Really enjoyed this read! Interesting fantasy world, fae politics and dynamics. Loved the strong female characters.

a perfect mix between a court of thorns and roses and the cruel prince, it was a spectacular read! can't wait to read more from the author. it was an exciting, overwhelming and beautiful read.

Really adored ‘The Warrior Midwife’, and it’s cool take on fae and warriors, and many other creatures. I read this in a flash, and found myself wanting more. Great writing, great characters, amazing setting. Waiting for more from this world with bated breath.
4/5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley & E.P. Bali for the copy is this book.
Okay I have a love hate relationship with this book.
The first 40-50% of this book dragged for me. I understand it needed the character building/world building but I got to halfway through the book and thought, “I’m already halfway through this book where the hell is this going?!”
But after I got past 50% I couldn’t put it down.
Saraya is the bad ass powerful woman I aspire to be!! And goddess I am obsessed with the dark lord Drake. Tell me why I never hated him?? Is it the trauma?? Idk either way he’s the perfect morally grey love interest and reading the interactions build up between him and Sayara is the reason I will be reading the next book in the series. Overall I was upset with how long it took for the book to hook me, which is why it took me so long to read it. It caused a little bit of a reading slump for me, but the final 40% of the book also cured my reading slump? I’m excited to read the next two books and see where the author takes it. 3.5 stars.

Mulan, but make it fae? I am sold. Immediately had to read this.

Debut novel by fantasy author E.P. Bali has me hooked. I will always love a strong female character that does everything she can for her people, and a crown princess forsaking her promised hand to disguise herself as a male fae to enter the Academy and aid the ancient Order of Temari, a guild of warrior midwives, that protect women from demons that would steal their baby's magic definitely shot to the top of my list.

Of course her journey to protect and save the women of her kingdom could never be that simple. The time at the Academy is only a small section of the novel as the Fae Commander takes hold of her kingdom after she escapes. Saraya must return to her kingdom to take it back and protect her people from the cruel hand of the Commander.

Throw in enemies to lovers, "who hurt you" and fated mates? That's it. I am invested in this story now.

The side characters themselves bring this story to life even more. Opal stole the show for me, I cannot not love the small, optimistic, cheerful and cute creature in any media. The familial bond between the sisters was wonderful, I also cannot help but love a protective sister who will do anything ensure the safety of her sibling.

The world building was done at a gradual pace and not an information dump. I didn't feel lost or like I struggled to keep up with names, places, or who people were.

If you are looking for a fantasy series with a strong female character and a fast release calendar, don't miss this series!

This was an interesting read...

Although it took me a while to get into the writing, I liked the characters and pacing. This was a seductive book with a badass female lead and a swoonworthy romance. It could be compared The Cruel Prince, and I lthink it was quite compelling in the ways the events unfolded.

I would recommend it!

What a great book! It's reminiscent of Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness books. Slow burn, strong FMC. The character and world building are good. The story is realistic in a fantasy world. Overall very enjoyable.

If you are a fan of fantasy novels and fae and other world stories then this is one book you wont want to miss. A guild of midwives with magical abilities are at the centre of the story. It’s different because it puts the women front and centre in the role of both caregivers and warriors so steps away from the cliched gender based roles. The plot and the character development are fast and furious and I loved every word of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Warrior Midwife was a fun and accessible book and will most likely be enjoyable for fans of this particular genre. I really enjoy how the author used real-world scenarios when describing child labor and midwifery. I am excited about the next book.

3.5/5 Stars

A captivating storyline that makes you wish you were a kick ass princess living in a fantasy world. Struggled to do things like concentrate on my job because all I wanted to do was get back to reading what was next! It has fae, magic, demons, sneaky romance, the broody dark haired male mc we all love and a warrior princess who is not only kind but so so strong in not only her physical skills but also in her mind and heart. A definite must read.

As soon as I found out that this book has fae in it, I knew that I had to read it! The Warrior Midwife is a interesting take on the genre and it was highly enjoyable. I'm sure fans of ACOTAR and Blood and Ash will really appreciate this story. Unfortunately I wasn't as invested in the romance as I would have liked to be, however I still enjoyed this book and am interested to see how the series progresses.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Order of Temari, an ancient guild of warrior midwives, sworn to protect women in childbirth from the demons who would take their baby's magical abilities are all but dead. But with Saraya's coming of age, the Order has a chance at rebirth. Instead of going to sit as a human caged and betrothed in the fae kingdom, Saraya disguises herself as a fae warrior and sneaks away into the Mountain Academy, where fae males learn to become full blooded warriors… liked the characterization and the plot progression and pacing was really good. In fact, I believe that the pacing and tension are the two things that made this book such a huge hit.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

I did really enjoy this and found I read it quite quickly. I really enjoyed the world and the magic system.
The would was really well done I loved the different relationships between fea and mortal lands.
I did find pacing a little off I found that the plot was a little slow and wish there was more development between sarayas and drake relationship as felt a little flat at times but I still enjoyed the plot and reading about a bad ass warrior princess! And I loved the ending.

The book's premise is interesting, and the characters have great potential. Honestly, I found this book very difficult to read. The language is inconsistent, the storytelling choppy, and the dialogue awkward. With a few more rounds of edits, this series could quickly become a favorite.

I finished this book in one sitting! And that says a lot considering I have a young son and need my sleep, but I just couldn't stop reading. I absolutely devoured this beautifully crafted world. Saraya is a character I can fully get behind and she develops wonderfully through this first installment in to what I can see is going to be epically fantastic. The slow burn that you get from the interactions between her and Drake are delicious and the prejudices that are melted on both sides (fae and human) are expertly executed and I can honestly say I'll be looking out for this authors back catalogue.

The only thing to say is that I loved it. And thank you netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an epic book.

Let me tell you one thing: i devoured this book like i devoured my favourite dessert. I cannot put down this book, the enemies-to-lovers concept was a hook! The secrets, the banters, oh and the fresh intake on new jobscope for fantasy and fae is amazingly well-informed. I never heard a midwife warrior in any fae fantasy before, and this book is the first one to introduce me to this aspect. I love it! I love how magic was used to help women in labor and how Princess Saraya manipulates her power to heal, help and defend people. It was epic! And then we have the dangerous commander yet there's a side that no one's ever seen before on him. Secrets upon secrets, the unravelling did it. I screamed, I cried, I laughed, and most importantly I enjoyed the book thoroughly.

And the abrupt/cliffhanger ending??!! I was left screaming at my bedroom wall cause I didn't realized I'm at the end of the book. I need to get the sequel asap!!

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. It was a beautiful story with culture, and love, and such an exciting plot twist - I cannot wait for more.
It showed the true power of women and really displayed the importance of all roles in society.

I absolutely loved it!
Someone recommended this book on a fb book page and I was immediately interested,but it wasn't out at that time. Yesterday I signed up to netgalley and saw that you could still arc read this book and I immediately signed up and got the book. I started reading the moment it downloaded and I was pulled into the book directly! The story is really good and I love this world the author has created. The MC is a badass that kicks ass with some magic! What else do you need?!
At the end a big twist was revealed and I honestly had a feeling it would be something like that and I'm happy it was! I am very curious how the next book will go because it did end on a mayor cliffhanger and in the middle of the action!

I have a confession to make. I didn't pay attention to the book's description or the fact that it was part of a series when I requested it from NetGalley. If I had, I probably wouldn't have read this as it seems that it will go in a spicier, romantic direction that I don't care for. I was already getting hints of that in this book and ignored them thinking that this book wasn't a part of a series.

The premise honestly seemed like a young adult fantasy; a princess who is loved by her people, a betrothal that she didn't approve of, and an untapped power that has revealed itself. The premise isn't particularly unique; however, I think the premise is terrific as it allows for a female protagonist who isn't afraid to kick some ass and take some names.

Fortunately, Princess Saraya is one of those fearless female protagonists who aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty. As a midwife, she uses her magic to help with complications during the birthing process and heal the new mothers afterward. As a princess, she is a skilled fighter who is willing to defend her people; especially the most vulnerable of them.

The character-building is the reason I enjoyed this book. The characters come to life in the book, and it's easy to form attachments to them; especially Saraya, the fearless female protagonist. What I think was lacking in the book were more vivid descriptions of some of the characters that appear frequently. It's easy enough to imagine some of the characters, but a line or two describing them would have been appropriate.

The world-building in this book is on the slim side. This book seems like an epic fantasy and, in my experience, epic fantasies focus on world-building. It's important for readers to have a grasp on the world that the characters are interacting with, and too much was left to the imagination.

The book isn't bad, I don't want to discourage people from reading it. I think that readers who want a slow-burning romance that is heavy on character-building will like it and will probably devour the whole series. I'm just not one of those people.

When I first read the title I was intrigued because typically in fantasy books, the main character is either a warrior or a healer and rarely both.

My expectations weren’t incredibly high because it did seem that this book was throwing in a lot of popular tropes: arranged marriage, academy, bully romance, MC with special powers, MC with fighting skills, enemies to lovers, girl pretending to be a boy, Etc.

But this book DELIVERED.

Princess Saraya uses her powers as a midwife to help the women in her Kingdom. When her betrothal to the fae Prince is announced, she is devastated that she will not be able to continue helping her kingdom. Yet when tasked to fight an even greater battle, Saraya disguised herself and joins an academy where male fae become warriors.

I absolutely love an academy trope where the female MC has to disguise herself as a male to attend and get training. Now surprisingly, this isn’t an academy series so the academy aspect of the book was just a small portion. I would have liked to see a little bit more of the MC being in the academy because there’s just so much potential for good content there. But the book does move past that and continues the plot which is still good as books tend to get stuck on the academy track for whole series.

This is a slow burn romance so there isn’t too much spice as the author focuses more on world building and setting up the character’s back stories. I’m excited to see if that changes in the next book. By the end of the book I felt confident that I knew the direction of the romance and it’s going to be soooo good.

Overall this was such a good fantasy read! Definitely has hit the spot in terms of tropes and world building while also providing a new and exciting perspective. I want to see more of these characters and their back story so I will be picking up the next book asap!