWIFE'S CHOICE

Come Home to Friendship, Family, and Faith in the Town of Trinity

In a time when the traditional ways of medicine are constantly being questioned by new doctors fresh from medical school, midwife Martha Cade tries to balance her life's calling with the demands of her family. Recently reunited with her estranged seventeen-year-old daughter, Martha finds herself torn between guiding her child and allowing her to be an adult. At the same time, she must decide whether she'll risk reopening the heart she'd long closed off to love.

Though a small town, Trinity, Pennsylvania, is fraught with secrets, and as a midwife, Martha moves among its people. She knows which homes are filled with light and love, which families have slipped into grief, which wives are unhappy, and which husbands dare to cross lines...As Martha struggles with the conflicts of being a mother, a midwife, and a woman, she learns the greatest lessons of all--that hope can shine even in the darkest hours, and that faith has a way of making the impossible possible.

My Review:

The Midwife's Choice is the second book in the A Home in Trinity series. I didn't read the first book and will admit to feeling like I missed out on some things when I started reading this one. Not enough to get me lost or confused, the author does a great job of summarizing when needed. But she has whet my appetite so I'll definitely be backtracking and reading The Midwife's Tale soon.

At the age of forty-two, Martha is not a typical heroine. She's hard-headed, opinionated and just a tad controlling. You might even say, set in her ways. But that's par for the course since she holds a unique position in the community. A midwife wields more power than any other woman and has even earned the respect of the menfolk. Her take-charge attitude is necessary in the birthing room but carries over into her personal life with varying degrees of success.

Like with the man who has been gently wooing her -- a childhood sweetheart, now widowed himself. The groundwork for that romance was laid out in The Midwife's Tale, and while there are some sweetly tender moments between Thomas and Martha in The Midwife's Choice, I wouldn't label it historical romance. There is hope by the last page, but a true happily ever after seems destined for book three.

Told strictly from Martha's point of view, this story deals with the changes in her world and the inevitable choices she must make as a result. Riveting stuff. From her struggles to recognize her daughter as a woman to her desire to fix things for friends and patients in need. Her heart is in the right place, but sometimes she is blinded by her own opinion.

Loved the bevy of memorable female secondary characters. A true sisterhood in the midst of a sobering subplot about wife abuse. Parr has done an exceptional job of staying true to the time period (which is infuriating at times) but brings around a satisfying resolution in the end that left me both exhilarated and giddy. Clever, clever women.

A rich, fascinating glimpse into the life of a 19th century midwife.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. in exchange for my honest review.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  The Midwife's Choice please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday January 31 2016 . Offer open to international readers. Good luck!