Showing posts with label by Jody Hedlund. Show all posts
Showing posts with label by Jody Hedlund. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

"A Daring Sacrifice" by Jody Hedlund



About this book:

  “The only thing harder than fighting for what’s right…is fighting their feelings for each other.
  For three years, the Cloaked Bandit has terrorized Wessex, robbing the nobility by knifepoint and a well-placed arrow. But little dos anyone know, this bandit is in fact Juliana Wessex, the rightful ruler of the land and a girl her tyrannical uncle—the current Lord Wessex—believes was killed along with her father.
  Juliana has become skilled at hiding from Lord Wessex in the forest, using her stolen goods to provide food and shelter to the peasants her uncle has taxed into poverty. But when she robs Collin Goodrich, her red hair betrays her true identity. Lord Collin remembers Juliana from their childhood—and challenges her to stay on his estate for a week in hopes she will leave her thieving ways and become a proper lady once more. Juliana is intrigued by Collin and his charms, but only time will tell if he can overcome her distaste of the nobility—as well as win her heart.”


Series: Book #2 in the “An Uncertain Choice” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- A few Prayers & Thank God (twice); An ‘H’ is capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying & a chapel; A few mentions of Mary & Saints; A few mentions of blessings/being blessed; A few mentions of sins; A mention of Heaven; A mention of a convent.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘idiot’s and two form of ‘stupid’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Lots of Torture, being tied to a stake, pain, being hit/thrashed/slapped, injuries, blood/bleeding & passing out (semi-detailed to detailed); Fighting, arrows, shooting, knifes & injuring others (semi-detailed to very detailed); Thieves, stealing, ambushes & threats (up to semi-detailed); Many, many mentions of torture methods, blood/bleeding, major injuries, being burned at the stake, hangings, being quartered, slitting throats, eyes gouged out, cutting off someone’s hands/fingers, it almost happening and threats of doing so (semi-detailed to very detailed); Mentions of deaths, pain, injuries & blood/bleeding (semi-detailed to detailed); Mentions of knifes, arrows, fighting, beatings, ambushes & stealing; Mentions of hunting, dead animals & stealing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of drinking, ale & wine; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of an injured horse bleeding & dying (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of fights; A few mentions of lies.


Sexual Content- a thumb-to-lips touch, two (semi-detailed) palm/finger kisses, a (semi-detailed) cheek kiss, an ear kiss, three hair/head/forehead kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, four semi-detailed kisses, and four detailed kisses; Remembering kisses (up to detailed); Lots of Touches, Embraces, Nearness, Shivers, Warmth & Heat (very semi-detailed to detailed); Lot of Noticing & Staring (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of kisses, kissing & self-control (semi-detailed); A few mentions of scandals, reputations & chaperones; A few mentions of flirting & swooning; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of the thought of a lusty man taking advantage of a woman; Love, desire, falling in love & the emotions; 
            *Note: Mentions of a man’s bare chest & his muscles (semi-detailed); A few mentions of how a dress hugs Juliana’s curves.

-Juliana Wessex, age 17
-Collin Goodrich, age 20
                                        1st person P.O.V. switches between them
                                              Set in 1390 {Medieval}
                                                        221 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
I wasn’t a fan of this author’s adult books because of the sexual content. I wasn’t a fan of the first book of this series due to the fluff plot-line and harsh torture methods. I thought I would try her once more, before I said no more.
The torture, gore & overall gruesomeness was out of hand. Never mind all the kisses, touches & desires, the torture scenes alone would have been enough for a one-star rating.
But this book had all those kisses, touches & desires.
You know what really got me though? We’ve got the instant love, okay, no shock, whatever, I can deal. But, Collin. Collin says he loves Juliana. If you love her, Collin, why didn’t marriage come to your mind? You’re totally enjoying kissing & touching her, but you don’t even think about marrying her until her protector tells you “If you want her, then you’ll make her your wife first.” I swear, it’s like a light bulb went off in Collin’s head.
So, Collin. Not my favorite.
Juliana. I wanted to like her at first. I had a hard time though. At one point, she’s over here holding a knife to Collin’s throat and then check him out at the same time! (In semi-detailed muscle and tight pants noticing, might I add.)
Both of them were just too good at what they did. They did everything pretty well and it always impressed the other. (Then, in Collin’s case, he basically bragged about how much better he was at shooting, tracking, etc. than someone else.) They both just came across as flat to me. They would show off how good they were at something, but then there would be a “coincidental” flaw in their personalities that felt like it was added as an afterthought.
The torture and details of all the methods was just awful. Honestly, it wasn’t needed. You can write about something without getting fully into the details. Why does the author find it so fascinating to include such details?
So, I’m disappointed. But I’m not shocked.


See y’all on Friday with a new review!


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

"An Uncertain Choice" by Jody Hedlund {Teen Week!}



{Welcome to Teen Week! Every quarter we're going to try and do a Teen Week! A week where every weekday has a new review of a Christian book written just for teens! You’re reading the fourth one of this quarter's! :) {Day 1 here!} {Day 2 here!} {Day 3 here!}}

About this book:

  “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.”



Series: Book #1 in the “An Uncertain Choice” series. {There is am e-book prologue, “The Vow”, but I have not read it.}


Spiritual Content- Mentions of those in the Bible; Talks about God & God’s will (though the ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God); The Catholic faith and a monk/abbot; Prayers & going to the chapel to pray; The Lord’s Prayer is mentioned and a couple lines are written out; Lady Rosemarie is almost a nun.
*Note: a Mention of a Greek god; Mentions of the devil.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘wretches’; Mentions of torturing, beheading, cutting out organs, and boiling criminals alive (semi-detailed); Blood & Fighting (semi-detailed); Nightmares (semi-detailed); Mentions of murder & poison.


Sexual Content- a not-detailed kiss and Three semi-detailed kisses; Two almost kisses; Hand kisses; Thinking about kissing & kisses; The knights stare at Lady Rosemarie’s lips; Staring & Noticing; Touches & Warmth (barely-above-not-detailed to semi-detailed); It’s said that Lady Rosemarie is destined for celibacy; a mention of “the pleasure of a woman”; The abbot is worried that the knights will tempt the “pure and undefiled” Lady Rosemarie; a mention that God “designed the basic attraction between men and women.”; The jerk-of-a-sheriff says “You wouldn’t dare disobey Lady Rosemarie, would you? Not when you hope to win her into your bed.”; Love, falling in love & the emotions.  

-Lady Rosemarie
-Sir Derrick
                                        1st person P.O.V. switches between Lady Rosemarie and Derrick
                                               Set in 1390 {Medieval}
                                                        254 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-
(and a half)

{Sensitive girls will want to stay away of this book because of all the torture.}
This definitely wasn’t the best Medieval book I’ve read, it was a lot harsher than any of Melanie Dickerson or Lisa T. Bergren ones. “An Uncertain Choice” was very blunt and kind of, well, fluffy in the actually storyline but harsh in the torture. Lady Rosemarie was just a little too perfect; I’m not sure how to explain it. I was already hesitant to read another Jody Hedlund book after her book released last year. Whether or not I’ll read another by her, I’m not sure.  



See y’all TOMORROW with the last Teen Week review! 



*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Zondervan) for this review.

Monday, January 19, 2015

"Love Unexpected" by Jody Hedlund

{Make sure you’ve entered our Giveaway! It ends tonight!}


{To girls who are Under age 14! Do not read this review! It's not a good book! Let's leave it alone!}
About this book:

  “All she's ever wanted was a home. But stranded at Presque Isle port after their steamboat sank, Emma Chambers and her brother, Ryan, couldn't be farther away from security. While Ryan at least can find work, Emma can't even find a place to stay. An unlikely solution arises when the lighthouse keeper, who recently lost his wife and is struggling to raise his young son, arrives in town. A traveling preacher believes they might be the answer to each others' problems, and after a hasty marriage, Emma is headed back to the lighthouse with this handsome but quiet stranger.
  But nothing in her wandering life has prepared her for suddenly being asked to raise a child and keep a house. Struggling at every turn, Emma also suspects Patrick may be keeping something hidden from her. In town she hears whispers about strange circumstances surrounding his previous wife's death, and it seems as though Emma's answered prayer for a home and family may actually be something much more dangerous.”



 Series: Book #1 in the “Beacons of Hope” series. {There’s a Novella which is consider #.5 in the series which you can read our review Here! Book #2 will be coming out in Summer 2015.}


Spiritual Content- Emma hasn’t prayed in a long time & doesn’t think she remembers how to; She has to learn about God being in control and not her; Patrick prays; A few Scriptures are quoted; Talks about God & His plans; ‘H’s are capital; Mentions of church going & devotionals.
*Note: a “pit of h*ll”.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘hush’, an ‘idiot’ and a form of ‘stupid’; Curses are said but not written; Pirate attacks (barely-above-not-detailed); After her Mam died, Emma’s father drank and couldn’t keep a job; Fist Fighting (highest being semi-detailed); Blood (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions & Rememberings of box fighting (semi-detailed); *Spoiler* Patrick’s past included looting, liquor, gambling & see Sexual content Spoiler. *End of Spoiler*; Guns are pointed & shot.


Sexual Content- a ‘hussy’  and a ‘wh*re’; A Detailed Kiss & 2 Semi-Detailed kisses; Wishing & Wanting to Kiss; Talks of Kissing & Kisses; Thinking of kissing & kisses; Longing for more; Embraces (ranging from barely-above-not-detailed all the way to detailed); A Mention of being together & have children; 3 Mentions of wanting to be attractive to your spouse (Which Emma goes to Bertie for advice, very bad idea); 6 Mentions of sharing intimacies; 8 Mentions of expecting something when you’re married; 8 Mentions of laying/sleeping with someone; Rumors go around that Patrick has another women & sees her (*Spoiler* Emma sees him with her, the woman wearing a low cut dress. Turns out she’s a prostitute, his sister and Josiah’s mother. *End of Spoiler*) In Patrick’s past, *Spoiler* when he was drunk, he took advantage of a women and he found he the next morning beaten in his bed (at the end of the novel it’s revealed that his fellow pirate friend used & beaten her)*End of Spoiler*; Carrying to bed; Love, an practical (read: arranged) marriage, falling in love, the emotions & Longing, lots of longing. 

-Emma Chambers
-Patrick Garraty
                                         P.O.V. switches between them.
                                              Set in 1859
                                                        340 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Whoa! Lots of Sexual Content! {Cue the “Ewww!”s!} This was my first full-length Jody Hedlund book, and sadly, it might just my last. This book reminded me at many times of “Short Straw Bride” by Karen Witemeyer (which I haven’t reviewed on here due to the Sexual Content). This book had an insane about of Sexual hints & mentions. Add Patrick’s past & annoying Bertie the Gossip/Traitor (saw that one coming) and you get a Banned Book.


See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! Make sure you’ve entered our Giveaway! It ends tonight!



*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Bethany House) for this review.