It’s my pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for A Winter’s Wish For The Cornish Midwife by Jo Bartlett, the third in The Cornish Midwife series, and sharing my review: published on 7th October by Boldwood Books, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited) and in paperback. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading ecopy (provided via netgalley).
And another visit to Port Agnes – I don’t very often read every book in a series, but this is one I’m thoroughly enjoying. The first in the series, The Cornish Midwife, was light and totally lovely – with plenty of drama to keep the pages turning, filled with warmth, plenty of gentle humour, a few real tugs at the heartstrings, some great dramatic tension, a lovely touch of romance, and just a really perfect book to start a new series (you’ll find my review here). And I thoroughly enjoyed the second one too, A Summer Wedding for the Cornish Midwife – the perfect summer read, and you’ll find my review here. And there are still so many in that community midwifery team that I’d like to get to know a little better… and I’m really getting rather partial to Port Agnes…
A secret love…
As winter descends on the coastal town of Port Agnes, midwife Toni Samuels’ mood is as dark as the winter clouds that roll in. Toni loves her job as a midwife, but her private life is falling apart. Because Toni is keeping a secret– a relationship with fellow male midwife Bobby that no one can ever know about.
A damaged hope…
Kind and gorgeous, Bobby is a huge hit at the midwifery centre, but he’s tired of keeping his feelings for Toni a secret – of always coming second best. He knows that Toni’s past is painful, but unless she can be open with her feelings for him, he’s prepared to walk away from their love.
Can love find a way?
Toni loves Bobby and wishes things could be different between them. But torn between her past and a future with him, everything seems hopeless. Until fate hands Toni one last chance…
Now Toni’s secret wish is in her hands… if only she can be brave enough to take a chance and make her dreams come true.
An uplifting and escapist read, perfect for fans of Christie Barlow, Jessica Redland and Holly Martin!
If you’ve read the earlier books in this lovely series, you’ll have been as intrigued as I was about the relationship between the very private and professional Toni and the unit’s only male midwife, Bobby. Everyone knew there was something going on, but it was clear they wanted to keep it a secret – and in this book we find out why, and follow their particularly emotional story.
It really is a story that tears at your heart – with guilt and a sense of duty making it look so impossible that the pair will ever be able to have their happy ending. Both characters are exceptionally well drawn and developed, very real – and the situation they find themselves in really is quite impossible, with Toni unable to look to the future with so many obligations tying her to the past. The families that surround them both are wonderfully drawn too – Bobby’s a chaotic sprawl of young and old, the warmth and love overflowing, while the one that Toni’s tied to… but I’ll leave you to find that out for yourself.
And, in the background, there’s the opportunity to catch up with the lives of the other midwives in the unit – the progress of Anna’s unexpected pregnancy, the marriage plans of Ella and Dan, Jess’s progress towards her dream of becoming a foster carer – as they handle the many day-to-day small dramas that cross the path of the community midwifery team. I must say I’m particularly caught up by Jess’s story, and her as yet undeveloped relationship with Dexter – I’m particularly looking forward to the next book in the series which will be picking that one up.
I’ve mentioned before that this whole series has the feel of a Sunday night TV series – a little bit Call the Midwife with a touch of Doc Martin – with a well-developed sense of place and community, filled with warmth and feel-good moments and a succession of small storylines that completely engage you. But while I can’t help talking about this book as part of a series, there’s absolutely nothing that need stop you from picking up this book (or any of the others) and reading it as a standalone – you’d very quickly become as immersed in the lives of this wonderful and dedicated group of women as I always am.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one – and I’m already looking forward to my next visit to Port Agnes.
Praise for The Cornish Midwife…
‘I love second chance stories. I love returning home stories. So a book combining both is an absolute winner for me. The Cornish Midwife is simply gorgeous. Stunning setting, wonderful characters, and oozing with warmth. A triumph from Jo Bartlett and a cracking start to what promises to be a fabulous series’ Jessica Redland
‘Perfectly written and set in the beating heart of a community, this story is a wonderful slice of Cornish escapism.’ Helen J Rolfe
About the author
Jo Bartlett is the bestselling author of nineteen women’s fiction titles. She fits her writing in between her two day jobs as an educational consultant and university lecturer and lives with her family and three dogs on the Kent coast. Boldwood published the first title in The Cornish Midwife Series – part of a twelve-book deal – in April 2021.
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