I’m really delighted today to be joining the blog tour and sharing my review for A Change of Heart for the Cornish Midwife by Jo Bartlett: this is the seventh book in her wonderful Cornish Midwife series, published on 27th February by Boldwood Books, now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. Many thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
It’s not very often that I stay with a series until the seventh book (and most definitely plan to stay on board for whatever happens next), but this series really has become a particular personal favourite. I was hooked from the first book in the series, The Cornish Midwife, which I really loved (you’ll find my review here) – and, if you pop the author’s name into my search bar on the right hand side, you’ll find reviews of all the others (well, except for one – I was on last year’s January break when A Spring Surprise for the Cornish Midwife came out!). The last book, Mistletoe and Magic for the Cornish Midwife, was as wonderful as ever – a particularly lovely developing relationship, a primary storyline that was particularly moving, those many other small stories that can’t fail to engage the reader at an emotional level, but never forgetting those much-needed touches of humour and lightness (you’ll find my review of that one here).
So, the focus is on Ella again this time, one of my favourite characters – let’s take a closer look…
A forever love…or a future dashed?
Midwife Ella Mehenick can’t wait to marry the love of her life, Dan Ferguson. They have both waited so long for their perfect day, and they know their future together will be everything they’ve ever dreamed of.
But when Ella suddenly and unexpectedly collapses at work – all plans are put on hold.
Dan just wants Ella to get better, but Ella, so used to caring for others, struggles to accept she needs care herself. She doesn’t want Dan to give up everything for her and suddenly the life they dreamed of seems to be slipping through their fingers…
Once rock solid, Ella and Dan suddenly seem further apart than ever before. Can they find a path back to their happy ever after or will Ella’s change of heart risk everything they love?
My goodness, this was an emotional one – a difficult subject so sensitively handled, heartbreaking at times, but doing so much to shed a light on the realities of facing a life-changing diagnosis and the many issues around living with a disability.
Ella and Dan’s path to marriage certainly isn’t a smooth one – with work on their new home progressing apace and the wedding date drawing nearer, they need to postpone it again when an important member of the family (for very good reasons) isn’t able to be there. A new date is fixed – but they then face a whole new set of problems when Ella’s numbness in her limbs and disturbances to her vision prove to be considerably more serious than they could have ever thought. The story centres on their emotional response to the situation, and how they deal with it – Ella in denial, continuing to train for a fund-raising marathon, concerned about her ability to continue doing the work she loves, Dan being as practical as he can be in preparing for the future. But the whole situation is considerably more complicated than that – they’re both wrestling with a range of considerations and, at a time when they should be closer than ever, the issues begin to drive them apart.
At the same time, Dan’s friends Leo – severely disabled after a fall from some scaffolding – and his wife Jemima are beginning their journey towards parenthood, beginning a course of IVF, and grappling with a range of emotions given the challenges they face. Their issues only bring home the stark realities of Dan and Ella’s future – they’d planned to start a family too, and their friends’ situation gives them much food for thought about the practicalities. And, in the background, life goes on – the day-to-day happenings and dramas in the lives of the Port Agnes midwives as they tend to the needs of the new mothers in their community, every small story as well developed as always.
I found this whole book extremely moving and engaging – despite the heartbreak, the whole story proves to be tremendously uplifting and hopeful, and particularly real at an emotional level. It was enlightening too around the different and complex emotional responses to a life-changing situation, and the way that trying to do the right thing can sometimes prove to be the wrong thing entirely. The whole story makes you question how you would react in a similar situation, emphasises the importance of always living your best life whatever the barriers in the way – and, within a story that entirely engaged me from beginning to end, filled with love, provided real insights into the important area of disability awareness, with its messages quite perfectly handled. My favourite book in the series so far, for so many different reasons – and very highly recommended.
About the author
Jo Bartlett is the bestselling author of over 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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