The Heart of the Midwife by Darlene Franklin, Patty Smith Hall, Cynthia Hickey, Marilyn Turk

This book contained 4 short stories about midwives. They took place in different settings and were all historical. It was fun to see the midwives in the different locations and pretty much the same time period (1868 – 1890) basically having the same issues with their work and different issues with their personal lives. All were interesting and enthralling. I enjoyed every segment. The first was in the Ozarks of Missouri serving the mountain folk. She was a big city girl and had to learn the ways of the folks in the backwoods region she chose to serve in. The following one was in Colorado where the brothel owners didn’t want interference in their working girls’ lives and wanted abortions performed against the beliefs of the midwife.. The next one was in New York City where doctors and housing among other things were hard to obtain in the section of the city where the midwife was working and she had to battle the slumlord of her neighborhood.. The final one was in New Orleans where they were up against the voodoo practices commonly used. All the midwives were strong Christians who were paving the way with their values and principles. 

 I recommend this book. It was hard to put down. I was disappointed at the end when I ran out of stories. 

 I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman

This book is set at the ending of WWI and the beginning of the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918.


Pia Lange is a German Immigrant girl whose father is deployed to Europe for WWI and she lives in Philadelphia where the flu breaks out big time after a parade. She is responsible for her twin baby brothers and she needs to find food for them. While she is looking for it she collapses with the flu. Her baby brothers are no longer there when she gets out of the hospital and goes to look. She is transported to an orphan asylum where she cannot leave. She is determined to find her baby brothers. It becomes a long quest with many clues but no solution until the end. I loved this story because of all of the elements (prejudice and pandemics) that remind us of this year (2020) and the historical part which gives more insight into the problems them were facing during this flu outbreak.


I read this story in one day because I couldn’t bear to put it down. My to do list is still to be done. I highly recommend this to all historical fiction lovers.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Peasant’s Dream (Hagenheim #11) by Melanie Dickerson

I loved this book. Some of the newer historic authors are coming up with a unique perspective. It makes for fun stories. This is number 11 in a series do now I will need to find the others. I wonder if there will be a number 12.


I read this story in one day (well technically till 4:30 a.m. the next day. I couldn’t put it down.


Frederick is the son of a farmer whose real passion is wood carving. He has to do all the work for the farm since his father is disabled and also abusive. On a trip to town he meets Adela, the youngest daughter of the Duke. She has disguised herself as a maidservant in order to go to the Marketplatz by herself without guards. Frederick is unaware of her social status and they strike up a friendship. She loves painting and so their Artistic inclinations strike a chord for each of them. The problem is that the daughter of a Duke can’t marry a peasant but Frederick is unaware of that problem while Adela is plagued by it.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Twice As Nice Amish Romance Collection by Jean Brunstetter, Wanda E. Brunstetter

This is two segments in the story of twins, Elma and Thelma Hochstetler. The twins are in their 30s and are unmarried. When their grandparents die in an accident they are surprised to find out that they left their house and business to them instead of their father (her grandparents’ only son). Their father and mother also run a general store. The twins decide to move to the small town where their grandparents lived and look over their new property. The house and the store are run down but they forge ahead to make a living on their own. In the first story Thelma, the outgoing twin, meets her match and in the second one Elma, the more businesslike twin finds hers. Any more about that would ruin the stories.


This was highly enjoyable and I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy this genre and especially are fans of the Brunstetters (Wanda and her daughter-in-law Jean).


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Amish Christmas Twins by Shelley Shepard Gray, Rachel J. Good, Loree Lough

This is a wonderful collection of three short stories. I enjoyed reading each one. The first is about foster parents who want to adopt two small children who lost their parents. The kids have been in previous foster placements that were not happy. They want to be adopted. But when the Kurtz’ find out they are expecting twins at Christmas, the children start to wonder if they will be sent to another foster home after the twins are born. The second one is about a widow who has just lost her child and her neighbor who is starting to fall in love with her. She is still broken up over losing the baby but she decides to start healing by donating her baby’s things to a home for teen moms. One of the teen moms is pregnant with twins . . . And the third one is about a couple of sets of twins boys that are cousins and are at that age when they are getting into mischief. A couple of neighbors team up with the two sets of parents to help the boys learn responsibility after an accident caused by their mischief.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading these stories and wish there were more. Highly recommended!

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

An Amish Husband for Tillie (Amish of Pontotoc #4) by Amy Lillard

Tillie Gingerich finds herself in a bad situation. She left the Amish with her childhood sweetheart Melvin Yoder who wanted to live in the English world. But now she is back for Christmas with her family and she is pregnant. She and Melvin are not married. She will have to leave very soon if Melvin does not come back and join the church and marry her. Meanwhile she meets Levi Yoder (no relation to Melvin), who has recently lost his wife and infant son. They become friends and help each other out. It’s quite a conundrum and is resolved in an interesting way.


I really enjoyed this book and will look for previous books in this series to read. I recommend this book to friends who like this genre.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Holding Out for Christmas by Janet Dailey

Conner Branch is an ex-rodeo bullrider who is now a partner in a Christmas Tree Ranch in Branding Iron, TX. This follows some other stories I’ve read about Conner’s partners Travis and Rush in the Ranch but it is not listed as part of a series. Conner was fascinated with Lacy Leatherwood who he saw at the Cowboy Christmas Ball the previous year but he never got to make her acquaintance. He’s hoping to actually meet her this year. A few days prior to the ball he rescues Megan, a cute kindergarten teacher from Nashville, when her car runs off the road in a snowstorm. He is entranced with Megan but still plans to seek out Lacy.



This is a fun story and the characters are likable and interesting. I recommend this to anyone who just wants to read a happy Christmas romance.



I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.