As the sun crests the indigo Lake District hills and blossom froths in the trees, midwife Zoe Padbury reaches for her boyfriend’s hand. Her life, at this moment, feels perfect. She has no idea of the storm clouds that lie ahead…

The villagers of Thimblebury know that midwife Zoe Padbury loves babies and now that she’s settled at Hilltop Farm with her boyfriend Alex, they can’t resist wondering when she’s going to start a family of her own. Yet it doesn’t feel like quite the right time. Alex is so busy and Zoe has her hands full with all her new mums to look after. Still, she has hopes for the future…

But what she doesn’t expect is to walk into her cosy kitchen and find Alex’s glamorous ex-girlfriend sitting at the scrubbed pine kitchen table. Virginia claims to be helping Alex with work but as she looks Zoe up and down and offers her a perfectly manicured hand to shake, Zoe can’t ignore a shiver of foreboding. What will this mean for her and Alex?

Zoe tries to quash the pangs of jealousy that wash over her, but with Virginia around what feels like all hours of the day, she and Alex end up in a devastating argument. And when she receives some news that changes everything, she doesn’t know if she can share her troubles… Can they find their way back to each other? Or will these storm clouds break their bond forever?

A completely heartwarming read about trusting the one you love when times get tough. Fans of Jo Bartlett and Jessica Redland will laugh, cry and root for Zoe in Storm Clouds Ahead for the Village Midwife.