Reviewed by Emma Crowley
After heartbreak turned her world upside down, Imogen was forced to leave her nursing job and the life she had built behind. Now she has come to a beautiful countryside village, where she’s renovating a tumbledown cottage she hopes to call home. She never imagined the wartime secrets it’s hiding. Or that working alongside Jaz, the warm-hearted, handsome local builder with a kind smile, will make her light up in a way she hasn’t for a long time…
Hidden inside the cottage she discovers the photograph of a baby, and the incredible story of Julia, a midwife who once lived at Ivy Cottage. Julia devoted her life to caring for the village’s mothers and babies during World War Two, at a time when every birth was full of danger. Including a tiny infant who she was determined to save…
As Imogen pieces together the little boy’s story and Julia’s extraordinary courage, she begins to confront the loss she has buried for so long. With Jaz by her side, could Ivy Cottage finally be the place where her heart begins to heal?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Midwife at Ivy Cottage to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Midwife at Ivy Cottage is book number four in Rebecca Alexander’s wonderful Wildflower Secrets series. I am really loving this series as the author blends historical fiction with a modern-day twist. Packed full of romance, mystery and secrets these books are the perfect reads when you need to escape from it all for a couple of hours. They have such a lovely, relaxed feel to them whilst at the same time there is a meaty enough plot for the reader to get stuck into. This new story brings together characters from the previous books whilst also focusing on new people. This is why I really love these books old characters aren’t forgotten about and the links between each book slowly start to become apparent. Within the first few chapters I was thinking hold on a minute I know that person and their story so how do they slot into things now? Throughout the book a smile would come to my face when I realised ah that’s how they are connected and that’s why such a thing occurred. It shows how much the author values her characters and it’s also brilliant how we see some of the same events recounted but from a different perspective which adds an extra dimension to the story as a whole.
This time around we follow Imogen who we very briefly met at the end of book two. Alongside her father Maurice they are now the owners of Montpelier House on Dartmoor. Extensive renovations have taken place and now they are about to open a care home hotel for older residents or older people with physical limitations who can’t leave alone but need plenty of mental stimulation. A unique concept you’ll agree and given Imogen’s background as a paediatric nurse she does have the qualities needed to make this venture a success. Imogen, still deeply mourns her mother and is finding it challenging as her father is beginning to have gaps in his memory and issues with speech. Not to mention a child she tended to in her job has left a profound impact on her. She is hoping once the hotel is up and running that she can get some of her life back and she can think about her own situation.
Imogen was a lovely character. As the story progressed unbeknownst to herself she took on the role of mother hen to all the residents but in a natural and caring way. Through doing this she was healing without realising it and along the way she made some firm friends and a beautiful and heartwarming story unfolded both in the past and the present. There are two timelines running concurrently throughout the book and the switching back and forth between the two worked perfectly thanks to the assured writing and establishing the links between the two. I loved uncovering the secrets and connections between the past and the modern day. I thought early on that I had guessed what was going on but I was totally wrong but I love for that to be the case as that’s what a good book should do. Leave you surprised but deeply satisfied at the same time.
The residents of the hotel are a varied motley crew. Max and Pony had featured before, and it was a delight to see Maud come to live there I had loved her story which had been told in The Hidden Letter at Bluebell Farm. She is in fine form once again with her sharp comments, wisdom and astuteness. The sections set in the modern day were enjoyable and romance even starts to blossom for Imogen but it’s when she decides to renovate a cottage on site to live in and subsequently discovers a photo of a baby named Davy that things really started to ramp up. Who was this baby? Who had previously resided in Ivy Cottage and what story had they to tell. For me as much as I enjoyed Imogen and co’s story it was the plot set in the past during World War Two that really caught my attention and I suppose that’s the history fan in me coming out. Similarities between Imogen and Julia a midwife who came to live and work in the area start to appear and as Imogen digs deeper alongside Ruby, who featured in book two they uncover a remarkable story of courage, dedication, belief, compassion and healing.
Julia was a truly inspiring character so consumed by her job as a midwife and a woman who would go above and beyond for every patient in her care which wasn’t easy given the circumstances she operated under during the war. An incident during the Blitz when a bomb fell on the ward where she was tending to a woman in labour has left her traumatised and with images she can’t clear from her head. Embracing the opportunity to bring evacuated mothers to be to Dartmoor will provide her with a change in her life and will bring about unexpected adventures and even some romance. Julia comes to stay at Ivy Cottage next to Montpellier House where Lady Marisa and Alice live. I loved the descriptions of the wild rugged moor and the people who lived in little hamlets and villages. Many of whom we get to know as Julia takes up the role of midwife as there is a lack of proper care with many medical personnel being needed in the big cities.
Initially, I felt Julia was like a fish out of water but she learned to adept quickly. I loved her no nonsense forthright attitude when it came to her work but she also had a deeper caring side where she could see what her patients needed when they were living through extenuating circumstances. There were lots of little stories running throughout Julia’s timeline of women she tends to and all the while I was trying to suss out how does this connect back to the photo that Imogen had found? As I said I thought I had been right but I think that’s because of the clues the author dropped and the way she wrote certain things. I won’t go into details of Julia and how she connects to the photo but yes there is a connection there and a heartwarming, emotional story develops packed full of resilience and moments that will touch you.
As the story neared its end and secrets and displays of fortitude and devotion come to the surface I got the feeling that loose ends were being tied up and that perhaps it could be the last we hear from certain characters as their stories have come full circle or maybe it’s the end of the series as whole. But I do so hope that this won’t be the case as these are special books that effortlessly combines historical details and stories with a modern day twist. All whilst maintaining a sense of charm, community, togetherness, friendship, romance and secrets from the past. For me this was another winning addition to the series, and I feel readers both old and new will feel the very same.
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