This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Midwife Neva Bradley has been keeping a secret from everyone she loves. She’s in the later stages of her first pregnancy but she hasn’t told anyone – not even the father of her baby. When Neva’s mother, Grace, discovers the pregnancy, she is determined to find out the identity of her grandchild’s father but the more she probes, the more closed off her daughter becomes.
Neva’s grandmother, Floss can understand Neva’s need for secrecy. She too has been keeping hold of a secret for over fifty years but is it time to finally let go of her past and reveal what happened all those years ago?
I was intrigued by the secrets hinted at in the blurb of The Secrets of Midwives and couldn’t wait to dive in and discover what had happened to Floss and why Neva was keeping the identity of her baby’s father to herself. I thought the book was a captivating, well-written book and the author has obviously taken great care with research. The book has quite a gentle pace that I liked as I was eased into the lives of Neva, Grace and Floss. I liked getting to know the three generations of women who are all midwives (whether practicing or retired) and found myself being drawn into Floss’ story. I felt that Floss’ story had a lot more potential and could have made a book in its own right. I would have loved to have delved more into her past and given the events much more time to develop. Having said that, I did enjoy The Secrets of Midwives as a whole and I did want to know who the father of Neva’s baby was and why she would keep it such a guarded secret.
Although I was quickly drawn into the lives of Neva and her grandmother, it took a lot longer for me to warm to Grace. She’s quite an overbearing character who doesn’t know when to back off and I found her actions annoying at times. She has her opinions on birthing and she could be quite forceful with them and dismissive of differing options. As the book moves along, I did start to like her more but she wasn’t a favourite character of mine.
8/10
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