The Mountain Midwife


The Mountain Midwife: A Novel is the first book I've read by Laurie Alice Eakes. The story sounded so interesting and intriguing that I wanted to pick it up and read it right away. The storyline reminded me of Jolina Petersheim's The Midwife, which is one of my all-time favorite books, so I went into it eagerly expecting another page turner. The front cover is absolutely gorgeous and looks super inviting. The back cover reads:

"For nearly two hundred years, women in Ashley Tolliver’s family have practiced the art of midwifery in their mountain community. Now she wants to take her skills a step further, but attending medical school means abandoning those women to whom she has dedicated her life, the mountains she loves, and the awakening of her heart.

Ashley Tolliver has tended to the women of her small Appalachian community for years. As their midwife, she thinks she has seen it all. Until a young woman gives birth to a baby at Ashley’s home and is abducted just as she tries to take the dangerously bleeding woman her to the nearest hospital. Now Ashley is on a mission to find the woman and her newborn baby . . . before it’s too late.

Hunter McDermott is on a quest—to track down his birth mother. After receiving more media attention than he could ever want for being in the right place at the right time, he receives a mysterious phone call from a woman claiming to be his mother. Hunter seeks out the aid of the local midwife in the mountain town where the phone call originated—surely she can shed some light on his own family background.

Ashley isn’t prepared for the way Hunter’s entrance into her world affects her heart and her future. He reignites dreams of her own family she has long put aside in favor earning her medical degree and being able to do even more for her community. But is it commitment to her calling or fear of the unknown that keeps her feet firmly planted in the Appalachian soil? Or is it something more—fear of her growing feelings for Hunter—that make her hesitant to explore the world beyond the mountains?"

I loved Laurie Alice Eakes' engaging, easy to read writing style. I was instantly intrigued as soon as I read the first page. You're immediately thrust into a fast paced, hard to put down story. The Mountain Midwife blends mystery, suspense, and romance in a perfect mix. I don't like novels that are heavily focused on romance to the point it's cheesy, and Eakes successfully avoids that by focusing on much more than just romance. I love reading about midwives and have always been intrigued by the Appalachian Mountains, and to have a story set in modern-day Appalachia was a very unique and interesting, since most books I've seen about Appalachia are historical novels. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary Christian fiction, suspense, and a touch of romance.

I received a copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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