Review: The Doctor and the Midwife by Sarah Alva

 

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

As a midwife running her own home birth practice, Audrey Novak deals with pressure like a superhuman. Until, that is, she meets her handsome and arrogant neighbor, Dr. Ammon Parker. Ammon, who believes only in modern medicine, is just as unprepared for the infuriating---and inconveniently beautiful---midwife. When the two are repeatedly called to the same labor and delivery unit, their clashing ideals and fiercely independent personalities threaten to derail both their professional goals and their pride.

Outside of work, Audrey is a passionate rock climber, tantalized by a secret route she's heard about in an online forum. Her hunt for the climb's location leads her to the intriguing BelayingonofHands, a man who claims to have set the route. Soon their anonymous virtual flirtation and witty exchanges deepen into a true connection. But when Audrey discovers the man from online is actually Ammon, she's blindsided. It seems they have more in common than she could have imagined, but will their differences keep them from making the climb to true love together?

My Review

I was fortunate to be able to read this book from start to finish in one sitting! Granted, I started it at three in the morning- but hey, who needs sleep? It's my first time reading this author so I didn't know what to expect, and I was happily sucked right in to the characters and plot. It is definitely a "You've Got Mail" enemies to more story, but the vivid characters and details of the labor and delivery profession- whether midwife or doctor- kept me glued to the pages. Audrey and Ammon both have their own issues and vulnerabilities they are privately dealing with, so for a while they only see the parts of each other that they intensely dislike. They totally bring out the worst in each other! It takes plenty of eye-opening experiences together and some influence from friends for both of them to look past the facades they each put up. Totally cried at the more emotional parts, and I loved the journey these two went on together. 

My one beef is that the author was careful to describe certain things in a politically correct manner- for example, instead of "homeless person" she used "a person experiencing homelessness," but when describing adoption she used the stigmatized term "put up for adoption" instead of the preferred positive term "placed for adoption." It wouldn't bother me if it was someone's dialogue since I understand it is a commonly used term, but it was part of the narrative the same way the other PC terms were used. This may just be a huge pet peeve of mine since I am a mother who has adopted, but the main character Audrey is very socially conscious so I think it would have been more appropriate to use a more acceptable phrase for describing adoption.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.