An Uncertain Choice

Trudy pressed her fisted hands against her hips, watching me and shaking her head. “Come sit down this instant. You’re wearing me out with all your prowling.”

But I couldn’t stop. A peculiar need was driving me, the need to test the new feelings inside me. Somehow I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I’d tested them to their fullest and found them wanting. “Sometimes we have to take risks, even put our lives in jeopardy to do what’s right.”

Book: An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund, Zondervan Publishers, 2015

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Target Audience: Girls 13-16

Subjects: Romance, God’s Will

Summary: They’re all so handsome, so strong, so talented, so attractive! And she is to marry one of them! For the last four years Rosemarie has known of her parents’ will and prepared herself to carry it out. She is to become a nun on her eighteenth birthday. Her parents prayed for a child and promised to dedicate that child to God’s service. That means not being married. But when wars finally cease her godfather, the noble knight and Duke arrives with news that he has discovered a way out. There is provision in the law – if she falls in love and marries before her eighteenth birthday she can be released from her parents’ promise without facing death. And to make sure she truly has a choice, the Duke has brought his three greatest knights and sets in course a plan to give them each a chance to win her heart. What is a young girl who has spent the last four years preparing for singleness to do with three knights determined to win her heart?

Notes: An Uncertain Choice is the first teen book from the author of multiple adult books. It’s written almost as if it were a children’s fairy tale. Three handsome suitors all competing to win the princess. One tries giving her expensive gifts. One tries offering her arts and entertainment. And the other is poor and has no great family name, but offers a passion for the same things as her – mainly – caring for the poor and needy. The third feels unworthy and is determined to not pursue her, but falls in love anyway. Then the evil villain shows up, kidnaps the princess and tries to kill the suitor she has chosen. It’s a very simple story, but with a few unique twists to it.

The spiritual element is also simple. The princess goes to the chapel and prays a lot, seeking God’s will for her life – should she become a nun or marry one of the knights and if so which one.

Overall, it’s a fun, fairly simple book. It’s an enjoyable princess story for all those young girls who still appreciate the fairy tales.
One warning - the book wraps up everything nice and neat and tidy and then all of a sudden on the last page it suddenly changes and ends on a cliff hanger, apparently paving the way for a sequel. 

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 3/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Proverbs 12:5 – The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

Thank you to someone, likely the publishers, for sending me a free review copy of this book. I didn't request it. It just randomly showed up at my door! So I read it and enjoyed it and am posting my review. :-)