About the Book

 

Title: A Loyal Heart

Author: Jody Hedlund

Genre: Adult medieval romance

Release Date: March 6, 2018

He’s taken her as his prisoner. But she’s holding his heart captive. In gaining their freedom, will they lose what matters most?

When Lady Olivia’s castle is besieged, she and her sister are taken captive and held for ransom by her father’s enemy, Lord Pitt. Loyalty to family means everything to Olivia. She’ll save her sister at any cost and do whatever her father asks—even if that means obeying his order to steal a sacred relic from her captor.

As Lord Pitt’s commander, Sir Aldric is in charge of the beautiful but feisty new prisoner. He has his hands full attempting to keep Lady Olivia out of trouble. When Lord Pitt throws her in the dungeon and threatens to hang her for stealing, Aldric conceives a plot to save Olivia’s life—betrothal to him.

Can Olivia give up the prestigious match her father has arranged with a wealthy marquess in order to marry a lowly knight like Aldric? And can Aldric move beyond his past mistakes to embrace love again? When loyalties are tested, they’re thrust into danger that could cost them their love and their lives.

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Jody Hedlund is the author of over twenty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award.

Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).

When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

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Guest Post from Jody Hedlund

The Growing Need for Sweet Young Adult Romances

By Jody Hedlund

This past year my youngest daughter turned twelve and entered seventh grade. And she decided that she wanted to read my books.

Of course I was thrilled that she was taking an interest in my writing. But since my adult historical romances are more intense and contain some mature themes, I handed her the young adult series I’ve written.

As she started the first book, I peeked in her room a time or two to ask her how she liked it.

“It’s the best book you’ve ever read, right?” I teased.

“It’s okay,” she replied, teasing me right back.

The true test for how much she liked the series came when she couldn’t put the book down. She hid away in her room and read all day. Then she read the second book the next day and the third book the day after that.

She never did gush over the series. But she didn’t need to. Her serious reading marathon told me all I needed to know! Then when I was writing the fourth book in the series, she asked me if she could read it early before it was published which was another testament to how much she enjoyed the series.

“As long as you promise to say that I’m your favorite author,” I said, teasing her again.

I’m happy to say that she finished A Loyal Heart just as quickly as the others. Although I’m not sure that I’m her favorite author, I’m satisfied that she loved the series.

Even more, I’m thrilled that I could hand her sweet romances full of chivalrous qualities—like courage, sacrifice, honor, and loyalty. As she’s being entertained, she’s learning lessons about character traits that are important in relationships.

My daughter, like other young teens I’ve talked to, really enjoys medieval settings and stories. In some ways, those kinds of stories connect them to the princess fairy tales they used to love when they were little. Let’s face it, even adult readers still love stories about knights and castles and daring damsels!

In a book market for teens that has grown increasingly dark, jaded, and sexual, I only wish I had more to offer my daughter and other young women. It’s my passion to continue providing wholesome, clean romances for teens, books I know will encourage and uplift as well as entertain.

How about YOU? Is there a teen reader you know who needs an alternative to what’s available in the market? I encourage you to gift them with A Loyal Heart. And make sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win the entire series that you can read, pass along, or even gift to your library.

Jody Hedlund is the best-selling author of over twenty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award. She lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!). When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

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My Thoughts

I adore anything written by Jody Hedlund. She is an amazing storyteller, and I devour her books. I must confess though, A Loyal Heart is the first of her YA novels that I have read. I spend ALL day with teenagers. From 6:45 am – 3:30 pm (and sometimes even later), I am entrenched in all things AP Lit and English 9 Honors and teenagers. So, when I read for fun, I tend to stay as far away from YA things as possible. But, I’m definitely going to relax this rule and read the first three books in this series because A Loyal Heart is an awesome story!!! I had so much fun reading this book, and I’m a little sad my time with Aldric and Olivia is over.

For this post, I’m going to review the book a little differently. I admit it, I had my teacher’s glasses on while reading. I am ALWAYS on the lookout for new novels to share with my 9th and 12th graders. As a teacher, I completely approve A Loyal Heart being a part of my classroom library. In fact, I’m going to purchase a set of this series as soon as I get paid. LOL!

As a teacher, here is why I LOVE this book:

• The pacing is superb! It will grab the interest of my students immediately and will keep them reading. This is one of the biggest draws when I am looking for YA books for my class library. I was hooked from page 1 and truly struggled to put this book down. I can think of three students right off the top of my head who I would recommend A Loyal Heart to for this very reason.
• The romance between Olivia and Aldric is age appropriate. I appreciated that both characters felt an instant attraction to one another, but tried their hardest to deny the chemistry until they really got to know one another. I think this sets a really good example for my students. Teens need to see what a relationship with healthy boundaries looks like, and A Loyal Heart does a good job of illustrating this through Olivia and Aldric.
• Vocabulary! A Loyal Heart is a wonderful historical novel. At the start, Olivia is dressing for battle (because she is one seriously cool 18 year old!). I had to look up quite a few words to figure out all the armor pieces that she was putting on. I like when a book makes me go to my dictionary or to a Google search because I appreciate learning new things. This is a stellar skill that I love teaching my students, and a skill they can practice with this book.
• The moral messages in this novel are exactly what kids need to hear today! Kids today are lost more so than ever. Our society has thrown God out of everything, and has tossed the rules out, too. Kids need and crave boundaries, and our society has done teenagers no good by throwing those boundary lines away. I do what I can as a teacher, but sometimes gleaning a positive message from a GOOD book sticks better than if I tell them. A Loyal Heart is replete with excellent messages that teenagers need to take to heart. I won’t list them all, but here are a few of my FAVORITE quotes that really illustrate these messages:
  • “Although Aldric had failed to be responsible for a time, he hadn’t let his failures destroy him but had let them make him stronger instead.” (Teaches kids that mistakes are good when we learn from them. It also teaches kids that we can come back from our pasts stronger. What kid doesn’t need to learn this?)
  • “Loyalty wasn’t a birthright. It was earned. And as much as it pained me to think of cutting myself off from Father, I had to stop living my life to please him and earn his favor. Instead, I had to live in allegiance to God and His ways first.” (I like this because it teaches kids to question their motivations. Why are they doing what they are doing? Who are they trying to impress?)
  • “But the more I contemplated my actions, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the whole of civilization lived by my principle. Where would the wrongdoing stop if everyone acted out whatever moral code felt right in the moment?” (This may be the most important message to kids in this book. Kids need to learn this more now than ever before.)

There is literally like a 1000 more things I could discuss about this book, but then I would spoil something and I definitely do not want to do that to anyone. A Loyal Heart must be experienced! I love this story, and cannot recommend it enough. Whether you are 36 (like me) or 15 (like my students), you will enjoy this excellent story. Purchase a copy today. You will not be disappointed, and neither will your teen!

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the author and Celebrate Lit. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Blog Stops

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Reflections From My Bookshelves, March 28

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By The Book, March 29

Reading Is My SuperPower, March 29

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Have A Wonderful Day, March 30

Blogging With Carol, March 30

D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, March 30

Cover to Cover and Everything in Between, March 31

Book by Book, March 31

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, March 31

God’s Little Bookworm, April 1

The Christian Fiction Girl, April 1

Mary Hake, April 1

Chas Ray’s Book Nerd Corner, April 2

Daysong Reflections, April 2

Novels Corner, April 2

Remembrancy, April 3

proud to be an autism mom, April 3

Texas Book-aholic, April 3

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 4

Janices book reviews, April 4

Jeanette’s Thoughts, April 4

Romances of the Cross, April 5

Carpe Diem, April 5

A Baker’s Perspective, April 5

Ashley’s Bookshelf, April 6

Karen Sue Hadley, April 6

Kaylee’s Kind Of Writes, April 6

Red Headed Book Lady, April 7

Bibliophile Reviews, April 7

Simple Harvest Reads, April 7 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)

Pursuing Stacie, April 8

Bigreadersite, April 8

margaret kazmierczak, April 8 (interview)

Henry Happens, April 9

Faery Tales Are Real, April 9

Joy of Reading, April 9

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Giveaway

 

To celebrate her tour, Jody is giving away a grand prize of An Uncertain Choice, A Daring Sacrifice, For Love & Honor, and A Loyal Heart!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/cb76