Keep Smiling Through

Wartime Midwives #3

by Daisy Styles

The heartwarming and moving new Wartime Midwives story of three brave women's fight to protect their shelter for mothers and their children . . . Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Nancy Revell and Call the Midwife
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Lake District, 1942. The women at Mary Vale Mother and Baby Home must pull together during their darkest hour . . .

But Sybil would rather be anywhere else. She hoped to spend the season in London when an unexpected pregnancy soon put an end to those plans.

While poor Rosie arrives with her two children in tow - their lives torn apart after their house was bombed.

And when new midwife Edith joins it's clear she has her own secrets to hide.

Then one day Mary Vale faces the ultimate threat - requisition by the army - and the mothers and midwives must find comfort and friendship in one another.

But can they also find the strength to fight for their Home?
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Praise for Daisy Styles

'An absolute joy to read' Kate Thompson

'Will tug at the heart strings of readers everywhere!' Fiona Ford

'Truly endearing characters' Annie Murray

Genres: Fiction

ebook

Published July 22, 2021

Reviews

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read a fair few wartime books throughout the years, and I steadfastly still cling to the fact that the Wartime Midwives series are THE favourite and best wartime historical reads I have ever read. I can’t sing their praises enough and to have another one added to this series is a pure gift!

The third in the wartime midwives, this book rejoins all our character favourites however if you’ve never read one of these books before - never fear! The author does a shining job at bringing you up to speed and filling you in to make you feel like you haven’t missed a thing and they almost feel like mini standalones (with occasional throwbacks to previous storylines that don’t put you at a disadvantage if you haven’t read any of the previous).

I adore these books and have found Daisy Styles to be amongst the best. She enthuses her pages with such warmth, strength, hope and friendship and they really are just a joy to read.

I loved catching up with all the core characters, with a few new faces, mothers and babies to get to know too. The story was effortless to enjoy and read, and the pages flew by.

If I could give this book ten stars I would. And also a desperate plea to the author to never stop writing these books. I could read them forever and will always sing their praises when it comes to this fab series. Love them!

Thanks to the author and publishers via NetGalley for this book, in return for my honest thoughts and review.

[Carol Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - 4 stars. Again an over abundance of Saccharine in this one book for me personally.. However as usual with Daisy Styles, her plot mainly rescued it. Full of exciting little sub plots with some odd characters thrown into the mix made for a rollickingly perceptive story.

I do wish she hadn’t included Jamie’s letters to Ada though, to me they are just banal & unnecessary padding, far better to have used all that space to flesh out a few of her more deserving characters.

[Lucy Dunphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute joy of a read this book was. This is the second book I've read by Daisy Styles and the standard of her books is just amazing. I couldn't get enough of Keep Smiling Through and I'd tears running down my face more times than I care to admit. I was drawn into the storyines of staff and patients of Mary Vale. I really hope that there's a follow up that will elaborate a bit on Edith's story and follow up with Sybil. Can't recommend this book enough to fans of wartime fiction and Call The Midwife.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this Advance Reader's Copy.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

[Mabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exceptional book from Daisy. I absolutely loved this story set during war time in a home for expectant mothers who are all vulnerable in one way or another. All the mums to be had their own tales and journeys to tell - really well written and believable. You could envisage yourself nursing in amongst them! Ada, a midwife and one of the main characters is pregnant herself with her husband a consultant away abroad looking after injured soldiers. Excellent!

[Helena Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good third book in the series

I would give this book three and a half stars . There will be some spoilers in my review so read at your discretion . I liked meeting all the characters again in this book and I’m glad at the happy ending . However I felt like some strings were left untied . For example , the characters didn’t know what really happened to Edith but only us readers knew . I would have liked to learn what really happened to Edith after she left to be with her beloved in the affair . Has the man in the affair changed at all in his love towards Edith or is he the same? Us readers were left on a cliffhanger there . There should be at least a chapter on Edith ‘s point of view to conclude her story instead of the other characters just settled with believing what the police evidence suggested. At the same time , I understand why they just left it at that . I think the characters knowing the truth of what happened to Edith would only further upset them . Also , the subtitle at the bottom of this book was about whether Mary Vale would be saved from army requisition. Again like Edith’s story , that question was left unanswered . It is not clear what Mary Vale’s fate was at the end of the story , other than no army interference have taken place for the time being .

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adorable, book. I have never read this author before and this was lovely.

It's set in Wartime. Mary Vale is a home for expectant mothers, here they are cared for by nuns and midwives.

Amy is one of the midwives we meet who herself is pregnant. Her husband Jamie is a consultant away at war tending the injured soldiers.

Also, the London war office becomes part of the story as Sybil, who is well to do, whilst working there finds she is pregnant by her boss, he wants the pregnancy hushed up as he is a married man so sends Sybil to Mary Vale which upsets and angers her, she wants a more upper-class home with little luxuries, not a home where she has to roll up her sleeves and cook and clean. she is a strong woman and plots to bring the man that has put her in this position down.

Poor Rosie her husband is off fighting in the war, she is also pregnant with two other very boisterous children, when they find themselves homeless and hungry she and her children find their way to Mary Vale where immediately Sybil takes a dislike to them and makes it known at every opportunity.

What a truly lovely story, the characters are believable and the warmth radiating from the book draws you in right from the begining.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Vale, the mother & baby home in the Lake District is a refuge for expectant mothers, not only as a place to give birth but a place to escape from the ravages of the blitz. Sybil is a classy lady who had become pregnant by her lover. He sends her as far away from London as possible & she is furious. Stuck in the middle of nowhere with so many 'common' women she is a fish out of water. Rosie in London is struggling. With her husband away at war, her two lively children are running wild & her latest pregnancy is so much harder. Frightened by the doctors that she will die & leave her two children orphans if she doesn't get away she agrees to go to Mary Vale. This family is a great shock to the nuns & others at the home. With the threat of the home being requisitioned by the military the ladies of Mary Vale battle on to care for the women that come there.

This is a lovely story- perfect for 'Call the Midwife' fans! Daisy Styles creates some terrific characters & captures the time frame very well. The story is predictable but none the worse for that, A nice gentle read & thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

[Sarah Riyani · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book and then when I finally felt invested in the characters, it ended without properly finishing their stories. Does Rosie ever find out what happened to her husband? Does Jamie make it back to meet his daughter? Did Sister Mann make it to Charles and was she happy?
The writing was easy to read and the short chapters made it easy to put down and pick up; however, I didn't like the way that women's bodies were described - going on about a pregnant woman's "voluptuous breasts" and then repeatedly commenting that a woman's figure has bounced back and is looking normal again after birth isn't the messaging I would have expected to see in this sort of book

[MRS CHRISTINE SITTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant

Binged all three books which I've never done before! Feel in love with all the nuns so caring. Ada is the midwife that we'd all want to deliver our babies. Doesn't shy away from the hardship and horror of war. The girls come and go under the shame of bring unmarried mothers all cared for and treated with respect. Seems incredible now to think how they were treated back then. Can't wait for the next stories of Mary Vale and how they continue through the war .

[Bri C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely warm story from Daisy Styles. A bunch of women thrown together with nothing more in common than being pregnant in WW2 England. Somehow the most unlikely of them end up as friends and bond over a common enemy from their past. A nurse comes to escape her past, and find a new future in an unexpected turn of events. Meanwhile the women working there take care of one of their own. Written like a warm hug, but not glossing over the brutality and hardships of the time, this is another well written gem

[Sue Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving these series of books and this one is by far my favourite. How you go from hating characters to loving them in the blink of an eye and not particularly liking one yet routing for them by the end of the book is great :) looking forward to read the next and last one. I will be sad once they are done. Great books by Daisy Styles. Come highly recommended by me

[Mrs Bookworm Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting this book for a long time. And it didn't fail my expectations. It was lovely to catch up with Ada and the new expectant mothers of Mary Vale. I just could put this book down. I just pre ordered the next installment...can't wait!

[mois reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Vale

Another Mary Vale book reading these books is like seeing friends love sister Ada and Dora and the nuns the girls they help are a mixed bunch this is another 5 star review look forward to more x

[Barbara Doodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

Absolutely loved this book. Such a lovely series of books written by Daisy Styles.I

I do hope there is another coming in the series.

If you love being stories and war stories- this series Is the best!

[Bev Walkling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read any other books in this series but likely would if given a chance. It was a fairly quick read for me and one of the big things I took away from it was that when women put their minds to it and work together, they can right wrongs!

[MRS J P WELSH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent story continuing the characters

A really enjoyable read. The characters lives,continue to progress. After two books I feel I know them all and look forward to the next book and follow their lives

[Kathy E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another brilliant Wartime Midwives book by Daisy Styles. These are books once started you cannot put down. Definitely five star read and recommended. I am now looking forward to the next one.

[Emily Spring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing.

[Sharron Tennant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait until the next installment. Thank you for my escapism

[Marilyn Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

I loved this book as I did the others can't wait for the next one the details are absolutely amazing

[Trudie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic 3rd book in the Wartime midwives series. Rosie and Sybil are great additions to the series and I hope they appear in book 4 too. Love this series and can't wait for book 4!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this author. It seems that it is part of a series and this is book number three. Really enjoyed it and now will have to read the others!

[Kathy E]

Another brilliant Wartime Midwife story. A five star read.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great story from Daisy Styles featuring the staff and patients at Mary Vale Home on th edge of the Lake District. I'm hoping that Sybil and Rosie will feature in future books in this series. Also, Edith's new life needs to be discovered by those at Mary Vale.