My second post of today is a review the blog blitz of Life Lessons by J.E. Rowney. I’m delighted to be one of the opening stops for this moving and emotional story of a student midwife’s first year at uni…….
book blurb & info
For fans of “Call the Midwife”, “Hard Pushed” or “This is Going to Hurt”.
Life Lessons is a new adult chick-lit medical drama, with splashes of clean romance.
Expect an unputdownable emotional page-turner that will take you deep into the life lessons of a student midwife.
Violet wants to be a midwife, but she has struggled with anxiety throughout her teenage years.
With her best friend Zoe at her side, she gets a place at University and starts training for her dream job.
Can she overcome her fears and find the self-confidence to make it through her first year?
Will Zoe’s romance with their housemate spell dating disaster?
Book one of the Lessons of a Student Midwife series.
This book is a prequel to Ghosted, the bestselling novel.
Formats available: Paperback & eBook. Available on Kindle Unlimited.
Purchase Links: Amazon UK ~ Amazon US
my thoughts
Violet and Zoe are excited about starting uni and pursuing their dream careers – A teacher for Zoe and a midwife for Vi. But there’s one thing that gets in the way for Vi, and that’s the anxiety that she’s struggled with since she was eleven. Best friends since they were toddlers, Zoe has her back and will help her get through, but can Vi have the confidence in herself? Will she get to deliver a baby? And will they pass their first year?
As someone who is about to embark on their university journey (albeit as a mature student!) this book was fab! From moving in to their accommodation at the start of the year, freshers week, first lectures, presentations, placements, assignments and exams this took me on a whole year with Vi, and all the feelings she encountered. As a sufferer of anxiety too, I could completely feel for Vi, and I have to say some of the bits she was going through got my anxiety going too (presentations and exams – eeek!)
This story is written brilliantly, and feels like you’re reading a memoir rather than a fictional story. Not only do we get to experience Vi’s uni adventures but the life of a student midwife too, and all the things they have to learn. I’m not a fan of anything child birth related usually (I’m pretty squeamish!) but this had just the right amount of details and was fascinating.
In terms of the characters I loved Zoe, Violet and their housemate Luke. They sound like a fab bunch, and there are so many supportive characters in this that try to understand Vi’s anxiety. I do feel for Vi – anxiety is a hard thing to manage and Rowney does a fantastic job of describing exactly what it’s like to live with. If anyone needs an understanding (for a family member or friend) of what it’s like, they should read this. I was so proud of Zoe for how she managed and overcame her anxieties and wanted to give her a big hug and high five! I also really wanted Luke and Zoe to get together – but do they? (You can read and find out!)
Overall, I absolutely loved this book. A fictional but very real insight in to the life of a student midwife, I nearly had me in tears (of joy!). If you’re a fan of babies or interested in midwifery, you’ll definitely enjoy this. But also if you want an easy, enjoyable and relatable read or an insight into anxiety, then this is for you. Now I know this is the prequel to Ghosted, I need to read it!! This is definitely recommended by me so go check it out!
rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
about the author
J.E.Rowney spent several years in the cold Yorkshire hills, which brings the flavour of the moorland countryside into her work. She now lives in Dorset, and the sun and sea are slowly creeping in as influences.
“Charcoal”, her first novel, was published in 2012 to wide critical acclaim, and was a bestselling novel across the whole of Amazon within days of release.
Ms Rowney has recently been awarded the Dinesh Allirajah Writing Prize 2020.
Her third novel, “Ghosted”, was released in January 2020 and quickly also became a bestseller.
She spends lots of time writing in coffee shops, so if you see her, say hello.
Ms. Rowney says: “I always dreamed of being a writer, until I realised that I was. Then I started to write.”
Where to find J.E. Rowney online: Website ~ Mailing list ~ Pinterest ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ Facebook
blitz hosted by
Thank you to Rachel for inviting me on to the tour, and to the author and publisher for gifting me with a copy of the book. All views and opinions are my own.
I’ll be back with my last post of the day soon.
Chelle x
Please note this post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you choose to purchase this book through these link, I will receive a small payment (at no additional cost to you). This is the only form of monetisation on my blog so every little helps and is appreciated.
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