Book Review: An Uncertain Choice

Author: Jody Hedlund

Publication Date: March 3, 2015

Publisher: Zondervan

Series: An Uncertain Choice # 1

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 cloister 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.

“If you find true love and are married before midnight on your eighteenth birthday, you will be released from the vow.”

What if my life didn’t have to be so silent and secluded after all?

Never had I looked so deeply into someone’s eyes. I was helplessly lost.

This is Jody Hedlund’s first dab into the young adult world, to my understanding. And if that is true, I must say that she did fabulously! I devoured this book in less than three days, and would have finished sooner did I not have a J-O-B! I had to talk myself into going to sleep at night just to put the book down. Rosemarie’s character was beautifully written and the premise behind her story is truly unforgettable. Rosemarie’s life has been entirely planned out since the time she was a child, or so she thinks. When her parents passed away they made it clear that at the age of eighteen Rosemarie was to join the convent, but Rosemarie’s entire life changes when an old friend of her parents comes into town and says there is an “escape clause” to her parents well drawn out plan. If Rosemarie finds true love and marries before the age of eighteen, then she will not be forced to join the sisterhood. Rosemarie weighs her options significantly but finally decides to give love a chance!

Rosemarie is courted by three valiant knights and they are all given the chance to “woo” her and win her heart and love. Rosemarie’s patience, heart, and mind are all test through this ordeal because it is far beyond anything she ever expected. She feels herself being pulled in multiple directions and she has a weighty choice to make in the end. This was such a wonderful romance and is a quaint little escape into a beautifully written medieval world. Rosemarie has such a heart for her kingdom and the people in it; her love for her kingdom is what I believe ultimately helps her decide on a mate. I could read this story over and over again and I am very excited for more installments in this series.

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Zondervan in exchange for my honest review***