The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green

A complimentary review copy was provided to me.

Growing up, I was a huge fan of Little House on the Prairie, despite the challenges that they likely faced as pioneers on the prairie, I still had romantic notions of the simplicity of the life and the focus on the importance of your family. I think sometimes, as you study history and read historical fiction, it has a tendency to leave you with a different impression than the likely reality, not that you don't recognize the differences and realize the challenges that they were facing, but it doesn't tend to really provide focus on the difficulties that they really faced. In The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green, I got a really different perspective on the early settlements in Louisiana.

The story starts in France, where Julianne is serving as a midwife with her teacher as her assistant, a delivery that alters Julianne's future. Finding herself imprisoned for murder, she barters her way out of prison and onto a ship headed to Louisiana, in hopes of connecting with her younger brother who went to Louisiana to serve as a soldier. Little does she know when making the deal, but before they leave France, all of the passengers on the ship are forced to chose a mate (a fellow convict) and marry, as they are headed to the colony to help populate it for France. There is no shortage of challenge and heartache along the way for Julianne. Even in escaping France, she is unable to escape the mark of the king that has been etched into her skin...the mark creating issues for her, but also the potential to finally find happiness in the rough environment of the colony.

Jocelyn Green does a great job in bringing the story to life. She paints the landscape and environment of the wilds of the Louisiana colony in a way that makes it very vivid in your mind. You really got to know the characters and felt that you were experiencing the challenges and heartaches along with them. Her description of the experience at sea and on land during the hurricane makes the reader feel like they are in the storm with the characters.

I highly recommend this book, as I thoroughly enjoyed it and was drawn in on each and every page. The night that I finished the book, I stayed up way later than I should have, because I simply could not put down the book without knowing the outcome and the fate of those characters that I had grown to love. Those 75 pages were read without the realization of just how the time was passing. This is the first book I have read by Jocelyn Green but based on the way that she captured me and pulled me into the story, I look forward to reading more of her historical fiction books. She has four others, also set in the early years of the United States.

About the book:

The Mark of the King (Bethany House, January 2017)

Sweeping historical fiction set at the edge of the continent

After being imprisoned and branded for the death of her client, twenty-five-year-old midwife Julianne Chevalier trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling 1720s French colony of Louisiana, where she hopes to be reunited with her brother, serving there as a soldier. To make the journey, though, women must be married, and Julianne is forced to wed a fellow convict.

When they arrive in New Orleans, there is no news of Benjamin, Julianne's brother, and searching for answers proves dangerous. What is behind the mystery, and does military officer Marc-Paul Girard know more than he is letting on?

With her dreams of a new life shattered, Julianne must find her way in this dangerous, rugged land, despite never being able to escape the king's mark on her shoulder that brands her a criminal beyond redemption.

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About the author:


Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage as the award-winning author of ten books to date, including Wedded to War, a Christy Award finalist in 2013; Widow of Gettysburg; Yankee in Atlanta; and The 5 Love Languages Military Edition, which she coauthored with bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman. A former military wife herself, her passion for military families informs all of her writing as well as her numerous speaking opportunities. Jocelyn graduated from Taylor University with a BA in English and now lives with her husband and two children in Iowa.

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No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. A complimentary review copy was provided to me.

Buried Memories by Carol J. Post

A complimentary review copy was provided to me.

I have always been a big fan of thrillers and mysteries when you can mix in a bit of a love story, they are even better because you worry about the safety of those main characters. Such is the case with Buried Memories by Carol J. Post. I received the book just before the holidays, but we were pretty busy with company

After her broken engagement, Nicki Jackson hoped her move to Cedar Key would give her a fresh start—instead she quickly learns someone’s out to destroy her. Are the attacks tied to her mother’s recently reopened murder case…or to the nightmares Nicki’s beginning to suspect are actually hidden memories? With the threats against her escalating, former soldier Tyler Brant vows to keep Nicki safe. He refuses to lose the woman who’s swiftly becoming more than a childhood crush. But when danger circles closer, is Nicki’s traumatic past better left forgotten…or are her memories the key to something far more sinister?

There was no slow start with this story, it started right in on the first page when Nikki comes home from travel to find her house broken into. I love how the story started quickly and then over the next few pages, it slows down a bit and so that we can be introduced to the characters and start to learn more about them. The characters are very likeable and their development well done. You quickly find yourself feeling a part of the story and worrying about them and what is happening to and around them. The suspenseful plot was well done and kept me turning the pages, often times spending more time reading than I had intended. I kept trying to anticipate who was behind these attacks and threats on Nikki and her friends and yet it was only moments before Nikki herself realized who is after her that I finally reached the same realization.

Nikki and Tyler, who had known each other during another rough time in their lives, grew closer as the story progressed and drew strength from one another. Along the way, Nikki helped Tyler start to reconsider his doubts in God and he even attended church with her. She helps him see that unanswered prayers aren't actually unanswered, but that the answer isn't always yes. Tyler helps her see that friends can be just as important as family.

Buried Memories is the fourth book in the series, but the first on that I read, which did not present any challenges in enjoying the book. This is the second book that I read by the author and I look forward to reading more. You can learn more about the author and her books on her web page.

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. A complimentary review copy was provided to me.