Very disappointing. The plot seemed to plod through chapters and chapters. As I read it, I kept thinking, "just end already". My cat loved the feel of the cover, so she enjoyed it more than I did.

This book is excellent. Very fast-paced and believable for a historical novel........I would definitely recommend it. grp. April 10, 2012

I found this to be only an 'okay' read and in particular found the ending to seem really rushed. I expected a lot more.

With all the hype this book has engendered, I expected something better. The plot was just too unbelievable and the characters too perfect although the premise was a good one. I did finish reading this tale but not without bemoaning the heavy handedness of the plotting.

This historical novel is set in Venice and Malta in the sixteenth century. Hannah Levi is a midwife in Venice, renowned for her skill in difficult births. Her husband Isaac is being held for ransom in Malta, caught as he was making a sea voyage to buy merchandise. After years of trying the couple has no children themselves. When Hannah is asked by a Christian nobleman to assist at a birth, she is torn between her humanitarian impulses to save lives and the papal decree against medical treatment by Jews to Christians. With the hope to obtain money to free Isaac, she decides to assist in the birth. This decision changes her life forever. Hannah has overcome her natural fear of risk to deliver this child, and must fight prejudice, criminal behaviour, and difficult circumstances to save her own life. Meanwhile in Malta, Isaac must fight against his natural argumentative tendency and work to save his own life with the skills he has as a literate, educated man. The reader is sympathetic to Hannah and her plight, caught between a rock and a hard place as it were. Hannah's family history also comes into this story and her rabbi isn't presented in the best light. There are good and bad of every religious persuasion here and that adds to the realistic nature of the novel. A story of love, honour, and survival, this novel tells a good story.

This book started off well and just got worse. It became more and more implausible (similar to what turned me off of The Book of Negroes). I wish it had stuck to being more believable historical fiction.

A really interesting interview on CBC's "The Next Chapter" with the author on writing historical non-fiction. http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/episode/2011/10/24/brian-francis/

Beautiful cover attracted me to this book and for a debut novel the period and setting are well depicted giving real feeling to the story and characters. A very compelling and readable thriller/love story about Hannah and her husband Isaac even if you have to suspend belief in some situations.

I picked up this book after seeing it listed in the Recently Reviewed Items of my library's catalogue. While I agree with some of the comments about the storyline being implausible, I still found the story entertaining. I think this is a work that relies on the reader to invoke the “suspension of belief” formula. It was entertaining, and I enjoyed the exploration of a time period and place I’ve not explored before.

This book was a huge disappointment . The story line was totally implausible ... to the point that I felt my intelligence, as the reader, was being badly insulted. I slogged my way about 3/4 through and then actually had to leave the balance unread. I had no interest in what happened to the primary characters as the story failed to engage and also seemed nowhere close to believable - even as a book of fiction.