You Were on My Mind: The Midwives (Harlequin Superromance No. 802) [Paperback]

Margot Early (Author)

Book Description

Series: Superromance | Publication Date: August 1, 1998

The Midwives

No memory of her husband—or her child…

Ivy Walcott is a midwife. She understands the mysteries of birth, the wonder of babies—yet she doesn't know if she's ever had a baby. Because Ivy only remembers the last ten years of her life.

Then, unexpectedly, she learns that her real name is Gina Till. As Gina, she went missing from a West Virginia town and showed up in Colorado with no idea how she got there.

She goes back to Cullin Till, the husband she can't remember, and their daughter, Gabriela. She begins to discover that Gina Till did things Ivy Walcott doesn't like. And she falls in love with Cullen, the man she's still married to—the man whose heart she broke all those years ago….

Praise for Margot Early's previous book, Who's Afraid of the Mistletoe?

"Wow, does Early pack a punch… Ya gotta get this book."

—Alison Cunliffe, The Toronto Star

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 297 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin; Harlequin Superromance #802 edition (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373708025
• ISBN-13: 978-0373708024
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,802,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Characters and plot have potential, but it isn't met., November 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: You Were on My Mind: The Midwives (Harlequin Superromance No. 802) (Paperback)

This novel is about Ivy, a midwife from the boondocks of West Virginia who turns up in Colorado with complete amnesia and no ID. She is "adopted" (as an adult) by a midwife named Francesca, who already has a daughter who is a young midwife. This book is the story of Ivy's discovery of her lost identity and reunion with her husband, Cullen, in West Virginia and their 12-year-old daughter, Gabriela. Gabriela starts out committed to becoming a ballerina, but by the end of the book she is considering becoming a midwife someday.

The type of amnesia Ivy (whose original name was Gina) has is defined as utterly, irreversibly permanent. Although Ivy does discover some things about her past, not all of her (and our) questions are answered by the end of the book. Ivy's in-laws are a pack of semi-dysfunctional adults, enmeshed in a variety of relationships to each other. Much of the book deals with their problems and Ivy's attempts to help them make sense of their lives.

While I found Ivy vaguely believeable as a character, there were some parts of the book that were too "coincidental" for me--like the fact that Cullen happens to be conveniently available when he and Ivy fall in love again, or the way Ivy's whole personality is more dynamic since her amnesia. (Before her accident, apparently she was very insecure and unloving/ungiving.) But my biggest complaint about the book is the way it tolerates and excuses violence, especially against women. Rape and abuse are not uncommon experiences for several of the women in the book, and I was particularly revolted when Cullen rapes Ivy because he's mad that, a dozen years ago as Gina, she might have been unfaithful to him. And Ivy doesn't even protest, even though she knows self-defense! Yuk.

I found Ivy and the other characters generally believeable and likeable, but certain moments in the book stretched my credibility and made me say, "Oh come on, give me a break!" Also, the central mystery of Ivy/Gina's past is never completely resolved, which made the ending unsatisfying.

1.0 out of 5 stars Forgettable story about amnesia, January 30, 2007

By 

Steven Mason (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You Were on My Mind: The Midwives (Harlequin Superromance No. 802) (Paperback)

Plot synopsis: A lousy wife and mother leaves her husband and daughter, has a head injury accident that leaves her with total amnesia and a miraculously wonderful personality makeover; after ten years she gets back with her hunk of a husband and now twelve-year-old daughter; she is now a great wife and mother; happy ending. The moral of this story seems to be: If a husband has a lousy wife, he should just knock her hard enough on the head to set her right. Is this what Harlequin Romances are like, ladies?

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, September 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: You Were on My Mind: The Midwives (Harlequin Superromance No. 802) (Paperback)

I loved the characters in this book. It was impossible for me to turn off the light and go to sleep without finishing it.