Should I review this book? Yay or nay?

This was a great read! Not just a historical romance but intrigue, murder and suspense all in one! I loved the characters and the story line! ( )

This was my first Jocelyn Green novel. I’m sorry I waited so long in reading it. It was SO good. It kept my interest from the very first page until the end. I loved the history in this book and I learned so much about France and how New Orleans was started. I also learned a lot about the native American tribes in the area.

I won’t go into any details about this book, you can read the blurb yourself. But I will say that you will need tissues (and maybe a French pronouncement website). This dear sweet midwife from France went through so much. I’d find myself in shock with the history, crying from the horrors of so much that happened, and refreshed with the fact that no matter what people label us with, as Christians we are precious in God’s sight.

This book has no bad language, no embarrassing romantic sex scenes, and it is threaded with God’s love for us…no matter what others may say. There are struggles in life and I learned a thing or two about forgiveness.

Quotes:

pg 110: “Remember this, mes cheres: There is no person so small that the Lord cannot see her, no voice so quiet that He cannot hear it.”

pg. 200: With her hand pressed to her head, Julianne trapped a groan in her chest. “Does the pain ease?” she whispered.
Francoise sighed. “The pain changes, and you will change with it. The sharp edges wear away in time, but the loss remains. You’ll learn how to live with it.” ( )

The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green is an historical saga set primarily in French Colonial Louisiana. Julianne Chevalier, the heroine, is a French midwife who is unjustly convicted of murder after a noblewoman she is attending dies in childbirth. She is branded with a fleur-de-lys, “the mark of the king”, so that all will know she is a murderess. Her only option to escape the horrendous French prison system is to go out as a colonist to Louisiana. Since her only relative, her younger brother Benjamin, went to Louisiana as a soldier and vanished, she eagerly accepts this fate.

Once started on this path, she quickly faces hardship. Convicts are forced to wed each other before shipping out. They realize they are basically breeding stock to populate the colony for France. The conditions in and around New Orleans are harsh. Supplies are scare, skills are lacking in the convict population, disease and vice are rampant, and the soldiers and colonists are caught in political tensions between England and France and the Indian tribes each bribes to be their allies.

This novel is a fascinating glimpse into a little known chapter of history. The history is seamlessly woven into the tale, and the tale is fascinating. Julianne is drawn into a web of secrets and lies involving her convict husband Simon, her missing brother Benjamin, and the upright French officer Mark-Paul Girard who acts as her guardian angel while hiding his own secrets.

This is an inspirational novel, published by Bethany House, but the inspirational aspects are handled with a light touch and the novel should have broad appeal. I received an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. The opinions are mine alone. ( )

The beautiful front cover was the first thing that caught my eye when I saw this book and, thankfully, the novel lived up to it. I was hooked from the first scene and was captivated following Julieanne's journey from France, where she had been branded a criminal, to New Orleans as she struggled as a young bride trying to find her place in the new colony. The rich, historical detail was excellent without being overbearing and I was interested learning about the hardship the French settlers faced when they arrived in Louisiana - starvation, Indian attacks, loneliness, floods, humidity and the daily efforts to stay alive in a desolate environment.

The main characters came to life and I was totally engrossed in their stories. Julieanne was strong and resilient while Marc-Paul was a man with strong convictions and a gentle heart. I also loved Lily, the little girl of mixed breading that Marc-Paul brought into his home. She was a little sweetie.

"The Mark of the King" was not only an excellent historical read, it was also full of adventure, love and excitement. ( )