"a daring sacrifice" by jody hedlund

When I read Jody Hedlund's An Uncertain Choice last year, Lord Collin Goodrich was my least favorite of the knights vying for Lady Rosemarie's hand. He just seemed too carefree and immature. I guess what he needed was a woman who would challenge him and would bring out the best in him—and that's exactly what Juliana Wessex does!

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In a reverse twist on the Robin Hood story, a young medieval maiden stands up for the rights of the mistreated, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. All the while, she fights against her cruel uncle who has taken over the land that is rightfully hers. 

Forced to live in the woods and hide with the poor people she's grown to love, she works to save and protect them, but she never anticipates falling in love with the wealthy knight who represents all she's come to despise.

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Though she spend her idyllic early years as the daughter of a wealthy lord, Juliana lost her land—and her father—to her uncle's treachery. She turned to stealing to provide for the peasants who became her family. When she robs Lord Collin Goodrich, she comes face to face with the boy who long ago mocked her hair ... and to whom she finds herself strangely attracted. As the two get to know one another, Collin begins to have sympathy for those not as privileged as himself, and Juliana comes to realize that all lords are not evil.

I absolutely devoured this novel! It's full of adventure, danger, and romance—oh, the romance! The chemistry between Juliana and Collin is palpable, and I loved watching their relationship develop. The novel is written in first person, and it's pretty equally divided between Juliana's and Collin's perspectives, so I felt like I got to know both characters very well, and I came to like them both very much.

A Daring Sacrifice is a great young adult romance that both teens and adults will love—and in a genre that seems to focus more and more on sexual and/or edgy content, it is one of those rare novels that promotes faith and morality. Fans of Melanie Dickerson's Fairy Tale Romances and Dina Sleiman's Valiant Hearts series will want to check out this series. 4-1/2 stars.

Note: A Daring Sacrifice is the second book in Jody Hedlund's YA series, but you can easily read it without first having read An Uncertain Choice. If you have read the first book, you should know that A Daring Sacrifice doesn't begin directly after the cliffhanger at the end of the first book—instead, it begins prior to those events. (I spent the first couple chapters expecting an explanation and didn't find one; later, I figured out that Hedlund was leading up to the events of An Uncertain Choice's epilogue.)

Buy the book.
Read my review of Hedlund's An Uncertain Choice (5 stars) and The Vow (4 stars), a prequel novella. Read my reviews of Hedlund's adult titles Hearts Made Whole (5 stars), Undaunted Hope (4 stars), A Noble Groom (5 stars), Unending Devotion (5 stars).

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Jody Hedlund is an award-winning and bestselling historical fiction author. She won the 2011 Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, the 2011 Award of Excellence from the Colorado Romance Writers and was a finalist for Best Debut Novel in the 2011 ACFW Carol Awards. Currently she makes her home in central Michigan, with her husband and five busy children. She loves hearing from readers on Facebook and on her blog.

Find Jody online: website, Twitter, Facebook

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review as a member of Jody Hedlund's A Daring Sacrifice influencer team. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."