Book Reveiw: An Uncertain Choice

In honor of An Uncertain Choice's release, today on March 3, (and because I was given the honor of becoming an influencer), I have written a blog post about it, including my review and an interview with the author, Jody Hedlund. Enjoy!

Description

An Uncertain Choice

Jody Hedlund

Due to her parents' promise at her birth, Lady Rosemarie has been prepared to become a nun on the day she turns eighteen. Then, a month before her birthday, a friend of her father's enters the kingdom and proclaims her parents' will left a second choice--if Rosemarie can marry before the eve of her eighteenth year, she will be exempt from the ancient vow.

Before long, Rosemarie is presented with the three most handsome and brave knights in the land. But when the competition for her heart seemingly results in a knight playing foul, she begins to wonder if the convent is the best place after all. If only one of the knights--the one who appears the most guilty--had not already captured her heart.

Amazon, B&N, Google Play, CBD, Goodreads

About the Author

Jody Hedlund is an award-winning and bestselling author of inspirational historical romances for both youth and adults.

As a busy mama-writer, she has the wonderful privilege of teaching her crew of 5 children at home. In between grading math papers and giving spelling tests, she occasionally does a load of laundry and washes dishes. When she's not busy being a mama, you can find her in front of her laptop working on another of her page-turning stories. 

She loves reading almost as much as she loves writing, especially when it also involves chocolate and coffee.

My Review

First of all, I love, love, love the cover of An Uncertain Choice! It is stunning! Just the thing to draw a person like me to the book. In addition, the back cover was just as beautiful as the front. The designer did a fantastic job creating a beautiful cover that matched the book perfectly.

Then there is the storyline: an heiress pressured to choose to marry one of three men, in only a month's time. Can you get more intense? Yes, when the attempted murders are added to the mix! I loved the slight drama, suspense, and romance the combination created. There was hardly a dull moment.

I never would have guessed who the murderer was. The facts were leading to him, but I still couldn't accept it until it was undeniable.

 Jody Hedlund did a lovely job developing all the characters. I loved the fact that all the men were honorable young men. Not all of them had exactly the same morals as Rosemarie, but each one of them would still have made fantastic husbands for her. The stereotype for stories like this portray only one of the three men as being honorable, and I was glad that was not the case in this one.

Another thing I enjoyed was the descriptions. The world came alive in vibrant colors from Jody Helund's writing. I could clearly see Rosemarie in beautiful dress, roses in her hair, as she awaits the duke's coming, or the fancy picnic she and her suitors attended. It sounded lovely.

I enjoyed seeing the growth in Rosemarie and one of the men. Their internal struggles and their actions combined to form two, maturing adults growing in love for one another for all the right reasons.

I applaud Jody Hedlund for a lovely novel that was more than appropriate for teens. 

I received a free influencer copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Back Cover Copy

I had to include a photo of the back cover copy because it is so beautiful!

Interview

If you could tell readers one thing about An Uncertain Choice, what would it be?

It's never too early to begin thinking about and praying for our future spouses. Next to making the decision about where to spend eternity, the choice of whom we marry is second in importance. It's a decision for good or bad that can impact the rest of our lives, especially since God intends for us to live with our marriage partner for as long as we have breath. So we definitely want to be wise with the crucial choice of a mate.

It's my prayer that An Uncertain Choice will be more than just another entertaining love story, but will also be a catalyst to help young women begin to think wisely about one of the most important decisions they'll ever make.

An Uncertain Choice is a romance. What is the inspiration behind this kind of story?

My two oldest daughters (twins) are in high school. They're starting to notice boys. And boys are starting to notice them.

Okay, who am I kidding? My teen daughters have been paying attention to boys for quite a few years. Yes, they're human. But of course, up until now they've been a tad young to enter the world of dating. My husband would prefer that we have a family rule, "No dating until at least the age of 22." And he'll likely greet any boy that comes calling for them with a baseball bat in hand (wink!).

But because we know that we can't beat away the boys forever, we wanted to have a tool that we could use for our daughters to help prepare them for dating.

Let's face it, the dating world has become rather big and scary to many young people. And rightly so. Our modern culture, particularly social media, has changed the nature of dating.  Cell phones, texting, Facebook, online dating services, etc. have all impacted the how's, why's, what's, and when's of dating.

When I began to think about what kinds of dating experiences I wanted my daughters to have, I decided to write a book that models the purity, nobility, and courtly love that existed in the days of old, during the times of knights and their ladies, a time in history when chivalry was at its height. Thus, An Uncertain Choice was birthed. 

How do you believe this story relates to the lives of readers?

Young people today really enjoy reality TV shows, especially ones that involve contests. My teens love watching Survivor, The Amazing Race, and even American Idol. There's just something about real competition that attracts us.

An Uncertain Choice is a little bit like reality TV, especially a show like Bachlorette (although a much sweeter and cleaner version!) where a young woman is presented with three really fantastic men. In some ways, she can't go wrong if she chooses any of the men. But readers get to join the adventure as she must narrow down her choices even as the clock ticks away to the day of her eighteenth birthday.

Aside from the many issues related to dating and marriage, the book also tackles issues like chafing under too much supervision, learning to become a strong leader, and how to display courage in different ways.

Which person most influenced your writing?

My mom was the most influential person in my writing career. When I was young, she helped facilitate my love of writing by reading aloud to me, giving me good books to read, and providing the kind of environment that fostered my creativity (in fact we didn’t have a TV for a number of years). She always believed in me, encouraged me to pursue my dreams, and rode alongside me cheering me on.

Are you working on the next book in the series?

Yes! I'm excited about the second book in the series. It's already written and I'm in the process of getting ready to turn it in to my editor in order to get her expertise feedback. As I mentioned it will involve another one of the three knights. But of course, I won't give away which of the knights until closer to the release of the book! (How's that for a tease!)

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I hope you enjoyed today's post about An Uncertain Choice!