The Mark of the King
By: Jocelyn Green
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About the Book (Backcover Blurb):
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.
Why I Choose this Book:
I’ve read other books by Jocelyn Green that I learned a ton from. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, especially when the romance is kept in check. Some of Miss Jocelyn’s books have had a little too much romance for my taste, but those parts have been easily skimmed over in the past, so I figured this book would probably be the same.
What I Thought about this Book:
Oh my lands. Within the first several pages I was already needing to look different historical elements up to see if they had indeed happened. This book opened my eyes to a part of history I had been ignorant about, and I’m still quite intrigued.
This book wasn’t light and fluffy by any means. It wasn’t a feel-good book, and it wasn’t one where everything falls into place. In fact, there were a couple of times where I was like “Wait, what? You need something else bad to happen to them?” Really though, I’m fairly certain that it was a pretty realistic look at that era, and for that I’m thankful. It conveyed the world as being harsh and difficult, and so yay for that! (Meaning, it didn’t romanticize it or make it sound glamorous.) There’s no way I would have ever wanted to live in that environment, and I’m so thankful for having a roof over my head after reading the book. (Not to mention freedom. Cause yeah, that’s important.)
I enjoyed reading the book and learning from it. I also look forward to researching that era and that place more in the future. Miss Jocelyn does a fantastic job of making history come alive to me, and for that I’m very thankful.
Conclusion:
Although the romance felt balanced for the most part, there were a few things that I felt could be somewhat more vague. It didn’t hinder the plot any though to skim-read those parts, so overall it didn’t detract much from the story.
There was some violence, but for the time period the story took place in, I consider it to be vague and very balanced.
Overall, I liked the book a lot.
Rating:
I’m giving The Mark of the King 4 out of 5 stars, and 8 out of 10.
*I received this book from Litfuse
Noveltea 