"Always" by Jody Hedlund

[reviewsbyerin]

 


There's a new young adult medieval series coming from Jody Hedlund, beginning with this prequel novella. The story opens on a dark day, as the land of Mercia is about the be overthrown by an evil neighboring ruler, the king has been mortally injured, and the queen has undergone a difficult delivery of twin daughters. The queen presses Lady Felicia to vow to protect the infant princesses and their 3-year-old sister, setting our tale in motion.

With almost his last breath, King Francis charges Lance, one of his brave knights, to take care of the queen and his daughters. When Lance rushes to the queen's chambers and finds Lady Felicia about to whisk away with the newborn twins, there's no time to argue about whose vow holds more merit, and the two join forces to try to escape the castle even as it is being overrun by enemy forces.

With the cruel King Ethelwulf intent on murdering the young princesses, Lance and Felicia must race across the country to find those loyal to King Francis who can help protect the girls. Facing many dangers and their own growing attraction to each other, these two are willing to give their lives if necessary to preserve the rightful heirs to Mercia's throne.

To me, this read more like a fairy tale than medieval fiction, and a large suspension of disbelief is needed to think about this much traveling with the needs of one small child and two newborn babies. However, it sets the stage nicely for the upcoming books about the lost princesses and their quest to take back the throne. Adventure awaits both readers and characters in these pages and the series to follow.

Set to release Aug. 13, you can preorder Always here.

I received my copy of the book from the author. All opinions in this review are my own.

*This post contains affiliate links.