 |
| (Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!) |
From the USA Today bestselling author of the Hope River series comes a new contemporary midwife novel.
Say “goodbye” to your old life, and “hello” to the life you’ve been waiting for…
Midwife Clara Perry is accustomed to comforting her pregnant patients…calming fathers-to-be as they anxiously await the birth of their children…ensuring the babies she delivers come safely into the world.
But when Clara’s life takes a nosedive, she realizes she hasn’t been tending to her own needs and does something drastic: she runs away and starts over again in a place where no one knows her or the mess she’s left behind in West Virginia. Heading to Sea Gull Island—a tiny, remote Canadian island—Clara is ready for anything. Well, almost. She left her passport back home, and the only way she can enter Canada is by hitching a ride on a snowmobile and illegally crossing the border.
Deciding to reinvent herself, Clara takes a new identity—Sara Livingston, a writer seeking solitude. But there’s no avoiding the outside world. The residents are friendly, and draw “Sara” into their lives and confidences. She volunteers at the local medical clinic, using her midwifery skills, and forms a tentative relationship with a local police officer.
But what will happen if she lets down her guard and reveals the real reason why she left her old life? One lesson soon becomes clear: no matter how far you run, you can never really hide from your past.
my thoughts:
The Runaway Midwife is a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed parts of it, but really disliked the rest. Its a story about a woman named Clara - a midwife. Her husband is cheating on her (again), her daughter doesn't talk to her, and her best friend recently committed suicide. Oh, and a patient of hers dies giving birth. Yep, life is pretty crap right now for Clara. So, what does she decide to do? Run away from it all.
Clara escapes to a tiny town in Canada. She settles in and befriends the locals. She tries to forge a new life for herself. And she writes about nature in her journal - passages that we get to read and that will bore you (unless you LOVE birds and nature). Of course, the past can't stay away forever. Or at least, Clara realizes that she is a midwife through and through - she can't leave her calling behind.
Its an interesting-ish story, but I felt that I couldn't really empathize with Clara as much as I thought I would. I didn't understand why she had to run away from everything. I can get why she would think about it - who hasn't wanted to escape from life when it goes from bad to worse? I just felt that there were so many things she could have done to help herself out of some of these situations. I suppose she frustrated me. Plus, some of the things she had to do just seemed unrealistic for her. I couldn't really connect with the story.
The Runaway Midwife was not for me. However, you may love it. So, I would suggest reading what other book bloggers have to say about this book. Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: The Runaway Midwife
4 comments:
The part of the story that appeals the most to me is the setting: Sea Gull Island. Doesn't that sound like a great place to go? The rest of the plot doesn't appeal quite as much. So it's probably best if I skip this one...and maybe just visit that island instead. :)
Lark, yes! It does sound like such a great place to visit. Definitely skip this one and visit the island instead :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book for the tour.
Heather, thanks for having me on this tour :)
Post a Comment