Saturday 31 January 2015

Captured by Love by Jody Hedlund

Michigan Territory. 1814. 


A voyageur and a young woman swept up in
a time of upheaval and danger discover firsthand 
the high price of freedom.

The British Army has taken control of Michilimackinac Island and its fort, forcing the Americans to swear an oath of loyalty to the crown in order to retain their land. Pierre Durant is a fur trader who returns after being away from the island for years, only to find the family farm in shamble and those he cares about starving and at the mercy of British invaders.

Torn between the adventurous life of fur trading and guilt over neglecting his defenceless mother. Pierre is drawn deeper into the fight against the British - and into a relationship with Angelique MacKenzie, a childhood friend who's grown into a beautiful woman. She now finds herself trapped by the circumstances of war and poverty, and the cruelty of her guardian, Ebeneezer Whiley.

As tensions mount and the violence rages on, Pierre and Angelique must decide where their loyalties rest and how much they'll risk for love. 

Review: I've had this book sitting in my "reading box", a beautiful box covered in my favourite scripture verses that my mom made for me, for a little too long now. I kept picking this book up, and then setting it down again in favour of another book with a flashier cover. For some reason, the cover of this book just felt old to me….old, wistful, and promising of a slow read. I'd never heard of Jody Hedlund before, and I had nothing except the cover to base my bias on.

Last night, however, I made the decision to finally get this book read before the wonderful, gracious folks at Graf Martin decided I didn't deserve to get more books (heaven forbid!). 

Let's just get this straightened out right now: Jody Hedlund is awesome & I LOVED this book.

I seriously could not have been more wrong about this book. I read it in one sitting - ONE sitting (and I've got a sore neck to prove it)! I seriously could not put it down. I found it exciting, nerve wracking, beautiful, wonderful, tragic, and amazing all at the same time. There is so much passion in this book and yet so much goodness. 

Angelique has had a seriously rough life for someone of only 18 years. Her mother was a harlot (basically), her sister committed suicide after being forced into a tragic marriage by her abusive guardian Ebeneezer, her fiancé Jean is off at war, her future mother-in-law/best friend is now blind, Angelique herself is literally starving to death and suffering under the cruelty of Ebeneezer… and through all this and the rest of the events that unfold in this nail biting adventure, Angelique remains quiet, loving, selfless and so kind. For a girl with as much spunk and passion for life it is amazing to see such goodness and God honouring patience. I was really impressed by this character - if you can't tell already. I think she deserves to have a series of books, not just one. 

So much happens in this book. Enter in the Americans versus British in battle over the USA, warring fur trading companies, native tribes, and the poor common folk caught in-between it all and you've got some serious fodder for an amazing story. I don't want to say too much and start ruining the plot so I'll just say this: read this book! It's honestly quite fantastic. 

"Book has been provided courtesy of Bethany House and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from BakerBooks, a division of Baker Publishing Group"

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