The Midwifes Tale

I can't imagine living back in the past, where medical procedures were simply based a lot of times on trial and error. Some of them quite barbaric it makes you wonder how they truly thought people would get better by allowing them to be put through those procedures believing it was for their benefit. That is just the premise behind Delia Parr's latest novel The Midwife's Tale, the first book in the At Home in Trinity series set in the 1830's in Pennsylvania.

Martha Cade is struggling to coming to terms with being from a long line of midwives in her family and it seems with the advancement in medical education and schooling, it appears as if her profession is yielding to the up and coming doctors graduating from medical school. However for now, she is the one most preferred by the women who are pregnant and looking for someone truly experienced in the art of childbirth and the care that follows.

Being from a small town like Trinity has some advantages, but when things go wrong in your life, you become the fodder for the gossip in town. When Martha's daughter, Victoria, runs away from home at 17, to join a traveling theater troupe, she isn't prepared to answer the questions the town will whisper whenever she walks by. She can only trust God will bring her home in His timing and will care for her as long as she remains away. She had tried searching for her for well over three months, but now she must return to Trinity to help care for the women who have come to depend on her. She just never imagined the new town doctor would step in and take what remaining clients she did have away and now it will take all she can do to earn their trust back especially when those newest advances in medicine are harming patients more than helping them.

I received The Midwife's Tale by Delia Parr compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. I love that Martha's character has a true love for what the women in her life have taught her in regards to herbal medicine and treatments. I believe that might be what is truly missing in our world today and there is a lot of validity to this being applied in this novel. Medicine was just being to evolve and people truly believed that what they were learning from school was beneficial. Just goes to show you that medicine is just a lot about trial and error and unfortunately some of those procedures killed more people than they helped like blood letting. I would rate this novel a 4.5 out of 5 stars based on my personal love for herbal medicines and treatments that have long since been forgotten.

For more information about The Midwife's Tale, Delia Parr or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Midwife's Tale by Delia Parr

You can find Delia Parr on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Midwife's Tale, please visit Christian Fiction Blog Alliance's book tour page. 

Hidden Affections

Western Pennsylvania - 1831

Annabelle Tyler may have hoped she would marry again someday, but she never dreamed she would be wearing handcuffs during the ceremony when she did.

Scarcely thirty-six hours after leaving Hanover, Pennsylvania, to forge a respectable future for herself, she barely listened to the man next to her as he grumbled his vows. She was still struggling to make sense of the frightening turn of events that had led her here, to this nondescript minister's cottage in a small rural hamlet where she knew absolutely no one.

Despite the sheriff's coat around her shoulders and the hearty fire burning in the small parlor, Annabelle shivered with cold that had penetrated every bone in her body. She glanced up at the man by her side. Harrison Graymoor had been a complete stranger to her until only yesterday, but the ordeal they had endured together had taken its toll.

His finely tailored vest and cambric shirt were badly soiled with the same dirt and grime that stained her travel gown, and exhaustion had painted dark circles beneath his ebony eyes. His determined fight to prevent this marriage had now been replaced by a resignation that surprised her, since he had far more at stake by marrying than she did. The grim reality that he was being forced into this marriage, however, had erased his rakish smile and the surprisingly deep dimples in his cheeks, but he had his head high when he finally gritted, "I do." (pg 7).

In the latest novel, Hidden Affections by Delia Parr, we are introduced to an unlikely couple who are trying desperately not to fall in love. As you can see by the opening pages of this novel, it will be a journey unlike no other between Annabelle Tyler and Harrison Graymoor. I received this book compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and give this one a 5 out of 5 stars. This is a great romance story that truly does not begin with a once upon a time, and will keep you turning page after page just wondering what will happen next.

Here's even more great information about the book, the author and even a sneak peek into the book.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Hidden Affections Bethany House (May 1, 2011) by Delia Parr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Delia Parr, pen name for Mary Lechleidner, is the author of 10 historical novels and the winner of several awards, including the Laurel Wreath Award for Historical Romance and the Aspen Gold Award for Best Inspirational Book. She is a full-time high school teacher who spends her summer vacations writing and kayaking. The mother of three grown children, she lives in Collingswood, New Jersey.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Betrayed by her husband, Annabelle Tyler wears the burden of legally being a divorcee, a difficult position for an upstanding young woman to find herself in.

While attempting to start a new life for herself, an unexpected turn of events once again has Annabelle married--this time to Harrison Graymoor, the most eligible, yet elusive, bachelor in Philadelphia. Harrison assures her that he will secure an annulment immediately, unaware that the constable has sent word of the marriage to the press in Philadelphia. And here things continue to go awry.

Harrison's past, a philanthropic cousin with his eye on Annabelle, and the appearance of Annabelle's ex-husband threaten the tentative relationship growing between Harrison and his "wife." For two individuals set against marriage, there are certainly a lot of second thoughts regarding the one forced upon them.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Hidden Affections, go HERE.

Love's First Bloom - Review

Ruth Livingston is the only living daughter of her father Reverend Livingstone, whose mission in life is to help those that society deems unworthy of help. Caught in the turbulent times of 1800's his life's mission is to help those women and young girls that have been caught up in prostitution, however when one of them is murdered suddenly, the city begins to cry out for justice and right now the only person who was with her last was Reverend Livingstone.

Trusting his daughter Ruth with Lily the child of the murdered prostitute, he sends her away under the pretense of being the so-called prostitute in need of help along with her toddler child. She leaves her father behind hoping that he will be found innocent of all charges so she can return once more to her home and leaving her assumed life behind her.

In the latest book, Love's First Bloom, by Delia Parr we find ourselves mixed up in the tragic turn of events in Ruth's life. Will she ever be able to return home or will she find a reason to keep the secret her father has so desperately trusted her with? To find out more, read further below for a first chapter glimpse.

I received this book, compliments of Bethany House Publishers for my honest review and must say, this one doesn't disappoint. It easy rates a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for more great books from Delia Parr. For more information on this book, the author and where to purchase a copy of this book, click on the title below:

Love's First Bloom

Love's First Bloom

Ruth Livingston is the only living daughter of her father Reverend Livingstone, whose mission in life is to help those that society deems unworthy of help. Caught in the turbulent times of 1800's his life's mission is to help those women and young girls that have been caught up in prostitution, however when one of them is murdered suddenly, the city begins to cry out for justice and right now the only person who was with her last was Reverend Livingstone.

Trusting his daughter Ruth with Lily the child of the murdered prostitute, he sends her away under the pretense of being the so-called prostitute in need of help along with her toddler child. She leaves her father behind hoping that he will be found innocent of all charges so she can return once more to her home and leaving her assumed life behind her.

In the latest book, Love's First Bloom, by Delia Parr we find ourselves mixed up in the tragic turn of events in Ruth's life. Will she ever be able to return home or will she find a reason to keep the secret her father has so desperately trusted her with? To find out more, read further below for a first chapter glimpse.

I received this book, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and must say, this one doesn't disappoint. It easy rates a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for more great books from Delia Parr.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Love's First Bloom

Bethany House; Original edition (September 1, 2010
by Delia Parr
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Delia Parr, pen name for Mary Lechleidner, is the author of 10 historical novels and the winner of several awards, including the Laurel Wreath Award for Historical Romance and the Aspen Gold Award for Best Inspirational Book. She is a full-time high school teacher who spends her summer vacations writing and kayaking. The mother of three grown children, she lives in Collingswood, New Jersey.






ABOUT THE BOOK

Ruth Livingstone's life changes drastically the day her father puts a young child in her arms and sends her to a small village in New Jersey under an assumed name. There Ruth pretends to be a widow and quietly secludes herself until her father is acquitted of a crime.

But with the emergence of the penny press, the imagination of the reading public is stirred, and her father's trial stands center stage. Asher Tripp is the brash newspaperman who determines that this case is the event he can use to redeem himself as a journalist.

Ruth finds solace tending a garden along the banks of the Toms River--a place where she can find a measure of peace in the midst of the sorrow that continues to build. It is also here that Asher Tripp finds a temporary residence, all in an attempt to discover if the lovely creature known as Widow Malloy is truly Ruth Livingstone, the woman every newspaper has been looking for.

Love begins to slowly bloom...but is the affection they share strong enough to withstand the secrets that separate them?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Love's First Bloom, go HERE.