This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic 
 My review of this book is really more of a story. I don't come from a family of readers. Sure they pick up the odd book to flip through before bed or when they're on vacation but they are never as excited about books as I am. The Midwife of Venice may have changed all that. In just over a month it feels like every member of my family has read and loved this book and I get weekly requests for the sequel. 
 It's not a huge surprise - it's an incredibly captivating tale and once you start reading it, you have a hard time putting it down. It is the story of Hannah Levi a midwife in the Jewish ghetto in 1575. It's a dangerous time to be Jewish, always being considered second class in a Christian dominated system. But when a rich Christan man comes to her, desperate for someone to help deliver his child, she cant resist. Even if it could be disastrous for her entire ghetto. Though I flew through this book I grew so attached to Hannah during the time I spent reading. I admired her spirit and her ability to keep going, even when things are looking desperate/hopeless. Even though her main motivation was to earn enough money to free her husband, that doesn't detract from her bravery and selflessness. She puts herself in harms way over and over to help a poor woman in labour and to protect a child that isn't even her own. 
 Just like the rest of my family I am eager to read the sequel - The Harem Midwife - I can't wait to see what Hannah and her husband do next.