The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green

  Book Description After the death of her client, midwife Julianne Chevalier is imprisoned and branded, marking her as a criminal beyond redemption. Hoping to reunite with her brother, a soldier, she trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling French colony of Louisiana. The price of her transport, however, is a forced marriage to a fellow convict.

New Orleans is nothing like Julianne expects. The settlement is steeped in mud and mosquitoes, and there is no news of her brother, Benjamin. When tragedy strikes, she turns to military officer Marc-Paul Girard for help, but does he know more about her brother than he will admit?

With her dreams shattered, Julianne must find her way in this dangerous land, where only grace--and love--can overcome the stigma of the king's mark upon her shoulder.   My Review This was my first time reading a book by Jocelyn Green. And was I ever surprised! I like good stories that have unforeseen twists that pop up. And this book has plenty of them! I am not sure when I last read a book with so many surprising twists and turns in it! It had things coming that I would never had guessed.   The book was also well written and the story felt very real. Even though it was hard at times to see all the terrible things Julianne went through. It was interesting to see how all of the things went together and how everything turned out. I also thought the setting took place in a interesting time in history. It was quite something to see that time in history brought to life through the story. This is a very talented author and I look forward to seeing what she writes next.      I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. The opinions are my own.