Ashley Tolliver is a 29-year-old nurse-midwife who descends from a long line of women dedicated to caring for Appalachian mothers and babies.  Everyone in the small community of Brooksburg, Virginia, knows they can trust her to treat them with kindness, discretion, and skill.  Although Ashley longs to attend medical school, she's as loyal to her patients as they are to her.  They need her more than she needs an M.D.

In the six years Ashley has been working as a midwife, she's sure she's seen it all.  Then a young mother is abducted minutes after giving birth in Ashley's home office.  Bleeding profusely, the new mom needs to be in the hospital, as does her newborn.  Desperate to get the pair the emergency medical attention they need, Ashley vows to find them.

Ashley's in the middle of dealing with the crisis when Hunter McDermott shows up at her door.  A 32-year-old engineer from Arlington, he's searching for the Appalachian birth mother he never knew he had.  As she helps the handsome adoptee uncover the real story of his birth and ancestry, Ashley finds herself reconsidering both her professional goals and the possibilities of an unexpected romance.  Could everything she's ever wanted really be waiting for her just beyond the hills her family has always called home?  Does she have the courage to put her needs before her patients' for once?  Or will she forever be the woman who delivers children for others but never has a family of her own?

Ever since Call the Midwife aired, people have become fascinated with the profession—and by "people," I mean me.  I'm also drawn to stories about Appalachia, so The Mountain Midwife by Laurie Alice Eakes was kind of a no-brainer read for me.  Did I end up adoring the novel?  No.  Did I enjoy it overall?  I did.  Although I found Ashley's sometimes holier than thou attitude annoying, she's still a brave, dedicated, hardworking heroine for whom I had no trouble rooting.  The novel's setting intrigued me, of course, and I appreciated Eakes' sympathetic but balanced portrayal of Appalachia's hill people.  Plot-wise, The Mountain Midwife is engaging and compelling.  When I picked this book up, I didn't realize it was a Christian novel; thankfully, the book's religious elements are mostly subtle and not too preachy.  Just the way I prefer them.  On the whole, then, The Mountain Midwife worked for me as it's clean, uplifting, and entertaining.  I'll definitely be on the lookout for more from Eakes.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman as well as Call the Midwife, which is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth)

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Although Patience Murphy hardly feels qualified to call herself a midwife, she's been delivering babies in Hope River, West Virginia, ever since her mentor died two years ago.  With the Great Depression raging across the country, hitting Appalachia especially hard, Patience receives much thanks for her services, but little payment.  Still, she can't deny a woman in need.  As times worsen, with no money available for fuel or food, Patience fears she will slowly freeze or starve to death.  In the meantime, she helps as many new mothers as she can, assists her handsome neighbor with his veterinarian practice, and protects her black roommate, Bitsy, from hateful Klan members.  It's a difficult life Patience leads, but a satisfying one.  As long as she keeps her real identity hidden, it's also a relatively safe one ...

It's evident from The Midwife of Hope River, Patricia Harman's first novel, that she has plenty of experience with midwifery, but not a lot with fiction writing.  The tale Harman tells here is interesting and authentic, true; it's also slow, episodic, and plotless.  It reads more like a doctor's journal than a story with a defined beginning, middle, and end, which makes sense since Harman's previous two books are both memoirs.  I'm not saying I didn't enjoy The Midwife of Hope River—all in all, I did—it was just a very slow read for me.  Intriguing, but sluggish.  Considering how long it took me to get through the novel, I'm not sure I'll bother reading the book's sequels.  Harman's memoirs, though?  I'll definitely give them a chance because it's obvious from The Midwife of Hope River that the author has had some fascinating experiences delivering babies in poor, rural communities.  I definitely want to read more about that.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of the BBC television show Call the Midwife, which is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a couple of F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, blood/gore, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Midwife of Hope River from Barnes & Noble with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

As a midwife in turn-of-the-century New York City, Sarah Brandt feels as if she's seen it all.  Still, when she comes across the strangled corpse of a 16-year-old girl while attending to a new mother in a shabby boardinghouse, she's stunned.  Not only because of the brutality of the murder, but also because she knows the victim.  Alicia Van Damm is the daughter of a prominent, wealthy family—a family with whom Sarah is acquainted.  What was Alicia doing in the squalid tenements?  How did she end up both pregnant and dead?  

The Van Damms fear nothing more than a scandal.  Sarah, however, can't bear to let the brutal killing go unpunished.  With the help of Frank Malloy, a taciturn police detective, she takes it upon herself to investigate the crime.  The more she digs, the more dangerous her life becomes.  Can Sarah find Alicia's killer before the murderer finds Sarah?  It's a prospect that's looking more and more unlikely ...

Murder on Astor Place, the first installment of Victoria Thompson's popular Gaslight Mystery series, is an atmospheric, engrossing novel.  It gets points for a vivid setting and for an interesting heroine, who's both brave and determined.  Frank is not as likable; perhaps that's why I felt no real chemistry between him and Sarah.  The plot of Murder on Astor Place is unoriginal and a bit slow.  I saw the big reveal coming from miles away.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed this novel overall.  I didn't love it, so I'm not sure I'll continue with the series.  Lots of readers love the Gaslight Mystery series, which will reach 22 installments in 2019, so I may give it another chance.  Or not.  We'll see.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a bit of the Below Stairs mysteries [Death Below Stairs; Scandal Above Stairs] by Jennifer Ashley)

Grade: 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I bought an e-copy of Murder on Astor Place from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.