This is a story that places the reader in the thick of the action, a moving contemporary romance, a gorgeous read about finding yourself and healing.

Ella Mehenick was at the Registry Office to get married when her husband to be arrived late and told her he didn’t want to get married. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was filmed and shared on the internet . . . . She decides to return to her Cornish home town of Port Agnes, moving back in with her parents and getting a job working as a community midwife in the unit there, covering for someone’s maternity leave. However, returning home means reconnecting with the people she left behind, including her first love, Dan Ferguson. Is this their second chance or has fate other plans in store for her?

This is an engaging story of a close knit community, with great characters to love and loathe. The Cornish Midwives and their patients are brought to life in the story, sharing their worries, their dreams and romance. It is a heartwarming story of new beginnings, relationships, secrets and dreams but most of all about discovering just what – and who – is most important in your life. It is a thoroughly enjoyable read and I really hope it is the first in a series as I’d love to be able to go back to catch up on what has happened to Ella and all the other Midwives in future.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy of this book which I have voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

A lovely story featuring Ella and Dan and first love that never dies wrapped up in a lovely group of colleagues in the midwife team and all set in beautiful Cornwall... what's not to like! Looking forward to more in the series

This had some real feel good vibes, it was definitely like Call the Midwife but in present time. The whole setting was lovely and the characters were likeable. I really liked not only the romantic relationship but the depiction of friendship amongst the colleagues, it was a pleasure to read.

I was sent this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Cornish Midwife by Jo Bartlett was a great read. As the title suggests Cornwall and babies feature heavily in this book but also throw in some romance and your good to go, loose yourself in this book for a few hours you won’t be disappointed. A lovely book that I just had to read in one sitting.

First in a new series
A good enjoyable read
Loveable characters
A book to get lost in
Thanks NetGalley

This was a really good read. Easy story to follow, charming setting and great characters. Really enjoyed it.

I loved the first book in this series and it was fabulous to dive back in to the gorgeous Cornish town of Port Agnes and catch up with the midwives. This is predominantly Anna’s story as she prepares for her wedding to the lovely Brae but she has her fair share of drama on the way to saying ‘I do’. There are plenty of heart-in-mouth moments as I anxioiusly turned the page, hoping everything would work out well.

Although the focus of A Summer Wedding… is on Anna, there are plenty of other stories starting to unfold and I’m excited to see what happens next for the other midwives as they deal with challenges inside and out of work.

It’s a big decision to start a family but making the decision to have a baby doesn’t mean it will be plain sailing and Jo Bartlett handles the various challenges sensitively and realistically. Her writing is warm and captivating and I very much feel part of the community. Already excited to read the next one.

So I have been sitting here trying to figure out all my feelings about The Cornish Midwife by Jo Bartlett and trying to put them into words, the easy tag words would be strong, resilient, second chance love, and blackmail, but this book is so much more!

It’s the tale of a woman who never really got over her first love, embarrassed by the man she thought she should love, live in the place that she thought her parents would be most proud of her, but when she comes home she finds that nothing is always what it seems.

The main characters Ella and Dan are everything you would want in the main characters and more, the way the author wrote about the vulnerability really made me relate to the characters.

The Cornish Midwife is an outstanding book and one I couldn’t put down, and it’s definitely one I will read again and again.

Absolutely captivating story, beautiful romantic read set in a Cornish village, I mean as soon as you say Cornish I am going to be hooked, and characters are so well written you can’t but help be drawn into their lives. Looking for a great summer escape this year, jump right in.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book ticked all the points that I wanted to read today.

Coming back home

Second chance romance

Small town, close community

Strong main character who develops strong relationships

Friendship and warm feelings

Emotions in the dialogues

Lovable characters and smooth writing.

All these points made me gobble up this book and feel happy at the end of the read.

Ella was the midwife who was ditched at the altar, in quite a drastic manner. She needed to find her mental balance, so back to Cornwall and ex boyfriend Dan. Would she stay back at Cornwall and find her happy ending?

Duh!! Of course. This is not a spoiler alert. It is a Jo Bartlett book, had to have a happy ending. A bit more spark between the main characters would have made my day.

Nevertheless a sweet read over a lazy Sunday afternoon.

This was a really great read! We meet Ella Mehenick as a senior midwife in London who is humiliated in a very public way. To the point that she returns to Port Agnes, a Cornish town where her parents are. Of course like all small towns the locals will certainly know and spread around the reason she has returned.

Things are going well as she finds work by covering for a midwife in the community but the one problem is Dan Ferguson whom Ella felt was the love of her life at one time. Yet, maybe there is something still there.

Every character we meet in this amazing book is so well written and believable that you would think Ms. Bartlett was writing a memoir of people she knew. The town takes on a life of itself and it is not hard to envision it easily.

Fantastic novel and very well written, I would love to have been there living the life in Cornwall with all the characters. The details were well displayed and very believable, I just wish it could have gone further, I wanted more. I hope Jo does a follow up to this book and I for one will rush to read it. 5 stars, sorry it can't be more.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

Didn’t really care for this. If Ysella was so proud of her heritage and name why make people (even locals) just call her Ella? Bit strange.

The midwifery parts were clunky at best. Detailed in strange places and lacking in others.

Dan and Ella were just not believable and everything moved too fast for me to feel satisfied as a reader.

I loved everything about this book - the characters, the setting, the story. It is a wonderful example of how enjoyable this genre can be.
The characters were believable, fully-formed and written in such a way I felt invested in the main characters & the buds of romance between Ella and her childhood sweetheart ... the one that got away.
Dumped at the alter & in such a public way led Ella back to her childhood home and a new job with what sounds like a wonderful team. Who wouldn’t want to return there? It sounds idyllic, despite the derogatory names for tourists (I’ve read several books set in similar Cornish seaside villages recently, all of whom have had characters that hold that perception and hasn’t made me want to rush out & visit Cornwall, despite the glorious sounding surroundings!)
Written in a wonderful way, this book draws you in & keeps you interested throughout - I hope there are more books to come set in the town & with the team, I’ll be keeping an eye out for them as I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

this book is certaintly a different story surrounding babies which everybody loves in a quaint little place or village whichever fits its midwives have a nice lovely story to tell of work and there own lives such a nice easy and light story to follow brill

When senior midwife Ella Mehenick’s life in London comes to a sudden end in the most publicly humiliating way, the only place she wants to be is back in Port Agnes, the Cornish town where her parents Jago and Ruth run the bakery and which has a hold over her heart. It’s unfortunate that the reasons behind her return will not escape the locals but she will have to ride it out.

Ella slips easily into community life by covering for a midwife in the local community team and quickly becomes a friend and confidante to many. There is just one cloud – Dan Ferguson. Dan was the love of her life aged 18 before she left Port Agnes and things didn’t end well between them. Dan is now a successful property developer (and still single!) and even though Ella is not yet in the right place emotionally for another relationship she can’t help but feel those familiar sparks when they first meet again.

There is strong cast of supporting characters and a great feeling of camaraderie with Ella’s new work colleagues and they all have their own stories which become intertwined with hers. Ella was a much wanted baby and her parents still treat her like precious china, to the point of not so subtly trying to interfere in her life, for what they see as the best of reasons! Her father Jago is particularly stubborn and loyal to his Cornish heritage which causes some anguish and drama. He has a particular dislike of property developers who he perceives to be spoiling his beloved town.

The village of St Agnes becomes a character in its own right and there is a superb sense of place, with the Cornish landscape brought to life with vivid descriptions. I’ve always loved Cornwall and could easily visualise the typical landscape in my mind.

Ella is a fantastic character, excellent at her job, she is calm and efficient and is a great help to the expectant mothers in the village, one or two of which rely on her rather more than strictly necessary as she can’t help involving herself in their problems. It’s just a pity she finds it so difficult making up her own mind about what what she wants for her future! I did admit to being a little frustrated at times when she kept flip flopping about her own plans but expecting others to fall in with hers.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in St Agnes with Ella, her friends and family (and, of course Dan ❤️). It was definitely the right book at the right time for me, for although it was a warm and engaging read, there was also depth to the story with more serious issues. It obviously has some romance, actually for more than one couple, with the will they/won’t they question keeping me guessing.

Jo Bartlett has an excellent way of storytelling. I really enjoyed this and will be continuing with the rest of the series. The second of which is A Summer Wedding for the Cornish Midwife, due for publication in July.

A charming romantic tale, readers will enjoy losing themselves in Jo Bartlett’s uplifting new novel, The Cornish Midwife.

Midwife Ella Mehenick couldn’t wait to leave the small Cornish town of Port Agnes behind for London. In the big city, Ella had made a new life for herself and she thought that she had been living the dream – until it had all come crashing down around her ears! With her perfect life in tatters, Ella feels all alone and is desperate to escape her London life, so she heads back to the only place in the world where her shattered heart can heal – the place she had once called home which she never thought she would ever set foot in ever again: Port Agnes.

Back home, Ella is heartened by the fact that she is immediately welcomed into the tiny community midwife team. Ella loves nothing more than being in the thick of the action delivering beautiful babies to their mums. However, being back in Port Agnes isn’t all bonny babies and endless cup of teas because it also means coming face to face with the man who had broken her heart into a million pieces. The man who is still devastatingly handsome whom she still hasn’t quite managed to forget: her former flame, Dan Ferguson. It might have been years since the two last saw one another, but it’s clear from the off that there is unfinished business between them…

Dan has never quite forgiven Ella for leaving and when the two meet again, long-buried feelings quickly come rushing to the fore. The two of them realise that a future together could be possible – but only if they find the courage to lay old ghosts to rest and grasp this unexpected second chance at happiness with both hands.

Jo Bartlett’s The Cornish Midwife is a delightful tale that fizzes and sparkles with warmth and humour and will enchant readers with its terrific cast of characters, gorgeous scenery and plenty of emotional drama and poignant romance. Dan and Ella are two wonderful protagonists and theirs is a love story that will tickle the funny bone and have readers wiping away the tears on a couple of occasions. Port Agnes is a beautifully realized town and fingers crossed we will back in this lovely part of the world very soon.

A lovely springtime romance perfect for curling up with, Jo Bartlett’s The Cornish Midwife is a wonderful tale readers will absolutely adore.

I really enjoyed this book, it was such a down to earth story that felt so true and realistic. There were lots of mentions of births and babies (I mean, what do you expect from a book with midwife in the title) but it wasn't overpowering and it wasn't graphic. The community feel of this book made me think of a modern day Call The Midwife which I really loved.

I loved all of the characters but especially Ella, or El as Dan calls her. She just has such as warm heart and clearly wants the best for everyone. She fits back into Port Agnes straight away and it's almost as if she never left. I could just see her staying there for the rest of her time and falling back in love with Dan, but she seemed set on staying for just the 6month cover period and then moving on again.

All of the midwifes are such a close knit community and really cherish their clients but also each other and this is so nice as you know that they would all be there for each other when needed. It feels like the kind of work environment that anyone would want to be in, where your colleagues become your friends.

Jo's writing enables you to conjure up images and scenes so easily, I could just envisage waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread and walking along the coast. I think that must be the dream, living somewhere near the beach and being able to get up at the crack of dawn to watch the boats come in.

This is the first book by Jo that I've read but I've now seen that there are more to come in the series and I can't wait to read them! A word of warning though, don't look for them on Amazon as there are spoilers if you haven't read this book yet.