"An Uncertain Choice," by Jody Hedlund (An Uncertain Choice #1)

Audience: Young Adult

Genre: Medieval Romance

Overall Content Rating: Clean

Content Warnings

Death/Near-Death Experiences

Multiple instances of deaths, both single and mass (all ended up being murders)

Someone was poisoned but didn't die (they got the antidote to him in time)

Violence

Instances of torture (not too graphic)

Moments of knife-wielding against people (e.g., to someone's chest)

Overall Review

From the very beginning, I was caught in this story. Admittedly, it wasn't for the first time. Having reread this book time and time over the past five years, it's never lost its shine for me and it's with pleasure that I get to write about it here.

An Uncertain Choice is a book about Lady Rosemarie and her journey to find love despite what she had expected for herself for years before. Having been told that the only path for her was to go into the convent when she turned 18, she's approached one month before her birthday by the Duke of Rivenshire (practically an uncle to her), who tells her that if she falls and love and marries for love before her 18th birthday, she doesn't have to go to the convent. But can she find someone she truly loves in just one month?

Unlike many regency romances, there are not a lot of moments where things are questionable. If you read through the content warnings, you can see that the major thing was the violence, but primarily, this violence was caused by one person, who is revealed by the end. There are instances of jousting and such, but only for sport, and nobody gets injured. The only true injuries are caused by various events of torture, which Lady Rosemarie is directly against, and the mystery is who is disrespecting her commands.

Over the years as I've read through this, I've appreciated the gentle way that they approach God. Even the Abbot himself isn't forceful about his religion, instead guiding Lady Rosemarie through what he believes is best for her. But perhaps what he thinks is right isn't so right at all...