The Mark of the King

Title: The Mark of the King

Author: Jocelyn Green

Source: Own

My Review:

I have owned and planned to read The Mark of the King for several years. I finally decided I needed to read this book.

In a fleeting moment, the priest pronounced one hundred eighty-four husbands and wives joined together in holy covenant, though surely God himself would not call this forced mating holy.

You guys, this book was HEAVY. It is based on true events (which I hadn't realized) and is not for the faint of heart or overly sensitive person. I am a sensitive person, and there are parts of the book that I could have done without. For instance, Julianne is a midwife and is doing a difficult birth, and the description is very detailed about her putting her hand up and shifting the baby around. I am a bit squeamish, so those parts and the violence were very difficult for me.

I kept reading the story because I wanted to see Julianne's story, and I wanted her circumstances to get better. She showed an unbreakable strength despite all the very difficult circumstances she went through. 

This story has a lot of drama, is heavy with sorrow, strong in faith, and is a heartbreaking tale of love, loss, and second chances.

If you are interested in how New Orleans began its development in 1719 and can handle harder topics, then I recommend this story for you. If you are not, then I would recommend you skip it.

Trigger warnings: abuse, attempted rape, violence, detailed midwife scenes

★★★

Synopsis (Goodreads):  

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.