The Midwife's Tale is book one in a new series by Delia Parr. The book centers around Martha Cade, the local midwife, as she interacts with her patients and the townspeople. Martha's daughter, Victoria, has run off with a travelling theatre troupe, and Martha spends about three months tracking the group yet is never quite able to catch up to them. Several things happened in the town during Martha's absence, and the book follows Martha as she deals with the changes, and how she grows and learns from Victoria's disappearance.

The story begins with Martha attending a delivery for a first-time mother. The practices of a midwife and healer of long ago were interesting to read but were a bit more descriptive than I really needed. I found myself hoping the rest of the book would not be quite as detailed during subsequent childbirths. There was a wide variety of characters in the book, and I enjoyed becoming acquainted with them. The storyline was interesting, but I felt the action moved a bit slowly. I also thought the end was a bit abrupt as though the author was out of pages but wasn't quite finished telling the story. Perhaps that was intentional to prepare for book two. There was a bit of a mystery in the story as well as a bit of romance, although neither was the central focus. Overall, this was a sweet story, and I enjoyed it.

I received a copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.

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