Mommy Midwife

by Cassie Miles

Almost nine months pregnant and on the way

Staying several moves ahead has kept Troy Weathers alive in the world's most explosive hot spots. So when this marine learns that Olivia Laughton is being stalked, he immediately takes her and their unborn child on the run. His instincts tell him it will require more than skill to keep them safe - and to prove just how much he wants to stay in their lives.

Olivia has no problem trusting Troy to keep her safe, or following his orders. It's believing their one night together was more than just a passionate fling that seems riskiest of all. Still, with time running out and an unsuspected enemy closing in, Olivia knows Troy is her best chance at survival...…and their baby's only shot at a promising future.

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Cassie grew up in a small town at the very tip of southern Illinois. A tomboy, she spent most of her time outside and got into big trouble for breaking the trellis while climbing out her second-story bedroom window.

When her family moved to L.A., major culture shock ensued. She discovered that grapefruits grew on trees, television offered more than two channels, and all the other girls had breasts. While hiding out and waiting for her chest to develop, she read voraciously, raiding her mother's bookshelf for Mickey Spillane when she finished all her Nancy Drew novels.

Another move took her family to Denver, the place Cassie still calls home.

She graduated from North Central college outside Chicago, got married, and returned to Colorado where she worked in personnel at the Denver Post and lived in a mountain cabin without running water. Upon learning she was pregnant, a return to civilization seemed prudent. She settled in Denver, raised two amazing daughters, and started writing for Harlequin. After her divorce, she took a break from romance and wrote straight suspense.

During her frantic years as a single mom, writing books and working odd jobs to supplement her income, she hardly had time to breathe, much less to dream. Then something remarkable happened. She fell in love with a tall, sexy man who was an aerial photographer and the author of tough-guy mystery novels. Fortunately, he loved her back. She found her real-life hero, inherited three more grown kids and three grandchildren.

Cassie started writing romance again, loving every minute of a life filled with laughter, crazy road trips, sailboats, and journeys to Oregon with long walks on rocky beaches.

Not too long ago, the love of her life developed inoperable pancreatic cancer. With supportive friends and family standing by, he died at home.

Cassie now lives alone, surrounded by beautiful memories. She has no regrets and considers herself lucky to have found her soul mate, the man with whom she shared a perfect love.

Pseudonym/s: Kay Bergstrom

Reviews

[Lisa Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★½ Surprisingly good. Not super high on the "romantic suspense," but worth it for this fast read.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent enough rom suspense. I liked the way that he had been asking her to marry him for several months since he found out she was pregnant with his kid. She was not as sympathetic a character although she had a rationale reason for turning him down. She was TSTL at several points in the book. The suspense part was not real strong.

[Margaret Fisk · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems like I’m saying this more often than not lately, but while I don’t seek out the intrigue style of romances because of issues with the subgenre premise, Mommy Midwife managed to meet the genre expectations without the spur-of-the-moment relationships that bug me.

This novel starts hard and fast with Olivia reaching out for affirmation of life after losing a friend and client’s newborn son in a horrible car accident. She’s not looking for a comforting hug. She wants the unbridled passion, sparks flying, no future consequences sex she’s felt below the surface in the few dates she’s had with her friend’s brother, a marine only in town temporarily.

When she overrides Troy’s effort to comfort, he gives in and gives her just what she needed, a connection to life.

The no consequences part goes awry when the condom tears, but a baby of her own is the farthest from a tragedy she can imagine. Trouble is, Troy thinks that gift enough for them to plan a future together. She’s happy to share their son. Her life, on the other hand, is a different matter.

And there you have it. A real connection between the two of them, barriers in the way of getting together, and the opportunity for relationship growth I found lacking in most books within the intrigue subgenre.
Then things go crazy, as they should in an intrigue. An alphabet soup of departments get involved when Olivia is threatened, unsure whether she’s a target because of her connection to Troy or her parents, a pair with a secret life dating from before Olivia was born.

I can’t tell you more without spoilers so I’ll say only that the characters grow and learn, and they have the opportunity to prove themselves to each other in many ways. The intrigue is both well seeded and flush with plausible red herrings. It was a delight to read, and just what I needed.

I received this book from Tell Harlequin, a book I would not have chosen on my own. The reader panel did me a favor and added another author to my list.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Ever since he found out she was pregnant with his child, Troy has been proposing to Olivia on a regular basis. When he came to visit her, he discovered she was being stalked and went into super protector mode. Olivia is a very independent woman and doesn't care to be thought of as Troy's responsibility. But she has no problem letting Troy protect her, especially when things really start to go bad. I really liked both Troy and Olivia. As a midwife, Olivia is used to having to think on her feet, and she is able to handle these events with no trouble. It also helps that she is the daughter of diplomats (who are also operatives). As a special ops Marine, Troy is also very good at what he does. He isn't sure if Olivia's stalker is personal, something to do with her parents, or something to do with him, but nothing is going to stop him. I loved the way that, as the days went on and they spent time together, Olivia and Troy actually spent time getting to know each other and discovering how much they had in common. Olivia quickly came to realize that she was in love with him, but wanted a real marriage not a forced one. One thing that bothered her was the dangers of his job, but she wouldn't ask him to leave it. Troy knew he cared for Olivia. He had recently begun to realize that he wanted more out of his life, like a wife and family, and was really looking forward to the arrival of the baby. He just had to convince Olivia. The action in the book was very good. I enjoyed seeing how the various players worked together, and the concluding action showed it very well. My only complaint (again/still) is that Harlequin editors still don't capitalize the word Marine.

[Patrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be different. I liked the concept and the characters. The story was believable and the main characters took on a life of their own. I was really routing for Troy Weathers to win over Olivia Laughton. Thanks for an enjoyable read Cassie Miles.

[Paulette Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where has this author been all my life?

This is only the second book I've read by this author and q stuck. I've read a lot of frogs before I came across this Prince! It's just the exact type of romance I love. A good story, strong characters and no explicit sex scenes. Everything was done tastefully. I going back for more!

[Eesha Sajid · Rating 3 out of 5]

God this is embarrassing. What's wrong with the cover designers btw? No cringe conscience? ..
Harlequin has three categories
Passable as a book Harlequin
Guilty harlequin
Trash Harlequin
this one may be in the 1st one. Somewhere between 1 and 2 actually

[Bonnie Drummond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story that will have you wanting to do and help this couple to stay safe and protected the baby.

[Book Him Danno · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a large book and it starts well. I enjoyed the story and the romance even though most of it was right before the baby was born, but a few things bothered me.
I didn’t like that it moved so fast and seemed to miss important details and things I wanted to know. Her parents had amazing lives and her sister also and yet the author just alluded to those and left the reader hanging.

Also the ending was too fast for me…I wanted more and I wanted the author to spend more time on the ending and not rush it like she did.

I think this book is good except for what I stared above and I believe this author can improve her stories by giving them more dimensions and time. Fifty or more pages would have been reasonable and made a much more pulled together book that many readers would enjoy. With the back-story of both characters and especially her family, I think this could have been a much better book and more fulfilling to the reader.

[Fedora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Olivia Laughton is nearly nine months pregnant. She's a midwife and loves her job, and is excited about the coming baby. She's been thankfully healthy and happy, except that Troy Weathers, the hard-bodied marine who is the baby's father, keeps proposing.

Olivia sought Troy out for some life-affirming sex one night nearly nine months ago after a particularly horrible emergency delivery gone awry. She had no expectations for a happily-ever-after but she can't seem to get the smart and persistent Troy to accept that, especially once she lets him know about the coming child.

Throw in a threat to Olivia's life, and these two have some time together on the run to figure out whether what they share might last longer than that one night and a few dates after...

Enjoyable category read. I am personally generally a bit irritated by the overly independent heroine, so that lessened my enjoyment of the story. The suspense plot was adequately interesting, and Troy was a pleasant hero.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mommy Midwife by Cassie Miles
Got this book as a gift for my opinions to Harlequin the past year. Being that I'm over 50 I'm not really interested in reading about how to birth a child and the process but I read the book anyways.
From the start the things I wanted to know about: the winter wonderland of Colorado and the bling and shimmer of the dinner party wasn't in the book. It starts with a pregnant woman and things that have happened to her in the past.
Her boyfriend and his brother come into play, along with a couple that she had helped deliver the baby. Her parents and sister are all involved and quite a few other Marine friends and fiends. There are 12 character outlined at the beginning of the book and I love that as I got lost real quick and had to revert to using it.
Story line just was not believable to me. It only skims a bit of the plot.

[Tima · Rating 3 out of 5]

One night about eight months ago a tragedy sent Olivia into Troy's arms. Now she is pregnant and determined to raise her little one on her own. She has a great job as a midwife and doesn't need a man complicating things. But when her life is threatened she agrees to let him guard her. What can be safer than having a marine close by.

I liked the suspense in the book. The author did a great job of creating tension and drama. I figured out who the main antagonist was almost right away, but not the motive. It was a fun little read.

I received this book free of charge from Harlequin in exchange for my honest review.

[Debbie Heaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Miles’ romantic suspense novel, marine Troy Weathers learns that Olivia Laughton is pregnant with his child and also currently being stalked. Taking control of the situation, he moves Olivia and their unborn child. Suspecting the intel he’s been tracking as the culprit, he’s determined to keep them both safe. Olivia openly trusts Troy with their safety but struggles to protect her heart. But to survive, they will work close together to ensure the safety of their child’s future.

[Lori Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

good story, good character development, good progression and good ending...
hey... what can I say... it was good. :-)

[Judy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Loved the plot. Cassie Miles is a great author!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok read figured out who was doing the stalking almost right away, the heroine was awful active for someone so close to having a baby and the ending was kind of cheesy with the stalkers last attempt.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the Tell Harlequin Reader Panel. I thought this book was terrible.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting plot. This was a good quick read.

[Yajaira 💜]

Enjoyed the book and the plot was very interesting.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

boring and predictable.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was good, but the midwife, I don't know of any woman that would do the things she does when she is so close to having the baby,

[Jen Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great action and adventure novel with a little romance thrown in. It was fantastic! A great quick read for any lover of romance or adventure.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, great characters, intriguing plot.

[Kobie · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting, worth the read, but I did wonder a few times if this was a spoof.

[Nikita Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Wonderful plot and characters!

[Isis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't do it for me.