I loved Jody Hedlund's previous YA medieval series so of course I freaked out when I found out that she was publishing a series not just about knights and kingdoms but also princesses and lost treasures.
Intrigued?
A little more about the books including my incoherent reviews:
The Blurb
A fierce elite guard. A loyal lady in waiting. They must work together to save three princesses from certain death.
On the verge of dying after giving birth to twins, the queen of Mercia pleads with Lady Felicia to save her infant daughters. With the castle overrun by King Ethelwulf’s invading army, Lady Felicia vows to do whatever she can to take the newborn princesses and their three-year old sister to safety, even though it means sacrificing everything she holds dear, possibly her own life.
Gravely wounded in battle and knowing all is lost to his enemy, the king of Mercia tasks Lance, one of his fiercest elite guards, to protect his family along with keys to an ancient treasure. As Lance makes plans to sneak the princesses out of the capital city, he doesn’t need or want Lady Felicia’s help.
With the dark enemy in pursuit, Lance and Felicia must put aside their differences to outrun King Ethelwulf and prevent him from killing the princesses. In a desperate attempt to hide the young girls, Lance and Felicia agree to a marriage of convenience, a decision that will change their lives—and hearts—forever.
On the verge of dying after giving birth to twins, the queen of Mercia pleads with Lady Felicia to save her infant daughters. With the castle overrun by King Ethelwulf’s invading army, Lady Felicia vows to do whatever she can to take the newborn princesses and their three-year old sister to safety, even though it means sacrificing everything she holds dear, possibly her own life.
Gravely wounded in battle and knowing all is lost to his enemy, the king of Mercia tasks Lance, one of his fiercest elite guards, to protect his family along with keys to an ancient treasure. As Lance makes plans to sneak the princesses out of the capital city, he doesn’t need or want Lady Felicia’s help.
With the dark enemy in pursuit, Lance and Felicia must put aside their differences to outrun King Ethelwulf and prevent him from killing the princesses. In a desperate attempt to hide the young girls, Lance and Felicia agree to a marriage of convenience, a decision that will change their lives—and hearts—forever.
My Review
Words cannot express how excited I am for Jody Hedlund's new YA series. I absolutely adored her last one. And with this novella this series is already off to a great start.
This story has everything: adventure, romance, cute little babies, and sassy nuns. I must admit that I have not read a straight up romance for a while so it took some time for me to become readjusted to the genre. It was a little abrupt at first but it is a novella so that is a given. The detail was rich and the world building created a unique story world. Felicia and Lance were such a cute unlikely couples. I have a secret weakness for Elite Guards, so there is also that *totally wasn't crushing on Lance just for the fact that he was an Elite Guard*
I cannot wait to read the princess's individual stories.
I was provided a ARC from the author, all opinions, however are my own.
This story has everything: adventure, romance, cute little babies, and sassy nuns. I must admit that I have not read a straight up romance for a while so it took some time for me to become readjusted to the genre. It was a little abrupt at first but it is a novella so that is a given. The detail was rich and the world building created a unique story world. Felicia and Lance were such a cute unlikely couples. I have a secret weakness for Elite Guards, so there is also that *totally wasn't crushing on Lance just for the fact that he was an Elite Guard*
I cannot wait to read the princess's individual stories.
I was provided a ARC from the author, all opinions, however are my own.
The Blurb
An ancient key. A secret treasure. And a princess destined to use them both to fight evil and restore peace.
Raised by a noble family, Lady Adelaide has always known she’s an orphan. Little does she realize she’s one of the lost princesses and the true heir to Mercia’s throne…until a visitor arrives at her family estate, reveals her birthright as queen, and thrusts her into a quest for the throne whether she’s ready or not.
Unable to tolerate King Ethelwulf’s cruelty and lawlessness, Christopher Langley left Mercia years earlier, training a group of rebels in neighboring Norland. When he returns home after his mother’s death, he discovers that not only is Adelaide all grown up, but she’s also the rightful queen of Mercia.
When King Ethelwulf discovers Adelaide’s location, he’ll stop at nothing to capture her and the key she holds to the ancient treasure. Christopher is just as determined to protect Adelaide so she can lead the growing rebellion. When feelings ignite between the two old friends, forces threaten to destroy their love and rip them apart forever.
Raised by a noble family, Lady Adelaide has always known she’s an orphan. Little does she realize she’s one of the lost princesses and the true heir to Mercia’s throne…until a visitor arrives at her family estate, reveals her birthright as queen, and thrusts her into a quest for the throne whether she’s ready or not.
Unable to tolerate King Ethelwulf’s cruelty and lawlessness, Christopher Langley left Mercia years earlier, training a group of rebels in neighboring Norland. When he returns home after his mother’s death, he discovers that not only is Adelaide all grown up, but she’s also the rightful queen of Mercia.
When King Ethelwulf discovers Adelaide’s location, he’ll stop at nothing to capture her and the key she holds to the ancient treasure. Christopher is just as determined to protect Adelaide so she can lead the growing rebellion. When feelings ignite between the two old friends, forces threaten to destroy their love and rip them apart forever.
My Review
Warning: if you are looking for a coherent review, this is not the place to be. There will be much flailing and fangirling and asdfghjkl.
Okay so I LOVED this book SO MUCH.
Augh, lost princesses, hidden treasures, TALL JOHN. YOU GUYS, he said like three words but he is a without a doubt this book's MVP. I adored Christopher, he was such a fleshed out character capable of being both serious and joking when it seems like many characters are only able to be one of the two. And also I always like Jody Hedlund's warrior ladies because those are the ones that I relate to more XD
The one thing I would have liked was a little more to Mitchell's arc because I think he had a lot more potential.
King Draybane was the absolute best! I think I laughed at everything that he said, this man...
ASDFGHJKL
Like I said, no coherency here. If you get anything out of this review just know that I love this book XD
Look! I even made a collage for it!
[image error]
">
Whenever I read series like this which have different protagonists each book, I like to try to figure out who the main characters of the next books will be ahead of time. Obviously the heroines are Adelaide and her sisters. The next book will probably be about Maribel since she is the next oldest. But what of the heroes? We have Christopher in this book, and honestly I think it is a huge likelihood that one four year old kid who disappeared during the invasion all those years ago is going to resurface *waggles eyebrows* (I'm guessing he is going to be Maribel's hero). But also I just want to point out how I would absolutely FREAK OUT if Ethelwulf's son and one of the princesses ended up falling in love (Emmaline anyone?) Because that would be a FANTASTIC twist asdfghjkl. After Adelaide tries so hard to not end up married to his heir and Ethelwulf is spending the series trying to make certain that she or one of the princesses does marry him and then those two kids end up going and doing it anyway. Oh my stars, that would be such an interesting plot. AND I WOULD 100% BE THERE FOR THAT ENEMIES TO LOVERS ACTION. But I digress.
Needless to say that I am extremely excited for the next books and I NEEDED THEM YESTERDAY. Please and thank you. Also can I just take a moment to point out how absolutely excited I am for Lance and Felicia to come back onto the scene?? Because I'm pretty darn excited.
I was provided a ARC from the author, all opinions, however are my own.
Okay so I LOVED this book SO MUCH.
Augh, lost princesses, hidden treasures, TALL JOHN. YOU GUYS, he said like three words but he is a without a doubt this book's MVP. I adored Christopher, he was such a fleshed out character capable of being both serious and joking when it seems like many characters are only able to be one of the two. And also I always like Jody Hedlund's warrior ladies because those are the ones that I relate to more XD
The one thing I would have liked was a little more to Mitchell's arc because I think he had a lot more potential.
King Draybane was the absolute best! I think I laughed at everything that he said, this man...
ASDFGHJKL
Like I said, no coherency here. If you get anything out of this review just know that I love this book XD
Look! I even made a collage for it!
[image error]
">Whenever I read series like this which have different protagonists each book, I like to try to figure out who the main characters of the next books will be ahead of time. Obviously the heroines are Adelaide and her sisters. The next book will probably be about Maribel since she is the next oldest. But what of the heroes? We have Christopher in this book, and honestly I think it is a huge likelihood that one four year old kid who disappeared during the invasion all those years ago is going to resurface *waggles eyebrows* (I'm guessing he is going to be Maribel's hero). But also I just want to point out how I would absolutely FREAK OUT if Ethelwulf's son and one of the princesses ended up falling in love (Emmaline anyone?) Because that would be a FANTASTIC twist asdfghjkl. After Adelaide tries so hard to not end up married to his heir and Ethelwulf is spending the series trying to make certain that she or one of the princesses does marry him and then those two kids end up going and doing it anyway. Oh my stars, that would be such an interesting plot. AND I WOULD 100% BE THERE FOR THAT ENEMIES TO LOVERS ACTION. But I digress.
Needless to say that I am extremely excited for the next books and I NEEDED THEM YESTERDAY. Please and thank you. Also can I just take a moment to point out how absolutely excited I am for Lance and Felicia to come back onto the scene?? Because I'm pretty darn excited.
I was provided a ARC from the author, all opinions, however are my own.
Now hopefully I have said enough. Go! Buy the books and read them and the return to here so we can fangirl over them together. And while you are at it read Hedlund's first YA series ;P
This book series sounds amazing. :) I love books set in Middle Ages and Renaissance (along with several other time periods) but it seems like a really interesting book series, I might have to check it out sometime. :D
ReplyDelete-Quinley
If you like books set in the Middle Ages then you are gonna love Hedlund's YA books XD I tend to read more fantasy, but I still find her Medieval books very enjoyable ;P
DeleteI've never heard of this author before, but I'm definitely intrigued now! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan in case you didn't notice XD
DeleteThese sound awesome!
ReplyDelete