Member Reviews
I found this book hard to finish as the pace was very slow and it was exceptionally hard for me to stay interested in very 2D characters.
The story of the Midwife is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. Once you get all the pieces assembled you can see the overall picture. Lauren is running away from her past and the reader is unsure why. Jackie (the midwife) is also hiding lots of secrets. There is quite a bit of confusion between who some of the characters are - Malcom, Nathaniel, Amber/Melissa) I had to wait till 3'/4 of the book for the story to come together. The end was all tied up in a nice bow . There was no what if at the end which I think is satisfying but I really like it when the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. The story makes you think you know what is going to happen and it does a 360* turn and it's definitely not what you thought or who you believed the characters to be. I thought it was a so so book and wouldn't recommend it.
There are so many secrets in this thriller that will slowly unravel into an explosive ending! This story kept me intensely curious as to who was causing all the problems in Lauren’s life and why is she hiding out in London to get away from her past. As she meets new people she doesn’t know who she can trust and is suspicious of everyone from her landlord to her midwife. I loved how the author teased us with pieces of the puzzle slowly throughout the story and didn’t reveal all right away. I would recommend this book highly if you love juicy thrillers.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
Lauren is pregnant and alone with her secrets. Jackie is the midwife who muscles her way into Lauren’s life. When bad things start happening to Lauren, who is to blame, is her past catching up with her or is it a new evil?
This book is written so that it switches between ‘the mother’ and ‘the midwife’. I felt it took a while to get going and the back story was very slowly revealed. For me I would have preferred things to be a bit more fast paced and more back ground to be covered. The last, but important piece of the puzzle was almost throw away.
Still worth a read.
This was a pretty slow burn n you really need to stick with it if you want to get to the interesting part. And even then, it still fell a bit flat for me. Its very character driven and descriptive so if you do like more of the drama/ character led tror thrillers then you'd probably get more out of this one than I did. It does try to build suspense and misdirection but by that point, I'd just lost interest and couldn't get into it
This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Bookouture and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
Fantastic suspense filled novel that has twists and turns.
Lauren is expecting her first child on her own she had IVF treatment useing a donor as she so wants a child. her first anti natal clinic and there she meets the midwife Jackie and she has told her to call her anytime. Lauren lives in Palmers green in a flat still working until her maternity leave. but Lauren is always looking over her shoulder as she has a past then someone throws a brick through her window and a chain of events start this story has you guessing all the way are they Lauren s friends or do they mean her harm a very good addictive read
this is my first by this author and it wont be my last. The blurb drew me in and by the end of the first chapter I was hooked. Its written from two women’s point of views and the effortless way it flows between them is effortless to follow. I would of finished this in one sitting if not for life and chores.
The story draws you in but the character are the ones that keep you enchanted as the story progresses the secrets kept so deeply hidden start to surface. I love the way this story unfolded before my eyes I love a book that draws you in both physically and emotionally.
I will be reading more from this author and keeping an eye out for future releases. The twists and turns in this book is unbelievable and what an ending. Thank you for being such a brilliant writer.
Thank you to Netgalley/Bookouture/Victoria Jenkins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Midwife
by Victoria Jenkins
I loved the name of the book, and cover. The but was not as good as I thought. It seemed such a slow read and took days to read because it did not hold up. Just not one I could say I enjoyed.
I really struggled to get into this book, the description really appealed to me but it lacked pace and the characters seems so dull.
This is the first book I’ve read by Victoria Jenkins and it won’t be the last. The Midwife has a super compelling hook to draw readers in and almost immediately I was hooked. This is not a fast paced wham bam thank you mam type of thriller, it’s more of a unsettling, crawls under your skin type of read. You know the kind, it sort of makes you look over your shoulder, is there someone out there watching you? Can you really hide your secrets forever! Yes, it was all of that and more. Not scary but it left me feeling quite unnerved at times and I was grateful I wasn’t in the maternity ward reading it.
The pacing is such that it teases you with each reveal, slowly revealing each layer of the story, leaving you wanting more. It was one of those books, you pick up almost immediately after putting it down because you just need to know what’s coming next.
And if you love an unreliable narrator then you are going to love this. I was never quite sure who to trust and what they were hiding. Were they friend or foe. The author does this oh so cleverly by dropping little breadcrumbs of information along the way, making you think one thing one minute and then knocking you sideways the next. I most definitely got a few surprises reading this one for sure and that finale of an ending, oh Lordy Lord, my heart was in my mouth!
Unnerving, disturbing, dark and totally engrossing!
I liked this book but didn’t love it. I get what the plot line was trying to achieve but I found the book lacked pace, I couldn’t gel with any of the characters and the plot just didn’t grip me. I’d rate this book 2.5 stars but have rounded up to 3. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.
Pregnancy can be a vulnerable state and if there's anyone a woman should be able to trust, it's her midwife. Forty-one year old Lauren seems more vulnerable than most, alone and living in fear of her past catching up with her. Midwife Jackie is warm and supportive, but is she really all she seems?
The plot is cleverly structured and Victoria Jenkins led me up and down the garden path several times. It's one of those stories where you want to go back and reread certain parts to see where and how you were misdirected. Because I read so many of these sorts of books I'm pretty good at spotting misdirection, so it's nice to be properly misled!
It was a little slow moving to begin with - I don't normally mind that, but it did seem to take a while for anything much to happen. Things do ramp up significantly by the end.
A very enjoyable read however, which kept my interest throughout. I felt for Lauren, particularly in her isolation, and was rooting for a happy ending.
The Midwife by Victoria Jenkins was an overall okay book. I liked the sound of the book and was in the mood for a fun, fast paced thriller. I didn’t love the book, it was a bit slow- but it was still okay. I will still try this author again in the future, as this was the first time I read any of her books!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
The midwife is beautifully written and perfectly paced, slowly revealing secret after secret until you're not sure of anything anymore - only that you have to keep reading…..
Overall this was a fun, exciting book that gave me several hours of escapism and enjoyment. Id definitely read other books released by this author. Who needs sleep? Yes, I dropped everything and immediately downloaded this book.
Thank you for the ARC. I was so shocked by the twists. Also I cried at the end.
I loved the way the story unfolded. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who was "bad" and who was "good" and why all the things were happening. I loved the setting. I loved the tragedy that started it all.
I especially loved that ending.
The Midwife by Victoria Jenkins was as fast-paced and well-plotted story just as all her novels are.
Talk about a hook... This one hooked me right away it was amazing and kept me interested the whole way through. I was shocked by every reveal and I saw none of it coming. The setting was super fun, exciting and immersive. I love a book that keeps me wondering and thinking and asking where the story is going to go. And this one did make me guess.
I got so invested in these characters. And their story is a crazy ride.
A twisted, edgy, and unputdownable story. Reading a Victoria Jenkins novel is my perfect escape.
"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
Bookouture,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
Wow! What a book! This book had suspense, intrigue, and so many crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! It was definitely a nail biter! I will definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!
The Midwife by Victoria Jenkins hooked me from the beginning with the promise of an engrossing and explosive read, though my interest waned somewhat as the narrative progressed.
Lauren is pregnant via IVF and is introduced to Jackie, who offers her services as a midwife. As Jackie pushes Lauren to attend meetings and, ultimately, insists that she have a home birth, it becomes clear that her motives are not as altruistic as Lauren had initially believed. Each woman, in fact, has a past that is cleverly hidden until the very end, though for me it all fell a bit flat. All in all, however, this is a solid read, and I will look forward to whatever comes next from this talented author. 3.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.
Victoria Jenkins is one of my go to authors so i was really excited to get started on The Midwife.
Sadly this just didn't do it for me, i had difficulty connecting with the characters and the two central one's were quite frankly dull.
I found myself dipping in and out waiting to be thrilled, sadly i just plodded along until the end.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.
Bit disappointed.